Power Point
Etruscans
came from north-central part of the peninsula
metalworkers, artists, architects
two foundation myths:
Virgil’s Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy - sound familiar?)
the story of Remus and Romulus
Greeks
they had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea
Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as:
religious beliefs
alphabet
much of their art
military techniques and weaponry
the Latins!
descendants of Indo-Europeans
settled on the banks of the Tiber
situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further
a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack
and... built on seven hills (esp. Palatine)
many streams flowed into the Tiber
there was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palatine and Capitoline Hills
Tarquin the Proud’s grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber
urban legend says Washington DC was built on a swamp - but only about 2% was actually swampland - however, Constitution Avenue is located on what used to be called Tiber Creek
Lucius Tarquinias Superbus
the seventh and final king of Rome
known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the Arrogant)
a true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word
Tarquin seized power like an old school tyrant (see if you can follow this horrible story...)
...Tarquin’s grandfather (the fifth king) dies… his widow names Servius Tullias king, since she liked him more than her own sons… S.T.’s daughters marry two brothers (one is Tarquin)… one of the daughters (Tullia) kills her husband and her own sister… this leaves her free to marry Tarquin
but wait, there’s more...
Tullia persuades Tarquin to seize the throne from her father… he sits on the throne and declares himself king… S.T. objects, and Tarquin throws him down the steps and into the street, then has him assassinated… Tullia hails Tarquin as the new king, but he sends her home for safety… on her way home she sees the body of her father in the street, seizes the reins, and drives her chariot over his corpse...Tarquin refuses to bury his body, and assassinates senators who object
years later, Tarquin’s son Sextus and his friends are drinking when Sextus tries to force himself on a matron, Lucretia… she refuses, and he threatens to kill her and says he will say he found her in the arms of a slave… she gives in to the blackmail, then confesses the ordeal to her family, and commits suicide… Tarquin tried to sweep it all under the rug, but the people rose up against the son, the father, and had the whole family expelled from Rome
the people’s shock at this horrible family and their terrible behavior made them NEVER want to be subject to the rule of kings EVER again - this was an attitude that lasted for centuries
Rule of kings is replaced by rule of two consuls (“gotta be better than one”)
consuls are elected officials
term of office: one year
always aristocrats (patricians)
patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor, or pater (“father”)
duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army
one consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)
fifth century BCE - patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs (“people”)
plebs were 98% of the population
how did the patricians dominate?
plebs had to serve in the army,
but could not hold office
plebs were threatened with debt slavery
plebs had no legal rights
plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials
Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs
patricians could interpret these to their own advantage
So, plebs refused to serve in the military until…
laws were written out (The Law of the Twelve Tables)
these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)
tribunes (“tribal leaders”) were elected
SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum
designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People”
brand new republic, ready to run
democracy (the people’s assembly and the tribunes
aristocracy (the Senate - approx. 300 members)
plus monarchy (the consuls)
not a tyranny (eww… too scary… a mistake the Romans did not care to repeat)
originally, the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans
is it exactly the same? not quite…
but both have three branches of government
executive
legislative
judicial
and both have a legal code
Executive- spqr
two consuls
one year terms
each has veto power
controls the military
could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six-month term
Executive- us
President (plus VP)
four year terms
can veto proposed laws
Commander-in-Chief of the military
Legislative- spqr
Senate - 300 people - aristocrats - members for life
Assemblies (either Centuriate or Tribal) 193 members (later 373) - members for life
Legislative- US
Senate - 100 senators (two from each state) - six-year terms
House of Representatives - 435 members (55 from Cali; MD has 8; AK, DE, MT, ND, SD, VT, WY have 1) - two-year terms
Judicial- spqr
Praetors
chosen by the Centuriate Assembly
one-year terms
udicial
Supreme Court
nine members
lifetime terms
appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate
Article Two of the United States Constitution requires the President of the United States to nominate Supreme Court Justices and, with Senate confirmation, requires Justices to be appointed.
