Chapter Four Lecture Notes

Chapter Four
The Rise of the Roman Republic
Introduction
•	Romans are probably the most famous of the Mediterranean civilizations.
•	Excelled in war, law, engineering, and administration
•	Spoke the Latin language
–	Which was the mother of many European languages
•	Borrowed heavily from the Greeks, Etruscans, Egyptians, and other cultures.
–	A creative assimilation rather than simply mimicking
–	Had a culture that was distinctly Roman
•	When Greek civilization was at its height, Rome was rather small and poor
•	Over time it developed a powerful army and a political system that was based upon active participation of its citizens and the rule of law
Introduction
•	c. 300-200 B.C. Rome conquered the Itlian peninsula.
•	By 133 B.C. it had defeated both Carthage and Macedon
•	Had an empire from Spain to Greece.
•	Culture stressed military values
–	Courage
–	Discipline
–	Endurance
Ancient Italy
•	Geography
–	Appenine Mountains
–	Adriatic Sea – East
–	Tyrrhenian Sea – West
–	Ionian Sea – South
–	Tiber River (largest in central Italy)
•	Early civilizations
–	Greeks
•	Eastern Sicily and far south of Italian peninsula
–	Carthaginians
•	Western Sicily
Ancient Italy
•	Etruscans
–	Region north of the Tiber River
–	City dwellers (although decent farmers)
–	Economy based upon trade and manufacturing
–	Architectural influences and inventions
•	Arches
•	Vaulted ceilings
–	Government
•	King (possibly elected)
•	After adopting Greek hoplite tactics circa the fifth century B.C. they replaced their king with aristocratic magistrates.
•	Influenced Roman civilization
–	Alphabet
–	Metalworking
–	Civic planning
–	Architecture
–	Religious customs
–	Political institutions
Origins of Rome
•	Tiber River was easiest land route into mainland Italy
•	Seven low hills
–	In 8th century B.C., the Palatine hill was occupied by a Latin speaking tribe and later the Aventine hill was occupied by a similar tribe
–	These two settlements formed the center of the city of Rome
•	The Palatine and Aventine tribes, along with others, formed the Latin League for political and religious purposes
Origins of Rome
•	Rome used its dominant position in the Latin League to begin attacking other nearby communities
–	Granted citizenship to the leading families
•	Fair treatment would discourage resistance and make Roman rule “easier” to accept.
•	When Veii, an Etruscan city, was taken in 396 B.C. it nearly doubled the size of Rome
•	Resistance
–	Gaul burned Rome in 387 B.C.
•	People from the north (France) who would fight naked and would eat and drink lots of meat and alcohol
Origins of Rome
•	Latin League rebelled against Roman power, but in 338 B.C. Rome again became dominant
–	Towns nearest Rome received full citizenship
–	Farthest received municipal status
•	Could marry and trade, but no voting rights outside of own community
•	Roads (stone)
–	Ensure communication
–	Provide common defense
–	All roads led to Rome, linking it with its allies and separating the allies from one another.
Origins of Rome
•	Military
–	Learned hoplite warfare with cavalry from Etruscans
–	Highly valued self-discipline, determination, and sense of duty to community
–	Paid troops
–	Maniples  replacement for hoplite phalanx
•	100 to 120 footmen
•	Commanded by a centurion
•	30 maniples, plus five in reserve, equal 1 legion
Origins of Rome
•	Through the new fighting techniques of maniples, Rome defeated and conquered all of Italy from north at the Po River south to the Greek settlements
–	This scared the Greeks and they hired Pyrrhus to attack the Romans
•	He did so with war elephants
–	In the end he was not successful and Rome took control of all of Italy south of the Po River
Economic and Social Structures
•	Majority were small farmers
–	Grain and Legumes
•	Planted in rows between vines or olive trees
–	Sheep
•	Wool and milk
–	Cattle
•	Work animals
–	Everyone tried to grow a miniature orchard of
•	Apples
•	Pears
•	Figs
Economic and Social Structures
•	Diet (simple)
–	Wheat or barley gruel (thin watery porridge, i.e. oatmeal) supplemented by olives, cabbage, and beans
–	Milk, cheese, fruit, and baked bread offered a variety and meat (pork) was for special occasions
•	Sheep, goats, and cattle too important to slaughter, but did find their way to the table after a burnt offering to the gods
•	Hogs provided not only ham and sausage, but the greatest of all Roman delicacies  roasted suckling pig
Economic and Social Structures
•	Farms
–	Usually worked by owner and his familia
•	The nuclear family as well as the entire household of dependent relatives and slaves
•	Slaves
–	Was encouraged and seen as a good investment
–	Some were captives of war, but most were subjects of debt
–	Were not dehumanized
•	Lived in the master’s house and ate at his table
•	Marcus Porcius Cato (statesman) reported his wife sometimes nursed the slave children
–	But were still property nonetheless and could be sold, beaten, or killed without punishment from the law
Economic and Social Structures
•	Familia
–	Paterfamilias  the father
•	Had absolute power of life and death over children and slaves
–	Wife
•	Was subject to his will, but he could not kill or sell her
–	Children
•	Sale or death of child rarely took place without 
–	The approval of the entire family
–	Public opinion and Shame had to be considered
–	Reputation was very important and mistreatment of wife and children was shameful
Economic and Social Structures
•	Women
–	Managed daily life of household
–	Conformed, along with husband, to ideals of
•	Dignitas  Dignity
•	Fides  Faithfulness
•	Pietas  Piety
–	Expected to remind their husband when he failed in these areas of virtue
–	Resembled Spartan women more than Athenian
•	Family were part of clans/tribes, and clientage was active in their public lives
Economic and Social Structures
•	Religion
–	Polytheistic
–	Many of the same gods as the Greeks, but with different names
•	Jupiter = Zeus
•	Venus = Aphrodite
–	Spirits as well as gods governed places and natural processes
–	Consulted omens before virtually every public or private act and performed sacrifices to assure its success
–	Sacrifices done to appease the gods
•	Burnt offering of animal (usually eaten afterwards)
•	Libation (pouring) of wine or oil
–	Not a priest-ridden people. Priests cared for temples and were foretellers of the future
–	Father presided over religious rites
–	No concept of personal salvation
–	Ethics unrelated to divine will
Economic and Social Structures
•	Senators
–	100 men of substance who served as an advisory board (remained even after fall of monarchy)
•	Etruscan practice
–	Represented landowning families
–	Held slaves
–	Could afford to fight on horseback instead of on foot
–	Core for patrician order
•	Hereditary aristocracy of Rome vs. plebeians who were common citizens, often bound by clientage, that could vote, but could not hold office
Roman Government
•	As in Greek, political rights grew from military service
–	Plebeian footmen were more important to military than horse-mounted patricians.
