Week 5: Reading Questions and Vocabulary List

Reading Questions:
1) Describe the geographical advantages of Rome.
Rome itself had a few key geographical advantages. Its hills were easily
defensible, making it difficult for invaders to carry out a successful attack. It was at the
intersection of trade routes, thanks in part to its proximity to a natural ford (a shallow
part of a river that can be crossed on foot) in the Tiber River, leading to a prosperous
commercial and mercantile sector that provided the wealth for early expansion. It also
lay on the route between the Greek colonies of southern Italy and various Italian
cultures in the central and northern parts of the peninsula.

2) When and how was Rome founded? Discuss the story of Romulus
and Remus.
The Romans themselves invented their own origins had to do with two brothers:
Romulus and Remus. In the legend of Romulus and Remus, two boys were born to a
Latin king, but then kidnapped and thrown into the Tiber River by the king’s jealous
brother. They were discovered by a female wolf and suckled by her, eventually growing
up and exacting their revenge on their treacherous uncle. They then fought each other,
with Romulus killing Remus and founding the city of Rome. According to the story, the
city of Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BCE. This legend is just that: a legend. Its
importance is that it speaks to how the Romans wanted to see themselves, as the
descendants of a great man who seized his birthright through force and power,
accepting no equals. In a sense, the Romans were proud to believe that their ancient
heritage involved being literally raised by wolves.

3) Who were the Etruscans? How did they influence the Romans?
Etruscans were Rome's neighbor, who lived to the northwest of Rome. The
Etruscans were active trading partners with the Greek poleis of the south, and Rome
became a key link along the Etruscan - Greek trade route. The Etruscans ruled a loose
empire of allied city-states that carried on a brisk trade with the Greeks, trading native
Italian iron for various luxury goods. This mixing of cultures, Etruscan, Greek, and Latin,
included shared mythologies and stories. The Greek gods and myths were shared by
the Romans, with only the names of the gods being changed (e.g. Zeus became
Jupiter, Aphrodite became Venus, Hades became Pluto, etc.). In this way, the Romans
became part of the larger Mediterranean world of which the Greeks were such a
significant part.
The Etruscans ruled the Romans from some time in the eighth century BCE until
509 BCE. During that time, the Etruscans organized them to fight along Greek lines as a
phalanx. There is no actual evidence that the Etruscans ruled Rome, but as with the
legend of Romulus and Remus, the story of early Etruscan rule inspired the Romans to
think of themselves in certain ways - most obviously in utterly rejecting the foreign rule
of any kind and even of foreign cultural influence; Romans were fiercely proud (to the
point of belligerence) of their heritage and identity. The Romans overthrew the last
Etruscan king and established a full Republican form of government, with elected
senators making all of the important political decisions. Roman antipathy to kings was
so great that no Roman leader would ever call himself Rex - king - even after the
Republic was eventually overthrown centuries later.

4) Who were the Celts? What was the Celts relationship with Rome?
The Celts were a warrior society that seemed to have practiced a variation of
what would later be known as feudal law, in which every offense demanded retribution
in the former of either violence or “man gold”: the payment needed to atone for a crime
and thereby prevent the escalation of violence. The Celts were in contact with the
people of the Mediterranean world from as early as 800 BCE, mostly through trade.
They lived in fortified towns and were as quick to raid as to trade with their neighbors.
By about 450 BCE the Celts expanded dramatically across Europe. They seem to have
become more warlike and expansionist and they adopted a number of technologies
already in use further south, including chariot warfare and currency. By 400 BCE groups
of Celts began to raid further into “civilized” lands, sacking Rome itself in 387 BCE and
pushing into the Hellenistic lands of Macedonia, Greece, and Anatolia. Subsequently,
Celtic raiders tended to settle by about 200 BCE, often forming distinct smaller
kingdoms within larger lands, such as the region called Galatia in Anatolia, and serving
as mercenary warriors for the Hellenistic kingdoms.
Eventually, when the Romans began to expand beyond Italy itself, it was the
Celts who were first conquered and then assimilated into the Republic. The Romans
regarded Celts as barbarians, but they were thought to be barbarians who were at least
capable of assimilating and adopting "true" civilization from the Romans. Centuries
later, the descendants of conquered Celts considered themselves fully Roman:
speaking Latin as their native language, wearing togas, drinking wine, and serving in the
Roman armies.

