Rome

1. Rome The Early Days

2. The Rise of Rome • "Who is so thoughtless and lazy that does not want to know in what way and with what kind of government the Romans in less than 53 years conquered nearly the entire inhabited world and brought it under their rule - an achievement previously unheard of?" • This question was asked by Polybius, a Greek historian who lived in the second century B.C. • the achievement Polybius was speaking of was Rome’s ability to not only conquer peoples but to incorporate them into the Roman system.

3. From City-State to Empire • “Rome’s greatest achievement was to transcend the narrow political orientation of the city-state and to create a world-state that unified the different nations of the Mediterranean world…. The Hebrews were distinguished by their prophets and the Greeks by their philosophers. The Romans…found expression in law and government, in the practical, not the theoretical” (Perry 2005, 69-70).

4. The Land and the Sea • Italy ‘s Position and Climate (subtropical) • Rivers were unsuitable for shipping so Mediterranean became important. • The Apennines hindered people from penetrating Italy from the north. • Geography was better than Greece. Latium and Campania were fertile plains • The Romans established their city on the Tiber River in Latium. • The seven hills of Rome were defensible and safe from the floods.

5. Early Days • By the 8th century BC, small peasant communities were living in the hills of Rome • North of them were the Etruscans • South of them were the Greeks • Eventually both of these were absorbed by the Romans

6. The Etruscans • The Etruscans were a mysterious people that formed towns in Italy. • Some scholars believe that they migrated from Asia Minor • The Etruscans exported mineral resources to pay for luxury goods imported from the eastern Mediterranean. They also created an export market in olive oil and wine. • Formed a loose league of cities whose domination covered much of Italy • 7th century B.C. they had fully entered the cosmopolitan life of the Mediterranean world • They were eventually defeated by Celts, Greeks, and finally Romans

7. Roman Legend • According to Roman legend, Romulus and Remus founded Rome in 753 B.C. • Romulus built his settlement on the Palatine Hill. Remus chose the Aventine. • Remus was jealous and jumped over Romulus’s wall. • Romulus killed him saying "So will die whoever else shall leap over my walls."

8. The Romans and the Etruscans • During the 6th and 7th BC the Etruscans expanded their territory and controlled the monarchy in Rome • Under the Etruscans, Rome enjoyed contacts with the larger Mediterranean world, and the city began to grow. Capitoline Hill became the religious center of the city when the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was built there. • The Romans adopted some things from the Etruscans: the toga, Architectural styles (the vault and arch), road construction, sanitation, hydraulic engineering, metallurgy, ceramics, portrait sculpture, Etruscan words, names, and gods.

9. Forming the Republic • Romans expelled the Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud from Rome in 509 B.C. and founded the republic. • Then they formed alliances with the Latin towns around them. • In the beginning, religion governed the people, dictated laws and legitimized the rule of the patricians • Gradually religion and politics were separated • The constitutional system paralleled the Greek achievement of rationalizing and secularizing politics and law

10. Early Republic • Early republic- power was with the aristocracy- the patricians. • The Plebeians had few of the Patricians’ advantages but had a voice in politics. • The Senate- originated under the Etruscans as a council of noble elders who advised the king, sat year after year • Senate could not pass legislation, it could only offer its advice. • Centuriate Assembly was established as a popular assembly and the Senate advised it

11. Social Conflict in Rome • The Struggle of Orders- social conflict that developed between patricians and plebeians. The plebeians wanted real political representation and safeguards against patrician domination. • Senate and Centuriate Assembly • In 494 B.C., the plebeians walked out of Rome and refused to serve in the army.

12. Results • The tribunes- plebeians who brought grievances to the senate for resolution. • Only the patricians knew the law. Plebeians wanted the law codified and published. • Law of the Twelve Tables- civil and criminal law that were inscribed on large bronze plaques. They forced the patricians to publish legal procedures as well. • In 287 B.C., the lex Hortensia gave the concilium plebes the force of law for patricians and plebeians alike. Plebeians could now hold the consulship and wear the purple toga, the symbol of aristocracy- also established a new nobility with plebes and patricians. • Tribal Assembly no longer needed senate approval to pass laws

13. Roman Offices and Assemblies • The Romans created assemblies who elected magistrates and passed legislation. • Comitia Curiata- religious, political, and military functions • Comitia centuriata- a military group who would help decide policy • Concilium plebes- an assembly made up of plebeians to pass ordinances • Chief magistrates of the republic were the two consuls, elected for one-year terms. • They appointed quaestors to assist them. • In 421 B.C. the quaestorship became an elective office open to plebeians. • The Praetor primarily dealt with the administration of justice. • Censors were responsible for the supervision of public morals, the power to determine who lawfully could sit in the senate, and for the registration of citizens.

