Chapter 4 Republic to Empire

A Surprising Beginning
 Started as small village; eventually ruled world
 Influenced by Greeks
 Unprecedented unity, peace, prosperity
 1,000 year reign
 500 years = the Republic; 500 years = the Empire

A Legendary Beginning
According to legend, Romulus and
Remus were twin sons of the war
god, Mars.Abandoned at birth, the
twins were raised by a she-wolf.
The boys grew up and decided to
create a great city, but they argued
over where they should build it.
Romulus killed his brother and
named the new city, Rome, after
himself.
Romulus founded the city of Rome
in 753 B.C.

Prehistoric Italy
 Culture developed slowly
 Warlike invaders arrived
about 1,000 B.C.
 Spoke language related to
“Italic”
 Cremated dead; weapons,
armor in tombs
 High quality bronze-work
(weapons, armor, tools)

Resilient People
 Tough mountain people
 Umbrians
 Sabines
 Samnites
 Latins
 Combined with
Etruscans, Greeks, Celts

The Etruscans
 Most powerful influence on Romans
 Arose in Etruria (Tuscany): northern Italy
 Origin unknown
 Culture seen in tombs and art
 Eastern influence? (Asia Minor); religious rituals similar

The Etruscans migrated to Italy
and brought their art with them.

Etruscan Government
 Self-governing settlements; fortified city-states
 12 city-states formed loose, religious confederation
 Ruled by kings at first
 Agrarian aristocracy replaced king’s authority
 Council of nobles elected magistrates annually

Etruscan Domination
 Aristocracy skilled with horses,
chariots
 Military ruling class dominated,
exploited Italians:
 Farming, mining, infantry in
Etruscan armies
 Etruscans became wealthy:
 Agriculture, industry, piracy, trade
with Carthaginians, Greeks

An Etruscan House
Few Etruscan buildings
have survived.

Etruscan Religion
 Influenced Roman religion
 Gloomy view
 Gods, spirits: many evil
 Relied on rituals, priesthood
 Greek influence: gods in
human form, temples

Etruscan Views of Women
Tombs mention names
of mother AND father More influential than Greek
women
 Women appeared in public with
husbands
 Festivals, banquets
 Many were educated
 Attended, took part in athletic
contests

Etruscan sculpture
Notice the clothing and hair styles.
Etruscan art shows positive
images of husbands and wives.

Expansion of Power
 In Italy = Latium (included
small village: Rome)
 South = neighbors to
Greeks in Naples
 North to Po RiverValley
 Across sea to Corsica, Elba

Struggle for Control
 Etruscan chieftains raided land
 Not much unity
 Etruscan power peaked before 500 B.C.; rapidly
declined
 Celtic people from Gaul invaded Po RiverValley
 Gaul = modern France; Celts drove out Etruscans

Etruscan “Memories”
 Etruscan language forgotten
 Etruscan culture assimilated into other
cultures
 Had lasting influence on Romans

Focus on Rome
 Located nearTiber River
 Built on one of seven hills
 Villages built, joined, made
one big town
 Prime location for:
 Communication and trade

The Tiber River at Sunset
A SpectacularView

Rome was built on seven hills.

Avetino Hill
Aventino is a district in
Rome, named after the
hill that rises up near
the Tiber river, and is
one of the legendary
seven hills of Rome.
From the top of this hill
you'll get an amazing
view of the entire city,
and can see into three
countries: Malta, Rome
(Italy) and St. Peter's
Basilica (Vatican City).

Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill at the
Roman Forum: one of
the seven hills of Rome.
According to legend, it
was here that Romulus
killed Remus so that the
great city of Rome
could be built .

Latium
 Sixth century B.C. = Rome came under
Etruscan control.
 Led by Etruscan kings
 Roman army equipped, organized like Greek
phalanx

The Early Days of Rome
 Romulus = first king of Rome
 Other kings conquered
neighbors, expanded Rome
 641-616 B.C. = first bridge across
Tiber constructed
 600 B.C. = Latin first written in
script still used today
 509 B.C. =Temple of Jupiter
completed

The Temple of Jupiter
Located in Rome

Birth of the Republic
Tarquinius founding the
Temple of Jupiter
 Tarquin kings controlled Rome,
abused power
 Tarquinius the Proud = last
Tarquin king
 Tyrant, hated by the people
 509 B.C.: Lucius Junius Brutus
droveTarquinius out of Rome
 Lucias Junius Brutus
established the first republic

Lucius Junius Brutus
Drove out the last of theTarquin kings
and established a republic in 509 B.C.

