Roman Emperors PDF

Lesson 1/Week 1: - Life of Augustus: an inscription written on bronze by Augustus that was meant to be put on his mausoleum. - Dates to Sept 13 AD - Next best source: Suetonius’ biography - Father was an equestrian ; second highest property rank in Rome - Hadrian's secretary for a brief period of time - Had access to many different sources ; acted as a compiler so he took lots of information and combined it into one in his biography - Access to: autobiographies, letters, declarations from emperors, decrees coming out of the government, writings of many historians - Got removed from secretary due to involving himself with the emperors wife; was suspected for having an affair - Tacitus; another source; 53 CE - 117 CE - Served as substitute consul - Made Annels - Covers period from death of Augustus to the death of Nero ; invaluable piece of history - Cassius Dio; 164 CE - 229 CE - Father was Novus Homo, new aristocrat who was a new senator and consul - Wrote Epitomes of Zonoras and Xiphilinus - “Hence in my own narrative of later events, so far as they need to be mentioned, everything that I shall say will be in accordance with the reports that have been given out, whether it be really truth or otherwise. In addition to these reports, however, my own opinion will be given, as far as possible, whenever I have been able, from the abundant evidence which I have gathered from my reading, from hearsay, and from what I have seen, to form a judgment that differs from the common report” - LADDER OF HONOURS: - - Gaius Octavius (Agustus) - Born sept 23, 63 BCE; born at the bulls head near the palatine hill, foundation of Rome; - Died August 19, 14 CE - Father was a Novus Homo; mother was a daughter of Pompey the Great's cousin and julius caesar sister (he was the great nephew of Caesar) - Followed Caesar to Africa on campaign in 47 and earned military decorations, then to Spain and fought against Pompey the Great’s sons - Then went back to Rome to prepare for invasions against the Danish and Parthinians ; this time period is where Caesar died - When Caesar died he named Octavius his heir; this was when he was 19 in 44 BCE. - 6 SLIDES ABOUT THE TRIUMVIRATE CIVIL WAR; OCTAVIUNUS VS ANTONY VS LEPIDUS Week 2: Augustus Succession: - Mausoleum and forum of Augustus; creating these monuments of his success was to give things to the future generations of Romans and solidify his reputation - Augustus created a new form of government and the success of this government was his legacy - Augustus found his succession sad; - Chose his nephew marcelus, son of his sister octavia; Marcelus died young so Augustus had to find a new heir - Next he chose his son in law, his daughters husband; Agrippa also died a bit later - Then went to the kids of Agrippa and Julia; put his authority around lucios and gauis but they both died young; the last grandchild Agrippa was not suitable to be an heir - Then chose his stepsons to be his hiers, although one died and the final one was Tiberius - “Meanwhile, to consolidate his power, Augustus raised Claudius Marcellus, his sister's son and a mere stripling, to the pontificate and curule aedileship: Marcus Agrippa, no aristocrat, but a good soldier and his partner in victory, he honoured with two successive consulates, and a little later, on the death of Marcellus, selected him as a son-in‑law. Each of his step-children, Tiberius Nero and Claudius Drusus, was given the title of Imperator, though his family proper was still intact: for he had admitted Agrippa's children, Gaius and Lucius, to the Caesarian hearth, and even during their minority had shown, under a veil of reluctance, a consuming desire to see them consuls designate with the title Princes of the Youth. When Agrippa gave up the ghost, untimely fate, or the treachery of their stepmother Livia, cut off both Lucius and Caius Caesar, Lucius on his road to the Spanish armies, Caius — wounded and sick — on his return from Armenia. Drusus had long been dead, and of the stepsons Nero survived alone. On him all centred. Adopted as son, as colleague in the empire, as consort of the tribunician power, he was paraded through all the armies, not as before by the secret diplomacy of his mother, but openly at her injunction. For so firmly had she riveted her chains upon the aged Augustus that he banished to the isle of Planasia his one remaining grandson, Agrippa Postumus, who though guiltless of a virtue, and confident brute-like in his physical strength, had been convicted of no open scandal. Yet, curiously enough, he placed Drusus' son Germanicus at the head of eight legions on the Rhine, and ordered Tiberius to adopt him: it was one safeguard the more, even though Tiberius had already an adult son under his roof.”” Augustus Will: - Tacitus account of Augustus to leave Tiberius the empire by a passage of Sutonius - “Since harsh fortune has robbed me of my sons Gaius and Lucius, Tiberius Caesar shall be heir to two-thirds of my estate.” A passage from Augustus will - Shows that TIberius is a third choice behind the two sons; disrespectful towards Tiberius Death of Augustus: - Final moments: Died in Nola; - According to Sutonius, his last public words were “since the play has been so good clap your hands and all of you dismiss us with applause”; - Highlights the performative parts of his life; if you think of everything that happened after the early part of his rule, this could be an attempt at creating an artificial partially image of himself and a form of propaganda to solidify his reputation - Last words in private: live mindful of our marriage Livia, and farewell; - Encouraging her to be virtuous and asking her not to remarry to not give away political power (maybe?) Tiberius: Life before emperor - Born on Palatine hill (fancy neighborhood of Rome); - Born to Agrapia (daughter of Agrippa; Augustus commander or wtv) - Had a lot of hair (idk what this means yet); marks him out as a member of the imperial family - Had big eyes - Extremely well educated and spent a lot of time in Rhodes studying; he preferred astrology compared to religion - His ascension to the throne was actually very easy due to his military experience and education - Started military service with augustus in the conquest of northern Spain - Lead an army into Armenia - Fought wars and was a commander - Celebrated as a general twice in rome - Also had administrative experience sharing tribunation power with augustus - Hesitancy of taking Augustus authority immediately; idea of duplicity of Tiberius character - Understandable because Augustus was the first emperor, there was no precedent of someone taking over the authority that Augustus had - Attempt by Tiberius to draw out his enemies; remembered by this strategic and secretive duplicity - Augustus believed that Tiberius had a sort of secretive character that would grind down the Roman peoples Tiberius: early reign - Seems to have said all the right things; power back to senate, give back to the people - Said these things but not sure if he actually meant it - Built up in the imperial armory a lot of money; 2. Smth billion (did not give back to the people) - Germanicas was adopted by Tiberius in an attempt to secure his heir; everyone likes Germanicas more than Tiberius and this sort of made Tiberius upset due to him wanting to be liked throughout his entire career - Led a good military career and even shared consulship with Tiberius - Was sent to the east by Tiberius to deal with something , where he then died - Germanicas then went to Egypt for sightseeing - Lucius Aelius Sejanus: served as Praetorian Prefect; - Tiberius delegated a lot of his authority during the majority of his rule - Tiberius referred to him as his “partner in toil” - This is bad because of how Sejanus turned out to be a bad person as portrayed in the annuls - Sejanus and Germanicus were at odds with each other - Sejanus was planning future conspiracies and influencing Tiberius to consider them and used these contexts to leverage in increase his own power - Sejanus tried to eliminate all those who might become emperor; after Tiberius son died Sejanus was considering how to kill Germanicus kids - Also was suspected to want to marry Tiberius niece to attempt to marry into the imperial family - Pressured Tiberius to sort of retire early and move to the island of Capri - Another reason was possibly embarrassment; Tacitus writes about how in old age Tiberius did not like how he looked and how you look is greatly important when you are the emperor and people look up to you. - When Tiberius left and went to Capri, he neglected his duties and gave most of his power over to Sejanus; - In this time Persia and the Germans were attacking and taking over cities and he did nothing about this - Also did not assign new judges or other things - While Tiberius was in Capri he abused children, respectable women, and tortured people in his villas and threw them off the cliffs Tiberius Succession: - Tiberius either died by being smothered or poisoned at Caligulas orders - Tiberius planned to have his son Druicius and his adopted son Germanicus, but both died - One poisoned in the east and Drucius poisoned by his wife with Sejanus plotting it - Son Nero and other son Drucius both died; Nero was exciled and took his life, and Drucius was imprisoned and starved to death - The last son Caligula was the one who succeeded Tiberius - Tiberius’ reputation from the public was not a good one, he was perceived as a terrible person - “Let them hate me provided they respect me” - Tiberius - The people were so happy about his death, saying “into the tiber with tiberius” the tiber being the river in Rome - Or they wanted to throw him down the Gemonian steps Caligula’s early career: - Upon taking office, Caligula executed his cousin so theres no attempt for him to take power - Undid exiles and people being accused of treason to endear himself to the public - Halved the sales tax and gave monetary gifts to the people - Sponsored games and feasts throughout Rome - Cheated at dice - Completed building and renovations of buildings that were being neglected while Tiberius was ruling - In private he would do things such as sleeping with his sisters, and pimping out married women in public - Replaced the heads of gods on statues with his own head ; - Not humble unlike Augustus - Would want to be praised as a God and dressed and acted as one - Would do things like find ways to hide that people need to pay taxes so that he could then find them and fine them more - Had no military success as his own and no experience as a military commander - Threatened to attack Britain but only got as far as the british canal then got scared supposedly and ordered his men to pick up sea shells and go back to celebrate a triumph - Caligula