Untitled Flashcards Set

Global 9 - Per. 7
Rome Quiz (2/14) - Study Guide

Origins of Rome (750 BCE - 500 BCE) → ROME_01_Origins 

Romulus and Remus: Rome's Founding Mythology 

• Remus and Rome twin brothers son of the god Mars and priestess Rhea Silvia (Twins = a myth, not historical) 

• Numitor (grandfather and kind of Alba Longa) 

  • Daughter Rhea Silvia became a priestess of Vesta, Mars and conceived the two brothers despite not being allowed to marry

• Brothers were placed in a basket and abandoned in Tiber (infanticide)

  • Found by a she-wolf, found by a shepherd after (Wolf = Lupa, also meaning “prostitute”) 

    • R and R reinstated their father and founded a city of their own (where wolf)

    • Romulus began to build walls that Reme mocked by jumping over, this was punished by Romulus killing him (fratricide) 

• Not enough women, Romulus stole Sabine women (the rape of the Sabine women (festival) 

  • Sabine men led by Titus (King) declared war Sabine women begged for peace

    • Romulus and Titus ruled together over people 

      • Romulus disappeared in a violent storm (worshipped as a god now), Titus died in battle

Earliest Rome

• Agricultural settlement of assorted huts (many huts, tiber river)

• Developed not according to any design 

• Religious temples and infrastructure slowly 

• Etruscans came first, Romans came second → many people ex: latiums, Aryans, Etruscans

• Hilly, access to water, near coast, small 

Important takeaways: Rome was founded on violence, Rome took a lot from Greece (gods and practices like colonization and infanticide), leaders had hard time with passing on power, lots of political violence and social unrest 

Mythical Asylum

• To populate, all were welcome (cosmopolitan, open to foreigners)  

  • Earliest were criminals 

Another founding myth 

• The Aeneid was commissioned by Rome's first emperor who paid the poet Virgil to construct the story close to the Iliad and the Odyssey, this was done in order to limit “curse” between Rome and violence 

  • Soldier of Troy (Aeneas) fled Troy when it fell he was a hero of Troy and son of Aphrodite, cousin of the Trojan King 

  • Fell in love with Queen Dido, arrived in Italy and secured alliances to make Rome “Great”

Takeaways: Vigil focused Rome’s story on heroism versus the original story which focused on violence/crime, Augustus wanted to link to Greece b/c it was powerful 

Julius Caesar

• Claimed to be descended from Venus to be connected to Aeneas 

• Augustus his great nephew and adopted son was the first emperor 

The Roman Republic Government, Politics, and Society → ROME_02_The Roman Republic  

• Republican Rome (509 BCE -  44 BCE)

• Global Context:

  • Greece: Athens forms a democracy, Greco-Persian Wars and Peloponnesian Wars, Hellenistic Empire/Alexander

  • India: Mauryan Empire - Ashoka

  • China: Zhou Dynasty ends, period of warring states, Qin Dynasty in power 

• The last Roman king was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus but expelled during 509 because his son Sextus Targuinius had raped noblewoman Lucretia who took her own life after

  • Tarquin’s nephew Lucius Junius Brutus raised support to exile

    • The Senate abolished kingship!! → two consuls (one year)

      • Checks and balances to prevent abuse of power

    • Brutus and Collatinus were the first two consuls → Collatinus forced to abdicate 

• Began as isolated agricultural town among Tiber → became major urban and imperial center (took 2 centuries) 

Republic: “Res-Publica”, a public affair, a republic 

Many improvements 

• Servian wall surrounding the city, aqueduct for water, Appian way (Rome to Capua)

Roman Social Classes 

• Patricians: wealthy landowners from prestigious families who monopolized political power

• Plebeians: small landowners, artisans and merchants from common families 

• Slaves: captives from wars, servants and laborers 

Patriarchy 

• Women could be wealthy but not political involved (not many legal rights)

• Expected to focus on homelife and excluded from government jobs  

  • Relatively volatile , social unrest 

Discontent 

• Income inequality: Patricians controlled most new land 

• Political Inequality: Plebeians were treated arbitrarily under the law (prejudice and exclusion)

• Debt Bondage: Hard times forced plebs into indentured servitude to pay it off

Rule of law: Laws are publicized and understood, contribute to social order and social justice, fairly enforced 

