Western Civilization
Chapter 5
Origins
• Rome, as a dominant force in the
Mediterranean, owed much to both
geographical features and human resources
• Geographical features:
– Located in the middle of Mediterranean region
– Had productive farmland
– Had mineral deposits and good timber
– Had mild climate – good for agriculture
• Background:
– 2000 B.C., Italy experienced invasions of IndoEuropeans who brought with them
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technical skills
effective military
political skills
language that was basis for Latin
• The culture of the Greek city-states in southern
Italy and Sicily spread north
• Etruscans, who were migrants from Asia Minor
settling in Northern Italy near the Tiber River,
proved to be a major influence
• Etruscans had
– technical skills
-- economic trade practices
– political techniques -- religious ideas
– an alphabet, architecture (arch), sculpture, and Latin
Etruscan Territory
• Near the mouth of the Tiber River were the
villages that were to become Rome
• It was a settling place for herder farmers
• The area was called Latium with the villages
arranged around the 7 Palantine Hillls
• Soon after 600B.C., the villages were united as
one city-state by Etruscan warlord
• A single government led by a king
7 Palantine Hills
• King had advisors:
– Senate who were wealthy heads of families
– Freemen who were the bulk of citizen body
formed 2 assemblies
• Curiae
• Centuries
• The city’s population was divided into 2
classes
– Patricians who were the upper class and had great
influence
– Plebeians who were the ordinary folk
Plebeians were usually known as clients.
Patricians acted as their patrons offering legal
protection, material assistance, jobs, political
direction. They acted as patriarchs.
Patrician and Plebeian
• Romans didn’t like Etruscan power and
challenged them
• Etruscans were also having trouble with Greeks
and Carthaginians
• Instability resulted
• Romans were able to dethrone the Etruscan king
• In his place were 2 patrician consuls elected
annually
• This marked the beginning of the Roman
Republic, 509 B.C.
Early Roman Republic, 509 – 265 B.C.
• Struggled at first
• Rome asked other cities in the area of Latium for
cooperation and formed the Latin League
• The Latin League fought more battles with the
Etruscans
• Gaul then sacked Rome and Rome had to pay
them tribute until 295 B.C. when Rome crushed
Gaul
• Rome came to dominate the Latin League and
took control of it
• Rome began to spread out and establish
dominance in Italy
• They fought the Samnites, the Gauls, and the
Etruscans
• Afterwards, they fought the Greeks to the south
• Rome was quickly becoming a world power
– had military organization
– enlightened treatment of those conquered
– established and deepened the loyalty of citizens
• Military
– known as Roman Legion
– citizen army
– masses of well-armed infantry soldiers who
showed flexibility and independence of action
when needed
– formidable and tough to beat
Roman Legion
• Treatment of those conquered
– extended outright citizenship to many, especially
in Latium
– others in organized city-states were partial citizens
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had the right to trade
had the right to marry Roman citizens
could not participate in Roman politics
owed financial and military obligations to Rome
could continue to govern themselves in most matters
– Allies
• lived a little further out in conquered territory
• had local independence
• had no control over foreign affairs
• had financial and military obligations to Rome
• assumed that at some point they could become full citizens
Most conquered peoples still had a considerable degree of
independence but were tied to Rome through taxes and the
military. Most received the promise of future citizenship
Their actions promoted allegiance and loyalty
Struggle of Orders
• Two centuries after the start of the Republic,
there was the “Struggle of Orders”, a conflict
between Patricians and Plebeians
• The Patrician oligarchy was under constant
pressure to give Plebeians more voice in
government
• Plebs began to organize in response to
Patrician control
• Plebeians gained power gradually – mostly
through threats and strikes
• They threatened to secede, and they
threatened not to act as soldiers
• Each crisis was followed by bargaining and
compromises
• Plebeians eventually won important victories
• 494 B.C. – plebeians gained the right to elect
officials called Tribunes who had veto power
• Tribunes had protection: anyone harming a
tribune could be killed without trial
• A new plebeian assembly developed called
The Assembly of Tribes
• 450 B.C. – written law called the Twelve Tables
was passed
– It codified ancient custom
– It protected ordinary citizens from arbitrary decisions
by patricians judges
– It covered private, criminal, sacred, and public matters
Other laws were enacted to protect debtors, to permit
intermarriage of patricians to plebeians, limit
patrician control of land, encourage colonizing, and
give land grants to the poor
• By 367 B.C., elective offices were gradually
opened to plebeians, and they were allowed
to become consuls
• By 287 B.C., decisions of pleb council were
binding on all citizens, patrician and plebeian
alike
• By 265 B.C., Rome was theoretically governed
by the decisions of a total citizen body acting
through its assemblies
• By 265 B.C., the Roman Republic was
outwardly a democracy, but it was still
dominated by a wealthy landed aristocracy,
still largely hereditary
• Patricians still managed the elections and
manipulated the Assemblies through the
client system -- making deals for votes
Punic Wars
• By 265 B.C. Rome was a major world power
• It was fighting wars of expansion throughout
the Mediterranean world
• Their next opponent was Carthage, a thriving
commercial empire
• They were drawn into war over Sicily
• Carthage tried to defend the Greek city-state,
Messina from another Greek city-state,
Syracuse
Carthage
Sicily
• Rome intervened to keep Carthage from
getting too close to their Republic
• The result was the First Punic War (264-241
B.C.)
