Part 1: Roman EmpirePart 2: Medieval Europe

Lesson 18

Part 1: Roman Empire

Theme: Republic and Empire

Lesson 18

ID & SIG:

• Augustus (Octavian), dictators, empire,Julius Caesar, patricians, plebeians,latifundia, pax romana, republic

Origins of Rome• Rome was founded in the 8th Century B.C. and

was originally a small city-state ruled by a singleking

• Late in the 6th Century B.C., the city’s aristocratsdeposed the king, ended the monarchy, andinstituted a republic– A republic is a form of government in which delegates

represent the interests of various constituents• The Roman republic survived for over 500 years

and at one time dominated the Mediterraneanbasin

Mediterranean Basin

Legend of Rome’s Founding• Aeneas migrated from Troy

to Italy• Two of his descendants,

Romulus and Remus, wereabandoned by an evil unclein the flooded Tiber River

• A kindly she-wolf foundthem and nursed them tohealth

• The boys grew strong andcourageous and in 753 B.C.,Romulus founded the city ofRome and establishedhimself as its first king

Romulus and Remus beingnursed by the she-wolf

Rise of Rome• From humble beginnings,

Rome grew into a strongcommercial center, in partbecause of its geographiclocation– Rome enjoyed easy access to

the Mediterranean via theTiber River, but because itwas not on the coast, it wassafe from invasion or attackby the sea

• By the 6th Century B.C.,trade routes from all parts ofItaly converged in Rome

Establishment of the Republic

• When the aristocracy deposed the king in509 and established a republic, theyinstituted a republican constitution– Executive responsibilities were entrusted to

two consuls who wielded civil and militarypower

– Consuls were elected by an assemblydominated by hereditary aristocrats andwealthy classes

– Consuls served one year terms

Establishment of the Republic

• The Senate wascomposedmostly ofaristocrats withextensivepoliticalexperience

• They advisedthe consuls andratified all majordecisions Roman Senate house

Patricians versus Plebeians• Both the consuls and the

Senate represented theinterests of thepatricians– the hereditaryaristocrats and wealthyclasses

• This caused tensionbetween the patriciansand the common people–the plebeians

In honor of the Romanplebeians, freshmen at West

Point are called plebes

Patricians versus Plebeians

• In the early 5th Century, tensions got sobad that the plebeians threatened tosecede from Rome and establish a rivalsettlement

• In order to maintain the integrity of theRoman state, the patricians granted theplebeians the right to elect officials knownas tribunes to represent their interests

Patricians versus Plebeians

• Originally the plebeians were authorizedtwo tribunes, but that number eventuallyrose to ten

• Tribunes had the power to intervene in allpolitical matters and to veto measuresthey thought were unfair– Still the patricians continued to dominate

Rome

Increased Representation forPlebeians

• During the 4th Century, plebeians becameeligible to hold almost all state offices andgained the right to have one of the consuls comefrom their ranks

• By the early 3rd Century, plebeian-dominatedassemblies won the power to make decisionsbinding on all of Rome

• Republican Rome was gradually broadening thebase of political participation

Dictators

• In times of civilor military crisis,the Romanconstitutionallowed for theappointment of adictator whowielded absolutepower for a termof six months

Cincinnatus, shown here handingthe rods of power back to the city

fathers, served as dictator ofRome twice

Expansion of the Republic

• Rome expandedfrom central Italy,to the ItalianPeninsula, to theMediterraneanbasin

• Defeated theCarthaginians inthe Punic Warsbetween 264 and146 B.C. Territory under Roman control near

the end of the republic, 44 B.C.

From Republic to Empire

• Imperial expansion brought wealth to Rome, butthe wealth was unequally distributed whichaggravated class tensions– Conflicts arose over political and social policies– During the 1st Century B.C. and the 1st Century A.D.,

Roman civil and military leaders will graduallydismantle the republican constitution and replace itwith a centralized imperial form of government

Problems with Conquered Lands

• Conquered lands usually fell into thehands of wealthy elites who organizedenormous plantations known as latifundia

• The owners of latifundia enjoyed greateconomies of scale and used slave laborto drive the owners of smaller holdings outof business

Problems with Conquered Lands

• Tiberius and GaiusGracchi worked tolimit the amount ofconquered land anindividual could hold

• They met strongresistance from thewealthy and rulingclasses and wereboth assassinated

