ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY
(but we only have three days to cover 753 years of it) a PowerPoint Presentation by
Kevin F. Keiser

First Civilization in Italy
(partying, civic-engineering, obsessedwith-death [but in a happy way]
Etruscans)

In the South, there came the Greeks
(Archaic Age… Which wave of colonization is that?

• … a strange, Indo-European people (they had been in Italy since the 16 th century B.C.) speaking the most beautiful language in the world, builds a settlement on the Tiber river…

• The city was founded by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia (a Vestal
Virgin). Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself.
The date was April
21 st , 753 B.C.

• There are indeed old huts from the mid 8 th century B.C. on the Palatine Hill, as well as
some evidence of a solemn human sacrifice.

• Roman history is divided into three basic periods:
1. The Monarchy (753 B.C. – 509 B.C.)
2. The Republic (509 B.C. – 27 B.C.)
3. The Empire (27 B.C. – 476 A.D. [1453 A.D. for the Eastern part])
KNOW THESE!

• Romulus was Rome’s first king.
• Traditionally there were seven kings of Rome.
• The last three kings were Etruscan (from the
gens [family] Tarquinius)

• In fact, there are several remnants of Etruscan influence in Rome today (civic engineering)
The Cloaca Maxima The Forum

• According to legend, the son of the last king,
Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the proud) raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia, who then killed herself
• The Romans got so angry, they deposed the king and kicked the Etruscans out of Rome
• They decided they would never have a king again; nor were they ever on friendly terms with the Etruscans again
• The date was 509 B.C.

• There are three things to talk about in the
Republic
1. Roman Republican politics
2. Roman expansion
3. The decline of the Republic

• Since the very word “king” was now disgusting to the Romans, they decided to place command in
TWO consuls, elected annually (one term)
• These were mainly military commanders
• But the main power was the Senate, a body of
300-600 (sometimes 900) persons who held office for life
• Theoretically, the Senate was consultative, but really, nothing got done without the Senate’s approval

• There was only one problem:
• There were two classes of free citizen in
Roman society:
– The patricians- wealthy landowners, with familial ties (like aristocrats)
– The plebeians- small plot farmers and laborers
• Only patricians were members of the Senate
• At first, only patricians could be consuls or any other imperium-holding officials

The Struggle of the Orders
(i.e., the long conflict by which the plebeians gained political participation)
• The plebeians asked the patricians for someone to protect their interests
• They went on military strike: no fighting if they don’t get to be in politics
• The senate created 10 tribunes of the plebs: these were officials with veto power that would make sure the patricians did not pass laws that would hurt the plebs

• The tribunes were sacrosanct: since they did not have imperium (they only had veto power), they did not get lictors, but it was a religious offense to lay a hand on them
• The plebs also pledged to kill anyone who harmed a tribune
• The plebs asked for more; soon they got their own assembly: The Council of the Plebs
• The Council of the Plebs could make laws that bound the plebeians
• That was practically worthless, so eventually they were given the right to make laws binding on anyone (though traditionally they got the approval of the Senate)

• One last major step forward: at first consuls had to be patricians.
• But after the plebs fought hard, the Senate made a law that one consul could be a plebeian
• But that was worthless: a plebeian never got elected (the consuls were chosen by a patrician group called the centuriate assembly)
• So then they passed a law: both consuls could be plebeian; one consul had to be

• In time of emergency, Rome had a law that the Senate could make both consuls step down, and a dictator could be appointed for a determinate time (usually six months)
• This was legal, but at first rare

• Rome at first was a city
• But people kept invading their land (it was very fertile)
• Roman soldier-farmers fought back… and easily won.
• They then left the enemy alone
• The enemy attacked again
• The Romans conquered them

• First, the Etruscans tried to take Rome back
• Little by little, Rome completely conquered the Southern Etruscans

509 B.C.
396 B.C.

BUT THEN, THE UNEXPECTED
HAPPENED…
• The Celts suddenly showed up, and sacked the city of Rome for three days
• This humiliated the Romans… they fled the city, but then returned after the Celts demanded and received a huge sum of gold

• But, there are two things that make the
Romans tough to beat…
• 1. They adopt and adapt: they are always making improvements to their army
• 2. They NEVER give up, even when they’re almost destroyed

• After the Celts left (and went on to attack the Antigonid and Pergamene Kingdoms), the Romans abandoned the
Greek phalanx, and developed their three-rank fighting style
• They then beat the other Latin and Indo-European tribes all around them
• Then they met the Greeks in the South

390 B.C.
290 B.C.

• The Greeks sent a general, Pyrrhus, to fight the Romans for Magna Graecia
• The Greeks brought along 20-30 elephants
(how is that possible?)
• Pyrrhus won the first two battles, but only at great cost (“pyrrhic victory”)
• The Romans won the wars (281-267 B.C.)
• Then, the Rome beat the last of the Etruscans in the North

267 B.C.
264 B.C.

But then, there was Sicily…
And Sicily belonged to Carthage
• Rome and Carthage became competitors for the Mediterranean Sea.
• They fought three wars for dominance
• These are known as the Punic Wars
• (“punicus” is Latin for “Phoenician”)

• The Phoenicians had the advantage: the
Romans are good at land fighting, but the
Phoenicians are good at naval battle
• But the Romans adopt and adapt: they steal a
Phoenician quinquereme (what’s that?) and learn to make their own navy
• But they build ramps that can connect ships, and basically turn sea battle into land battle

• Thus, the Romans won the first Punic War
• The Romans received Sicily as the terms of surrender
• Eventually, Rome claimed Corsica and Sardinia, too
• A Carthaginian general named Hamilcar got so mad, he took his son to Spain and made him swear to hate the Romans forever
• The son’s name was Hannibal
• When Hannibal grew up, he attacked the Romans in Italy with several elephants that he brought over the Alps

• The Romans saw this war as their defining moment
• Hannibal utterly destroyed the Roman army twice
(Battle of Lake Trasimene, 217 B.C. and the disastrous Battle of Cannae, 216 B.C.)
• Hannibal never attacks Rome, however
• He tries to convince the other Latin tribes to betray Rome and fight for him, but there were two things he didn’t count on
– the loyalty of the Roman allies
– the perseverance of the Romans

• Eventually, the Roman general Publius
Cornelius Scipio gathered up a new Roman army and attacked the Carthaginians in Spain
• Meanwhile, Hannibal called Carthage for help, and the Carthaginians sent reinforcements led by Hannibal’s brother,
Hasdrubal
• But the Romans got Hasdrubal first…

Hannibal looking on the head of his brother
Hasdrubal

• Eventually, Publius Cornelius Scipio attacked
North Africa (near Carthage itself)
• Hannibal had to return to defend his people
• They met at the Battle of Zama
• Publius Cornelius Scipio won, using the same tactics that Hannibal had used in Italy
Publius Cornelius Scipio
Hannibal Barca

Path of Hannibal
Path of Scipio battle

• The Romans won the Second Punic War
• Hannibal survived… he fled to Macedonia and began to help the Seleucid Kingdom in their attempt to rule over Greece.
• He was hoping Rome would become involved so that he could get revenge…
• The Romans took the bait… BUT WE WILL
HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER