The Emergence of Rome

Greek Culture Borrowed

• Greeks arrive in large #’s during colonization– (750-550 B.C.)

• Planned permanent communities• Secured coastal plains for agriculture• Built walled cities with harbors for trade

• Alphabet, art, sculpture, architecture and literature

Geography

• Apennine Mountains divided east from west• Fertile plains

– Po Valley in north– Latium which Rome was built on– Campania to the south

• Peninsula• Tiber River• Surrounded by islands

– Corsica– Sardinia– Sicily

The Etruscans

• City-dwellers who fortified their cities and placed them in commanding positions

• Origins unclear but expanded in 650 B.C.• Came in contact with Greek colonists in 6th

century B.C.• By 400 B.C. had been invaded by Gauls and

then conquered by Romans• Rome was their most famous creation

Early Romans

Transition from Monarchy to Republic

• Under the Etruscans the rulers has been monarchs

• Romans consider the end of monarchy and Etruscan rule to coincide with the rape of Lucretia (likely a myth)– Noble Roman woman raped by son of a king– Committed suicide rather than be example of non-

virtuous Roman– In revenge, Romans drove Etruscan king out of Rome

and set up a Republic

The Roman Republic 509-44 B.C.

Political Forum

Death of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.

Political Institutions

• Two Consuls• Praetors (Judges)• Dictator• Aediles (Grain supply)• Censors• Senate: advisory only to the magistrate• Assembly of aristocrats

Social Organizations

• Family basis of Roman Society– Paterfamilias– Clients (worked around the home, performed military service, voted for patron: all in

return for $)

• Patricians: Wealthy, land-owning, aristocrats, who served in gov’t. and received special rights

• Plebeians: Typically poorer, a much larger class who did no possess the same rights as Patricians (could vote but not serve in gov’t.)

Paterfamilias

Patricians and Plebeians

Internal Social Struggles

• Plebeians wanted political equality and right of intermarriage

• Plebeians withdrew from the state• Patricians needed them so set up Twelve

Tables• This eventually led to more equality and the

allowance of intermarriage

Twelve Tables

Conquest of Italy

• Romans felt they were surrounded by enemies

• They were constantly attacked and involved in war for their first hundred years

• They began defeating all of the peoples around them

Roman Expansion

Roman Diplomacy

• Romans were very good diplomats• After conquering their neighbors, they were

made citizens or promised the right to become citizens if behaved as allies

• All conquered states had to supply Rome with military

Conquest of Mediterranean

Romans Build Roads for Communication

• Romans settled in newly conquered areas creating communities

• Built roads between colonial conquests to maintain communication

Punic Wars

• Carthage controlled coast of N. Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, W. Sicily, and Southern Spain

• Italy feared their desires for the Italian coast

• First Punic War 264-241 B.C.• Second Punic War 218-201 B.C.• Third Punic War 149-146 B.C.

First Punic War

• Italy attempted to gain control of all of Sicily• Carthage fought back, believing Sicily was in their

“sphere of influence”• Rome quickly organized a naval fleet, believing it to

be there only chance• Carthage had trouble getting mercenaries• Carthage gave up Sicily and paid a fee• Three years later, Rome took Sardinia & Corsica• Hamilcar vowed revenge

Second Punic War

• Carthage rebuilt and focused on Spain• Carthage and Rome had agreed to split Spain• Rome began making alliances with the

Carthaginian parts of Spain angering Carthage and Hannibal (Hamilcar’s son)

• Hannibal decided to fight this war on Roman soil

Hannibal

• Hannibal won many battles

• He had 30-40,000 men• He had 6000 elephants

and horses and crossed through the Alps

Scipio Africanus the Elder

• Scipio focused on Spain and regaining control• Scipio, actually too young to be named

commander of Roman army in Spain, but brilliant general

• He pushed from Spain back to Carthage• This forced Carthaginians to recall Hannibal

from Rome• Scipio defeated Hannibal at Battle of Zama

2nd War Peace Treaty

• Carthaginians lost Spain which became another Roman province

• Had to pay an indemnity• Could not go to war without Rome’s

permission

• Rome was now dominant power in Mediterranean!

Third Punic War

• Many Romans called for complete destruction of Carthage

• Carthage broke peace treaty by going to war with a Rome’s N. African allies that had been encroaching on Carthage

• Rome, led by Scipio Africanus the Younger, destroyed Carthage for good

Religion & Philosophy in the Republic

• The gods and goddesses were borrowed from Greece, though renamed– (Greco-Roman Religion)

• Religious festivals played a big part in Rome• Stoicism: Most popular; Happiness through

virtue• Epicureanism: Pursuit of happiness, through

personal pleasure, should be only motivating source

Education

• Private education provided by family• Boys

– Farming– Military and physical training– Traditions of the state– Public Affairs

• Girls– Care for the family

• Upper-class boys and girls were to read• Later learning Greek Rhetoric became highly valued

Family & Women

• Dominant male (Paterfamilias)• Romans believed women were weak and needed

male guardians• Male could sell or kill his children• Father arranged marriage for daughters (12-14 yrs.

