The Roman Republic and Empire had its origins as a small town on the Tiber River in central Italy. As Rome expanded, it established a republican government without a king and gained control over the Italian peninsula through alliances and military conquests. Internal conflicts emerged between the patrician and plebeian classes, as well as over agrarian reforms and corruption. This instability contributed to the rise of influential generals like Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, weakening the republic. Caesar's assassination led to the First Triumvirate and civil wars, culminating in the rise of Augustus Caesar and the establishment of the Roman Empire.

1. The Roman Republic and Empire assembly. They could pass laws concerning the common people,
elected officials called tribunes, who protected the plebeians’
Early History of Rome rights
o The Twelve Tables
o A small town on the Tiber River in the central part of the Italian o The first set of laws for the common people of the
Peninsula Republic
o Advantages of the location: o These laws gave the plebeians some protection against
o Fertile plains could support a large population unfair decisions by patrician judges
o Provided a route to the sea, giving Rome the o The Plebeians’ position continued to improved, especially that
opportunity for foreign trade of the plebeian merchants
o Heart of Italy and could expand in many directions o They could no longer be enslaved for debt
o They can marry patricians
The Greeks and the Etruscans o They were permitted to hold the office of consul
o They also won the right to become member of the Senate
o Latins: the early settlers of Rome who were one of many o By 287 B.C., plebeians and patricians had equal legal rights but
different peoples living in the Italian peninsula the real political power remained in the hands of the patricians
o The Greek colonists had established city-states in Sicily and and wealthy plebeians
southern Italy, and the Romans adopted their alphabet, military o The nobles still held the highest offices in the Republic and
techniques and styles of literature, art, architecture. dominated the Senate
o Etruscans
o Lived in prosperous trading cities to the north and The Roman Military Power
west of Rome
o Romans learned practical skills in sanitation, road o The Romans showed a devotion to their city, a toughness of
building, architecture and pottery making character and a genius for warfare and diplomacy
o 7th century B.C., they controlled Rome and much of o By the middle of the third century B.C., Rome ruled most of
the land nearby Italy
o During their reign, Rome grew into a great city built o After an attack by people called Gauls from north of Italy, the
on seven hills along the Tiber Senate required the patricians and the plebeians to serve as
o The FORUM: a central public square (built soldiers
between two of the hills) o The strength of the Roman Army was its superior discipline and
organization
The Government without a King o Legion: the basic army unit with 3,000 to 6,000 infantry soldiers
and 100 or more troops on horseback
o Republic: a government without a king
o This government is not like democracy of Athens Rome gained allies in Italy
o Leaders came from the class of wealthy land owners called
o Rome made allies to former enemies
patricians
o Some defeated cities and peoples were granted Roman
o Consuls: officials who directed daily affairs of governing and
citizenship; others were permitted to keep their local self-
also led the army. They held office only for a year
government
o The Senate
o Rome gave conquered peoples protection and maintained order
o a 300-member council of patricians
throughout the Italian Peninsula
o The most powerful part of the Republic
o The conquest of Italy gave Rome the additional soldiers it
o They control Rome’s finances and foreign affairs
needed to expand further
o They debated vital issues and made important decisions o Roman statesmen opposed involvement in wars outside Italy
affecting the state o Rome’s growing power, however, brought it into conflict with
o They believed that they honored themselves and their families other states of the Mediterranean world
by serving Rome well
o The military banners carried by the Roman armies bore the War with Carthage: PUNIC Wars
letters SPQR meaning Senātus Populusque Rōmānus (the Senate
and the People of Rome) o They are known as the Punic Wars because the Latin term for
Carthaginian was Punici (older Poenici, from their Phoenician
The Voice of the People ancestry).
