Very Early Rome

LITTLE TOWN ON THE TIBER

GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY

• Alps in the north (Alpes Montes

• Apennines along the East coast. Appenninus Mons

• Important Rivers:

Po /Padus-across the north

Rubicon/ Rubico-traditional boundary of Ialy

Tiber/Tiberis-flows through Rome

Islands: • Sicily/Sicilia, Corsica, Sardinia

VERY EARLY HISTORY • The Latins were the people of Latium, the

region near the Tiber.

• Other tribes, including the Sabines, lived nearby

• To the north of them lived the Etruscans, in Etruria

• To the south were Greek colonies, in “Magna Graecia”

• The Latins lived in simple round huts:

TIBER RIVER - SEVEN HILLS• Tiber River-Rome founded at a shallow place on

the Tiber- 7 hills

• Capitoline (Capitolinus)-Temple of Juppiter• Quirinal (Quirinalis)• Viminal (Viminalis)• Esquiline (Esquilinus) • Caelian (Caelius) • Aventine (Aventinus)• Palatine (Palatinus)-where Rom. founded Rome

• there is a mnemonic sentence that recalls the names of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built:

• "Can Queen Victoria Eat Cold Apple Pie?"

• (Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, Palatine)

AENEAS –ABOUT 1250BC• Left Troy, with his old father Anchises, his

little son Ascanius, and some other refugees (wife Creusa got lost & killed)

• Sailed around looking for a home.• Had an affair with Dido, queen of Carthage• Visited the underworld, accompanied by the

Sibyl carrying the “Golden Bough”• Arrived in Italy • Fought & defeated local leaders, including

his arch-rival Turnus• Married Lavinia. Founded Lavinium. • Ascanius founded Alba Longa

• Romulus was his descendent

-

AENEAS

• Had the qualities of a true Roman:

-fides, fidei(f): loyalty, faithfulness

-pietas, pietatis(f): piety

-virtus, virtutis(m): manliness, courage

He repected the Mos maiorum – customs of the ancestors

The story was written by Vergil, Publius Vergilius Maro, in his epic the Aeneid.

FOUNDING OF ROME -ROMULUS & REMUS• Grandfather Numitor was king of Alba Longa

• Wicked uncle Amulius (brother of Numitor, uncle of R. & R.) overthrew their grandfather

• Mother – Rhea Silvia was imprisoned

• Mother was impregnated by Mars.

• Twin sons, Romulus & Remus, were born

• Thrown into the Tiber by their cruel uncle.

• Cared for by a mother wolf (lupa, -ae)

• Later found & raised by a shepherd named Faustulus & his wife.

• Grew up & overthrew the cruel uncle, Amulius

• Romulus killed Remus,• Romulus founded Rome on the

Palatine Hill on April 21, 753BC!!!

• This became the Roman year 1.• Years were counted from the

founding of Rome- “ab urbe condita” or “AUC”.

3 MAIN PERIODS OF ROMAN HISTORY- 753BC-476AD

• Monarchy (Kingdom) – Regnum Romanum

753BC-509BC

• Republic – Res Publica Romana

509BC-27BC

• Empire – Imperium Romanum

27BC-476AD

Roman Peace-Pax Romana – 27BC-180AD

REGNUM ROMANUM 7 KINGS OF ROME• I Romulus

• II Numa Pompilius

• III Tullus Hostilius

• IV Ancus Marcius

• V Tarquinius Priscus

• VI Servius Tullius

• VII Tarquinius Superbus

REGNUM ROMANUMSEPTEM REGES ROMAESEVEN (VII) KINGS OF ROME-REX, REGIS(M)

ROMULUS: • Rex primus

• Opened the city of Rome to any man who otherwise didn’t have a city

• Got wives for his men by kidnapping (“rape”) the Sabine women.

