Section 3 – The End of the Republic Ch 11 - Rome Section 3 – The End of the Republic

Rome’s rich and poor Most people were plebeians who had small farms. They began to fall into poverty and debt. Reasons: They had to fight in the army and therefore their farms became neglected. Some farms were destroyed by the Carthaginians. Now they had no crops to harvest.

Rome’s rich and poor 3. Could not compete with the wealthy that owned Latifundias (large farms). 4. The wealthy also used slaves to do their work. Farmers couldn’t get jobs on the wealthy’s farms.

Problems with the Latifundia Caused small farms to shut down. Small farmers left the countryside to find work in the city. Enslaved people did most of the work in the cities. If a job was found it was often low paying. Fearful of a rebellion, roman leaders started to offer cheap food and free entertainment. “Bread and circuses”

Roman Reformers-Gracchus Brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus believed that the problems of Rome was caused by the wealthy landowners. They wanted the Senate to take land from the wealthy Latifundias and give it to the small farmers. Both brothers would be killed for their actions. Often times the Senators owned the Latifundias.

Politics and the Army With the economic problems in Rome, Generals began to enter into politics to end these problems. Marius (a Roman General) changed the military by allowing the poor to serve. He gave money and promised land to those that served. This helped the unemployment but weakened the government. Soldiers were loyal to the General not to the Roman Empire.

Politics and the Army Another general named Sulla opposed Marius and drove he and his army out of Rome. He then named himself Rome’s dictator. Sulla reduced the power of the Tribunes and gave more power to the Senate. He then gave up his power, hoping that a Republic would grow strong again. The problem is that military leaders started to fight for power.

Rise of Julius Caesar Eventually three men ruled the Empire together. This is called a Triumvirate (3 rulers share equal power) Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey were all military leaders. Each Triumvirate member controlled an area in the Roman Empire.

Rise of Julius Caesar For 10 years they ruled together until Crassus died. Pompey became a rival of Caesar and obtained the backing of the Senate. The Senate ordered Caesar to give up his army and to return to Rome. Caesar refused and marched his army into Rome.

Rise of Julius Caesar Caesar and his army captured Rome and all of Italy. Caesar pushed Pompey out of Italy and finally crushed his army 2 years later. Caesar took control of the Empire and named himself as dictator for life. Caesar was well liked by the average person, he created reforms that helped these people.

Rise of Julius Caesar Best known for the Julian calendar which had 365 days and 12 months. This calendar was used until the 1500s. Then it was changed slightly to the Gregorian calendar which is based on the birth of Jesus. This is our current calendar.

Fall of Julius Caesar People started to believe that he wanted to be a King. One day when Caesar entered the Senate building to give a speech, he was stabbed to death by several Senators. After his death, civil war broke out.

Octavian Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian joined two of Caesar’s top generals. They formed the 2nd Triumvirate and fought the forces that killed Caesar. Octavian, Lepidus, and Antony divided the empire into 1/3s. Lepidus retires and Antony and Octavian go to war.

Octavian and Antony go to War Antony falls in love with the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. He ends up giving Roman land to Cleopatra to control. This angers Rome and Octavian. Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian get into a Naval battle. Cleopatra leaves the battle field without Antony noticing.

Octavian and Antony go to War Antony retreats and sails back to Egypt. Once back her falls on his sword(on purpose) because he believes that Cleopatra id dead. Cleopatra returns to find Antony dead. She lies in a snake filled coffin next to Anthony and commits suicide.

Octavian Octavian wins the war and becomes the first Roman Emperor. However he took the name Augustus, Meaning the revered one. In public he supported a Republic but in private he believed that the empire needed a strong single ruler. The Senate agreed and made him consul, tribune, and commander in chief for life.