o Carthage: founded by the Phoenicians. They had become a
o Assemblies of the Roman citizens is important in the republic strong sea power
o Plebeians: o Controlled large areas in western Mediterranean, including parts
o The common people had little say in the government of Spain, North Africa and other islands
o They took part in an assembly, but it had much less o Considered by Rome as a threat to its allies in southern Italy and
power than the Senate
to the supply of grains from the island of Sicily
o Roman laws worked against the Plebeians
o Rome began the war with a strong army because of the help of
o They could not hold higher government positions or
the Italian allies
marry patricians
o Carthaginians had superior navy
o They struggle to gain equality with the patricians for
more than 200 years o Romans built their own fleet and won victories both at sea and
o Plebeians were threatened to stop serving the army and paying in Sicily
taxes during the early years of the Republic o Carthage was forced to make peace in 241 B.C.
o Wars with the neighbors in Italy served as threat to the Republic o Sicily was named as the first province of Rome outside the
o To avoid civil war between the different groups within the Italian Peninsula after winning in the 1st Punic War
country, the plebeians were given the right to form their own

2. o Rome was regarded as the new “protector” of Asia Minor
o Rome had extended its rule over the entire Mediterranean,
Invasion of Hannibal: 2nd Punic War including all the Greek world
o As Carthaginians continued to expand in Spain, Rome planned End of the Roman Republic
to attack them there.
o In 218 B.C., the Carthaginian general Hannibal decided to strike o Crisis in Agriculture
at Rome by invading Italy from the north. o Latifundia: large estates owned by rich citizens of Rome. These
o Hannibal traveled northeast through Spain, crossed what is now were pieces of property covering tremendous areas.
southern France, and reached the Alps in northern Italy. o Slaves were taken from the prisoners of the Punic Wars
o Gauls and some Roman allies joined the Carthaginians against o Unemployment increased
Rome
o Hannibal showed his military genius at the Battle of Cannae in The Gracchus Brothers
216 B.C.
o The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic o The Gracchus family of Rome were plebeians who were active
War, taking place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in politics
in Apulia in southeast Italy. o Tiberius Gracchus:
o The army of the Carthaginian Empire under Hannibal decisively o elected tribune in 133 BC
defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic o He promised to help the farmers
under command of the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and o He called for taking public lands and distributing these
Gaius Terentius Varro. among the landless farmers
o Following the Battle of Cannae, Capua and several other Italian o After re-election as Tribune, he was killed together
city-states defected from the Roman Republic. Although the with his 300 followers
battle failed to decide the outcome of the war in favor of o Gaius Gracchus:
Carthage, it is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in o Became tribune after 10 years and urged even more
military history and the greatest defeat of Rome. reforms
o “The Streets were loud with the wailing and weeping of women” o Grains were given to the poor
- Livy o Opened more lands for the farmers
o Although the true figure will probably never be known, Livy o Secured more rights for the middle class
and Polybius variously claim that 50,000–70,000 Romans died o In 121 BC, fighting broke out between the Romans
with about 3,000–4,500 taken prisoner. who supported Gaius and those who opposed his
o These were the Republic’s worst days policies. Gaius and several thousand people were
killed
Who is Hannibal?
Roman Politics: Corruption & Violence
Place of birth: Carthage,Tunisia
Place of death: Gebze, Anatolia o Conflicts between the rich and the poor increased
Allegiance: Carthaginian Empire o The Senate attacks on the Gracchus Brothers introduced
Rank: General, commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian armies violence as a means of dealing with political opponents
Battles/wars: Second Punic War: Battle of Lake Trasimene, Battle of o Many patricians became more concerned with keeping their
Trebia, Battle of Cannae, Battle of Zama power and wealth than with promoting the welfare of Rome
The Fall of Hannibal Revolt of the Slaves
o Hannibal lacked military strength to capture the city of Rome. o In 135 BC, slaves in the island of Sicily revolted and captured
o Scipio: The Roman General who led the army and attacked the several towns before being subdued
o Spartacus:
Carthaginians in Spain, preventing help from being sent to
o proclaimed a war to free the slaves in Italy 90,000
Hannibal
slaves ran away to join his revolt
o In 203 B.C., the Romans also invade North Africa.
o For two years the slave army defeated Roman forces
o Hannibal returned to Carthage to protect his homeland
and devastated southern Italy
o Hannibal was defeated by Scipio in the Battle of Zama in 202
o The revolt ended when Spartacus was killed in battle
B.C.
o Marcus Licinius Crassus
o The Roman general who ordered the crucifixion of the
Rome defeated Carthage
6,000 slaves who revolted against Rome
o Rome defeated Carthage in the third war.
