Gr 11 World History - Ancient Rome

Etruscans

Sophisticated people who inhabited north-central Italy before the development of Rome

Controlled territory roughly from the Po River to Cumae on the north edge of the Bay of Naples

The power of the Etruscan civilization was limited in the northeast by the Apennine Mountains

Probably native to Italy and descended from earlier peoples

Skilled artisans + traders

During the era of Romulus and Remus, the Etruscans expanded their power southward and took control of Rome

Military power of the Etruscans collapsed after the Roman capture of Veii in 396 BCE. Those who lived near Rome were absorbed into the new Republic, while all others saw their influence/personal status greatly diminish

Etruscan Burial Customs

They would bury their dead in tombs hollowed out of the ground or under great mounds of earth called tumuli

Usually, the interiors of these tombs were made to resemble the houses of the living

Ex. relief sculptures cut into the rock walls + frescoes showing banquets, gladiatorial combat, chariot races, and other everyday activities

L. Tarquinius Priscus

616-579 BCE

First Etruscan king of Rome

Cleared the site for the great temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline hill - the reason that one of the features of civilized living in any Roman town became the capitolium, the temple dedicated to Jupiter

Built the cloaca maxima (great sewer), whose outflow into the Tiber can still be seen today draining the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills

Tarquin the Proud

Last Etruscan king of Rome

Expelled by a popular rebellion in 509 BCE

Rebellion sparked because the king’s son Sextus raped an aristocratic woman named Lurectia, who then committed suicide

From the removal of this last king, the Romans were able to form a democratic republic

Etruscan Influence on Roman Life

Numerals, a fondness for blood sports, a belief in the underworld gods, augury, and excessive superstition were all inherited by the Romans from the Etruscans

The high magistrates of the Roman Republic used the purple robes and ivory thrones of the Etruscan kings + their symbols of authority (fasces)

Gracchus Brothers

Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus

Tiberius Gracchus

Reformer who was elected tribune of the people in 133 BCE

Thought he knew how to solve the problems of the urban poor - his solution was to redistribute the land since much of the public land was illegally seized by the rich Romans

Overstepped his authority by seeking re-election as tribune, which was unheard of. This triggered a riot that eventually got him and many of his supporters killed.

Land Commission continued to function

Gaius Gracchus

Tiberius’s brother who was elected tribune in 123 BCE

Also a reformer - tried to solve the issue of conflicting interests within the population.

Gaius Gracchus’ solutions

A free monthly supply of grain to satisfy the urban poor

Proposed new colonies in cities that had been destroyed during the Punic Wars

Giving some rights to the non-Roman population (which upset a lot of people)

Declared a public enemy in 121 BCE and then was attacked by a mob and killed

Constantine

Roman Emperor (306-337 CE)

Diocletian’s successor

Adopted Christianity in the early fourth century CE, an explanation for its rapid spread (1st Christian emperor)

After converting, he issued the Edict of Toleration

Favoured Christian communities everywhere

Established Byzantium as the major seat of Roman government

Byzantium

Became Constantinople or New Rome

In 359 CE it was given constitutional authority equal to that of Rome with the vision of a new Christian Roman Empire

Where Constantine and his successors were buried

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE)

A prolific philosopher, writer, consul, and staunch defender of the Republic

Defended notable Romans and prosecuted others in the courts

Defender of the idea of constitutional government

Bitterly opposed Marc Antony, and was eventually killed by Marc Antony in 43 BCE for his outspokenness

Gaius Marius

ca. 155-86 BCE

Founded the Roman citizen army in 100 BCE

• Previously, soldiers had been farmers who went to war in the fall and then would return home to gather their harvest

• Seasonal campaigning no longer worked: Not as many citizen soldiers owned land anymore, so the ones who did HAD to return to their fields + many landless people who had less reason to return home

• Created a standing army (a permanent force) with a fixed term of service (16 years in the ranks and 4 years as a reserve soldier). Soldiers would get a pension, a gratuity, or a plot of land.