Republic: Government that emphasizes elected representatives, citizen participation, dangers of corruption, individual rights, rule of law, limited government with checks and balances  

• People built and revised these systems, plebeians engaged in strikes and protests (AGITATION)

  • Plebs won the vote, got their own Assembly and Tribune, and could compete for every position in the gov ( includes consul) 

“The Conflict of the Orders” Roman Republic became more representative- including Plebs- long period of conflict 

• 409 BCE: Tribune position and Plebs Assembly created

• 342 BCE: Plebs could be Consuls 

• 287 BCE: All political offices and priesthoods open to Plebs, laws passed by Plebeian Assembly apply to everyone

  • HOWEVER: Patricians continued dominance, income inequality, plebeian-patricians featured in mixed class

The 12 Tables and Rule of Law

• 450’s: for fairness, laws are written → laws posted in Roman forum so all citizens could see

Roman Senate 

• Prestigious body (older), life-long terms, NOT elected 

SPQR: Senatus Populus Que Romanus (Senate and People of Rome), frequent symbol 

The Punic Wars → ROME_03_Roman Citizenship_Punic Wars 

Defensive Aggression: Romans feared invasion so they would preemptively attach countries who bordered Rome, once attacked they would take over their territory and annex it as their own, this lead to an expanded territory 

• Latin wars 341-338 BCE, Samnite Wars 342-290 BCE, Punic Wars 264-146 BCE 

Imperium: a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or government entity, someone with imperium has absolute authority to apply law, initially a military concept the concept then led to the word “emperor”

Takeaways: Lots of victories and wars led to questions: how to govern all these people?

Adaptations and Innovations

• Rome created gradations of citizenships for conquered peoples, giving different status (full citizenship → slavery), full citizenship was never given to women

Roman Crucifixion: Form of punishment where Romans were hung on a cross until they suffocated

• “Civis Romanus sum” → where did Roman rights come into play/what did it mean to be a citizen  

Roman Liberty 

• Accepted hierarchy based on class and gender (Men>Women, Pat>Plebs, Slavery accepted)

• Expectations to participate in governments, Romans had rights gov had to respect

  • Attractive features  

• The First Punic War 264 - 241 BCE

• Roman forces defeated Carthage in Sicily, giving it control of another province outside mainland, Carthage rivaled Republican Rome

• The Second Punic War 218 - 201 BCE

• Hannibal (Carthage) led troops w/ elephants Spain → Italy, several victories, almost beat Rome, Roman endured 

  • Roman forces were violent and ruthless, wanting to prove power (“New Wisdom”, new foreign policy)

• The Third Punic War 149 - 146 BCE

• Carthage attacked Roman ally in Africa, Senator called for complete destruction of Carthage, Romans status as superpower

The Gracchi → ROME_04_Decline of The Republic 

• The Decline of the Roman Republic: 131 BCE - 80 BCE

Verism and Virtue

• Verism: form of artistic representation amounting to hyper-realism (etc: wrinkles and imperfections)

• “Manliness” → openness, honesty, simplicity, modesty, austerity 

Takeaways: the republic celebrated military, winning generals were celebrated as admirable examples of success pictured as perfect and not

• Value in modest and plain men (Verism) AND celebrated warriors (traditional “republic” way), politicians tried to be both

Military Success and Roman Power

• Victory gave Rome lots of power (they expanded by FORCE)

• Rome offered levels of citizenship to others to form alliances → Rome could command 500,000 soldiers at any time

Big problems 

• Small farmers needed more land, soldiers wanted better pay and land to farm, food prices were too high for average people, urban living conditions were terrible and worsening 

  • Soldiers were farmers, when they left they couldn't pay taxes, they would return home (war=longer) to find a sold farm

    • Increase in slavery meant it was harder to find work

• Income inequality grew, use of violence (especially in politics) grew, social unrest was common and hard to control 

Tiberius Gracchus, Tribune

-Gave land from public to the poor → upset senate who refused to fund the plan

-Used another fund to implement it anyway

-Assassinated: when he ran again a group of senators and priests clubbed TG to death (along with 300 supporters)

-Opponents thought he was trying to become king (ran for reelection and defied the senate)

-Gracchi attempted to use Tribal Assembly to overcome supremacy  

Gaius Gracchus, Tribune 

• Used demagoguery (appeal to people's emotions) 

• Believed the gov should address smaller problems → turned back on senate to speak to the people 

  • Broke political norm, re-elected as Tribune → Senate passes Emergency Powers Act 

• Supporters were killed, he killed himself before he was assassinated. 