thought to extend a part of his palace into the forum (where gods were praised) and thought he would “share” it with jupiter - Reflects that he Caligulas death: 41CE - Throat was slit by Chaerea who was a praetorian guard who served with Caligula's dad Germanicus and hated him, then a tribune named ? stabbed him multiple times - Another story is that he was just jumped by the praetorian and was mutilated - When he died there was no clear heir for the throne WEEK 3: CLAUDIUS Claudius: 41-54 CE - Uncle of Caligula; member of the imperial family - Brother of Germanicus, successor of Tiberius at some point, (extremely popular general ; golden boy of Roman politics and the imperial family) - Claudius was the son of Drusus Tiberius brother , adopted son of Augustus - Rather bookish and spent more of his time studying that involved in politics and military business - Wanted to not be part of the public life or imperial families politics, and the imperial families didnt really want him to be a part of it either - Had a disability had a lisp and a limp, which was an embarrassment as far as being the figure of the imperial family - Remember how much looks meant to the imperial family - Had a tutor who was a Gaul who was said to be a barbarian which is contradictory - Constantly mocked by his mother Antonia and grandmother Livia - Spent most his time acting less able and intelligent than he really was (suetonius 38; tacitus 318?) - Might not be really fully true but instead a mythological character archetype that may be projected on Claudius - Percieved disabilities and inadequacies let him survive as long as he did in the Judoclaudian period - Equestrians did choose him on occasion to speak in public gatherings involving for example the death of Augustus and his funeral and the punishment of Sejanus - Demonstrated his smarts by this and also writing and publishing lots of books - Suotoious 3: letters to Livia from Augustus about Claudius - Wrote about worry involving his demeanour in public as in the way he walks due to his limp and was wondering if he could be seen involved with the imperial family - Did cut him slack saying that he did speak very eloquently; complementary of his oratory - Made him an augur due to this; gave him a bit of power - Augur were priests who were meant to read oracles; great art of Etruscans (he researched this history which is ironic ) - No jobs during the period of Tiberius for Claudius, but let CLaudius wear the robes of a consul so that it could sort of appease him and lead him away from wanting to do more for Rome - During his retreat in Campaignia Claudius made a reputation for himself of gambling and drinking, but also continued to achieve recognition and respect from the general public - Did end up sharing consulship with Caligula on the year that Caligula became emperor History as emperor: - 37 CE Caligula was killed and he did not have an heir chosen - Lots of the senate wanted to go back the the Republic but the praetorian guard believed that they did need an emperor so they rushed through the imperial house and found him hiding behind a curtain - Made him promise to pay them 15000 sect and sort of bought his way into the imperial seat - Got rid of all of Caligulas laws that were made to entrap people and punished the assassins of Caligula - Claudius tried to remind people of the good part of his family - Created coins of Germanicus with the agreement of the senate to remind the people of the good parts of the family rather than remind people of someone like Caligula’s reign - Struck coins with his own image on them with the back of the coins saying “on account of the people having been saved” which addresses how Claudius is saving everyone from Caligula's reign - No military career before his reign but as emperor he had some good military success by overseeing the continual conquest of Northern Africa, the complete conquest of Britain in 43 CE, and oversaw the annexation of Licia which is bottom right and mid - - Took a policy of deferring to the senate for administrative and legislative problems and gave them power to become more popular with the senate and gain its support - It did work out and apparently when he was supposedly killed the roman people got so upset they started attacking the roman soldiers and senate members until it was told he was safe - Made the Aqua Claudia, 69 km long aqueduct that brought water to the city of Rome and this shows Claudius dedication for Claudius to make the city of Rome a better place to live - Made the Porta Maggorie which was another architect and made it specifically look old ; symbolic of Claudius character - Wanted to also drain a lake that wouldnt drain and people believed it contained Malaria, which showed one of his weaknesses that he trusted his slaves and freeman far too much - Narcissus was very close to Cladius and worked for him as a freeman and purposely dropped the tunnels to drain it for not being “paid enough” - Made port at Ostia called the portus Augusti which was incredibly large and protected the grain income to assure food for the people - Sunk a ship that brought an obelisk to rome during the reign of Caligula and built a lighthouse on top of it - Provided other outlets that could help when the tiber would overflow and help avoid flooding - “ Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, son of Drusus, pontifex maximus, holding tribunition power for the sixth time, elected consul for the fourth time, proclaimed emperor twelve times, father of the fatherland, by digging channels from the Tiber for the sake of the function of the port, and by sending them into the sea, freed the city from the danger of flood.” Criticisms of Claudius: - Too easily influenced by the important women in his life - Specifically Messalina , his third wife who would go on to marry the next emperor Nero - Also Agrippina the younger who was the sister of Caligula; was his fourth wife and was also his niece - Too easily influenced by the slaves and freeman in his life and the people in powerful positions hated that they had this power over them - Was pedantic; smart and irritating due to liking to show off Death of Claudius: - Agrippina the younger was evil and the mother of Nero and therefore Nero was adopted by Claudius - Agrippina influenced Claudius so much that he was willing to push his own son, who had the good qualities needed of an emperor, and instead had Nero as his heir Claudius’ Argument: By Tacitus: - Argues that he knows his family is not of Roman descent (judoclaudians) - All of Italy was eventually incorporated into Roman territory and therefore Rome - The more inclusion there is the more security there is in society; incorporation led to peace - All sorts of different people served in high positions - Tacitus agreed with Tacitus ideas and therefore is very much vouching on Claudius through his writings - Said that exclusion of peoples were the downfall of the Athenians, Spartans, and overall the Greeks - The wars against the Gauls were short and they held the peace, and they are rich and wealthy and could improve the economic state Lyon Tablet: - Claudius argues Rome has been evolving since the very beginning, and there have been foreign kings before - Always new offices and changes with the laws and politics, which is irrelevant because the argument is that the argument is not about new positions but putting foreigners being put into these positions - Gauls already provide equestrians and knights so we might as well welcome them into important positions - Already senators from Leon so why not the Gauls - Gauls have been pacified Counterarguements to Claudius: By Tacitus: - Natives in Italy and Rome were good enough ; some compromise has already been made - Too few offices for the current offices - Gauls had fought for a long time against Julius Caeser WHICH IS BETTER IN THE SLIDESHOW 22-24; Apocolocyntosis: - Written by Senecca the younger soon after the death of Claudius - Second son of Senecca the older, who was a philosopher - Exiled to Coursica due to adultery with Caligulas sister, exiled by Claudius and for this reason was not very fond for him - Was reallowed to come back to the city and became Nero’s tutor - Result of the influence of Agrippina the younger, Nero’s mother, who was Claudius niece and wife after being rewelcomed into Rome from exile - When Nero became emporer not only was Senecca his tutor but also one of his very close advisors alongside this guy named Buros; - Guided Nero for the first 8 years of his reign, and then Nero forced him to commit suicide right after - Menippean satire: - Menippean is a combination of prose and poetry - Title means roughly pumpification; pun on the word apotheosis meaning deification - Instead of making Cladius deified, he should be turned into a pumpkin - Plot: - Claudius dies and goes to mount Olympus to attempt to become a God, where he is greeted by Hercules who agrees to represent him as his lawyer at a trial where the Gods will decide of Claudius is allowed to live on Mount Olympus - Hercules is kinda a muscle brain so its already ironic - He loses the case and then has to go down to Hades and meet all the people hes killed, and is forced to act as the secretary for one of his freedman forever - Irony that Claudius had already been a slave to his freedman and clerks, so its sort of was his fate all ahead of time - Hercules on Claudius: - But Hercules, the first glimpse he got, was really much taken aback, although not all the monsters in the world could frighten him; when he saw this new kind of object, with its extraordinary gait, and the voice of no terrestrial beast, but such as you might hear in the leviathans of the deep, hoarse and inarticulate, he thought his thirteenth labour had come upon him. When he looked closer, the thing seemed to be a kind of man. (Apoc. 5 ) - Doesn't exactly match up with what we know about Claudius, for example he was very well spoken and articulate - Claudius character depictions: - “This man, my lords, who looks as though he could not hurt a fly, used to chop off heads as easily as a dog sits down.” (Apoc. 10) - Augustus speaking to the Gods on mount Olympus on how Claudius seems harmless but murdered and ordered many people to death - 35 senators and over 100 (or 300?) knights - Including many of his family members such as sons in law nieces and even his own wife Messalina (who remarried while he left the city) - Senneca goes so far to give a catalogue of all these murders, - Also showed his anger and crashoutness, and depicted how he acted when he displayed this anger saying he was incomprehensible and noone listened to him Here (in the underworld) were found C. Silius consul elect, Juncus the ex-praetor, Sextus Traulus, M. Helvius, Trogus, Cotta, Vettius