• “Marius’s Mules”

Gauls

a Celtic people of Europe north of the Alps

Goths

Visigoths and Ostrogoths

Visigoths

Defeated by Stilicho in 401 CE

Moved through Spain and Portugal, then to southern France where they settled in 418 CE

Worked out an elaborate and effective way of sharing the land

Established their own code of law

The Huns

First advanced into Roman territory under Attila in 451 CE, then invaded Italy the following year and were forced to withdraw after causing mass devastation, and then Attila died in 453 CE

Roman Architectural Styles

Fusion of the Roman and Greek cultures -> the Greek style of peripteral temple (columns all around) was fused with the Italic tradition of a front-facing temple on a high podium

Romans created concrete

Created aqueducts, theatres, amphitheatres, private houses, circuses

Aqueducts

Built to transport water

Water flowed from source to destination using the force of gravity

Sometimes, the water would flow over a series of arches

Theatres

Built on the Greek model: semicircular with a dance floor, stage, and backdrop

Overtime, dance floor shrunk in size and the stage became more prominent

Amphitheatres

First stone amphitheater in Rome was made in 29 BCE

Elliptical space surrounded by tiers of seats

Ex. The Colosseum/Flavian Amphitheatre made in 80 CE by Titus

Used for games, executions of criminals, and gladiatorial combat

Private House (as seen in Pompeii)

Deep entrance (vestibulum) opened into a rectangular area with a sloping open roof (atrium).

Rainwater dripped into a concrete tank (impluvium) set into the floor and was saved for household use.

Small bedrooms (cubicula) on either side of the atrium.

Reception area (tablinum)

Open garden used for relaxation and recreated

Mithraism

Mithras = a Persian deity whose titles included Lord of Light, God of Truth, Saviour from Death, and Giver of Bliss

Popular among soldiers and merchants during 4th century CE -> they were concerted as they travelled to the Far East

The heart of worship to MIrthras was the ritual killing of a bull, which signified a spiritual victory of life/good over death/evil

Often shown as a young man wrestling and killing a wild bull

Pax Romana

Sense of community from belonging to a certain culture

Especially true in the 2nd century CE + in the peaceful years of the reign of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius (117-161 CE)

Provinces were secure and interconnected, cities were flourishing, and there was a uniform air of Romanity

Edict of Toleration

Aka the Edict of Milan

Issued by Constantine to free Christians in the Roman Empire from persecution

Roman Baths/Thermae

Heated bath complex

Elaborately built structures for steaming, relaxing, or taking an ice-cold plunge

Large public establishments

Place for socializing

Enjoyed by the poor and the rich, men and women

Manumission

eventual release of a slave from their service

could be achieved by either buying freedom at a mutually acceptable price or being released according to the terms of a deceased owner’s will

Republican Rome

Result of the people’s discontent with the tyrannical, domineering attitudes of the Etruscan kings

Up until 27 BCE, the internal history of the Roman state is mostly linked to the tension between the aristocracy (patricians) and the poor (plebians)

Known as the Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR/The Senate and People of Rome)

Composed of several assemblies from which magistrates were drawn

The Senate

made pre the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud and made up of the men who controlled most of the land. Continued to be important.

The Comitia Centuriata (Assembly of Centuries)

an important assembly of male citizens segregated into 5 electrical classes based on wealth

passed laws presented to it by the annually elected senior magistrates

Included the Comitia Curiata

the Comitia Curiata

30 divisions of citizens from the three clans: Ramnes, luceres, and Tities

Main function was to attend in the inauguration of the king during Etruscan Rule

The Comitia Tributa (Assembly of Tribes)

Consistent of all the people in the city who a right to vote and belonged to tribes, at least nominally

Could pass laws on behalf of all the people (including the extreme rich who owned land and the massive extreme poor)

The Concilium Plebis (Plebeian Trial Council)