Twelve Tables
Publicly displayed in the Forum
gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats
only protected free-born male citizens (not women)
Bill of Rights
first ten amendments to the Constitution
1 - free speech/press/religion
2 - bear arms
3 - no quartering
4 - no search and seizure
5 - no self-incrimination
6 - right to fair trial
7 - jury trials
8 - no cruel or unusual punishment
9 - right to privacy, +rights are assumed
10 - states have power where fed doesn’t
5000 soldiers, not in it for pay (not yet)
the Roman army’s elite heavy infantry
recruited exclusively from Roman citizens
group of eighty’s a century
on horseback is the cavalry
shield, sword, dagger, and armor and tunic
Rome vs. Carthage
three wars
First Punic War
(264 - 241 BCE)
naval battles for control of the strategically located island of Sicily
Rome wins this one
Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE)
29-year-old Carthaginian general Hannibal almost does the impossible: taking Rome
attacks Rome from the NORTH after crossing Iberia (Spain) and the Alps
lays siege to much of the peninsula for 15 years, but he never can get to Rome Rome 2, Carthage 0
Third (and final)Punic War (149-146 BC
Third (and final) Punic War (149-146 BCE)
Rome wanted to finally remove the threat of Carthage
Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attacked the city
Carthage was burned for 17 days; the city’s walls and buildings were utterly destroyed
when the war ended, the last 50,000 people in the city were sold into slavery
the rest of Carthage’s territories were annexed, and made into the Roman province of Africa
slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)
by the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy
small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles
slaves did the work on the farms for the rich
the big farms became massive estates called latifundia
How do you keep the plebs happy (or at least keep them from revolting)?
the poet Juvenal said Rome “anxiously hopes for two things: bread and
circuses”
bread (free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet, distracted, and docile
Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)
military generals worked that angle - lead an army that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
soldiers’ loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic
Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE)
a highly successful general
he conquered the huge territory of
made common folks happy
made friends in high places
Pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine)
Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history
these three men formed the First Triumvirate (“rule of three men”)
Serves as consul (one year)
Appoints himself governor of Gaul
Pompey is jealous, becomes his rival
Caesar’s armies clash with Pompey’s in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt (Caesar - winning!)
In 44BC he is named dictator - first for six months, then for life
Granted citizenship to people in provinces
Expanded the Senate, adding his friends
Created jobs for the poor, especially through public works projects
Increased pay for soldiers
Started colonies where those without land could own property
Why? The senators saw Caesar’s rise in power as a huge threat to their political viability
How? They lured him into the Senate, stabbing him 23 times, making sure all were involved
Who? Even Brutus, Caesar’s ally (“et tu, Brute?”)
Senators were not punished
Octavian was named Julius Caesar’s sole heir
Basically, this is the end of the republic
Julius Caesar’s grandnephew - and adopted son - Octavian takes over at the age of 18! with his own triumvirate
Mark Antony is an experienced general
Lepidus is a powerful politician
This is the Second Triumvirate
Octavian forces the weak Lepidus to retire
He and Mark Antony become rivals
Mark Antony partners up with Cleopatra of Egypt
Militarily
Personally
Politically
Economically
Octavian defeats them at the Battle of Actium
He is now the unchallenged ruler of Rome
He was given the honorific “Augustus”
“Exalted one”
He was also given the title “imperator”
Supreme military commander
This is where we get the word “emperor”
Now Rome is an empire, not a republic
40 years of ruling as emperor (27 BC to AD 14)
He began a stable era of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana (Roman peace)
Pax Romana was 207 years long
27 BC to AD 180
Expanded the Roman Empire further into Africa
He set up civil service to run the government/empire
Building a network of roads
Collecting taxes
Establishing a postal service
Administering the grain supply
Building awesome public facilities
Buildings, aqueducts
Setting up a police department
Running a fire-fighting organization
Finally died of natural causes
After Octavian’s death, power was passed down to emperors
Some were good, some were horrible, some appeared to be completely insane
Let’s review some of the emperors…
Tiberius
Ruled from AD 14 to AD 37
an excellent general, but a reluctant emperor
after the death of his son, he exiled himself from Rome and left his prefects in charge
died at age 77
Caligula
Ruled from AD 37 to AD 41 (only 4 years!)
won a power struggle after Tiberius' death
known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity - an insane tyrant
assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the im
perial court, trying to re-establish the Republic
but it didn't work…
Claudius
Ruled from AD 41 to AD 54
suffered from many infirmities: a limp, stammering, shaking, slobbering... possibly because of cerebral palsy
took over because he was the last adult male in the family
ruled well - built roads, aqueducts, canals, and started the conquest of Britain
died by poisoning - it was his last wife's plan (she wanted her son Nero to rise to power)
Nero
ruled from 54 to 68
emphasized the arts
huge fire in 64 (although he DIDN'T fiddle)
he wanted to rebuild Rome to be more majestic
he hugely overspent, and even raided the temples for money
historians do not look kindly on him
Comments
Post a Comment