Roman Republic
Tara Madsen
Background
Italy is a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean
Sea… it began along the banks of the Tiber River.
• During the time span of 1500 to 1000 BCE, people began
moving into the Italian peninsula from the north… by 800
BCE they had set up small villages on 7 hills along the Tiber.
• Around 650 BCE, Etruscans moved in from the north and
seized control over central Italy… they turned the 7 villages
into Rome… The Etruscan state was a Monarchy and in 509
BCE, the Romans overthrew the Etruscan king.
• Romans consider that the beginning of their nation.
The Government of Rome
•
Instead of a monarchy, the Romans set up a republic… this is where
citizens elect representatives to govern… this is different from the
democracy that Athens developed… In Athens, citizens voted
directly…
• At first, patricians decided who would govern Rome… These were
wealthy land owners and were the most important social class in
the Republic.
• The small land owners, farmers, craft workers, and merchants were
known as plebeians… they had little say in the government.
• Most of Roman history involves a clash between these two entities
for power of the government.
• The government was headed by two consuls… until 300 BCE this
position was only open to patricians…
• Consuls issued laws and orders and they could veto each others
decisions.
• They did not have to send their laws to the Senate, although if
they wanted to, they could.
• The job of the Senate was to carry out the laws established by
the Consuls… Patricians made up the Senate.
• In 471 BCE, the Plebeians set up their own assembly known as
the Council of Plebs… they passed laws for Plebeians and by 409
BCE they had gained the right to hold public office.
• Finally, after 287 BCE, the Assembly of the People… including all
male citizens… made laws that all Romans had to obey.
1. Consul… 2 elected citizens… until 300 BCE only patricians.
Issued laws/orders, vetoed, commanded army.
2. Dictator… appointed by the consuls and Senate, held
power for 6 months… ruled during an emergency… had
complete power.
3. Praetor… six elected male citizens… second in power to the
consuls… judge in civil cases.
4. Senate… around 300 members, mostly Patricians… advises
consuls and sees that their laws are carried out.
5. Centuriate Assembly… Army of Rome, Patrician majority…
elect consuls and praetors, pass laws.
6. Council of the Plebs… all male plebeians… elect 10 tribunes
to represent Pleb issues, pass laws for Plebs, after 287 BCE,
pass laws for all Romans.
7. Assembly of the People… All male citizens of Rome… only
proposed laws until 287, then they passed them for all
Romans.
The Roman Army on March
• The Romans gradually extended their control over Italy and the
Mediterranean… by 261 BCE, they controlled the whole peninsula
and by 146 BCE, they had made it all the way to Spain.
• By 44 BCE, Rome controlled the whole Mediterranean
• Three Pu8nic Wars were fought between Rome and Carthage…
Carthage was an important trading rival in North Africa… because
they were colonizing areas of the Mediterranean, Rome felt
threatened.
• They first attacked Carthage’s colony in Sicily. After 23 years of war,
Rome defeated Carthage and took Sicily… because of these wars,
Rome also controlled areas in N. Africa.
• 25 years after the first Punic War, the Carthaginian general, Hannibal,
invaded Italy… he decided that a land attack was the most unexpected
battle strategy.
• He carried 46,000 soldiers, horses, and battle elephants to Spain… then he
marched his army across the Alps to face Rome. By the end of the battle,
Rome had lose 40,000 men and the rest retreated.
• Roman generals put together an army and invaded Spain, they defeated
the Carthaginian colonies and then sailed to N. Africa to defeat Carthage
itself.
• Rome won
• In 149 BCE, a third war broke out between Rome and Carthage… Rome
destroyed and burned Carthage so that it could never threaten Rome
again.
• The area was renamed Africa and became another Roman providence.
Reasons for Rome’s Success
Rome used force and diplomacy in gaining control of the
Mediterranean… the Roman Confederation set up a series of
alliances between Rome and city states… they received benefits
and Rome received loyalties.
1.
Rome ended the rivalry among city states on the peninsula,
bringing a period of peace and prosperity.
2.
Rome granted citizenship to member city states and gave them
privileges.
3.
Member city states were granted trading rights with Rome, and
roads were built that helped the spread of trade.
4.
Member city states provided soldiers for support in return.