Tribal assembly similar to Tributa BUT aristocrats could not be members

Votes had the force of law

Evolution of the Roman Republic

For the next 400 years, the Roman Republic underwent great expansion and faced extreme danger

• The Gauls crossed the mountains into Italy. Rome was besieged and sacked by the Gauls in 390 BCE, but the city recovered and struck back, marking Rome’s first major expansion to the far north of Italian Peninsula

The Greek World in the eastern Mediterranean also experienced the power of the Republic’s armies

Coloniae (colonies) began to be created in strategic places where they was no existing population as an important step in the Romanization of the Italian Peninsula

• Composed of full Roman citizens who could be counted on to support the interests of the Roman regime (usually discharged soldiers or members of the urban poor)

Greece and Republican Rome

Squabbles among the inheritors of Alexander the Great’s empire after his death in 323 BCE, putting Roman trading and maritime commerce at risk. They didn’t really want to become involved in Greek politics, but they eventually did attack a Greek city (Corinth) in 146 BCE after a senior political deputation arrived in the city and was treated badly

The Romans would later equate their destruction of that wealthy city with the beginning of luxury in their own city. For many, however, this marked the loss of innocence and the passing of old Roman virtue

Collapse of the Republic

The Republic eventually collapsed due to strong divisions between the landowning and commercial elites - if you were poor in the Republic of Rome, you either starved or were reduced to slaver

Imperial Rome

Replaced the Republic of Rome and was only slightly better for most Romans

First emperor was Augustus -> claimed he had restored the Republic, but was actually just the first in a long line of emperors up until 476 CE

Emperors were actually monarchs who relied on military power, moral authority, or perceived divine will to legitimize their control

The Roman Empire was born when Augustus took control and was deified

Augustus

Peace in the Empire, as seen by the literature and fine arts of the period

Temples were rebuilt and two public facilities were made

Professional civil service was maintained in Rome

Vigiles (a combined force of police and firefighters) was instituted

A common sense of “Romanity” flourished

Many successors

Tiberius

14 CE

Augustus’s adopted son

Increasingly harsh rule

Eventually went into semi-retirement on the island of Capri

Gaius Caligula

Was benevolent at first but quickly became marked by cruelty and vice

Made his favourite horse Incitatus a member of the Senate because of his little respect for it

Openly engaged in several adulterous and incestous affairs

Murder in 41 CE by a group of senatorial conspirators and a member of the Praetorian guard (Cassius)

Claudius

41-54 CE

Able administrator despite his family thinking he was an imbecile

Because of him that the lasting conquest of Britain got under way

Married his much younger first cousin Agrippina, who had a son already named Nero

Nero

54-68 CE

Had his mother killed in 61 Ce and from then on became more and more unpopular

Rumoured he had started the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE, though he tried to blame the Christians for the fire -> he ordered for many of them to be tied to poles on the ground in front of his palace and set on fire to light up his night-time parties

Committed Suicide in 68 CE, leaving no heirs

Vespasian

69-79 CE

After several people tried to rule, Vespasian finally managed to seize power in 69 CE

Ruled wisely and well for 10 years before his death

Smooth transition of power to his son Titus

Titus

79-81 CE

Brief but benevolent rule

Send emergency aid to the devastated residents of the Bay of Naples after the Eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 CE

Succeeded by his youngest son Domitian

Domitian

81-96 CE

Autocratic

Infamous for his persecution of both Jews and Christians

Murdered in 96 CE by a conspiracy involving his wife and (most likely) his immediate successor

Nerva

96-98 CE

Trajan

98-117 CE

Spent several decades before his rule began refining his abilities as a soldier and provincial administrator

Endowed Rome with buildings and monuments

Paid particular attention to the territories outside Italy, expanding the borders of the Empire in virtually every direction

Convinced that the health of the provinces was fundamental to the well-being of Rome itself