The Republican Government
 Based on representation, not monarchy
 Romans feared, hated idea of a SINGLE ruler
 Senate = powerful, wealthy citizens
 Senate chose two consuls each year
 By 493 B.C., commoners had representatives
(tribunes)

Imperium
 Romans gave both consuls
imperium
 The right to issue commands
 The right to enforce
commands through:
 Fines, arrest, punishment, death

Consulship
 Two consuls elected
each year
 Roman Senate =
approved candidates
 Assembly of people =
granted imperium

Consul’s Responsibilities
 Commander of the army
 Chief priest
 Supreme judge

Consul’s Imperium
 Make decisions in foreign affairs
 Call out army
 Lead army in battle
 Impose discipline on troops

The Senate: Founded by Romulus
 100 leading men; grew to 300
 Met only when consul called
senate into session
 Advised the consuls
 Senators served for life
 Leaders were experienced,
influential

Curiate Assembly: All Roman Citizens
 Citizenship limited = Father, mother must be Romans
 Divided into 30 groups = voted by group
 Met only when summoned by a consul
 Consul determined agenda, made proposals, recognized
speakers
 Assembly listened, gave approval

The Roman Father
 Father = paterfamilias
 Family’s chief priest,
offers prayers
 Authority like king
 Type of imperium over his
children
 Could sell his children into
slavery; power of life/death

The Roman Wife
 Mother = materfamilias
 Could not be sold or killed
 Could not be divorced easily
 Convicted only by court of
male blood relatives

Wifely Duties
 Control access to
storerooms
 Keep family accounts
 Supervise slaves
 Raise children
 Part of family council
(advice on family matters)

Women in early Roman Society
 Controlled by adult male
 Before marriage: father
 After marriage: husband
 Other male guardian
 Needed guardian’s
approval to buy/sell land,
make contracts

A Married Couple
What does this fresco
suggest about this couple?

Manus = “hand”
 Father transferred control
of daughter to husband
 Control could remain with
father after marriage
 Like “common law” marriage
 Enabled daughter to keep
inheritance after father died

Divorce
 Rare, difficult to obtain
 Limited to serious offenses
 Wife retained dowry

The Client
 Entrusted self to person in a position to help
 Client provided services in return for
protection

The Patron
 Usually wealthy land owner
 Socially superior
 More powerful than client
 Client in the fides, or trust, of his patron

Duties of the Client
 Fight for his patron
 Work his land
 Support him politically

Duties of the Patron
 Physical, legal protection
 Financial help:
 Patron could give a land grant
 Client worked patron’s land (tenant farmer, laborer)
 Patron could give client handouts

Changes in the Patron-Client Relationship
 Initially, patrons = rich, powerful ; clients = poor,
weak
 Changed:
 Some rich became clients of powerful men
 Client-patron relationship = hereditary
 Client-patron families tied to each other

Patricians
 Aristocrats, wealthy upper
class
 Most power
 Conducted state religious
ceremonies
 Sat in the Senate, held office
 Patricians married patricians

Plebeians
 Commoners, lower class
 Poor, dependent small
farmers
 Laborers
 Artisans
 Clients of the nobility

Changes
 Working families grew
wealthy
 Result: more rich plebeians
and poor patricians
 Lack of equality; plebeians
wanted equality
 Fought for 200 years to
gain equality

The Roman Constitution
 Unwritten laws
 Largely based on tradition, custom

Consuls
 Two elected consuls
 Had to be patricians
 Were given imperium

Duties of Consul
 Lead the army
 Religious duties
 Serve as judges

Consuls treated like royalty
 Symbols of royalty:
purple robe + ivory chair
 Had lictors
 Minor officials,
accompanied the consuls
 Carried rods and axe,
symbols of authority

Quaestor
 Originally two quaestors
 Assisted the consuls
 Were financial officials
 Eventually there were eight of them

Tetradrachm with a quaestor on it
On the front:
Aesillas the Quaestor
On the back:
Hercules club down in
center, money chest to
left, quaestor's chair to
right, Q in right field, all
within olive wreath

Consulship
 Served for one year
 Then became member of Senate
 Served on Senate for life
 One consul could veto another consul’s proposal
 Shared religious powers

The Consul’s Limited Power
 Limited imperium
 Power of life/death while leading army
 NOT SO within city of Rome
 Appeal cases involving capital punishment
 Went to popular assembly

Consulship during Times of War
 One consul sent into battle
 Other consul stayed in Rome
 Otherwise, consuls alternated sole command

Dictator
Julius Caesar:
Rome’s first dictator
 During crisis, consul could appoint
someone “dictator”
 Needed Senate approval
 Consul retired so dictator could lead
 Dictator served only for six months
 Full imperium inside Rome AND
outside boundaries

Proconsulship
 Longer wars led to invention of office
 Extended consul’s imperium beyond end of
term
 Continued to command army in the field
 Caused problems for the republic later

Praetor
 Like the consul
 Military generals with judicial
duties, had imperium
 Term lasted for one year
 Eventually, eight praetors
 Terms sometimes extended for
military commands

Censor
 Two censors
 Elected by the Senate
 Must be former consuls,
men of integrity
 Served for five years