• Founded the Senate: Senatus, -ūs (m)

• Went onto a mountain one day and disappeared in a cloud of smoke

• Was worshipped as the god Quirinus

NUMA POMPILIUS

• Rex Secundus

• Founded most of the institutions of Roman religion, including:

• Pontifex Maximus-chief priest

• Virgines Vestales-“Vestal Virgins” (at first there were 4, later 6, later up to 18)

TULLUS HOSTILIUS

• Rex Tertius

• Remembered as a military leader

• Leader at the time of the famous fight between sets of triplets, the Horatius brothers (Horatii) and the Curiatius brothers (Curiatii).

• Built the Senate house, the Curia, -ae(f)

ANCUS MARCIUS• Rex Quartus• Founded the suburb of Ostia, Rome’s port.• Built the first bridge over the Tiber, the Sublician Bridge,

Pons Sublicius

TARQUINIUS PRISCUS• Rex Quintus• Had Etruscan background• First to use the Fasces, the bundle

of sticks surrounding an axe, as the symbol of imperium, the power to make people obey

• Constructed the “Cloaca Maxima”, the big sewer ditch that drained the swampy area between the hills, where the Forum Romanum, the city center, was built.

SERVIUS TULLIUS• Rex Sextus

• Built the first city wall, the “Servian Wall”

• Introduced the use of money- “pecunia”. The most important coin was a denarius.

• Took the first census, or count, of citizens.

• Terrible story about how he was overthrown and murdered, and his own daughter Tullia ran over his body with her chariot.

TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS

• Rex Septimus, Rex Ultimus• An Etruscan• Known for being arrogant, he was

the last king of Rome

TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS & THE SIBYLLINE BOOKS

• Sibyl, a mythical prophetess, offered Tarquinius 9 books. She demanded a very high price & Tarquin declined.

• The Sibyl then threw 3 of the books in the fire, the offered to sell him the remaining books for the same price.

• Tarquinius refused, she threw 3 more in the fire and offered him the remaining books for the same price.

• Tarquinius now decided to buy the last 3 for the original price.

• The books were carefully kept and repeatedly consulted for divine guidance in the republican era during times of crisis.

TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS• Expelled after his son, Sextus Tarquinius,

raped Lucretia, a Roman lady• Revolution against Tarquinius Superbus

was led by Brutus and Collatinus in 509BC

509BC-RES PUBLICA• No more kings!!!! Rome became a

Republic, a Res Publica• Tarquinius Superbus turned to another

Etruscan leader, Lars Porsena, for help. The Romans fought against Lars Porsena and confirmed their independence and republican form of government.

TARPEIA-TARPEIAN ROCK

• One more story-During the war with the Sabines, the daughter of the Roman general defending the Capitoline was named Tarpeia. She liked jewelry, and looking over the city wall at the enemy, she liked the jewelry they had on.

• Tarpeia secretly went to the Sabine army, and offered to open the city gates if they would give here “everything on their left arms”.

• .

TARPEIA AND THE TARPEIAN ROCK

• The Sabines agreed. Tarpeia let them into the city, and then demanded her reward. They threw their shields at her and smothered her, since their shields were also on their left arms. The Sabines despised traitors, too.

• The Romans eventually won the war against the Sabines anyway.

• The Tarpeian Rock became a place where traitors were executed

WAR WITH THE ETRUSCANS: HORATIUS COCLES AND THE BRIDGE

• The Etruscans under Lars Porsenna were camped across the Tiber.

• As they tried to cross the Pons Sublicius (Sublician Bridge) to enter Rome, one man Horatius Cocles, and two comrades took a stand in front of the bridge and told their fellow citizens to begin demolishing the bridge behind them, while they held off the Etruscans.

• They fought a while, and then the two comrades retreated, and Horatius Cocles held the bridge alone.

• !

HORATIUS COCLES AT THE BRIDGE

• As the bridge fell behind him into the Tiber, Horatius jumped into the water, saying “Father Tiber, receive this soldier and these weapons into your kind waters!”

• Horatius then swam to safety on the Roman side!

WAR WITH THE ETRUSCANS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA• Lars Porsena then laid seige

to Rome.