Valens, Fabius, Roman Knights whom Narcissus had ordered for execution. In the midst of this chanting company was Mnester the mime, whom Claudius for honour's sake had made shorter by a head. The news was soon blown about that Claudius had come: to Messalina they throng: first his freedmen, Polybius, Myron, Harpocras, Amphaeus, Pheronactus, all sent before him by Claudius that he might not be unattended anywhere; next two prefects, Justus Catonius and Rufrius Pollio; then his friends, Saturninus, Lusius and Pedo Pompeius and Lupus and Celer Asinius, these of consular rank; last came his brother's daughter, his sister's daughter, sons-in-law, fathers and mothers-in-law, the whole family in fact. In a body they came to meet Claudius; and when Claudius saw them, he exclaimed, "Friends everywhere, on my word! How came you all here?" To this Pedo Pompeius answered, "What, cruel man? How came we here? Who but you sent us, you, the murderer of all the friends that ever you had? To court with you! I'll show you where their lordships sit." (Apoc. 13) - At the beginning the fates were also joking around about how if they gave Claudius more time he would have ended up making the whole world wear togas, effectively joking around that with enough time he would make the whole world Roman - Apoc 2. Rejoices about Claudius’ death and Nero taking up the position of emperor WEEK 4: Nero: - Born Dec 15 37CE - Adopted in 50 CE after Agrippina pressured Claudius - Daughter of Agrippina the younger and Germanicus - Agrippina the younger was a very powerful woman and is consistently depicted as evil - Apparently Claudius was killed when Agrippina the younger fed him poisonous mushrooms to get Nero the throne - Tutored by Seneca the younger - Created tension between the characteristics of bronze beards (Ahenobarbi) and education received from Seneca & his praetorian guard - Ahenobarbi: - 7 of them had been consul - 1 had Celebrated a triumph for a great military success - 2 had been censorships ; highest position after being consul - In the beginning of the 5th century CE when the founder Head was said to be visited by two demigods of military power, castor and pollux, after a battle - Made so the Ahenobarbi is associated by the earliest days of Rome Suet. 1: “I have decided to report on a number of members of the family to make clear how Nero lapsed from the virtues of his ancestors yet produced each one’s legacy of evil. - Nero does both of the qualities of bad and good of the Ahenobarbi throughout his career ; repeats the mistakes of his ancestors - Will Senneca the younger’s teachings stick out or his Ahenobabri ancestors - 3x great grandfather won a great battle than went around italy riding an elephant as in celebrating a triumph; did this because of his victories in theatrical contests - 2x great grandfather was criticized about his indecisiveness - Great grandfather fought in the civil war and sided with Mark Anthony but then switched sides to Augustus and Octavian showing the shift to the evil side - Grandfather was an arrogant man who was petty and cruel - Chariot raced - Mistreated his superiors - Funded brutal gladiator fights - Mocked equestrians by making plays mocking them - Father ran over a kid on purpose on the Appian way and gouged out the eye of an equestrians in the Roman forum Nero: - Even Nero’s father said that nothing good would come out of a child between him Agrippina ; “anything born of Agrippina and me would only inspire loathing and chaos” or smth - Suetonius: People say that on the next night Seneca dreamed that he was teaching Caligula and soon afterwards Nero provided confirmation of the dream, revealing his monstrous nature at the earliest possible opportunity. For when, after his (Nero’s) adoption, his brother Britannicus, through habit, continued to address him as Ahenobarbus, he tried to convince his father that Britannicus was not really his child but a substitute. When his aunt Lepida was on trial he publicly gave evidence against her in order to please his mother who was striving to undermine her position. (Suet. 7) - Regardless of all this Nero was still preferred by Brutanicus (Cladius son) who was 3 years younger than Nero; Claudius preferred Brutanicus over Nero and believed Brutanicus would make a good emperor while Nero would not - Messalina even tried to get Nero killed because she recognized that Nero might be a threat to Brutanicus - Nero was set up and engaged to Claudius' daughter Octavia in 50 CE (?) - Claudius was manipulated by Agrippina to do this Nero’s Accession: - When Cladius died Nero was escorted directly to the Praetorean camp by Sexus smth Burrus who was at that time the Praetorian Prefect (head of Praetorian guard) - Just like Claudius he “bribed” the Praetorians and “paid” his respects to them - Immediately deified Claudius so he could claim he was the son of the divine Claudius - Didnt really respect Claudius just wanted to solidify his position - Shown through how Senneca portrayed Claudius in a negative way in the Apocolocyntosis - Made Agrippina a priestess of the cult of Claudius to try to bolster the imperial connection he had - Claudius’ will was never read and that is why some questioned Nero’s reign and legitimacy so we never know if Brutannicus ended up becoming emperor - Then Agrippina gathered Brutannicus and the rest of any people that were a threat to the throne and they were killed - Then Agrippina instigated and got Nero to kill Silanus who was Augustus great grandson - People believed that Silanus was designated as a much better ruler for the kingdom and is preferable to Nero - Son was also executed in 64 CE which was a period of unrest in the kingdom and Nero wanted to make sure he had no one attempting to steal his throne Quinquennium (Golden Age of Nero): - 54 - 59 CE; 5 years of just rule; instead of slowly falling into corruption like most other emperors, Nero was bad from the beginning but Agrippina the younger controlled him - Ended in 59 because Agrippina was killed - Dio Cassius say Agrippina controlled Nero until around 54/55 and then Seneca and Burrus then controlled him for the rest of his good years - Tacitus and Suetonius write about how Agrippina probably didn't do much cuz she was an ass - Started out doing things “according to the prescriptions of Augustus”; distributing money, grain, and land, and lowering taxes; also sponsored lost of games - And when he was first asked to sign something to execute a condemned criminal he said: “How I wish I had never learned to write!” - Didnt attempt to make any expansion to the empire and even was debating giving up Britain (was not economically beneficial) - Also claimed time of peace and was unpopular amongst the military - Closed the doors to the forum of Janice End of the Quinquennium: - Came about when Nero arranged to have his mother Agrappina killed; happened because Nero wanted to marry this woman who Agrappina really did not approve about - Had someone build a ship that was supposed to collapse and it did collapse and she swam back to shore and survived; then went to a villa and sent a letter to the emperor who then panicked and sent soldiers to kill her - “Stab be in the belly from where my murderer came from” - me lol - Oracle predicted that Nero would become king but would one day kill her, Agrappina said “Let him kill me as long as he rules.” - Period from 59-62 CE is a gray area where Seneca and Burrus sort of still had control, but ended when Burrurs died - Then was replaced by Tigellinus who was a corrupted praetorian - Also in 62 is when he finished his plan and married his new wife (not Octavia his previous wife) Poppea - Seneca saw what was occurring and asked Nero to let him retire from imperial service even going as far as offering up all his properties to be allowed to move away and live in peace - Tacitus says “to these words Nero added an embrace and a kiss; a man fashioned by nature and trained by habit to veil hatred with deceptive charm” - This is talking about what happens after Nero responds to Senecas request; final transition of the good period of Nero to the bad period of Nero After the Quinquennium: 62 - 68 CE - Treated Aristocracy and Senate horribly - Forced them into trials to seize their properties and for other things - Forced themselves to perform in actors of the great games; unbecoming of high valued members of society - Had 400 senators and 600 knights perform as gladiators, and although none of them were killed it was once again unbecoming of them - Ran around at night mugging people and looting stores - Almost died doing one of these mugging - Accused of seducing free born boys and women - Forced himself on vessel virgin - Tried to marry a castrated boy WHO HE CASTRATED LOL - Would have been good if his father had taken such a wife - Romans - Started to race chariots and perform in the gladiator ring; started to indulge his wants to become a performer (not looked well upon and was a degradation of the office) - Spent a lot of money sponsoring lavish games to please the people and make himself popular - Also started more and more of these treason trials and he got so unpopular by 65 that there was a conspiracy to remove him from office - Resulted into the death of some important people - Pisonian conspiracy; pisoan, seneca, Lucan and others died due to this Great Fire of Rome: June 19 - 27, 64 CE - Destroyed 3 out of 14 of the Roman regions; affected all but 4 of the Roman regions - Started out dealing with the fire well; fighting the fire early and opening the imperial doors to welcome people who were affected by the fire - Would have been good acts but months and years later Roman people started to suspect that Nero was responsible - While Rome burnt, Nero performed and acted like nothing was going wrong and had no care for Rome - Nero tried to blame the fire on Christians, and this influenced the relationship between the Roman empire and the Christian church for decades to come - Was a convenient group who Nero thought would be the perfect scapegoats - Domus Transitoria: - Neros first attempt at building a new imperial palace in the city of Rome - Construction started at 60 CE. but work was all destroyed during the Great Fire of Rome - Would connect the gardens of Maecean on Esquiline and the Domus Tiberiana on Palatine hill, and then connect the Circus Maximus and the Forum Romanum - Not a lot is known about how it was intended to be built due to it burning down but it was called the Domus Transitoria because that sort of translates to transition palace - Domus Aurea: 64 CE - Construction began in 64 CE and was “put on top of the ashes of Roman city” - Wanted to make it a sprawling estate in the middle of the city, built on originally private land which would originally