La República Romana PDF

# La República Romana ## The Foundation of the Roman Republic - In 509 B.C., the Romans revolted and expelled the last Etruscan monarch, Tarquinius Superbus, putting an end to the Etruscan rule and the Monarchy. - The Romans established a new political system called the Republic. - The *res publ...

# La República Romana ## The Foundation of the Roman Republic - In 509 B.C., the Romans revolted and expelled the last Etruscan monarch, Tarquinius Superbus, putting an end to the Etruscan rule and the Monarchy. - The Romans established a new political system called the Republic. - The *res publica* was a new system of government where the power formerly held by the king was divided among two consuls, elected annually by the people's Assembly. These consuls were the highest authorities, and both had to agree to make any decision. - This system was created as a way to prevent the return to the Monarchy through the division of power. - Besides the consuls, there were three additional institutions: - The Senate, the Assemblies, and the Magistratures. - There was never a written constitution in Rome. - The new government's legitimacy came from the *de facto* operation of these institutions. - Each of these institutions represented a specific group of citizens. ## The Roman Senate - During the Monarchy, the Senate was only an advisory body. - During the Republic, the Senate was responsible for creating legislation. - The Senators also managed public finances, conducted foreign policy, decided on matters of war and peace, and intervened in religion, accepting or rejecting foreign cults. - Initially, the Senate was composed only of patricians, but over time, it expanded to include members of other social classes. ## Roman Assemblies - Also known as the *comitia*, the Assemblies were made up of patrician families. - The Assemblies voted on laws and elected the two consuls each year. - Each year, two consuls were elected, who governed the city and controlled the operation of the government. - When there was an emergency, the consuls could elect a dictator with absolute power until the emergency was resolved, or for a maximum period of six months. ## Roman Magistratures - As Rome grew, two consuls could no longer handle all administrative affairs. - Magistratures were established to carry out these tasks. - The Magistratures were responsible for enforcing the laws and managing daily affairs of the city. - Each magistrate had to justify their decisions before the Assembly. - Magistratures were organized in the *Career of Honors*. - Most were annual, free, and elected by the people. - Most positions were filled by a group of people, ensuring mutual control over decisions. - The role of holding a magistrature was an honor and came with no salary. ## Roman Magistratures & Their Functions | Magistrature | Year of Creation | Functions | |---|---|---| | Quaestor | 447 B.C. | Managed the public treasury. | | Censor | 443 B.C. | oversaw the enforcement of customs, the compilation of the census, and the ranking of citizens based on wealth. | | Praetor | 366 B.C. | Managed the justice system. | | Aedile | 366 B.C. | Served as the police, overseeing the markets, public spectacles, festivities, and maintaining the upkeep of temples. | | Dictator | 501 B.C. | Elected during instances of internal or external threat and held absolute power for six months. | ## The Internal Conflicts: Patricians and Plebeians - The patricians held control of Roman political life, excluding the plebeians. - Plebeians were obligated to serve in the military and pay taxes to support the state. - Even though the plebeians served the city in the army and paid taxes, they had no influence in the Assemblies or access to public office. - In 494 BC, plebeians refused to join the army until their demands were met. - This event is known as the plebeian secession. - Thousands of plebeians left Rome and threatened to form their own state. - This caused anxiety among the Senate, who instructed the consul to suspend formal legal proceedings and stop imprisoning plebeians for debt in order to appease the plebeians. - However, the plebeians continued to demand concessions from the Roman state. ## The Plebeian Victories - In response to the plebeians' demands, they organized a Plebeian Assembly, where decisions were made by plebiscites, and elected Tribunes of the Plebe as their leaders. - Patricians were gradually forced to concede to the plebeians' demands, due to the importance of the plebeians to the army in times of war, and the need to maintain stability in the city of Rome. - As the city and the Republic grew more complex, new comitia and Magistratures were created, and plebeians were granted access to these previously exclusive positions. - This struggle lasted for 200 years and saw a number of victories for the plebians. - They gained the right to organize in an assembly, were allowed to marry patricians, and could be members of the Senate and Magistratures. - They also earned the right to have Roman laws written down. ## The Expansion of the Roman Territories - In the 5th century B.C., Rome had to defend its territory from constant raids by neighboring peoples. - In the 5th century B.C., Rome defeated the Latins and subsequently used these conquered people as allies to fight the Sabines, who constantly raided Roman territory. - Rome also fought against the Etruscans who competed for control of trade routes. ## From Defense to Conquest - In the 5th century