Transcript The Establishment of the Roman Republic Geography of Rome Protection for Rome and Italy • Rome built on seven hills • Alps • Barrier to the north • Seas •

The Establishment of
the Roman Republic
Geography of Rome
Protection for
Rome and Italy
• Rome built on
seven hills
• Alps
• Barrier to the
north
• Seas
• Barriers on
other three
sides
• Poor harbors in
eastern Italy
• Little
interference
from cultures to
the east
Unification of
Italy under
Rome
• Rome centrally
located on
peninsula
• Good location
for capital city
• Apennine
Mountains run
north-south
• Not a barrier to
unification of
the peninsula
Farming and
Trade
• Fertile soil and
mild climate
• Good for
farming
• No need to
import
foodstuffs
• Central location in
Mediterranean
• Good for trade
• Launching point
for expansion
throughout
Mediterranean
region
Others Living in Italy
• Greek colonists
– Eastern portion of Sicily
– “Heel” and “toe” of Italy
• Carthaginian colonists
– Western portion of Sicily
• Gauls
– Between Alps and Po River
The Etruscans
• Mystery – their origins are lost to prehistory
– Numerous hypotheses
• Indigenous (first humans to live in region)
• Migrated from east, north, or south, circa 1000 BCE
• Lived north of Rome
– Region today called “Tuscany” after them
(ancient Etruria)
– Enemies of the Romans
• Taught the Romans:
– Arch in architecture, drainage and sewer-building,
phalanx military formation
The Latins
• Indo-European tribe from the north
• Circa 1200 BCE – Settled south of the Tiber River
in an area that came to be called Latium
• Latin League formed for protection
– Rome was the leading city in this league
• Legend of the founding of Rome in 753 BCE
– Twin brothers Romulus and Remus
•
•
•
•
Ordered drowned by uncle who wanted throne
Instead raised by a she-wolf
Grew up and killed their uncle
Romulus killed Remus in a fight over what to name the city
Three Major Periods of Roman
History
Roman Origins
• Circa 1000-509 BCE
• Earliest settlements on Palatine Hill
• 753 BCE – Legendary founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus
Roman Republic
• 509-31 BCE
• Etruscan kings overthrown under leadership of Lucius Junius Brutus, the traditional founder of the Republic,
in 509 BCE
• Republic = “thing of the people”
• Ended with Battle of Actium in 31 BCE
Roman Empire
• 31 BCE-476 CE
• Began when Octavian’s forces defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra
• End of Western Roman Empire traditionally dated to 476 CE, when last emperor, Romulus Augustus,
deposed
• Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire continued until conquered by the Turks in 1453
Government: Patricians and
Plebeians
Patricians
• Nobles
• Controlled the government of the
Republic
• Executive power
• Two consuls elected for a oneyear term
• Elected by adult male patricians
• Legislature
• Senate – upper house
• About 300 patricians
• Served for life
• Controlled by about 12
families
• Assembly – lower house
• All free, adult males who could
afford weaponry
• All acts had to be approved by
the Senate
Plebeians
• Common people
• Few rights and little power
• Could not run for public office
• Could not marry into the nobility
(the patrician class)
• Little say in the creation of laws
• Continuously threatened to secede
from Rome and create their own
city
Other Elected Roman Officials
Aediles ran city
(“local”) government.
Censors kept track of
citizen lists, and in later
years took charge of
public morality.
Dictators, with
absolute power, were
elected by the Senate in
times of emergency to
rule for six months.
Praetors were in
Quaesters were in
charge of administering
justice.
charge of Roman
finances.
The Plebeians Earn Greater
Rights:
The Growth of Democracy in Rome
ASSEMBLY: Senate
could no longer veto laws
made by the Assembly
(the “Comitia”).
INTERMARRIAGE:
Plebeians were given the
right to marry patricians.
TRIBUNES: Right to
elect tribunes. These
were officials with veto (“I
forbid”) power over the
Senate.
PUBLIC OFFICES:
These were opened to
plebeians.
TWELVE TABLES: Laws
were written down. This
protected plebeians from
biased patrician judges.
450 B.C.E.
From Rome to Italy
• 509-265 B.C.E.
– Rome came to control all of Italy south of the Po River
• 386 B.C.E.
– Gauls from the north plundered and burned Rome
– Rome got rid of the Gauls by paying them a large
amount of gold
• Rome turned its direction from the Gauls and
conquered:
– The remaining Etruscans
– Its former allies in the Latin League
– Tribes in central Italy (such as the Samnites in 290
B.C.E.)
– Greeks in the south
Roman Idealism
• a man of simplicity who places his duty to
Rome before personal interest or wealth.
Why was Rome so successful?
Infrastructure:
Well-built military
roads radiating
from Rome
Military ability
Strategy: Divide
and control
Treatment of
conquered
peoples
Military Ability
• Great soldiers
• Well-trained
• All volunteers
• Few geographical
barriers on the Italian
peninsula
• Military roads radiated
from Rome
– Troops could be sent
quickly to quell unrest in
any area
– Dual purpose—roads
came to allow quick and
easy travel by tax
collectors, traders,
travelers, and officials
• Famous roads
– Appian Way
– Flaminian Way
– Valerian Way
• Public funds dedicated to
building and maintaining
the Republic’s
infrastructure
Infrastructure
Strategy: Divide and Control
• Rome’s fear:
– That allies and colonies would unite against
Roman Rule
• Rome’s solution:
– Keep groups under Roman control disunited
• How it was done:
– Forbade alliances between them
– Separate privileges and treaties
Treatment of Conquered Peoples
• Conquered peoples were treated well
– Some received full Roman citizenship, including
suffrage
– Some controlled their own affairs but paid tribute
and gave soldiers to the Roman army
• Colonies
– Rome established colonies in conquered areas,
each protected by a garrison of Roman soldiers
– Republic encouraged intermarriage
• Led to the spread of Roman culture and language
(Latin)
How do they Differ from the
Greeks?