be used as by the lower population of Rome which made the construction seem very disrespectful “Nero exploited the national disaster and built a residence whose marvels were less gemstones and gold—things customary long since and widespread by luxury—than fields and pools and, as in a wilderness, forests here, there open spaces and vistas.” Tac. 15.42 - Can divide the palace into two parts; one in the palatine hill which seems to have been the primary residence of the palace; other half was up on the Esquiline hill seems to have been a rural villa next to a rural man-made park Domus Aurea and the land it took up (i think? Sort of) Probably half of the residential area of the palace, was very over the top and elaborate unlike the house of Augustus; - Apparently there's a revolving dining room built in the palace or the golden house - When the Domus Aurea was finished construction Nero declared “he at last had finally begun to live like a human being” (Suet. 31) The End of Nero: - Fire of Rome and other things Nero had done had bankrupted the Roman state, Nero then would constantly confiscate property to fund himself and to be able to rule Rome - Caused lots of inflation and lowered the value of Roman currency - Also led constant battles in Armenia which he also had to fund - Made Nero unpopular to the aristocracy due to confiscating properties and lowering the value of the currency, but it evened out due to him hosting games and other events for the Roman people - Then he decided to become more serious about his music and started neglecting the state even more - Very indignant of an emperor and very unacceptable behaviour as far as the senate were concerned - Was preemptively given all the awards of an actor and singer to convince Nero not to compete, but he decided to compete otherwise - Then you had hundreds of paid applauders to applaud for him to convince him he was any good - Then left to Greece to compete in the great theatrical competitions and left in 66 CE and returned in 67 CE - During these closing years of his reign he released Greece from Roman administration and taxation, essentially making it a self governed state, and worsening the economic states - Also executed three senatorial commanders who were in charge of some of the most important armies in the empire - Corbello and screbonius brothers 1. Brought most of Neros military success 2. Ruled and fought and brought most success in Germany - These things made Nero so unpopular in Italy when he returned, that in March of 68 CE someone named Gaius Julius Vindex rose in revolt against him; governor of France/Gault practically - Was suppressed 2 months later - In June Galba, governor in Spain, labelled himself as protector of the people at the request of Vindex - He was then backed by the senate and Praetorians and was declared the new emperor of Rome, and declared Nero public enemy which caused Nero to flee to the villa of one of his Freedman named Vian - Ultimately committed suicide; last words were “what an artist dies with me” - Shows that the final thing Nero cared about is not that he is hated or the irreparable things he had done for Rome, but instead only cared about his art and how he wouldnt be able to perform it anymore - Lost his grip on reality Summing up Nero’s career through some quotes: - Tacitus: Sabrinas Rufus , part of the Pisoanian conspiracy; I hate you. No soldier was more faithful while you deserved to be loved. I began to hate you when you revealed yourself as a killer of mother and wife, charioteer and actor and incendiary. (Tac. Ann. 15.67) - Started out believing that Nero’s rule would go well until it didnt, and ended up being executed Nero’s physical form ; Appearance and Character - “He was of a good height but his body was blotchy and ill-smelling. His hair was fairish, his face handsome rather than attractive, his eyes bluish-grey and dull, his neck thick, his stomach protruding, his legs very thin, his general health good—for despite his luxurious and most excessive way of life, he was only ill three times in fourteen years, and even then not so as to have to abstain from drinking or his other habits. He was so very shameless in his concern for dress and the care of his person that he would always have his curls arranged in a pile on his head and, on his trip to Greece, even had them flowing down behind.” - Suetonius on Nero’s appearance and character - Good height and general form are good qualities Nero had, but then shows what they were corrupted by - Did not take care of himself or his body, summarizes what he really cared about; himself and his interests but did not care at all about his position of emperor WEEK 5: The Flavians: - Vespian (69-79 CE); Titus (79-81 CE); Domitian (81-96 CE) - How did we transition to these emperors? - Civil war; this is a violent part of history which always happens, and this pattern is observed in 69 CE - The year of the four emperors: - Brief history: the civil war that facilitated the transition from the Judioclaudian emperors to the Flavian emperors - Galba was made emperor by the spanish army in 68 and began to march on Rome from Spain with his ally Otho - Along his way to Rome Galba started executing equestrians and members of the Senate, and fining towns along the way who had not supported him immediately - Continued when he got to Rome but also refused to pay a donative to the praetorians; - As a result, Vitelius was declared emperor by the German emperor on dec 2nd 69 CE - In reaction Golba adopted someone else, not Otho, in case he died to make sure his legacy was continued - Because of this Otho bribed praetorian guards to make him emperor in Jan 15 69 CE; the praetorian guard then killed Golba in the forum - Vitelius then dispatched half his army to take Italy and then take Rome; - Got into a battle with Otho which he won, which then caused Otho to take his own life - Then started taking peoples money and spending it poorly, as well as executing civilians, which made him generally unpopular among the public - Vespasian was then declared emperors by the Egyptian legions in 69 CE, then dispatched Mookianis, governor of Syria, to march on Rome - Led by Marcus Antonius Primus battled in rome and won a battle against Vitelius; Vitelius was killed trying to flee The Flavians: - “With the uprising of the three emperors and their violent deaths the empire had for a long time been in a state of disorder and almost of collapse when it was finally taken over and stabilized by the Flavian house, an unknown family without any ancestral portraits, yet by no means a disgrace to the Roman state, although it is generally agreed Domitian was punished rightly for his lust and cruelty.” (Suet. Vesp. 1) - When a country is thrown into civil war what people want most is someone to put an end to the civil war; - Only thing is there was such a difficulty amongst the Flavians and Vespacian to solidify themselves; - Was a family without any ancestral portraits (literally); the Flavians weren't a really high aristocratic family - Tacitus wrote: “A well-hidden secret of the principate had been revealed: it was possible, it seemed, for an emperor to be chosen outside of Rome.” (Tac. Hist. 1.4) - This is to say that occupation of the city and membership of the great aristocracy was no longer required for someone to become emperor Legitimizing Vespasian: - Problem is that noone in Vespasian’s family had a legitimate claim to the throne ; all he had was his military success during the civil war - Suetonius tells us that his family was not exactly high aristocracy, but his family were mostly equestrians; father is said to be an honest tax collector and money lender (not very prestigious job) - Grandfather was a soldier, and his maternal uncle was a senator of Praetorian rank - Flavia smth was the wife and mother of his 3 kids; then lived with this woman Cenis who Dio Cassius portrays in a very complimentary way about her and her intelligence - Was a great comrade of Caligula and Nero but fell out of favour with him; this caused a problem due to everyone knowing how them two were - Had significant military and administrative experience and during Nero’s rule was sent to set down a rebellion which helped bolster his favour with Nero - Also participated in Cladius’ campaign in britain - Put down the first Jewish revolt - Also governed Africa and shut down multiple wage protests which also even turned into a rebellion - Suetonius reports that when he came back from Africa he was so poor he had to start mule trading to make a living ; got the nickname the mulletier - To avoid getting any blood on his hands, he sent people to march on Rome and instead went to Egypt; - He recognized he could control Rome through Egypt due to the grain supply - Mookian and Domition had to raise money very quickly and due to this Vespasian could blame Mookian and Domitian for the bloodshed in Rome - THIS LET HIM DECLARE THAT HE WAS A RESTORER OF PEACE DUE TO HAVING NO BLOOD ON HIS HAND - Did supply this stability through times of Titus and Domitian; he also immediately made them his heirs so that there would not be another civil war - After being named his heirs, Titus was sent to handle the Jewish revolt in the east, while Domitian stayed in Rome - Titus and Vespisian took over as consul as soon as possible to legally solidify their position Lex de Imperio Vespasiani: - Document that means law concerning the power of Vespasian - Meant to define the powers of the emperor; was okay during the Judioclaudian times because they had this authority passed down from Augustus - Passed by the senate with some recommendations and published sometime between dec 20 69 CE to Jan 1 70 CE - Did things like give all the powers that had ever been given to Augustus Tiberius and Claudius to Vespasian; good emperors vs Caligula and Nero; only powers of the good emperors - WHAT WERE THE POWERS GIVEN ** READ THE LEX DE IMPERIO VESPASIANI - Most fundamental way to legitimise themselves to the public and senate; as soon as they recognised this document their family past was irrelevant Vespasian as an Emperor: “Throughout the entire duration of his rule, he considered nothing more important than bringing order to the empire, ravaged and collapsing as it was, and then improving it, too.” (Suet. 8) - Same idea about stability and improving the empire as Augustus had; shows how Vespasian cared about the empire “It cannot easily be shown that any innocent person suffered punishment, except when Vespasian himself was away and unaware of events—or at least against his wishes and through his being misinformed.” (Suet. 15) - As far as personal conduct is concerned, Seutonius represents Vespasian as a kind and just character - Forgave everyone’s charges of treason that Nero was giving