13 of his 21 years of his rule were spent beyond Italy

Able administrator

Set the stage for his ward/successor Hardian

Hadrian

117-138 CE

Trajan’s ward/adopted son/successor

One of the truly great Roman emperors

Born in Spain and spent many years as a soldier and administrator

Consolidated Roman rule throughout the known world -> achieved this by taking a personal interest in his subjects

1st great journey (121-125 CE) took him all over the Empire

2nd journey (128-134 CE) he played the part of imperial benefactor, founding cities and restoring buildings

Jews of Jerusalem rebelled in 132 CE against him but were suppressed in 135 CE

A lover of all things Greek

Monuments to his reign: His villa at Tivoli, Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain, and the Pantheon in Rome

During the latter half of the 2nd century CE and for much of the early 3rd century…

Rome remained secure and free from threat

Succession of emperors both good and bad

Antoninus Pius (138-161 CE) -> respected successor to Hadrian

Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE) -> very much admired

Commodus (180-193 CE) -> thought of himself as another Hercules

Septimius Severus (193-211 CE) -> 1st emperor from the province of Africa

Caracalla (188-217 CE) -> son of Severus, gave citizenship to all free Roman males in 212 CE to increase tax revenue

11 more legitimate emperors before Diocletian, who was promoted to Emperor in 284 CE by his fellow soldiers in the Praetorian Guard

Constantine (died in 337 CE)

After Constatine’s death…

a series of emperors from both the East and West attempted to rule the now Christian Roman Empire

Emperor Theodosius (379 CE-395 CE)

Theodosius’s sons took over the reins of government -> Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West

Jesus

a charismatic teacher who taught that the prophecies of the Torah were not to be fulfilled in the future but were unfolding in the present -> his followers believed he was the son of god -> his actions and teachings were seen as radical

Crucifixion of Jesus

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem with his followers, he challenged the most powerful people in the Jewish hierarchy, the Sadducees

He was betrayed by a close follower, arrested by the Sadducees, and accused of a variety of crimes

Pontius Pilate, the Roman provincial prefect, condemned him to crucifixion because he would not deny he was king of the Jews (a direct challenge to imperial Roman power)

Some of his followers claimed they had seen Jesus alive three days after his burial (the Resurrection)

Jewish Diaspora

dispersion of the Jews

Began in 586 BCE when Nebuchadnezzar captured the inhabitants of Kersulem and sent them into exile

Many years of movement and settlement around the eastern Mediterranean

Jewish communities popped up in most major European and Mediterranean cities

These Jews spoke Greek but maintenant religious practices of the Jews of Jerusalem

Occasionally periodic expulsions from the city of Rome, but more or less tolerated

Privileges given to citizens of Alexander were changed after the Roman conquest of Egypt, excluding the Jewish population

Rebellions of the early second century CE returned them to living in harmony

Chrisitan emperors placed restrictions on the Jews in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, but the synagogues continued to function

Tiber River

Easily navigable

Rome began in the Tiber River Valley, about 20 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea

Po River

Easily navigable

Acted as a border between the civilized inhabitants of Italy and their wilder neighbours to the north

Cannae

the site in southern Italy where over 50000 soldiers from a Roman army of 86000 were annihilated in one day by the Carthaginians in 216 BCE

Arrangement of Legions

Legion was a heavy infantry unit of 6000 broken into cohorts

10 cohorts in a legion - first cohort has a double complement of sliders

480 men in each cohort

Cohort divided into centuries with 80 men to a century

Each century reported to a centurion (sergeant)

In each century, a contubernium of 9 men shared one tent

10 contubernium to a century and two centuries to a maniple

Legions

A recruit would begin serve in the most junior century of the most junior cohort, and then work his way through the ranks to the primus pilus (commanding the 1st century of the 1st cohort)

Easily deployed because of small divisions

Drawback: ordinary soldiers looked to their generals rather than to the state for security and pensions

Tiber River

The Tiber River was the literal and metaphorical lifeblood of Ancient Rome.