5) Describe the political system of the Roman Republic? Discuss the

role of
the consuls and the senate.
The Roman Republic had a fairly complex system of government and
representation, but it was one that would last about 500 years and preside over the vast
expansion of Roman power. An assembly, called the Centuriate Assembly, was elected
by the citizens and created laws. Each year, the assembly elected two executives called
consuls to oversee the laws and ensure their enforcement. The consuls had almost
unlimited power, known as imperium, including the right to inflict the death penalty on
law-breakers, and they were preceded everywhere by twelve bodyguards called lictors.
Consular authority was, however, limited by the fact that terms were only a yearlong
and each consul was expected to hold the other in check if necessary. Under the
consuls there was the senate, essentially a large body of aristocratic administrators
who controlled state finances. The whole system was tied closely to the priesthoods of
the Roman gods, who performed divinations and blessings on behalf of the city. While
the Romans were deeply suspicious of individuals who seemed to be trying to take
power themselves, several influential families worked behind the scenes to ensure that
they could control voting blocks in the Centuriate Assembly and the Senate.
5) Who were the Patricians and Plebeians? Describe the class conflict
between these two groups (i.e., the Conflict of Orders).
The rich were referred to as patricians, families with ancient roots in Rome who
occupied most of the positions of the senate and the judiciary in the city. There were
about one hundred patrician families, descending from the men Romulus had, allegedly,
appointed to the first senate. They were allied with other rich and powerful people,
owners of large tracts of land, in trying to hold in check the plebeians, Roman citizens
not from patrician backgrounds.
Rome faced a situation similar to Athens, in which the wealthy not only held a
virtual monopoly on political power but also had the legal authority to enslave or at least
extract labor from debtors in many circumstances. The Senate responded by allowing
the creation of two officials known as Tribunes, men drawn from the plebeians who had
the legal power to veto certain decisions made by the senate and consuls. In 494 BCE,
the plebeians threatened to simply leave Rome, rendering it almost defenseless, and
the Senate responded by allowing the creation of two officials known as Tribunes, men
drawn from the plebeians who had the legal power to veto certain decisions made by
the senate. Later, the government established a Plebeian Council to represent the
plebeians' demands, authorized the right of patricians and plebeians to marry, abolished
debt slavery, and eventually agreed that one of the two consuls elected each year must
be a plebeian. The Plebeian Assembly could pass legislation with the force of law by
287 BCE. Farmers who volunteered to fight for Rome in the hopes of being paid with
wealth acquired from defeated adversaries were known as citizen-soldiers. Around 350
BCE, the Romans passed a regulation limiting the amount of land that may be given to
a single citizen after a victory, assuring a more equitable distribution of territory to
plebeian warriors. This provided a powerful incentive to join the Roman army, as any
soldier might suddenly become extremely wealthy if he took part in a successful
campaign against Rome's adversaries. The rich always had the upper hand, even after
the plebeians achieved legal concessions because wealthy plebeians would routinely
join with patricians to out-vote poorer plebeians. Similarly, the higher classes had the
legal right to out-vote the poorer classes in the Centuriate Council – the equestrians and
patricians frequently collaborated against the poorer classes' demands. In practice, this
meant that by the early third century BCE, the plebeians had gained significant legal
rights, such as the right to representation and lawmaking, but that these victories were
frequently overshadowed by the fact that wealthy plebeians increasingly joined forces
with the existing patricians to form something new: The Roman aristocracy. Because
most state jobs did not pay salaries, only individuals with considerable incomes from
land (or loot obtained in campaigns) could afford to serve as full-time representatives,
bureaucrats, or judges - a factor that contributed to the aristocracy's political control
over ordinary residents. In the midst of this constant conflict, the Romans devised the
foundations of Roman law, a system of law that would eventually become the
foundation for most of the legal systems still in use in Europe today (Britain being a
notable exception). Individual disputes are controlled by private law (e.g., property
claims, disagreements between business partners), whereas disputes between
individuals and the government are handled by public law (e.g. violent crimes that were
seen as a threat to the social order as a whole). Furthermore, the Romans formed the
Law of Nations to govern the lands they began to conquer in Italy; it was an early
version of international law based on universal norms of justice. Because the plebeians
were worried that court rulings would always favor the patricians, who had a monopoly
on legal processes, they demanded that the laws be written down and made public. As
a result, in 451 BCE, officials of the Roman government compiled the Twelve Tables,
public listings of rules, which were then displayed in the Roman Forum in the heart of
Rome. Having the laws available to the public, as it was in Athens a century ago,
minimized the possibility of corruption. According to Roman legend, the ten persons in
charge of recording the rules were dispatched to Athens to study the laws of Solon of
Athens; this was a planned "copy" of his idea.

4) How did the Roman Republic expand through the Mediterranean?

What strategies did the Romans use to expand and control new
territories?
 The Latin League, a coalition of allied communities, was the beginning of the
Roman expansion. This coalition was headed by Rome against neighboring hill tribes
that had ravaged the area on a regular basis, and later against the Etruscans, who had
once dominated Rome. In 389 BCE, just as the Romans were considering future
territorial expansion, a ferocious raiding force of Celts swooped in and devastated
Rome, causing a decades-long setback. In the aftermath, the Romans vowed that the
city would never be attacked again.
The fall of Rome's erstwhile allies in the Latin League in 338 BCE was a
watershed episode in the early period of Roman expansion. However, after defeating
the cities, Rome did not punish them. Instead, it promised them citizenship in the
Republic (though without voting rights) in exchange for vows of allegiance and warriors
during warfare, setting a precedent that meant Rome could possibly extend its military
prowess with each triumph. The elites of the Latin cities soon realized the advantages of
siding with the Romans: they received a share of the wealth distributed after military
victories and were able to participate actively in politics as long as they remained loyal,
whereas resisters were eventually ground down and defeated, leaving only their pride to
show for it.
The overall picture of Roman culture is of a civilization that, like Sparta during the
height of its barracks society, was obsessive and preoccupied with a battle in its own
way. Unlike Sparta, Rome, on the other hand, was able to assemble massive armies, in
part because slaves gradually took over most of the work on fields and workshops,
freeing up free Roman males to participate in the annual invasions of surrounding lands.
W.V. Harris, a prominent contemporary Roman historian, wisely warned against the
"power worship" that all too many people have succumbed to when studying Roman
history over the centuries - Rome did indeed accomplish remarkable things, but it did so
through appalling levels of cruelty and astonishing levels of violence.