Gaius Marius, General, Tribune, and Consul

• Soldiers were loyal and committed

• Fought wars in socii and numidia 

• Fought his subordinate, sulla 

• Uncle of julius caesar by 1.5 hours  

Lucius Cornelius Sulla FeliX

• 88 BCE, Sulla has armies secure military community  the late audio 

  • 83 BCE: Invasion of the people 

• 82: Sulla had himself declared dictator  

• _______________________

Important takeaways: Gracchi versus Sulla? Why did this lead to instability? 

Roman Slavery → ROME_05_Slavery & Virtues

Expansion to central and southern Italy including Slavery 350-272 BCE

-Slavery became important, the period of the first two Punic Wars marked increase in the number of slaves taken from west Mediterranean 

262 BCE: 20, 000 inhabitants of Sicilian city of Agrigentum were enslaved 

205-201 BCE: 20, 700 prisoners of war taken by Scipio Africanus in Carthage were enslaved 

167 BCE: 150,000 men taken from 70 town in Epirus (western Greece) were enslaved 

Who were slaves

• Most slaves were prisoners of war, new slaves could be obtained through natural reproduction amongst slaves, 

• Slavery was NOT racially based 

• Bought and sold at a market → education > farm workers in $ 

• Desired attributes (ex: beauty, strength, education, skills drove up price 

  • Many slaves from Greece were more knowledgeable than their masters because of their backgrounds and education, they became teachers, doctors, musicians, actors, and bookkeepers. → still “property” and could be bought and sold at will

Marcus Tullius Tiro 100 BCE - 4 CE

• Slave of Cicero (politician), developed shorthand for Cicero who rewarded hum with freedom 

 Treatment and Obedience 

• Punished and could be freed (eventually)

• Some were treated well, some were violent (whipping, beatings) → could be sold away from family, etc

  • Masters held the right to kill their slaves

• Law protected slavery 

Freedom 

• Would be branded if they were caught running away

• Never an attempt to abolish slavery in Rome → however, Romans regularly freed their slaves 

  • Ex-slaves could become Roman citizens with rights 

Revolts 

• Spartucus ____________________

• 3rd Servile War (73-71 BCE) group of enslaved gladiators rose up and battled Roman legions in Italy 

  • Crassus won battles and forced Spartacus into confrontation 

• Slaves accounted for 30-40% of population → growing fear of revolt 

• 6,000 supporters of Spartacus were crucified and put along a road (warning) 

Julius Caesar→  ROME_06_Late Republic & Caesar's Rise_EDIˇ

• The Late Republic (133-31 BCE)

Social classes become even more divided as wealth flows into Rome and to the top of the social order.

Living conditions

• Urban living was really bad an unhealthy for Roman health 

A platform for success 

• Conquests and success Caesar earned “imperium” in Gaul (Not italy)

  • Made sentate nervous, pompey and senate declare caesar an enemy of Rome and demanded he give up his holding in Gault, and his legions, and come back as a private citizen 

Crossing the Rubicon 

• “Point of no return” 

  • Caesar chases out Pmpey and Cato makes peace with their supporters in Rome

  • Crushed rebellions around Mediterranean 

The First Triumvirate 

• Uneasy political alliance to gain power from Republic 

• G Pompey (General) → fled to Egypt where he was beheaded by Egyptians

• M.L Crassus (Rich Guy)

• Julius Caesar (General → beheaded in Turkey 

Caesar was elected Dictator “in perpetua” → dictator for life once he returned (44 BCE) 

-Killed March 15 by senators

Civil War → ROME_07_Civil War

• Transition to Empire: 44 BCE-31 BCE

• Pax Romana: 2.7 BC-  1800 AD

The Second Second Triumvirate: 

