Introduction to HumanitiesLecture 7b

The Death of the Republic & the Early Roman Empire

By David Kelsey

Julius Caesar & the Death of the Republic

• Gaius Julius Caesar: – 100-44 BC– Caesar came from the Julian family,

one of the oldest and most powerful families in Rome

– After a short political career he sought a military command and was sent to Spain

– Enjoyed spectacular success in war and politics in Spain

– Famous for his bribes…– After returning from Spain in 60 B.C.,

he forms a ruling coalition called the Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus.

• Source of Image of Caesar: italianmonarchist.blogspot.com

The First Triumvirate

• The First Triumvirate:– To make Political gains, in 60 BC Caesar

forms the Triumvirate with Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) and Marcus Licinius Crassus.

– Crassus and Pompey had both been consuls in 70 B.C. Crassus was a senator and one of the wealthiest men in Rome and Pompey was a senator and military commander

– Caesar was elected consul for 59 B.C. and granted a special military command in Gaul

– Crassus and Pompey again become consuls in 55 B.C.

– Caesar gets an extension in Gaul, Crassus a command in Syria and Pompey a command in Spain.

• Upper image of Crassus, source: spartacus.wikia.com• Lower image of Pompey, source: en.wikipedia.org

The Death of Crassus

• The Death of Crassus:– Crassus gets killed in battle in 53 B.C. leaving Caesar and Pompey in direct

competition.

– The senate asks Caesar to secede power to Pompey and give up his command and army and return as a private citizen of Rome (Pompey was less harmful to their ideals and goals).

– But giving up his power would leave Caesar susceptible to his enemies.

– So in 49 BC Caesar, with his army poised on the banks of the Rubicon in Northern Italy, observed that “the die is cast”, and proceeded to conquer all of Italy in a few weeks. He returned to a wildly enthusiastic Rome.

Caesar’s defeat of Pompey

• Defeating Pompey:– Once Caesar gains control of Italy, Pompey flees to Greece. There he raises a

new army.– In the end of 49 B.C., Caesar raises a fleet of ships and takes his troops to

Greece to confront Pompey.– In the spring of 48 B.C., at the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesars forces defeat

Pompey’s.– Pompey then flees to Egypt where he was later assassinated.

Caesar’s return to Rome

• Once Caesar defeats Pompey:– Once he has defeated Pompey, he

campaigns in Egypt and helps stabilize the reign of Cleopatra

– Caesar then fathers a child to her– Caesar then guarantees almost the

entire tax revenues of Egypt for himself.

– Caesar Returns to Rome in 45 BC.

• Source of upper image of Cleopatra VII: virtualreligion.net

• Source of lower image: schoolworkhelper.net

Dictatorship

• Caesar is made dictator in 47 B.C.– In 44 B.C. was made dictator for life.– As dictator he created several reforms:

• Increased the size of the senate, • Established roman colonies in North Africa, Gaul and Spain, • Pardoned many of his opponents and enemies & • Replaced the Roman calendar with the 365 day Egyptian solar calendar.

– In 44 B.C. he was assassinated.• He died on the Ides of March of 23 stab wounds, at the senate floor at the base of

Pompey’s statue• there were about 60 assassins…

– Caesar left ¾ of his fortune to his adopted grandnephew Octavian

Octavian

• Octavian:– 63 B.C.-14 A.D. – 27 B.C.-14 A.D.– Was Caesar’s adopted son

and heir…– After Caesar’s death,

Octavian, then only 19, took command of Caesar’s legions and forced the senate to make him consul.

– Established the Roman Empire

• Source of image: en.wikipedia.org

• Statue known as Augustus prima porta– Was devoted to Augustus by the Senate of

Rome in 20 BC:

The Second Triumvirate

• The second Triumvirate:– Octavian then formed what is known as the

second Triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus

– They were legally empowered to rule Rome– They then executed all of their enemies

(including over 300 senators)– They also pursued Caesar’s assassins who

had raised an army and were subsequently defeated at Philippi in Macedonia.

– 2 of Caesar’s assassins were driven to suicide: Brutus and Cassius.

• Image to right of Mark Antony.• Source of image: en.wikipedia.org

Octavian and Mark Antony

• The end of the Triumvirate:– Octavian and Mark Anthony take the empire for themselves

• Octavian takes the west and Antony the east.• To seal the bargain, Antony married Octavian’s sister Octavia.

• Cleopatra VII:– Antony and Octavian come into conflict so Antony abandons Octavia and allies

himself with the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra VII– Although Cleopatra VII had already had a child with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony fell

deeply in love with her.– Mark Antony fathers 3 children with Cleopatra VII and gives her Roman lands in the

eastern Mediterranean.