B.C., Rome began a policy of territorial expansion. - In the 3rd century B.C., Rome unified the Italian peninsula under its control. - Roman wars of conquest were intended to acquire land and slaves to support extensive agriculture, the dominant form of production. - Some cities and peoples agreed to provide troops and funds to Rome, making them allies. - Other groups resisted, including the Greek cities of Southern Italy, an area known as Magna Graecia. - These Greek cities were conquered in 272 B.C., resulting in Roman control over the entire Italian peninsula. - Conquering territories brought Rome prestige, power, and wealth, from loot gained in war, taxes imposed on conquered territories, and long-distance trade. ## Roman Conquests - Rome's expansion through the Italian peninsula led to conflicts with the Samnites. - The Samnites resisted Roman expansion, but Rome won a decisive victory in 295 BC. - In the 3rd century B.C., Rome conquered Southern Italy, the territory of Magna Graecia. - This allowed Rome to control the entire Italian peninsula. # The Roman Empire ## The Crisis of the 1st Century A.D. - From the end of the 1st century A.D., several factors led to the gradual decline and subsequent disintegration of the Roman Empire in the West. - The Empire experienced a political, social, and economic crisis that lasted throughout the 1st century A.D. - One of the major issues was the inability of the state to control growing administrative costs, caused by the need to strengthen the military and secure the frontier that continued to expand. - The Empire was forced to raise taxes to cover these costs which led to widespread unrest. - The population and agriculture suffered from epidemics. - This led to reduced production, a lack of food, poverty, and starvation. Cities and countryside declined. - Several cities experienced a loss of population as peasants fled to forests or became tenants under the protection of large landowners. - The practice of tenant farming known as *colonatus* emerged. - This system required peasants to give half of their harvest to the landlord in exchange for protection. ## The Rise of General Power - There was a decline in the central authority of the Empire. - There was a period of *anarchy* in the 3rd century when general military commanders repeatedly challenged the authority of the Emperor. - The lack of centralized authority also attracted attacks on Roman territories by barbarian tribes. ## The Tetrarchy - Diocletian, a Roman general, was proclaimed emperor in 284. - Diocletian aimed to restore stability to the Empire. - Diocletian implemented a series of reforms that helped to keep the Empire intact, though it was becoming increasingly distant from its traditional Roman foundations. - Diocletian instituted a period called the Dominate, a period of autocratic rule where the Emperor was no longer considered *princeps* ("first citizen"), but *dominus*, "lord." - Diocletian adopted the attire and trappings of Eastern kings, and adopted a *divine* image. - Diocletian appointed Maximian as associate emperor in 285, giving him the title of *Augustus of the West*. - In 293, Diocletian appointed two more *Caesars*, the lower title used to designate an heir to the throne, Galerius and Constantius, creating a tetrarchy: a four-way rule of the Empire. - This division of the Empire between four rulers aimed to control its vast territory. - Each section of the empire was ruled by a reigning emperor, who was assisted by a *Caesar*. - The Roman world experienced a degree of stability during the tetrarchy. - However, a period of civil war resulted when Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in 305. - The two surviving emperors, Galerius and Constantinus, took over as *Augustus*. - The power struggles among these four rulers and their descendants escalated into civil war. ## The Rise of Constantine - Constantine, the son of Constantius I, emerged as the sole ruler of the Roman Empire in 324. - Constantine implemented a number of significant changes during his reign. - In 313, he issued the *Edict of Milan*, which declared religious tolerance in the Roman Empire. - This ended centuries of persecution of Christians. - Constantine was well aware of the divisions within the Christian faith. - He convened the first Council of Nicaea in 325 to establish a unified doctrine for Christianity and attempt to create peace and unity within the church. - In 330, Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium, which was subsequently renamed Constantinople (meaning Constantinus’ City), a move that solidified the growing separation between east and west and made Constantinople the center of the Eastern Roman Empire. ## The Division of the Empire - In 395, after his death, the Empire was divided between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, which formalized what had been growing in practice. - Arcadius ruled the Eastern Roman Empire, which survived for another millennia. - Honorius ruled the Western Roman Empire, which faced mounting pressure from barbarian tribes and would collapse in 476 AD. ## The Roman Empire and the Barbarian Invasions - Invasions of barbarian groups across the Roman frontier began in the 3rd century and increased into the 4th and 5th centuries. - The Visigoths, who had been pressed into Roman territory by the Huns, were granted permission to settle within Roman territory in the year 376. - In 378, the Visigoths defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Adrianople, in