– With help from the Greeks Rome won
Carthaginian seaports and control of the waters
around Sicily
– Treaty in 241 B.C. named Rome the victor
– Rome gained Sicily and a monetary payment from
Carthage for war expenses
• After the war, Carthage tried to rebuild its
strength by conquering Spain
• Rome was unaware for a time but then
learned of Carthaginian actions when
Carthage tried to take over a Spanish city that
was a Roman ally
• This led to the Second Punic War (218201B.C.)
• In this war Rome faced Hannibal who hated Rome
• Hannibal brought his troops into Italy by a
northern route through the Alps; enemies of
Rome joined in
• Rome was taken unaware
• Beginning in 218 B.C. Rome challenged Hannibal
and were defeated again and again
• Rome knew it couldn’t win in a direct battle, so
they settled for harassing his troops
• Hannibal was in Italy for 15 years
Hannibal
• Hannibal failed to totally defeat Rome
• In 205 B.C. the Roman , Scipio Africanus was sent to
Carthage to defeat the Carthaginians
• Hannibal was recalled to help
• Rome defeated Carthage at Zama in 202 B.C.
• Treaty: Spain went to Rome
No Carthaginian navy allowed
Carthage received a heavy fine
Carthage could not wage war outside of
Africa without first getting permission from
Rome
• Carthage became a minor power
• Rome was dominant in the western
Mediterranean
• Carthage continued to haunt Rome; they were
afraid it would rise again
• Out of fear and vengeance and under the
pretense of a treaty violation, Rome attacked
Carthage in the Third Punic War (149-146
B.C.)
• It was a slaughter
• Carthage was completely destroyed in 146
B.C.
• They then threw salt on Carthaginian soil, so it
would never rise again
By 146 B.C. the Roman Republic controlled the
whole rim of the Mediterranean
Ruins of Carthage
The Romans
• Romans became more and more familiar with
Hellenistic culture as they took over more of
Alexander’s empire
• Rome was still Roman
• Rome was created by very practical, realistic,
down-to-earth farmers and soldiers
• Typical farmer worked a small farm, not a
great estate
• Farmers raised grain, beans, and hogs for his
family to consume
• They raised olives and grapes as a cash crop
• They just squeaked by
• These farmers were also the ones who
became soldiers
– They would plant and go off and fight
– They returned home to harvest crops
• Most soldiers were foot soldiers
• There was also a cavalry -- elite equestrians
(equus is Latin for horse)
• The Infantry
– Main fighting force
– Used Greek phalanx idea for the Legion
– 30 companies of 120 soldiers each, lined up in 3
rows
– Used javelins & short swords
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Great discipline and a chain of command
Constant training and preparation
Also used a catapult and built bridges as needed
If soldiers were victorious, they were allowed to kill
everyone of the enemy and then pillage
Booty was then distributed among all of the Legion
As fighting became more international and soldiers
were far away from home, they could no longer farm
As a result, many lost their farms to great estates
Without land, their sons were excluded from the
military
• Before 250 B.C., Romans had little interest in
cultural life
• They were occupied with war, politics, and
making a living
• Basic Roman Outlook:
– Family life was close-knit and patriarchal with respect
for authority
– Agriculture made them realistic and practical
– Warfare created a sense of duty to home & country
– Religion : felt unseen spirits were in control
• Romans borrowed Greek mythology and just
renamed the gods
• Roman religion was formal and unemotional
All this made Romans sensible, unemotional,
hardworking, disciplined, and practical
people
Roman Family
• The father was the master of the family
– He was called the paterfamilias
– Had authority over the wife, the children , and any
slaves
– Upon his death, authority passed to his son
– Male dominated world
– The girl became the responsibility of her husband
and his family upon marriage
– The man could divorce his wife easily: he returned
her and her dowry to her father
– Women were in charge of the moral education of
her children
– She was in charge of the household
– It was the father who decided if a child would live
or be left out to exposure to die
• Defective child
• Too many kids already
• unwanted
• Abandoned children could be adopted by
others and/or sold as slaves
• Often if these children lived, they would be
slaves or prostitutes
• If a family had no son, it could adopt one who
would have the same legal rights as the other
children in the family
• Slaves were present in Rome -- treated well
or not
The House
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Domus
