Chi Cago's Guide to Ancient Rome

Etruscans

came from north-central part of the peninsula

metalworkers, artists, architects

two foundation myths:

Virgil’s Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy - sound familiar?)

the story of Remus and Romulus

Greeks

they had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea

Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as:

religious beliefs

alphabet

much of their art

military techniques and weaponry

the Latins!

descendants of Indo-Europeans

settled on the banks of the Tiber

situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further

a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack

and... built on seven hills (esp. Palatine)

many streams flowed into the Tiber

there was a marshy area called the Forum,  between Palatine and Capitoline Hills

Tarquin the Proud’s grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber

urban legend says Washington DC was built on a swamp - but only about 2% was actually swampland - however, Constitution Avenue is located on what used to be called Tiber Creek

Lucius Tarquinias Superbus

the seventh and final king of Rome

known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the Arrogant)

a true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word

Tarquin seized power like an old school tyrant (see if you can follow this horrible story...)

...Tarquin’s grandfather (the fifth king) dies… his widow names Servius Tullias king, since she liked him more than her own sons… S.T.’s daughters marry two brothers (one is Tarquin)… one of the daughters (Tullia) kills her husband and her own sister… this leaves her free to marry Tarquin

but wait, there’s more...

Tullia persuades Tarquin to seize the throne from her father… he sits on the throne and declares himself king… S.T. objects, and Tarquin throws him down the steps and into the street, then has him assassinated… Tullia hails Tarquin as the new king, but he sends her home for safety… on her way home she sees the body of her father in the street, seizes the reins, and drives her chariot over his corpse...Tarquin refuses to bury his body, and assassinates senators who object

years later, Tarquin’s son Sextus and his friends are drinking when Sextus tries to force himself on a matron, Lucretia… she refuses, and he threatens to kill her and says he will say he found her in the arms of a slave… she gives in to the blackmail, then confesses the ordeal to her family, and commits suicide… Tarquin tried to sweep it all under the rug, but the people rose up against the son, the father, and had the whole family expelled from Rome

the people’s shock at this horrible family and their terrible behavior made them NEVER want to be subject to the rule of kings EVER again - this was an attitude that lasted for centuries

Rule of kings is replaced by rule of two consuls (“gotta be better than one”)

consuls are elected officials

term of office: one year

always aristocrats (patricians)

patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor, or pater (“father”)

duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army

one consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)

fifth century BCE - patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs (“people”)

plebs were 98% of the population

how did the patricians dominate?

plebs had to serve in the army,

      but could not hold office

plebs were threatened with debt slavery

plebs had no legal rights

plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials

Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs

patricians could interpret these to their own advantage

So, plebs refused to serve in the military until…

laws were written out (The Law of the Twelve Tables)

these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)

tribunes (“tribal leaders”) were elected

SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum

designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People”

brand new republic, ready to run

democracy (the people’s assembly and the tribunes

aristocracy (the Senate - approx. 300 members)

plus monarchy (the consuls)

not a tyranny (eww… too scary… a mistake the Romans did not care to repeat)

originally, the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans

is it exactly the same?  not quite…

but both have three branches of government

executive

legislative

judicial

and both have a legal code

Executive- spqr

two consuls

one year terms

each has veto power

controls the military

could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six-month term

Executive- us

President (plus VP)

four year terms

can veto proposed laws

Commander-in-Chief of the military

Legislative- spqr

Senate - 300 people - aristocrats - members for life

Assemblies (either Centuriate or Tribal) 193 members (later 373) - members for life

Legislative- US

Senate - 100 senators (two from each state) - six-year terms

House of Representatives - 435 members (55 from Cali; MD has 8; AK, DE, MT, ND, SD, VT, WY have 1) - two-year terms

Judicial- spqr

Praetors

chosen by the Centuriate Assembly

one-year terms

udicial

Supreme Court

nine members

lifetime terms

appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate

Article Two of the United States Constitution requires the President of the United States to nominate Supreme Court Justices and, with Senate confirmation, requires Justices to be appointed. 