5) What was the Pyrrhic War? What groups were involved? What was
the result?
The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was a complex series of battles and shifting
political alliances among the Greeks (specifically Epirus, Macedonia, and the city-states
of Magna Graecia), Romans, the Italian peoples (primarily the Samnites and the
Etruscans), and the Carthaginians. The Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict
between Rome and the city of Tarentum over a naval treaty violation by one of the
Roman consuls. Tarentum had, however, lent aid to the Greek ruler Pyrrhus of Epirus in
his conflict with Korkyra, and requested military aid from Epirus. Pyrrhus honored his
obligation to Tarentum and joined the complex series of conflicts involving Tarentum
and the Romans, Samnites, Etruscans, and Thurii (as well as other cities of Magna
Graecia). Pyrrhus also involved himself in the internal political conflicts of Sicily, as well
as the Sicilian struggle against Carthaginian dominance. Pyrrhus' involvement in the
regional conflicts of Sicily reduced the Carthaginian influence there drastically. In Italy,
his involvement seems to have been mostly ineffectual but had long-term implications.
The Pyrrhic War proved both that the states of ancient Greece had essentially become
incapable of defending the independent colonies of Magna Graecia and that the Roman
legions were capable of competing with the armies of the Hellenistic kingdoms — the
dominant Mediterranean powers of the time. This opened the way for Roman
dominance over the city-states of Magna Graecia and advanced the Roman
consolidation of power in Italy greatly. Rome's proven record in international military
conflicts would also aid its resolve in its rivalry with Carthage, which was eventually to
culminate in the Punic Wars.

5) Discuss the Punic Wars? What groups were involved? What was
the
final result?
There was a conflict there between Syracuse and Messina, the two most
powerful poleis. The Carthaginians dispatched a fleet to assist the Messinans, but the
Messinans requested assistance from Rome as well (a betrayal of sorts from the
perspective of Carthage). Carthage sided with Syracuse, and Rome saw an opportunity
to expand Roman dominance in Sicily, therefore the fight quickly escalated. The
Centuriate Assembly decided to increase the Roman military commitment because its
members desired the potential wealth that could be gained through war. The First Punic
War erupted, as a result, lasting from 264 to 241 BCE (note: “Punic” refers to the
Roman designation for Carthage and its civilization).
The Romans were defeated multiple times, but they were wealthy and powerful
enough at this point to continue fighting. The fact that the Carthaginians were unaware
that the conflict could expand beyond Sicily aided Rome enormously; even after winning
triumphs there, the Carthaginians never attempted to attack Italy itself (which they could
have done, at least early on).
The Second Punic War (218 BCE - 202 BCE), with 60,000 troops and a few
dozen war elephants, Hannibal crossed the Alps from Spain into Italy (most of the
elephants perished, but the survivors proved very effective, and terrifying, against the
Roman forces). He annihilated every Roman army sent against him for the next two
years, killing tens of thousands of Roman soldiers and marching dangerously close to
Rome. In Italy, Hannibal never lost a single battle, but he also never forced the Romans
to sue for peace.
The third and last Punic War that ensued was utterly one-sided: it began in 149
BCE, and by 146 BCE Carthage was defeated. Not only were thousands of the
Carthaginian people killed or enslaved, but the city itself was brutally sacked

5) Discuss the Roman-Greek Wars. What groups were involved? What

was the final result?
During the same time period, Rome moved eastward, eventually conquering all
of Greece, the heartland of the culture the Romans adored and imitated. While Hannibal
was ravaging Italy, Macedonian King Philip V sided with Carthage against Rome, which
seemed like a fair move at the time because Rome appeared to be losing the war.
Following the defeat of the Carthaginians in 201 BCE, Rome dispatched an army to
maintain Greece's independence and wreak vengeance on Philip. There, Philip and
Antiochus III, the monarch of the Seleucid empire, agreed to share the eastern
Mediterranean if they could defeat and rule all of the Greek poleis. Following the defeat
of the Carthaginians in 201 BCE, Rome dispatched an army to maintain Greece's
independence and seek vengeance upon Philip. There, Philip and Antiochus III, the
monarch of the Seleucid empire, agreed to split up the eastern Mediterranean on the
assumption that they could destroy and conquer all of the Greek poleis. The Centuriate
Assembly was persuaded to declare war by an expansionist group in the Roman
senate. In 196 BCE, the Roman legions easily beat the Macedonian forces and then,
perhaps surprisingly, left, having achieved their claimed purpose of safeguarding Greek
liberty. However, Rome continued to fight the Seleucids for several more years,
eventually reducing Antiochus III to a Roman puppet.
Despite their seeming lack of interest in establishing direct rule in Greece, rival
Greek poleis pleaded for Roman assistance in their battles, and Roman influence in the
region rose. Between 196 and 168 BCE, he contributed to the Roman idea that the
Greeks were creative and philosophical geniuses, but also deceitful, deceitful, and bad
at political organization, at least in their current iteration. There was also a developing
conservative faction in Rome, led by Cato the Elder, that emphasized Roman moral
integrity over Greek weakness purposefully and explicitly.
Perseus, Philip V's son, ascended to the throne of Macedon in 179 BCE and,
though not directly threatening Roman control, reasserted Macedonian sovereignty in
the region, causing distrust among the Roman elite. Rome dispatched an army in 172
BCE, and Macedon was defeated in 168 BCE. Rome divided Macedon into puppet
republics, pillaged Macedon's allies, and ruled the remaining Greek poleis. Revolts
against Roman control in 150 and 146 provided the ultimate excuse for the Roman
conquest of Greece. Thus, after centuries of warfare, by 140 BCE the Romans
controlled almost the entire Mediterranean world, from Spain to Anatolia.
The last major Hellenistic attempt to wrest sovereignty from the Romans
occurred in the early first century BCE, when Mithridates VI, a Greek king from Pontus,
a minor kingdom on the Black Sea's southern shore, rose to power. Beginning in 88
BCE, Mithridates commanded a vast anti-Roman coalition of Hellenistic peoples in
Anatolia and eventually in Greece itself. Mithridates fought Rome in three battles, but
despite his valor, he was eventually defeated and slain in 63 BCE.

