ROME

Roman Republic• The Romans distrusted monarchy and decided it to

replace it with a new form of gov’t– Republic = a form of gov’t in which the leader is not a

monarch, elected officials governed the state, and certain citizens have the right to vote

• Early Rome was divided into two groups:– Patricians = rich landowners who controlled the gov’t

and society– Plebeians = commoners, mostly farmers and

merchants• Men in both groups were citizens who could vote

• In the beginning, however, only patricians could be elected to governmental offices

• Plebeians eventually got more rights, and formed their own assembly called the Plebeian Council– Even had the right to elect officials called tribunes

• The plebeians also forced the patricians to have all laws written down– The Law of the Twelve Tables = Rome’s first written

law code, was displayed in the Roman Forum (central square)

• The patricians and plebeians created an unwritten and flexible constitution– Constitution = framework for gov’t or political

structure• The government consisted of three parts:– The Senate = a select group of 300 hundred patricians

who served for life• Advised elected officials, handled all foreign

relations, and controlled public finances• By the third century it had the force of law

– Various popular assemblies• All citizens voted on laws and elected officials

– Officials called magistrates = put laws into practice and governed in the name of the Senate and the people

• Chief executive officers of the Republic– Consuls – two elected each year, one to run the gov’t

and one to lead the army– Praetors – magistrates that could act as consuls when

the consuls were away at war • Also in charge of enforcing civil law

– Censors – recorded the city’s population and how much property people owned

• System of checks and balances that stopped one group from becoming too powerful

• Roman Law– One of the greatest achievements was its system of

law• First code of laws adopted was the Twelve Tables• Later a more sophisticated system of civil law was

developed• As Rome expanded, legal questions arose that

involved both Romans and non-Romans, needed special rules• Gave rise to a body of law known as the Law of

Nations

– Law of Nations• Used natural law (universal law) based on reason• Established standards of justice that applied to all

people:– Innocent until proven guilty–Accused allowed to defend themselves before a

judge– This law system greatly influenced the law system of

the United States

The Punic Wars• Due to the conquest of Italy, the Romans now faced

the powerful city and empire of Carthage located in North Africa– Both wanted to control the Mediterranean

• Rome and Carthage fought against each other in three Punic Punic Wars– Rome won all three wars and eventually

destroyed Carthage• The entire population was sold into slavery• Carthage became a Roman province called

Africa

Collapse of the Republic• Social unrest– Growing tension among the various classes– Soldier-farmers were returning home from years of

service and finding that their land had either been sold or was in bad shape

• The military in politics– Gaius Marius, a talented young military leader was

elected consul and he decided to improve recruitment for the army• Eliminated property requirements• Poor people began to join and swore an oath of

loyalty to the general, not to the Roman state, in hopes of sharing the plunder from war

– Result was that armies largely became private forces devoted to a general and placed much power in the hands of individual generals• Generals could use loyalty of troops as a

political tool–New type of army that was not under gov’t

control• Legacy of Sulla = using an army to seize power

Rise of the Roman Empire• The old Republic was mostly gone within a generation

of Sulla– Was the result of the ambitions of just a few men

• The First Triumvirate– Triumvirate = rule by three people with equal power– The first Triumvirate was composed of Julius Caesar,

Pompey, and Crassus• Caesar added Gaul – modern France• Pompey added Syria and parts of Asia Minor• Crassus was one of the wealthiest men in Rome

– Took over Rome in 60 BC

• Crassus died and Caesar and Pompey faced off in a civil war – Caesar was victorious

– Senate declared Caesar dictator for life in 44 BC• Dictator = an absolute ruler• Gave citizenship to people in the provinces and

gave public land to veterans• Was popular with the people, but many senators

thought he meant to destroy the Republic– Ides of March (March 15) – a group of senators murder

Julius Caesar

• Second Triumvirate– Established in 43 BC – composed of Octavian (Caesar’s

adopted son and heir), Marc Antony, and Lepidus

• Lepidus was pushed aside and Octavian and Antony each decide to govern half the empire

– Civil war breaks out and Octavian defeats Antony and his ally Queen Cleopatra of Egypt• Both commit suicide after the defeat

– Octavian now alone controlled Rome• Republic effectively dead

• Senate awards Octavian the title Augustus “the revered one”– continued to control the army and took the name

imperator• Imperator = commander in chief (emperor)• Became the first emperor of Rome

• The Augustan Age– Augustus ruled Rome for more than 40 years– Divided the power to rule Rome between himself

and the Senate• Later emperors took over more and more powers

of the Senate• Julio-Claudians – relatives of Caesar ruled for the next

54 years

– Tiberius – adopted son of Augustus– Caligula – brutal and mentally unstable– Nero – killed his own mother and committed suicide

