Imperial Rome Flashcards
- 100 – 44 BCE
- Born into a patrician family, with influence in the Roman Senate
- His father was also a famous general of the Roman Legions
- In the early 60s BCE he began his political and military rise, became a consul in the Republic and ruled Rome as a part of “The First Triumvirate.”
Julius Caesar background
successful military leader, defeated several threats to the Republic, including laying siege to Jerusalem and turning Judea into a client state of Rome in 63 BCE
general pompey
allegedly the wealthiest man in Rome, famous for putting down the revolt of gladiators led by Spartacus, called the Third Servile War, motivated his men through the practice of decimation (?)
crassus
First Triumviarate, Ruled Rome through the 50s BCE
Caesar, Pompey, Crassus
From Thrace, area north of Macedonia, described as intelligent and well-educated
•Perhaps a former Roman soldier, eventually became a gladiator
Spartacus Third Servile War
Led a revolt in the city of Capua in 73 BCE
•“Two hundred of these formed a plan to escape, but their plot being discovered, those of them who became aware of it in time to anticipate their master, being seventy-eight, got out of a cook’s shop chopping knives and spits, and made their way through the city, and lighting by the way on several wagons that were carrying gladiator’s arms to another city, they seized upon them and armed themselves.” (Plutarch)
He and his followers ravaged Italy for two years until their defeat, Spartacus was killed in the final pitched battle
Spartacus
result of spartacus
As many as 6,000 of those captured were crucified on the Appian Way—the road from Capua to Rome—as a message to others.
was the result of the manner in which the condemned man hung from the cross…Hanging from the cross resulted in a painful process of asphyxiation, in which the two sets of muscles used for breathing, the intercostal [chest] muscles and the diaphragm, became progressively weakened. In time, the condemned man expired, due to the inability to continue breathing properly.”
death by crucifixion
In the early 60s BCE he began his political and military rise, became a consul in the Republic and ruled Rome as a part of “The First Triumvirate.”
•Consul in 59 BCE, became governor of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul
Pushed the Helvetians out of Gaul in 58 BCE
•Defended that region against German invaders, too. •Eventually conquered all of Gaul, made it a Roman Province •55 and 54 BCE invaded Britain with mixed results
•Crassus died in 53 BCE, leaving Caesar and Pompey at odds
Civil war began in 49 BCE
• After political wheeling and dealing with the Senate, Pompey had Caesar accused of crimes, was ordered to stand down as governor of Gaul and leader of his legions
•Caesar refused, “Crossed the Rubicon,” invaded Italy, drove Pompey to Macedonia
By 45 BCE, Rome was firmly in Caesar’s hands, the Senate had declared him “Dictator for Ten Years”
• Caesar was a good politician, instituted social and governmental reforms, created the Julian Calendar, granted citizenship to residents in the provinces, initiated land reform, paid soldiers well, centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic
• the Senate proclaimed him Rome’s “Dictator in Perpetuity” in early 44 BCE
Caesar
Some members of the Senate resented his rise to power and popularity
• Decimus (one of Caesar’s generals), Cassius (general and Senator), and Brutus (another general, Senator, popular with the people) enlisted the help of as many as 60 men to plot, and carry out, Caesar’s murder.
• On March 15, 44 BCE, the Ides of March, these Senators stabbed Caesar to death in the Senate chamber
These conspirators quickly went to work on public sentiment, but eventually, Caesar’s assassination resulted in another civil war:
• Brutus and Cassius vs. Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus
• Antony was a close friend of Julius Caesar’s, Octavian, his nephew, adopted son and heir, Lepidus another general, considered the weak link
The three would defeat, and take revenge upon, those who conspired against Caesar, eventually forming the Second Triumvirate.
• Decimus – captured and beheaded in Gaul
• Cassius – beheaded by one of his own soldiers • Brutus – committed suicide
Assassination of Caesar
Antony
•General Lepidus
• Octavian
•37 BCE, Lepidus removed from association and sent into exile
•Empire divided between Octavian and Antony
•They would part over Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra • Antony and Cleopatra eventually committed suicide
The Second Triumvirate
Octavian returned to Rome a hero, the Senate awarded him with the title Augustus
•Ruled as emperor from 31 BCE to 14 CE
•The era he began is often referred to as the Pax Romana, a time of peace and prosperity which lasted about two centuries
The First Emperor
Sheer size
• Barbarian invasions – external threat that Rome was unable to meet due to internal problems
• Western Empire fell in 476 CE, Germanic tribes led by Odovacar overthrew Romulus Augustalus
Economic decline – continual warfare, revenue/spending imbalance led to economic difficulty
Overcrowded cities, high unemployment, rampant epidemics
Division sown by ethnic, social, cultural, religious differences
Government – corruption, unstable leadership, political division, lack of participation, esp. on the part of the Patricians… (West)
Causes of the Fall of Rome
- Art and architecture
- Engineering
- Language (oral and written) • Law
- Literature
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Science and medicine
- Religion
Roman Contributions to Western Civilization