6) Explain and discuss the concept of Romanitas (Roman virtues).

Romanitas, which meant to be civilized, to be strong, to be honest, to be a great
public speaker, to be a great fighter, and to work within the political structure in alliance
with other civilized Romans. There was also a powerful theme of self-sacrifice
associated with Romanitas - the ideal Roman would sacrifice himself for the greater
good of Rome without hesitation. In some ways, Romanitas was the Romans' spin on
the old Greek combination of arete and civic virtue. The job of dictator was one example
of Romanitas in action. Even more than a consul, a Roman dictator was supposed to
exemplify Romanitas by guiding Rome through a moment of difficulty before willingly
relinquishing power. Romanitas has obvious consequences for political and military
loyalty and morale. However, public buildings and ceremonies were a less evident
display of Romanitas. The creation of temples, forums, arenas, or practical public works
such as roads and aqueducts were one method for elite (wealthy) Romans to display
their Romanitas.

7) Explain and discuss the concept of clientage (i.e., the relationships

between patrons and clients).
The institution of clientage dominated most of Roman social life. Clientage was
made up of a web of “patrons” - powerful individuals – and their “clients” - individuals
who relied on the patrons for help. A patron would arrange for his customers to secure
rich government contracts, be appointed as officers in the Roman legion, or be able to
purchase a valuable piece of farmland, among other things. In exchange, the patron
would expect his clients to vote in his favor in the Centuriate or Plebeian Assembly,
sway other votes, and block his political opponents. Clients who shared a patron were
supposed to assist one another as well. These were open, public partnerships rather
than secret arrangements conducted behind closed doors; as a show of strength,
groups of clients would accompany their patron into senate or assembly gatherings.

6) Who were Gracchi Brothers? What was the consequences of them

reforms and subsequent deaths?
The Gracchi were known for their work in the step toward violent revolution in the
Republic. Tiberius Gracchus, the wealthier of the two, was a reformer. Gracchus and
others were concerned that if the current tendency of wealthy landowners taking farms
and replacing farmers with slaves continued, the free, farm-owning ordinary Roman
would become extinct. Rome's troops would be greatly weakened if those commoners
were not present. As a result, he was able to get a bill passed via the Centuriate
Assembly that limited how much land a single individual could own and distributed the
excess to the needy. The Senate was outraged and fought tooth and nail to overturn the
bill. Tiberius ran for a second term as tribune, which no one had ever done before, and
was killed by a gang of senators in 133 BCE.
Gaius Gracchus, Tiberius' brother, took up the cause and became tribune as
well. He campaigned against corruption in the provinces, allying himself with the
equestrian class and allowed equestrians to serve on corruption jury trials. He also
attempted to hasten the redistribution of land. His most daring act was to attempt to
grant full citizenship to all of Rome's Italian subjects, essentially converting the Roman
Republic into the Italian Republic. He lost even his previous allies in Rome, and rather
than be executed by another team of killers dispatched by senators, he committed
himself in 121 BCE. The Gracchi's reforms were only partially successful: despite their
deaths, the Gracchi's central endeavor to redistribute land was mainly effective — a
land commission established by Tiberius lasted until 118 BCE, by which time it had
dispersed vast swaths of land held illegally by the wealthy. Despite their outspoken
opposition, the wealthy did not suffer greatly because the lands in question were
primarily left over from the Second Punic War, and ordinary farmers benefited. Similarly,
after being obliged to put down an insurrection in Italy, the Republic eventually awarded
citizenship to all Italians in 84 BCE, notwithstanding Gaius' death. Instead, the Gracchi's
historical significance was in the method in which they died - for the first time, significant
Roman officials were simply slain (or killed themselves rather than being murdered) for
their views.

7) Describe the events leading to the end of the Roman Republic.

The Roman Republic lasted for roughly five centuries. Rome grew from a little
hamlet to the center of a huge empire during the Republic. Despite the Republican
system's obvious success, it has been plagued by inevitable difficulties throughout its
history, the most prominent of which being the problem of wealth and power. Citizens of
Rome were required by law to hold an interest in the Republic.
Gaius Gracchus, Tiberius' brother, took up the cause and became tribune as
well. He campaigned against corruption in the provinces, allying himself with the
equestrian class and allowed equestrians to serve on corruption jury trials. He also
attempted to hasten the redistribution of land. His most daring act was to attempt to
grant full citizenship to all of Rome's Italian subjects, essentially converting the Roman
Republic into the Italian Republic.

