Nero -ruled from 54 to 68 emphasized the arts
Claudius- Ruled from AD 41 to AD 54 // suffered from many infirmities: a limp, stammering, shaking slobbering... possibly because of cerebral palsy
Caligula. - Ruled from AD 37 to AD 41 (only 4 years!)0// known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity - an insane tyrant// assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the imperial court, trying to re-stablish the Republic
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
Lucius Tarquinias Superbus// the seventh and final king of Rome
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)
plebs were 98% of the population
SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum//designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People”
Executive- US- President (plus VP)//four year terms//can veto proposed laws//Commander-in-Chief of the military
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
- 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
- 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
- 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 docileOctavian ain’t no Tarquin
- 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
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 involed
- 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
Octavian on his own- 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
Octavian ain’t no Tarquin- 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
Some Accomplishments...- 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
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