The Censor’s Duties
 Classified citizens according to age, property
(census)
 Classification fixed taxation, status
 Compiled roll of senators
 Could strike senators from roll (finances/morality)
 Most coveted political office

The Senate
 Rome’s real governing
force
 Prominent patricians
 Often leaders of clans
 Patrons of many clients

Duties of the Senate
 Proposed laws
 Controlled imperial finances
 Held consuls accountable

Assemblies: pass laws, elect magistrates
 Curiate Assembly
 Popular assembly; voted by curia
 TribalAssembly
 Voted by tribe
 Centuriate Assembly
 Military assembly; voted by
century

Centuriate Assembly
 Political representation of Roman army
 Basic unit of Roman army = century
 80-100 fighting men
 Classified according to weapons, armor, equipment
 Determined by wealth; each man equipped himself

Duties of the Centuriate Assembly
 Elect consuls and other magistrates
 Voted on bills
 Made decision of war and peace
 Court of appeal in cases dealing with citizen’s
life, property

Two Primary Struggles
 INTERNAL struggle
 Between patricians and plebeians
 EXTERNAL struggle
 Between Rome and everyone else
 Greeks, Carthagenians, Macedonians,Gauls/Celts, barbarians

The Senate: Slow to Change
 Originally comprised of wealthy, powerful
aristocrats
 Political power passed to sons
 Marriage between powerful families
 Senate gradually changed over time; included:
 Members of military, representatives of plebeian class

Plebeian Prohibitions
 No public office, priesthood, or judges
 Did not know the law (unwritten!)
 Could not marry patricians
 No choice lands (rewards) after Roman conquest
 Plebeians fought 200 years for equality,
representation

Struggle of the Orders
 Plebeians withdrew from city
to Sacred Mount
 Formed plebeian tribal
assembly
 Elected ten tribunes to
represent them
 Declared tribune inviolate and
sacrosanct
 Could veto magistrate’s action
or bill in assembly/Senate

Service and Representation
 Tribunes served for one year
 Plebeian assembly voted by tribe
 Vote of plebeian assembly – binding on plebeians
 Plebeians gave tribunes full protection, total
allegiance

The Twelve Tables
 Plebeians appointed
commission; created
TwelveTables
 Codified Roman law
 Basis forALL written
Roman law
 Held patricians AND
plebeians accountable

Important Social Changes
 367 B.C. = plebeians elected to consulship
 Eventually, plebeians held other offices:
 Quaestor, dictator, censor
 300 B.C. = plebeians admitted to most
important priesthoods

Withdrawing from Rome Again
 287 B.C. = plebeians withdrew from city again
 Refused to return unless demands met:
 Decisions of plebeian assembly bound ALL
Romans, not just plebeians
 Decisions did not require approval of Senate

A Movement toward Equality?
 445 B.C. = plebeians-patricians could marry each
other
 Two groups combined, formed nobiles
 Patricians + wealthy plebeians
 Distinction now between nobiles and everyone else
 Nobiles had best jobs, wealth, Senatorial power

Conquest of Latins
 Some cities near Rome received full citizenship
 Others treated as municipalities
 Right to intermarry, trade with Romans, self-
government
 Conditional Roman citizenship:
 Move, follow Rome’s foreign policy, provide soldiers

Latins Allied with Rome
 Some married Romans, traded with Rome,
local autonomy
 Forbidden to intermarry, trade with each other
 Land taken from some, but not others
 All allies provided soldiers
 Obey Roman officers, no Roman taxation

Roman Colonies
Via Appia
 Some conquered lands colonized
 Settled by soldiers
 Colonists benefitted
 Roman citizenship, local rule,
became Roman garrison
 Connected by Roman roads

A Cross-Section of a Roman Road

Roman Control
 Harsh punishment of rebels
 Presence of colonies, roads = few revolts
 Roman colonies improved status
 Citizenship (biggest prize), protection, wealth
 Most allies were loyal

Defeat of the Samnites
 Tough mountain people
 Some allies rebelled, joined Etruscans, Gauls
 295 B.C. = Romans defeated Italian coalition
 By 280 B.C. = Rome controlled central Italy

Pyrrhus
 Southern Italy: Romans
intervened in Greek quarrel
 Faced Pyrrhus, king of Epirus
 Good general, disciplined army
 Experienced mercenaries; new
weapon: 20 war elephants
 Defeated Romans twice, but
suffered great losses

Pyrrhus
After defeating the
Roman army, Pyrrhus
worried, “If we win
one more battle
against the Romans
we shall be
completely ruined.”
This is called a
“Pyrrhic victory.”

Greek Defeat
 Greeks forced to submit to
Rome
 By 265 B.C. = Rome ruled all Italy
 Po River to the south of Italy
 After defeating Pyrrhus, king of
Egypt sent message to Rome:
 Congratulations; want friendship;
recognize Roman dominance

Chapter 4 Republic to Empire

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Chapter 4 Republic to Empire