8) Briefly describe the career of Julius Caesar?

A new politician and general named Julius Caesar became increasingly powerful
and ultimately began to replace the Republic with an empire. Julius Caesar's ascent to
power is a complicated tale that demonstrates how tangled Roman politics were at the
time he rose to prominence in around 70 BCE. Caesar was a talented general as well
as a cunning politician, adept at maintaining the impression of loyalty to Rome's ancient
institutions while seizing opportunities to promote and enrich himself and his family. In
truth, he was untrustworthy of practically everyone, including old friends who had
backed him, and he shamelessly exploited the poor's support for his own advantage.
Caesar hungered for glory and wealth and hoped to be appointed to lead Roman armies
against the Celts in Western Europe. Both Caesar and Crassus acquired their desired
military appointments. Caesar was chosen commander of Gaul (modern-day France
and Belgium), and he set out to defeat Vercingetorix, a legendary Celtic ruler. Caesar
launched a devastating battle against the Gaulish Celts from 58 to 50 BCE. He was a
ruthless warrior who massacred entire towns and enslaved hundreds of thousands of
Celts (killing or enslaving over a million people in total), as well as a talented writer who
chronicled his wars in great Latin prose. His wars were so extensive that he conquered
England and established a Roman province there that lasted for centuries. All of the
countries he conquered were so thoroughly conquered that the Celts' descendants
ended up speaking Latin-based languages like French instead of their own Celtic
dialects. Caesar's triumphs made him famous and strong, and also ensured his battle-
hardened troops' allegiance. Senators at Rome feared Caesar's power and called on
Caesar's erstwhile ally Pompey to subdue him. The senate then recalled Caesar after
refusing to renew his governorship of Gaul and his military command, or allowing him to
run for consul in absentia. The Senate hoped to remove Caesar's authority by claiming
that he had broken the letter of Republican legislation while campaigning. Caesar had
undertaken illegal activities, such as waging war without senate consent, but he was
immune from punishment as long as he retained an approved military command;
refusing to renew his command or allowing him to run for consul would expose him to
charges. Caesar was well aware of the allegations of rebellion against the Republic that
awaited him in Rome, so he just marched off with his army to Rome. In 49 BCE, he
dared to cross the Rubicon River in northern Italy, a legal boundary that no Roman
general was allowed to cross; he reportedly declared that "the dice is cast" and that he
and his men were now committed to either gaining power or facing total defeat. The
genius of Caesar's maneuver was that he could pose as the champion of both his loyal
troops and the common people of Rome, whom he promised to aid against the corrupt
and arrogant senate; he never claimed to be acting for himself, but rather to protect his
and his men's legal rights and to resist the senate's corruption. Pompey was the most
powerful man in Rome, a brilliant general as well as a gifted politician, but he had not
anticipated Caesar's audacity. Caesar surprised Pompey by marching straight for
Rome; Pompey only had two legions, both of which had previously served under
Caesar. As a result, he was forced to recruit new troops, many of whom defected to
Caesar as he marched through Italy. Pompey fled to Greece, but Caesar pursued him
and defeated his forces in 48 BCE. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated
by Ptolemaic court agents who had read the writing on the wall and realized Caesar
was the new power to contend with in Rome. Caesar himself visited Egypt and stayed
long enough to form a political alliance and have an affair with Cleopatra VII, the last of
the Ptolemaic dynasty. In a civil war, Caesar assisted her in defeating her brother (to
whom she was married in Egyptian tradition) and seizing complete control of the
Egyptian state. Caesarion, his only son, was also born to him through her. After tracking
down Pompey's remaining loyalists, Caesar returned to Rome two years later. There, he
declared himself dictator for life and set about establishing a new version of the
Republic that reported directly to him. As a reward for his loyal troops, he filled the
Senate with his supporters and established military colonies in the lands he had
conquered (which doubled as guarantors of Roman power in those lands, since
veterans and their families would now live there permanently). He instituted a new
calendar, including the month of "July" named after him, and standardized Roman
currency. Then he immediately began planning a massive invasion of Persia. Instead of
leading another glorious military campaign, Caesar was assassinated in March 44 BCE
by a group of senators who resented his power and genuinely wanted to save the
Republic. However, the outcome was not the restoration of the Republic, but rather a
new chapter in the Caesarian dictatorship. It was designed by Caesar's heir, his grand-
nephew Octavian, to whom Caesar left almost all of his vast wealth, much to almost
everyone's surprise.

9) Discuss the power struggle between Marc Antony and Octavian.

Following Caesar's death, his right-hand man, a talented general named Mark
Antony, formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Octavian and another commander
named Lepidus. They took control of Rome in 43 BCE and launched a successful war
against the old Republican adherents, assassinating the men who had assassinated
Caesar as well as the most powerful senators and equestrians who had attempted to
restore the old institutions. Mark Antony and Octavian quickly pushed Lepidus aside
and divided Roman territory between them, with Octavian gaining Europe and Mark
Antony gaining the eastern provinces and Egypt.