out - Economic policy: - Did not really financially reward people for their loyalty, for example did not reward the Alexandrians for standing with him originally - Also took away the freedom Greece had and made them once again a Roman state - Although these are both things beneficial to the Roman economy, they still made him unpopular amongst these people - Promoted people and gave them power and wealth to later confiscate their properties; common accusation against emperors - Also increased taxes, reinstituted old ones, and made new ones; although he did this he made good use of the money “Some argue that the drained resources of the treasury and the imperial fund absolutely compelled him to pursue spoil and plunder, and that he himself had borne witness to this at the start of his reign, declaring that forty thousand million sesterces (40 billion) were needed to set the state right. And this seems more plausible, for even when he acquired money improperly he always made excellent use of it.” (Suet. 16) - Money that he had was used well and he lived extremely modestly for an emperor - Nero and Vetilius left the economy in crumbles and ashes, literally, so these measures Vespasian took were reasonable and maybe even necessary “On reaching Rome (in 70 CE) he bestowed gifts upon both the soldiers and the populace. He also repaired the sacred precincts and the public works which had suffered injury and rebuilt such as had already fallen into ruin; and upon completing them he inscribed upon them, not his own name, but the names of those who had originally built them.” (Dio. 65.10.1) - Suetonius writes that Vespasian even replaced 3000 tablets that had melted/burned on the capitaline; good use of money to reinstitute the laws of Rome - Even started work on Capitaline and worked on it himself to encourage the people to work on the monuments of the city The Colosseum: - Also worked to return large parts of the city to the people, that Nero confiscated for his own property; returned temple of divine Claudius, golden house, and also built the Colosseum - Used the wealth gathered during the Jewish wars to make improvements on the city itself - Shows where the money he got went through this inscription on the colosseum saying that Vespasian funded this through his spoils of war - Change city of brick to city of marble Forum of peace and Returning Rome to the people: - Forum of peace was the third of the great imperial Forum; forum of Julius Caesar, forum Augustus, forum of Peace - Was created to create a symbol of peace to signify the end of the civil wars and a time of peace; creating this also shows how Vespasian wanted to give back to the people https://uwo.voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/28532079/161718440/144001302/ Appearance and Behaviour: - Vespasian had a sense of humour; people would make jokes about him and he found him funny - Also was very robust and healthy - Grew into the office although he originally behaved as a normal guy Death of Vespasian: June 23, 79 CE - Died of natural causes; got the flu and got a fever and died - “Alas, I think I am becoming a God!” ; a joke Vespasian was making about how he was a very unserious and human person - Words of a man who had a realistic view of himself and who he was in the world; contrasting other people including his son Domitian - “There were conflicting stories about Vespasian, and he alone—unlike all the emperors before him—changed for the better.” (Tac. Hist. 1.50); - VESPASIAN IS MY MF GOAT Titus: 79 - 81 CE - Recognized as a great emperor although he only ruled for two years; became more liked as he ruled - People were a bit concerned due to knowing how Titus was involved in his father’s dirty work in Judea, but he turned out very much like his father “His qualities of mind and body at once stood out even when he was a boy but still more so as he advanced toward maturity. His appearance was striking, conveying authority as well as charm, and he was unusually strong, though not tall in stature, while his stomach protruded a little.” (Suet. Titus 3) - Friend of Brutannicus especially under the rule of Nero; friends of Brutannicus were looked down on and purged mostly from society - Looked like a short viking; talented young man who demonstrated authority and had an aura of authority and charm LOL - Oracle says Brutannicus isnt gonna be emperor but Titus will; oracle examination early in his life Before becoming emperor: - Served as a legionarry commander under Vespasian in Judea and took over when Vespasian was elevated to emperor; brought it to a successful conclusion from a Roman standpoint - Later became a praetorian prefect later under Vespasian; “His tenure in this post was rather high-handed and violent… While such measures were intended to ensure future security, they provoked a great deal of unpopularity at the time, and as a result scarcely anyone ever acceded to the principate with so bad a reputation and with everyone against him.” (Suet. Titus 6) - Nobody liked it when Titus was going to become emperor; “To sum up, people thought of him and even publicly spoke of him as another Nero. Yet this reputation turned out to be to his advantage for, when he was found to have no vices but instead the greatest virtues, it was succeed by the greatest praise.” (Suet. Titus 7) - Low expectations and high results; - Idea that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree; expected Titus to somewhat rule as his father did “Titus after becoming ruler committed no act of murder or of amatory passion, but showed himself upright, though plotted against, and self-controlled… Again, his satisfactory record may also have been due to the fact that he survived his accession but a very short time (short, that is, for a ruler), for he was thus given no opportunity for wrongdoing…In this respect, indeed, he is regarded as having equaled the long reign of Augustus, since it is maintained that Augustus would never have been loved if he lived a shorter life, not Titus if he lived longer.” (Dio 26.18) Titus as Emperor: - Titus was emperor during a couple bad years for Rome; - Vesuvius erupted & Pompeii covered in lava and destroyed; - Fire in Rome that lasted 3 days in 80 CE - Plague hit the city as well - Throughout his reign Titus was being plotted against by Domitian, in open and secret; - Refused to have anyone killed although he heard of his brothers plots, which bit him in the ass - Liked because he was constantly trying to help people during this short period of catastrophe; constantly funded the peoples’ recovery Returning Rome to the People; Baths of TItus: - While dealing with the crises Titus continued the trend of giving back to the people - Consecrated the colosseum and created the baths of Titus which is in the bottom left of the Domus Aurea; - LITERALLY giving back the palace and its area to the people of Rome - Created an amazing reputation to Titus, to which suetonius writes: “Titus… was loved and doted upon by all humanity. Whether through innate disposition, policy, or good fortune, such was his success that he secured the goodwill of all and that too—a most difficult task—when he was emperor.” (Suet. Titus 1) - Titus died Sept 13 , 81 CE; according to Dio Cassius, some say he died of natural causes and others say that Domitian poisoned him or killed him of - Public reaction to Titus death, “When his death became known, everyone engaged in public mourning as if they had lost a member of their own family. Before the meeting was called the senators hurried to the senate house, when the doors were still shut, and then, when they had been opened, gave such thanks for the dead man and heaped up such praises for him as they had never bestowed on him even when he was alive and present among them.” (Suet. Titus 11) - Last words from Titus were, “I have made but one mistake”; we are left to wonder what mistake he made - Either referring to having seduced his brother’s wife, or referring to not having his brother executed Domitian’s character and his reign 81 - 96 CE: - Said that Titus forged Vespian’s will and this is backed by a writing by Suetonius saying that Titus would compete in shorthand writings with his secretaries; - Titus could have been the best in the world at forging writings “He gave scarcely any grounds for being suspected of greed or avarice either before he became emperor or for some time during his reign. On the contrary, he often gave firm evidence not merely on integrity but even of liberality.” (Suet. Dom. 9) - Lucius Antonius Saturninus was the governer of Germany and was the focal point of a plot to replace Domitian (89 CE) - Plot was uncovered and stopped, but one of the generals who put down the plot uncovered all of Saturninus papers and burnt them - Domitian could never punish all the people who he believed betrayed him - At this time he ran out of money and imposed a tax called the jewish tax, taxing jewish people from the money they'd send to their temple - Then ALSO increased the armies’ wages but realised he did not have the funds to keep that up so he ended up decreasing the size of the army - Army did not like this - Insisted people called him Dominus et Deus; Master and God - Very unbecoming of his bloodline and more so like Nero - Super paranoid and believed everyone was out to get him; would pretend to be very caring and liking of someone before killing them; he was a plotting and treacherous and crafty - Was killed by the guards, advisor, and freedsman with the knowledge of the praetorian prefect and his own wife Domnitia - Came across a list of the people Domnitian intended to execute, but they waited until they found a successor “His assassination was a matter of indifference to the common people but a source of gravest dismay to the soldiers who immediately called out for him to be deified and would have attempted to avenge him, if they had had leaders… The senators, by contrast, were so delighted that they eagerly filled the senate house and did not refrain from attacking the dead man in the abusive and ferocious outbursts, giving orders that ladders should be brought and his shields and images be torn down and dashed to the ground while they looked on, and finally, they decreed that his names were to be everywhere erased and that all reminders of him were to be destroyed.” (Suet. Dom. 23) - This process is called Damnatio memoriae; erasure of memory; - Process of erasing memory of of the person, worst condemnation the senate could impose against someone - Rebuilt temple of Jupiter on Capitoline, as well as temple of Jupiter the guardian on the capitoline as well; - Build arch of Titus (probably proposed by the senate and and approved by Domnitian) - Built stadium of Domitian, Forum transitorium (between temple of peace and