1. Ancient Rome 1000 Years of World Domination The Roman Empire

2. SSWH3 The student will examine the political, philosophical, and cultural interaction of Classical Mediterranean societies from 700 BCE to 400 CE.
a. Compare the origins and structure of the Greek polis, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire.

3. What was the Roman Empire?
There were two periods of Roman government.
Roman Republic 509 BCE-30 BCE
Roman Empire 30 BCE-476 CE

4. What was the Roman Empire?
Rome technically had an “empire” under the Roman Republic.
But the term “Roman Empire” refers to the time period, beginning with Augustus, when Rome was ruled by emperors.

5. Roman Republic Republic = citizens can choose (vote for) their leader.
Established 509 b.c.e.
Only men with money and property could vote.
Representative Democracy: The wealthy elected representatives to make laws for everyone.

6. Structure of the Republic
Patricians= landholding upper class
Plebeians= farmers, merchants, artisans, traders
Senate= governing body
Consuls= two patricians
Patricians
Plebeians

7. Patricians Land holding upper class.
The most prosperous families in Rome.
The ruling class.
The wealthy citizens.
Overthrew the Etrucans and claimed Rome to be a Republic.

8. The Plebian Social class
The lower class.
The common-folk.
In between Patricians and the slaves.
The vast majority of society.
Usually poor.
Would sell themselves and their children into slavery.
Plebs were considered an addition to the "real" roman life-styles by the citizens of Rome.

9. Gradually, the Romans began to expand their control…

10. …until they had conquered the entire Italian peninsula
…until they had conquered the entire Italian peninsula plus the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily

11. Infrastructure As they expanded their control
the Romans built an excellent network of roads
Roads were initially built by and for the military
but helped with trade and communication at large as the republic and then empire grew.

12. Infrastructure
Their road system is one of the Romans’ greatest achievements
Allowed easy military transport
Enabled trade and commerce
Helped unify expanding Roman territories

13. The Gracchus Brothers
The brothers worked to get the state to distribute the land to the poor farmers
They also worked to get the state to buy grain to feed the poor
Senate felt they were a threat to its power, and hired thugs to kill the brothers and their followers
-Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were patricians who were elected tribunes

14. Republic to Empire
Civil wars break out to decide who should hold power. The senate wanted to keep the status quo; political leaders wanted to weaken the senate and enact reforms
Slave uprisings throughout the republic
Armies became loyal to their commanders because they gave them benefits such as captured land

15. Carthage Rivals of Rome
Between BCE the Romans fought three wars with Carthage, known as the Punic Wars.

16. The Punic Wars Carthage had an empire throughout the Mediterranean
Rome fought Carthage in three wars from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C. (118 years!)
By the Third Punic War, Rome had completely destroyed Carthage and gained all of Carthage’s territory

17. Rome wins!
…and went on to conquer the rest of the Mediterranean world.
By 70 BC, Rome’s Mediterranean empire spread from Anatolia in the east to Spain in the west.

18. 1st Triumvirate Triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Crassus, Pompey)
success in Gaul made JC very popular with the people of Rome
Pompey and Crassus don’t like the power that JC is retaining
46 BC – JC returns to Rome and named dictator for life – senators (Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius) plotted his assassination in 44 BC

20. 2nd Triumvirate
2nd Triumvirate – Octavian (JC’s nephew), Mark Antony & Lepidus
43 BC took control of Rome and ruled for 10 years
Alliance ended in jealousy & violence
Octavian accepted title of Augustus (“exalted one”) and was sole ruler
Making Rome an Empire

21. Octavian Becomes Augustus
Octavian was sole ruler of Rome after his forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium
The Senate gave him the name “Augustus,” meaning “most high”
23 BCE – Octavian, now referred to as Augustus,
was made consul for life by the Senate
made “Princeps,” meaning “first citizen”
Origin of the word “prince”

22. Octavian Becomes Augustus
Also made “Imperator,” meaning “successful general”/ Commander in Chief
Origin of the word “emperor”
Also made “Pontifex Maximus,” or “chief religious leader
Origin of the word “pontiff” (used to describe the pope today)
Also made a tribune
He had the power to call the Senate, veto the Senate’s laws, and make laws himself

23. Primus inter pares
“First among equals” = Emperor = most prestigious/important of Roman Senate
Augustus (and later emperors) tried to maintain the façade democracy instead of dictatorship
Illusion that each senator was equally important
Reality = Roman emperors ruled with little input from anyone else

24. Pax Romana
The period 27 BCE-180 AD (the last two maps) is known as the:
Pax Romana = Roman Peace
This was a time of great peace and prosperity for the Roman empire
included 3 million square miles and population was million, with 1 million in Rome

25. Pax Romana Romans thought they were the entire civilized world
Rome enjoyed military dominance
Trade increased, bringing a wealth of resources into Rome
The arts flourished

26. Pax Romana Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean region and beyond
Complete control = almost no warfare
lasted nearly 200 years
More and more provincials were granted official Roman citizenship

27. Augustus: A Golden Age
Attempted to reform public morals by promoting family life (largely unsuccessful).
Began the practice of declaring emperors gods,
and of picking their own successors.
(He called Haley’s Comet the spirit of Caesar.)

28. Augustus: A Golden Age
Built and maintained the empire’s infrastructure (e.g., roads).
Encouraged the growth of business.
Established fire and police departments for Rome.
Established a strong money system.