•	494 B.C., the plebes won the right to elect tribunes, who would represent their interests and protect them from the two new consuls who were elected after the fall of the monarchy.
–	495 B.C. the plebes built a temple to Ceres thus giving them status and divine protection to the tribunes
Roman Government
•	Plebeian pressure brought about the publication of the Twelve Tables (c.451-450 B.C.)
–	the first written law in Roman history
•	Twelve Tables
–	Reinforced the privileges of the patricians
–	Recognized the plebeians as part of government and some legal protection
–	Could not be changed by a judge
–	Introduced principle of equality before the law
–	Wealth and birth used to define social class
–	Examples of laws
•	Paterfamilias could kill a deformed baby
•	Women were minors
Roman Government
•	By 443 B.C. all citizens were ranked by property
–	Showed their military role
–	Participation level in the public or centuriate assembly, which elected the magistrates
•	Entire body of male citizens divided into centuries (similar to size of maniples) which were divided into classes ranging from richest (1) to poorest (5)
–	Equites and proletarii were not included
»	Equites  patrician cavalry
»	Proletarii  plebeian who had no weapons
–	Censor was elected to determine these rankings and introduced the census
•	Two people held office
•	Most respected of offices
•	Could remove senators from office on financial or ethical grounds
Roman Government
•	Leadership of government was in two consuls who were elected for one-year terms
–	Had full power and their edicts were similar to law
–	Consulted closely with the Senate
–	Had veto power on each other
–	During war one usually commanded the army and the other stayed at home to govern.
•	325 B.C. office of proconsul was created
–	Basically retained power of consul who was away from Rome when his term ended
•	Praetor
–	Magistrates who administered justice
–	Upon taking office they would make public declarations as to the principles they would use to interpret the law
•	Quaestor  financial advisors to consuls
•	All had to deal with tribunes which represented those who felt oppressed by the magistrates
Roman Government
•	Senate
–	The most powerful institution in the Roman state
–	Members originally appointed by consuls, but after 312 B.C. it was given to censors
•	Most senators were former consuls
–	Quaestors followed them without hesitation, thus giving the Senate control over finances
–	Responsible for the distribution of newly acquired lands
–	No political parties, but they did group themselves through friendships or agreements on policy
Wars with Carthage
•	264 B.C. Rome began struggle with Carthage in the First Punic War in Sicily
–	Punic = adjective for Phoenician
•	Messina was taken over by the Carthaginians
•	Citizens of Messina appeal to Rome who comes and finally defeats the Carthaginians in 241 B.C.
•	This war made Rome a major naval power and the ruler of Sicily
–	Sicily was the first Roman province
Wars with Carthage
•	Sicily
–	People not granted citizenship
–	Taxes were raised
–	Land was given to wealthy Romans
•	238 B.C. Rome annexed Corsica and Sardinia as two new provinces after a Carthaginian rebellion
•	Hamilcar Barca and Spain
–	A Carthaginian who gathered the people in Spain together to go to war against Rome and thus began the Second Punic War and again Rome won
Wars with Carthage
•	Hannibal, son of Hamilcar, thus began fighting against the Romans with another Spanish army
•	Hannibal, along with a multiethnic army and war elephants, went from Spain; over the Pyrenees; along southern France, where he allied with the Gauls; over the Alps; and began attacking Italy
•	The Romans began running from him under the leadership of Quintus Fabius Maximus
–	known as Cunctator or the delayer.
Wars with Carthage
•	Finally in southern Italy at Cannae the Romans fought Hannibal and were annihilated
–	48,000 slain
–	Worst defeat in Roman history
•	207 B.C., Hannibal’s little brother, who decided to reinforce him from Spain, was defeated by the Romans before he could join with Hannibal
•	Publius Cornelius Scipio assumed the proconsulship and by the end of 206 B.C. had driven the Carthaginians from Spain
•	Loss of Spain caused Hannibal to loose funding and manpower in Italy, thus forcing him back to Africa
•	Scipio pursued and defeated Hannibal at Zama thus making Rome the undisputed master of the western Mediterranean
Roman Hegemony
•	After defeating the Carthaginians, the Senate called for war against Greece
•	Defeated the Hellenes and became the dominant power in the Mediterranean
•	By 133 B.C. Rome had seven provinces
–	Carthaginian territory in Africa
–	Spain
•	Nearer Spain (Eastern)
•	Further Spain (Western)
–	Macedon
–	Sicily
–	Corsica
–	Sardinia
–	Pergamum and Asia Minor