2. Republic to Empire
Small minority of Roman citizens are running the
government
Senate is made up of wealthy landowners who serve
for life
Senators and the wealthy bought large tracts of land
for large-scale and highly profitable agriculture
Small farmers could not compete with large-scale
agriculture
Created economic and social crisis in Rome as small
farmers moved to Rome seeking economic
opportunity
3. Reform: Gracchus Brothers
Rome had large population of poor
Made up of small farmers who gave up their land
because they couldn’t compete with wealthy
landowners
Gracchus brothers proposed reforms to help
poor
Land-reform bills to prevent large scale agriculture
Return public lands to small farmers
Gracchus brothers were assassinated by the
wealthy class for their reform ideas
4. Roman Army
Traditionally, the Roman Army recruited from the landowner class, who could
afford armor and weapons.
By first century BCE, the Army was stretched too thin and needed more
soldiers. Gaius Marius, a famous general, recruited his soldiers from among
the poor. He promised land in exchange for their service.
•This gave soldiers the opportunity to become landowners and possibly
rise through the social classes
•It made the soldiers give their allegiance to their general, not Rome
Once an army became loyal to their
general instead of Rome, generals
found themselves with more power –
the power of force.
Roman generals started to use their
armies to gain political power by
threatening or actually invading
Rome.
5. Roman Generals
Gaius Marius Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Changed way armies were Civil war broke out when
recruited Sulla had command of
Gave generals more power army in Asia
Plebs tried to give command
Forced generals to enter to Marius
politics to get land for their
Sulla brought his army
troops
back to Rome and fought
Marius
Sulla defeated Marius and
became dictator
6. Sulla
Used dictatorship to try to restore power to
the Senate instead of generals
Instead showed future leaders how they
could control Rome
Army loyalty
Bribed Tribunes of the Pleb into making laws
Left behind legacy of generals seizing power by
force and having Senate appoint them dictators
7. First Triumvirate
From 82 to 31 BCE, Rome was involved in
several civil wars as generals tried to gain
power.
In 60 BCE, three men emerged as victors and
were able to dominate the political scene in
Rome:
Crassus, the richest man in Rome
Pompey, a military hero
Julius Caesar, a military commander from one of
the oldest families in Rome
9. First Triumvirate
Joined together in 60 BCE
Pompey received command of Spain
Crassus received command in Syria
Caesar received command of Gaul (France)
All three used their commands to enrich
themselves and gain the loyalty of their
armies
Crassus was killed in 53 BCE, ending the
triumvirate
10. First Triumvirate: Aftermath
Pompey, heavily influenced by a Senate allied against
Caesar, was convinced to take command of Rome
Caesar was ordered to disband his army and return to
Rome
Caesar would face charges of treason, bribery, and
illegally fighting a war in Gaul, so he refused to step
down
Caesar kept his army and crossed into Rome at the
Rubicon (as a result, “Crossing the Rubicon” has come to
mean unable to turn)
Caesar marched on Rome, starting a civil war against
Pompey’s forces
Caesar defeated Pompey, who fled Rome with most of
the Senate
11. Julius Caesar
•Used military to seize power
•Became dictator in 47 BC
•Gave land to poor
•Gave political offices to
friends
•Weakened Senate by
enlarging it
•Changed to 365 day calendar
(was Egyptian)
12. Second Triumvirate
Caesar’s heir: Octavian
Caesar’s nephew: Marcus Antonius
Caesar’s cavalry commander: Lepidus
Three men took control of Rome
Lepidus went to Africa
Ocatvian and Marcus Antonius split the rest of the
Roman territory by East/West,
Antonius took the East, went to Egypt
Octavian stayed in Rome and gained power
14. Octavian vs. Antonius
Lepidus was soon out of power, crushed between
the two opposing forces of Octavian and
Antonius
Antonius fled to Egypt and allied himself with
Cleopatra (his mistress – he fell in love with her)
Octavian pursued Antony with his army, had
battle at Actium
Antony was defeated and a year later, he and
Cleopatra committed suicide rather than
surrender to Octavian
15. Age of Augustus
After Antony’s suicide, Octavian was supreme
ruler of Rome
He promised to restore the Republic, but
actually became the first emperor
In 27BCE the Senate granted Octavian the
title of “Augustus”, meaning the revered one
He still controlled army, so Senate was not
powerful
Was granted title of imperator, or emperor
16. Age of Augustus
Octavian kept standing
military of around 150,000
men
Stabilized the Roman Empire
Expanded borders of known
Empire
Defeated when he tried to
expand into Germany
17.
18. Early Empire – 14 BCE – 180 CE
Empire had a strong
military
First four emperors after
Octavian were all from his
family
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
19. Early Empire
Emperors became more powerful, took
power from the Senate
Emperors became more corrupt the more
power they gained
Nero killed all his opposition, including his
own mother
Military abandoned Nero, who committed
suicide
20. Pax Romana
Pax Romana was period of peace and
prosperity
Five good emperors came to power during
Pax Romana: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian,
Anonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius
Respected ruling classes
Ended arbitrary execution
Maintained Peace throughout empire
Domestic policies of building including
aqueducts, bridges, roads, harbors
21. Empire Expands
Rome expands under emperor Trajan
Empire becomes too large to be easily
governed
Hadrian withdrew from Mesopotamia,
strengthened fortifications along the
Rhine and Danube Rivers
Built Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain
to keep out Picts and Scots
At its height, the empire was 3.5
million square miles and had a
population of over 50,000,000 people
22. Early Empire
Emperors allowed conquered people to maintain
local customs
Citizenship was granted to some conquered
people, especially the wealthy and those
accepting of Roman rule
In AD 212, the emperor Caracalla granted
everyone Roman citizenship
Cities are critical in spreading Roman culture,
including Latin, literature, and laws
Culture is Greco-Roman, since Greek was used
throughout most of the Eastern part of the
Empire
23. Economic & Social Conditions
Early empire was prosperous and peaceful
High levels of trade throughout the Empire
Puteoli is chief port in Italy, along with Ostia, which was at the
mouth of the Tiber River
Luxury items came from as far east as China (along the Silk
Road)
Farming remained the chief occupation of Roman prosperity
Large estates called latifundia dominated farming
Sheep and cattle were raised on a large scale, mostly using
slave labor
Large gulf between the very wealthy and the poor
Poor were dependent on handouts of grain from the emperor