• The Five Good Emperors– Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus

Aurelius– Governed Rome for nearly a century and under them

the empire grew tremendously– Hadrian built defensive fortifications along the

frontiers to guard against invasions• Hadrian’s Wall – built in northern Britain

Pax Romana• Pax Romana = Roman Peace– Age of peace and prosperity– Started off with the reign of Augustus in 27 BC and

ended with the death of the last Good Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in 180 AD• Stable gov’t, strong legal system, widespread trade• Not much war or invasion

– The Roman gov’t was the strongest unifying force in the empire• Maintained order and enforced the laws

– Extensive road network – 50,000 miles

• Entertainment – provided on a grand scale for Romans– Chariot races– Coliseum - Gladiator fights, animals killing

prisoners– Dramatic performances held in theaters– To keep the poor from rebelling against the bad

living conditions, free food and public entertainment became a major feature of city life• “Bread and Circuses”

• Slavery– Romans relied the most on slave labor and had the most

slaves– Large numbers of captured peoples brought back as

slaves– Slaves built buildings and roads, were used as tutors, on

farms, and as shop assistants– Conditions for most slaves were bad– The murder of a master by a slave meant the execution

for all the household slaves– Most of the gladiators were slaves– The most famous slave revolt was led by Spartacus and

involved 70,000 slaves – they managed to defeat several armies before being caught and crucified

• Women– Women could do little without the intervention of a

male guardian– Could own and inherit property– Could attend races, the theater, and events in the

Colosseum, but had to sit in separate female sections

• Achievements– Aqueducts – man-made channels used to bring water

to the cities – Ptolemy – stated that the earth was the center of the

universe

Decline and Fall of Rome• Political problems– Weak leaders and aseries of civil wars• Between 235 to 284 there were 20 emperors, all

but one died violently• Economic problems– Economic crisis – decline in trade and farming• People didn’t believe the money was worth the

same– The result was growing inflation = dramatic rise in

prices

• Military Problems– Difficult to pay and enlist more soldiers, had to rely

on hiring Germans to fight• Had little loyalty to the Empire

• Plague– Disease weakened the Roman Empire– Not enough soldiers or farmers to harvest crops

• Invaders– Invading Germanic tribes, mostly enter Roman

territory to flee from the Huns• Huns = feared nomadic warriors from Asia• Visigoths – crossed the Danube river into Italy• Vandals – came into Italy from north Africa

– Sacking of Rome• 410 the Visigoths plunder Rome• 455 the Vandals sack Rome–Famous for destroying everything in their path–Vandal = “one who causes senseless

destruction”• The Huns were talked out of attacking Rome by

Pope Leo I

Fall of Rome– 476 – the last emperor of Rome was deposed by the

Germanic commander Odoacer– Many consider this to be the end of the Western

Roman Empire• Division of the Roman Empire– To slow the empire’s decline, emperors Diocletian and

Constantine divided the empire into two parts– Western Roman Empire – capital at Rome• Destroyed in 476

– Eastern Roman Empire – capital at Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople• Lasted another thousand years, becomes known as

the Byzantine Empire

Rise of Christianity• Some Jews began to revolt against Roman rule, resulting

in all Jews being banned from Jerusalem

• Jesus of Nazareth– Born in the town of Bethlehem– All knowledge about Jesus comes from the Gospels,

the first four books of the New Testament– Traveled around preaching people to repent their sins

and seek God’s forgiveness

– As Jesus traveled, he gathered a small group of disciples, or followers

– Roman authorities feared a political uprising and arrested Jesus and sentenced him to death• Jesus was crucified = nailed to a cross

• As a result, people began to call him Jesus Christ, the Greek word for Messiah

• Spread of Christianity– Jesus’ disciples began to teach that all people could

achieve salvation– Salvation = forgiveness of sins and the promise of

everlasting life in heaven

– The Apostles – the 12 disciples that Jesus had specifically chosen to carry out his message• Were the earliest Christian missionaries

– Paul of Tarsus believed that God had sent him to convert non-Jews• Without him, Christianity might have remained a

branch of Judaism• He helped to make Christianity a broader religion• The Christian message of eternal life after death

appealed to many–Especially to the poor

• Persecution– Some local officials and rulers, such as Nero, saw

Christians as a threat and arrested and killed them• Fed to the lions, made them martyrs• Martyrs = people who die for their faith and thus

inspire others to believe

• Imperial approval of Christianity– Emperor Constantine became the first Christian

emperor after he converted after winning a battle• He issued the Edict of Milan, which made

Christianity legal within the empire and declared official tolerance of Christianity

– Emperor Theodosius outlawed public non-Christian sacrifices and ceremonies• As a result, Christianity was adopted as the

Roman religion and polytheism began to disappear

• The Early Christian Church– Development of ceremonies that inspired people’s

faith and made them feel closer to Jesus• Eucharist = held in memory of Jesus’ last supper

with his disciples–Eat bread and drink wine in memory of Jesus’

death and resurrection• Baptism = people admitted into the Christian faith

– Popes were seen as the head of the entire Christian church