Bigger Problem

• The problem of land distribution was asymptom of a bigger problem– The constitution of the Roman republic had

been designed for a small city-state– It was not suitable for a large and growing

empire• Roman politicians and generals began

jockeying for power and several raisedpersonal armies for support

Civil War• The two most

important generalswere Gaius Mariusand LuciusCornelius Sulla– Marius sided with

social reformerswho favoredredistribution ofland

– Sulla sided with theconservative andaristocratic classes SullaMarius

Civil War

• In 87 B.C., Marius marched on Rome,placed the city under military occupation,and began hunting down his enemies

• When Marius died the next year, Sullamoved to replace him

• In 83, Sulla seized Rome and beganslaughtering his enemies

Sulla

• Sulla initiated a reign of terror that lastedalmost five years until he died in 78

• During that period he killed some tenthousand individuals

• He imposed an extremely conservativelegislative program that weakened theinfluence of the lower classes andstrengthened the hand of the wealthy

Julius Caesar• Sulla’s program did not address Rome’s most

serious social problems• The latifundia continued to crush small farmers

and poverty was rampant• There were many social eruptions when times

were especially hard• Julius Caesar stepped into the chaos and

inaugurated a process that replaced the Romanrepublican constitution with a centralizedimperial form of government

Julius Caesar

• Caesar was anephew of Marius andhe favored Marius’liberal policies andsocial reform

• In the 50s B.C.,Caesar led an armythat conquered Gauland made him verypopular

Gaul (now mostly France)

Julius Caesar

• In 49 Caesarmarched his army toRome and by early 46he had named himselfdictator

• But instead of theconstitutional sixmonth term, Caesarclaimed to be dictatorfor life

Julius Caesar

• Caesar centralized military and political functionsand brought them under his control

• He confiscated property from conservatives anddistributed it among veterans of his army andother supporters

• He launched large scale building projects toprovide employment for the poor

• He extended Roman citizenship to people in theimperial provinces

Julius Caesar• But Caesar’s reforms

alienated many ofRome’s elite whoconsidered him a tyrant

• In 44 B.C. theyassassinated him

• However it was too late toreturn to the oldconservative ways and anew round of civil crisisensued for thirteen years– Octavian emerged in

power

Octavian• Octavian was a

nephew, protégé,and adopted sonof Julius Caesar

• He defeated hisprincipal rival,Mark Anthony,and Anthony’sally Cleopatra atActium, Greecein 31 B.C. Anthony and Cleopatra by Sir

Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Augustus• Octavian consolidated his

rule and in 27 B.C., theSenate bestowed uponhim the title Augustus– “Augustus” has religious

connotations suggesting adivine or semidivine nature

• Augustus ruled virtuallyunopposed for 45 yearsin “a monarchy disguisedas a republic”

Augustus• Augustus

centralized politicaland military powerlike Julius Caesardid, but he wascareful to preservetraditionalrepublican officesand forms ofgovernment andincluded membersof the Roman elitein his government

Government under Augustus• Accumulated vast powers for himself and

ultimately took responsibility for all importantgovernmental functions– Placed individuals loyal to him in all important

positions• Reorganized the military system

– Created a new standing army with commanders whoowed allegiance to him

• Eliminated the personal armies of earlier years• Stabilized the land after the years of civil war

and allowed the institutions of empire to takeroot

Mare Nostrum• After Augustus, the

Roman Empirecontinued to grow to thepoint that it surroundedthe Mediterranean– Romans called the

Mediterranean marenostrum (“our sea”)

• Expansion broughtRoman soldiers,diplomats, governors,and merchantsthroughout the region

• Trade flourished Roman Empire, 117 A.D.

Pax Romana

• By stopping the civil wars, Augustusinaugurated an era known as pax romana(“Roman peace”) which greatly facilitatedtrade and communication– Lasted from 27 B.C. to 180 A.D.

• Also included applying standards of justiceand a basic code of law throughout theempire

How were populations controlled bythe Romans?

• Under the republic?

• Under the empire?

How were populations controlled bythe Romans?

• Under the republic– Representation (consuls and Senate)– Resolution of conflicts between the patricians and

plebeians (tribunes)– Dictators

• Under the empire– Julius Caesar centralized authority but alienated elite– Augustus continued centralization but placated elite

and ensured loyalty through patronage– Pax romana stabilized region through trade,

communication, and law

Part 2: Medieval Europe

Theme: Order in the absence of empire

Lesson 18

ID & SIG

• chivalry, feudal system, lords, manors,serfs, “three estates”

Regional States• Germanic invaders

toppled Rome’s authorityin the late 5th CenturyA.D. but no clearsuccessor to centralizedauthority emerged– The Franks

temporarily revivedempire; the high pointof which was the reignof Charlemagne from768-814 Charlemagne

