Standard 6.63 Lesson

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Printed: March 24, 2016

www.ck12.org Chapter 1. Standard 6.63 Lesson

CHAPTER 1 Standard 6.63 LessonStandard 6.63: Describe the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from a republic toan empire and explain the reasons for the growth and long life of the Roman Empire.

BrainPop - Rise of the Roman Empire

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/riseoftheromanempire/

Click Here for The Roman Republic PowerPoint

Objectives:

1. Military organization, tactics and conquests and decentralized administration,2. The purpose and function of taxes3. The promotion of economic growth through the use of a standard currency, road construction, and the protec-

tion of trade routes,4. The benefits of a Pax Romana

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Julius Caesar (“Besame Mucho” by the Beatles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPYuxReh7fM&list=PLOlFytenlCl5NMbyy5qDrR-ooOFLSp8eL

Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire - Julius Caesar

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUGycQKs2v8

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome/julius_caesar.php

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Roman soldiers’ appearance changed very little over the centuries. The army of Julius Caesar looked very similar tothe soldiers in this 2nd-century B.C.E. carving.

In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar , the title character manages to utter "Et tu, Brute?" ("and you, Brutus?")as he is slain. This is not historically accurate.

According to the 1st century C.E. Roman historian Suetonius, Julius Caesar spoke mainly Greek and not Latin, aswas the case with most patricians at the time. In his history about the life of Julius Caesar, Suetonius writes that asthe assassins plunged their daggers into the dictator, Caesar saw Brutus and spoke the Greek phrase kai su, teknon ,meaning "you too, my child."

There is still debate whether or not it was shouted in shock or said as a warning. On one hand, Caesar may havebeen amazed to find a close friend like Brutus trying to kill him; on the other hand, he may have meant that Brutuswould pay for his crime in the future for this treachery. Either way, the words were Greek, so leave "Et tu, Brute"for Shakespeare.

FIGURE 1.1Roman coins celebrated Caesar’s militaryvictories in Gaul (present-day France).

Long before Julius Caesar became dictator (from 47-44 B.C.E.) and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Re-public had entered a state of rapid decline. The rich had become wealthier and more powerful as a result of Rome’smany military successes.

Meanwhile, life for the average Roman seemed to be getting worse. Attempts to reform the situation by two brothers,Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, were met with opposition that eventually resulted in their deaths.

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Pictured Above: In this 19th-century painting by Abel de Pujol, Caesar leaves his wife on the Ides of March, theday of his murder.

A

Julius Caesar was a man of many talents. Born into the patrician class, Caesar was intelligent, educated, andcultivated. An excellent speaker, he possessed a sharp sense of humor, charm, and personality. All of these traitscombined helped make him a skilled politician.

Moreover, Caesar was a military genius. His many successful military campaigns gained him broad support andpopularity among the common people. Caesar also won the undying loyalty of his soldiers, who supplied him withthe necessary muscle to seize power.

Julius Caesar began his rise to power in 60 B.C.E. by forging an alliance with another general, Pompey, and a wealthypatrician, Crassus. Together, these three men assumed control of the Roman Republic, and Caesar was thrust intothe position of consul. Historians have since dubbed the period of rule by these three men the First Triumvirate.

Over time, however, the triumvirate broke down. Crassus was killed in battle, and Pompey began entertaining ideasof ruling without the dangerously popular Caesar. While Caesar was fighting in Gaul (modern-day France), Pompeyand the Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome without his army. But when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River innorthern Italy, he brought his army with him in defiance of the senate’s order. This fateful decision led to a civil war.Caesar defeated Pompey’s forces and entered Rome in 46 B.C.E., triumphant and unchallenged.

Upon his return, Caesar made himself dictator and absolute ruler of Rome and its territories. During his rule,he enacted several reforms. Caesar founded many colonies in newly conquered territories and provided land andopportunity for poor Romans who chose to migrate there. He reduced the number of slaves and opened citizenshipup to people living in the provinces. Finally, he created a new calendar named the Julian calendar. This very calendar,with a few minor adjustments, is the same one used around the world today.

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In 44 B.C.E., Julius Caesar ordered the Senate to make him dictator for life. Typically, dictators served for a limitedtime (usually six months), then stepped down. Caesar’s actions threatened to end the Republic once and for all.Fearing this change, a group of senators plotted and executed the murder of Caesar on the Ides of March. Althoughthe senators succeeded in ending Caesar’s life, they did not realize at that time that the Republic had died with him.Rome would now become an empire.

