History Term 1: The Roman Empire and Emperor Nero

Who were the romans

One of the largest empires in the ancient world

Conquering huge areas of land in Europe, North Africa and the Middle east.

The empire was ruled from the city of Rome, in Italy

What were the areas of land officially under roman rule called?

Provinces

From what years did the roman Empire exist to and from?

753BCE - 476 CE

What is an empire

Ruled by an emporer

what are the three different ways Rome was governed over it’s history?

Monarchy - ruled by kings 753 - 509BCE

Republic - ruled by the senate 509 - 27BCE

Empire - Ruled by an emperor 27BCE - 476CE

What years was Nero emporer?

Nero ruled from 54 to 68 AD.

what does Legitimate mean?

Something that is allowed by law or permitted by the rules; something reasonable and acceptable

e.g. it is not legitimate to take your mobile phone into the exam room

e.g. She had a legitimate claim for compensation after she was injured at workLegitimate refers to actions or claims that are lawful, valid, and justified within a given context or framework.

Who was Augustus

The first Roman emperor in 27 BCE.

What factors did the power of the Roman emperor depend on?

The support of the senate

The control of the Roman Army

• New emperors relied on the support of these two foundations to give their clam to the throne legitimacy

In what ways did Roman emperors have absolute power?

• They had overall control of the army

• They could veto the decisions of any government officials

  They could appoint or remove senators

• They could direct people to approve their new laws

  They could collect taxes and spend them as they wished

What were some limitations of the Roman Emperor’s power?

Their power needed to be carefully reinforced

What was the senate?

• The main governing body in Ancient Rome

  Made up of around 600 men, all patricians

• Had supreme control under the roman republic

  Power was shared amongst many men - no one man became too powerful

What is a Patrician?

A wealthy, land-owning aristocrat

How was the power of the senate impacted in 27BCE?

Their power gradually declined as Rome transformed from a republic to an empire, giving the emperor more power

What was the name of the first five emperors of Rome

Julio-Claudian Family

In what ways could emporers push back against senetors that dissaproved/ plotted against them?

They could terrorise, hummiliate and excecute senetors

What was the primary role of the roman emperor?

To keep the empire at peace

How does Mary Beard describe the relationship between senators and the emperor

‘A fragile Compromise’

Why would senetors want the emprorer’s support?

To protect themselves

As they wanted a promotion

What gained an emperor respect?

• Conquering new land

• keeping the boarders safe and peaceful

• keeping the army loyal and efficient

Who were the praetorian guard?

A group of hand-picked men who acted as bodyguards, protecting the emperor himself and remaining in Rome rather than fighting overseas

Why did the pretorian guards have to be ‘carefully managed’?

Their special status could lead them to become, in the words of one historian “over-mighty, over-paid and over-confident.

Also, the loyalty of a guard was never guaranteed

How did provinces work?

They were each ruled by a governor, appointed by the emperor.

People living in these areas were highly unlikely to have seen the emperor in person.

People in the provinces were largely unaffected by the things going on in Rome - the elite plotting against the emperor etc.

Who were ‘The Elite’?

People of high status

What factors made Nero Hugely popular in Greece?

His love of theatre and sports

Who were the plebians?

Ordinary people, the poorest citizens

Who were the patricians

Workers and slaves that kept the city running

For what reason may patricians turn on an unpopular emperor and try to remove him?

When faced with urban unrest - riots or strikes by the plebians etc.

How would emperors earn respect from the common people?

Put on events at their own expense

• gladiator shows

• athletic performances

• wild beast hunts

• mock naval battles

Appeared as the plebians benefactor (Generous supporter)

• distributed cash to the people of Rome

• imported and distributed free grain throughout the city

What other benefits would giving handouts provide?

• Helped to keep the overcrowed roman population content

• avoided riots

• secured the image of the emperor as ‘the protector of the people’

What is the meaning of the title “Princeps'“

Meaning ‘first citizen of the state’

The title that the first emperor Augustus used to refer to himself

Why did Augustus refer to himself as ‘Princeps”

He wanted to not appear to the senetors as above them - wanted to appear one of them

This would give the impression that the emperor would not abuse his power

It did also reinforce his authority in a subtle way

What are some ways in which an emperor would reinforce his authority?

• Using coins as propaganda

• Put his face on rings, gems, plates and cutlery

• Constructed statues of himself - over 50 000 of them - and placed them across the empire in public squares and temples

• Huge building projects were used to signify wealth and authority

• Also built things like roads, new theaters and monuments, and restored temples

Why were coins used to promote emperors?

