Introduction

• Rome as bridge between Mediterranean and ancient Near East

• A distinctive civilization

The Roman Rule in the West: A Balance Sheet

• Roman achievements– A long-lasting empire– Created systems of communication, trade,

and travel– The Roman economy– The Roman political system– Extended the franchise to outsiders

The Early Republic

• Constant warfare

• Accommodated conquered populations– Did not impose heavy burdens on conquered

peoples– Conquered peoples had to contribute soldiers

to the Roman army– Extended the “Latin Right”

The Early Republic

• Culture, religion, and morality– Limited education—fathers taught sons (sports,

practical arts, military virtue)– Chief occupations—war and agriculture– Religion

• Roman gods—Greek gods• Reverence of ancestors• Household gods

– Roman morality—patriotism, duty, masculine self-control, respect for authority

– Primary duty to Rome and to family

The Fateful Wars with Carthage

• The Punic Wars– The First Punic War (264–241 B.C.E.)

• Roman fear of Carthaginian expansion• Carthage cedes Sicily to Rome

– The Second Punic War (218–202 B.C.E.)• Carthaginian expansion in Spain• Rome declares war• Hannibal (247–182 B.C.E.)• The victory of Scipio Africanus• Carthage abandons all territory except the city of

Carthage– The Third Punic War (149–146 B.C.E.)

• “Carthage must be destroyed”• Romans massacre Carthaginians

• Territorial expansion followed -- – Increase in Roman territory (Sicily, North

Africa, and Spain)– Policy of westward expansion– Greece and Macedon become Roman

provinces (146 B.C.E.)

Society and Culture in the Late Republic

• Transformations– New wealth poured into Rome– Increasing social and economic inequality– Small farmers left the land for the cities

Society and Culture in the Late Republic

• Economic and social changes– Slavery

• Increase in slave population• Used slaves as agricultural laborers

– No transition to industrialism– No incentive for technological initiative– Equestrians made contact with Eastern

markets• Operated mines, built roads, collected taxes,

became principal moneylenders

     Slaves tend the hair of their mistress

Society and Culture in the Late Republic

• Epicureanism and Stoicism– Lucretius (98–55 B.C.E.)

• On the Nature of Things• Removing the fear of the supernatural• Matter is a combination of atoms• “Peace and a pure heart”

– Stoicism• Introduced around 140 B.C.E.• Cicero (106–43 B.C.E.)

– “Father of Roman eloquence”– Tranquility of the mind is the highest good– Indifference to pain and sorrow– Bringing the best of Greek philosophy to Rome

The Social Struggles of the Late Republic (146–30 B.C.E.)

• Disorder, war, assassinations, and insurrections

• Spartacus slave uprising (73–71 B.C.E.)

The Social Struggles of the Late Republic (146–30 B.C.E.)

• Julius Caesar (c. 100–44 B.C.E.)– Destroyed the forces of Pompey at Pharselus

(48 B.C.E.)– Cleopatra and Egypt– Dictator for ten years, then declared himself

dictator for life (46 B.C.E.)– Death of Caesar—Ides of March (44 B.C.E.)– Treated the republic with contempt– The Julian calendar

The Principate or Early Empire (27 B.C.E.–180 C.E.)

• The Augustan system of government– Achievements

• New coinage system• Public services• Defender of traditional values

– Augustus to Trajan• Continued expansion• Holds northern border at the Rhine and Danube• The Roman Peace (Pax Romana)• The Five Good Emperors

– Nerva (96–98 C.E.)– Trajan (98–117 C.E.)– Hadrian (117–138 C.E.)– Antoninus Pius (138–171 C.E.)– Marcus Aurelius (171–180 C.E.)

The Principate or Early Empire (27 B.C.E.–180 C.E.)

• Romanization and assimilation– Pax Romana was not universal

• Roman massacres in Britain and Judea

– Assimilated the residents of conquered territories

– The spread of Roman cultural forms (amphitheaters, baths, paved roads)

– Rights of citizenship– Borders and frontiers

Culture and Life in the Period of the Principate

• Literature– The Golden Age—extolling the virtues of

Rome• Virgil (70–19 B.C.E.)—the Ecologues and the

Aeneid• Horace (65–8 B.C.E.)—the Odes• Livy (59 B.C.E.–17 C.E.)—History of Rome• Ovid (43 B.C.E.–17 C.E.)—the Metamorphoses

– The Silver Age—self-conscious artifice• Petronius and Apuleius• Juvenal (c. 60–140 C.E.)—the Satires• Tacitus (c. 55–117 C.E.)—Germania and Annals

Culture and Life in the Period of the Principate

• Art and architecture– Art imported from conquered territories– The wealthy wanted art for their homes; as

the demand increased, the Romans relied on copies

– Grand public architecture to delicate wall paintings

– The Pantheon and the Colosseum– Engineering feats

• Roads and bridges• Aqueducts• Sewage systems

Urban Water Supplies

• First of 11 aqueducts supplying water to Rome constructed by 300 BC

• 144 BC aqueduct “Marcia,” a high-level supply 58 miles long and 195 feet above the Tiber

• Use of water treatment techniques, especially use of lime as a coagulant

Culture and Life in the Period of the Principate

• New religions– Greater interest in religions of salvation– Christianity and Judaism– Mithraism

• Zoroaster• A religion of carefully guarded secrets• Limited to men• Sol invictus was the favored god of the Roman army• Sunday was the most sacred day of the week• December 25 was the most sacred day of the year

– Emperor worship

Culture and Life in the Period of the Principate

• The economy of Italy during the Principate– Manufacturing increased– Mass production of pottery, textiles, metal,

and glassware– Signs of strain

• Upper class luxury• Diminishing number of slaves• Labor shortages on the latifundia• Unfavorable balance of trade

Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-1788) – 5 Attributes marked Rome at its end:

• A mounting love of show and luxury

• A widening gap between the rich and the poor

• An obsession with sex

• Freakishness in the arts, masquerading as originality

• An increased desire to live off the state