Roman History: From Republic to Empire PDF

# Dalla Repubblica all'Impero ## La crisi della Repubblica - The crisis is both social and political. - Republican institutions are unable to govern what is no longer a city-state, but a great international power. - There is a growing clash between the *optimates* and the *populares*. - Military c...

# Dalla Repubblica all'Impero ## La crisi della Repubblica - The crisis is both social and political. - Republican institutions are unable to govern what is no longer a city-state, but a great international power. - There is a growing clash between the *optimates* and the *populares*. - Military commanders and armies have more and more power, especially after the military reforms of Marius in 107 BC that made the army professional. - This is when Pompey appears. - Pompey had demonstrated great loyalty to the Senate by fighting in Etruria and Spain, and putting down Spartacus's rebellion. ## L'ascesa di Pompeo - Pompey and Crassus become influential enough to be appointed consuls, despite not meeting the age requirements and not having completed the *cursus honorum*. - This marks a real political shift. - At the same time, Pompey continues to win important victories. - He is given unlimited proconsular powers, and defeats pirates in the Mediterranean and King Mithridates VI of Pontus. ## Il potere di Pompeo - Pompey increases his personal power by creating new provinces like Syria and organizing a network of client kingdoms ruled by kings loyal to him. - This changes the balance of power in the Republic for two reasons: - the powers granted to him violate the principles of collegiality and balance between the magistracies; - this is the first time a Roman general has created provinces and alliances without the approval of the Senate. ## La congiura di Catilina - A grave event shakes Rome, demonstrating how degraded politics have become: the Catiline conspiracy. - Catiline, who had fought for Sulla, ran for consul twice but was defeated despite spending a lot of money to win support. - Believing he had to seize power by force, he plotted a conspiracy, which was discovered by Cicero, who denounced him to the Senate in 62 BC. - The conspiracy leaders were executed, and Catiline was defeated and killed at Pistoi. ## Giulio Cesare - A descendant of one of the most important Roman families, the *gens Iulia*, Gaius Julius Caesar was a young and ambitious politician. - He was related to Marius and married Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, an important politician, which meant he belonged to the *populares*. - With the support of Crassus, he held the offices of aedile (65 BC), Pontifex Maximus (63 BC), and praetor (62 BC). - But this was just the beginning. ## Il ritorno di Pompeo - In 62 BC, Pompey returned to Italy from the East. - The Senate feared that, due to his military success, he would attack Roman institutions. - This did not happen and he disbanded his legions after landing in Brundisium. - But he asked the Senate to formally approve his actions in the East and grant land to his veterans, a customary practice. - The Senate refused his requests, however, to reaffirm its own power. ## Il primo triumvirato (60 BC) - A secret agreement between three men gave them control over the state: - Pompey and Crassus, with their military and economic power, would support Caesar's candidacy for the consulship in 59 BC. - Caesar, in exchange, would give land to Pompey's veterans and reduce the tax collection fee for Crassus's tax farmers in Asia. - Caesar himself received the proconsulship of Cisalpine Gaul and Narbonensis, as well as Illyria. ## La campagna di Gallia - In 58 BC, having obtained the proconsulship, Caesar plans to conquer *Gallia Comata*, which lay further north. - While the Senate does not support him, he justifies his campaigns as interventions to help the Gauls who are allies of Rome, and he conquers and defeats the Germanic tribes. ## Il nuovo accordo - While Caesar is away Clodius, one of his allies, fuels tensions between the *populares* (like Caesar) and the *optimates* (like Pompey). - He accuses Pompey of illegal action in relation to the execution of Catiline's followers and stirs up the crowds, using armed gangs to attack his opponents. - Caesar and Pompey, the two main players in the triumvirate, meet in Lucca, Italy, to agree on a new deal: - Caesar retains the proconsulship in Gaul for five more years. - Pompey goes to Spain. - Crassus goes to Syria. ## La morte di Crasso - In 55 BC, Crassus launches a campaign against the Parthians in the East. - The results are disastrous. - In 53 BC, the Romans are defeated at Carrhae, and they are forced to surrender their standards to the enemy, which deeply humiliated Rome. - Crassus himself is killed in battle. ## Anarchia a Roma - With Caesar in Gaul and Crassus dead at Carrhae, the triumvirate is over and anarchy reigns in Rome. - The city is a battleground for violent gangs loyal to Caesar and Pompey. - Clodius is killed in one of these clashes, and the Senate building is burned down. - These events force the Senate to take a radical step: they make Pompey sole consul without a colleague. - They hope this will: - restore stability to Rome; - limit Caesar's power. ## Il ritorno di Cesare - In the beginning of 49 BC, the Senate declares Caesar a public enemy. - Caesar responds by