C6.2 – From Republic to Empire

II. Rome Becomes an Empire

A. The First Triumvirate60 BC - Caesar and two other generals,Gnaeus Pompey and Licinius Crassus, formedthe First Triumvirate

Gnaeus Pompey 106 - 48 BC

Julius Caesar 100 - 44 BC

Licinius Crassus 115 BC – 53 BC

A. The First TriumvirateCrassus died; Caesar defeated Pompey in a civil war; named dictator for life in 44 BC

Julius Caesar and the Crossing of the Rubicon

The Period from 44BC- 28bc

• Formation and breakdown of the Second Triumvirate; power vacuum left by Caesar’s death, candidates for power, Senate response, fate of the assassins

• Role of Significant individuals; Octavian , Antony, Cicero, Cleopatra, Fulvia and Octavia

Senate- Intense rivalries

- Jealously protected privileges and power

- Did not address needs forreform

Landless Roman Peasants- Served in the armies that

had won an empire- Wanted farmland and a minimum

standard of living

Italian Allies- Served in the armies that

had won an empire- Wanted citizenship and equal

Treatment

Equites- Wealthy and distinguished non-senators- Wanted honors and recognition and did not want senators to look down on them

Roman Plebs- Laborers and poor of the capital

- Access to grain and bread at affordable prices

The Power Vacuum• The legacy of Julius Caesar’s death was

the political vacuum that was left after the Ides of March.

• Caesar’s series of dictatorships and the many titles and honors granted by the Senate had effectively dismantled the mechanism of government. Free elections had not been held since 49BC

• Whoever was to fill the vacuum would need wealth and a loyal army.

Octavian and AntonyHeirs apparent?

As individuals what do they have and what do they lack to take up the mantle of Caesar?

OCTAVIANSources of power

NAME OF CAESAR:Patrician birth

ClientaleLoyal army

Wealth?

MARK ANTONYSOURCES OF POWER

• In possession of CaesarS will• Consul for 44BC

• Loyalty of veterans• From the Civil War

B. The Second Triumvirate43 BC - Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidusseized power; formed the Second Triumvirate

Octavian 63 BC - AD 14

Marc Antony 83 BC – 30 BC

Lepidus 90 BC - 13 BC

B. The Second TriumvirateLepidus forced out; Antony and Octavian each governed half the empire

B. The Second Triumvirate31 BC - Civil war between Octavian and Antony; Octavian defeated Antony and Egypt’s Cleopatra

The Battle of Actium

B. The Second TriumvirateCleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian controlled Rome; republic ended, beginning anew period in Roman history

Antony and Cleopatra

C. From Octavian to AugustusOctavian called himself princeps, government called Principate; new political order emerged – the empire

Augustus (63 B.C. – AD 14)

First Roman Emperor

(27 BC - AD 14)

“He subjected the whole wide earth to the rule of the

Roman people”

C. From Octavian to Augustus27 BC - Senate gave Octavian title of Augustus, “the revered one”

Birth name:

Gaius Octavius Thurinus

Name as Emperor:

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus

D. The Augustan AgeRuled 40 years, power divided between himand Senate; conquests expanded the empire and brought peace – Pax Romana

D. The Augustan AgeLife in Rome improved; period of cultural creativity, greatest writers in Roman history – Horace, Ovid, Livy, and Virgil

E. The EmperorsAD 14 - Augustus died; empire ruled by Caesar’s relatives next 54 years – the Julio-Claudian Emperors

E. The EmperorsAbilities varied: Tiberius a good soldier andruler; Caligula brutal, mentally unstable; Nero, last Julio-Claudian, committed suicide in AD 68

Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) Nero (54-68 A.D.) Caligula (37 to 41)

E. The Emperors

After Nero, civil wars raged in Rome; four military leaders ruled in AD 69; last wasVespasian

Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus

(AD 9 – AD 79

E. The Emperors69 to 96 AD - Vespasian re-established order; stability returned under the Flavians - Vespasian and his two sons

The Flavian family, Vespasian and his sons

Titus and Domitian, depicted in The Triumph

of Titus

E. The Emperors

AD 96: reign of the Good Emperors began – fiverulers who governed Rome almost a century

The Five Good Emperors - Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius

E. The Emperors

Empire grew under the Good Emperors;reached limits of expansion under Trajan

Aureus issued by Trajan to celebrate the conquest of

Parthia

E. The EmperorsHadrian thought empire too large, withdrew from the east; built defensive fortifications as guard against invasions

Hadrian's Wall in northern England

Hadrian

A. Government

Government strongest unifying force in empire:maintained order, enforced laws, defended frontiers

A. GovernmentEmpire divided into provinces ruled by governors appointed and monitored by Rome

B. Laws, Trade, Transportation

Law unified the empire; specified crimes and penalties; applied to everyone in empire - the“Rule of Law”

B. Laws, Trade, Transportation

Agriculture remained primary occupation;tenant farmers began replacing slaves on large farms

B. Laws, Trade, Transportation

Manufacturing increased; produced everything from cheap pottery to world’s finest goods

Ancient glassware from the Roman era

Ancient Roman drinking vessels, bowls and jars

B. Laws, Trade, Transportation

Imported grain, meat, raw materials from provinces; Rome and Alexandria became commercial centers

B. Laws, Trade, Transportation

Commercial activity possible because of empire’s location and extensive (about 50,000mile) road network