forum agustus) - Built temple of Flavian Line The forum Transitorium; Forum Nervae Transitorium on the right side - Domnitian trying to associate himself with his father and Augustus; trying to codify this area Flavian Palace on the Palatine: Palace of Domitian is in Orange NEW INFORMATION POST EXAM Roman Emperors: Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian Death of Domitian: - Killed by his friends and his closest freedman with assistance from his wife on Sept 18 96 CE - His death was handled very differently by different groups - Soldiers wanted him deified - Common people were indifferent - Senators and high class immediately gathered and started slandering him; - Did a damnatio memoria on him; removing all memory from him from records Nerva: 96 - 98 CE (part of the antoines sorta) - The people who betrayed Domitian replaced him with Nerva; - Received awards from Nero for suppressing the Pisonian Conspiracy - Then went on to be consul with Vespasian in 71 CE and once again with Domitian in 90 CE - Nerva’s Reign: - Declared amnesty for anyone accused of treason - Reduced taxes, raised money in auctions instead of taxing more - Consulted the senate - Refused to have gold and silver statues of himself made - Providing food for poor children - Outlawed castration and circumcision; - Refused to accept anonymous accusations of treason or judaism - Executed the informers that reported to Domitian during his rule; - Nerva ceased doing this because so many informers informed on each other - It was good that Nerva wasn’t over punishing people, but bad that he was barely punishing people - Was accused of being too lenient towards lawbreakers - Plots against Nerva: - Carpinus Cassus; tried to bribe the military to make himself emperor - Nerva gave Cassus a sword and practically told him to do it but he didnt - Caspirius Aelianus: - Wanted revenge against the people who plotted and murdered Domnitian; showed that nerva was lacking in military power Nerva’s adoption of Trajan: - Nerva adopted Trajan after his assassination attempts to have an heir in case any of the other attempts may be successful - A year after this he passed away due to natural causes - Trajan was a great choice because he was a successful in regard to military and popularity amongst the people - Nerva renamed Domitians house to the house of the people to, as good emperors usually do, “give back to the people” - Forum of Nerva, forum of transitorium, are now the same place although mostly known as the forum of Nerva (Nerva was more liked than Domnitian) - Domnitian started a war and built he forum because of that or smth but he lost, but Trajan picked it back up and won, and then built the Forum of Trajan to the left Trajan: 98 - 117 CE - Didnt immediately go to Rome and first went around Rome to win the military’s approval - Entered Rome on foot and spoke/greeted the senate as he would his equals Take this sword, in order that, if I rule well, you may use it for me, but if ill, against me.” (Cassius Dio 68.16.1) His association with the people was marked by affability and his intercourse with the senate by dignity, so that he was loved by all and dreaded by none save the enemy” (Dio 68.6) - Was well liked by the people, would often go to dinner parties without a body guard, would visit and remain connected with his sick friends, he told jokes and drank a little too much - One criticism is that he liked to company of young men but never had done any of them harm - Great achievements in managing the military as well as in his conquest for Rome Trajans Campaign: 98 - 117 CE - During Trajan’s rule is the peak of the amount of territories under the Roman empire; largest amount of geographical area - Fought Dacian wars and brough it in as a Roman province - Fought a war against the Persians in which he invaded Armenia and moved into mesopotamia, and took the Persian capital - After his wars against the Persians he was given the title Optimus Princeps - Latin for “The best leader/ruler” - Despite his great military success, by the end of his reign things had become more complicated due to the rebellions in parts of Rome. - This distracted from Trajan's campaign and in 116 he fell ill due to a stroke and other things - Spent a huge amount of his reign outside of Rome and yet was greatly liked throughout the city ; also wasnt natively Italian but instead was Spanish - Showed that you could rule well even when not in the city Trajan’s forums and markets: He also built libraries. And he set up in the Forum an enormous column, to serve at once as a monument to himself and as a memorial of his work in the Forum. For that entire section had been hilly and he had cut it down for a distance equal to the height of the column.” (Dio 68.16.3) - Refers to a complex referred to as Trajan’s forums and markets, which is the last of the great forums, - Positioning himself as one of the great emperors of rome - Was all paid for by the spoils of the Dacian war - Removed a huge hill to make way for his great gift to the Roman people - Trajan's column: - All around the column were depictions of his accomplishments in the wars; a story of the Dacian war - Shows how tall the big hill that he removed was Baths of Trajan: - Took some of the Domus Aurea and made the largest baths in Rome to give back to the people Trajan’s Harbor: - Made many improvements to the ports of Rome; - Used to be right on the water but the coastline actually moved and now it’s in the middle of land Arch of Trajan: - Marks the head of Trajan’s new road which goes all the way across Rome - Displayed how Trajan didnt just want to be known for his military achievements but also his humanitarian efforts Hadrian: - Born in 76 CE in Italica and was made fun of due to his heavy accent - Served a long military career after he permanently left Italica due to his parents death - Served administrative and other positions such as tribune, quaestor, praetor, and consul - Married Trajan's niece as well as his other positions, caused him to get his position along with Trajan’s wife taking a liking to him - Hadrian sent a letter to the senate asking Trajan to be deified; - Made the trip from the Northern frontier as the empire to Rome to show respect to the city and to see Trajan’s body “By nature he was fond of literary study in both the Greek and Latin languages, and has left behind a variety of prose writings as well as compositions in verse. For his ambition was insatiable, and hence he practiced all conceivable pursuits, even the most trivial; for example, he sculpted and painted, and declared that there was nothing pertaining to peace and war, to imperial or private life, on which he was not cognizant. All this, of course, did people no harm; but his jealousy of all who excelled in any respect was most terrible and caused the downfall of many, besides utterly destroying many.” (Dio 69.3.2-3) Hadrian’s character: - Was interested not just in Rome but in the whole empire; - One of his great criticisms was that he spent so much time outside of Rome observing criticisms around the Roman kingdom Hadrians Campaign: - When hadrian was elevated to the level of emperor, Rome was as large as it would ever be; - Empire wasn’t completely stable when Hadrian came into power with a lot of rebellions such as jewish rebellions and a lot of the further territories of Rome - North Africa, Dacia, Germanica, Britain - First thing Hadrian had to do is deals with this military situation - Did this by giving up lots of land past smth river - Also dealt with the jewish rebellion; - Although some of Hadrian's actions were disliked he was someone who had brought peace to the empire. - Also embraced the type of policies that empires usually do early in their reign; - Refused the praise for his work in the East as did augustus - He denied the title of father of the fatherland as did augustus - He doubled donations to the military - He gave debt relief to those who needed it - And got rid of the crown tax; tax of cities giving gifts to the emperor to welcome him into empirical power - Also said all the right things: - Frequently said that he would administer the republic to the people so that the state would know it belonged to the people and was not his property - Hes a nice emperor just remember that dumbass shit - Removed lechery from the military camps; streamlined military life - Paid close attention to the military, and he was greatly loved due to this - Increased discipline from which they were lead but also rewarded them for this increase Hadrians wall: - 80 mile wall in britain to secure the frontlines of the empire and make it easier to defend - Contrasting to Trajan wanting to constantly expand - He built something in almost every city; you can see memorials from his journey erect throughout Europe to Asia Hadrianic Athens: - Visited Athens multiple times, - He participated in the dyonisiac festival in the city wearing a greek dress - Got inducted into the Eulesian cult that no one really knew about - A new tribe of citizens was created around the temple of Zeus and the city recognized it as a new city called Hadrianopolous Arch of Hadrian: - In Athens that divided the new Hadrianic part of the city vs the Greek part Temple of Olympian Zeus: - Started all the way in 500 BCE Pantheon of Hadrian: - Pantheon in Athens dedicated to Hadrian - Actual location and building havent been found but they think its in the market Library of Hadrian: - Library built in Athens that was a sign of respect towards Greek culture and learning Hadrian in Italica: - Although Hadrian had never revisited Italica after he left and became emperor, he still made many developments to the city - During his reign he added a new walled part of the city and within it he built temples, baths, and other buildings which showed its importance - Also rebuilt the Pantheon in Rome; did not neglect the capital The Pantheon: - Rebuilt in the city of Rome - He didn’t mark his name on it due to only rebuilding it, which he did frequently Hadrian’s Mausoleum: - Built after Hadrian’s death or built upon to store his remains; - Was built upon because Augustus’ mausoleum was full and had to be expanded upon; multiple reasons Hadrian’s Villa: - Suburban Residence in Tivoli Northeast from Rome - Largest known Roman villa; known of over 900 rooms and seemed to serve as Hadrian’s centre of operations Problems of Assessment: - Shows that Hadrian may not be as well natured as he was displaying himself as or recorded as “Marius Maximus says that he was cruel by nature, and that the reason why he performed many acts of kindness was that he feared that the same thing might befall him as happened to Domitian.” (SHA Hadr. 20) “In fact he restrained all the force of his innate cruelty up to the time when