29. Augustus: A Golden Age
Extended citizenship to more and more provincials.
Said he “found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.”
Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was born in the Roman province of Judea during the reign of Augustus.

31. Roman Emperors after Augustus
Great variety in the quality of emperors who succeeded Augustus
The office of emperor was initially designed to be hereditary
Confusion as to which family member would inherit the throne
Some emperors = cutthroats, insane, or both
The military eventurally had an enormous role in selecting the emperor

32. Tiberius (14-37 CE) Stepson of Augustus Abolished the Assembly
Capable general who extended the frontier in the north
Strengthened the empire
Appeared to dislike ruling
gradually retired to the island of Capri

33. Caligula (37 CE-41 CE) Son of famed military leader Germanicus
the nephew and adopted son of Tiberius
Earned his name “Caligula,” (“little boots,”) by the Roman army as a child (he was dressed like a soldier)
Two years of good, effective rule
Then a severe illness

34. Caligula (37 CE-41 CE) followed by two years of horrible rule
Paranoid about members of family and perceived enemies
Exiled some, killed some, and forced others to commit suicide
Assassinated in 41 CE by members of the Praetorian Guard

35. Claudius (41-54 CE)
Brought southern Britannia (what later became Great Britain) under Roman control
Opened the Senate up to provincials
Became emperor because he was the last adult male of his family (brother of Germanicus and uncle of Caligula)
Conducted a census of the empire in 48 CE
5,984,072 Roman citizens

36. Nero (54-68 CE) Considered a tyrant
Came to power after his mother allegedly poisoned his predecessor, Claudius
Murdered his mother, his stepbrother, and two of his wives
Also killed his teacher, the famous philosopher Seneca

37. Nero (54-68 CE) Fire in Rome (64 CE)
Accused of setting the fire, and of fiddling while the city burned
Blamed the fire on the new religious group known as “Christians”
Forced to commit suicide

38. Year of the Four Emperors (69 CE)
Brief period of civil war after the death of Emperor Nero
Four emperors ruled in quick succession
Galba
Otho
Vitellius
Vespasian
Illustrated the problems of imperial succession

39. Vespasian (69-79 CE) Built the Colosseum in Rome
Place where gladiatorial combats were held
Succeeded by son Titus, then son Domitian

40. Vespasian (69-79 CE) First Jewish Revolt (66-70 CE)
Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, in the Roman province of Judea
Carried out by Vespasian’s son, Titus
This was the Second Temple (516 BCE-70 CE)
First Temple (built by King Solomon ca. 960 BCE)
had been destroyed in 586 BCE when the Babylonians conquered the Jews
embarked on what became known as the Babylonian Captivity

43. Trajan ( CE)
Born into a non-patrician family in what is now Spain
Massive public works program in Rome
Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Forum, Trajan’s Market
Oversaw the expansion of the empire to its greatest extent
Considered to have been a great emperor

45. Hadrian (117-138 CE) Strengthened the empire’s defenses
Hadrian’s Wall separated Roman territory in Britannia from the Picts (in what is roughly now Scotland)
Put down the Second Jewish Revolt (Bar Kokhba Revolt), CE

46. Bar Kokhba Revolt Also known as the Second Jewish-Roman War
Led by Simon Bar Kokhba, a man many believed to be the messiah
Jews forced to leave Jerusalem after defeat
Many historians date this as the official start of the Jewish Diaspora

47. Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE) Stoic philosopher Wrote book Meditations
Succeeded by his son, Commodus ( CE)
The characters in the Russell Crowe film “Gladiator” are very loosely based on Marcus Aurelius and Commodus
His death = the end of the Pax Romana (27 BCE-180 CE)

48. Diocletian ( CE)
Rome had a century of chaos following the death of Marcus Aurelius
The “Crisis of the Third Century”
Diocletian was the first emperor in 100 years to properly restore order and end the violence
Absolute ruler who ended all personal liberties

49. Diocletian ( CE)
Increased the bureaucracy for more effective administration
Divided the empire into two administrative realms (east and west) in 285 CE
This was the first step in the creation of what would become two separate empires
Roman (Western) Empire
Byzantine (Eastern) Empire

50. The Two Empires
Emperor Diocletian believed that dividing the empire for administrative purposes would strengthen the empire
He was wrong
Once Constantine set up Constantinople as a capital city, the east/west split deepened

51. The Two Empires
Western (Roman) Empire Ended officially in 476 CE when the last emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed by a barbarian, Odoacer
Eastern (Byzantine) Empire Lasted until 1453 when the empire was conquered by the Ottoman Turks

52. Constantine (312-337 CE) Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium
Renamed the city Constantinople
Today the city is Istanbul (in modern Turkey)
Constantine and Christianity
His mother, Helena, had converted to Christianity
Edict of Milan (313 CE)
Christianity legalized (religious toleration)
Converted to Christianity on his deathbed

53. Justinian ( CE)
Powerful emperor of the Eastern (Byzantine) empire
headquartered at Constantinople
Married Theodora, an intelligent courtesan (stripper)
Managed to reunite the Eastern and Western empires for a time, but this did not last
Rewrote Roman law (Corpus Juris Civilis, or the Justinian Code)
Still the basis for civil law in several countries

54. Justinian (527-565 CE) Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE)
Bubonic plague severely hurt the Byzantine empire
Emperor Justinian became sick, but recovered
Recovery for the Byzantine empire took hundreds of years