10) Discuss the reign of Augustus Caesar. What reforms did he

implement? In short, how did Augustus transform Rome from a
Republic to an Empire?
When Octavian defeated Marc Antony, he eliminated the final impediment to his
own rule of Rome's enormous lands. While claiming that the Republic was still alive, he
really replaced the republican system with one in which the Roman state was
dominated by a single sovereign. As a result, he established the Roman Empire, a
political entity that would last nearly five centuries in the west and over a thousand
years in the east. The Roman Empire's peak coincided with the first two hundred years
of its existence, a period known as the Pax Romana: The Roman Peace. It was
possible to travel from the Atlantic coast of Spain or Morocco all the way to
Mesopotamia utilizing good roads and benefiting from governmental protection against
banditry and a common trade language during the Roman Empire's heyday, roughly
from 1 CE to 200 CE.
To slaves, poor commoners, and conquered peoples, the Roman Empire was as rich,
powerful, and glorious as any in history up to that point, but it also represented
oppression and imperialism. Octavian deposed all political competitors and established
a hereditary monarchy. He claimed to be restoring not only peace and prosperity, but
also the Republic itself. Augustus referred to himself as Princeps Civitatus, which
means "first citizen," because the word Rex (king) would have been offensive to his
fellow Romans. He used the Senate to maintain a semblance of republican governance,
advising senators on what measures they should take; for example, the Senate "asked"
him to remain consul for life, which he kindly accepted. By 23 BCE, he had risen to the
position of tribune for life, which gave him unrestricted control over legislation authoring
and vetoing. Augustus, having seized Egypt from his former partner Mark Antony, was
venerated there as the latest pharaoh, and all soldiers swore personal oaths of fealty to
him, not the republic. The senate bestowed the title Augustus on Octavian, which meant
"illustrious" or "semi-divine." Augustus Caesar is the moniker by which he is best
remembered. Augustus thought it was important to keep the republic's facade up, as
well as republican principles like thrift, honesty, bravery, and honor. He enacted strict
moralistic rules punishing (elite) young men who attempted to escape marriage and
praising the piety and loyalty of conservative married ladies. He insisted on historic
republican ideas and traditions even as he changed the government from a republic to a
bureaucratic tool of his own power. This represented his own conservative inclinations,
but it also helped the traditional Roman elites’ transition from republic to tyranny.

11) What are the three major “Imperial Dynasties” of the pax romana
period?
 The period of the Pax Romana included three distinct dynasties:
1. The Julian dynasty: 14 – 68 CE - those emperors related (by blood or adoption) to
Caesar's line.
2. The Flavian dynasty: 69 – 96 CE - a father and his two sons who seized power after
a brief civil war.
3. The “Five Good Emperors”: 96 – 180 CE - a "dynasty" of emperors who chose their
successors, rather than power passing to their family members.

12) Describe how the Romans viewed the societies and peoples living
outside of their borders (i.e., the Germans and the Persians)?
v
14) How did the Roman Army change overtime? In short, compare the
Roman military / army during the Republic vs. the Empire.
v
15) Describe the Roman social hierarchy (i.e., social classes).
v
Big Names:
Describe the following “Big Names”. Who were they why are they
important?

1) Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus was a Hellenistic king who had already wrested control of a good-sized swath
of Greece from the Antigonid dynasty back in Greece. Pyrrhus won two major battles
against the Romans, but in the process, he lost two-thirds of his troops. Following his
wins, he said, "One more such victory will undo me," coining the word "pyrrhic victory,"
which refers to a temporary success that ultimately results in defeat, such as winning a
battle but losing a war. He returned to Greece with his remaining forces. The south was
unable to mount much of a resistance after he withdrew, and by 263 BCE, all of Italy
was under Roman authority.

2) Hannibal
Hannibal the great Carthaginian general (son of the most successful general who
had fought the Romans in the First Punic War). In 218 BCE he launched a surprise
attack in Spain against Roman allies and then against Roman forces themselves. This
led to the Second Punic War (218 BCE - 202 BCE). Hannibal never lost a single battle
in Italy, yet neither did he force the Romans to sue for peace. Hannibal defeated the
Romans repeatedly with clever tactics: he lured them across icy rivers and ambushed
them, he concealed a whole army in the fog one morning and then sprang on a Roman
legion, and he led the Romans into narrow passes and slaughtered them.

3) Scipio
Scipio a brilliant Roman general who defeated the Carthaginian forces back in
Spain in 207 BCE, cutting Hannibal off from both reinforcements and supplies, which
weakened his army significantly. Scipio then attacked Africa itself, forcing Carthage to
recall Hannibal to protect the city. In 202 BCE, he was the first general that defeated
Hannibal. The victorious Scipio, now easily the most powerful man in Rome, became
the first great general to add to his own name the name of the place he conquered: he
became Scipio “Africanus” - conqueror of Africa.

4) Cato the Elder

Cato the Elder a prominent senator reputedly ended every speech in the Senate
with the statement “…and Carthage must be destroyed.” From 196 - 168 BCE, there
was also a growing conservative faction in Rome which was led by Cato the Elder that
deliberately and emphatically emphasized Roman moral virtue over Greek weakness.

