Roman
civilization
HIST 3150 Shehzad Martin
Location
Italian Peninsula
and surrounding
islands
Location
1st millennium BCE: Greek colonies in Southern
Italy, Sicily
Carthage ()قرطاج: west coast of Sicily, Sardinia,
Corsica
Etruscans: Northwest part of the Italian
Peninsula
(e.g. Florence, Pisa)
Politically powerful, culturally more advanced than
local Italic tribes; used plumbing and sewage;
soil reclamation; decorative architectural detail
Their origin is unknown; likewise, the Etruscan
writing system has not been deciphered; all we
know is that they were non-Indo-European
Phoenicians
Italics – the biggest ethnic group; a cluster of
many tribes residing on the Peninsula
GOVERNMENT/
PERIODIZATION
Kingdom
Italic tribes originally
lived in an agricultural,
patriarchal society
8th century BCE: the Latin
tribe in central Italy
(Latium region) established
Rome by merging settlements
built on seven hills and
draining the central
marshlands
Seven kings of Etruscan
origin;
the last king exiled in 510
BCE
Kingdom
Residents divided into
six groups based on
personal wealth/property;
each group had its own
set of rights and
responsibilities
Patricians vs. plebeians
Patricians:
300 Roman families;
wealthy, privileged
landowners
Legend: Romulus and Remus
Mother: Vestal virgin
(female priestess)
Father: Mars (god of war)
Foundation myth
Children rescued
by a she-wolf
Likely artificial, meant
to show the Greeks
(now ruled by Rome)
that Roman history was
just as ancient as Greek
and Etruscan traditions
1) Republic
Res publica = a public matter/cause
Two consuls, elected from among patricians
for a one-year term
300-member advisory organ = Senate
In wartime, a dictator would be elected for a six-month
term and granted unlimited powers
Early republic (509 – 265 BCE)
Rise of plebeian political power; people’s tribunes
as plebeians’ elected officials; right of veto
Republic
Roman law
The Law of the Twelve
Tables (copper tablets)
Sophisticated legal
system
“What is not prohibited
is permitted”
Marriage between
patricians and
plebeians not allowed
Replaced previous legal
system, based on
ancestral custom
Republic
Over time, this structure was replaced by two new social
strata:
Nobility (patricians and wealthy plebeians)
Proletariat (common people; proles = descendants,
offspring)
Wars with Etruscans, Greeks, and among Italic tribes
265 Italy united
Rome economically and militarily powerful; a number of
allies across the region
Dividi et impera
Some allies granted Roman citizenship (with limited rights)
but stripped of self-rule; others cruelly punished
Conquered territories: Roman colonies
Roads required for trade and to facilitate military
manoeuvres
Formation of the Roman Empire
Peak of the Roman Empire
Punic wars (265 – 146 BCE)
The republic of Carthage – Northern Africa
A maritime power; professional army
Rivalry with Rome over the West Mediterranean
This led to a series of wars – Punic wars
Peak of the Roman Empire
Hannibal – Hispanic commander
Crossed Pyrenean mountains and
the Alps;
Waged successful wars against
Rome; aided by
King Philip of Macedonia
Some of Roman weapons
constructed by Archimedes
Hannibal ultimately defeated;
201 BCE peace treaty
Carthage lost all territory
outside Africa; navy; elephants
Banned from conducting military
operations in African without
Rome’s consent; reparations of
260 tons of silver
Republic
Roman expansion shifted eastward:
146 BCE victory over Greece; 133 BCE Asia Minor
3rd Punic war: This time Carthage razed
(on fire for 17 days); its location cursed
Rome = master of West Mediterranean;
continuously expanding
Influx of gold, copper, grain, crafts, taxes
Slavery; Greek paidagogos (teachers); gladiators
Those Roman citizens who had lost their land
also
forfeited the right to serve in the military
Republican virtues
2) Republic in a crisis (146 – 31
BCE)
Uprisings by slaves, landless
citizens
Spartacus
Conflict with provinces
Professional army; after 16 years’
service veterans
Civil wars, assassinations
Republic in a crisis
