From Romulus to
Romulus
The Rise and Fall of
Rome
Romulus and Remus
Legendary Rome
Aeneas and Trojan Refugees settle in Italy
Romulus founds Rome 753 BCE
Seven Kings
Tarquinius Superbus deposed
Republic founded 509 BCE
The Pre-Roman World
War With Carthage
264-241 BCE: Rome wins control of Sicily
238 BCE Rome takes advantage of revolt
in Carthage to seize Sardinia
218-201 BCE: Hannibal invades Italy, but
Carthage loses Spain and N. Africa to
Rome
149-146 BCE: Alarmed by Carthage’s
recovery, Rome launches a final war to
destroy Carthage
Rome Expands
Rome Expands
Many-Front War
Rome Expands
The Republic Crumbles
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus try but fail to
implement social reforms 130-122 BCE
Social War 91–88 BCE: Rest of Italy tries
to secede from Rome
Civil War 87-81 BCE, followed by purge by
Lucius Sulla
Catilina 63-62 BCE: Failed coup
First Triumvirate 60-53 BCE: Caesar,
Pompey, Crassus
Julius Caesar
 Born 100 BCE
 Consul 60 BCE
 First Triumvirate 60-53 BCE: Caesar, Pompey,
Crassus
 Conquest of Gaul 58-49 BCE
 Attempted invasion of Britain 55 BCE
 50 BCE: Caesar-Pompey alliance breaks up
 50-45 BCE: Civil War; Caesar wins
 44 BCE: Assassinated
Rome Expands
Empire!
Civil War
Antony against Brutus and Cassius
Antony and Octavian against Brutus and
Cassius
Octavian against Antony and Cleopatra
Octavian declared Emperor 27 BCE as
Caesar Augustus
Tiberius, Nero, Caligula, Claudius
68-69 CE: Year of the Four Emperors
Rome Expands
Rome Expands
Rome Expands
The Empire at its Peak
Flavian Dynasty
Vespasian (69–79)
Titus (79–81)
Domitian (81–96)
Five Good Emperors
Nerva (96-98)
Trajan (98-117)
Hadrian (117-138)
Antoninus Pius (138-161)
Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
Near Collapse 235-284
 20-25 emperors and many claimants
 Internal dissension weakens frontiers
 Dacia (modern Romania) lost
 Empire fractures into three parts 258-275
 Economic stagnation and hyperinflation
 Two tough general-emperors, Claudius Gothicus
and Aurelian, stabilized Empire
 Diocletian (284-305) created autocracy,
reformed military, bought another two centuries
for the Empire
Final Decline
 Constantine the Great (306-337)
 Legalized Christianity 313
 Theodosius I (379-395)
 The last ruler of the whole empire
 Made Christianity official 391
 Empire divided East-West 395
 Eastern Invasions
 Romulus Augustulus deposed 476
 Eastern half endures as Byzantine Empire to 1453
Roman Empire Splits, 395 A.D.
Fall of Rome
Fall of Rome
Fall of Rome
Did Anyone Try to Stop
It?
Majorianus 457-461
“The successor of Avitus presents the
welcome discovery of a great and heroic
character, such as sometimes arise, in a
degenerate age, to vindicate the honor of
the human species.” (Gibbon, Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire, Ch. 36)
Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, 1782
Edward Gibbon suggested four reasons for
fall of Rome:
“Immoderate greatness”--growth of
bureaucracy and military
Wealth and luxury
Barbarian invasions (cause or symptom?)
Spread of Christianity
Two Empires Face a
Fateful Choice
 The U.S., Northwest Ordinance - 1787
 Provided for division of new territories into
additional States
 Admission of new States incorporated into
Constitution
 Hence no distinction whatever between original
States and later States.
 Rome - 201 BCE
 Rome acquires Spain from Carthage
 Rome decides to exploit the new territories as
source of tax revenue and slaves.
Results of Rome’s ChoiCe
 Non-stop guerrilla war in Spain for over 300
years
 Rome abandons its traditional citizen army for
a permanent standing army
 Conscripted soldiers frequently became
dispossessed while serving in Spain
(Destroyed the middle class)
 Rome's erratic but real progress toward
equality reverses. Power and wealth reconcentrate in the hands of the upper class
 Soldiers become dependent on generals for
welfare and equipment
A Bit of Perspective