New Social Tensions Flashcards
the consequences of Rome’s expansion
Rome gained vast quantities of money, goods, slaves. this led to major changes in cities and rural areas. after 167 BC the tributum was no longer collected. grain was imported from Sicily and North Africa. population increased tremendously. villae grew crops for the estates own inhabitants but also specifically for the market.
most booty went to the rich and powerful which was largely invested in land in Italy. more public land came into the hands of the rich. dowries were given to daughter and male heirs all got equal parts of land for inheritance. many farmers sold their private land and moved to towns, some just ran up debts and joined day labourers. some emigrated to the Po Valley. in souther Italy large cattle ranches rose up. urban and rural proletariat grew, free farmers numbers decreased. social pattern became more complex.
economically positive, but for the Roman state serious changes. the number of people qualifying for recruitment decreased.
slavery in Italy and Sicily
in the 2nd century BC slavery expanded. slaves were the property of their masters. many worked in mines, quarries, large estates, workshops or did the dirty and heavy work in the public services as domestic personnel.
some slaves enjoyed more freedom and rights and chances for freedom (educated domestic slaves, small-time farmer/craftsman) than others (masses of slaves in mines, gladiators).
slave revolts
between 150-70 BC the slaves’ conditions worsened significantly: numbers increased. as those groups of slaves came from the same areas they spoke the same language and they also remembered the days of freedom. they managed to rise as a group. around 134 and 104 BC major slave revolts broke out in Sicily and between 133-129 the Pergamum slaves joined this uprising there. they had no plan to abolish slavery but wanted their own personal freedom back. he greatest revolt was that of Spartacus (73-71 BC). Roman legions made great efforts to suppress these revolts.
piracy
side effect of the slave trade. Hellenistic kingdoms could no longer maintain the security of the sea and coast and the Roman Senate made no effort to curb piracy.
some demographic data
import of slaves and influx of foreigners led to an increase in population.
city of Rome
by the mid-2nd century a third aqueduct was needed and it was completed in 144 BC. new occupational groups emerged. a demand for teachers, artists, architects, doctors, secretaries, bankers, legal advisors and manufacturers of luxury goods rose. law remained the domain of mainly notable Romans.
inadequate organization
Romans made very little efforts to accommodate these changes. they created a pro-magistracy and increased a number of praetors and quaestors but that was about it.
they also did not establish a standing army for the frontiers. the traditional patron-client mentality spread to international relations. public law still amounted to little. but private law had grown.
a change in mentality
in Rome a major change in mentality took place in the 2nd and 1st centuries while the countryside retained traditional ways for longer. notables developed a more individualistic attitude. the old family ties still existed but they were eroded.
greek influences
change in mentality was greatly happening due to Greek and Hellenistic culture and lifestyle influences. some Greeks were brought to Rome as companions of returning Romans or as slaves, some came by themselves or were sent as envoys or hostages.
literature and other forms of amusement
around 200 BC Roman literature was born. it was largely modelled on Greek literature. the 3rd century BC also witnessed the emergence of Roman games.
the Greek education system was introduced in Rome. it was usually bilingual (Greek, Latin). some Roman authors criticized the changes and saw it as signs for moral decay.