what is today Turkey. - This defeat was a blow to Roman prestige and was a sign of the Roman army's loss of fighting spirit. - From 407 to 429 AD, Germanic tribal invasions into Gaul, modern-day France, were devastating. - In 410 AD, the Visigoths led by Alaric I captured and sacked Rome. - This event is considered symbolic of the weakness of the Western Roman Empire. - After sacking Rome, Alaric led the Visigoths southward, seeking to find a new homeland. - The Roman general, Aëtius, persuaded Alaric to move west into present-day Southern France where the Visigoths would become allies of Rome and establish their own kingdom after the death of Alaric in 410. - The Franks, Vandals, Burgundians, and other Germanic tribes established their own kingdoms in what is today Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula. - The Visigothic kingdom of Western Europe would play a significant role in the Reconquista, a centuries-long reconquest of the Iberian peninsula by Christian forces. - By 453, the Huns, who had posed a major threat to the Roman Empire, disintegrated after their leader, Attila, died. - The Western Roman Empire did not survive these challenges. - In 476, the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by the barbarian general, Odoacer, and was exiled to the East. - The Western Roman Empire effectively ceased to exist. ## The Legacy of the Roman Empire - While the Western Roman Empire collapsed the Eastern Roman Empire continued for another millennia. - The Roman Empire was a huge influence across the Mediterranean world in the areas of law, government institutions, language, architecture, and culture. - In the areas of science and art, the Roman Empire was a synthesizer of Greek culture. - It also was a great builder of practical things such as roads, aqueducts, and buildings. - Even after the Western Roman Empire fell, the Roman laws and institutions continued to exist, with significant adjustments. - They were adopted by the Christianized Barbarian kingdoms to form the basis for their own monarchies. - The Roman Empire was one of the most successful empires in history, and its influence continues to be felt today. # Internal Conflicts in Rome: The Struggle of the Plebeians - During the last third of the 1st century B.C., Roman society was divided along social and political lines. - The *populares* represented the Plebeians and their interests. - They favored a series of reforms that would improve the conditions of the plebeians in both the city and the countryside. ## The Gracchi Brothers and Land Reform - Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus, brothers who served as tribunes of the plebeians in 133 and 121 BC, respectively, attempted to address the growing inequality in Roman society. - Their *Agrarian Law* aimed to reduce the power of large landowner and redistribute land. - The law placed a limit on the amount of land that could be owned by a single individual. - The surplus was to be redistributed among those who had little or no land at all. - The Senate, which was made up of wealthy landowners, resisted the proposal and had Tiberius Gracchus assassinated in 133 BC. - Gaius Gracchus tried to renew his brother's land reforms. - His efforts were also blocked by the Senate, and Gaius Gracchus was assassinated as well. ## Cayo Marius, The Rise of Professional Armies - Cayo Marius, a general, was elected consul several times due to his victories against Roman enemies. - He reformed the military system to address the growing gap between rich and poor. - Marius opened up the ranks of the army to the poor, and paid them salaries for their military service. - This move was viewed by some as a means to strengthen the Roman army, and to increase the political influence of former soldiers and veterans, many of whom were plebeian. - In essence, this policy was aimed to strengthen the power base of those who were not part of the traditional political elite. - Marius's policy, which transformed the Roman military into a professional armed force, further empowered the populares. - This development created a new political reality in Rome, where the army was becoming more powerful, and the power of the Senate diminished. ## The Clash of the Generals - Marius's military successes were not without consequences. - In 60 B.C., Marius's rival, a Roman general named Lucius Cornelius Sulla, marched on Rome and seized power, putting an end to Marius's career. - Sulla's return to power was also marked by violence. - He eliminated many supporters of the populares. - A brutal faction of the military had taken over the Roman government, and had proven itself more capable than the Senate at wielding force. ## The First Triumvirate - A political alliance known as the *First Triumvirate* was formed between three men: Cayo Marius, Pompeius Magnus, and Julius Caesar. - This triumvirate was intended to end the violence and secure Roman stability. - The First Triumvirate gave Julius Caesar the leadership of the Gallic campaigns which ultimately led to the conquest of Gaul. ## The Fate of Julius Caesar - Caesar's military successes and his growing popularity made him a target for the Senate, who saw him as a threat to their power. - Caesar's political ambitions, his growing popularity among the *populares*, and his military victories were all seen as a serious threat to the established order. - Caesar was eventually assassinated by a group of senators in 44 B.C. - His death further destabilized