QUICK QUESTIONS
• How was Rome founded?
• How was the government of the Roman Republic
organized?
• How did the Republic gain control of the
Mediterranean region?
• Why was Rome able to keep the territory it
conquered?
Politics and Society
• Over time, the government of the republic
changed… plebeians gained right, although the
did not amount to much.
• The Senate was full of wealthy aristocrats and
they held most of the power… Reformers
attempted help the poor but they had little
support from the Senate.
• This led to a series of civil wars between 82 and
31 BCE.
Rise of an Empire
•
In 60, BCE: three rival forces joined together… Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus (richest
man in Rome)… They formed the first Triumvirate.
•
They then had Caesar elected as consul.
•
They split up armies and took them into three different regions… in 53 BCE, Crassus was
killed in battle… Pompey then turned on Caesar and tried to have the Senate force him out
of power.
•
Caesar and his army had just fought and won much of Gaul (France) and instead of
returning home alone… he brought his army. (this was a no no)
•
Once they crossed the Rubicon (River) they were in Rome and thus marching on Rome…
Civil war broke out between Pompey’s men and Caesar’s men
•
Caesar defeated Pompey and became dictator in 45 BCE.
•
Caesar made many reforms: took land from wealthy and gave it to veterans; put the jobless
to work on building projects; enlarged the Senate to 900 members… a group of angry
Senators ended up stabbing him to death in the Senate House in 44 BCE.
The Second Triumvirate
•
Allies of Caesar formed the Second Triumvirate: Caesar’s nephew…
Octavian, Caesar’s right hand man… Mark Antony, and Lepidus.
• It lasted only a short time… by 37 BCE, Octavian and Antony had
defeated Lepidus… they split the Roman territory into two regions
(East and West)
• There was no peace between these two… they constantly fought.
Mark Antony resided in Egypt (part of his territory) and befriended
Cleopatra (who Julius Caesar had also befriended).
• Octavian defeated Mark Antony and named himself Caesar… his
name became Caesar Augustus… the year 31 BCE marks the end of
the republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
• The senate would never again be powerful .
Expansion and Peace
•
Under Augustus, and later emperors, Rome expanded its borders.
• Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE) added Britain to the Empire… he also
granted Roman citizenship to people of the Roman providences… The
empire reached its largest stage under Emperor Trajan (98-117 CE)
• One of the greatest achievements of the Roman Empire was the Pax
Romana… 100 years of peace and prosperity… it began in 96 CE, Under
Emperor Nerva and ended under Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 CE.
• During this time, people, trade goods, and ideas moved freely
throughout the empire’s trading network… the period ended with civil
war and then experienced on and off civil war for the next 300 years.
• One of the most lasting achievements of the Roman’s was their law
code.. l. people are innocent until proven guilty 2. people may defend
themselves before a judge.
Achievements of the Romans
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dome
First to use concrete for large buildings
Improved design of Etruscan Arch
Improved Greek design for columns
Aqueduct (Bridge that carries water)
Infrastructure (roads and bridges)
Roman Society and Culture
• Under the Republic, the father and husband had compete authority over
the family… over time women gained more freedom.
• Upper class children were taught to read and right… in addition boys
learned Roman law… for girls, education ended when they were married.
• Most girls married btw 12-14… boys could marry at 14 but were normally
older.
• Romans enslaved people that they captured in war and used them as
entertainment… they would train them as gladiators and then watch them
fight to the death.
• Most slaves however, would work on farms or public building projects…
Romans borrowed much from Greek culture… Example: Roman Historian
Livy wrote the Aeneid to give the Romans an Epic like the Odyssey or Iliad.
Quick Questions
• What caused the end of the Roman Republic
and the rise of the Empire?
• What kind of rulers were the Roman
emperors?
• What was Roman life like during the Empire?
The Fall of the Roman Empire
• The decline and fall of the Roman Empire in the west took
place over a long period of time… it was more of a gradual
loss of power.
• There are four main causes that could have led to the
ultimate demise of the Roman Empire… these include but
are not limited to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Economic Causes
Social Causes
Political Causes
Military Causes
Economic Causes
•
As the Roman Empire expanded, so did its expenses… To pay for these
expenses, Roman leaders had to raise taxes.
