THE COLLAPSE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

72-27 BC

PREVIOUSLY ON ROMAN HISTORY…

Optimates & Populares Gracchi Brothers Marius & Sulla

Land for Veterans Loyalty to Generals

Roman-on-Roman Violence Foreign Threats

Mithridates

MAJOR NEW CHARACTERSJulius Caesar-lawyer, judge, politician, general,and historian-Populares

Pompey-general, senator,wealthy-Optimates

Cicero-orator, politician,philosopher, senator-pushes for a return to ideal Republic &constitution

Crassus-extremely wealthygeneral

A SERIES OF PROBLEMS – 72-63 BC

Leftovers from the war between Marius & Sulla Marius’s supporters flee and resist Sulla’s A separate Republic forms in Spain

Pirates, Mithridates, slave revolt, conspiracy

Provide our new characters with some accomplishments & street cred

Lots going on at once, in several places

GNAEUS POMPEIUS MAGNUS - POMPEY THE GREAT

Supporter of Sulla in war, politics, and marriage; supporter of Senate too, then

Extremely successful general at a young age Defeats Marians in Sicily, Africa, and Spain

Clears pirates from the Mediterranean in 40 days (grain supply threatened)

Goes east and defeats Mithridates Adds 4 provinces to Rome (Bithynia &

Pontus, Syria, Cilicia, and Crete) Never really followed the rules; used his

armies as threats against the Senate

“haters gonna hate” – Pompey

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

“Novus Homo” – “New Man” Catilinarian Conspiracy – 63 BC

Catiline’s salty that he wasn’t elected consul Plan: raise an army in Etruria, murder all the

senators in Rome, bring the army in with help from some Gauls, take over

Cicero is warned; delivers speech to Senate outing Catiline, but has no proof; Catiline flees Rome

Letter to the Gauls becomes proof Conspirators strangled to death

Sets a bad precedent (like we haven’t done that already) according to Caesar

MARCUS LICINIUS CRASSUS Supporter of Sulla as well, but rival to Pompey

Pompey too good; forced Sulla to give him a triumphal procession, so he eclipses Crassus in street cred

Richest Roman ever; top 10 for richest dude ever Equestrian order

Real estate – buying your burning house Crassus’s Moment of Glory

Slave revolt by Spartacus; Crassus pays for a new army Troops abandon; “Decimation” Captures 6,000 slaves; Spartacus dies; crucifixions 5,000 slaves run away towards Rome Moment of Glory stolen…

60 BC – Awkward consulship with Pompey…

He be mean muggin

GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR

Nephew of Marius, target for Sulla Serves in east; stripped of money

Kidnapped by pirates while returning to Rome Not a high enough ransom, bros Revenge – “lenient” revenge

Famous lawyer and judge in the 60’s BC Caesar’s debt problem

Crassus supports him in exchange for political favors As long as he holds a political office, he’s a “public citizen”

and can’t be prosecuted for not paying his debts Solution: Keep holding offices!

During 60 BC (consulship of Crassus/Pompey), Caesar is elected consul for 59 BC

THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE

“Three Men” – Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus – illegal rule Caesar incredibly popular Crassus incredibly rich Pompey has veterans and armies behind him

Caesar gets Pompey and Crassus to play nice Caesar wins Pompey over by giving Pompey his daughter

Julia Pompey’s troops and Crassus’s money make sure that

Caesar’s laws go into effect; Bibulus, the other consul, chased off to his house for the year

Opposed by Cicero along the way, but with no real effect Cicero’s like “much illegal, such unconstitutional, very scare,

wow”

50’S BC

Caesar becomes governor of Gaul - money to make or steal

Hugely successful military campaign, The Gallic Wars Takes over the rest of Gaul; excursions into Germany &

Britain Writes his own history of the campaign

Pompey stays in Rome to keep things under control; still runs Spain though

Crassus becomes governor of Syria and looks to expand the eastern frontier and add to his military legacy

THINGS FALL APART

Julia dies in childbirth & Pompey marries a new wife New wife is daughter of an opponent of Caesar Pompey getting jealous of Caesar’s success in Gaul

Crassus dies fighting Parthians in the east Open wide!

Senate chooses Pompey as sole consul; tells Caesar to disband Caesar will if Pompey does

Caesar recalled to Rome Knowing he’s not safe, he does the sensible thing and brings his

army Jan. 10, 49 BC: Crosses the Rubicon River

Act of war; “alea iacta est” – “The die is cast”

CIVIL WAR

Caesar welcomed to Rome as the people’s hero Pompey runs away to Greece with the Senate

Cicero says that doing so pretty much allowed Caesar to become dictator

Caesar goes to Spain and defeats Pompey’s guys in 27 days

Caesar goes to Greece and defeats Pompey in battle Pompey flees to Egypt, is murdered by order of Ptolemy

XIII Caesar, angry, dethrones Ptolemy and installs Cleopatra Caesar in Turkey: “veni, vidi, vici” Caesar mops up the remnants in Africa and Spain

DICTATOR FOR LIFE

Unprecedented and bordering on being a king Coins issued in his image, statue next to the kings’

statues Calendar reform Debt relief, police force,

land distribution

THE SHANKING – MARCH 15, 44 BC

Brutus and Collatinus’s vow in 510 BC? “Liberators” – group of senators “freeing” Rome

Brutus and Cassius Theatre of Pompey Mark Antony καὶ σύ, τέκνον;

Kai su, teknon? You too, child?

Stabbed 23 times;60 people participated

NEW CHARACTERS – SUPPORTERS OF CAESAR

Mark Antony

Lepidus

Octavian

THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE

CICERO & ANTONY

Leading figures in Rome after Caesar’s assassination Made a deal with Liberators: wouldn’t be put on trial

if they declared Caesar WASN’T a tyrant Gave Caesar’s supporters more leverage than they would’ve

had, and saved Caesar’s reforms Antony & Caesar’s Will

Cicero sides with Octavian “enemy of the state”

Octavian arrives & Antony goes rogue

SECOND TRIUMVIRATE

Rocky start; Antony’s ambition Unite to take power and avenge Caesar Actually a LEGAL triumvirate Proscriptions! Yay mass murder!

Cicero Battle(s) of Philippi – 42 BC

Brutus and Cassius commit suicide Lepidus gets himself kicked out Antony lives with Cleopatra Octavian’s propaganda machine

Antony’s will

WAR VS….CLEOPATRA?

“NOT” a civil war… Battle of Actium - 31 BC Double suicide

THE FIRST EMPEROR, AUGUSTUS

Octavian acquires all the Republic’s traditional offices at once, and so he holds all the power Still a republic, right guys?

27 BC: Senate grants him the title Augustus “Revered” one, “Elevated” one

Pax Romana – Roman Peace Golden Age of Rome – rules 46 years

Buildings, poetry, art, etc. flourish The Aeneid