The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

Question Like Rome, the US is a republic. The Roman Republic prospered for roughly 400 years before Julius Caesar, who was extremely popular with the poor thanks to his generous welfare programs, seized power and turned the Republic into an Empire. Could the same thing happen to the US? Why or why not?

Octavian Augustus 27 BC – 14 AD (reign) Took the title “princeps” or “first citizen” – Octavian was careful to never use the title “rex” (Latin for king) Also held positions of “pontifex” (high priest) and “imperator” (commander of all armies)

The Imperial Cult Roman emperors were believed to be mortal manifestations of the divine and were worshipped as gods Some emperors made worship of themselves mandatory, a problem for monotheistic groups like the Jews and, later, the Christians

Tiberius Octavian’s step-son 14 AD – 37 AD (reign) Octavian’s step-son Forced to marry his step-sister by Octavian Left Rome out of paranoia in his later years and lived on the island of Capri All his sons died before he did, so no clear successor

Caligula Was adopted grandson of Tiberius 37 AD – 41 AD (reign) Was adopted grandson of Tiberius Extremely popular and fair until he fell ill 6 months into his reign (epileptic), then mentally unstable Supposedly tried to appoint his horse as consul, sold his sisters into prostitution Assassinated, along with his wife and baby daughter, by his own guards

Claudius Caligula’s uncle Did he suffer from cerebral palsy? 41 – 54 AD (reign) Caligula’s uncle Did he suffer from cerebral palsy? Declared emperor by the same guards who killed Caligula, but served capably Conquered Britain Married 4 times, each ended badly Died from poisoning, probably by his 4th wife

Nero Step-son of Claudius 54 – 68 AD (reign) Step-son of Claudius Enjoyed singing, dancing, acting, and poetry (not very “manly” activities then) Had his mother & 2 of his wives executed When Rome burned in 64, many blamed Nero but Nero blamed the Christian minority Committed suicide after senate ordered his arrest for abuse of power

Question: Given what you’ve just learned, what are some major disadvantages of rule by hereditary kings?

Vespasian 69 – 79 AD (reign) Roman general who was declared emperor by the senate to end civil war (68 AD – the “Year of 4 Emperors”) Built the Coliseum Died from severe diarrhea, with his last words being “Vae, puto, deus fio” (“$*!#, I think I am becoming a god!) – remember emperors were worshipped as gods after their deaths

The Jewish Rebellion 66 – 73 AD About 1 million Jews were killed in the war Jewish population was forcibly scattered across the Empire (diaspora), many became slaves Judea would not be predominantly Jewish again until the creation of the Israeli state after WWII (1948)

The Flavian Amphitheater

Titus 79 – 81 AD (reign) Vespasian’s son Destroyed the Jewish Temple as part of crushing the Jewish revolt Emperor when Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii, Rome burned, and plague hit Died of a fever (although the Talmud reports that an insect ate his brain!)

Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (79 AD)

Eruption destroyed cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mt. Vesuvius TODAY 2 million people live near Vesuvius today “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana “Those who sleep in World History are doomed to repeat it.” – Mr. Phillips

Have WE learned?

Rome at its largest (116 AD)

Marcus Aurelius 161 – 180 AD (reign) Pax Romana ended as Rome fought wars with both the Parthians in the east and the Germans in the north Great philosopher, but an enemy and persecutor of Christianity After his death, Rome began long decline

Constantine 306 – 337 AD (reign) Edict of Milan (313 AD) granted freedom of religion throughout the Roman Empire, ended persecution of Christians Called Council of Nicea (325 AD) to give formal structure and unified dogma to the Christian church

Theodosius 379 – 395 AD (reign) Made Christianity the official religion of the empire in 380 AD Opened the way for the banning of all competing religions, especially the “mystery cults” and unsanctioned forms of Christianity

Why did Rome decline?

Growth of Christianity Despite heavy persecution, Christianity continued to grow Represented a major shift in Roman morality which further deepened the values gap between the rich and the poor

The Western Roman Empire was overrun by “barbarians”: (Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, & Huns)

The city of Rome fell to invaders in 476 AD, ending the Western Empire

Eastern (or Byzantine) Empire survived until 1453 AD

The Byzantine Empire

Capital at Constantinople

Constantinople grew wealthy because it sat astride the trade routes connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia

Justinian 527 – 565 (reign) Wanted to restore the full Roman Empire Collected and reformed all old Roman law into the standardized “Corpus Juris Civilis” or “Body of Civil Law” (sometimes called the Code of Justinian) After death of his wife Theodora, he turned to a deep interest in the church, and poured his energies into building the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia (interior)

Hagia Sophia (today)