• Mucius Scaevola decided to infiltrate the Etruscan camp and assassinate Lars Porsena

• He arrived on payday, and saw 2 similarly dressed men behind a desk. He didn’t know which was king. He drew his sword & killed the wrong one. He was arrested

MUCIUS SCAEVOLA• The Etruscans asked him who he was. Mucius said “ Sum Civis Romanus!” The

Etruscans threatened to burn him alive. Then, to show his courage, Mucius said, “Ecce”, and thrust his hand into a fire and held it there.

• The Etruscans were astounded, and told Mucius to return to Rome.

• When Mucius returned, he got the cognomen: “Scaevola”, meaning “lefty

WAR WITH THE ETRUSCANS: CLOELIA

• Lars Porsena offered to withdraw his troops in exchange for Roman hostages, and the Romans gave them a group of girls as hostages.

• One of the girls, Cloelia, led the other girls in a daring escape, in which they eluded their guards, jumped into the Tiber and swam to shore through a shower of spears. They arrived safely.

• Lars Porsena demanded the return of Cloelia, but when she returned, he honored her because of her bravery, and sent her home again

CINCINNATUS• The Romans continued fighting their neighbors, including

the Volscians.

• When the Volscians attacked Rome, the Senate appointed a man named Cincinnatus as dictator. Senators found him in his field, plowing.

• He accepted responsibility, defeated the enemy, and returned power to the Senate, all in 16 days!

RES PUBLICA ROMANA: SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT

• There were 2 main social classes:

• Patricians-members of the noble families

• Plebeians-everyone else

SOCIAL CLASSES

• Later it was like this:

• Senatorial class (Patricians)-families of Senators; 1,000,000 sesterces. Toga praetexta with wide stripe

• Equestrians-wealthy business class. 400,000 sesterces. Toga praetexta with narrow stripe

• Plebeians-Ordinary free Roman citizens. Toga virilis

• Freedmen-people who used to be slaves but had been manumitted. Became Roman citizens if the master was a citizen and manumitted them formally

• Slaves

RES PUBLICA-GOVERNMENT

• Senate• Elected Magistrates• Citizen Assemblies

RES PUBLICA ROMANA-GOVERNMENT• Senate (Senatus): about 300 men (originally all were Patricians) who

advised the elected magistrates.

• , Magistrates

• 2 Consuls-chief executives & leaders of the army, had veto power over each other, elected for 1 year

• Praetors-judges of the law courts, elected for 1 year

• Censors-enrolled citizens, oversaw public morals;

• Aediles-handled local affairs in Rome, such as the grain supply & putting on public games

• Quaestors-handled financial affairs

• Tribunes-representatives of the Plebeians; elected by the Plebeians, held veto power over the Senate

• Dictator-special appointed not elected. Held absolute power only in times of extreme crisis, for a maximum of 6 months

CURSUS HONORUM – SEQUENCE OF OFFICES FOR ASPIRING POLICITIANS

• Consul

• Praetor

• Aedile

• Quaestor

RES PUBLICA ROMANA-GOVERNMENT-ASSEMBLIES OF CITIZENS

Comitia Centuriata-all male citizens, organized in groups according to wealth, elected consuls & praetors

Comitia Tributa-all male citizens, organized in groups according to where they lived. Elected aediles & quaestors.

Concilium Plebis-organized like the Assembly of Tribes, but had only the Plebeians. At first they elected the tribunes and made laws just affecting Plebeians. Later they passed laws for the whole Roman state.

CONFLICT OF THE ORDERS

• At first, the Patricians had almost all the power.

• Over a period of about 200 years, the Plebeians gained equal legal rights. This process is called the “Conflict of the Orders”.

• Each time the Plebeians made a demand, the Patricians refused. Then the Plebeians “seceded”. They left the city and refused to work or fight in the army, and said they would make their own city, unless their demands were met. It worked. This was called the “Session of the Plebs”.

CONFLICT OF THE ORDERS• 490BC-Plebeians gain the right to elect tribunes, and have the own

assembly.