The Battle of Actium

• The Battle of Actium:– Marc Antony and Cleopatra

meet Octavian’s forces at the battle of Actium in Greece in 31 B.C.

• Following Antony’s defeat:– Following their defeat at the

battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra return to Egypt with both committing suicide

– After defeating Antony, Octavian, gains control of the entire Roman empire.

• Source of image of Battle of Actium: skepticism.org

The Age of Augustus

• The Reign of Augustus:– Octavian rules from 31 B.C. to 14 A.D.– In 27 B.C. Octavian is awarded the title of Augustus, ‘the revered one’ – He preferred the title princeps (meaning first among equals)

• Political Reform:– Creates a political system known as a Principate

• Octavian is a constitutional monarch who is co-ruler with the senate.• In this system the government consists of a princeps and an aristocratic senate. The senate

created all law.– Augustus held the office of consul until 23 B.C.– In 23 B.C. he was granted maius imperium, (greatest imperium)– He was also granted the power of tribune in 23 B.C. and so could then propose and

veto law…

Reforms in Foreign Policy and the military

• Reforms in foreign policy:– Augustus assigned governors (from the Roman senate) to Roman provinces

but he had the power to overrule these governors– Establishes a unified imperial policy

• Military reform:– Augustus maintained a standing army of 28 legions with each legion having

5400 men.– Augustus also created the ‘nine cohorts of elite troops’. They protected the

princeps.

Expansion of the Empire

• Expansion of the Empire:– Augustus added more territory

to the Roman empire than any other Roman.

– His expansion was to the north– He conquered the central and

maritime Alps and expanded Roman control of the Balkan peninsula to the Danube river.

• Problems in Germany:– In 15 B.C. Augustus attempts

to expand into Germany. – By 9 B.C. Augustus’ forces had

reached the Elbe river in Eastern Germany.

– From 6-9 A.D. the Roman forces attempted further expansion into German territory but were forced to stop because of a series of difficulties including a massacre of 3 Roman legions by German forces in the Teutoburg forest in Germany.

Augustus’ accomplishments

• The accomplishments of Augustus include:– Added a sales tax– Created the first police and fire departments– Instituted a new religious cult that praised the Roman empire with temples

being built for Julius Caesar, Augustus and Roma…– He created laws that limited lavish feasts & made adultery a crime– For the purpose of increasing the falling birth rate he taxed bachelors,

widowers and married persons who had fewer than 3 children.

The Empire at the time of Augustus Octavian

• The Death of Augustus:– Augustus dies in 14 A.D. He was made a God upon his death– The Roman republic was finally replaced by the Roman empire.

• Map of the Empire before, during and after Augustus:

• Source: www.mapcite.com

The Golden Age of Latin Literature

• The Golden Age of Latin Literature:– During Augustus’ reign we get the golden Age of Latin

literature– The time of Virgil, Horace, Ovid and others

• Horace:– 65-8 B.C.– He tried to point out the ‘follies and vices of his age’.– He took on subjects such as sexual immorality and

greed.– In the Satires, a number of poems, Horace is a

detached observer of human weakness.– In the Epistles Horace uses another Greek form, the

imaginary letter in verse, to portray the things he loved most: a simple life, good friends and his beloved countryside.

• Source of image of Horace: en.wikipedia.org

Virgil

• Virgil (70-19 B.C.)– The most distinguished poet of the

Augustinian age– Wrote his greatest work in the honor of

Augustus; it was called the Aeneid– The Aeneid: an epic poem that is about

Aeneas, who survives the destruction of Troy and eventually settles in Latium

– Aeneas is portrayed with ideal Roman values: dutiful, pious and faithful

– Virgil’s purpose was to show that Aeneas had fulfilled his mission: to establish Romans in Italy and to conquer the world…

• Source of image of Virgil: www.kidspast.com

The Pax Romana

• The Pax Romana:– The period of 96-180 A.D. is famously called the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.– During this time the empire is ruled by the 5 ‘good emperors’.– The Pax Romana ended with the death of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180– No major wars in over 2 centuries– The whole western world was peaceful and stable