• Three-person dictatorship, established by law

• Caesar’s great-nephew Octavian

• Caesar’s cavalry commander Lepidus

• Caesar's right hand man Mark Antony 

Who got what

• Mark Antony got the left/west

• Octavian got the south 

• Lepidus got the west (Hispania) 

Julius Caesar’s Funeral 

• Public was angry that senators killed the “hero” of Rome

• Caesar's death divided the Roman people and senate (POWER VACUUM)

• Mark Antony Funeral Oration 

  • Turned public against Caesar's assassins 

  • Conspirators: Brutus and Cassius flee Rome hoping to return later 

Quick Summary: Rome is in chaos, grain supply from Egypt is hampered, Brutus and Cassius have supporters in Rome helping them 

Purging Enemies 

• Proscription list created of possible enemies/challengers “enemies of the state”

  • Anyone could kill them for a reward, possessions taken by the state 

• Top of the list: Cassius and Brutus (main assassins of JC)

Cicero 

• “Great orator” → on proscription list 

• Debated octavian, denounced Marc Antony 

• Decapitated and nailed to podium in The Forum 

Consolidation of Power

• Brutus and Cassius flee east → forming armies 

• Octavian and Antony took armies easy and confronted them in Philippi 

• Antony and Octavian commanded 19 legions, Brutus and Cassius commanded 17 Legions

  • Cassius committed suicide after Day 1 

  • Brutus did the same one Day 2 

  • When faced with defeat this was the normal/valiant way to die

After goals were accomplished 

• Lepidus attempted to fight O but army shifted to O 

• Antony took control of East and began romance with Cleopatra (JC ex)

• Octavian got Caesars name, money, and status → JC was deified so Octavian claimed demigod

  • ONLY 18 when Triumvirate was formed, Antony underestimated him 

• MARK ANTONY takes the East, OCTAVIAN takes the West

Love 

• Antony was married to Octavian's sister but abandoned her to father children with cleopatra 

  • Octavian used this to poison A’s reputation (un-Roman, love slave)

The Will 

• Octavian got a hold of A’s will and discovered A wanted to be buried in EGYPT and gave lots of money to Cleo

  • Declared war on Egypt and Antony 

The Battle of Actium 31 BCE

• Octavian trapped Antony’s fleet → Antony's warships were bad, soldiers were sick, generals gave plan to O,  soldiers were reluctant

• O started winning, Cleo left → Antony's fleet abandoned and destroyed, Antony is isolated 

  • Kills himself

Victory 

• Octavian did not seize power but people gave it to him

• Called “princeps” never “emperor” and was given the title “augustus” →

Caesar Augustus → ROME_08_PaxRomana_Augustus_Marcus Aurelius

Augustus: Octavian took the name of Augustus “Exalted one”

Empire or Republic? 

-It looked like a republic but functioned as an empire 

Pax Romana: “Golden Age” of Rome (no civil wars) 200 years 

Augustan Reforms 

• Reforms taxes 

• Ordered a census 

• Set up postal service

• Consistent coins 

• Built roads and temples

• Meritocracy → high level jobs were available on talent 

Bread and Circuses

• Distracting public and consolidating power 

• Ex: free food or gladiators @ The Circus Maximus 

• Lessened chance of rebellion 

Gladiator Games

• Fighting with gladiators (slaved, POWS, criminals) 

Marcus Auerlius 

• Follower of stoicism as philosophy 

  • Emphasis on reason and self restraint 

  • Expanded territory but “what's the point” → unique= thinking 

Christianity→ ROME_09_Christianity & the videos 

Pax Romana/”Roman Peace”

-200 years old, Romans ruled, brought back speeches, and spoke in front of everyone.

Judea (Syria Palaestinia) 

• Roman involvement with the Jews began in 63 BCE and by 6 CE Judea has been made a province and placed under Roman rule 

  • Roman rule created division amongst Jews

    • Those who cooperated and those who opposed cooperation 

• Tolerance of Judaism weakened in 66 CE 

  • Zealots (66 CE): Militant extremists who advocated the violent overthrow of Roman rule. Ended in ROmes destruction of the Jewish temple.