Gaius Julius Caesar
59 BCE appointed consul
Wars with Germanic tribes,
Britain
In Egypt, Caesar became involved
in a dispute between Cleopatra
and Ptolemy XIII; burned down
the Alexandria library
Republic in a crisis
45 BCE: Caesar as the only ruler
Held the titles of consul, people’s tribune,
dictator (for an unlimited term), highest
priest – concurrently; breach of
constitution
Forced Senate to endorse his new role; title
= Imperator (supreme military commander)
Julian calendar in place until 16th century
44 BCE Caesar was murdered by
his adoptive son Bruttus
Soon thereafter – end of the republic
3) Imperial age
Republican tradition of power-sharing
abandoned
Appointments rather than elections
Emperor’s title: “Augustus”
In eastern provinces,
Emperor = object of religious
worship
“Bread and games”
Pax Romana
Golden age of Roman culture,
literature
Poets Virgil, Horatius, Ovid
Imperial age – famous emperors
Caligula: 37-41 CE
Public works;
initially a popular
leader
Mentally ill
Horse as a consul
Caligula murdered
Imperial age – famous emperors
Claudius (41-54 CE)
Expansion into Africa,
Palestine
Strong bureaucracy
Poisoned by his spouse
Imperial age – famous emperors
Nero (54-68 CE)
Started out as a good ruler
(brought up by philosopher
Seneca)
Became a tyrant
Drove his own family as well
as Seneca to suicide
Confiscated property of his
enemies
Prosecuted Christians
Rome on fire
Nero committed suicide
Imperial age –
amous emperors
Titus (79-81 CE)
A benevolent emperor
But suffered three
disasters:
Vesuvius
Rome on fire for
three days
Plague epidemic
Imperial age – famous emperors
Traianus (98—117 CE)
Greatest territorial
expansion of
the Roman Empire
Mesopotamia, Armenia,
Britain
Imperial age –
famous emperors
Marcus Aurelius
(161-180 CE)
“Philosopher on the
throne”
Stoicism
Military expeditions
Died of plague in a Roman
camp at Vindobonna
(Vienna)
Imperial age – famous emperors
“Anything in any way beautiful derives its
beauty from itself and asks nothing
beyond itself. Praise is no part of it,
for nothing is made worse or better by
praise.”
“Death is a release from the impressions
of
the senses, and from desires that make us
their puppets, and from the vagaries of
the mind, and from the hard service of
the flesh.”
Marcus Aurelius
Imperial age – famous emperors
“Anything in any way beautiful derives its
beauty from itself and asks nothing
beyond itself. Praise is no part of it,
for nothing is made worse or better by
praise.”
“Death is a release from the impressions
of
the senses, and from desires that make us
their puppets, and from the vagaries of
the mind, and from the hard service of
the flesh.”
Marcus Aurelius
Decline of the Empire
3rd century CE:
Intensifying incursions by Germanic tribes
Numbers of slaves falling
Roman defensive lines on the Rhine
and the Danube rivers broken
Some provinces surpassed Rome economically
Growing influence of eastern religions
Christianity (originally a sect for lower
classes)
Roman army becoming “Barbarian”
(= dominated by non-Romans, even in official
ranks)
Decline of the Empire
Empire divided into four sections,
in order to improve governance
4th century CE: new capital city at Constantinople
(emperor Constantine)
313 CE: Through the Edict of Milan, Christianity
granted equal standing with other religions
Decline of the Empire
375: invasion of Huns from central Asia
As a result, Germanic tribes migrating
Barbarians fleeing to Rome
Period of the Migration of Nations
378 CE Rome defeated by Barbarian tribes
395 Western and Eastern Roman Empire
Erosion of Roman authority
Barbarians (including Vandals) setting up
their own kingdoms
Regional warlords in conflict with each
other
Early 5th century CE: Constantinople:
population 400,000
476: fall of the last Western Roman emperor;
Rome overrun by Germanic peoples
CONTRIBUTIONS (CONTINUED)
Rhetoric
Rhetoric
The die is cast
Alea iacta est
(point of no return)
To cross the Rubicon
Veni, vidi, vici
I came, I saw, I conquered
Jerash, Jordan
Palmyra, Syria