5) Mithridates
 Mithridates is the Greek king of Pontus, a small kingdom on the southern shore
of the Black Sea. Mithridates led a large anti-Roman coalition of Hellenistic peoples first
in Anatolia and then in Greece itself starting in 88 BCE. Mithridates was seen by his
followers as a great liberator, given the degree of corruption among many Roman
officials (one Roman governor had molten gold poured down his throat to symbolize the
just punishment of Roman greed). Mithridates fought a total of three wars against Rome
but despite his tenacity, he was finally defeated and killed in 63 BCE.

6) Pompey the Great

Pompey was one of the greatest Roman generals, and he soon left to eliminate
piracy from the Mediterranean, to conquer the Jewish kingdom of Judea, and to crush
an ongoing revolt in Anatolia. He returned in 67 BCE and asked the senate to approve
land grants to his loyal soldiers for their service, a request that the senate refused
because it feared his power and influence with so many soldiers who were loyal to him
instead of the Republic. Pompey wanted the senate to authorize land and wealth for his
troops.

7) Philip V of Macedon
Philip V the Macedonian King, allied with Carthage against Rome, a reasonable
decision at the time because it seems likely that Rome was going to lose the war.

8) Crassus
Senator Crassus, who was the richest man in Italy, took command of the Roman
army assembled to defeat Spartacus, defeating the slave army and killing Spartacus in
71 BCE (and lining the road to Rome with 6,000 crucified slaves). Crassus wanted to
lead armies against Parthia (i.s. the “new” Persian Empire that had long since
overthrown Seleucid rule in Persia itself)
9) Gaius Marius
General Gaius Marius, who was a contemporary of the Gracchi, took further
steps that eroded the traditional Republican system. Marius combined political savvy
with effective military leadership. Marius was both a consul (elected an unprecedented
seven times) and a general, and he used his power to eliminate the property
requirement for membership in the army. This allowed the poor to join the army in return
for nothing more than an oath of loyalty, one they swore to their general rather than to
the Republic. Marius was popular with Roman commoners because he won consistent
victories against enemies in both Africa and Germany, and he distributed land and
farms to his poor soldiers. This made him a people's hero, and it terrified the nobility in
Rome because he was able to bypass the usual Roman political machine and simply
pay for his wars himself. His decision to eliminate the property requirement meant that
his troops were totally dependent on their general for loot and land distribution after
campaigns, increasing their loyalty to him, but undermining their allegiance to the
Republic. Marius was the first Roman general to draw from the vast pool of poor male
citizens in the city of Rome itself, which by this time had a population of around a million
people. Marius's recruiters offered good pay and equipment to any Roman man willing
to join Marius's army, and as a result, Marius became a popular hero among the poor in
Rome, much to the horror of the Roman elite, who feared the "mob" of poor citizens.

10) Mark Antony

Mark Antony moved to the Egyptian city of Alexandria, where he set up his court.
He followed in Caesar’s footsteps by forging both a political alliance and a romantic
relationship with Cleopatra, and the two of them were able to rule the eastern provinces
of the Republic in defiance of Octavian. In 34 BCE, Mark Antony and Cleopatra
declared that Cleopatra’s son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, was the heir to Caesar (not
Octavian) and that their own twins were to be rulers of Roman provinces.

11) Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII the queen of Egypt, the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty

12) Tiberius
Tiberius, Augustus' stepson, in 14 CE, he became emperor Tiberius began his
rule as a cautious leader who put on a show of only reluctantly following in Augustus's
footsteps as emperor. He was a reasonably competent emperor for over a decade,
delegating decisions to the senate and ensuring that the empire remained secure and
financially solvent.

13) Caligula
Caligula was the Tiberius' heir was (r. 37 - 41 CE), also known as "Gaius,"
literally meaning “little boots” but which translates best as "Bootsie." As a boy, Caligula
moved with his father, a famous and well-liked general related by marriage to the
Julians, from army camp to army camp. While he did so he liked to dress up in
miniature legionnaire combat boots; hence, he was affectionately dubbed "Bootsie" by
the troops (one notable translation of the work of Suetonius by Robert Graves translates
Caligula as "Bootikins" instead). Caligula was a disastrous emperor. He liked to appear
in public dressed as various gods or goddesses; one of his high priests was his horse,
Incitatus, whom he supposedly appointed as a Roman consul. He staged an invasion of
northern Gaul of no tactical significance which culminated in a Triumph. he was
unquestionably the enemy of the senate, seeing potential traitors everywhere and
inflicting waves of executions against former supporters. He used trials for treason to
enrich himself after squandering the treasury on buildings and public games. He also
made senators wait on him dressed as slaves, and demanded that he be addressed as
“Dominus et Deus,” meaning" master and god." He was finally murdered by a group of
senators and guardsmen.

14) Claudius
Claudius was the following emperor after Caligula. The one unquestionably
competent emperor of the Julian line after Augustus. Claudius had survived palace
intrigues because he walked with a limp and spoke with a pronounced stutter; he was
widely considered to be a simpleton, whereas he was actually highly intelligent.
Claudius proved himself a competent and refreshingly sane emperor, ending the waves
of terror Caligula had unleashed. He went on to oversee the conquest of England, first
begun by Julius Caesar decades earlier. He was also a scholar, mastering the Etruscan
and Punic languages and writing histories of those two civilizations. He restored the
imperial treasury, depleted by Tiberius and Caligula, and maintained the Roman
borders. He also established a true bureaucracy to manage the vast empire and began
the process of formally distinguishing between the personal wealth of the emperor and
the official budget of the Roman state.