  • Second Destruction of the Temple (70 CE) Caused the destruction of Jerusalem itself; Jews were expelled from Jerusalem (diaspora)

Jesus and His Message 

• Christianity emerged from Judaism 

  • In the midst of confusion and conflict, Jesus began preaching 

Origins of Christianity 

• Little is known about Jesus’ early life 

• Jesus follow Jewish law but when adult started calling for political reform 

  • Reforms became to foundation of christianity 

• Jews who followed his teaching became Christians 

  • Offshoot - not sect - of Judaism 

Similarities between Judaism and Christianity 

• Both Jews and CChristians believe in one god

• Follow the 10 commandments 

  • Believe Abraham was a prophet

• Baptism (minor in Jewish, major in Christianity) 

• Passover and Eucharist  

The Messiah 

• savior/liberator → belief that one person would save them all

Eschatology 

• Belief in the last age/part of the world → predicted by Abrahamic and non Abrahamic

• Apocalypticism = Belief that the end of the world was imminent 

Judaism versus Christianity

• Christianity rested on the belief that Jesus was the savior promised by God to Israel (The Messiah). At the time, few Jews accepted this claim.  This remains true today.

The sermon on the mount 

• Blessed are those who…

  • Preaching goodness/reward for being good (belief in reward of afterlife, unlike Roman polytheists) 

His death 

• Killed by Pontius Pilate (crucifiction) to calm the Pharisees 

The Gospels and Chrisitanity → (VIDEOS AND WORKSHEET)

Rome and Chrisitanity → ROME_11_Christianity & Rome 

Christianity and Core Roman values 

• Roman Religion: followed Greek mythology, “contractual” relationship, pax decorum, sacrifice to the gods = reward

  • vestal virgins, six religious figures, guarded a sacred fire in the Vestal temple, if the fire went out, chastity broken,  she was buried alive with her partner 

Why did Jews and Christian’s have a hard time fitting into Roman religious culture? 

• Romans were tolerant of all religions as long as you still kept up the relationship with their gots (rituals) then you were allowed to experiment. HOWEVER, these pagans (monotheists) went against this by just doing their religion 

Other types of religions 

• Found through expansion and conquering of new territory 

  • Cult of Mithras and Christianity “foreign cults”

    • Mithras was considered a pagan version of Christianity, as it shared blood rituals  and the idea of afterlife 

    • Cults were popular because:

Where did Christianity take root?

• Early Christian communities evolved in places of the Jewish diaspora, before spreading to Roman gentiles

  • This poses a geopolitical threat, because it connects to the Levant. The Levant was important to trade routes and buffered between the Persians. 

Gentiles: People who are not jewish 

Pagans: PolytheisT 

Christian eschatology = threat to Rome??

• “end of time” apocalypse eschatology 

Roman Response

• Tiberius’s reign,  Jesus was executed 

  • crucifixion of Christ 

• Romans argued that Christians were arrogant and close-minded 

  • Romans thought their religion was flexible and Christianity was not 

Perpetua and felicity

• willing to be a martyr and suffer persecution and death for her beliefs 

  • Threatened Roman values 

Diocletian & the Crisis of the 3rd Century → ROME_12_Diocletian & Crisis of 3rd Century

Pax Romana starts unraveling

• Invaders break through the borders

• High military spending resulting in more taxes which people avoid, this weakens the army

  • Farmers are losing land because of high taxes

  • Private businesses are failing

• Roman virtues are forgotten:  people are not informed: corrupt leadership

Declining  of Roman Empire in the 3rd Century

• Roman coins are devalued

• Purity of coins are decreased = more silver coins made = gov can spend more

Provisional conclusions/Effect on economy

• Uncertain monetary values undermines trust in economy = less economic transactions = businesses fails and people lose their job

• Inflation reduces values of people’s saving and plunge them into poverty

• People are angry and more likely to rebel

Commodus (Son of Marcus Aurelius)

• The Senate hates him

  • He taxes the Senate

  • Acts more like a dictator

  • Avoided Administrative duties

• December 31th, 192 A.D Commodus is strangled in his bath

• Remained popular

• The senate and the people is changed to the people and the senate

Year of the 5 Emperors 193 A.D

• 5 men fight to be Caesar

• Septimius Severus (Carthage) is the winner

• Father = Punic forebears / Mother = Italic

Severus Dynasty 193 - 253 AD

• 6 emperors in 42 years

Crisis of 3rd Century 235 - 284 AD

• Over 18 emperors in 50 years

• Gordian I - 21 days

• Gordian II - 21 days

• Pupienus - 3 months, days

• Balbinus - 3 months, 7 days

• Gordian III - 5 years, 9 months, 20 days

Aurelian

• Joined the legions at age 20, rose to head of the army 

• Fought multiple simultaneous invasions by “barbarian” groups.

