Ancient Rome PDF

ANCIENT ROME ROME UNDER THE MONARCHY - ROMAN KINGDOM (753-510 B.C.)  building/establishing Rome, 753 B.C. o according to a legend, Rome was built by Romulus (one of twin brothers), who killed Remus o the brothers were descendants of Trojan hero...

ANCIENT ROME ROME UNDER THE MONARCHY - ROMAN KINGDOM (753-510 B.C.)  building/establishing Rome, 753 B.C. o according to a legend, Rome was built by Romulus (one of twin brothers), who killed Remus o the brothers were descendants of Trojan hero Aeneas & were raised by a she-wolf o after killing Remus and building Rome, Romulus was a king of Rome for 40 years  geography of Italy o Rome – the city of seven hills o a peninsula bounded from both east & west by the Mediterranean Sea  sea means protection, transport, and good conditions for trade o northern part - bounded by the Alps (mountain range) o 2 important rivers: Po & Tiber (both navigable, fertile soil around) o defence = Limes Romanus - Germanic border defence making the borders of the Roman Empire (valleys of the Rhine & Danube, UK - Hadrian´s Wall)  some famous expressions about Rome o “All roads lead to Rome” o “Rome was not built in one day” o “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”  the Etruscans o inhabitants of ancient Etruria originated in the Northern Italy o great metalworkers and jewellers whose culture was influenced by Greek culture o Etruscan influences:  1st city walls and sewer  building techniques such as arch, styles of sculptures & paintings  introduced alphabet and numeric system  helped shape the system of government  introduced gladiator games & chariot races o the 3 Etruscan kings  Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder)  constructed Circus Maximus (a chariot racing stadium)  Servius Tullius  developed the 1st census of Rome, a count of citizens  connected to a story of having 2 daughters, from whose one killed him so her husband could gain the throne - Superbus  Lucius Tarquinius Superbus  the last king of Rome, driven away from Rome (because of being wicked)  government o the head was a king (Rex) - 7 kings in the history of the Roman Kingdom o there was Senate – consisted of 300 men selected from patricians; it possessed very little power and authority, it served as the kings legislative coordinator o people were divided into 2 social groups: patricians and plebeians (no political rights) ROMAN REPUBLIC (510- 27 B.C.) – RES PUBLICA = a public affair (matter) - when the last Etruscan king was overthrown in 510/509 BC Roman Republic began to form - the Roman society was divided into two social groups: a.) Patricians (aristocrats), b.) Plebeians (common people) - the Patricians began to elect officials from among themselves which made Plebeians to challenge their power - the Plebeians, by refusal to fight against the invaders that were threating Rome, pushed the Patricians to extend their rights - Plebeians formed their own assembly, the Plebeian Council (responsible for protecting plebeian affairs) - gained the right to elect officials known as tribunes, as well (right of veto) - in 450 BC the Law of the Twelve Tables was displayed in Forum Romanum, then they could marry each other and the plebeians could become the priests as well. Republican Government 1.) Senate (300 men) - SPQR - Advised Magistrates - Controlled finances and foreign affairs - Viewed proposed laws 2.) Magistrates - Put laws into practise a.) 2 Consuls (1year term) – chief executives, commanders of army b.) Censors - appointing new Senators, kept records of properties c.) Praetors - judges 3.) Assemblies/Tribunes - Elected Magistrates - Voted on laws All three parts of the Government were balanced and controlled each other.  Crisis of the Roman Republic A revolution began in Roman political and social institutions. The primary cause of this revolution was growing tension between the various classes of Roman society. It was after the Punic Wars. Gracchi brothers – the first officials who noticed the growing tension in Rome. Tiberius and Gaius tried to help Roman farmers by redistributing public land. Unfortunately, the Senate ordered the death of both brothers and their supporters. Gaius Marius - new consul, he eliminated the property restrictions and began to accept anyone into the army who wanted to join. The social war - socius = Latin word for ally, Lucius Cornelius Sulla (optimate fraction) vs Gaius Marius (popular fraction). Sulla won and became dictator. He carried out a program of reforms aimed at protecting the power of the Senate. The first