Unit 8
130-137 QUIZ

 1. During Rome’s expansion, they based much of
their society (history, philosophy, rhetoric) off of
which present-day country
 2. This man was considered the most well-known
senator of his time, even called the “Roman
Demosthenes”. He wasn’t a big fan of Carthage
Roman Empire is born (almost)

 150 B.C. – Andriscus wants to
reunite Macedon
 Quintus Metellus
Macedonicus defeats Macedon
 Both Macedon and Epirus
are part of the Roman
Empire
 146 B.C. – Corinth rebels against
Roman control and lost
 Corinth burned to the
ground, women and
children sold into slavery
Third Punic War
 146 B.C.

 Carthage’s wealth is quickly
regained following Second Punic
War
 Ask to pay off Roman debt, but Rome
refused
 Why would Rome refuse to allow
this
 Carthage was supposed to be allowed to
hold onto their African lands
 Who in Africa would pose a
threat to Carthage?
 Carthage raises an army, finally pay off
indemnity to Rome
CATO THE ELDER
“Delenda est Carthago!!!”
149 B.C. – Rome sends 80,000
men to finally destroy
Carthage
Third Punic War

 Rome demands Carthage abandon their city and army and
move 10 miles inland….naturally, Carthage refused
 Plague hit the Roman camp, they laid siege for 2 years
 Scipio Aemilianus invaded





10 day street battle
Only 50k of original 700k were still there
Many taken into slavery, other allowed to become citizens
City was burned to the ground
Tiberius Gracchus fought in this battle – Remember this
name!!
 LEGEND: Rome plowed the fields with salt so nothing could ever grow
there again


This was written later, and it makes sense that Rome
supported this legend
Why would Rome support this legend? How can it benefit
them in the future?
PERCEPTION:
- Romans
viewed this as a
dishonorable
war.
- Scipio himself
was ashamed of
its destruction
Siege of Carthage – Rise of Tiberius Gracchus

 “Siege of Carthage”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1-913gAAvI
Imperialism and Culture

 Rome began to profit greatly off overseas expansion
 Rome began to become greatly influenced by Greek culture
 Cato the Elder




“Novus Homo”
Consul and censor
Best speaker in Rome; called the “Roman Demosthenes”
Always subordinated Greek culture to Roman
 Cato and others helped to define what it meant to be Roman,
and began to instill a Roman pride that centered around
politics, warfare, and running of the household.
Decline in the prestige of the Senate
 148 B.C. – Scipio Aemilianus won consulship
 Under age and never been a praetor
 134 B.C. - Also won second consulship – technically illegal

 143 B.C. – Appius Claudius Pulcher – held a triumph even though
senate refused
 Conflict between consuls and tribunes
 Consuls wanted large armies, tribunes naturally did not…
 Larger land plots +more slaves = growing economic divide
 Some estimate that there were 2-3 million, over 1/3 of the
population!
 Many soldiers would return home to find that their land was
confiscated
 Tribunes began to take an active role on behalf of the people
Taking Stock….
 For the last 350 years, Rome was determined to
keep it a republic and not an empire or monarchy

 Increasing amounts of landless poor and patrician
ambition began to slowly destroy this tradition
 All the new wealth of these overseas expansion was
ending up in the hands of a few. As they became so
successful, they no longer had an interest is what
was “best for the Republic”
 Who can this trend all be traced back to?
 Soldiers began to follow the leader who was best at
securing riches
 This was mercenary work in the guise of state policy
Setting the Stage…
Military/Social Problems
 Decline in birth rate

Economic problems
 Influx of wealth from provinces.
Controlled by upper class
 Lower quality troops
 Poor training/lack of leadership
 Boom in building, reduction in
public spending
 Urbanization = unemployment,
poor housing
 Shortage of grain = high price of
bread
 Slave uprisings = SPARTACUS!!
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS
“You fight and die to give luxury to
other men…but you have not a foot of
ground to call your own.”
 162-133 B.C.

 Son of a well-known politician, successful
soldier
 Especially well know for being the first
over the wall in the siege of Carthage
 Brother-in-law of Scipio Aemilianus and
grandson of Scipio Africanus!
 Insulted by the senate, turned to people
 134 BC – elected tribune of the plebs
 Agrarian reform
Begins the formation of
the Optimates and
Populares
**Keep in mind, people were
not eligible for military service
if they did not own land!
Some historians still today
question his motives…
LAND REFORM!
FYI: 1 iugera = .25 hectare = .625 acres
Ex: 500 iugera = approx. 300 acres

 Ager publicus – land owned by the state
 Maximum allotment of 500 iugera, many had more
than that



“Give the rest to the poor!”
Would be overseen by three men, a
“triumvirate”
How does he get this passed?
 ANY tribune could veto a proposed bill

Of course, this was implemented to favor the
will of the people…
 Marcus Octavius vetoes the measure, Tiberius throws
him out!

What the what?! He’s sacrosanct!!
 What precedent is Tiberius setting that will
threaten the Republic?
Why was his proposed
bill so politically
clever?
- Did not threaten private
property
- Wealthy broke the laws
- Empowered the people
DEATH OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS
 Tiberius held Senate hostage
 Threatened to veto everything
 Senate allocated no budget!

