The Roman Empire
Original Romans
•Called Latins
•Settled in Latium
•South of Tiber River in approx 1000 BC
•Founded on the 7 Hills
•Original Hill: Called Palatine Hill
•7 Hills combined to form Rome
•Influenced & met by
•Etruscans:
•Settled North of Tiber River 900 BC
•Came by sea from Asia Minor
•Established cities and began trade w/ others
•Gave Rome first Kings
•Phoenicians
•Had founded Carthage in 814 BC
•Established colonies in Western Med. Near Sicily
•Greeks
•First colonized Naples & Syracuse
•Brought Gods & Alphabet to Latins
•Strongest influence in Southern Italy
•Establishment of Rome
•753 BBC
•Fabled founder;
•Romulus & Remus
•Rome @ First dominated by Etruscans
•Last Etruscan King: Tarquin the Proud
•His son raped a Roman Woman
•No Penalty
•Roman(Latins) revolt overthrows Etruscans 509 BC
•Led by L. Junius Brutus
•& L.Tarquinius
•After this term King unacceptable to Romans
•Roman Republic Established
•509 BC-31 BC
•Begins period of constant war & conquest
•2 Classes Develop
•Patricians
•Upper Class
•@ First Dominated Government
•Plebian
•Middle Class
•Small Farmers
•Merchants Etc
•Rome’s internal history for next 3 centuries is
Of Plebeians winning reforms in Gov’t
•Third Class would be slaves but not usually mentioned as a class
Of people
Roman Government
•Leaders of Rome
•2 Consuls who were Patricians elected yearly
•Chosen by assembly called Comitia Centuriata
•Senate most important part- 300 Patricians
•Ran Gov’t & Army
•Times of Crisis
•Dictator chosen
•Max. time - 6 months
•Also elected were:
•Censors- checked on Morals of Citizens
•Praetors- Judges
•Tribunes were:
•Lawyers represented people vs praetors
•Term also used to describe Representatives of Plebians
•Dominant Governmental Body
•Senate- 300 people
•@ Beginning only Patricians Represented & selected
•@ First chosen by Consuls
•Senate had following powers
•Made Policy
•Veto Power over Consuls
•But assembly not convened regularly
•12 tables created
•450 BC
•Plebeians go on strike
•Established Basic laws for people
•By 367 BC 1 of 2 consuls must be Plebian
Religion
•Pontifex Maximus
•Head priest
•Romans Borrowed many of the Greek Gods but
Romanized their names
•***Romans were very tolerant of Conquered peoples
Keeping their own gods
•Done to maintain peaceful rule
•Philosophy of Romans
• similar to Stoic philosophy. Of Greeks
•Cicero, Seneca,, Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius saw
driving force in Universe that directed all things towards
A final good ending
•Cicero- great orator & jurist
•Took part in Caesar's assassination
•Wrote “On the Republic”
•Wrote “On Laws”
•Well liked by Romans
•Emphasized loyalty & sacrifice to state
•Wrote Individuals duty to lead proper life
•Lucretius
•Believed in Epicurician Philosophy
•Not well received by people
•Was a poet
•Literature
•Virgil
•Wrote” The Aenid”
•Story of desire on how Rome was founded
•Tacitus
•Wrote “Germania”& “The Histories”
•Books on decadence of Rome
•Law
•**12 tables of Rome (Mentioned earlier)
•450 BC
•Great Contribution to Conquered peoples &
Future Civilizations
•Family
•Education Vital to Roman way of Life
•Would decline in later years leading to fall of Rome
•Roman Army
•Consuls in command
•Professional soldiers
•Units called legions
•Finest fighting force of its era
•Rome emerges as Power of Region
•Fiercest foe was Etruscans but they were losing power in region
•Gauls from the North were also a threat but did Rome a favor
•Also defeated the Etruscans
•Rome united other Cities under The Latin league
•Gauls after defeating Etruscans attack Rome
•390 BC Gauls sack Rome
•Gauls accept bribe and leave Rome
•Though Rome fell to Gauls Etruscans much more
devastated and Romans conquer Etruscans after Gauls leave
•Latin League members decide Rome to powerful:
•attempt to revolt
•Rome wins war 340-338 BC
•295 BC- Samnites oppose Rome
•Defeated by Romans 295 BC @ battle of Sentium
•This victory allows Rome to rule Supreme over all Italy
Except for Southern Italy
•Southern Italy occupied by Greeks
•They appeal to King Pyrrhus of Epirus Greece
•He defeats Romans twice but….
•Rome defeats Pyrrhus @ Battle of Beneventum in 275BC
•The Punic Wars
•Rome’s only remaining rival was Phoenician colony of…:
•Carthage
•Carthage was a great sea power
•Thus they closed trade routes to the Romans
•War begins in 264 BC
•There will be three Punic Wars
• First Punic War 264-241 BC
•Rome develops gang plank method of fighting
•Rome wins Corsica. Sardinia, & Sicily
•General of Carthage, Hamicileau hates Rome
And teaches his son to do the same, son’s name
Hannibal
• Second Punic war 218-201 BC
•Hannibal attacks Italy
•Amazing story of Hannibal crossing Alps
•He stays in Italy 15 years wreaking destruction but…..
