The Legend
They were powerful and they did
not apologize for it. They conquered and did not feel guilty about it. It was their destiny. They dominated without regret.
The She-Wolf
➢ Brothers
Romulus and Remus
!
➢ Sons
of Mars and a vestal virgin
!
➢ Raised
by a she-wolf
No, this one…
It’s Rome, not Reme…
➢ Brothers
argue over the location of where
to build their city
Rome - early people
➢ Latins,
Greeks, and Etruscans all lived on
the Italian Peninsula
●
!
➢ Romulus
murders Remus & founds the city
on the Palatine Hill
!
➢ Romulus
• These are the 1st true Romans
●
●
is the 1st king 753 BCE
Latins were located where city of Rome is
today on the Palatine Hill
Greeks were in the south
Etruscans were native to northern Italy
So Romulus had a town… But he had no people
How to populate his kingdom?
Plan #1
➢ Invite
exiles from other towns to move in
➢ This brought men to town, but not many
women
Plan #2
➢ Step
1: invite the neighboring Sabine
people to town for a religious festival
Step 2:
➢ Get
them all drunk
Step 3
➢ Slay
the men and steal their women
➢ Send surviving men scurrying home alone
Step 4
➢ Keep
all the women for yourself
!
➢ Known
as the “Rape of the Sabine
Women”
The Sabine Men Waged War
➢ But
the battle was so brutal that the Sabine
brides begged the men to go home so that
no more blood would be shed
From the Time of Romulus Until 509
BCE…
➢ Rome
was led by
kings of various
ethnicities
➢ Rome had grown to
about 500 sq. miles
➢ They were using
Etruscan alphabet and
arches
The Last King…
➢ Was
an Etruscan named Tarquin the Proud
!
• He should have been named Tarquin the Mean
!
• He was thrown out of power in 509 BCE
They established a republic
➢ A form
of government where citizens vote
for their leaders
!
Two Social Classes
➢ Patricians:
wealthy landowners
➢ Plebians: working-class people
●
Farmers, artisans, merchants
➢ Different
than Direct Democracy in Greece
- a representative form of Democracy
!
➢ Roman
citizens were only males who were
born to free men
They Struggled for Power
➢ PATRICIANS
●
●
●
Felt superior because
they had high status
Held majority of the
power
But only made up a
minority of the people
➢ PLEBIANS
●
●
Had the right to vote
but not to hold high
office
In 451 BCE they made
more inroads to
equality
The Senate
➢ Made
up of 300 Patricians
➢ Serve for life
➢ 2 Consuls led the Senate and the Military
●
●
Could only serve one year at a time
Could only serve once every 10 years
Dictator
➢ Serve
for 6 months or
shorter as needed
➢ Appointed by the
Senate
➢ The ideal dictator was
Cincinnatus
Appointing a Dictator
Only in Times of Crisis
Tribunes
➢ Around
450 BCE Plebians got into the
Senate, but not as full members
➢ They could be Tribune
●
●
No voting power
Just veto power
Roman Military
➢ To
grow an empire, you need an excellent
military
●
All land-owners had to serve
• Legions – 5000 infantry
●
Divide into groups of 80 = a century
• Cavalry
●
Supported the Legions
Rome conquers Italy
➢ By
the 265 BCE Rome controlled most of
Italy
➢ Generally lenient toward conquered groups
➢ Conquered groups fell into three categories
Full citizens
Partial citizens
Allies
●
●
●
– on N. African coast
!
➢ A Phoenecian
●
➢ Control
of trade routes
➢ Access to resources from far away
➢ Now and then another powerful civilization
would get in their way…
●
Punic Wars 264-146 BCE
➢ Carthage
More land = more riches
trade outpost
“Punicus” = Phoenecian in Latin
THE PUNIC WARS
1st Punic War 264-241 BCE
➢ Fought
●
●
●
●
mainly on Sicily
Carthage controlled Sicily
Carthaginian general: Hamilcar Barca
This is too close for comfort for Rome
Carthage signs Sicily over to Rome
Rome makes its move
➢ Annexes
Corsica and Sardinia while
Carthage is busy putting down its civil war
• Much to annoyance of Carthaginian people =
Civil War in Carthage
2nd Punic War 218-202 BCE
➢ Hamilcar’s
son, Hannibal leads Carthage
army
!
➢ Says
Rome, “Oh, how we hate Hannibal!”
!
➢ Marches
●
across the Alps & down into Italy
Pretty good trick, since he had elephants!
!
➢ Crushes
●
most everything on his way
Gaul helps as well
Meanwhile…
➢ Rome
heads down to Zama
➢ Led by Scipio (Africanus)
➢ Hannibal has to hurry home
➢ Scipio takes Carthage 204 BCE
●
Rome says, “We are the chosen people!”
Death of Hannibal
➢ Rome
knew Hannibal was dangerous
!
3rd Punic War 149-146 BCE
➢ Rome
is afraid Carthage will rise again
!
➢ Chased
him around coast of Africa
!
➢ Tells
Carthage, “Move inland!”
!
➢ Hannibal
drinks poison rather than be
captured
➢ Says
Carthage, “No way, man…”
!
➢ Rome
attacks – Carthage turns into a
military stronghold – keeps Rome out 2
years
The ‘Salting’ of Carthage
➢ This
●
hardly qualifies as a “war” at all
More of a slaughter
!
➢ Salting
of land either literally or figuratively
Collapse of the Republic
➢ Territory
●
grows, so do troubles
Dissatisfaction among lower classes
• Growing gap between rich and poor
• Slaves – about 1/3 of the population!
• Slaves working plantations – small farmers can’t
compete
• Go into town to find work
●
Growing slum areas inside city of Rome
Collapse of the Republic
➢ Gracchus
Brothers
➢ Tribunes in 130s & 120s BCE
➢ Proposed reforms to help poor people
➢ Both met violent deaths
➢ Civil war in Rome followed their deaths
Collapse of the Republic
➢ Breakdown
in military loyalty
➢ Generals try to grab power for themselves
➢ Recruited poor people by promising land
●
This leads to loyalty only to their commander,
not to Rome itself
!
• One of these was Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar 100-44 BCE
➢ Roman
general
➢ Backed up by his LOYAL army
➢ Military genius
➢ Forms 1st Triumvirate
●
Group of 3 rulers
Julius Caesar
➢ Conquers
all of Gaul – names himself
governor
!
➢ Popular
w/Roman people
!
➢ Senate
fears his power
Julius Caesar
➢ Ordered
●
to disband his army & come home
Julius Caesar
➢ Named
Dictator for Life 44 BCE by senate
“Don’t cross the Rubicon with your legions!”
!
●
Jan. 10, 49 BCE
• “Alea jacta is” (the die is cast)
!
• He marches into Rome 46 BCE
●
Supported by army and the masses
Dictator Julius Caesar
➢ Reforms
●
●
●
●
of Caesar
Granted citizenship to many
Enlarged the senate
Gave land to poor people
Created jobs
• Public works projects
Caesar the God???
➢ Put
●
his face on the coins
Usually only gods or past heroes
Caesar and Cleopatra
➢ Egypt’s
power was fading
➢ Her brother/husband Ptolemy was pharaoh
➢ Cleopatra sought alliance w/Rome via
Caesar
➢ Son - Caesarian
Death of Caesar
➢ “Ides
of March” (Mar. 15) 44 BCE
!
➢ Stabbed
by members of the senate
!
➢ Et
tu, Brute?
!
➢ Caesar’s
●
“nephew” takes power
Age of the emperors begins