Center of everyday life
Simple low building
No outside windows ( protected from dust and
noise)
• Rooms arranged around an atrium, an open
courtyard – provided sunlight
• Collecting pools for rain water under the opening
Roman House
• House was decorated with busts in niches of
the walls and with wall paintings
Women
• As the boundaries of the Roman Republic
expanded, some women began to take a more
active role in public life
• Some escaped the authority of their husbands
• Fewer fathers handed over authority to new
husband
• The daughter, in that case, would remain under
her father’s authority until he died; then the
woman would be independent of male authority
• She would then manage her own affairs
without asking her husband for permission
• Women at this time were not legally related ti
their children and not fully part of the
husband’s family
• They had sealed alliances with men
• Fathers could force daughters to divorce in
order to make a better alliance for her family
• Divorce was commonplace in 2nd century B.C.
• As the wealth of the Roman Republic
increased, so did the wealth of some
individuals who would make their homes and
family members more elegant
• Some lived well
• Some had no homes at all
• Housing was a problem
• There were multi-storied apartment buildings
• They were a fire danger because they were
made of wood
• Buildings were cramped
• Rooms were 10 ft. square
• There would be wealthy home, poor
apartment buildings, and shopkeepers all
crowded into the same area
• This proximity could bring friction
Roman Religion
• Polytheistic
• A god for every aspect of life
• The Roman love of order and authority was
reflected in their religion
• Priests were public office holders and
members of the elite
• Romans absorbed Etruscan and Greek gods
into their religion
• Religion was not about a personal relationship
with the gods; it was a state activity that held
society together
• Cults developed – some accepted by the state
and some not
– The Cult of Bacchus was seen as a threat to
traditional Roman values with its orgies and
drinking
Bacchus
Bacchus and Ariadne
Roman Letters
• Romans absorbed the alphabet of the
Etruscans
• They also adopted and adapted Greek culture
when their boundaries spread into the
Hellenistic world
• Romans modeled their writing after the Greek
• This began a cultural revolution in Rome
• This revolution was influenced heavily by the
Greeks in 5 ways:
– Adoption of a new educational system
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Formerly males were taught at home
Greek tutors stepped in
Private schools were built
Grammar and rhetoric were taught
– Romans imitated Greek writers by writing
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Epic poems
Dramas
Histories
philosophies
– Romans produced copies of Greek art
– Romans borrowed and then added to the Greek
style of architecture
– Romans were chiefly touched by Greek religion,
especially mystery cults
• Warring had left Romans intellectually and emotionally
lost
• Greek religion offered more emotional satisfaction,
especially the mystery cults
Romans borrowed from the Greeks and then made Greek
culture their own by adding to it to suit themselves
• Law
– Very important to the Romans
– First codified with the Twelve Tables
– Scholars studied law and advised judges
– Unified code of law meant exercising authority
more uniformly and effectively
– Law was consistent but flexible
– It had to serve the needs of all men and women
Romans as Spreaders of Culture
• Romans largest achievement was their talent
for spreading culture to all in their realm
• This later influenced the culture of the West
• Roman soldiers, merchants, and officials were
instrumental in the spread of culture
• The study of grammar, rhetoric, literature, and
philosophy established common ideas and
tastes in the Empire
• Rome encouraged artistic and intellectual
talents
• Latin influenced languages to come: French,
Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish – the
Romance languages
• Not all liked moving toward Greek ways
• They thought they were moving away from
Roman traditions of simplicity and frugality
• Others felt personal ambition and greed
undermining their way of government
• Some saw Rome’s success due to its
authoritarianism
• Others saw success stemming from its ability
to adapt
• They had also been successful in their
treatment of those conquered, giving them a
stake in the Republic
• Older senators weren’t willing to change and
give more participation to the people
conquered
• The result was a hundred years of conflict and
civil war that finally destroyed the Republic
(133 – 31 B.C.)