Generals took control of Rome
o Many Romans wanted to destroy Carthage permanently
o Romans burned Carthage to the ground and sold its survivors
o Gaius Marius
into slavery
o Began to recruit soldiers from the jobless poor of the
o The region became a Roman province
cities
o These slaves showed loyalty to Marius not to Rome
Roman and the Greek World
o Lucius Cornelius Sulla
o Greatest rival of Marius
o The fall of Carthage in the Second Punic War had given Rome
o Restore the authority of the Senate but kept the real
control over the western Mediterranean Sea
power for himself
o The land in the east still belonged to cities and Hellenistic
o Dictator: this position carried absolute power but
Kingdoms that had arisen after the breakup of Alexander’s
supposed to be limited to a term of six months
empire
o In 196 B.C., Rome defeated Macedonia

3. o The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the
Fall of Rome official political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar, Octavianus
or Octavian (later known as Augustus), Marcus Aemilius
The First Triumvirate Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 43 BC.
o They defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius
o The First Triumvirate is a term used by some historians to refer o Octavian and Anthony became rivals
to the unofficial Roman political alliance of Gaius Julius o In 31 BC., in a naval battle off the coast of Greece, Octavian’s
Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius fleet crushed the combined navies of Anthony and Cleopatra,
Magnus Queen of Egypt
o It formed in 60 BC and lasted until Crassus's death in 53 BC. o This victory made Octavian the unchallenged leader of Rome.
o The three had few aims in common except their opposition to The Roman Republic had come to an end
the Senate
o Each was jealous of the other’s power, but they at first cooperate
to gain the post of consul for Caesar.
o Caesar knew that he needed an army to succeed in politics, so he Rome Unites a Vast Empire
took command of the Roman legions in Gaul
o He brought all of Gaul (roughly the area now called France) Octavian
under Rome’s control and briefly invaded Britain
o He described all his successes in hi book The Gallic Wars o His triumph in 31 BC marked the end of the Roman Republic
and brought an end to a century of political murder and civil war
The Gallic Wars o Like Caesar, Octavian believed that:
o the republican system no longer worked
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the o a single strong ruler could restore order in Rome
Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes, lasting o During his time, many nobles had been killed in the struggle for
from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Romans would also raid Britannia and power and others realized that Rome needed strong rule.
Germania, but these expeditions never developed into full-scale o He won the support of the Senate by allowing it to keep some of
invasions. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of its power
Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the o He encouraged the Senate to give him advice, permitted it to
expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul. The wars administer some of the provinces, and let it have its own
paved the way for Caesar's subsequent becoming the sole ruler of the treasury
Roman Republic. o The Senate gave him a title that was also used for the gods-
Augustus, meaning honored and majestic
Caesar and Rome
o He also took the honorary title “caesar”
o In Rome, Pompey was gaining political power and the support o Augustus Caesar was also referred to as “first citizen” which
of the Senate. implied that Rome was still and republic.