The Pax Romana

BrainPop - Pax Romana

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/paxromana/

The term "Pax Romana," which literally means "Roman peace," refers to the time period from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E.in the Roman Empire.

This 200-year period saw unprecedented peace and economic prosperity throughout the Empire, which spannedfrom England in the north to Morocco in the south and Iraq in the east. During the Pax Romana, the Roman Empirereached its peak in terms of land area, and its population swelled to an estimated 70 million people.

FIGURE 1.2This map depicts the Roman Empire in117 C.E., at the height of the Pax Ro-mana.

Nevertheless, Rome’s citizens were relatively secure, and the government generally maintained law, order, andstability. The Pax Romana began when Octavian became the leader of the Roman Empire.

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Civil War and More

After the murder of Julius Caesar, a period of civil war erupted in Rome. Out of this turmoil emerged the SecondTriumvirate, consisting of Lepidus, Antony, and Octavian, who was Julius Caesar’s nephew. This new triumvirateruled Rome for a decade, but as happened with the First Triumvirate, differences among the leaders eventuallyemerged. The romance between Antony and Cleopatra has inspired the imaginations of artists for a millennium.

Octavian defeated Lepidus in battle, and then turned his armies against the more powerful Mark Antony. Antony hadfallen in love with and married the spellbinding queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. At the Battle of Actium off the coast ofGreece in 31 B.C.E., Octavian’s navy defeated the navy of Antony and Cleopatra, who later both committed suicide.

Octavian returned to Rome triumphant and gave himself the title of princeps or "first citizen." Octavian was carefulnot to upset the Senate by declaring himself dictator as his uncle Julius Caesar had done. Even though Octavianruled as a de facto dictator, he maintained the Senate and other institutions of the republican government.

In 27 B.C.E., the Senate bestowed the holy title of Augustus upon Octavian. Augustus, as he became known, ruledfor 41 years, and the policies he enacted lay the groundwork for the peace and stability of the Pax Romana.

All Roads Lead to Rome

The 200 years of the Pax Romana saw many advances and accomplishments, particularly in engineering and thearts. To help maintain their sprawling empire, the Romans built an extensive system of roads. These durable roadfacilitated the movement of troops and communication. The Romans built aqueducts to carry water overland to citiesand farms.

Pictured Above: The Roman army built the roads that connected the vast Roman empire. By layering sand, cement,and stone, they created durable roads that lasted long after the fall of Rome.

Many of the advances in architecture and building relied upon the Romans’ discovery of concrete. Concrete madepossible the creation of huge rounded arches and domes.

One of the most famous structures built during the Pax Romana, the Pantheon in Rome, has one of the largestfreestanding domes in the world to this day.

During the Pax Romana, many of Rome’s finest writers (such as Horace, Virgil, Ovid, and Livy) produced literaryand poetic masterpieces. Rome became the economic, political, and cultural capital of the entire Western world.

Bald Is Not Beautiful

After Augustus’s death in 14 C.E., other Roman emperors ruled with varying effectiveness. One emperor, Caligula,was mentally ill and regularly abused his power. He was so sensitive about his baldness that he prohibited anyonefrom looking down upon his head and shaved some people who had a full heads of hair.

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FIGURE 1.3Caligula’s bizarre and sometimes sadisticbehavior eventually led to his assassina-tion in 41 C.E.

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"Consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man’s life is only a moment, and after a short time we are alllaid out dead" said Marcus Aurelius. He even invited his favorite horse to eat at formal state dinners.

Eventually, his bizarre and tyrannical behavior turned the Romans against him, and in 41 C.E., Caligula wasassassinated by members of his own Praetorian guard.

Not all emperors were unfit to rule. In fact, a series of leaders known as the Five Good Emperors ruled in successionand presided over a prolonged period of peace and prosperity.

The last of these emperors, Marcus Aurelius, was the final emperor of the Pax Romana. His reign was followed bythe disastrous reign of his brutal son Commodus (160-192 C.E.). By this time, the Empire was struggling to hold offattacking tribes on the frontiers.

Additional Resources for 6.64

TABLE 1.1:

figure*

A statue of the first Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC - 14 AD) as a younger Octavian, this sculpted artworkdated to around 30 BC.

Topics covered in the remaining section:

1. Military organization, tactics, and conquests; and decentralized administration2. The purpose and function of taxes3. The promotion of economic growth through the use of a standard currency, road construction, and the protec-

tion of trade routes4. The benefits of Pax Romana

Focus Question: How did Rome go from a republic to an empire and what forces sustained the empire over time?