• Certain problems emerged by 133 B.C. that
were dangerous to the survival of the Republic
5 Major problems
• There were new and extensive frontiers to be
protected and conquered people to be
governed
– The system to govern proved inadequate
– The conquered were no longer given the promise
of citizenship
– They had no stake in Rome; they were subjects to
be exploited
– Governing power was given to the military and
governors
– Publicans or tax collectors exploited the people
– They gave what they had to to Rome and kept the
rest for themselves
– The citizen army wasn’t prepared to defend such
long borders
• Rome’s allies were not rewarded as promised for
their aid and loyalty during times of war, and they
became rebellious in 125 B.C. and again from 91 89 B.C.
• Rome’s economy was subjected to major strains
and changes
– Most of the wealth was in the hands of the few
– Farming became unprofitable because of imports, the
use of slaves, & devastated land after Hannibal’s
attacks
– Trade and manufacturing became important to
the economy
– There were changes in the economic order
• Small farmers lost their land and became
tenant farmers forced to compete with slaves
for work
– Others moved to the cities
– Economic conditions improved for those who
learned a skill
– Some became the proletariat, rootless and
restless people with the rights of citizens, but no
jobs; some sold their votes in the assemblies
– New social class, the equites ( wealthy
businessmen)
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Military suppliers
Large-scale traders
Bankers, moneylenders
Wanted more power in government
• New Ideologies, Hellenistic influences
– Mystery religions
– Taste for luxury items from Greece, ex.: couches
– Higher tolerance for violence and arrogance
because of military ventures
– Less willing to follow set moral standards
– Didn’t want to continue the rustic simplicity of life
before
Party Struggles, 133 – 79 B.C.
• Struggle for power in government: optimates
vs. populares
– Optimates: ruling nobility, oligarchy who believed
political decisions should be made by the Senate
(elected from nobles)
– Populares: “the people” felt citizens should have
an important role in decision making
Two brothers led the populares at different times:
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus
• The Gracchus brothers were concerned with
the plight of the small farmer and the urban
poor
• Tiberius was elected Tribune in 133 B.C. and
proposed a new land law to help those people
– No one could have more than 312 acres of public
land
– Land recovered through this law was to be given
to the landless poor
• The law was not supported by Senate
• To get law passed, Tiberius by-passed the
Senate and took it to the Plebeian Assembly
whose decisions were binding on all since 287
B.C.
• The law passed but the Senate was angry and
wouldn’t give the law funding
• Tiberius got money from provinces
• The Senate was really angry now
• Senate charged Tiberius was trying to be a
dictator
• They had Tiberius killed plus 300 of his
followers
• After his death, the law was carried out
• Gaius Gracchus followed in 122 B.C. as Tribune
• He got the Assembly of Tribes to:
– ass new land laws
– give cheap grain to the masses
– establish colonies for resettlement of poor
Romans
– extend the political privileges to Italian Allies
– give equestrians the right to investigate provincial
corruption
• There were Senatorial objections and violence
broke out
• Senate said the state was in danger and had
Gaius killed plus 3,000 of his followers
• This was the beginning of a precedent: Senate
used violence to remove opposition
Gaius Marius
• In 111 B.C. a new leader of the populares
emerged: Gaius Marius
• He
– wasn’t a nobleman
– had great military talent
– ran for Consul (108 B.C.) saying the Senate was
incompetent and corrupt and won
– was given command of an army
• ignored property qualification and enlisted landless,
poor peasants and had state outfit them
• had the backing of his army
• By 100 B.C., he was elected Consul for the 6th
time and proposed many reforms – similar to
the Gracchus brothers
• He wanted to reward soldiers for their service
by giving them land
• He later became a tool of the Senate; they
began to manipulate him
Sulla
• Emerged as leader by 88 B.C. after defeating
the king of Pontius in Asia Minor
• Sulla returned to Rome to find the Senate
under the thumb of the populares
• He and his soldiers re-established the old
order
• Sulla got rid of Marius’ followers and
proclaimed himself dictator (r. 82 – 79 B.C.)
• He executed thousands of Marius’ followers
and put the populares in their place
• Sulla doubled the size of the Senate giving
new seats to equites and upper class Italians
• He restored the power of the Senate and the
retired in 79 B.C.
