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Roman Society from Republic to Empire

Roman Society from Republic to Empire. The History of Western Civilization to 1500 Prof. Dr. George S. Vascik. Outline. Geography Values Class Clan Patronage Religion Politics in the Roman Republic. Geography. Latium. Values. Old is good Old ways are best ways “ venerable ”

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Roman Society from Republic to Empire

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  1. Roman Society from Republic to Empire The History of Western Civilization to 1500 Prof. Dr. George S. Vascik

  2. Outline • Geography • Values • Class • Clan • Patronage • Religion • Politics in the Roman Republic

  3. Geography Latium

  4. Values • Old is good • Old ways are best ways • “venerable” • “piety” • Simplicity • Dress • Lifestyle • Restraint • “republican virtue” • Sex roles

  5. Class • Originally two classes • Patricians and Plebians • Wealth doesn’t matter • Whether your clan is patrician or plebian at beginning of the Republic (509 BC) • Patricians • Pater - father • At the beginning of the Republic, they control all political offices and make laws

  6. Class • Plebians • Common people, originally without power • Gain rights through the Struggle of the Orders • Equestrians • with the acquisition of empire, there was a lot of money to be made • Some plebians become incredibly rich, will be called equestrians (equus = horse) • Augustus regularizes this class in 14 BC

  7. Clan • Roman sense of identity • How it differs from Greece • How it differs from modern America Personality Judged by Responsible to ego ancestors progeny

  8. Clan • Naming conventions • All proper Roman males have three names • Roman women are given the feminine form of their clan name Gaius Julius Caesar Praenomen Clan name Family name Marcus Tullius Cicero Novo homo

  9. Patronage • The rigidity of Roman class and clan structure necessitated a coping mechanism - patronage • Patron-client relation-ships were passed down from one gener-ation to the next Financial help patron Legal aid protection Small gifts prestige votes client

  10. Roman Religion Greek • Roman religion was syncretic • Traditional religion was animist • Anima • Lars and Penates • Added sympathetic elements as Rome came into contact with other peoples Celtic animist Near Eastern

  11. The Roman Republic • Guiding principles • Organization

  12. Guiding principles • Concentrated power is dangerous • Division of royal power into numerous offices • annual elections • Different law-making and electing assemblies • Ambition is bad • Glory through holding office is good • “cursus honorum” • Restraint is absolute necessity • “republican virtue” • No term limits (restraint was inner-directed)

  13. Guiding principles • Clans had distinct political personalities • i.e., Julians • Patron-client relationships (Metellans and Marius) • Marriage alliances • Elections were violent • Public voting • Intimidation and sometimes murder • Gridlock is good

  14. Organization • Religious • Pontifex maximus • Censor • Vestal virgins • Legislative • Senate: meets sine die • Comital “military” assembly • Tribal “popular” assembly • Executive

  15. Organization of the executive • Consul • War leaders, chief magistrates • Praetor • judges • Aedile • Markets and festivals • Quaestor • treasury • Tribune (10) • Plebian office; veto

  16. Organizational chart • Dictatorship • Over time two broad factions develop • the nobiles or optimates supported power of the patricians and the Senate • the populares supported the power of the plebians and the Assemblies

  17. The Late Republic • The successful functioning of the Republic required • constant turn over in office • Competition of relative equals • The acquisition of empire allowed some individuals to become more powerful than others • A succession of individuals had to outdo each other • Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar

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