o In 49 B.C. he persuaded the Senate to order Caesar to return o His rise to power marked the beginning of the Roman Empire
home without his army. To obey would have left Caesar without
power. Augustus Caesar
o Instead, Caesar deliberately led his troops into Italy
o He was regarded as a creative and responsible statesman
o He defeated Pompey’s armies in Italy and Greece and went on
o He used his power to bring order and good government to both
to more victories in Egypt, Asia Minor, Africa and Spain
Rome and its far-flung provinces
o Returning to Rome in 46 B.C as its greatest hero, he easily took
o Ambitious military leaders had been one of the chief causes of
over the government and was named both dictator and consul
disruption, Augustus took complete control of the army
o He made reforms that won popular support in both provinces
o He gained loyalty of his soldiers by giving veterans large
and cities
bonuses and land in Italy or the provinces
o To aid the poor in Rome, he resettled 100,000 army veterans and
o He improved the government in the provinces
others in new colonies and gave them land to farm
o He supervised the actions of the provincial governors
o He granted citizenship to more people outside Italy
and took direct control of provinces that might cause
o He put into effect a new and accurate calendar, the Julian
trouble, leaving the Senate to oversee the provinces
calendar. that were peaceful
o He was named dictator for life o To encourage loyalty to Rome and to himself, he
granted citizenship to more people in the Empire,
Caesar’s Death including men from the provinces who served in the
Roman army
o Caesar’s power, success and popularity alarmed many nobles o He also tried to restore those qualities that had made Romans a
and senators great people:
o They feared that he would destroy the Senate and become a o Devotion to the Roman state
king, thereby ending the Republic o Close family ties
o March 15, 44 B.C. a group of nobles led by Marcus Brutus and
o Hard work, discipline and simple living
Gaius Cassius stabbed Caesar to death in the Senate
o Laws were passed to encourage people to marry and raise
The Second Triumvirate families
o He sponsored building of roads, water system and other projects
o The death of Caesar ended the danger of one-man rule, but it that both improved people’s lives and provided jobs for some of
brought civil wars in Rome the poor cities.
o The government gave free or low-cost grains

4. o Many Jews took refuge in the mountaintop fortress of Masada
The GOOD Emperor
o Titus and Domitian followed their father as emperor
o After the assassination of Domitian in 96 AD, the Senate chose a
respected senator named Nerva
PAX ROMANA o He introduced the adoptive system of choosing the next emperor
o He adopted a man with proven ability as his son as his heir to
o Augustus died in 14 AD the thrown.
o His rule had brought Rome peace and a large measure of o Trajan was the Spanish-born military governor.
prosperity. This period was known as PAX ROMANA-the o The adoptive system was followed by later emperors until 180
Roman Peace AD. It ensured a succession of competent rulers who are
o For 200 years (27 BC to 180 AD) the Roman empire enjoyed sometimes called “Good Emperors”
just and orderly government
End of Pax Romana
Augustus’ successors
o Marcus Aurelius:
o The empire had no law of succession; meaning, there was no o The last of the emperors chosen by the adoptive
rule stating how the next emperor would be chosen system
o Most rulers choose their heirs from members of their family o He followed the Stoic philosophers
o The first four emperors after Augustus were related to him or his o He abandoned the adoptive system and choose his son,
second wife Livia. They were known as the Julio-Claudian Commodus, as his successor
dynasty o Commodus was not fit to rule. His succession to the thrown in
180 AD marked the end of the Pax Romana
The JULIO-CLAUDIAN
Peace & order brings prosperity
o The Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the first four Roman
Emperors: Tiberius, Caligula (Gaius), Claudius, and Nero. They o During the 200 years of Pax Romana, Roman armies extended
ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 68, when the last of the borders of the Empire in Asia Minor and conquered most of
the line, Nero, committed suicide Britain
o The reigns of the Julian-Claudian emperors bear some similar o Pax Romana was generally a time of order and good government
traits: All came to power through indirect or adopted relations. o Roman rule brought prosperity
Each expanded the territory of the Roman Empire and initiated
o They built roads, improve swamps, irrigated deserts,
massive construction projects. They were generally loved by the
common people, but were resented by the senatorial class - a and turned land into prosperous farms.
sentiment reflected by ancient historians. o Trade flourished as goods were carried over roads
o With the rule of Augustus’ stepson Tiberius, plots and violence built by Roman engineers and made safe by Roman
again became common in Roman politics. soldiers
o Caligula was both cruel and insane and after four years of rule
The ROMAN SOCIETY
was assassinated by members of the imperial guard. These
soldiers then chose a peaceful scholar named Claudius to be
o Roman Cities: Centers of Culture
emperor
o Claudius restored order during his reign and backed the military o Roman engineers built a network of stone-paved roads
expedition that made Britain part of the empire linking cities and making trade and travel easy within
o Nero, Claudius’ stepson, was the last emperor of the Julio- the Empire
o Provincial cities tended to copy the city of Rome.