• This reflected a reliance on force
Era of Strong Men, 79-49 B.C.
• Senate was weak after Sulla’s retirement and
had many governing problems
• This culminated in a series of revolts in Italy,
Spain, and threats from pirates on the seas
• To stop the revolts and threats, the Senate
relied on forceful men: Pompey and Crassus
• Pompey won the favor of the populares by
doing away with Sulla’s restrictions on them
Pompey
• Pompey:
– given a military command
– secured Roman rule in Asia Minor
– proved to be a genius at administering to the
provinces
Crassus
Julius Caesar
• Crassus and Julius Caesar were fearful of
Pompey’s power and so rose to power
themselves to keep an eye on him
• Julius Caesar:
– patrician
– supporter of Marius and populares cause
– orator
– political manipulator
– great ambition
• Crassus and Julius Caesar wanted to challenge
Pompey’s power by having armies of their
own
• This was resisted by the Senate
• Pompey disbanded his army in 62 B.C. and
wanted their loyalty rewarded
• Senate refused Pompey
• Senate limited the power of tax
collectors(Crassus got money from them)
• So there were 3 disgruntled men:
– Julius Caesar could not have an army
– Pompey was unable to get a reward for his
soldiers
– Crassus could no longer get much money from tax
collectors
They joined together to form the First Triumverate
They said they’d support each other, so each could
get what he wanted
• Caesar was elected Consul and said he’d work
for the other two
• He then took an army to Gaul and worked for
himself
• Caesar spent time building up his own power
backed by a loyal army
• The longer he was in Gaul, the weaker the
Triumverate got
• Crassus was killed in 53 B.C. while leading his
army in Syria
• Pompey then challenged Caesar for power
with backing from the Senate
• 49 B.C. the Senate wanted to strip Caesar of
his power and order him home
• Caesar rebelled and led his men across the
Rubicon River in northern Italy and plunged
Italy into civil war
One Man Rule: Julius Caesar
(49-44 B.C.)
• Caesar won in Italy and then defeated Pompey
in northern Gaul
• Pompey retreated to Egypt where he was
murdered
• Caesar followed Pompey to Egypt and became
involved in Egyptian politics when he became
Cleopatra’s lover
• He then helped her seize power from her
brother/husband Ptolemy XII
Cleopatra
• Caesar then hunted down Pompey’s followers
until 45 B.C.
• When Caesar returned to Rome, he was Master
of the Roman World
• He declared himself dictator in 44 B.C. and took
control of:
– finances
– provincial administration
– military forces
All former jobs of the Senate
• He did try to solve some of Rome’s problems:
debt regulation, people on the dole, and
violence
• Declaring himself dictator was too much for
the Senators
• The Senate with the help of Cassius and
Brutus had Julius Caesar killed on the Ides of
March (15 march), stabbed during a meeting
of the Senate
Ides of March
Returned Rome to Civil War
Struggle for Succession,
44 – 31 B.C.
• Two candidates emerged to take Caesar’s place:
Mark Antony ( Caesar’s military commander) and
Octavian (Caesar’s grand nephew and adopted
son)
• The Senate was concerned about Antony and his
army, so they supported Octavian
• When Octavian realized he was being used by the
Senate, he joined with Antony and Lepidus to
form the Second Triumverate, dedicated to
punishing Caesar’s murderers
• The Triumverate was given power to rule
Rome, but each was planning to get rid of the
other two
• Antony went east to reestablish control over
the provinces and became involved with
Cleopatra
• This brought about his downfall
• Antony married her and Rome was afraid he
would pass power to her offspring
Mark Antony
• Octavian worked to establish a solid hold in Italy
and points west
• He eliminated Lepidus whose troops abandoned
him . He retired in obscurity
• Octavian tried to secure land for veterans and to
root out anti-Caesar forces in the west
• Octavian met Antony at Actium and fought in 31
B.C.
• Antony lost and he and Cleopatra committed
suicide
• Octavian then ruled supreme in Rome by 29
B.C.
• Even though there were political problems in
the Late Republic, it was economically
prosperous
• Wealth poured in from the provinces
• There were profits from trade
• Rome was dependent on the money from the
provinces
• Agriculture was still the backbone of the
Italian economy
– Small farmers worked to make ends meet
– Urban poor was being resettled on land outside of
Rome
– Large estates grew cash crops and prospered. This
was the chief basis of wealth for the Roman
aristocracy