They were propaganda - they reinforced the emperor’s authority, particularly economic power

They were also used to connect their rule to the will of the gods, promote political allies and mark out chosen heirs

They were also used to celebrate an emperor’s achievements - such as victories in a war or building projects - despite great financial crisis

They were the main way that provinces ‘Met’ their ruler

What was the downside of coins

They did not reflect the full truth - they were very one sided, free from any of the criticism that might have been going on back in Rome.

Why was sucession so difficult?

There was no set rule that said the eldest son would inherit everything from his father

Why was marking out a successor a challange?

Emperors tried to mark out their sucessors but disease and war meant a lot of the time the chosen person would not live long enough to take up the role

How was adoption used to secure a successor?

It was often used by wealth romans as a way of marking out their chosen heir from a pool of wider relatives

It was normally done when the man was a teenage, as there was less risk of dying as a baby.

Who did August pick as his successor

He adopted then rejected one grandson as unsuitable

He then adopted two others, who died young

so then he adopted his stepson, who suceeded him in 14 CE

Why did Emperors want to mark out their sucessors early?

Uncertainty could lead to violance - every male relative or political ally was in with a chance and succeeding, and some people were prepared to kill to secure their place.

Even if there was an official heir interested in the role, other ambitious people would see him as a rival and try to eliminate them before they reached adulthood/became too powerful.

In what ways did become the emperor depend on luck and support?

Heirs needed to have important people (the senate and the army) to support and promote their claim, as well as be in the right place at the right time

What does Mary Bird say in relation to how successors were able to sucefully come into throne?

She says that “Succession always came down to some combination of luch, improvisation, plotting, violence and secret deals - the moment power was handed on was always the moment when it was most vulnerable’

Why were many senetors unhappy about Rome being ruled by one man - an emperor?

• It would have caused them to lose a lot of power

• they were not welcoming to change (conservatives)

  • They believed their ideas / laws / plans were correct over that of the emperor

Why did senators have a lot of prestige and influence / where did it come from?

• Their wealth (money and land) gave them the power to influence

• Many were members of the military, which gave them status and connections - leading to more power

• Some were born into it - came from a long line of high in status/wealthy senators

What things may have an emperor done to keep his army loyal/

Given them -

• money

• land

• power

  • recognition

Why did the military pose a threat?

they had a monopoly of force

they could form factions

What is a faction?

A smaller group within a bigger group, with different ideas to everyone else

Summary - Senate, emperor, army

What was the emperor’s job/

had the most power

veto/passed rules and laws

Chose land to take over/battles to fight

kept the plebians and patricians happy

What was the role of the army

to defend the boarders

to attak and conquer land

to ececute members of the senate/ the emperor

What was the job of the senate

to make laws

How did the senate relate to the emperor

the senate provided rules to the emperor for him to pass/ veto

the emperor used the senate to establish connections and gain power

The senate needed the emperor to pass rules etc

How did the emperor relate to the army

The emperor needed the army to gain land and power and to protect him/be on his side

The army needed the emperor to gain wealth

The emperor needed the army’s approval

How did the senate relate to the army

They needed each other to plot against the emperor and gain connections from each other - status and a say

Former army men needed connections to the senate to go on and join them

Who was Nero

The fifth emperor of Rome

Born in 37 CE

Notorious for his cruelty and excessive behavior

When did Nero go into power?

He rose to power in 54CE aged 16

When did Nero die?

At thirty - 68 CE

Why was his rule significant?

He ruled at a time of great social and political change

He oversaw momntous events -

• The Great Fire of Rome

• A rebellion against roman rule in Britain

Allegedly killed his mother and two of his wives

only cared for the arts

Had very little interest in ruleing the empire

Who are the three historians who most of our info abt Nero comes from?

Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio

Why was Nero’s death chaotic?

It brought forward a period of chaos and civil war for the romans

Ended when a new dynasty seized power - the Flavians

Why were authors writing under the rule of the flavians potentially corrupt

They all had an interest in legitimising the new ruling family by portraying the last of the Julio Claudians in the worst possible light

this may be why todays image of Nero is so fabricated, as much of historical sources used by later historians were based off of writing from these times, creating a potentially corrupt image that survived through to the presant.

What were some positives of Nero’s rule?