TABLE 1.2:

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TABLE 1.2: (continued)

Bust of Julius Caesar from the British Museum Source: George Willis Botsford, A History of Rome, McMillan,1921

A. Military Organization

The Roman Legion was generally comprised of between 4,000-6,000 men in various levels of infantry, with 4,200apparently being the optimal number. For more information on military tactics, scroll down to additional informationbelow.

FIGURE 1.4Decentralized Administration: Rome wasruled during this era as a decentralizedadministration.

TABLE 1.3:

figure*

The Roman Empire under Augustus Caesar (31 BC - AD 6)

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B. The purpose and function of taxes

Taxes: The Roman Empire taxed the people under its control, and the taxes fell most heavily on conquered peoples inthe empire. Roman citizens did not have to pay the individual or head tax required of each subject of the empire, andthe empire exempted Italian land from tribute. Roman citizens did, however, have to pay the 5 percent inheritancetax, a 1 percent sales tax, a customs or import duty, and a tax on freed slaves. Local magistrates, imperial officials,and professional tax collectors were all employed to gather taxes, and the imperial census became an important toolto identify potential taxpayers. Total taxes amounted to about 10 percent of the empire’s gross national product. Thatpercentage of tax may seem low by modern standards, but the imperial government provided minimal services. Forprovincials who could barely make a living, paying 10 percent of their income to the government was a considerableburden.

Here is a link that further explains Roman taxes .

Social Order: The social order in the Roman Empire played a critical role in the political and economic structure.The social order was based on heredity, property, wealth, citizenship and freedom. Here is a sample lesson plan onhow to introduce slavery in the Roman empire to grades 6-12

C. The promotion of economic growth through the use of a standard currency, road construction,and the protection of trade routes.

For a video resource, see Rome: Engineering an Empire on YouTube

Standard Currency: Merchants throughout the empire and as far away as India used Roman coins, but the monetarysystem primarily served as a way for the emperors to pay their troops because the soldiers expected cash. Whenan emperor had insufficient income, he was forced to raise taxes, seize property, or, as a final measure, melt downexisting coins and mint new ones that weighed less or contained smaller amounts of precious metals. Silver coinswere a basic medium of exchange during the empire, and one of the major Roman coins, a denarius (plural, denarii), equaled four of the smaller silver coins called sesterces. During the reign of Augustus, a silver denarius weighed5.7 gm (.20 oz) and was 99 percent pure. By ad 193 it had dropped to 4.3 gm (.15 oz) and was only 70 percent pure.The deficit spending of later emperors nearly halved the silver value of the coinage.

TABLE 1.4:

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TABLE 1.4: (continued)

figure*

Roman Road in Pompeii. Photo by Paul Vlaar on Wikimedia Commons

Road Construction: "All roads lead to Rome"... The Romans, for military, commercial and political reasons,became adept at constructing roads, which they called ’viae’ (plural of singular via). It means "to go" with the senseof transporting in a vehicle. Viae were always intended primarily as carriage roads, the means of carrying materialfrom one location to another. At its peak, the Roman road system spanned 53,000 miles and contained about 372links.

Protection of trade routes: Trade was vital to Ancient Rome. The empire cost a vast sum of money to run andtrade brought in much of that money. The population of the city of Rome was one million and such a vast populationrequired all manner of things brought back via trade. The Roman Empire was criss-crossed with trade routes. Therewere sea routes that covered the Mediterranean and Black Seas and numerous land routes using the roads built bythe Romans. Trade and moving the Roman Army around were the two principle reasons for building roads. Formore on trade routes, see the bottom of the page.

D. The benefits of Pax Romana

Augustus, the first Roman emperor, ruled for 45 years. It was during the reign of Augustus that people becameaccustomed to being ruled by one leader. Rome went on to greatness under the Empire, but the Roman Republic

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was no more. For 45 years, Rome was at peace. Many of the Romans’ incredible buildings and engineering projectswere constructed during this period of relative peace, culture and literature flourished, and much of Greek culturewas adopted during this period.

This period is the beginning of the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, although the name is a bit misleading. TheRomans continued to expand their empire during this period, and they did not always do so peacefully. Things werenot always peaceful in the city of Rome. Rome did not always have the best leadership. Some emperors were verycruel. Some were insane. But the empire continued to be stable. For some 200 years, the Roman Empire was united.

Pax Romana was a period of great ’peace’ and mobility within the Roman Empire, allowing for the rise of Chris-tianity to take place. A combination of the vast amount of cultures within the empire, the legendary travel conditionsof the Roman roads, and stability of Pax Romana all fostered the growth of Christianity.

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