14. The Roman Constitution • Ruling ologarchy had a sense of responsibility and talent for statesmanship • Civic needs rather than religious mystery formed the foundation • Study and interpretation of law passed to a class of professional jurists who classified, systematized and sought commonsense answers to legal problems • The Roman constitution evolved gradually and empirically to respond to needs as they arose

15. 146 BC • There had been 5 great powers when Rome started to consolidate its power: • Seleucids in the Near East, Ptolemaics in Egypt, Macedonia, Carthage, And the Italian Confederation (Rome dominated) • By 146 Rome was the dominant power in all of the Mediterranean • This Roman expansion occurred in 3 main phases • Unification of the Italian Peninsula • Collision with Carthage • Subjugation of the Hellenistic states • Rome evolved into the city of humanity – the cosmopolis imagined by the stoics

16. Roman Conquest of Italy • Romans drove the Etruscans out of Latium about a century after forming the republic • Around 390 B.C. Rome faced a setback- the Celts (AKA Gauls) sacked Rome. • From 390 to 290 B.C. Rome was rebuilt; army was reorganized into mobile legions. • Next they subdued other Latin kinsmen, semi-civilized Italian tribes, and finally the Greek city-states in southern Italy • They developed a moral and religious devotion to their city that kept them away from social conflict, factional disputes, and personal ambitions. • Rome couldn’t have accomplished this task without the cooperation of the other Italian people • Rome displayed a remarkable talent for turning former enemies into allies and then Roman citizens • No Greek city had ever integrated non-natives into the political system

17. Expansion into the Mediterranean • Rome was drawn into conflicts that brought her an overseas empire • In 282 B.C. Rome expanded in Italy and to Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. • Romans brought various peoples into one political system. • Those closest to Rome were incorporated into the Roman state. • The others were bound by treaty with the Romans and were considered allies.

18. Carthage • Founded by Phoenecians in around 800 BC • Was a world commercial power • Held major pieces of Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica • Rome was stepping into their territory • Rome also had to come to the aid of her Sicilian and southern Italian allies

19. The Punic Wars (264-133 B.C.) • The First Punic War between Rome and Carthage lasted 23 years(264-241 B.C.). • The Romans built a navy and fought seven major battles with the Carthaginians, won six, and finally wore them down. • In 241 B.C. the Romans took possession of Sicily. • Carthage had to surrender • In 238 B.C. Rome took advantage of Carthaginian weakness- took Sardinia and Corsica.

20. Second Punic War • Carthage still held Spain and Rome tensions were still high between the two powers • In 237 B.C. Carthaginian named Hamilcar led an army to Spain. With him he took his 19 year old son, Hannibal, and made him swear to be an enemy to Rome forever. • In 221 B.C. Hannibal became commander in Spain. He laid siege to Saguntum. The Romans declared war, claiming that Carthage had attacked a friendly city.

21. The Second Punic War • Hannibal struck first marching over the Alps into Italy. He defeated one Roman army at the Battle of Trebia, another at the Battle of Lake Trasimenne in 217 B.C., and got his greatest victory at the Battle of Cannae. • A number of cities in central and southern Italy rebelled against Rome. • Scipio Africanus copied Hannibal’s methods of mobile warfare, streamlining the legions and introduced new weapons. • With Hannibal bottled up in southern Italy, Scipio in 204 B.C. struck directly at Carthage itself. The prompted the Carthaginians to recall Hannibal from Italy to defend the homeland. • In 202 B.C. Scipio defeated Hannibal in one of the world’s truly decisive battles.

22. The Third Punic War • Needless, unjust, and savage conflict that ended in 146 B.C. when Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of Scipio Africanus, destroyed the old hated rival. • The war was launched merely as means to annihilation • Rome Turns East (211-133 B.C.)

23. The Hellenistic World • Overseas Conquest (282-146 B.C.) led to a fearful Greece • In the barbarian West, Rome resorted to harsh aggression to conquer new territory. • The Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy called for help from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in western Greece, a relative of Alexander the Great and an excellent general. • Pyrrhus won two furious battles but suffered heavy casualties. • In 275 B.C. Rome drove him from Italy and extended her sway over southern Italy.

