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The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic. 509-31 BCE. Republic or Empire?. “We are in a wilderness without a single footstep to guide us .” - James Madison, 1789 CE - expansion - slavery - political factions. The Grandeur that Was Rome. - language - civil law - religion.
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The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic 509-31 BCE
Republic or Empire? “We are in a wilderness without a single footstep to guide us.” - James Madison, 1789 CE - expansion - slavery - political factions
The Grandeur that Was Rome - language - civil law - religion
I. On the banks of the Tiber: Origins No one is so intellectually sluggish as not to want to understand how the Romans – in less than fifty-three years – conquered, and how they now govern, practically the whole inhabited world…- Polybius, 201-120 BCE
The Hero(ine) and History Aeneas and Dido The Aeneid- Virgil, 19 BCE Punic Wars Julio-Claudian Dynasty
Birth of the Republic The Rape of LucretiaLivy 509 BCE, Tarquinio deposed
A. Etruscan culture 1. Hydraulic society 2. divination / fate - Augurs- Pulcher and the chickensdivination
B. Latium (Latin) • Seven Hills 753 BCE 2. Paterfamilias - name: common, gens, birth Gaius Julius Caesar Marcus Porcius Cato
C. Class compromise 1 . Law of 12 Tables 451 BCE - patricians v. plebians “plebiscite”
D. Consuls and Conquest 1. Political machinery - cursus honorum- Two Consuls served 1 year terms “Praetor” – “ military leader” military 305 BCE became a separate office and leaders then titled “CONSUL.”
2. Regional power- Roman-Italic Wars 493 - 396 – Latins & Etruscans- Roman-Gaulish War 390 - 387 – Celtic (Gaul) invasion- Samnite Wars 343 – 290 – Umbria- Pyrrhic War 280 - 275 – Greek (Pyrrhus)
Paradox of Republican Rome Expand to survive… expand and die
II. The Punic Wars 265 - 146 BCE Defining moment - Livy “eternal Rome” Rome becomes an empire, and loses its republic
B. First Punic War 264 – 241 B.C.E. 1. Roman expansion beyond Italy Fight between Syracuse and Messina
2. Naval power- Battle of Drepana249 BCE Corvus (assault bridge)
3. Republic or Empire? - General Verres 120-43 BCE- Republican institutions inadequate
C. Second Punic War218-202 BCE 1. Delenda est Carthago Cato the Elder
2. Italian campaigns218-203 BCE - Battle of Cannae216 BCE 70 K? Hannibal Barca
3. Romans victorious in Sicily (212) and Africa (202)- death of Archimedes- Battle of Zama Scipio Africanus
D. Third Punic War 149-146 BCE 1. Classical conquests
Legacy of the Punic Wars - empire gained, but at tremendous cost - opportunists disrupt republican machinery - strains on the paterfamilias
III. Agrarian Republic Cultural Life after the Punic Wars
A. Paterfamilias in peril 1. Spokesman of republican virtue Cato the Elder 234-139 BCE
2. Latifundia system - loss of land / citizenship - colonial economy - slave labor v. free labor
B. Infirmitas Sexus 1. Republican mothers - divorce
C. Rebellious sons • Paternal power • Adoption an option
D. Slavery 1. Household to gang slavery - economic disparity
2. Spartacus’ revolt 73-71 BCE 3. Origins of dictatorship - Crassus, Pompey, Julius Caesar “I’m Spartacus”
E. Equestrians 1. New money - officers, merchants, aristocrats of the empire 2. by-passed old orders- Gaius Gracchus
F. Religion 1. Civic religion - Vestal Virgins 2. Familial gods, spirits - ancestor worship
3. New gods 4. Religion as dissent Cult of Bacchus Republic / Empire not bound by common religion
Persecution of Bacchus cult revealed deeper problems - growing class disparity; slavery - traditional male status in decline - no unifying public religion - Patricians hostile to any reform- “bread and circuses”
A. Divided republic 1. Gracchus Brothers Tribunes Tiberius land reform d. 133Gaius expand citizenship d. 121 Undermined system → mob rule optimates v. populares
B. “Special” Commanders 1. Marius 157-86 BCE- Numidian War 112 BCE- army v. republic- expanded citizenship populares
2. Social Wars 91 BCESulla 83-79 BCE Return to oligarchyCicero 106-43 BCEStoicism – duty to one’s role divine providence
C. The “New” Men in power 1. First Triumvirate59 BC - Pompey, Crassus
2. Julius Caesar d. 44 BCE- Gallic conquests- “man of the people”- King?“Crossing the Rubicon”
4. Second Triumvirate 42 BCE - Octavian, Marc Antony, Lepidus - Battle of Actium 31 BCE
D. The End of the Republic Octavian changes name to Caesar Augustus “Invisible Monarchy” Senate remains, but republic is lost
Why an Emperor? • [Rhetorical] defense of Republican virtues • Reform / civic peace • The Pax Romana31 BCE - 192 CE
A. Invisible monarchy • What’s in a name? - Consul, Augustus 27 BCE, Governor - Imperium Maius, imperator - princeps civitatus
Reform the Senate 3. Build Equestrian class
B. Army reform • Addition by subtraction - 60 to 28 legions - dispersal - Praetorian Guard
2. The Legionnaires - standing army / navy - long tours - chance for promotion - veterans benefits • The Auxiliaries - chance for citizenship Army was a crucial instrument in spreading influence
C. Urbanization (sort of) • Rural West, urban East - soldiers’ colonies - road network • Little Romes - fusion of cultures - loyal patricians - bureaucracy
D. Moral Regeneration • The “family values” Emperor - tax breaks for kids - stiff penalties for adultery, the unmarried 2. Pontifex maximus - cult of the Emperor