• Proclaimed emperor by his own soldiers and fought the successor to the previous emperor, Claudius II, he wins

• Recognized by the Senate as emperor in 270 A.D.

• Defeats the breakaway Palmyrene Empire in the east, and the Gallian Empire in the west and reunites the empire

• Undertaken major infrastructure projects, most notable is the Aurelian Walls.

• His Praetorian Guard killed Aurelian as he was getting off his horse on a campaign in Asia Minor.

Causes of the Crisis

• Empire is too big

• Debasement of coins

• No clear line of succession 

• Foreign invaders

Diocletian 284- 305 CE/AD

• Born a commoner in the provinces

• Diocletian served the Emperor Carus and believed that he had earned the right to become emperor when Carus died.

• Carus died in 283 CE

• Ruled from 284 - 305 A.D

• He separated the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern empire 

• To prevent fall of Rome:

  • Reduced size of army

  • Established christianity as official religion

  • Discontinued trade from silk roads 

Constantine the Great & Christian Rome → ROME_13_Constantine & Christian Rome

First days of Christianity 

• Christianity began in 30 AD

• Most Christians couldn’t read or write so they told stories

• Gospel of Mark created 4 years after Jesus’s death

Early Christian Church

• At first there was little organizational or hierarchy

• No set bible

• Presbyters (Informal priests) and Deacons (Assistants)

• By year 100 AD bishops emerged  

No established Orthodoxy

• No set of rules or doctrine, Christians  believe different things

• Some don’t believe in the Trinity or need for priests. Some wanted more jewish traditions

• Different sects focused on different gospels 

Constantine the Great

• Civil war of the tetrarchy

• The battle of Milvian Bridge

  •  Constantine had a vision where he saw a cross arising from the light of the sun carrying the message “With this sign, you shall win”

• After the battle of Milvian bridge he issued the Edict of Milan which granted toleration to Christians and gave legal status to the Church

Christians get political 

• Civil war began between Constantine and Licinius over who would control eastern empire, Constantine wins ensuring safety of Christians

• Licinius violated the Edict of Milan and persecuted Christians because they were a political source of support for Constantine.

Constantine and Christianity

• Appoints Christians advisors and bishops to Emperor's courts 

• Builds and repair Churches, grants tax concessions to Christian clergy

• Takes Pagan’s  funding, doesn’t build new pagan temples

Constantine and Council of Nicaea

• Christianity and politics more intertwined, sought out to unify the Church

• In 325, He calls the council of Nicaea to establish set Christian orthodoxy, Church needs to be unified for the Empire to be unified. 

First Official bible 

• 50 gospels, only 4 approved, others removed

Theodosius affects Paganism

• Haruspicy is punishable by death

• Disbanded the Vestal virgins 

• Ended Olympics in Greece
  Encouraged the destruction of Pagan temples, Pagan  holidays become work days, beliefs outlawed

Theodosius II and Christianity

• Had to be the right Christian

• Had to accept the Nicene Creed

• Other types of Christianity outlawed and punishable by death

• Nicene Christianity = state religion

Decline of the Roman Republic → ROME_14_Decline & Fall 

The Decline of the Roman Empire  

• “Three stages “

• Loss of patriotism and loyalty to government 

• Rome has trade imbalance, they raised c=krisis. 

Mercenaries:  paid soldiers 

Attempts to Reform The Roman Empire

• 284 BCE Diocletian become emperor 

  • Presented as gold foil

SUMMARY/A BIG OLD TIMELINE

509 BCE Rome ruled by elected Senators

The Roman Republic expanded by defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars 

44 BCE  Assasination of Julius Caesar 

The Roman Empire after JC’s death becomes difficult to get over

207 years of prosperity Empire 

750 BCE - 500 BCE ORIGINS OF ROME