Chapter Five Lecture Notes

Lecture 1
Chapter Five
Social, Political, and Economic Structures of Imperial Rome
Introduction
•	The wars, which made the Roman Republic what it was, changed Roman society and caused tensions that could not be resolved under the current political system
•	Civil strife and the emergence of a professional army led to the breakdown of republican government
•	Octavian brought about a new form of government and his successors gradually turned Roman government from a republic to an empire
Transformation of Roman Society
•	Ordinary Romans gained little from the Punic wars
•	Many found an unmarked grave in the conquered lands while those who returned home discovered their farms devastated by neglect or pillage.
•	However, the great senatorial families profited enormously.
–	Most of the military commanders came from this class and they took most of the goods from the conquered lands
•	Land  granted to those whose leadership was regarded as outstanding
•	Slaves
•	Wealth
Transformation of Roman Society
•	Small farmers sold their land to former officers who turned them into large, slave plantations
–	They would invest in different parts of the peninsula with specialized crops
–	Allowed them to take advantage of the soil and climate while not risking a bad harvest.
–	Aside from the cash crop, they produced only enough to support their labor force
•	Slaves were no longer part of the family
–	Foreign captives not Italian
•	Sicily  chain gangs and locked up at night
•	Spain  mines, which was a death sentence
•	Citizens by the thousands gave up their land and migrated to the cities.
Transformation of Roman Society
•	c. 213 B.C., senators began to give charity to the poor who came from their farms to the cities in exchange for votes
•	Equestrians  senators who invested in urban real estate (five-story tenements)
•	Other benefactors of the wars
–	Merchants
–	Shipbuilding
–	Arms manufacture
•	In this new found wealth they acquired land
•	Society changed drastically
–	The small farmers who once were the backbone of society were now replaced by slaves and dependent upon city life.
Social Conflict: 
The Reforms of the Gracchi
•	In 133 B.C., Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was elected tribune and began reform
–	He had hoped to improve the condition of the landless Romans by redistributing public lands acquired through conquest
–	His reason: From the beginning, land ownership was a prerequisite for military service. Decline in the number of landowners threatened the state by shrinking its military. Only the restoration of land could preserve the depleted legions
•	1,000 iugera (600 acres) of land could be saved by each family from distribution
–	Wealthy did not like this
•	Land held by family for generations
•	Land given to Romans not Italians
Social Conflict: 
The Reforms of the Gracchi
•	Tiberius took reform to plebeian assembly, which quickly approved the legislation
•	Another tribune vetoed and Tiberius had him voted out of office
•	Tiberius gave power of redistribution of land to a committee composed of three people
–	Himself
–	His brother, Gaius
–	His father-in-law
•	These actions were illegal and Tiberius knew if he was not reelected the tribuneship he would face charges of treason
Social Conflict: 
The Reforms of the Gracchi
•	A group of senators saw Tiberius as becoming a tyrant and thus had him and 300 of his followers killed
•	This was the first outbreak of civil violence in the Roman republic
•	Constitutional change was seen as the only way of resolving the problems within society
•	Tiberius learned that political power could be attained by “riding the shoulders” of the mulitude
Social Conflict: 
The Reforms of the Gracchi
•	Gaius Gracchus was elected tribune in 123 B.C. and he reenacted his brother’s agrarian law
–	He guaranteed grain rations to the poor
–	Set up overseas colonies for those willing to emigrate for land
•	Carthage was the first
•	Gaius was reelected in 122 B.C. having addressed the problems of the poor and satisfying the equestrians
–	His second term was Italian allies angry over agrarian reform
–	His solution  grant citizenship, but the plebeian assembly did not want to share its privileges
•	Gaius was defeated for reelection in 121 B.C.
•	Rioting began as a result of a repeal on earlier Gracchi reforms
Lecture 2
The Fall of the Republic
•	The Gracchi had tried to address Rome’s problems but failed
–	Equestrians and Italian allies felt excluded from their place in the political system
–	Army grew steadily weaker
•	107 B.C. Gaius Marius elected consul
–	Admitted volunteers to the army, regardless if they owned land or not
•	Paid cash
•	Promised land
–	Provided an escape for the thousands of landless peasants within the cities
•	These new large armies became powerful
–	The men wanted the land promised to them
–	Only the Senate through the advice of the consul or proconsul could give away land
–	The generals became medium from troops to government and also more of a threat
The Fall of the Republic
•	Lucius Cornelius Sulla elected consul in 88 B.C.