He ended private trials, and ended capital punishment,

possibly helped out in the great fire

Was progressive

Gave slaves the wright to sue their unjust owners

What were some overall negatives of Nero

Murdered many - was often belived to be the antichrist

Seduced married women and young boys and rumoured to have started the great fires

Poisened his brother, killed his mother and step brother

Crucified christians towards the end of his reign

In what year did aggripina marry her uncle claudius?

49CE

In what year did agrippina persuade claudius to adopt nero as his own son, making him successor to the throne as he was older than his biological son

50CE

In what year did Nero marry his stepsister Octavia?

53CE - arranged by aggripina

In what year did nero become the emperor at 16 years old, and promise the senate more autonomy

54Ce

In what year did Nero’s step-brother die, most likely due to poisining by Nero?

55CE

In what years did nero go and rule overseas four times, taking on a more active role in the government?

55-60CE

In what year did Nero become romantically involved with Pooppea who was an already married ex-slave

58Ce

In what year did Nero have Agrippina killed?

59CE

In what year did a rebellion start, lead by Britian/

60-61CE

In what year did Burrus die, Seneca retire, Nero divorse and later excecute octavia and marry the pregnent poopeya?

62CE

In what year did nero establish festival Neronia?

60CE

In what year did the great fire of rome and the persecution of the christians begin?

64CE

In what year was pregnant poppaea killed, reportedly kicked in the stomach by Nero and a plot to overthrow Nero lead by Senetor Piso?

65CE

In what year did Nero leave home for over a year to compete in sporting and artistic competitions in Greece?

66CE

In what year did Nero Flee Rome and commit suicide following a rebellion lead by governers Vindex and Galba`?

68CE

Who was Germanicus?

Nero’s Grandfather - millitary general

Who was Agrippina the Elder

Nero’s grandmother

Who was Caligula

Nero’s uncle, emperor in 57CE and died in 41CE

Who was Domitius?

Nero’s father

WHo was Claudius?

Nero’s stepfather - Becoems emporer in 41CE, married agrippina after excecuting his previous wife

WHo was Agrippina?

Nero’s mother

WHo was Britannicus?

Nero’s stepbrother, killed by Nero

Who was Octavia?

Nero’s cousin/stepsister/wife, killed by Nero

How was Agrippina sent into and taken out of exile

She was sent into exile with her sister in 39CE for plotting against their brother whilst Nero was sent to live with his aunt

After her brother’s death, Claudius, the now emperor recalled Agrippina from exile in 41CE

Why did Agrippina Marry Claudius?

To reclaim her status within the family after being recalled back from exile

to gain wealth and power and status

to secure her sons position as the next Roman emperor

Also, Claudius wanted to regain power and Agrippina was the daughter of two very well known and respected figures

Why didn’t agrippina and Claudius’s match suit/was approved by all?

claudius had to change the law for it to be legal to marry his neice

What was Agrippina’s political role as empress of rome?

• She met with foreign visitors

• co-signed government documents

• listened in behind the scenes to senate discussion

Why were many senators resentful of Agrippina’s influence?

She had a role in the government

She had statues built of hter all accross the empire and her face put on coins

Why was Agrippina descriped as manipulitive and opportunistic?

She persuaded claudius to adopt her son Nero, making him claudius’s heir as he was older than his biological son

She also arranged the marriage of nero and his stepsister Ocatvia, in order to further secure his position as heir to the emperor as it ensured Octavia would not marry someone else, producing another heir to the throne

How and why did Claudius die

He was alledgedly killed in 54CE by Acrippina, with the help of Nero, as Claudius had begun to show signs of favoring his biological son, Britannicus, who was coming of age and regretting Nero’s adoption

Patricide meaning

Murder of your father

Instigator meaning?

someone who started something/set it off

To be privy to something

to know about it in advance

Who were the 2 tutors that Agrippina hired for Nero

Seneca and Burrus

Who was seneca?

A philosipher, writer and politician

Born into a wealthy family, he became a senetor, but was sent into exile in 41CE

Brought back from exile in 49CE by Agrippina

Became a key member of the Emperor Nero;s royal court

Is thought to have written most of Nero’s speeches

What were seneca’s main values?

self - dicipline, acceptance, courage and justice

Aimed to guide Nero without comprimising his own values by association

Who was Burrus?

Also an important advisor to Nero in the early years of his reign.

Was a military man and served under several emperors.

Was made sole commander of the pratorian Guardin 51CE by Agrippina