15) Nero
Nero was the son of his wife with another marriage. was another Julian who acquired a
terrible historical reputation; while he was fairly popular during his first few years as
emperor, he eventually succumbed to a Caligula-like tendency of having elite Romans
(including his domineering mother) killed. In 64 CE, a huge fire nearly destroyed the
city, which was largely built out of wood. This led to the legend of Nero "playing his
fiddle while Rome burned" - in fact, in the fire's aftermath Nero had shelters built for the
homeless and set about rebuilding the roughly half of the city that had been destroyed,
using concrete buildings and grid-based streets. Nero took great pride in being an actor
and musician, two professions that were considered by Roman elites to be akin to
prostitution. His artistic indulgences were thus scandalous violations of elite sensibilities.

16) Vespasian
General Vespasian, seized power and founded a fairly short-lived dynasty
consisting of himself and his two sons, known to history as the Flavians. The
importance of Vespasian’s takeover was that it reinforced the idea that real power in
Rome was no longer that of the old power-broking families, but instead the armies;
Vespasian had no legal claim to the throne, but his emperorship was ratified by the
senate nevertheless. The emperor's major concern had to be maintaining the loyalty of
the armies above all else because they could and would openly fight to put their man on
the throne in a time of crisis - this occurred numerous times in the centuries to come.
Vespasian was one of the great emperors of the early empire. He pulled state finances
back from the terrible state they had been left in by Nero and restored the relationship
between the emperor and the Roman elite; it certainly did not hurt his reputation that he
was a successful general, one of the traditional sources of status among Roman
leaders. He was also renowned for his openness and his grounded outlook. Reputably,
he did not keep a guard and let people speak to him directly in public audiences.

17) Trajan
It was under one of these emperors, Trajan, that the empire achieved its greatest
territorial expanse. The borders were maintained (or, as under Trajan, expanded),
public works and infrastructure built, and infighting among elites kept to a minimum.
Trajan’s accomplishments deserve special mention, not only because of his success in
expanding the Empire but in how he governed it. He was a fastidious and
straightforward administrator, focusing his considerable energies on the practical
business of rule. He personally responded to requests and correspondence, he
instituted a program of inexpensive loans to farmers and used the interest to pay for
food for poor children, and he worked closely and successfully with the senate to
maintain stability and imperial solvency.

18) Hadrian
Hadrian spent much of his reign touring the Roman provinces, particularly
Greece. It was clear by his reign that the emperor’s authority was practically limitless,
with both emperors issuing imperial proclamations known as “rescripts” while away from
Rome that carried the force of law.
19) Marcus Aurelius
The emperor Marcus Aurelius, a brilliant leader, and Stoic philosopher (161 –
180 CE) named his arrogant and foolhardy son Commodus. his co-emperor three years
before Aurelius’s death. Storm clouds had already been gathering under Aurelius, who
found himself obliged to lead military campaigns against incursions of Germanic
barbarians in the north despite his own lack of a military background. He had, however,
been a scrupulously efficient and focused political leader. His decision to make
Commodus his heir was due to a simple fact: Aurelius was the first of the Five Good
Emperors to have a natural-born son who survived to adulthood.

20) Commodus
As emperor, Commodus indulged his taste for debauchery and ignored affairs of
state, finally being assassinated after twelve years of incompetence.

Vocabulary Terms:
Provide the definition and know the significance of each term below.
1) Senate
The supreme council of state, the membership and functions of which varied at
different periods.

2) Consuls
Either of the two chief magistrates of the ancient Roman republic.

3) Tribunes
 Any of various administrative officers, especially one of 10 officers elected to
protect the interests and rights of the plebeians from the patricians. Or any of the six
officers of a legion who rotated in commanding the legion during the year.

4) Dictator
A person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy
being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.

5) Equestrians
The wealthiest class consisted of the equestrians, so named because they could
afford horses and thus form the Roman cavalry; the equestrian class would go on to be
a leading power bloc in Roman history well into the Imperial period

6) rhetoric
Roman shores were rhetoric: the mastery of words and language in order to
persuade people and win arguments

7) The First Triumvirate

Pompey formed an alliance with Crassus and with Julius Caesar, who was a
member of an ancient patrician family. This group of three is known in history as the
First Triumvirate.

8) pax romana
The height of Roman power coincided with the first two hundred years of the
Roman Empire, a period that was remembered as the Pax Romana: the Roman Peace

9) The Second Triumvirate

 A skilled general named Mark Antony, joined with Octavian and another general
named Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate.

12) Praetorian Guard

A key legion that stood apart from the rest of the military was the Praetorian
Guard, whose major job was defending the emperor himself, followed in priority by the
defense of Italy and the city of Rome. The Praetorian Guard started as nine cohorts of
480 men, but later each cohort was grown to 1,000 men. The terms of service in the
Praetorian Guard were very attractive: 16 years instead of 25 and pay that was
significantly higher

13) The Twelve Tables

The Twelve Tables, lists of the laws available for everyone to see, were then
posted in the Roman Forum in the center of Rome.

14) Bread and circus government (breads and circuses)

Thus, one striking characteristic of the Imperial period was "bread and circus
government." Building on a precedent originally established by the Gracchi during the
Republic, the imperial state distributed free grain (and, later, wine and olive oil) to the
citizens of the city of Rome.