Claudian dynasty. He began his reign well but soon turned to
bloodthirsty violence. With schools, libraries, theaters and public baths, they
too become centers of culture and entertainment
Military leaders become emperors o At a traditional Roman banquet, guests reclined on
couches and were waited on by slaves and entertained
o In the year following Nero’s death, lawlessness swept Rome as by dancers, acrobats and musicians
military commanders competed for the throne o Roman nobles dined far into the night on such unusual
o After the execution of two emperors and the suicide of another dishes as ostrich boiled with dates
within a year, the army chose Vespasian as emperor o Class Divisions separate the citizens of Rome
o In his ten-year reign, he restored discipline in the army and in o There were great contrasts between rich and poor
the administration of the empire. o Plebeians vs. Patricians
o He put down uprisings in the provinces of Gaul and Judea o The upper class: landowners, merchants, doctors,
lawyers and government officials
The revolt of the Jews o Wealthy Romans lived in luxurious town houses and
large country villas with swimming pools, courtyards
o The Roman rule in Judea clashed with the Jewish loyalties and and winter and summer dining rooms
with the desire of the Jews to re-establish their ancient kingdom. o The poor people in the cities and the Roman
o They begun a full-scale revolt in 66 AD. countryside had little share in politics and culture
o Nero sent Vespasian to Judea to put down the rebellion. o Unemployment was widespread, because slave did
o When Vespasian was named emperor, he returned to Rome, much of the work and there was little industry
leaving his son Titus to carry on the war. o Public building projects provided some jobs for the
o In 70 AD, they captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. poor, but probably half of Rome’s one million people

5. depended on the free food given them by the
government. The city poor lived in wooden houses
crowded closely together
o Slavery was common in Rome
o In the early days of the Republic, most of the slaves were poor
Italian farmers who had lost their freedom because of inability to
repay their debts
o Number of foreign slaves increased as the empire began to
expand
o Romans enslaved 75,000 prisoners of war (Carthage)
o Slave markets included prisoners for Gaul
o During the time of Augustus, slaves may have accounted for a
quarter of the population of Italy
o Other slaves were skilled artisans and educated Greeks often
became respected teachers in Roman families
o Several emperors passed laws protecting slaves from cruel
masters.
o In time, Roman laws provided for the freeing of slaves under
certain conditions. Freed slaves became citizens with most of the
rights and privileges of other Roman citizens
The ROMAN Family Life
o In the early days of the Republic, the father or paterfamilias, had
absolute authority over every person in his household, including
slaves and distant relatives
o By the second century AD, however, family discipline was
much less harsh. Some parents became overindulgent, and old-
fashioned Romans complained that children were spoiled and
poorly disciplined
o This change in Roman family brought Roman women more
freedom. By the time of the empire, a father can no longer force
his daughter to marry against her will. A woman can own
property and keep her own money or property if divorced. She
can also make business arrangements and draw up a will without
her husband’s approval
o They had opportunities foe education (music, dance, Greek and
Latin Literature)
o The mothers, daughters and wives in prominent senatorial
families often acquired great political influence. These women
were self-assured and powerful
o Cornelia, the mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,
influenced Roman politics through her sons
o Livia, the wife of Augustus, often advised him on decisions. She
ensured the succession of her son as emperor
o Some influential women of Rome:
o Julia Domna: in charge of the government while her son, the
emperor Caracalla, was fighting abroad
o Julia Mamaea: the mother of emperor Alexander Severus and
made many of the decisions of her son’s reign