Twelve Tables

Publicly displayed in the Forum

gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats

only protected free-born male citizens (not women)

Bill of Rights

first ten amendments to the Constitution

1 - free speech/press/religion

2 - bear arms 

3 - no quartering 

4 - no search and seizure 

5 - no self-incrimination 

6 - right to fair trial 

7 - jury trials 

8 - no cruel or unusual punishment 

9 - right to privacy, +rights are assumed 

10 - states have power where fed doesn’t

5000 soldiers, not in it for pay (not yet)

the Roman army’s elite heavy infantry

recruited exclusively from Roman citizens

group of eighty’s a century

on horseback is the cavalry

shield, sword, dagger, and armor and tunic

The Punic Wars (264 - 146 BCE)

Rome vs. Carthage

three wars

First Punic War 

(264 - 241 BCE)

naval battles for control of the strategically located island of Sicily

Rome wins this one

Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE)

29-year-old Carthaginian general Hannibal almost does the impossible: taking Rome

attacks Rome from the NORTH after crossing Iberia (Spain) and the Alps

lays siege to much of the peninsula for 15 years, but he never can get to Rome Rome 2, Carthage 0

Third (and final)Punic War (149-146 BC

Third (and final) Punic War (149-146 BCE)

Rome wanted to finally remove the threat of Carthage

Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attacked the city

Carthage was burned for 17 days; the city’s walls and buildings were utterly destroyed

when the war ended, the last 50,000 people in the city were sold into slavery

the rest of Carthage’s territories were annexed, and made into the Roman province of Africa

slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)

by the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy

small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles

slaves did the work on the farms for the rich

the big farms became massive estates called latifundia 

How do you keep the plebs happy (or at least keep them from revolting)?

the poet Juvenal said Rome “anxiously hopes for two things: bread and

circuses”

bread (free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet, distracted, and docile

Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)

military generals worked that angle - lead an army that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils

soldiers’ loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic

Julius Caesar         (100 - 44 BCE)

a highly successful general

he conquered the huge territory of Gaul

made common folks happy

made friends in high places

Pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine)

Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history

these three men formed the First Triumvirate (“rule of three men”)

Serves as consul (one year)

Appoints himself governor of Gaul

Pompey is jealous, becomes his rival

Caesar’s armies clash with Pompey’s in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt (Caesar - winning!)

In 44BC he is named dictator - first for six months, then for life

Granted citizenship to people in provinces

Expanded the Senate, adding his friends

Created jobs for the poor, especially through public works projects

Increased pay for soldiers

Started colonies where those without land could own property

Why? The senators saw Caesar’s rise in power as a huge threat to their political viability

How? They lured him into the Senate, stabbing him 23 times, making sure all were involved

Who? Even Brutus, Caesar’s ally (“et tu, Brute?”)

Senators were not punished

Octavian was named Julius Caesar’s sole heir

Basically, this is the end of the republic

Julius Caesar’s grandnephew - and adopted son - Octavian takes over at the age of 18! with his own triumvirate

Mark Antony is an experienced general

Lepidus is a powerful politician

This is the Second Triumvirate

Octavian forces the weak Lepidus to retire

He and Mark Antony become rivals

Mark Antony partners up with Cleopatra of Egypt

Militarily

Personally

Politically

Economically

Octavian defeats them at the Battle of Actium

He is now the unchallenged ruler of Rome

He was given the honorific “Augustus”

“Exalted one”

He was also given the title “imperator”

Supreme military commander

This is where we get the word “emperor”

Now Rome is an empire, not a republic

40 years of ruling as emperor (27 BC to AD 14)

He began a stable era of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana (Roman peace)

Pax Romana was 207 years long

27 BC to AD 180

Expanded the Roman Empire further into Africa

He set up civil service to run the government/empire

Building a network of roads

Collecting taxes

Establishing a postal service

Administering the grain supply

Building awesome public facilities

Buildings, aqueducts

Setting up a police department

Running a fire-fighting organization

Finally died of natural causes

After Octavian’s death, power was passed down to emperors

Some were good, some were horrible, some appeared to be completely insane

Let’s review some of the emperors…

Tiberius

Ruled from AD 14 to AD 37

an excellent general, but a reluctant emperor

after the death of his son, he exiled himself from Rome and left his prefects in charge

died at age 77

Caligula

Ruled from AD 37 to AD 41 (only 4 years!)

won a power struggle after Tiberius' death

known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity - an insane tyrant

assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the im

perial court, trying to re-establish the Republic

but it didn't work…

Claudius

Ruled from AD 41 to AD 54

suffered from many infirmities: a limp, stammering, shaking, slobbering... possibly because of cerebral palsy

took over because he was the last adult male in the family

ruled well - built roads, aqueducts, canals, and started the conquest of Britain

died by poisoning - it was his last wife's plan (she wanted her son Nero to rise to power)

Nero

ruled from 54 to 68

emphasized the arts

huge fire in 64 (although he DIDN'T fiddle)

he wanted to rebuild Rome to be more majestic

he hugely overspent, and even raided the temples for money

historians do not look kindly on him