returning to Rome, crossing the Rubicon River with his army. - This marks the beginning of the civil war. - He first goes to Spain, defeats the legions loyal to Pompey, and then pursues him to Thessaly, defeating him at Pharsalus in 48 BC. - Pompey is killed by Ptolemy XIII. ## Cesare inarrestabile - After Pompey's death, Caesar: - puts his sister Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt, honoring his defeated opponent. - crushes the rebellion of Pharnaces in Asia Minor in 47 BC. - returns to Rome in 45 BC and enacts a policy of clemency and reconciliation to win over his former enemies and consolidate his power. - He is careful to not create new magistracies and instead uses existing ones. - He is appointed dictator for life and also becomes Pontifex Maximus. ## Le idi di marzo - Caesar, considered sacred and inviolable, launches a vigorous program of reforms to expand the ruling class, reduce social conflicts, improve government, and strengthen Roman rule. - Despite his efforts and his policy of leniency, he fails to win over the ruling class. - On March 15, 44 BC, the Ides of March according to the Roman calendar, he is assassinated in a conspiracy. - Ironically, this hastens the decline of the republic. ## Dopo Cesare - After Caesar's death, to prevent further bloodshed, a compromise is reached between the assassins and Mark Antony, Caesar's loyal supporter and lieutenant in Gaul. - The Senate decides to: - allow the assassins to keep their offices and not punish them. - maintain the laws passed by Caesar. - hold a state funeral for him. - When Caesar's will was read, the Senate was surprised. - Caesar had not made Antony his political and military heir, instead preferring his nephew Gaius Octavian. - He also left 300 sesterces to every Roman citizen. ## Ottaviano - After Caesar's will was made public, Octavian promptly returned to Rome. - He declares himself Caesar’s sole heir in defiance of Mark Antony. - He wins over the soldiers and the Senate by offering them financial rewards, and uses their support the defeat Antony in the Battle of Modena. ## "La guerra di Modena" - Mark Antony, who had served as Caesar's lieutenant in Gaul, claims the governorship of Cisalpine Gaul, which had been given to Decimus Junius Brutus. - Antony lays siege to Brutus in the city of Modena and the Senate declares him a public enemy. - Octavian, at the behest of the Senate, defeats Antony in 43 BC and forces him to seek refuge with another Caesarian, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, in Narbonensis. ## Il secondo triumvirato (43 BC) - After a series of complicated political events, alliances, and threats, Octavian and Antony, despite being rivals, decide to join forces in a partnership. - They do this partly to prevent a power grab by the assassins of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, who are raising an army in the East. - In 43 BC, the two men, along with Lepidus, form a new triumvirate in Bologna, with a deal ratified by a public law. - Some historians consider this the end of the Republic. ## Un bagno di sangue - The political situation in Rome becomes one of unrelenting violence. - The triumvirate unleashes a wave of repression against the assassins of Caesar as well as any other potential opponents. - They issue proscription lists that officially authorize the killing of large numbers of individuals. - At Philippi in Thrace in 42 BC, Antony and Octavian defeat Cassius and Brutus along with many aristocrats who fled Rome after Caesar's assassination. ## L'ennesima guerra civile - Despite being allies, the rivalry between Octavian and Antony persists. - Antony, who believes the victory at Philippi was largely his own, enjoys considerable prestige and support in the East. - Octavian, back in Rome, is faced with the difficult task of redistributing land to veterans, which leads to a revolt by landowners, which is suppressed when Octavian defeats them at Perugia between 40 and 41 BC. - Finally, the two men meet in Brundisium in 40 BC and decide to divide the Roman world: - Antony receives the eastern provinces. - Octavian receives the western provinces. - Lepidus receives Africa. ## Lo scontro tra oriente e occidente - This is a conflict between two worlds and two distinct conceptions of power, fought mainly on a propaganda level rather than a military one. ## Propaganda politica - Antony, who governs territories in accordance with dynastic practices more suited to the East, is criticized in Rome for his failure to defeat the Parthians in Armenia and for his relationship with Cleopatra. - Octavian uses this to his advantage and carries out a clever campaign of political propaganda. - He frames his struggle against Antony as a defense of Roman and Italian traditions, a preservation of those traditions from corruption, tyranny, and Eastern practices. - He presents himself as the guarantor of Rome's security and its place at the top. ## La battaglia di Azio - This was the final clash between the two men, and it took place in 31 BC off the coast of the Epirus region on the western side of the Ionian Sea. - Antony and Cleopatra were defeated and fled to Alexandria, where they were pursued by Octavian's legions and took their own lives. - Egypt becomes a Roman province, and Octavian, the sole victor, becomes the absolute ruler of Rome. - The Roman Republic is no more.