24. Hellenism Conquered • Rome didn’t trust Greece anymore • During the Second Punic War Philip V of Macedonia made an alliance with Hannibal against Rome. • The Romans headed east and found their first victory over the Macedonians in 197 B.C. After that the Roman general Titus Flamininus defeated the Spartans. • In 189 B.C. the Seleucid kingdom fell too the Romans. • The decisive victory came in 146 B.C. when the Romans conquered the Achaean League, sacked Corinth, and finally defeated Macedonia. • Attalus III, the last king of Pergamum, bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. The Ptolemies of Egypt meekly obeyed Roman wishes.

25. Spread of Culture • Roman Culture spread through religious cults, mythology, and drama furthering the Romanization of Italy. The Italians adopted Roman deities and their religious traditions. • The Romans and Italians grew closer together by the mutual understanding of and participation in the religious rites of Roman cults. • Drama gave the Italian an understanding of Roman law and ethics. • Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not simply conquer and dominate. • They shared both political power and citizenship (degrees). • Rome both conquered and shared the fruits of conquest with the conquered. • Rome could consolidate where Greece could only dominate.

26. Roman Law • Divided the Mediterranean into provinces governed by ex-consuls and ex-praetors. • The civil law, or ius civile, consisted of statutes, customs, and forms of procedure. • Assemblies added to the body of law, and praetors interpreted it. • The spirit of the law aimed at protecting the property, lives, and reputations of citizens, redressing wrongs, and giving satisfaction to victims of injustice. • -ius gentium- "the law of peoples,," that applied to Romans and foreigners and that laid the foundation for a universal conception of law. • -ius naturale- "natural law, a universal law that can be applied to all societies.

27. Consequences of Expansion • Thousands of educated Greeks came to Rome- some enslaved, some free, some hired as tutors • Expedited the Hellenization process • Between 80 and 8 BC over 2 million slaves were brought into Italy • 1/3 the Italian population • Slave revolts • Sicily in 135 BC • Spartacus in 73 BC • Provinces became a source for quick profit and corruption

28. Cultural Aspects • Greater Contact with Greek Culture • Wealthy Romans either sent their sons to Athens to study or hired Greek teachers • Roman generals shipped libraries and Greek art back to Rome • Romans acquired a taste for Greek science, philosophy, medicine, and geography • They adopted Greek humanism • Rome assimilated Greek culture and then diffused it

29. Roman Cultural Figures • Cato the Censor- denounced Socrates fro undermining respect for Athenian law and warned against Greek philosophy • Plautus- Rome’s greatest playwright- adopted 4th and 3rd BC Greek comedy • Terence- Came as a slave but was freed by his owner- less boisterous than Plautus but superior in style • Catullus- One of the Great lyric poets- wrote about passion and its anguish • Lucretius- an epicurean that sought philosphical tranquility. He denounced superstition and advanced a materialistic sense of nature. Argued that the soul perishes with the body • Cicero- roman statesman and orator. Student of Greek philosophy • More than 800 of his letters survive • Stoic belief in natural law as the governance of nature and humanity

30. Collapse of the Republic • Destroyed Farms and returning Farmer-soldiers • Forced to sell farms for cheap money • Latifundia and slaves • Many people moved to the urban centers • Independent rural Romans became part of the urban poor

31. The Gracchi • Tiberius Gracchus (163-133)- spokesman for land reform • Revived old law forbidding the use of more than 312 acres of public land • Senatorial elites killed him and 300 of his followers • Gaius Gracchus (153-121)- younger brother who reintroduced these reforms • Enabled the poor to buy grain at ½ market price • Civil war ensued and Guy and 3000 followers died

32. The End is Near • Senate saw itself as the guardian but it was expressing the will of 300 families who wanted to retain control • Generals like Marius begin to use their power to gain authority • He disposed of property rights to become a soldier • Promised money, loot, and land • Sulla battles Marius • Marius dies and Sulla makes reforms • Reduced the power of provincial governors • Increased senate to 600 • Limited power of tribunes and the Assembly • Restored the right of the Senate to veto the Assembly

33. Old Values and Greek Cultue • "Acquisition of an empire was the beginning of Rome’s troubles:"