Unit 3 -- Rome: Republic to Empire

 

  1. The Expansion of the Republic
  1. Rome consolidated its position in Italy, 5th and 4th centuries B.C.
  2. Conflict with Carthage and Hellenistic realms
    1. The Punic Wars (264-146 B.C.), defeated Carthaginians (former Phoenician colony)
    2. First Punic War – fought over Sicily and control of the Med. – Rome wins and will later take Sardinia and Corsica
    3. Second Punic War – Hannibal and the Elephants – Hannibal marches his elephants over the Alps and then up and down the peninsula. He eventually goes home to defend Carthage.
    4. Third Punic War – Carthage no longer a power, but Rome goes attacks the city anyway. Carthage is destroyed. People killed or enslaved. Salt poured on the ruins so that nothing will grow in the same spot. This war signals the shift from Republic to Empire and a real shift in Roman terror.
  1. Rome became the preeminent power in the Mediterranean
  2. As Rome grows, power will be maintained through a shift to local autonomy (Sanhedrin). This idea will be both good and bad for Rome, as during the Republic, all citizens were Roman. Now all citizens will share in the benefits of Rome, but will maintain their own nationality.
  3. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what is God’s."
 
 
 
From Republic to Empire
  1. The Third Punic War showed a shift from Rome’s republican days to a drive for empire. By 100 B.C., Rome was the preeminent power in the Mediterranean and was ready for conquest
  2. Important fact to remember: Rome will allow for local control as a way to manage the empire
  3. Julius Caesar
    1. Great Roman general, beloved by the army and people
    2. Conquered Gaul, became more popular
    3. Seized Rome in 49 B.C.
    4. Claimed the title "dictator for life," 46 B.C.
    5. Assassinated in 44 B.C.
  1. Augustus
    1. Octavian, the nephew of Caesar, brought the civil conflict to an end
    2. The Senate bestowed upon him the title Augustus, 27 B.C.
    3. Augustus's administration
      1. A monarchy disguised as a republic
      2. preserved traditional republican forms of government
      3. Created a new standing army under his control
      4. The imperial institutions began to take root
  1. The pax romana (31 BC to 180 AD)
    1. Meant "Roman peace," lasted for two and half centuries
    2. Facilitated trade and communication from Mesopotamia to Atlantic Ocean
    3. Roman roads and postal system linked all parts of the empire
    4. Roman laws: innocent until proven guilty – bring legal stability to the empire, although judges enjoyed great discretion

 

 

 

 

The Fall of the Roman Empire

    1. Commodus – 180 AD – signals end of the Pax Romana – more interested in himself rather than his empire and its citizens
    2. The sheer size of the empire became a problem of control
    3. Diocletian (284-305 AD)
    1. Divided the empire into two administrative districts
    2. A co-emperor ruled each district with the aid of a powerful lieutenant
    1. Constantine (306 – 337 AD)
    1. Established a new capital city: Constantinople (Rome no longer controlled from Rome – the Western Empire becomes really the sticks – learning and supreme governmental decisions will take place in the East
    1. Germanic Invasions and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire -- Migrated from northern Europe, lived in the eastern and northern parts of the empire
        1. Most notable were the Visigoths
          1. Adopted Roman law and Christianity
          2. Contributed soldiers to the Roman armies
        1. Roman authorities kept Germanic peoples on the borders as a buffer
      1. The Huns
        1. Under Attila, the Huns began expeditions from the mid-5th century
        2. Soon disappeared after the death of Attila in 453 A. D.
      1. The collapse of the western Roman empire
        1. Under the Huns' pressure, Germanic peoples streamed into the Roman empire
        2. Established settlements in Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain,
        3. Under Laric, the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 AD
        4. 476 AD – Germanic officers put a German monarch on the throne – OFFICIAL END OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
        5. Imperial authority survived in the eastern half of the empire
        6. Nomadic states in Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Italy

Cultural Change in the Late Roman Empire

Prominence of Christianity

    1. Christianity spread quickly throughout the empire, but Roman leaders saw it as subversive – Christians refused to worship any other gods
    2. Rome’s universalism helped spread the religion
    3. Early persecution – Christians as martyrs
    4. Constantine's edict of Milan, Christianity became a legitimate religion, 313 AD
    5. Emperor Theodosius proclaimed Christianity the official religion, 380 AD

1. The institutional church

a. Conflicting doctrines and practices among early Christians

b. Established standardized hierarchy of church officials

c. The bishop of Rome, known as the pope, became spiritual leader

When the Roman Empire collapsed, Christianity served as a cultural foundation. Europe united behind Christendom, but the internal improvements fell. Whereas Rome had been a secular empire with many religions, Christendom was not really an empire at all, but the Church held immense power.


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