• The plague spread throughout the empire killing people, so there were less
people to pay taxes.
• Small farmers lost their lands when they could not pay their taxes, so they
moved into the city… ultimately the emperors had to give them free food to
keep them from rebelling.
• The practice of giving food and entertainment bacame known as “Bread and
Circuses”
• Because the government did not have extra funds to give out the food they
were distributing, they had to raise taxes again, causing more farmers to
lose their farms… and the cycle continued.
Social Causes
• Loyalty and duty to one another and to the government
had always been two important values to the Republic.
• Over centuries, these values became less important.
• Example: Roman army had once been made of of citizen
solders… after the 200s many soldiers were non-Romans
(they worked for pay not for loyalty)
• The Patrician class became extremely wealthy due to
trade… over time they became less interested in political
life and more interested in making money.
Political Causes
• By the time of Emperoro Diocletian, the Empire had become too large to rule
efficiently.
• In 293 CE, he divided it into an Eastern and Western Empire, and then he decided
to run the Eastern portion.
• Constantine succeeded him in 312 CE, and by 324 he had become the sole ruler…
he did not rule from Rome, he built a new capital in what is present day Turkey.
• The new capital was named, Constantinople. It became the gateway to trade with
Asia. The Eastern part of the Empire became very wealthy, while the Western side
slowly became weak and poor.
• Civil war also reeked havoc in the Roman Empire… between 235 and 284, Rome
had 22 Emperors. These civil wars weakened the empire by taking money, killing
soldiers, and leaving the borders open for invasion.
Military Causes
• Beginning in the 200s CE, Germanic people from
the north and east migrated into the Empire…
(Visigoths, Vandals, Anglos, and Saxons)
• The fiercest invaders were not the Germanic
peoples but the Huns from Central Asia.
• The final blow to the empire was when the
Visigoths invaded in 410 CE and over threw the
emperor… this act ended the Roman Empire.
Quick Questions
• How did the tax policies of the emperors weaken
the empire?
• Why did the lack of traditional values weaken the
empire?
• How did political problems weaken the empire?
• How did nomadic peoples weaken the empire?
Rise of Christianity
• The Roman government supported an official state religion… it
centered on the worship of various male and female deities… the
Romans actually borrowed their gods from the Greeks.
• The Romans allowed people they conqured to keep their own
religions.
• Jews in Judaea continued to practice Judaism after the Roman
conquest
• Many Jews were awaiting the coming of the messiah, the one sent
by God to lead the Jews to freedom… they believed he would fulfill
the promises made to them by God.
Jesus and His Teachings
• Some Jews believed that a man named Jesus, from Nazareth, was the messiah…
most of what we know about him comes from the Gospels.
• These record of Jesus’ life were written by his four closest followers known as
the apostles.
• The Gospels make up the first four books of the New Testament in the Christian
Bible.
• His message was based on teachings of Judaism… he preached obedience to
God and His 10 commandments, but he also added the ideas of Love of God and
each other.
• He attracted large crowds where ever he went to teach, Roman officials finally
got word of Jesus and they feared a Jewish revolt. When one of his followers,
Judas, betrayed him, they arrested him and had him crucified.
• Followers of the Christian faith believe Jesus rose 3 days later and ascended into
Heaven.
The Beginning of the Christian Church
• The apostles spread the message of Jesus, they spread
throughout the Roman empire spreading the word of Jesus.
• Jesus became known as Christ from the Greek word
meaning “anointed one, the messiah”
• Under the emperor Nero, they began to persecute
Christians, however the Christian church continued to
grow… Eventually Christians succeeded in converting the
Emperor Constantine.
• In 381 CE, Christianity was made the official religion of the
Roman Empire.
The Spread of Christianity
• Even while Christians were being persecuted,
many people converted… once the persecutions
ended, Christianity spread quickly.
• The system of roads that had been developed for
trade and the army also helped the spread of
Christianity.
1. Jesus taught charity, kindness
2. Ideas appealed to the educated (Similar to Plato)
3. People have a need to belong to groups
Quick Questions
• Why were early Christians persecuted by the
Romans?
• What was the central message of Jesus’
teachings?
• Why did Christianity appeal to so many people?