Objectives:• Students will explore how Rome became an empire.

• Students will discover what forces held Rome together during the Pax Romana.

Main Idea

Governmental and social problems led to the end of the Roman Republic and the creation of a new form of government.

From Republic to Empire

The Military in Politics

• 107 BC, social unrest reached new level

• General Gaius Marius elected consul– Eliminated property restrictions

– Accepted anyone who wanted to join army

• Armies, private forces devoted to general– Poor hoped to share plunder at end of war

– Ruthless generals realized loyalty of troops could be used as political tool

• Social War revealed talent of General Lucius Cornelius Sulla

• Sulla became consul, 88 BC; after consulship ended, Marius tried to prevent Sulla from taking military command

• Sulla marched on Rome, won civil war, became dictator

• Carried out program of reforms to protect power of Senate

Civil War

• Rome’s Italian allies had been trying to obtain Roman citizenship

• Senate wanted to maintain monopoly on power, refused

• 90 BC, Social War broke out

• Italian rebels were defeated, but Senate agreed to give them citizenship

The Social War

Social and Civil Wars

Sulla paved the way for major changes in Rome’s government. The end of the Republic resulted from the ambitions of a few individuals.

• Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey, Licinius Crassus helped bring end to Republic

• Caesar, Pompey successful military commanders

• Crassus one of wealthiest people in Rome

• 60 BC, the three took over Roman state, ruled as First Triumvirate

The First Triumvirate• Crassus died; Pompey, Caesar fought

civil war• Caesar defeated Pompey, took full

control of Rome, became dictator for life, 44 BC

• Caesar brought many changes to Rome, popular reforms

• Senate feared he would destroy Roman Republic, murdered him, Ides of March

End of Triumvirate

Rome Becomes an Empire

Civil War• Civil war between Octavian, Antony broke out

• Octavian defeated Antony and his ally, Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra

• Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian alone controlled Rome

• Republic effectively dead; new period in Roman history beginning

The Second Triumvirate• Caesar’s murder did not save the Republic

• 43 BC, Second Triumvirate took power—Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian; loyal officer Marc Antony; high priest Lepidus

• Lepidus pushed aside; Antony, Octavian agreed to govern half the empire each, Octavian in west, Antony in East

Octavian Takes Power• Octavian faced task of restoring order

in empire• Had no intention of establishing

dictatorship when he took power

Principate• Octavian careful to avoid title of king

or emperor• Called himself princeps, “first citizen”• Government called Principate

New Political Order• Octavian decided it impossible to

return Rome to republican form of government

• Created new political order, known today as the empire

New Title• 27 BC, Senate gave Octavian title

Augustus, “the revered one” • Title a religious honor; able to wear

laurel and oak leaf crown

From Octavian to Augustus

New Imperial Government• Augustus head of state more than 40 years, made smooth transition to new

imperial government with power divided between him and Senate• Most financial, administrative matters under Augustus’s control

Legacy• Created police force, fire brigades; stockpiled food, water• Began building program; presided over moral, religious reforms• Great period of cultural creativity; great writers like Horace, Ovid, Virgil

Foreign Affairs• Started program to bring peace to west, particularly to Gaul, Spain• Began series of conquests that pushed border eastward to Danube River• Also took special care of Rome itself “I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble”

The Augustan Age (PAX ROMANA)

Nerohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Wp4K8N7mU

The Good Emperors

Empire grew tremendously under Good Emperors

• Reached limits of expansion under Trajan

• Added what are now Romania, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula

• Successor Hadrian thought empire too large– Withdrew from almost all eastern additions

– Built defensive fortifications to guard against invasions

– Built wall 73 miles long in northern Britain

Laws• Roman law unified the empire• Laws specified what could, could not be done; penalties for breaking law• Same laws applied to everyone in empire, wherever they lived

Manufacturing• Manufacturing increased throughout empire• Italy, Gaul, Spain—artisans made cheap pottery, textiles• Fine glassware made in eastern cities like Alexandria

Agriculture• Agriculture remained primary occupation throughout Pax Romana• Most farms, independent with little, no surplus to sell• Tenant farmers began to replace slaves on large farms

Legal System

Trade• Italy imported grain, meat, raw materials from provinces• Merchants brought silks, linens, glassware, jewelry, furniture from Asia• Rome, Alexandria became commercial centers

Military and Merchant Routes• Most roads built, maintained for military purposes• Cheaper to transport grain by ship from one end of Mediterranean to other than to

send it overland; most goods went by sea

Transportation• Commercial activity possible because of empire’s location around Mediterranean

and extensive road network• Ultimately about 50,000 miles of roads bound empire together

Opportunities for Trade

The Silk Road connected China, India and Rome

Bread and CircusesEntertainments• Romans of all classes enjoyed circus, chariot races• Held in Circus Maximus—racetrack could hold 250,000 spectators• Also liked theater, mimes, jugglers, dancers, acrobats, clowns

Bloody Spectacles• Romans enjoyed spectacles in amphitheaters• Wild animals battled each other and professional fighters• Gladiator contests most popular, performed in Colosseum for 50,000 people• Audiences were often given free food and entertainment

• WHAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND THE BREAD AND CIRCUSES?• DISTRACTION FROM A WEAKENING EMPIRE AND DESIGNED TO STAVE OFF

REBELLION

Religion• Romans were polytheistic and adopted many different

Gods from conquered peoples• Greeks, Egyptians, Mesopotamia and Persia• Romans also worshipped the Emperor as a

God

• Gods explained natural phenomenon and the augurs (priests)interpreted these signs

• Eventually Christianity would rise during the Roman Empire (sift from polytheism to monotheism)

• Initially Christians were a persecuted minority but eventually Christianity would sweep through the

Empire and become the official religion.

Timeline Dates(bce = before the common era

ce = common era)

Etruscans Monarchy 616 bce – 509 bceRoman Republic 505 bce – 44 bceSocial War (1st Civil War) 91 bce – 88 bce1st Triumvirate 60 bce – 44 bce2nd Triumvirate 43 bce – 32 bceAugustan Age 27 bce – 14 bcePax Romana 27 bce – 180 ceTrajan 98 ce – 117 ceHadrian 117 ce – 138 ceNero 54 ce – 68ce