he almost met his end at his Tiburtine villa, through a hemorrhage. Then, casting aside restraint, he compelled Servianus to die… Many others were put to death, either openly of by craft. At this time, indeed, Sabina his wife died, not without a rumor that poison had been given her by Hadrian.” (SHA Hadr. 23.1) “Other traits for which people found fault with him were his great strictness, his curiosity and his meddlesomeness. Yet he balanced and atoned for these defects by his careful oversight, his prudence, his munificence and his skill; furthermore, he did not stir up any war, and he terminated those already in progress; and he deprived no one of money unjustly, while upon many—communities and private citizens, senators and knights—he bestowed large sums. Indeed, he did not even wait to be asked, but acted in absolutely every case according to the individual needs. He subjected the legions to the strictest discipline, so that, though strong, they were neither insubordinate nor insolent; and he aided the allied and subject cities most munificently. He had seen many of them,—more, in fact, than any other emperor,—and he assisted practically all of them, giving to some a water supply, to others harbours, food, public works, money and various honours, differing with the different cities…He led the Roman people rather by dignity than by flattery.” (Dio 69.5) - This passage shows that whatever Hadrian’s personal faults were he made up with through his care and respect for the empire and its people - Pantheon in Rome The Antonines: - Influential and a high period of time for the Roman empire, with respectable emperors who treated the army and the people mostly well NEXT WEEK: Antoninus Pious: (138-161): - No very good sources on this time period so studying him is difficult - Peaceful period of time: “Happy is the age that has no history.” - 52 years old on becoming emperor - Family was from Gaul, but he was born in Italica - Was the brother in law of Marcus Aurelious’ father “He was a man of striking appearance, his natural capacities were brilliant and his character kindly. His countenance was noble, his innate qualities were outstanding – he was a polished speaker and exceptionally learned. A man of moderation, and a thrifty landowner, of mild disposition, with his own he was generous and he kept away from what belonged to others. All these qualities were in balance and without ostentation: in short he was praiseworthy in every respect and, in the opinion of right-thinking men, was deservedly compared to Numa Pompilius.” (SHA 2) - Served all the usual positions for those becoming emperor, - Was adopted 5 months before Hadrian's death, and one of the stories for why Hadrian chose him was because once he saw him helping his elderly father get up and help him into the senate; - Soon after Hadrian died, Antoninus Pious had Hadrian deified, opposed to what the senate wanted - Also expanded into Britain and pushed passed Hadrian’s wall - During his rule he gave a lot of rule to the senate and deferred to them for lots of the administration of the empire - Also used no freeman throughout his rule and gave back to the cities “He sold the superfluous imperial goods and lands and lived on his own private estates, varying his stay according to the season. Nor did he engage on (sic) any expeditions—except that he set out to his own landed properties and to Campania—saying that the retinue of a princeps, even a very economical one, was burdensome to the provincials.” (SHA 7) - Constant concern for the public treasury; would try to do as little as possible to spend for his personal expenses - Said to not to have changed his life at all after he became emperor; still lived the same lifestyle as his pre-emperor life - Saved up 675 million sectares during his rule - Lots of military issues during his rule with rebellions all around Temple of Antoninus Pious and Faustina: - One of the only buildings he built, and was made to honour his wife when she died; rededicated after Pious’ death to him and his wife - Indicative that Antoninus Pious was deified Death: - Antoninus died at Lorium of 161; - Final word was a password which meant keep things steady; - Equadiminium (?) “Alone among almost all principes he lived entirely free from the blood of either citizen or foe, so far as lay within his power, and he was a man who was justly compared with Numa, whose good fortune, dutifulness, tranquility and religious rites he always maintained.” (SHA 13) - Among his final acts upon his death he commended the empire to Marcus Aurelius, his adopted son, and his wife (Antoninus daughter); Column of Antoninus Pious: - Was erected by Marcus Aurelius to recognize Antoninus being deified; Marcus Aurelius (161 - 180): - Born on the Caeliane hill in Rome; a good Roman - Father died while young but was adopted by his grandfather, a close associate of the emperor Hadrian - Put a lot of effort in his studies to the point where “the one fault you could find with him was he would put so much effort into his studies that it would compromise his own health” - When he was adopted by” Hadrian” he was more terrified than happy, having to leave his family; - He was perfectly happy studying and did not want to necessarily become emperor - He was adopted by Antoninus Pious its a bit confusing but it isnt important - While living with Antoninus Pious he served lots of the offices and even at some point shared empirical authority with Antoninus Pious \ - Continued to study under well known tutors even during this time period “To sum up, during the twenty-three years that he spent in his father’s house, he conducted himself so well that Pius’ love for him increased every day, and Marcus was never apart from Pius during all those years except on two nights, on separate occasions.” (SHA 7) - No record of friction at all and they fw each other heavvvyyy yuhhh 💯; even shared tribune power - Sadly pious died from eating too much cheese or sum - Marcus was supposed to be the only emperor after this - Marcus decided that instead of taking power himself he would share his power with Lucius Verus or smth; Antoninus Pious other adopted son - First time there were two emperors - His decision was immediate and unprecedented - Tried to divide power by having one person stay in Rome and another out dealing with the outside of Rome Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius: - “Having acquired the imperial power, both conducted themselves so much like ordinary citizens that no one missed the leniency of Pius.” (SHA 8) - Lucius would live lavishly in the East while fighting the war, it seems he wasnt necessarily leading the war; - He was leaving it to someone else or to Marcus Aurelius the whole time - After Lucius’ death, Marcus Aurelius let the people know that he was doing all the work the whole time; - May not be true and instead was trying to show the people that everything was under control - Lucius died along the way going to fight a war with the Germans; - MARCOMANIC WAR 166-180 CE: - Marcus spent most of his time on the frontier during this time period fighting against multiple opponents; - Respected while fighting these wars, and could rule well although he was on campaign “For it is on behalf of the State that I continue to toil and to undergo dangers and that I have spent so much time here outside of Italy, though already an old man and weak, unable to take either food without pain or sleep without anxiety.” (Dio 72.24.4) The emperor, as often as he had leisure from war, would hold court; he used to allow abundant time to the speakers,1 and entered into the preliminary inquiries and examinations at great length, so as to ensure strict justice by every possible means. In consequence, he would often be trying the same case for as much as eleven or twelve days, even though he sometimes held court at night. For he was industrious and applied himself diligently to all the duties of his office.” (Dio 71.6.1-2) Marcus Aurelius ⇒ Administration: “For, although in general he was most economical in very truth, yet he never avoided a single necessary expenditure, even though, as I have stated, he burdened no one by levies of money and though he found himself forced to lay out very large sums beyond the ordinary requirements.” (Dio 72.32.2) “Moreover, when he had drained his entire treasury for this war, and would not contemplate imposing any extraordinary tax on the provincials, he held an auction, in Forum of the Deified Trajan, of the imperial furnishings, and sold goblets of gold and crystal, and fluorspar, and even royal vases, and his wife’s silk and gold-embroidered clothing, in fact even jewels which he had discovered in large numbers in an inner sactum of Hadrian’s.” (SHA 17) - Would not force taxations on the people but instead would find alternate ways to make money in order to fund his campaigns and other things - Would sacrifice his Roman Empirical Property for the people Column of Marcus Aurelius: - Very similar to the column of Trajan; commemorates his great victories in his campaign Civil Unrest: - Evidius Cassius put down an unrest in Egypt; then tried to usurp the throne from Marcus - Marcus’ wife said practically she doesnt want her son on the throne, and Marcus is sick, and wanted Cassius on the throne so she remained Empress - Cassius got false news that Marcus had died and said he was to claim the throne - Once he found out he was still alive he still went on to try to usurp the throne “For [were Avidius Cassius to be killed] I should be deprived of a great prize both of war and of victory, a prize such as no human being has ever yet obtained. And what is this prize? To forgive a man who has wronged one, to remain a friend to one who has transgressed friendship, to continue faithful to one who has broken faith.” (Dio 72.26.2) “This is what Marcus both said to the soldiers and wrote to the senate, never abusing Cassius in any way save that he constantly termed him ungrateful. Nor, indeed, did Cassius ever utter or write anything insulting to Marcus.” (Dio 72.27.1) - Both very nice people who were put in bad positions; - Eventually Cassius died and Marcus forgived him and mourned his death Marcus assessment : - “Marcus Antoninus was a man who devoted himself to philosophy throughout his life and he excels all the principes in purity of character.” (SHA 1) - Overall just a good dude - “In addition to possessing all the other virtues, he ruled better than any others who had ever been in any position of power. To be sure, he could not display many feats of physical prowess; yet he had developed his body from a very weak one to one capable of the greatest endurance. Most of his life he devoted to beneficence, and that was the reason, perhaps, for his erecting a temple to Beneficence