The Roman Empire

THE ROMAN EMPIREFrom Julius to Nero

Learning Goals By the end of this lesson I will know the

major differences between the Emperors of the Claudeo-Julian dynasty.

By the end of this lesson I will recognize the changes occurring within Rome under the various Claudeo-Julian Emperor’s.

By the end of this lesson I will recognize trends in the hereditary succession of the Roman throne.

The Dynasty

Who are you?

Who are you?

Who are you?

Who are you?

Who are you?

Who are you?

Answers Mostly A – Nero Mostly B – Augustus Mostly C – Claudius Mostly D – Cleopatra

Main Aspects of Roman Empire Hereditary succession

Kind of…adoption…weird connections, but it is largely seen as a family business.

A really unstable job…almost all of them were killed and almost always by those closest to them – a tradition began with Julius Caesar Emperor gained throne through power and force…

why not be booted using the same tactics. There was no “impeaching” an emperor – only one

way out! There was some good, some bad, some ugly….

Julius Caesar The person responsible for moving Rome from

Republic to Empire. Senate increasingly ineffective with infighting and

indecision. Allied with Pompey and Crassus against the Roman

Senate Secured Governorship of Gaul (Modern Day France

and Belgium). Recruited and conquered

Crassus dead – Caesar grows distant with Pompey Invades Rome with no army – destroys opposition

Invites some of his enemies to join him in government…hmmm?

Julius Caesar Continued fighting wars in the East Allowed foreigners to gain citizenship

Like his army of Gauls Reformed Roman calendar Adopted his great nephew Augustus Took some power away from the Senate –

they became more representative and increasingly under control of the Emperor

Beware the Ides of March March 15th, 44 B.C.E. Brutus and Longinus along with many other

Senators attack Caesar in the theatre of Pompey Stab him to death

Feared that the Senate was losing power – feared Caesar might just axe the whole thing… Worried about Caesar gaining any more power.

Oh Crap! The act essentially guaranteed the ascension of

Augustus – who fully aware of the Senate’s actions would disband them and send Mark Antony to hunt down Brutus and Longinus

Gaius Octavius “Augustus” Adopted by Julius Caesar several years before

death. After Caesar’s death Augustus allied with Mark

Antony – a strong military leader as well as Lepidus to form another triumvirate (the first one being Caesar, Pompey and Crassus This alliance effectively removed the Senate from

power. Tensions rise and Octavian once again leads

army against Antony (and now Cleopatra) at the battle of Actium Putting Egypt under Rome’s control

Battle of Actium

Oh that old Augustan Charm… Augustan did not want to suffer the same

fate as his Uncle… Told the Senate that someone else was

welcome to take throne Only made Romans panic and they elected

him eternal ruler – he always acted and suggested that he was ruling in obedience to the Senate - in fact he had absolute power.

He effectively solidified what his Uncle had begun and moved Rome from a Republic to an Empire

Augustus’ Achievement’s Peace out of Chaos

Fire fighters and Police officers “Pax Romana” Expansion continued into the Nile regions Praetorian Guard…not gonna make that mistake

twice! Marble out of Brick

Huge system of Roads Repaired and improved aqueducts (virtually no

water in Rome at time) Temple of Augustus, Temple of Caesar and Baths

of Agrippa

Emperor Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus– just like in

that video – is rarely even considered because everyone saw him as meek and non-threatening.

He was married to Augustus daughter Julia but after she started trifling he left her – Augustus eventually found out and kicked her to the curb

He was considered weak by many within the Roman elite including Augustus other possible heir Agrippa

Emperor Tiberius But was he..?

He was politically intelligent and made a lot of right decisions…but sometimes not fast enough

He filled Rome’s treasury to the brim Militarily intelligent

He became corrupt and involved in multiple scandals

He relied heavily on Sejanus – the head of the Praetorian guard but eventually became suspicious and had him killed – and replaced him with Macro…who actually did kill Tiberius – awkward!

Emperor Caligula After Marco had killed Tiberius, Gaius

Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula) took the throne and was originally welcomed by the Roman people.

By the time Caligula was twelve years old his mother had been exiled and his brothers executed for treason.

After falling ill less than a year after he took power – Caligula went crazy…like really crazy

Caligula the Mental! He began claiming to be a God – making senators

kiss his sandals and seducing their wives and then bragging about it… He also went into the temple at Jerusalem and tried to

erect a massive statue of himself He ordered his guards to throw an entire section of

the crowd into arena to be killed because…there was no criminals to execute

Made his horse Incintatus a high priest – because he was incapable of being a Consul – obviously!

Accused of incest with his sisters. “no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding

a horse across the Bay of Baiae”

Emperor Caligula Emptied Rome’s treasury within one year.

As a result he began blackmailing whoever he could.

Rome was plagued by riots and instability as a result of the poverty.

Caligula launched attacks against Gaul and other parts of Roman empire to try to regain money.

The leader of the Praetorian guard killed Caligula – and just to drive the point home – killed his wife and daughter as well.

Claudius – the Underdog Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus

Germanicus – An ideal choice..? Maybe? Physically disfigured from an early illness

he was considered unthreatening and weak – and easily controlled. A secret – safe – agenda!

Worked hard behind the scenes Just after midnight

Emperor Claudius – Unlikely Hero

The provinces of Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judea were annexed under his term. A feat unattained by all previous Emperors even

though most tried! Reformed Judicial System Extended citizenship Increased women’s rights Apologized to those attending court when

there were too few chairs. Big fan of games Not well liked by the Senate

Love and Marriage Despite his successes – he had the

WORST taste in women. Welcome to Emperor Matchmaker…our first contestant…

Messalina – Messalina likes long walks on the beach and sleeping with all her servants behind her Emperor husbands back – she was eventually found dead to which her husband replied – more wine.

Wife Number Two Agrippina – Agrippina likes candlelit

dinners and apparently marrying her Uncle Claudius the Emperor in order to bring her own son to power. Skills include convincing the Emperor to disown his own son as well as a knowledge of poisonous mushrooms. A strong and determined catch she has on occasion convinced doctors to show poisoned feathers down throats to move the agenda along.

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus

Germanicus Originally a bit of a Mama’s boy –

although not forever. Much like Caligula, Nero had a strong

start, especially compared the last years of Claudius’ reign. Lowered taxes More citizenship Increased independence of Senate

Here we go again… Stories about women, young boys, and street

murder Mom, who tried to reign in her son, was attacked by

order of Nero… But it failed…until Nero sent soldiers – no longer one for

subtlety Nero – for reasons no one really knows – decided to

play with fire… And sang “show tunes” while Rome burned

After an attempt on his life he launched a campaign of terror through Empire.

Nero had a pretty bad beef with the Jews and Christians – “the first persecutor”

Aftermath With Nero gone the Augustan dynasty

had ended and Rome was plunged into Civil War

Vespian emerged a victor – and a new dynasty began in Rome…with the exact same bloody problems as before – pun intended.

From Domitian to Titus the Empire continued to expand and contract with ever growing tension.

Aftermath Empires continued to be killed, crazy and

clever. Building projects continued to be erected

including the Pantheon and the Coliseum – mainly for the increased persecution of Christians and Jews under the Nerva-Antonine, Severan and Constantinian Dynasty.

But…the problems we see arise during the Claudeo-Julian dynasty are only made worse with time…

What are these problems? …