Julius Caesar
• Loved by the poor citizens of Rome
• Elected Consul
• First Triumvirate (group of 3 rulers)
– Caesar, Crassus, Pompey
Julius Caesar
• Governor of Gaul• Senate orders
Caesar home• Conquest of Egypt,
Cleopatra• Return to Rome,
becomes dictator • Stabbed 23 times in
the Senate
• Government under Caesar:– Dictatorship– Citizenship to many people– Land to veterans, grain to poor– Senate as advisory council,
increased membership– Solar based calendar
Reforms of Caesar
Julius Caesar's Tomb
His body was brought back by his people and burned so that the
conspirators couldn’t get to it.
The Second Triumvirate
• Octavian, Antony, Lepidus
• Civil war between conspirators and Caesar’s allies
• Rivals: Octavian and Marc Antony
• War between Octavian and Marc Antony, Cleopatra
• Defeat Egypt at the Battle of Actium• Suicide of Marc Antony and Cleopatra• Octavian:
– Unchallenged ruler of Rome– Accepted the title of Augustus (exalted one)– Rome was now an empire, ruled by one man
Battle of Actium
Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
• A period of peace, stability, and unity
• Vast trading network was protected by the Roman navy
• Cities grew wealthy
“All roads lead to Rome . . .”
• Roads– Military– Connections– Exchange
• Provinces– Spain, France,
England, Germany, Greece, Egypt
The last two good emperors
• Diocletian– Absolute ruler, limited
personal freedom– Claimed descent from the
gods – Persecuted Christians– Divided empire
• Got too big• Easier to govern
• Constantine– Reunited the empire– Moved the capitol to
Constantinople– Power shift: west → east– Christianity
• Legalized the Christian church in 313 CE and ended persecution – Edict of Milan
Political Causes
• Political office seen as burden
• Bad emperors• Military interference
in gov’t• Civil war• Division of Empire• Moved capital to
Byzantium
Social Causes
• Decline in interest in public affairs
• Low confidence in gov’t
• Disloyalty• Corruption• Gap between rich
and poor
Economic Causes
• Poor harvests• Disruption of trade
• Lack of war plunder• Gold and silver drain
• Inflation• High taxes
• Gap between rich and poor
Military Causes
• Threat from northern tribes
• Low funds for defense• Recruiting non-
Roman citizens• Lack of patriotism and
loyalty amongst troops
Immediate Causes
• Military pressure from Huns
• Invasion by Germans and Huns
• Sack of Rome• Conquest by invaders• 476ce – the end of the
western Roman Empire
• Alphabet and Language– Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian
(Romance languages)– Roman Numerals
• Calendar– Developed by Julius Caesar– July and August– Saturday
Legacy of Rome
• Aqueducts– Carried water into
the cities from long distances
– Used the arch
Engineering and Architecture
• Architecture-columns-dome-concrete