 133 B.C. - King Attalus III of Pergamon gave
land to “Roman people”
 Ran for re-election, in clear violation of
tradition
 Senate thought he was trying to become a king
 Murdered him with benches, stools and
other objects at hand
 Senate sets an even scarier
precedent…
 MIGHT = RIGHT
“So perish all who do the
like again.”
- Scipio Aemilianus
GAIUS GRACCHUS
 154-121 B.C.
 Quaestor in Sardinia
 123 B.C. – elected Tribune

 Grain prices!!
 Plague of locusts in N. Africa
 “Buy high and sell low”
 PROPOSED LAWS:
 1. Couldn’t re-stand for tribunate if
against will of people
 2. No capital punishment without
approval of assembly
 Senate killed Tiberius’ associates
 Ex-post facto!
 3. Minimum age and maximum
service time of military, govt. provided
clothing
DEATH OF GAIUS GRACCHUS
 122 B.C. – Second term as Tribune
 Rights of non-Roman Italians
 Why would the Senate be
afraid of this?

 Sailed to Carthage, senate
begins plotting against him
 Ran as tribune a third time!
 Lost third election, repealed his
laws
 Gracchi supporters killed his
enemy, charged with treason
 Ran with a slave and his slave killed
him
Full blown populists
campaign mode:
- Lived with the poor
- Tore down risers in the
gladiatorial stadium
Provincial Government and Corruption
 Corrupt tax practices

 How did taxes work in Roman
provinces?
 Publicani – wealthy individuals who
undertook public contracts
 Equites – order of the “knights” most
publicani belonged to
 Needed to have excess of 100,000 denarii
to qualify
 Gaius Gracchus filled provincial courts with
knights instead of senators
 How would this potentially help
Gracchus?
Marius’ Military reforms

 “Rome: Rise and Fall of an empire” –
Part 1/14
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB732w
BSTvw
 21:15 - END
 “Marius’ mules”
 Legionary standards
 Cohorts
 Rotating lines

Where did Marius get his
troops from? Why was this so
radical?

Why was Marius elected
consul so many times in a
row?

What types of things did
Marius do to better train his
soldiers?

How did Marius “cut out the
heart of the republic” when
settling his political
differences?
Marius and Military Reforms
 Problems in Africa
Rome also began to expand into
Transalpine Gaul

 Numidian king Jugurtha rebelled
against Roman control
 107 B.C. - Gaius Marius was elected as
consul
1.
2.
3.
No property requirements
provincial command in Africa
volunteers as opposed to conscription
 105 B.C. – Marius defeats Jugurtha
 105-101 B.C. – elected consul 5 times!

Defeated the German tribes Teutones and
Cimbris the north
 No land for his men!
 Eventually exiled
• Rome built roads and
towns throughout this
area
 90-88 B.C.
SOCIAL WAR

 Marius relied heavily on Northern allies…
 Why would this cause a problem?
 Oct. 91 B.C. – consul Livius Drusus assassinated for proposed
citizenship for the wealthy
 “State of Italia”
 Government, 100k soldiers
 Rome
 150k soldiers
 Offered citizenship to those that stayed loyal

RISE OF
SULLA
 Lucius Cornelius Sulla
 138 B.C. – 78 B.C.

 Mithridates of Pontus invades Bithynia
 He is tired of Roman rule
 Knows Rome is busy with Social War
 Calls for murder of Romans
 80,000 Romans killed in one night!!
 88 B.C. – Sulla elected consul, travels to Africa
 Marius and Cinna take over Rome and
declare Sulla enemy of the state
 Sulla is successful in the East, returns to Rome
SULLA’S PROSCRIPTIONS
 Proscription
 Killed between 2,000-9,000
names of political enemies

 82 B.C. – Sulla declares himself “dictator
for life”
 Cursus Honorum – established
minimum age limits and experience for
govt. positions
 No tribune could hold any other
magistracy

How did this help prevent men like
the Gracchi brothers from rising to
power again?
 Political system is
corroded
 Armies fought
within Rome
 Constitution
subverted by force
 Massive
confiscation of
land
 Restoration of the
senate was
artificial
Marcus Licinius Crassus
 115 – 53 B.C.

 Wealthiest man in Rome
 Sulla’s proscriptions and firefighting
service
 Military glory during the Civil War
 Battle of the Colline Gate
 Rival of Pompey the Great
 Never gets the credit he hoped to
deserve!
Worth $180
BILLION
dollars!!
SLAVES

 Found in every area of Roman
society; usually captured or
kidnapped
 Urban slaves often had a close
relationship with owners
 Nannies, tutors,
wetnurses
 Some were highly
educated
 Freed slaves were indebted to
their former owners
 Slaves also were trained
to fight in the arena and
provide entertainment
SPARTACUS!
 73 – 71 B.C.

 Spartacus led 70 slaves in a revolt in
Capua
 Eventually gained 70,000 more
men!
 Won 3 battles in a row against Roman
forces
 Forces grew and were successfully
trained
 Marcus Licinius Crassus
 Decimation!
 Crassus defeats the slave army
 Pompey Magnus takes all the
credit!!
Crassus crucified 6,000 slaves along the
Appian Way to send a message to other
slaves in Rome…
Crassus v. Spartacus

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIsg7rgnghM
 Why was Crassus so determined to defeat
Spartacus?
 Why is Spartacus much more well-known today
than Crassus?
POMPEY THE GREAT

 106 B.C. – 48 B.C.
 Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
 83 B.C. – supported Sulla and led 3
legions




VERY self-consumed
Skipped the Cursus Honorum
Early triumph at 25
“The teenage butcher”
 Put down revolts in Etruria and Spain
 Defeated Spartacus
“Won’t you stop citing
laws to us who have
swords by our sides?”
POMPEY THE GREAT
 67 B.C. – Destroyed the Cilician
pirates

 66 B.C. – Finally defeated
Mithridates
 Created a HUGE eastern Empire for
Rome – riches, wealth, and fame
 62 B.C. - Returned to Rome, but
failed in authorizing Eastern
land for his troops
Took control of:
- Jerusalem
- Parthia
- Bithynia
- Seleucid empire