1. The Romans

3. ROMAN REPUBLIC Roman Mind pietas – piety: honor the gods
loyalty to family & state
gravitas – sense of seriousness
dignitas – dignity: moderation
service to the state
virtus – manliness: demonstrate courage
mutual dependence – patron/client
Other – loved organization, sports
obsessed with questions of law and order

4. Origins of Roman Republic
Legend of Aeneas
Son of Aphrodite
Charged with creating
a new Greek city away
from Greece
Creates a new city on
the Tiber River

5. Romulus & Remus Son of Mars Thrown into Tiber by an uncle
Brought up by a wolf
Decided to build a city together
Quarreled
Remus was
killed

6. The Facts Began as a small village along Tiber River
Latium – central location in Italian peninsula
7 hills among which it was located provided defense
Period of monarchy ( BC)
King
Senators (Council of Elders)
Patricians
Aristocracy/wealthy landowners
Plebeians
Everyone else – 90% of the population
Free but no political power

7. Open to foreigners - including other “Italians”
Citizenship based on military service, which required property ownership
Plebeians w/ enough $ could join the military
but not become officers
Gradually transformed from monarchy to republic
The last 3 kings of the Roman monarchy were Etruscan

8. Etruscans
Immigrants from Asia Minor or descendants from earlier Italians
highly civilized & prosperous
women given much higher status than Greek or Roman women (kept their own names, could attend athletic contests)
Culture reflected Greek influence
Ruled Rome from BC

9. The Roman Republic - Structure
Last Etruscan king overthrown in 509BC
Theory about King Tarquin & his cruelty
Rebellion led by the Patricians
Three Branches of Government
1. Executive
Consuls (chief commanders)
2 elected each year by Assembly
Served for one year then became a Senator
Magistrates
Quaestors – census takers
Aediles – kept order; public buildings
Praetors - judges

10. 2. Legislative – Assemblies (2 of them)
Elected consuls and lower magistrates
Voted on laws & treaties
3. Senate (Deliberative) – had the most power
Senator for life (no term limits) (300 of them)
Advised magistrates
Controlled the budget
Elders and patricians
Dictators
In times of emergency
6-month term of office
Held accountable for actions as dictator

11. Formation of the Roman Republic
Plebeians vs. Patricians
Bulk of the army
Merchants, farmers, craftspeople
Wanted participation in the government; a say in what happens to them
Used force to get more rights
494BC – allowed to have 10 tribunes (representatives of the people) in the Senate
Could veto decisions of consul and Senate
Only served for one year
471BC – given their own assembly
To draft requests on issues they felt were important
For rest of government to make into law

12. 449BC – 12 Tablets
New law code – for all people
Located in the forum of Rome (center of city)
367BC – Licinian-Sextan laws
Plebeians could hold any office within government
One of the consuls must be a plebeian (and then senator after end of term
287BC – Hortensian Law
Laws passed by the Plebeian Assembly were binding on all people in the state

13. ROMAN CULTURE

14. Life and Religion Household (familia) Patron/client relationship
Nuclear family – family, slaves, animals, property
Legal head of the family – oldest male relative
Wives had much responsibility within the family – running household domestic affairs, caring for children, etc.
more freedom than in Greek society
Patron/client relationship
Network of relationships
Patron financially supports the client
Client owed services to patron

15. Religion Nature gods – early Roman society
Local gods of household, fields, weather, etc.
Anthropomorphic gods (Greek influence)
Jupiter (like Zeus)
Juno (like Hera)

16. MARS
Minverva

17. NEPTUNE
VENUS

22. From Republic to Empire

23. Republican Expansion – 3 Stages
Reasons
Greed, Ambition, Fear of Invasion, Growing Population
Stage 1 – Uniting the Peninsula
Stage 2 – Defeat of Carthage (Punic Wars)
1st Punic War - Conquest of Sicily
Rome develops a navy
2nd Punic War – Defeat of Hannibal
Siege of Rome
General Scipio

25. 3rd Punic War – Final Destruction of Carthage
Stage 3 – Conquest of Mediterranean
By 146BC – Rome had subjected the entire Mediterranean world to its will
Italy, Spain, Southern Gaul, North Africa, Egypt, Greek world

26. Consequences of Expansion
New Classes
Equestrian (war profiteers)
Optimates (Patricians & their supporters)
Populares (Plebeians)
Influx of Greeks into Rome – influence of Greek culture
Expansion of Roman Legal System
Increased corruption & taste for luxury
Women
Situation for many improved
More opportunities
Overall Rome became more prosperous, but at the expense of the lower classes

27. Collapse of the Republic
Growing territorial concerns
Tried to govern an expanding area with government that focused on local issues
Wealth became more important than original Roman values that made them successful
Growth of slave class & crisis in agriculture
Small farmers displaced
Hannibal had destroyed much of the agriculture outside the city of Rome

28. Led to other uprisings and rebellions
Gracchi Revolution
Two brothers who attempted to reform Rome in favor of the poor
Tried to go through political/government channels to enact changes
Senate responded to these attempts with violence
One brother assassinated
Second brother killed by the Senate
Led to other uprisings and rebellions
Resulted in various individuals seizing control
Ruling as sole rulers
Political alliances – statesmen banded together to gain power; often led to conflict within alliances

29. Julius Caesar General & Statesman Helped to further expand the
Roman territory to include
Britain and Gaul
Named as dictator in 49BC
Enacted reforms
Lowered taxes & cancelled debts
Gave land to veterans
Calendar w/ 365 ¼ days

30. Ruling classes afraid of his power
15 March 44BC
Ides of March
Stabbed by 60 Senators
Marks the final stages of the Republic
Antony & Cleopatra
Octavian

32. Roman Empire – Rise & Fall
Octavian - First emperor (r. 27BC-14AD)
“Restored” the Republic
Called himself “First citizen” (princeps)
City & peninsular improvements
Allowed traditional customs in provinces & self-rule in provinces
Reorganized the Senate

33. PAX ROMANA (AD 14 – 161) A. Tiberius (AD 14-37) B. Caligula (AD 37-41)
Ruled wisely
B. Caligula (AD 37-41)
Insane (practiced grimaces)
ordered golden statue of himself in Jewish temple
created a new cult to himself
C. Claudius (41-54)
Wanted to correct damage done by earlier emperors
Ruled fairly
poisoned - probably by his wife Agrippina

34. CALIGULA
CLAUDIUS
NERO

35. **End of the Pax Romana**
D. Nero (AD 54-68)
Mentally deranged
Paranoid
burning of Rome
E. Period of emperors who either ruled well or didn’t cause too much trouble
F. Marcus Aurelius (AD )
reign marked by frequent strife
financial problems b/c of warring
chose his son, Commodus, to succeed him
**End of the Pax Romana**

36. MARCUS AURELIUS
COMMODUS

37. DECLINE OF ROMAN EMPIRE
Trouble in the Empire
Internal unrest
Social & Economic weakness
Cultural Stagnation & Rise of Religions
Problems w/ Rulers
Commodus
Lack of stable leadership
(26 soldier-emperors ; 25 killed)
Diocletian
Constantine
Germanic Invasions

38. Final Defeat of the Roman Empire
Germanization of western part of the empire
Power had shifted to the Eastern part of the Empire
German tribes settling on Roman soil
Invasions and migrations
Visigoths – forced into the area as Huns moved west
410 – sacked the city of Rome
418 – given permission to settle in Southern Gaul
Huns – Mongols from plains of Central Asia
Militaristic & nomadic
452 – marched into Italy
Other Attacks
455 – Vandals pillaged Rome
476 – Last of the western Emperors was deposed by the Germans