Rome as an Empire

1. Rome as an Empire

2. Augustus Builds a Stable Government • Octavian (Caesar’s grandnephew) finally secured his power in 31 BC • The senate gave him the title of Augustus, which means “Exalted One” and called him the “princeps” or first citizen • He wasn’t a KING, but he held almost all the power in the empire • the senate had almost no ruling power and served mostly as a court • Created a civil service where talented men could serve in the government regardless of class • Allowed cities in the Roman empire to mostly govern themselves • Ordered a census (count of the population) so that taxes were fair • Issued new coins, set up a postal service, and gave unemployed people jobs farming and building roads and temples for the empire

4. Emperors • Roles of Emperors • Inherited power from the former emperor • Served for life • Was worshipped like a god after death if he served well • Emperors Vary • Emperors’ lives could be short due to murder-for-power • A series of good emperors served from 96-180 AD • Hadrian made Roman law the same for all provinces and built a famous wall across Britain to hold back attackers • Marcus Aurelius was almost a philosopher-king • Two bad emperors • Caligula- among other crazy things, he appointed his horse as consul • Nero- persecuted Christians and blamed for setting a fire that destroyed a lot of Rome

9. PaxRomana • 200-year period that began with Augustus and ended with the death of Marcus Aurelius • PaxRomana = Roman Peace • Time when Roman rule brought peace, order, unity, and prosperity to its own city and to its whole empire • People moved freely and safely • Trade/goods moved freely from (modern-day) China to Britain to Egypt to Spain to India to Africa • Ideas moved around the whole area, which increased knowledge • If you include all the lands and the Mediterranean Sea, the size of the Roman empire was about as big as the continental United States • Even though the empire was generally prosperous, there were still people that were poor and unhappy. The government kept them quiet by providing free food and free entertainment • Gladiators fought to the death (each other or animals) • Boat and chariot races were watched and bet on

11. Roman Achievement • Roman Civilization is really a mixture of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman achievements • Romans admired Greek art, literature, scientific achievements, and philosophy; they took these ideas and adapted them into what is known as Greco-Roman civilization • Roman philosophers often promoted the idea of Stoicism: accepting one’s fate…shows up in the realist art, too: accept one’s big nose! • Some Roman writers wrote in the Greek language and style, but others wrote in Latin • Virgil wrote an epic poem, the Aeneid, where he tried to show that Rome’s past was as heroic as Greece’s… said Aeneas escaped from Troy to found Rome • Some satirical writers were popular: they made fun of Roman society and people in general • The historian Livy told the stories of Rome and tried to make people more proud and patriotic • The historian Tacitus write about how Augustus and other emperors had destroyed Roman liberty by taking away the republic.

13. More Roman Achievement • Romans were great at engineering • They had borrowed a lot of ideas from the Etruscans • Built roads, bridges, and harbors • Built aqueducts to bring water throughout the city • Collected knowledge into encyclopedias • Did little scientific research themselves, but did enjoy the advances of the Greeks, who were doing plenty of researching and were part of the empire • Rome was dedicated to justice and the rule of law • Roman legal system was the basis for many legal systems that came after, even the US • Idea of “innocent until proven guilty” developed • Guilt had to be established “clearer than daylight” using solid evidence • Judges had to make fair decisions and interpret laws • Penalties were different, though, for different classes of people