Rome, and led to another civil war. ## The Second Triumvirate - Caesar's assassination led to his supporters and a group of powerful men forming the *Second Triumvirate* in 43 B.C., to restore order. - The Second Triumvirate was composed of Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus. - However, this Second Triumvirate, also ultimately failed to bring stability to Rome, and led to the emergence of the Roman Empire. # The Roman Emperors and the Fall of the Republic ## Octavian and The Rise of the Roman Empire - The Second Triumvirate quickly dissolved. - Octavian, along with his supporters, eventually defeated Marc Antony and Lepidus in 31 B.C., which enabled him to assume control of the entire Roman world. - Octavian inherited the legacy of Julius Caesar, which made him a powerful figure in Roman politics. - In the year 27 B.C., Octavian, through his skill and diplomacy, secured the right to rule as the first Roman Emperor. - He took the title of "Augustus," meaning "venerable one" or "exalted one." - Octavian's rule marked the end of the Roman Republic, and the beginning of the Roman Empire. ## The Transition From Republic to Empire - Rome took on a new character under Augustus, becoming a *monarchy*. - Augustus cleverly balanced the ancient republic institutions with his own powers as emperor, effectively transitioning Rome from a republic to an autocratic monarchy. - While the appearance of a Republic remained, the actual power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor. - Senators were chosen by the emperor, and the Assemblies lost their power with the establishment of the *Imperial Council*, which became a centralized governing influence. ## Augustus's Achievements - Augustus's reign was a period of tremendous prosperity and relative peace for Rome. - He reorganized the army, restored stability to the empire's finances, and implemented a series of reforms that were intended to address the social problems faced by Rome. - Augustus stabilized the border with the Germanic tribes to the north of Rome, which was essential to the security of the Roman Empire. - He also expanded the empire's borders, particularly across the Mediterranean. - His reign represents a watershed moment in Western political history, as Rome entered a new phase of domination and influence. ## The Roman Empire Under Augustus - The Roman Empire flourished under the leadership of Augustus, and expanded across North Africa, in the process bringing Egypt under Roman rule. - The Roman Empire was the center of a vast network of trade and communication, uniting various cultures and societies across the Mediterranean world. - Augustus's rule is often referred to as the *Pax Romana* — an era of Roman peace and prosperity. ## The Later Roman Emperors and the Decline of the Empire - The Pax Romana ushered in a period of peace and expansion for the Roman Empire. - However, the internal conflicts and the growing pressure of Barbarian tribes from outside of Roman territories would eventually lead to the decline of the Roman Empire. - The Roman Empire faced several threats during the 2nd and 3rd centuries: - Inflation, - Economic instability, - Barbarian Invasions, and internal military threats - The Roman Empire experienced a series of civil wars that weakened its authority and its ability to defend its borders. - The Empire's collapse was hastened by the decline of its central authority and the rise of powerful Roman army generals. ## The Roman Emperors and The Christian Church - The Roman Empire came into contact with Christianity in the first century A.D. - Christianity grew rapidly in popularity, even while facing persecution from Roman authorities. - In the 4th century A.D., Emperor Constantine came to power and issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. - This Edict ended the centuries of persecution of Christians within the Roman Empire and established religious tolerance for the Christian faith. - It allowed Christians to openly practice and worship their faith. - The Roman Empire is a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity as it provided the context for the spread of Christian influence in the West, and transformed the Roman Empire from a pagan to a Christian world. ## The Fall of the Roman Empire - The Roman Empire was divided into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire. - Constantine had moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople. - A strong tradition of Roman law and culture continued in the East. - The Western Roman Empire would face increasing pressure from Barbarian tribes, as well as an economic decline. - The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., when the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed. - The fall of the Western Roman Empire was a result of a combination of factors, including internal strife, economic decline, and the rise of Barbarian pressure. - The Western Roman Empire's collapse marked a turning point in the history of Europe. - The Barbarian tribes came to dominate Western Europe and establish kingdoms of their own. - The fall of the Western Roman Empire did not, however, mark the end of the Roman Empire. - The Eastern Roman Empire lasted for another millennium, a testament to the resilience of Roman culture and government. - The legacy of the Roman Empire is still evident today, with its influence on law, art, architecture, government, and civilization, playing a major role in the development of Western civilization.