Provided early settlements with a strategic boundary, supported vital trade, and linked the city to its coastal port at Ostia.

Featured prominently in Rome's founding mythology

Patricians

overbearing, landowning aristocracy

senatorial

Plebians

landless poor

Consuls

the two highest-ranking elected magistrates

served one-year term

commanded armies, chaired the Senate, and enforced laws

each consul held absolute veto power over the other's decisions

they alternated monthly as the supreme leader

Law of the Twelve Tables

A list of basic legal procedures and appropriate punishments

Created by a board of ten men with consular power who were appointed in 451 BCE

Most of the content of the Twelve Tables relates to civil matters

First Triumvirate

The Rule of the Three Men

Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Crassus split the government of Rome among themselves in 60 BCE and formed it

Second Triumvirate

Caesar's adopted son Octavian, Marc Anthony, and Lepidus formed the allegiance after a power struggle after Julius Caesar's assasination

Divided the Republic among themselves: Antony took the east, Octavian the west, and Lepidus took Africa -> the pack was sealed when Octavian’s sister married Marc Antony

Renewed within 5 years, though Lepidus was pushed out of power and given the position of Pontifex Maximus/Chief Priest

Romulus and Remus

Romoulus was the first king of Rome (753-715 BCE)

• Allegedly the son of Mars and a priestess named Rhea Silvia

Founding myth of Rome

• The death of Romulus and his twin brother Remus was ordered by their uncle Amulius

• They were thrown into the Tiber but came to shore near the Palatine (one of the 7 hills of Rome), where they were nurtured by a she-wolf and then by a shepherd

• A conflict between them once they attained manhood over which of them could found the city. Romulus was favoured to be the founder, so when Remus challenged him, Remus was killed

Hannibal

Catherigian military leader during the second Punic War

Son of Hamilcar Barca, who had done a lot to restore Carthahe after its defeat in the First Punic War (284-241 BCE)

Ruled the Iberian Peninsula as if it were his private kingdom

Left Spain in 218 BCE and led a land-based attack on the Romans by crossing the alps (which was much more formidable than he was led to believe)

• Started with 35000-40000 troops and 37 elements - when he arrived in northern Italy, only about 26000 soldiers and one elephant had survived

Likely had poor military skill

Engaged in four great battles over the next two years, which all had a great number of Roman loses

Managed to conquer most of the Italian Peninsula, though the Romans eventually drove him out 14 years later

Final Roman victory against him was at the Battle of Zama (202 BCE) in Tunisia.

Dictator

A dictator was appointed by the consuls for a specified period, originally six months

Such appointments were made in times of crisis ie. a war

Circus Maximus

most famous circus (long racetrack that chariots raced around)

Built of stone

Could hold some 200000 spectators

Colosseum

Most famous amphitheatre

Aka. the Flavian Amphitheatre

Dedicated in Rome in 80 CE by Emperor Titus

Colossal statue of the Emperor Nero stood nearby

Games, executions, and gladiatorial combat took place in it

Divination

the vital practice of interpreting signs from the gods to navigate daily life and high-stakes politic

a practical, institutionalized system used by magistrates to make decisions

Messiah

“the anointed one”

a prophesied savior of humanity

Jesus is the prophesied Messiah in Christianity

Monotheistic

belief in only one God

Polytheistic

belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities

Pogroms

a violent, targeted riot incited by a majority population aimed at massacring, looting, or expelling an ethnic or religious minority

Julius Caeser

Aka Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)

Part of the First Triumvirate

• Had the armies of Northern Italy

• Set about gaining military glory by subjugating

• Crassus was defeated by the Parthians at Carrhae and killed in 53 BCE. Pompey then opposed Caesar, agreeing with a senatorial demand that Caesar disband his army. Ceaser, realzing that disbanding his army would leave him defenceless and would amount to suicide, crossed the Rubicon into Italian territory with his army - an illegal act.