•No siege machinery so only attacks country side, not cities
•Romans show stern devotion to Republic & do not falter
•With stand attacks and defeat Hannibal @ Battle of
Zama (Not Zima) in 202 BC in Africa
•Carthage now stripped of fleet and most power
•Third Punic war 149-146 BC
•Rome attacks Carthage and destroys the city
•Rome now dominant power of civilized world
•Other regions soon fall
•Upper Italy
•Sicily
•Spain
•Macedonia
•Greece
•Asia Minor
•Roman Empire will go as far west as Britannia
•Rome begins to be intoxicated by Power
•Most conquered lands now ruled by proconsuls
•Ruled like despots, amassing great fortunes
•Taxed conquered people heavily
•Also tax collectors (Publicans) gained wealth by
Over taxing conquered people
•Wealth pores into Rome but only to select few
•Moral declines, corruption rises
•Poor line the streets of Rome
• Reformers arose
•133 Gracchi Brothers rise to power
•Become champions of the people
•Tiberus elected tribune 133BC
•Attempted to limit land wealth
•Tried to give land to the poor
•Expanded citizenship to defeated people
•Driven to suicide by his foes
•Gaius Gracchus assumes power after brother dies
•Elected tribune but murdered 121 BC
• Hope to save the Republic dies with Gaius death
•Marks a Century of Civil War which ends in…
•…Establishment of the Roman Empire
•First to lead Rome
•Gauis Marius, general but also a reformer
• Elected Consul w/out an army
•Hero of battle of Jugurtha in North Africa
•Raised a private army to defeat rebels
•Important because ended tradition of….
•Citizen Army, dangerous break with tradition
•Also defeated Germanic tribes102BC
•After defeating them allowed them limited citizenship
•Why?……
•Elected Consul 6 straight times
•Which was against Roman law
•Beginning of Roman institutions falling
•Rebellion against Marius led by
•Sulla who marched his troops on Rome 83-79 BC
•Anti-democratic period backed by his army
•First time Rome invaded by a Roman army
•Names himself “Perpetual dictator”
•Transferred power from people to Senate
•Roman Senate to weak & corrupt to hold power
•Death of Marius leaves Republicans & Aristocrats vying for power
•Power falls to First Triumvirate in 60 BC
•Pompey
•Crassus
•Caesar
• Three Generals divide the power to rule Rome
•Caesar attacks Gaul
•Crassus will die in battle
•Remember this name
•Slave revolt led by Spartacus
•Pompey wants sole power in Rome 49 BC
•Caesar crowned leader
•Pompey flees to Egypt murdered in 48 BC
•48 BC Caesar meets Cleopatra
•They have a son
•47 BC “Veni, Vidi, Vici”
•45 BC Caesar Returns to Rome Absolute Ruler
•44 BC Murdered by Brutus & Canius
•“Et Tu Brutus”
•Caesar Contributions
•Julian Calendar
•Literature Flourished
•Paved roads
•All roads led to Rome
•Apian Way
•Aqueducts
•Bridges
•Roman Citizenship granted to all men in empire
•Law levied equally to all men
• Second triumvirate
•Octavian ( Caesar’s grand nephew)
•Marc Antony
•Lepidius
• Antony takes Cleopatra as lover (was Caesar’s best friend)
•Sets her up as Monarch of east
•This is a threat to Rome so…..
•Octacian given directive to defeat them
•Battle of Actium
•Marc Antony &Cleopatra commit suicide
•Entire Empire under Octavian rule
•Becomes known as Augustus Caesar
•Greatest of Roman rulers
•Growth of Christianity
•Period of peace & Prosperity: Pax Romana
•Lasted 200 years
•But National Character was decaying
•Laws allowing vices passed
•Importance of family decaying
•Following of religion was disappearing
•Corruption in Government increasing
• Poor Emperors followed Augustus Caesar
•Tiberus follows step father 14-37 AD
•Capable but Unpopular ruler
• Mad Caligula 37-41 AD
•Killed by his own officers because he was so bad a ruler
• Claudius 41-54 AD
•His generals conquered England
•Nero 54-68 AD
•Murdered his wife & mother
•Watched as Rome burned playing his fiddle
•Last of the Augustus rulers
• After Nero’s death 2 years of Civil War
•Vespasian 69-79 AD stabilizes gov’t
•Domitian follows and Conquers rest of Britian
•Very Cruel
•Considered insane
•Murdered for his cruelities by Roman senators
• Following Domitian comes the 5 Good Emperors
•Nerva 96-98 AD
•Trajan 98-117 AD
• Spread the Empire to its greatest extent
•Hadrian 117- 138 AD
•Hadrians wall built in Great Britian
•Antoninus Pius 138- 161 AD
•Marcus Aurelius 161-180 AD
•Good emperor and Stoic philosopher
• Decline and fall of Roman Empire
•180- 284 Rome will have 27 Emperors
•Diocletian stabilizes Rome
•First to begin dividing empire into East & West
• Constantine moves capital of Rome to….
•Byzantium renames it Constantinople
•Beginning of Byzantine Empire & collapse of Roman
•Northern Barbarians begin to invade and plunder Rome
•Goths
•Huns
•Lombards
•Vandals
•The last ruler of Rome was….
•Romulus Augustulus deposed in 476 AD
• The Roman Empire now at an end
•Byzantine Empire would takes it’s place
• and the…….
• Beginning of the Dark/ Middle Ages