UNIT 11.

ANCIENT ROME

1. Geography and foundation of Rome

Roman civilisation began in the Italian Peninsula, a mountainous region in the
centre of the Mediterranean Sea. The Alps mark its northern frontier and the Apennines
run from north to south of the peninsula.
In the 8th century BC, the Italian Peninsula was inhabited by the Celts in the north,
the Etruscans and the Latins in the central region, and the Greeks in the south
(Magna Graecia).
The foundation of Rome took place in 753 BC, when some Latin tribes settled at
the foot of seven hills (Palatine was the first) close the mouth of the Tiber River.
According to the legend, the city was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus.

2. History of Rome
The founding of Rome began a period of history that would last twelve centuries
and that can be divided into three periods:
 Monarchy (753-509 BC)
 Republic (509-27 BC)
 Empire (27BC-476AD)

a) The Monarchy (753-509BC)

At the beginning, Roma was a monarchy ruled by a king with absolute power.
However, he was given advice by the Senate, an assembly of wealthy and powerful
families (patricians). The rest of the population (plebeians) had no political rights,
although they paid taxes and served in the army.
Rome had seven kings, the first four were Latins and the final three were
Etruscans. During the Etruscan domination, the city grew in size and population. They
introduced a sewage system and some buildings such as temples.
Over time, discontent about Etruscan domination increased and, in 509 BC,
there was a popular revolt. The Etruscan king Tarquinius the Proud was deposed and
Rome became a republic.

b) The Republic (509-27 BC)

During the Republic, government was in the hands of three institutions:
 The Senate: was an assembly made up of 300 members who approved all the
important decisions. It took decisions on making peace or war and decided on
foreign policy.
 Magistrates: were responsible for government. Each magistrate was in charge
of a specific matter during one year: consuls (held military power), praetors
(administered civil justice and governed the provinces), aediles (in charge of
the cities) and quaestors (treasurers).
 Popular assemblies: were made up of all the citizens who passed laws and
elected magistrates.

The wealthy patricians held the political power, while the plebeians did not have
access to the magistracies. It led to a social conflict between patricians and
plebeians, who fought for equal rights. As a result, the plebeians managed to create

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the Plebeian Tribune and Plebeian Aediles (494 BC) to protect their interests; the
promulgation of the Law of the Twelve Tables (451 BC) to avoid abuses; to name
their own consuls and access to the main magistracies.

During the Republic, Rome achieved a major territorial expansion:

 It defeated the peoples of the Italian Peninsula, and conquered the Gauls,
Latins and Greeks in the south of the peninsula (4th to 3rd centuries BC).
 It defeated the city of Carthage during the Punic Wars and took control of the
Western Mediterranean (3rd to 2nd centuries BC).
 Finally, it conquered the Eastern Mediterranean by conquering Macedonia,
Greece and Syria (2nd to 1st centuries BC).

These conquests had important consequences:

 Economic: they provided wealth as war booty, slaves and new territories to
exploit.
 Political: it led to a political crisis and corruption amongst the politicians.
 Social: the generals and important politicians appropriated the land and form
latifundia (landed estates), worked by slaves and impoverished the small
farmers.

In the 1st century BC the crisis caused revolts amongst the peasants and slave
revolts, such as that ley by Spartacus due to the harsh slave conditions. To solve
these problems, power was granted to generals, who were appointed dictators, such as
Julius Caesar. He was murdered by some senators who were opposed to his
excessive power.
Following a period of civil wars between Octavian (his nephew and adopted son)
and Mark Antony (a general), Octavian ended the Republic and in 27 BC established
the Empire, being awarded the title Augustus (the venerable).

c) The Empire (27BC-476AD)

During the Empire, the emperor held absolute power: political, military,
legislative and religious. The Senate and magistracies still existed but it was controlled
by the emperor.
The Empire was divided into provinces to improve the administration. The
conquests continued and during the time of Emperor Trajan, the territory ruled by
Rome reached its greatest expansion.
During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Empire enjoyed a long period of peace
known as the Pax Romana. As a result, the process of Romanisation took place: the
territories and peoples of the Empire adopted Roman forms of political, economic,
social and cultural organisation, thanks to the army, cities, Latin, governors and the
road network.

In the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced a crisis caused by:
 An increase in civil wars and political instability, as many military leaders used
their troops to take power, because the emperor’s succession was not clear.
 Attacks by Germanic peoples (barbarians).

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  The end of the conquests reduced the amount of wealth and slaves. So the
state had to raise taxes and people started to abandon cities.

In the 4th century AD, the Emperor Constantine made the city of Byzantium the
capital of the Empire and renamed it Constantinople. In 395 the Emperor Theodosius
divided the Empire in two: the Western Empire had its capital in Rome, while the
Eastern Empire had its capital in Constantinople.
Finally, the Germanic peoples invaded Rome and the last Emperor of the Western
Empire, Romulus Augustus, was dethroned in 476.