Appointed himself dictator for 10 years in 46 BCE, which he extended to life in 45 BCE

Became Pontifex Maximus (Chief Priest) in 45 BCE, giving him all responsibility over all decisions

Behaved more like a king than a guardian of the Republic, which scared the Romans

Was stabbed to death in March 15 44 BCE (The Ides of March) by defenders of liberty (Brutus, Cassius, etc) in Pompey’s theatre

Caesar Augustus

30 BCE to 14 CE

First emperor of Imperial Rome -> claimed he had restored the Republic by consolidating his stranglehold on political and military power, but was just the first in a long line of emperors

Also known as Octavian

Undisputed ruler of the Roman world and took great pains not to cause disaffection

Referred to as the Principate because he claimed he was primus inter pares (first among equals) -> gained no reputation for arrogance compared to his successors

Achieved peace and prosperity because of 2 factors

• The people’s ardent desire for peace after years of brutal civil wars

• Had a very long life (outlive most of his heirs and all of his rivals)

Used the arts as a tool for political propaganda

Augutus’s Creation of the Roman Empire

Was first part of the Second Triumvirate and took control of the West

Defeated the combined forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium off the west coast of the Peloponnese in 31 BCE -> as a result, the civil wars were over and he became master of the Roman world

Formally returned the Republic to the control of the Senate and the Roman people in 27 BCE, an ingenious act that earned him the semi-divine name Augustus

Redistributed all the provinces while keeping those with large armies for himself and giving the Senate the ones with less military might

Increased his powers in 23 BCE by becoming Tribune of the People

Expanded his powers again in 12 BCE by assuming the position of Pontifex Maximus

Took advantage of the importance of religion to the Romans

• Portrayed himself as quasi-divine, specifically a descendant of Venus

• Linked the worship of Rome as a spiritual entity with the concept of his own supernatural being

• Worshipped in the Greek world as the new Zeus

Theodosius

Came into power 379 CE

Ruled with restraint and wisdom

Dealt effectively with the barbarian menace

Devout Christian -> banned all pagan worship and ordered the pagan temples closed + abolished the Olympic Games in 393 CE because they honoured a pagan god

Diocletian

Promoted to Emperor in 284 CE

Instituted the first and most fateful of his reforms in 293 CE: divided the rule of the Empire into two parts, the East and the West

Reformed the imperial bureaucracy, reordered the administration of the provinces, and completed the military reforms begun by his predecessors

Began the last and most destructive attempt to eradicate the Christian faith

Never able to overcome the issue of skyrocketing inflation

Suffered a stroke and abdicated in 205 CE to live out the rest of his days in his palace in Croatia

Diocletian’s Divide of the Empire

Now 2 senior emperors assisted by 2 junior emperors

Permanent split

Western part of the Empire eventually lost its Roman nature while the Eastern part developed into the Byzantium

Diocletian’s Reform of Imperial Bureaucracy

Standing armies spread along the frontiers

Mobile units distributed throughout the provinces

Cavalry units became more important

Significant requirement of non-Roman Germanic immigrants

Docletian’s attempt to eradicate the Christian faith

Dismantled churches

Scriptures were burned

People had to sacrifice to Diocletian or die

Punic Wars (Rome vs. Carthaginians)

264-146 BCE

3 clashes between Rome and the Carthaginians

The most dangerous time for Rome after the defeat of the invading Gauls was the Second Punic Water (218-202 BCE)

Hannibal rose to power, conquered most of the Italian Peninsula, and then was eventually driven out of Italy by the Romans

The Roman state had learned that it now had the potential to be the pre-eminent power in the Mediterranean world, and not merely a powerful city

Defeat at Zama forced them to pay a heavy toll

• forfeit commercial empire

• pay huge war reparations

• dismantle their once powerful navy

Within 50 years, the Carthaginians were again on the rise, and Rome then waged war against Carthage for the last time. The Romans utterly destroyed the city.