Old)• Women appreciated as enjoyable and center of

household social life– different from Athens• Women shopped and visited in public but could not

participate in politics

Result of Punic Wars—Decline of Roman Values

• Conquered peoples had to pay taxes and were enslaved• Politicians more concerned with getting rich (from

taxes) than governing• Latifundias took over small farms• No work on farms so people moved to cities which

became highly corrupt• Gap between rich and poor expanded (95-98% poor)• Reasons for the change?

– Defeat of Carthage, now no enemies– Affluence changed people

Slavery

• Slavery a result of Punic Wars• Romans had more slaves and relied on slave labor more than

any other society• Many worked on the “latifundia” (large farming estates)• “It is cheaper to work the slaves to death and replace them

than treat them well.” ~Cato the Elder• Total # of slaves estimates between ¼ - ½ of free people • Constant fear of revolt

Social, Political, and Economic Problems Arise (133-31 B.C.)

• Senate now had most control– Advice to Consuls now had weight of law

• Landowners had fought in wars– Wars lasted so long their land had been over-run or

taken (to become part of large latifundia) by the time they returned

• Need to make $ caused many landless to move to cities (mostly Rome)– Not a lot of work so cities very unstable with potential

for much trouble in depressed times

Latifundia

Reforms of Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus

• Tiberius believes major problem for Rome is lack of small farmers due to latifundia

• He went around the Senate and had law passed by Council of the Plebs

• Latifundias were to be divided among the landless citizens

• Senators (many latifundia owners) were furious and killed Tiberius

Tiberius & Gaius

Enter Gaius

• Gaius continues brother’s push for redistribution of land

• Gaius found support from others against the senate

• The senate however became fearful of his popularity and killed him and many of his followers

Marius Changes Senates Power

• Rome was fighting a war in Africa and losing• Marius, assistant to the General, disagreed with

way the Senate and General were running the war• He returned to Rome and ran for Consul with

slogan, “Win the War”• Council of Plebs voted to give Marius command of

army• Generals no longer had to be loyal to the senate

Marius Addresses Romans

Marius’s New Army

• He wins the war in Africa• He is named consul for 5 years, 104-100 B.C.• Raises a new army type of army to defeat a new enemy,

the Celts• Opened army to non-landholders• They swore an oath to the General, not the senate• Now a professional army not subject to the state• Generals promised land to vets so generals had to play

politics to get this land• Soldiers more loyal to general than state

“Rome was now Italy, and Italy Rome”

• Italian Allies fought Rome for citizenship (90-88 B.C.)

• They finally won• Now huge influx of new voters into the

assemblies, giving power to the populous

Sulla

• Consul in 88 B.C. and led many winning military campaigns

• 82 B.C. Marched his army on Rome, defeating Marius• Marius for the populous, Sulla for the Aristocrats• Insisted he be named Dictator to restore Republic• Conducted reign of terror to wipe out opposition• Then restored power to the senate, eliminated power of

the tribunes and plebeian councils• Sulla dies in 79 B.C. leaving a power vacuum

Death of the Republic

• For next fifty years, Rome faced power struggle and resulting civil wars• Crassus & Pompey– Both had fought for Sulla– Personal enemies – Recognized their power if joined forces– Returned power to the populous

Caesar

• Caesar was a great general• He gained popularity by appealing to the populous• The senate feared his power and tried to

prevent his political power• He made a coalition called the First Triumvirate:

Caesar, Pompey & Crassus• The First Triumvirate is powerful and successful

“Hail Caesar!”

• Crassus dies in battle• Caesar is seen as a threat by the senate

because he is too powerful, they now favor Pompey

• Caesar takes his army and “crosses the Rubicon” to fight Pompey– Caesar wins

• In 44 B.C. he is made dictator for life

Rise of Octavian

• Caesar is assassinated!• The Second Triumvirate is formed: Octavian,

Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus• Lepidus is pushed aside• The Empire is divided: Octavian the west and

Mark Antony the east

Octavian and Mark Antony

Octavian Reigns Supreme

• After time, the two rulers come into conflict• Mark Antony divorces Octavia (sister of

Octavian) • He marries Cleopatra (Caesar’s former lover)• Octavian defeats Mark Antony and his

Egyptian wife• They retreat to Egypt and commit suicide

Augustus the Emperor

• Octavian ended the civil wars but The Republic is dead – in 31 B.C.

• The Roman Empire Arises