Triumvirate - Triumvirate - rule of three men - members: Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey, Licinius Crassus - Crassus died, Civil war between Caesar and Pompey - Caesar won and took control of the Republic - he was declared as a dictator for life in 44 BC by the Senate - Caesar gave citizenship to people in the provinces and gave public lands to veterans - Senate thought that Caesar wanted to destroy the Republic so they murdered him The second Triumvirate - members: Octavian - Caesar's adopted son, Marc Antony, Lepidus - Later, Lepidus was pushed away and other two men divided the empire into two halves Western - Octavian and Eastern - Antony - Another civil war - Octavian defeated Antony and his ally, Queen Cleopatra - Octavian alone controlled Rome, the Republic was dead, new era started in Roman history Spartacus - He was sold as a gladiator to be trained at the school in Capua - he escaped from this school with his supporters - He organised slave uprising, that was supressed and the people who joined Spartacus were crucified. ROMAN EMPIRE (27 B.C.-476 A.D.) PRINCIPATE - from 27 BC until 284 AD - established by Octavian Augustus - it is the division of power between the emperor and the Senate - the emperor called himself „princeps“, which means „first citizen“ - he insisted that he worked for the good of people and that his powers were not greater than those of other magistrates - in foreign affairs Augustus started a vast program to bring peace to the west, Gaul and Spain - he began series of conquests that pushed the border of the empire eastward to the Danube River - he restored temples and built new ones - the Augustan Age was a great period of creativity in Latin literature (Horace, Ovid, Virgil) EMPERORS:  Julio-Claudians = Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero  Flavians = Vespasian, his sons Titus and Dominitian  The Good Emperors = Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian (Hadrian Wall), Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius (stayed near Trenčín with his soldiers for a while) - the period from the beginning of Agustus´s reign until the death of the last of the Good Emperors is often called Pax Romana - the Roman Peace - characterized by stable government, strong legal system, widespread trade and peace DOMINATE  After the death of the Good Emperors - Rome enters an era of instability and numerous problems (e.g. inflation due to high taxes, invasions of tribes), due to the lack of a strong leader  Eventually, dominate is established o New form of imperial government characterized by the rule of the Tetrarchy  Diocletian: the first ruler of Dominate (Dominus et Deus – supreme power of an emperor) (284 - 305 AD) o Resolved the economic depression, restored political stability (tax reforms) and overall ended a time of crisis o Divided the Empire among four emperors (tetrarchs) - two in the West (Diocletian, Galerius) and two in the East (Flavius, Constantinus)  Reason: to effectively rule over the far-reaching empire o Roman Empire became a republic once again and democracy was thriving, capital changed from Rome to Mediolanum (today’s Milan) o Persecution of Christians: 303 AD - order that all Christian churches and scripts should be destroyed  Christianity was punishable by death o Abdicated in 305 AD, as the first Roman emperor to do so  Constantine: reign -> 306 - 337 AD o One of the Tetrarchs during Diocletian’s resignation; defeated the other tetrarchs and gained supreme power over the Empire o also defeated the Franks and Alamanni in 306-308 o 313: issued the Edict of Milan -> allowed Christianity in the Empire  Constantine converted to Christianity and enforced the religion throughout the Empire o Changed the capital to Byzantium (called it “Nova Roma”), soon became known as Constantinople o Tax reforms, stable currency  fall of the Western Roman Empire: 476 AD  Justinian I: the last Emperor of Dominate (527-565 AD) o Justinian’s Code -> collection of laws  brought order back to the Byzantine region  Influenced many European systems of law for years to come  Many of the laws aimed to protect Christians o Ordered the construction of Hagia Sophia, one of the biggest Christian cathedrals (it has since been converted into a mosque) o Attempts to recover Roman lands that were taken over by Germanic tribes (many battles with Ostrogoths and Vandals + the threat of a Persian invasion -> Byzantine Empire is drained by the battles, which marks the end of Ancient Rome as one of the great metropolises of its time)