C6.2 – From Republic to Empire
C6.2 - From Republic to Empire
Main Idea
Governmental and social problems led to the end of
the Roman Republic and the creation of a new form of
government.
Objectives
• What problems did leaders face in the late Roman
Republic?
• How did Rome become an empire?
• What helped tie the Roman empire together during
the Pax Romana?
I. Problems in the Late Republic
By 133 BC, Rome was the supreme power in
the Mediterranean world
I. Problems in the Late Republic
Political and social revolution began because
of tensions between social classes
A. Social Unrest
133 BC - The Gracchi, brothers Tiberius and
Gaius Gracchus, tried to resolve problems
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (c.163-133 BC)
GAIUS GRACCHUS (c.153-121 BC)
A. Social Unrest
Soldier/farmers returned from the Punic Wars
to find their homes and farms destroyed
A. Social Unrest
The Gracchi instituted public reforms such as
redistributing public land to the farmers
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
with their mother, Cornelia
A. Social Unrest
Both were elected tribunes, both were
assassinated after angering the Senate
Death of Tiberius Gracchus
by members of the Roman
Senate, 133 BC
Death of Gaius Gracchus,
121 BC
A. Social Unrest
Their deaths marked a turning point – violence,
not law, began to control politics
Cornelia Refuses the Crown of the Ptolomai The daughter of
Scipio Africanus and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus refuses the crown of the King of Egypt and his marriage proposal.
A. Social Unrest
91 BC - the Social War resulted in Rome’s
allies becoming Roman citizens
This map depicts the landscape of Italy during the period of the
Social War and portrays select sites relating to the history of Rome
B. The Military in Politics
Generals created loyal private armies and
forced the Senate to do their bidding
Gaius Marius
157– 86 BC
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
138-78 BC
B. The Military in Politics
107 BC - Gaius Marius elected consul;
eliminated army’s restrictions and enlisted
anyone
As counsel, Gaius Marius decreed that the eagle would
be the symbol of the Senate and People of Rome
B. The Military in Politics
88 BC - Sulla became consul; Marius tried to
prevent Sulla from taking military command
B. The Military in Politics
Sulla marched on Rome with his legion, won
a civil war, and became dictator
Sulla Fights his Way into Rome
II. Rome Becomes an Empire
A. The First Triumvirate
60 BC - Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey and Licinius
Crassus, formed the First Triumvirate
Julius Caesar
100 - 44 BC
Gnaeus Pompey
106 - 48 BC
Licinius Crassus
115 BC – 53 BC
A. The First Triumvirate
Crassus died; Caesar defeated Pompey in a
civil war; named dictator for life in 44 BC
Julius Caesar and the Crossing of the Rubicon
A. The First Triumvirate
44 BC - Caesar instituted popular reforms;
Fearing he wanted to be king, Senators
murdered him March 15th (the Ides of March)
The Assassination of Caesar
March 15th, 44 BC
“Beware the Ides of March”
“Et tu, Brute?”
B. The Second Triumvirate
43 BC - Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus
seized power; formed the Second Triumvirate
Octavian
63 BC - AD 14
Marc Antony
83 BC – 30 BC
Lepidus
90 BC - 13 BC
B. The Second Triumvirate
Lepidus forced out; Antony and Octavian
each governed half the empire
B. The Second Triumvirate
31 BC - Civil war between Octavian and Antony;
Octavian defeated Antony and Egypt’s Cleopatra
The Battle of Actium
B. The Second Triumvirate
Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian
controlled Rome; republic ended
Antony and Cleopatra
C. From Octavian to Augustus
Octavian called himself princeps, government
called Principate; new political order emerged –
the empire
Augustus (63 B.C. – AD 14)
First Roman Emperor
(27 BC - AD 14)
“He subjected the whole wide
earth to the rule of the
Roman people”
C. From Octavian to Augustus
27 BC - Senate gave Octavian title of Augustus,
“the revered one”
Birth name:
Gaius Octavius Thurinus
Name as Emperor:
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus
D. The Augustan Age
Ruled 40 years, power shared with Senate;
conquests expanded the empire and brought
peace
D. The Augustan Age
Life improved; period of cultural creativity,
greatest writers in Roman history – Horace,
Ovid, Livy, and Virgil
E. The Emperors
AD 14 - Augustus died; empire ruled by
Caesar’s relatives next 54 years – the JulioClaudian Emperors
E. The Emperors
Abilities varied: Tiberius - good soldier and
ruler; Caligula - brutal, mentally unstable; Nero,
last Julio-Claudian - committed suicide in AD 68
Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)
Caligula (37 to 41)
Nero (54-68 A.D.)
E. The Emperors
After Nero, civil wars raged; four military leaders
ruled in AD 69; last was Vespasian
Titus Flavius Caesar
Vespasianus Augustus
(AD 9 – AD 79
E. The Emperors
69 to 96 AD - Vespasian re-established order;
stability returned under the Flavians - Vespasian
and his two sons
The Flavian family,
Vespasian and his sons
Titus and Domitian,
depicted in The Triumph
of Titus
E. The Emperors
AD 96: reign of the Good Emperors began – five
rulers who governed Rome almost a century
The Five Good Emperors - Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian,
Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius
E. The Emperors
Empire grew under the Good Emperors;
reached limits of expansion under Trajan
Aureus issued by Trajan to
celebrate the conquest of
Parthia
E. The Emperors
Trajan added Romania, Armenia, Mesopotamia,
and the Sinai Peninsula
E. The Emperors
Hadrian thought empire too large, withdrew from
the east; built fortifications as guard against
invasions
Hadrian's Wall in
northern England
III. The Pax Romana
27 BC to AD 180 – Period of the Pax Romana:
stable government, strong legal system,
widespread trade, and peace
A. Government
Government strongest unifying force in empire:
maintained order, enforced laws, defended
frontiers
A. Government
Empire divided into provinces ruled by
governors appointed and monitored by Rome
B. Laws, Trade, Transportation
Law unified the empire; specified crimes and
penalties; applied to everyone in empire - the
“Rule of Law”
B. Laws, Trade, Transportation
Agriculture remained primary occupation;
tenant farmers began replacing slaves on large
farms
B. Laws, Trade, Transportation
Manufacturing increased; produced everything
from cheap pottery to world’s finest goods
Ancient Roman drinking vessels,
bowls and jars
Ancient glassware from the
Roman era
B. Laws, Trade, Transportation
Imported grain, meat, raw materials from
provinces; Rome and Alexandria became
commercial centers
B. Laws, Trade, Transportation
Commercial activity possible because of
empire’s location and extensive (about 50,000
mile) road network