•
The Greeks believed in Philosophy as a “therapy” to deal with the failure of the Polis
•
The Romans would have none of this "therapy." Instead, they grasped the cosmopolis
head on, and the result was the Roman world.
Romans established a "religion of culture," a religion that appealed to all Romans -- it
literally surrounded them. It was only later, around the 2nd century A.D., that this
"religion of culture" was attacked by an outside force the Romans seemed to have
misunderstood, and the result was by the end of the fourth century, a new "culture of
religion.“
classical Greece was glorified for its artistic, philosophic and cultural achievements
but it has been Rome that has really earned all the glory. And we don't have to look
very far in order to determine why.
The Romans managed to maintain their world for more than one thousand years. The
Greeks, even under the brilliance of a Cleisthenes or a Pericles or an Alexander,
could not maintain the brilliance of their world view for more than a handful of
•
•
•
Roman Imperialism
• Like every good civilization, a war must be
fought. Rome experienced 3 wars for most
of their early stages as an Imperial State:
1.The First Punic War (264-241 B.C.)
2.The Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.)
3.The Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.)
First Punic War
SICILY BECOMES THE FIRST
OVERSEAS PROVINCE OF ROME
1st Punic
•
RESULTS OF THE WAR
–
–
–
Results of the First Punic War
While the Roman "victory" was achieved at a terrible cost, they did receive complete control of Sicily through
Carthaginian withdrawal, and the assurance that Syracuse would be unmolested in the future. Carthage was
forced to pay 3,200 gold talents in total over a period of 10 years while also paying heavy ransoms for its
prisoners. As a direct result of this compensation, Carthage found itself unable to pay her mercenary army
leading directly to a devastating revolt. Sicily was organized into Rome's first province soon after the end of
the war, and a veritable gold mine in grain wealth was secured.
More importantly, Rome learned how to conduct war on a massive scale and to survive the turmoil it could
cause. The Senate became masters of financing these expansionist activities, while the areas of legion
recruiting, logistics, political espionage and fleet building all were part of the invaluable knowledge and
experience gained. This already lengthy and costly war, while greatly beneficial to Rome was only the
beginning of a longer and bloodier conflict by far, and both sides knew it.
2nd Punic Wars
HANNIBAL THE “GREAT”
Rome’s 1st Enemy
2nd Punic War: Battle of Zuma
Battle of Zuma
Legacy of Hannibal
The idea of “greatness” and the difference
between “impressive” and “influential”
What are some of similarities and
differences between Alexander the Great
and Hannibal “the Great”?
2nd Punic
• Within the 2nd punic war were a series of small battles:
– War on Italy
– Battle of Cannae
– Battle of Macedonia (4)
• RESULTS OF THE WAR
– Spain was forever lost to Carthage and passed into the control of Rome
for the next 7 centuries, though not without troubles of its own.
– Carthage was reduced to the status of a client state and lost all power of
enacting its own treaties and diplomacy.
– It was forced to pay a tribute of 10,000 talents, all warships, save 10 were
turned over to Rome along with any remaining war elephants.
– Carthage was also forbidden to raise an army without the permission of
Rome. Grain and reparations for lost supplies also had to be provided to
Rome as well as having the responsibility of collecting runaway slaves and
returning them.
3rd Punic Wars
3rd Punic War
• RESULTS OF THE WAR
– After learning their lesson, Roman told Carthage they need
to vacate the city entirely and hand everything over to
Rome; unconditionally
– the massive amount of slave labor imported from Africa,
Spain and the east created a new economy dependency on
continuing slavery.
– These conditions would ultimately be major factors in the
crumbling of the Roman political system and the terrible
strife between the Patricians, Equestrian order and the
common Plebes. With the defeat of Carthage Rome
inherited an empire but it ultimately set about the fall of its
own Republic.
Expansion and Legacy
ALL THAT BLOOD
Taking Hold of Greece
•
•
•
At the same time, Rome was also fighting in Macedonia and in Asia Minor (205148 B.C.) .
– The end result
– the annexation of Greece and Asia Minor to the Roman world. Macedonia was
officially made a province of the Republic and thus, the Romans brought an
end to the independent political life of Greece.
– By 44 B.C., the Romans controlled all of Spain, Gaul (France), Italy, Greece, Asia
Minor, and most of North Africa (80% of the coastal lands of the
Mediterranean).
The Roman Republic had to protect its people from outside invasion and they did
this by forming careful alliances with their neighbours. The constant warfare of the
4th and 3rd centuries B.C. reinforced this need for common security and mutual
defense.
This was something the Greeks could not accomplish primarily because of the
predominance of Athens as the seat of government, and the isolation of Sparta as
a military power. And over time, the Greek army and navy were weakened.
Alexander tried to bring some order to this state of affairs but his early death
ultimately meant the undoing of his empire.