3. Economy
Agriculture was the main economic activity. It was based of the cultivation of
cereals, fruit and pulses, as well as vineyards and olive groves. They introduced the
Roman plough using iron; leaving the land fallow to recover its nutrients; watermills to
grind flour and presses for making wine and olive oil. Most land was owned by major
landowners who used slaves. At the centre of these estates, there would be a rural
villa or country house.
Mining exploited reserves of gold, silver, iron, lead, tin, copper, mercury and salt.
They use waterwheels, pulleys and drainage systems.
Artisan production included pottery, glassware, silverware, weapons, textiles, carts
and boats, food products…
Trade was very important and they used a common currency (asses, sesterces and
denarii), using roads, rivers and seas.

4. Society
Roman society was divided into citizens and non-citizens:
Citizens: had political rights (voting) and civil rights (property and right to marry).
Within this group we can find:
- Patricians: rich nobles who controlled the main institutions.
- Plebeians: farmers, traders and craftsmen.

Non-citizens were not granted any rights:

- Emancipated slaves (liberti) who were former slaves that had been freed by
their owners.
- Slaves: who were considered property and did the hardest work.
- Women.

5. Cities
Cities became centres of political, administrative, economic and cultural life. Most
cities were walled and built using a grid system such as a Roman military camp.
Roman cities had two main streets: the cardo (north-south) and the decumanus (east-
west). At the intersection of these two main streets, there was a large square called the
forum. It was the heart of the city, with the most important buildings (temple, curia
and basilica). Cities also had other public buildings (theatre, amphitheatre, etc.) and
services such as a water supply and a drainage system.

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6. Culture and religion
The Roman religion was polytheistic since they absorbed the god worshipped in
the Empire. The Romans adopted the Greek gods, but changed their names. They
also accepted Eastern gods. The only form of worship that was imposed was that of
the emperor: a way of expression loyalty to Rome.
Private religious worship took place at home. They worshipped manes (spirits of
ancestors), lares (gods that protected the household) and penates (guardians of the
storeroom).

In the 2st century AD a new religion called Christianity appeared in the Roman
territory of Palestine. It was preached by Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew who proclaimed
the existence of a single God, the equality of all people, love for one’s neighbour, etc.
He claimed to be the son of God and was condemned to death and crucified.
Christianity was spread by Christ’s disciples such as Paul of Tarsus.
In the 4th century, Emperor Diocletian persecuted them. They had to held ceremonies
in private houses and were buried in catacombs, a network of underground galleries in
Rome.
Later, Constantine allowed religious freedom in the Edict of Milan (313). Later,
Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Empire in the Edict
of Thessalonica (380).

The main Roman legacy was Latin (official language of the Empire from which
many contemporary European languages have developed); and law: written to regulate
relationships between individuals and individuals and the State.
There were great thinkers like Cicero and Seneca, writers and poets like Virgil,
historians like Titus Livius and Plutarch or doctors like Galen.

7. Roman Art
a) Architecture
Roman architecture had a practical purpose: to create useful buildings. They
built using brick, stone, marble and concrete (a mixture of limestone, gravel and sand).
They used walls and columns as supports (Greek orders, Tuscan and Composite
orders). The roofing could be flat or using vaults and domes.

The main buildings were:

- Temples: a religious building with a rectangular (Maison Carrée in France) or
circular plan (Pantheon in Rome).
- Civic buildings: basilicas (used as court of justice and a market); baths (public
baths for social gatherings); and entertainment buildings (theatres,
amphitheatres, circuses). They also undertook engineering projects: paved
roads, bridges, aqueducts…
- Commemorative monuments to record significant events: columns and
triumphal arches.

b) Sculpture
Roman sculpture was inspired by Greek art. It was made in marble and bronze.
They produced:

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 - Portraits: to represent people. During the Republic it was highly realistic and
influenced by the practice of making wax death masks. During the Empire, the
features were idealised and at the end of the period it was simpler.
- Historical relief used to decorate buildings with political and military events
(battles or ceremonies such as in the Titus Arch or the Column of Trajan).

c) Painting
Paintings were used to decorate the walls of the homes of upper-class
Romans with the fresco technique and bright colours (white, red, yellow, black).
Mosaics were made with tesserae or pieces of coloured marble and were used to
decorate the floors of houses.

8. Germanic peoples
Germanic peoples, called “barbarians” or foreigners by the Romans, came from
northern Europe. They lived in villages and undertook livestock farming and metal
working.
During the 3rd century, under the pressure of a nomadic warrior people, the Huns,
they crossed the Roman border and settled in some provinces of the Empire,
sometimes by force, other times by pacts.
In the 5th century they dethroned the emperor of the Western Roman Empire and
created independent kingdoms: the Franks in Gallia, the Visigoths in Hispania, the
Ostrogoths in Italy and the Anglo-Saxons in Britannia.

The Germanic kingdoms were governed by monarchs. The king had political and
military power. The main activity was agriculture. Cities fell into decline and people
lived in the countryside, seeking the protection of powerful landowners.
Their religion was a form of paganism. Some later converted to Arianism, a heresy
that denied the divinity of Christ, while others converted to Catholicism.
Culture and art underwent a period of decline. Large buildings were no longer built
due to a lack of resources. By contrast, they had great interest in decorative arts,
especially metalwork.