Ancient Rome Republic Empire The Romans and Empire

Ancient Rome Republic & Empire

The Romans and Empire • All aspects of Roman civilization influenced by its imperial ambitions: its ambition to rule over a large part of the world

Romans were borrowers • From the Etruscans (Northwest) they borrowed: urban planning, chariot racing, the toga, the arch • From the Greeks (South) they borrowed: pantheon of gods and goddesses, literary principles, classical style

Roman Republic • 509 (overthrow of Etruscans)-30 B. C. E. (Augustus) • The “Republic” refers to the time when Rome develops a government res publica (“of the people”)

Republic: Government • Popular Assembly= plebeians • Senate=patricians, at first the only lawmakers, but then plebeians make laws too beginning in 287 B. C. E. • Magistrates=consuls (2 of them)

Punic Wars: Rome vs. Phoenicians • 147 B. C. E. Destruction of Carthage • Roman extends power all over the western Mediterranean: thus the Roman Republic had control over an empire

Turner, Dido Building Carthage, 1815

Hannibal

Roman possessions, 86 BCE

Julius Caesar • 46 B. C. E. Gaius Julius Caesar, an army commander, establishes dictatorship • His famous account of his conquests of Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt: “Veni, vidi, vici” • Julian calendar: 365 days • 44 B. C. E assassinated by senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus

Octavian • Power struggles follow Julius Caesar’s death: Mark Anthony vs. Octavian (Anthony’s grandnephew and adopted son) • 43 B. C. E. : Senate grants Octavian power to rule for life

Octavian: a guy with many names • He called himself princeps (“first citizen”) • The Senate called him Augustus (“the Revered One”) • As Rome’s top army general, he was imperator (emperor)

Roman Empire • 30 B. C. E – 476 C. E. • “Empire” refers to the time when Rome is ruled by the emperor, rather than having a government res publica

30 B. C. E. – 180 C. E. Pax Romana • The Roman Peace: stability and commerce • The “Good Emperors” (96 -180 C. E. ): Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius – So stable that we don’t have much history from parts of this era

Marcus Aurelius, 160 -80 CE • A Stoic philosopher • Author of Meditations (in Greek) • Fought against Germanic uprising • Last of the 5 “Good Emperors”

From Meditations • “approach each action as though it were your last” • “we are all fellow-citizens and share a common citizenship, and. . . the world is a single city” • “A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself”

Commodus, 180 -192 • 5 th son of Marcus Aurelius • Brought end to “Good Emperors” • A tyrant who played at gladiatorial combat • Murdered while bathing by an athlete who conspired with Commodus’s mistress

The Romans were efficient conquerors • See Josephus, p. 133 – Description of Roman army camp: see Gladiator

Roman army camp (small), 1 -2 nd cent. CE

Rome & China • Traded indirectly through Silk Road • 97 CE, China sent ambassador to Rome; he reached Mesopotamia but was informed that the journey to Rome would take 2 more years; so he returned home • 166 CE, Marcus Aurelius sent envoys directly to China

The Romans were efficient administrators • when Rome conquered a territory, they permitted the local customs and even local government system to continue • they took from the territories: taxes, soldiers, slaves • they gave to the territories: Latin language, Roman law, infrastructure (roads, bridges, aqueducts), and citizenship

Roman Law • Latin jus: “law; justice” • Roman law vs. Greek law – Greek law: developed from the Greek citizen’s relationship to the polis – Roman law: developed from the practical need to administer a world-state

3 Kind of Roman Law • Jus civile (law of the land): applied to Roman citizens only • Just gentium (law of the people): applied to all people under Roman rule: international, attuned to diverse cultures and traditions • Jus naturale (law of nature): universal principles underlying the law of the people

Romans were practical thinkers • Romans absorbed Hellenic and Hellenistic philosophy • Stoicism was particularly popular because it suited the cosmopolitan spirit of the Empire

Some tenets of Stoicism • Providence/Divine Reason governs world • reason over emotion • accepting one’s fate, one’s duty • belief in equality of all people—a universal vision

Stoicism: examples • Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind (ca. 40 C. E. ) – Correct estimate of self, choosing tasks accordingly; wise choice of companions; avoiding excessive wealth • Cicero, On Duty (44 B. C. E. ) --self-possession, Aristotelian Mean

Roman literature reflected imperial culture • Virgil’s Aeneid (20 B. C. E) – A literary (rather than oral) epic – Aeneas, our hero, journeys from Troy to Italy – Trojans conquer Latium and establish Roman state – Stoic philosophy reflected in Aeneid: see reading (p. 140 -41).

Claude, Aeneas’ Farewell to Dido in Carthage, 1676

Satire • Horace • Juvenal – Horation vs. Juvenalian satire

Roman art is realistic • • Mosaic Trompe l’oeil (“fool the eye”) Still life Empirical perspective

Romans were practical builders • Methods: Arch, Vault, Dome • Material: Concrete; marble veneer • Structures: – Practical: Aqueducts, Bridges, Roads – Pleasure: Colosseum, Baths (the largest structures in ancient Rome were for pleasure: pleasure was practical for social control)