Regional States• After Charlemagne, his

successor Carolingians had noeffective means of defendingagainst Magyars, Muslims,Vikings, and other invaders

• In response, European noblessought to protect their landsand maintain order in their ownterritories

• Political authority in earlymedieval Europe thusdevolved into competing localand regional jurisdictions witha decentralized political order– “Feudalism”

Viking long ship

“Feudalism”• There really was no “feudal system” if that implies a neat

hierarchy of lords and vassals who collectively tookcharge of political and military affairs

• Because the feudal hierarchy arose as a makeshift fordefense against invaders, it always had a provisional, adhoc, and flexible character– There was no “system”

• However, medieval European society was characterizedby:– Fragmentation of political power– Public power in private hands– Armed forces secured through private contracts

Medieval SocietyEarly Middle Ages (450-1050)

• The country was not governed by the king but byindividual lords who administered their ownestates, dispensed their own justice, minted theirown money, levied taxes and tolls, anddemanded military service from vassals

• Usually the lords could field greater armies thanthe king– In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but in

reality the individual lords were supreme in their ownterritory

• Many kings were little more than figurehead rulers

Retainers

• The nobles maintained their armies byoffering grants, usually land, to armedretainers

• In exchange for the grants, the retainerspledged their loyalty and military service totheir lords– The retainers gained increased rights over

their land, to include the prerogative to passon their rights to the heirs

Political-Military Relationship

• A close relationship between political andmilitary authorities developed– As a result, political authorities and military specialists

merged into a hereditary noble class which lived offthe surplus agricultural production that it extractedfrom the cultivators

– Only by tapping into this surplus could the lords andtheir retainers secure the material resourcesnecessary to maintain their control over military,political, and legal affairs

Serfs• Free peasants sought

protection from a lord andpledged their labor andobedience in exchange forsecurity and land to cultivate

• Beginning in the mid 17th

Century, this categorybecame recognized as serfs–neither fully slave nor fullyfree– Not chattel slaves subject to

sale by their master– But still owed obligations to the

lords whose lands theycultivated

Serfs’ Obligations• Had the right to work certain lands and to pass

those lands on to their heirs• In exchange they had to perform labor services

and pay rents in kind (a portion of the harvest,chickens, eggs, etc)

• Male serfs typically worked three days a weekfor their lords with extra services during plantingand harvesting times

• Women serfs churned butter, spun thread, andsewed clothes for their lords and their families

Serfs’ Obligations

• Since the lordprovided the land, theserfs had littleopportunity to moveand had to get thelord’s permission todo so– Even had to pay fees

to marry someone whoworked for a differentlord

Manors• Manors were large estates

consisting of fields, meadows,forests, agricultural tools,domestic animals, and serfs

• The lord of the manor and hisdeputies provided government,administration, police services,and justice for the manor

• Many lords had the authority toexecute serfs for seriousmisconduct

• In the absence of thriving citiesin rural areas, manors becamelargely self-sufficientcommunities

Transition to the High Middle Ages(1050 to 1400)

• The regional stability of the early middle ages allowedlocal rulers to organize powerful regional states– Holy Roman Empire– Capetian France– Norman England– Papal States– etc

• The kings of England and France used theirrelationships with retainers to build powerful, centralizedmonarchies– Still no one could consolidate all of Europe under a

single empire

Three Estates of Medieval Society

• Those who pray– The clergy of the

Roman CatholicChurch

• Those who fight– Nobles

• Those who work– Peasants

• The result was asociety marked bypolitical, social, andeconomic inequality

Chivalry• Church officials

originally proposed achivalric code to curbfighting withinChristendom

• By the 12th Century,the ritual by which ayoung man becamea knight commonlyincluded thecandidate placing hissword upon an altarand pledging hisservice to God

Chivalry

• With chivalry, warriors wereencouraged to adopt higherethical standards and refinedmanners and become cultivatedleaders of society

• The chivalric code called for anoble to devote himself to thecauses of order, piety, and theChristian faith rather thanseeking wealth and power

How was order maintained in theEarly Middle Ages?

How was order maintained in theEarly Middle Ages?

• In the absence of a strong centralizedauthority, local political and military elitesworked out various ad hoc ways toorganize and protect their territories– Lords and retainees– Manors– Serfs

How was order maintained in theHigh Middle Ages?

How was order maintained in theHigh Middle Ages?

• The regional stability of the Early MiddleAges allowed powerful regional states tobe built, but there was still no singleEuropean Empire

• The code of chivalry helped provide someorder and protection for those whootherwise would be most vulnerable tounchecked power

Next

• Papers Due