on the Capitol, though he called her by a most peculiar name, that had never been heard before.” (Dio 72.34.2-3) - Devoted his life to good deeds (Beneficence) and built his body from a weaker level to one very strong - And that his whole conduct was due to no pretense but to real excellence is clear; for although he lived fifty-eight years, ten months, and twenty-two days, of which time he had spent a considerable part as assistant to the first Antoninus, and had been emperor himself nineteen years and eleven days, yet from first to last he remained the same and did not change in the least. So truly was he a good man and devoid of all pretence.” (Dio 72.34.5) - He did not change through the throne at all; he was literally just the best - Was accused that maybe he wasn’t as sincere as he tried to appear as, but definitely wasn’t evil or any negative thing of the sort - “[Marcus Aurelius] completed his rule, beloved by all, and was both named and loved by some as a brother, by others as a father, by others as a son, according to his own age.” (SHA 18) https://uwo.voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/28532089/161718839/1 44001832/ Marcus Aurelius Death: - Died in modern day Vienna - Was killed by a doctor for Commodus (theoretically) - Was laid to rest in Hadrian’s mausoleum Commodus (180 - 192): - TERRIBLE EMPEROR - Marcus Aurelius son; Faustina dreamed she was carrying snakes when she was pregnant with Commodus and his twin - Marcus had heard the accusations that she was sleeping around but said that if he divorced her he would have to give the empire back - “If we return our wives we must return the dowry” - Born knowing he would become emperor so he demonstrated great amounts of entitlement; was given the title of Caeser when he was five and tribunation power when he was 15; - Was given the title of Augustus at 17, reigning together with his father until his death “Two days before [Marcus Aurelius] expired his friends were admitted to his presence, and he is said to have expressed to them the same opinion about his son as Philip did about Alexander, when he thought ill of him, adding that de did not take it amiss that he was dying, only that he was dying leaving such a son to survive him; for Commodus was already showing himself to be base and cruel.” (SHA, Marcus Aurelius, 27) - When Marcus was dying he condemned his son with harsh words and critiques to his friends; [Marcus Aurelius] is reported to have wanted his son to die when he saw that he would be what he became after his own death, so that – as he himself said – he might not be like Nero, Caligula and Domitian.” (SHA, Marcus Aurelius 28) - Marcus recognized the tyrannical habits demonstrated by previous terrible emperors and wished he never left a son This man [Commodus] was not naturally wicked, but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature. And this, I think, Marcus clearly perceived beforehand. Commodus was nineteen years old when his father died, leaving him many guardians, among whom were numbered the best men of the senate. But their suggestions and counsels Commodus rejected, and after making a truce with the barbarians he hastened to Rome; for he hated all exertion and craved the comfortable life of the city. (Dio 73.1) - Showed that Commodus was never qualified to become the emperor, especially as he took up the position - Commodus might not be innately evil but instead was in a bad position lead by bad people; born in the purple leading to corruption Terrible things Commodus has done!: - Kept a stable of woman - Acted as a pimp - Visited taverns and brothels - Had sex with his sisters, young boys, and men - Named one of his concubines after his mother - Killed his sister, mother, and lots of senators - Walked around dressed as a priest of Isis and smacked his worshipers over their head with a statue of Anubis - Mixed feces with food and displayed hunchbacks covered in mustard at dinner parties - Fought as a gladiator 700 times - Sold offices, punishments, and positions - Killed people cheering for him in the colosseum because he thought they didnt mean it - Often cross dressed - So much more - Killed all eminence in his and his fathers rule apart from like 5 people - “This dagger the senate sends” so cold - Called himself Hercules Romanus ⇒ Roman Hercules - Tried to burn down the city of Rome - Generally a peaceful rule apart from this! - Was strangled in the bath in 192 CE by his praetorian guard; - Damnatio Memoriae was enforced on him, but then was restored over sum dumb shit NEXT WEEK: Pertinanx: Jan - Mar 193 CE - Senate elected to be the new emperor - Son of a freedman; son of a former slave - Pushed who could really be emperor - Refused all the great titles offered to his family to recognize his humble beginnings - Set himself up as freeing the people from tyranny - Wanted to redistribute the unused land in Rome; land that was just owned by the aristocracy but not used - Urban people could use this land for agricultural purposes - Was killed by his bodyguards three months after he came into power - The treasury was drained and he couldn’t pay a donative to the praetorian guards The Empire at Auction: - The praetorian guard gathered bidders on the steps of the main square of Rome and auctioned it off to the highest bidder “When the fate of Pertinax was noised about, some ran to their homes and others to those of the soldiers, all taking thought for their own safety. But Sulpicianus, who had been sent by Pertinax to the camp to set matters in order there, remained on the spot, and intrigued to get himself appointed emperor. Meanwhile Didius Julianus, at once an insatiate money-getter and a wanton spendthrift, who was always eager for revolution and hence had been exiled by Commodus to his native city of Mediolanum, now, when he heard of the death of Pertinax, hastily made his way to the camp, and, standing at the gates of the enclosure, made bids to the soldiers for the rule over the Romans. Then ensued a most disgraceful business and one unworthy of Rome. For, just as if it had been in some market or auction-room, both the City and its entire empire were auctioned off. The sellers were the ones who had slain their emperor, and the would-be buyers were Sulpicianus and Julianus, who vied to outbid each other, one from the inside, the other from the outside. They gradually raised their bids up to twenty thousand sesterces per soldier. Some of the soldiers would carry word to Julianus, “Sulpicianus offers so much; how much more do you make it?” And to Sulpicianus in turn, “Julianus promises so much; how much do you raise him?” Sulpicianus would have won the day, being inside and being prefect of the city and also the first to name the figure twenty thousand, had not Julianus raised his bid no longer by a small amount but by five thousand at one time, both shouting it in a loud voice and also indicating the amount with his fingers. So the soldiers, captivated by this excessive bid and at the same time fearing that Sulpicianus might avenge Pertinax (an idea that Julianus put into their heads), received Julianus inside and declared him emperor.” (Dio 74.11) Didus Julianus: March - June 193 CE - Was a successful politician and served as a replacement consul and consul of Africa - He owed too much to too many people; money to the soldiers, respect to the Senate; - People protested and asked Pescennius Niger to aid them in their struggle against Didus Julianus - Last words: 🙁 “But what evil have I done, who have I killed?” Pescennius Niger: 193 - 194 CE - The governor of Syria; after the outrage that was the auction of Rome, Niger was declared the emperor of Syria Septimius Severus: 193 - 211 CE - From North Africa and of African descent - At the time of the auction he was fighting North with a large military source; - Had the support of all the legions on the Northern frontier - Pushed who could become emperor - Had two uncles who had been consul - He himself had been consul and was a successful politician - Named Claudius Albinus to be Caesar, his second in command - Albinus was the governor of Britain and also had a lot of military power - Albinus was also declared emperor by the people of Britain but Severus calmed him down by giving him the title and authority - After naming Albinus Caeser he marched on Rome and upon his arrival asked the praetorian guards for their help - Didus Julianus was then kill by his praetorian guards - Made many huge promises to the public upon arriving; said that he would not murder any of the senate and if he did he would be public enemy #1 - Immediately after he put many senators to death, including the person who put his promises into a written decree - Disbanded the praetorian guard and replaced it with his own soldier; - Killed all the praetorian guards who betrayed Pertinax - Attempted to say that he was Marcus Aurelius adopted son ; no one believed him - Made his son Caesar which made Claudius Albinus realize his time had come to an end; - Albinus declared himself Augustus then to challenge Septimus’ rule; proceeded to march on Rome - They fought at Leppedus or smth? - Septimius Severus beat Claudius’ forces and then allowed his soldiers to pillage the city, which was one of Rome’s capitals but was treated as enemy land - Claudius’ head was sent to Rome to be displayed on a pole - This showed that he did not possess the qualities to be an emperor; - Showed his true qualities to the people, senate, and his close advisors - Then executed 25 of Claudius’ senators and punished his generals - https://uwo.voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/28532082/161718579/14400148 0/ - HIS CAMPAIGN LISTEN - Died on campaign and left his kids with final words: “Rule together, honor the military, despise the rest” or sum shit - Karachala killed his brother Gale in his mothers arms quickly upon returning to Rome and took control of the empire The army under Septimimus Severus: - Dependant on the army throughout his reign and recognized its importance Caracalla and Geta: - Caracalla plotted against Septiminus Severus several times, even to kill him with his own sword when they were going to parlay with enemies - After Septimius gave him a sword and said if he's going to kill him to do it, but he didn’t - After a year they had gained shared power, Caracalla killed Geta in their mothers’ arms - Then Caracalla imposed damnatio memorie on Geta although he posed no threat on Caracalla’s position Example of Damnatio Memorie from Geta’s Damnatio Memorie Caracalla: 211-217 CE - Had a half decent political history before he became emperor - Continued Severus’ policy of keeping the army happy by increasing their pay - Published a law called Constituio

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