Rome pt.5
- 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
A Change in Rule
- 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
No one did that better than Caesar:
- Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) (test question)
- A highly successful general
- He conquered the huge territory of Gaul
He could play the game (of politics):
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)
"Crossing the Rubicon"
Cross to the point of no return"
Caesar takes control:
- serves as consul (one year)
- Appoints himseld governor of Gaul
- Pompey is jealous, becomes his rival (Caesar's army clash with Pompey's in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt)
- In 44 BC he is named dictator - first for six months, then for life
- 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
A Change in Rule
- 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
No one did that better than Caesar:
- Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) (test question)
- A highly successful general
- He conquered the huge territory of Gaul
He could play the game (of politics):
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)
"Crossing the Rubicon"
Cross to the point of no return"
Caesar takes control:
- serves as consul (one year)
- Appoints himseld governor of Gaul
- Pompey is jealous, becomes his rival (Caesar's army clash with Pompey's in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt)
- In 44 BC he is named dictator - first for six months, then for life
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