–	Former lieutenant of Gaius Marius
–	Called to fight invaders in the east
–	Marius, thinking he should command, came out of retirement and convinced the plebeian assembly to give him command
–	Sulla marched on Rome and drove out Marius
–	When Sulla went to fight in Asia, Marius returned and killed many of Sulla’s senatorial friends
The Fall of the Republic
•	Sulla returned and established a dictatorship
–	Lasted four years
–	Intended to reform the state from within
–	Launched a reign of terror killing personal enemies and the rich who had the land needed to pay his troops
•	Sulla retired in 79 B.C., marking the end of constitutional government in Rome
•	For nearly a decade generals and their legions had power in Rome, not the Senate or the assemblies
–	Pompey and Crassus
•	Roman politicians welcomed the generals to protect them from domestic rivals and revolts
–	Spartacus, a gladiator, led a slave rebellion
–	Put down by Crassus, who crucified 6,000 rebels along the Appian Way
The Fall of the Republic
•	Senate responded to each crisis by appointing people unconstitutionally and then denying them full honors upon their victory
–	Triumphs  ceremonial processions
–	Grants also delayed and denied to veterans
•	First Triumvirate (60 B.C.)
–	Alliance between Pompey, Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar in which they would govern Rome
–	Pompey and Crassus disbanded their legions and went to Rome
–	Caesar took his legions and conquered Gaul and raided Britain
The Fall of the Republic
•	Crassus died and Pompey began to fear Caesar’s power.
•	Pompey ordered Caesar to come back to Rome as a private citizen
•	Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome in 49 B.C. beginning a civil war
•	Pompey was killed in Alexandria
•	Caesar was victorious and did not intend to retire
•	The Roman Republic had fallen never to be revived
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Caesar was assassinated on the ides of March (March 15) in 44 B.C.
–	Conspiracy of 60 senators was led by G. Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus
–	Believed the death of Caesar would restore the power to the Senate
•	Caesar’s heirs
–	Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony)
•	Funeral oration turn the mob against Caesar’s assassins and forced them to flee the city
–	Gaius Octavius
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Marcus Tullius Cicero
–	Leader of group of senators who feared Antony and Octavius’ power
–	Finest orator of the time
•	Cicero tried to drive a wedge between Antony and Octavius
•	Senate gave Octavius command of Rome’s armies but not office of consul, on the advice of Cicero, after the death of the consuls who were fighting against Antony in Gaul
•	Octavius, only 19 years old, who called himself Julius Caesar Octavianus went to Rome and took the office of consul by force
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Octavian made peace with Antony and former Caesarian governor Lepidus forming the Second Triumvirate
•	They killed 300 senators and 2000 equestrians to pay their armies
•	Octavian then turned his army against Brutus who had fled to Macedon
•	Antony turned his army against Cassius who had fled to Syria
•	Both of Caesar’s assassins were killed
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Octavian and Antony were the dominant figures of the Second Triumvirate
•	In 36 B.C. they removed Lepidus and divided the empire between themselves
–	Octavian  West
–	Antony  East
•	Antony, realizing that conflict would soon occur with Octavian turned to the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII
–	Cleopatra wanted to restore the power of the Ptolemies and play a part in Roman affairs
–	Went to Rome where she was a mistress of Julius Caesar and bore him a son
–	After Caesar’s death, she went back to Egypt where she arranged for the murder of her brother/husband and coruler
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Antony and Cleopatra allied themselves together against Octavian
•	31 B.C., Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra making him the undisputed ruler of the western world
•	He wanted to be called princeps  first citizen
•	He treated the senators with courtesy
–	Increased their numbers and legislative power
•	Real power was in commanders of legions in Spain, Gaul, Syria, and other border provinces
The Rise of Augustus and Augustan Principate
•	Octavian became a lifelong tribune, thus enabling him to participate in the assemblies and gave him veto power over legislation
•	He was an administrator like no other
•	Provincial relationships increased
–	Provinces encouraged to adopt Roman institutions and granted Roman citizenship to the leaders
•	Replaced many of the tenements built by the equestrians
•	Established a fire and police service
•	Improved the cities water supply
•	Upon his death he had established a legacy of peace and prosperity known as pax romana
The First Emperors
•	The Roman Empire had become a hereditary monarchy whose power rested in the army
•	Caligula
•	Claudius
•	Nero
•	Vespasian
–	First to formally adopt title of imperator or emperor
The First Emperors
•	The Five Good Emperors
–	Nerva
–	Trajan
–	Hadrian
–	Antoninus
–	Marcus Aurelius
•	All except Marcus Aurelius appointed an heir
•	Marcus Aurelius broke tradition by having a son and allowing that son to have the throne
–	Commodus  was a disaster and ended in military revolt
Lecture 3
Art, Literature, and Thought in Imperial Rome
•	Like during the republic, the art, literature, and thought of Rome depended heavily upon Greek models.