The Good Emperors

• The Good emperors:– 96-180 AD. – Included Nerva, Trajan,

Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius…

• Trajan: – Ruled 98-117 AD– The first emperor born outside

Italy– He was a brilliant Spanish

general– Led Rome to the maximum

expansion of its empire

• Hadrian:• 76-138• Reigned 117-138• The best educated emperor

of Rome• Concerned with supporting

Greek intellectual life…

The Roman Empire at the time of Trajan

• Source: www.tekauri.com

Marcus Aurelius

• Marcus Aurelius:– 121-180– Reigned 161-180– Distinguished general and stoic

philosopher– Wrote the Meditations– Detested war and confined his

military activities to defending Rome’s borders and this is where he died…

– Had a son Commodus who reigned 180-192 who was corrupt

• Upper image is a bust of Marcus Aurelius. Source: en.wikipedia.org

• Lower image is the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. It was erected in 175 AD in Rome. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Following the death of Marcus Aurelius

• Following the death of Marcus Aurelius:– At its height in the 2nd century, the Roman empire covered 3.5 million square

miles and had a population of more than 50 million.– In 212 A.D. the Roman emperor Caracalla gave Roman citizenship to every free

inhabitant of the empire– Citizens paid taxes so this generated much revenue…– Latin becomes the language of the Western Empire & Greek is the language of

the Eastern Empire

Problems arise in the 3rd century

• Problems arise in the 3rd century:– In the 3rd century the professional army decided who was to be emperor

– Whoever offered the greatest bribe to the legions was emperor

– From 235-284 A.D. the empire was mired in constant civil war• 27 emperors• Only 4 weren’t assassinated

– In addition, in the 3rd century, the Roman Empire gets a recurrence of the plague which decimates the Roman population by as much as 1/3…

Foreign invasion in the 3rd Century

• Foreign Invasion:– In addition to problems created by plague and civil war Rome succumbs to

foreign invasion in the 3rd century

• Invaders:– The Sassanid Persians invaded Rome and captured the Roman emperor

Valerian in 260 A.D.– The Goths moved into Greece and Asia minor– The Franks advanced into Gaul and Spain– In 270 A.D. Zenobia, wife of the ruler of Syria, seized power after his death

and proceeded to take control of Egypt and much of Asia minor.– Not until the Roman emperor Aurelian, 270-275, was Zenobia defeated and

the original boundaries restored.

The development of concrete

• The use of concrete:– The Romans were the first people to use concrete on a massive scale.

– They constructed massive buildings such as public baths and amphitheaters.• Two of the great amphitheaters were the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus…

– They also used concrete to build roads, aqueducts and bridges.

Roman Aqueducts

• Roman Aqueducts:– Romans constructed aqueducts

throughout the empire.– In Rome almost a dozen aqueducts

supplied the city with water.– The aqueducts brought water to the

city from distant sources supplying public baths, fountains and private households

– Aqueducts moved water through gravity alone, being constructed along a slight downward gradient

• Image of the arches of the Pont du Gard in modern day southern France. – Carried water to the city of Nimes.

• Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Colosseum

• The Colosseum:– Seated about 50,000 spectators with – The arena measured 156 x 258 feet. – The primary stadium for gladitorial

contests.– Gladiatorial combat was invented in

264 BC– The loser was to display his throat to

the winner’s sword; the dead body was dragged away…

– The government paid for gladiatorial schools housing some 2000 gladiators

• Images of the Colosseum in Rome. Source of images: en.wikipedia.org

The Circus Maximus

• The Circus Maximus:– The primary stadium for chariot racing – Seated up to 150,000 people– The race course measured 660’x 1950’– Operated 240 days a year – Could total 8 million yearly admissions.– 4 horse chariots were driven at a

frenzied pace on a tight oval track with the only rule being: to the victor go the spoils.

– Winning drivers were rich…– Spectators bet on the races: the winner

or even who would die…

• Source of images to the right: cirquesouscesar.wordpress.com & kizaz.com

• Reconstruction of the Circus Maximus:

Image of Chariot Race:

The Roman Legal System

• The Legal system:• Great progress in the study, practice and codification of law.• Invented and practiced the concept of natural law which lead to the

concept of natural rights.• The idea of natural rights is the idea that all men are born equal and should

therefore be equal before the law.• Although the concept was not universally practiced in the Roman empire,

the Romans did establish standards of justice applicable to all people, equally.– For example, a defendant was considered innocent until proven guilty.

Other Roman Achievements

• Roman roads:– A 50,000 mile network of paved

roads linked all parts of the empire– Roads were used for trade, travel

and the postal service– Guide books were made– Highway patrol served the roads– There was a stable every 10 miles

and an inn every 30 miles

• Apartment buildings, convenience markets, open air markets and public baths– Public baths included indoor and

outdoor swimming pools, gymnasiums, libraries, lounges, restaurants, bars and gardens

• Image of the Roads traveled during the Empire:

• Source of image: www.bible-history.com