imperial rome

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41 Terms

1
Caesar

superb general, astute politician, and an author whose lucid and forthright Commentaries on the Gallic Wars was a significant contribution to the great literary surge of the late republic; had keen and practical intelligence → could probe to the core of a problem, work out a logical solution, and carry his plan to realization

  • Allied himself w/ Pompey (disgruntled general) and Crassus (ambitious millionaire)

  • Advocated for land distributions other other policies that helped the poorer classes (caused hostility of the Senate)

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2
First Triumvirate
59 BCE; political alliance between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus; succeeded in dominating the Roman state; collapsed in 49 BCE (Crassus died in battle and Pompey sided w/ the Senate)
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3
Gaul
where Caesar led his army on a series of campaigns that resulted in its conquest (present day france and belgium); thoroughly Romanized after Caesar’s conquest
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4
Rubicon River
where Caesar defied the Roman constitution and led his own army across this provincial boundary into Italy → after he was declared a public enemy
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5
Caesar’s reforms
made himself dictator for life; extended citizenship to Italy & other provinces that supported him; sent 80,000 jobless people to form new communities in Gaul, Spain, and North Africa; restored senatorial opponents to their former positions and ordered the execution of Pompey’s murderers; UNQUESTIONED MASTER OF THE STATE
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6
Dictatorship for life
Caesar held the office of dictator year after year until Senate granted him this title
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7
Pontifex maximus
supreme pontiff or chief priest of the civic religion of Rome; Caesar assumed this title b/c he was the key republican office of consul
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8
Julian calendar
introduced by Caesar; based on the solar year → almost universal use today (July was named in his honor
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9
Ides of March
15 March in 44 BCE; conspirators of Caesar (led by Brutus) assassinated Caesar and another civil war began
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10
Caesar’s death
marked the death of the Roman republic and the beginning of the Roman empire → anarchy
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11
Second triumvirate
octavian joined forces w/ marc antony and lepidus; set out to defeat Caesar’s murderers
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12
Mark Antony
caesar’s trusted lieutenant; defeated Brutus and Cassius (committed suicide rather than being taken)
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13
Cicero
Rome’s supreme literary craftsman; targeted for his hostility to mark antony; made a half-hearted attempt at escape, but roman soldiers sent by antony caught & murdered him in retaliation (7 december 43 BCE)
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14
Consequences of the 2nd triumvirate falling apart
lepidus was forced out of office by octavian & marc antony became allied w/ cleopatra
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15
Battle of Actium
where antony & cleopatra defeated in 31 BCE by octavian forces after they tried to assume control of rome
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16
Cleopatra of egypt
mark antony’s wife; took her and antony’s life after the fortunes of the war turned against them
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17
Octavian
victory ended an age of civil war; long period of peace followed; refused to be seduced by cleopatra’s charms; vowed to display her as war-booty in his triumph through rome
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18
Augustus
new name the senate voted to honor octavian with; every emperor of rome would be called caesar
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19
Pax romana
augustus ruled many years → lead rome into a period of peace; rebuilding of the constitution and gov’t; demobilization of armies loyal only to their generals; creation of the praetorian guard; subduing of dangerous barbarians that threatened rome’s frontiers
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20
Praetorian guard
 job was to protect the roman emperor; full-time professional force that was loyal to Augustus personally; paid for his maintenance by imposing an inheritance tax
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21
Principate
octavian established himself the sole ruler of this after he restored the republic w/ the senate’s cooperation; with this title Octavian shrewdly retained the senate consuls, courts, and other republican trappings to make his monarchy palatable to the roman people
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22
Princips
first citizen
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23
Tiberius
Augustus’s stepson who he chose as heir to succeed to power; beginning of the Julio-Claudian dynasty; power rested on the support of the military; built a fortified camp in rome for the praetorian guard
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24
Julio-Claudian dynasty
named for Augustus’s family; understood that the Senate would confirm each successor
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25
Julia
Augustus’s promiscuous daughter who Tiberius had to marry after he divorced his wife he was in love with → caused him to neglect his duties and live in isolation
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26
Caligula
member of Tiberius family that was Tiberius’s successor; Augustus’s great-grandson that added to the violence and cruelty; was a cross-dresser that appeared in public as a god & spent vast sums on personal whims; allowed his favorite horse to dine at the imperial table during formal state dinners (consumes the finest food and wines from jeweled dishes)
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27
Claudius
Augustus’s grandnephew, won the support of the praetorian guard; shrewdly built loyalty by opening high positions to non-Italians and by freeing slaves
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28
Agrippina
Claudius’s niece whom he married → blood relationship to both caesar’s line and the claudian line made her a good choice
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29
Nero
claudius's successor; won the favor with the poor through his lavish public festivals, but the elite feared him b/c he falsely accused senators of treason in order to seize their property; wasteful expenditure of public funds led to military dislike; possessed childish cruelty (wallowed in the pleasure of watching his prisoners tortured to death)

* 1st emperor to persecute christians
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30
Vespian
69-79; became the first foreign-born emperor and worked to reinforce imperial power by promoting the worship of the emperor as a living god; 2 sons succeeded him to establish the flavian dynasty
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31
Titus and domitian
79-81 / 81-96; launched successful military campaigns against the northern barbarian tribes; left behind great public works, including the coliseum
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32
Domitian
arrogance eventually alienated the senate; when a general in germany revolted, he reacted by executing a number of upper-class citizens as conspirators; wife and other members of the court, fearing that they would be next → murdered him in 96 CE
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33
Five good emperors
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius
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34
Nerva
96-98; made succession a matter of talent rather than bloodline; established trade relations w/ china
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35
Trajan
98-117; first emperor to come from a foreign land (spain)
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36
Hadrian
117-138; reformed claudius’ imperial bureaucracy and put it on an official basis; executed allege senate conspirators and punished a jewish revolt by turning jerusalem into a military colony
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37
Antonius pius
138-161; increased trade and established cities in europe
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38
Marcus aurelius
161-180; atomic and the last of the five good emperors; during his reign the barbarians would attack rome’s frontiers; epidemic disease spread from china to rome (claim the emperor’s life); only one of the 5 emperors that had a son of his own
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39
Problem of succession
succession usually fell to a close relative of the previous emperor → led to the dispute that was settled by violence and/or civil war
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40
The era of the five good emperors
period of peace and prosperity; considered the golden age of the empire; biggest contribution of these men was they managed to transfer power peacefully among themselves w/o the violence that had marked the rise of Rome after the fall of the republic
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41
Commodus
heir of Marcus Aurelius; incompetent; had a disastrous reign → the age of enlightened imperial rule came to an end and was followed by a century of invasion, civil strife, and economic breakdown
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