•	Art
–	Painting and sculpture were a part of most public places especially the palaces of the rich.
–	Portrait statues were the only difference between the Greeks and Romans in their art forms
•	Realism instead of Idealism
Art, Literature, and Thought in Imperial Rome
•	Architecture
–	Temples and theaters similar to Greek
–	Public buildings similar to Etruscans with arch and vaulted ceilings
•	Baths
•	Aqueducts
•	Warehouses
•	Stadia
–	Domes, columns, friezes, and pediments became decorative rather than serving a structural purpose
Art, Literature, and Thought in Imperial Rome
•	Thought
–	Borrowed from Greeks
–	Stoicism was dominant
•	Cicero and Marcus Aurelius
•	Science
–	Alexandria remained center of scientific research
–	Greek was the primary language in publication
•	Literature
–	More original
–	Romans were more literate (15% of population) than other Mediterranean societies and books were produced in large numbers
•	Produced by slaves who dictated on papyrus scolls
–	Public correspondence became popular and unique to Rome
Art, Literature, and Thought in Imperial Rome
•	Literature
–	Poetry was popular and considered the highest form of literary achievement
•	Virgil’s The Aeneid
•	Drama
–	Never achieved great importance
–	Greek tragedies  intellectuals
–	Comedy  public
•	Later years public taste turned to mime
•	As theater attendance declined, attendance to gladiatorial combats and similar entertainments began to increased
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Time of prosperity
•	Policies of early empire were economic based
•	Pax romana had united the western world under a single government, which:
–	Limited warfare
–	Created a huge market for trade
•	Tariffs were low
–	Uniformed coinage and systems for banking and credit
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Veterans were given land of their own to settle
–	This dispossessed some existing farmers
•	Initial effect was to reduce the number of latifundia, or large slave-worked estates, and increase the number of small independent farms
•	Slaves
–	Reduction of the number of slaves
•	Augustus did not want latifundia
•	Manumission was common
–	Slaves grew more valuable and treatment improved
–	Farmers began to encourage slaves to reproduce in order to resupply
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Eventually, farms were sold 
–	Returned to the city
–	Became tenants (coloni) which leased land and returned a portion of the harvest to landowner.
•	Average size of farms began to increase
–	By the first century A.D., half the land in the African province was owned by six men.
•	Agrarian Products
–	Grain
–	Wine
–	Oil
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Manufacturers
–	Metal tools and weapons
–	Red-glazed pottery
–	Woolen cloth
–	Glassblowing
•	Monopolies
–	Egyptian papyrus
–	Phoenician  glass, dyes, and textiles
–	Others
•	Linens
•	Drugs
•	Perfumes
•	Precious stones
•	Dried fruit
•	Pickled fish
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Trade
–	Silk Road
•	Connected China with Syria
–	Indian spices
–	Africa
•	Gold
•	Ivory
•	Palm oil
•	Frankincense
•	Rhinoceros horn
•	This made a few people rich (equestrians and some freedmen) but the overall economy was agrarian
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	City of Rome
–	The center of the world
–	In the first century A.D., one million (1,000,000) people inhabited the city
–	A third of the city’s land was occupied by the palaces of the rich
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Daily routine of a wealthy Roman in Rome
–	Began at dawn with visits from clients who would
•	Show respect
•	Request favors
•	Receive instructions
–	Most of the day was devoted to politics, business, or the law courts
–	Physical exercise and a bath always preceded the main meal of the day
•	Usually at night
•	Women sat upright
•	Men reclined on couches
•	Food included the finest delicacies
–	Songbirds, exotic fruits, fish grown in special ponds, and vintage wine
–	Afterwards guests would leave accompanied by bodyguards
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Sexuality
–	Homosexuality and bisexuality were mocked but tolerated
–	Casual sex of every kind done through slavery
•	Women
–	Own and manage property and slaves apart from their husbands
–	Successful in business and involved in politics
•	Divorce
–	Political or financial reasons
–	Four or five marriages were not uncommon while extramarital affairs were frequent
–	No real legal penalty because it was considered a private matter
–	Wives kept their dowries
–	Adultery was, by law, punishable by death, but was not enforced.
–	In 18 B.C., Augustus made it a little more difficult by requiring seven witnesses for a divorce and not allowing women to sue for adultery
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Education
–	Common among both sexes
–	Private library seen as a symbol of one’s status
•	Slaves
–	Constant companions of the rich
–	Numbered about a third of the city’s population
–	Domestic slaves
•	Lived in master’s house
•	Sometimes lovers or friends
–	Urban slaves  had own homes and lived similar to ordinary citizens
•	Teachers
•	Physicians
•	Librarians
•	Entertainers
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Slaves
–	Legal and personal relationship
–	Not persons under the law
–	Only virtue required of them was loyalty to their master
–	Could not serve in army nor participate in public life
–	Could testify in court
•	Often tortured before as to “release” them from their obligation of loyalty to their master
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Slaves
–	Corporal punishment
•	Inflicted but legislated by emperors
–	Forbade exposure of old or sick slaves
–	Prohibited castration
–	Abolished private executions
–	Manumission
•	Best guarantee for safety
•	Could purchase freedom as soon as price was accumulated
•	Usually done by age 30
–	Foreigners
•	Gauls, Syrians, and Africans
•	Method by which they were “Romanized”
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Common Free Citizen
–	POOR
–	Lived in insulae (tenement houses)
•	Brick with concrete grills for windows
•	Wooden floors, stairs, and roofs kept fire companies busy
•	Poorly ventilated
•	Dark
•	No heat, unless you had something for cooking
–	Spent time in the Forum or on the street
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Common Free Citizen
–	Controlled by “bread and circuses”
•	Politicians funded 
–	Theatrical performances
–	Circuses
»	Slaughter of exotic animals by men or men by animals
–	Gladiatorial games
»	Trained slaves fighting to the death
–	Chariot races
–	Huge public feasts
•	Roman citizens ate and drank themselves into the control and power of their leaders.
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Common Free Citizen
–	Public Baths
•	Separate facilities for men and women
–	Provided exercise (not provided for women)
–	Steam baths
–	Hot and cool pools
•	Lengthy process
–	No soap, therefore they would first take a steam bath
–	Then scraped themselves with a strigel
–	Lastly they would immerse themselves successively in hot and cold water
•	Provided opportunity for socializing
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Rome’s Amenities
–	Streets
•	Noisy and High Crime
–	Clean
•	Aqueducts brought pure water into every neighborhood
•	Most insulae had a garden or potted plants
•	Marriage was rare
•	Birthrate was low with some children being abandoned to be found by slave traders
Social and Economic Structure of Early Empire
•	Little effort put into imposing culture on the conquered peoples of the empire
–	Only asked that taxes be paid and peace maintained
•	Egypt and Judea
•	Social structure in the East different than in the West
–	Slavery less widespread
–	Craft production far more important than agriculture
–	Farms were owned by the wealth and rented in return for cash payments or a portion of the harvest.