• 450BC-The Laws of the 12 Tables are written and posted in the Forum

• 445BC-intermarriage between Patricians and Plebeians is legalized.

• 367BC-Plebeians gain the right to hold any office, including consul

• 342BC-One of the 2 consuls always has to be a Plebeian

• 287BC-Laws passed by the Plebeian Assembly had the force of law for the whole state

EARLY CONQUESTS

• In the 400sBC, the Romans fought many campaigns against their neighbors in Italy. Roman always claimed that they were fighting defensively.

• The Latin League was a league of Latin tribes. Rome defeated the Latin League and took over all Latium in 496BC (Battle of Lake Regillus. It was said that Castor and Pollux helped the Romans in this battle.)

• By 396BC, Rome had also defeated the Etruscans.

GAULS• In 390 B.C. most of the city of Rome

was taken by the Gauls, a Celtic Tribe. The enemy failed, however, to capture the Capitoline Hill because sacred geese of Iuno gave the alarm as they were scaling the hill. The Romans had to pay an indemnity to get the Gauls to leave

GAULS• Gauls said that if the Romans paid them a

certain amount of gold, they would leave.

• The Romans raised the sum required by the Gauls, but the leader of the Gauls added his sword to the scale, and said the Romans had to pay more. The Romans said, “That’s not fair!”.

• The Gauls said “Vae Victis!” (Woe to the conquered, in other words, too bad.”

• The Romans paid the additional sum and the Gauls left.

• Rome eventually recovered from the sack of the Gauls.

SAMNITE WARS• Rome fought 3 wars

against the Samnites—the people of the hill country of central Italy, and defeated them.

• 343BC-341BC; 327BC-304BC; 298BC-282BC

PYRRHIC WARS: 282BC-272BC• When Rome came into conflict with the Greek

colonists of Magna Graecia, they asked King Pyrrhus (King of Epirus) for help

• Pyrrhus won some battles, but eventually lost the war.

• We are told that Pyrrhus said to one who was congratulating him on his victory, "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.” Thus a Pyrrhic victory is one in which you win the battle, but the battle is too costly.

ALL ITALY• By 265 BC, Rome ruled all

Italy south of the Rubicon River.

PUNIC WARS• 1st Punic War: 264BC-261BC

• Carthage (Carthago) had a trading empire in the western Mediterranean

• The way the first Punic War started was complicated. It involved Sicily.

• Messina (Messana was having a conflict with Syracuse. There were two factions in the city of Messina (Messana). One faction asked Carthage for help. Then the other faction in Messina asked Rome for help. Then Carthage sided with Syracuse. The conflict escalated into a war between Rome and Carthage.

1ST PUNIC WAR• Rome had a strong army. Carthage had a

strong navy, whereas Rome had almost no navy.

• Rome built up its navy. They knew they weren’t as good at ramming enemy ships as the Carthaginians. They invented the “corvus”, a bridge with a spike, that allowed their soldiers to storm onto an enemy ship.

• Eventually Rome won. It got Sicily, and Carthage had to pay an indemnity. Soon Rome took over Corsica and Sardinia as well.

• The most important Carthaginian general in this war was Hamilcar Barca. He made his little son Hannibal swear to hate and fight the Romans.

2ND PUNIC WAR: 218BC-201BC• Hannibal, a Carthaginian leader (son of Hamilcar Barca), attacked

Saguntum, a city in Spain allied with Rome. Saguntum asked Rome for help, and Rome came to its rescue. Then Rome asked Carthage to hand over Hannibal. Carthage refused. Rome declared war.

• Hannibal brought his army and elephants over the Alps.

• Hannibal defeated Rome several times, including the battles of Trevia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae.

• For a while after Trebia and Lake Trasimene, the Romans wisely followed the leadership of the Dictator Fabius Cunctator (delayer), because he avoided open conflict.

• After Fabius’s term was up, two more generals took over. Cannae was the worst defeat Rome ever suffered. Livy says that Rome lost 70,000 infantry and allied soldiers, and 6000 cavalry.

• For almost 10 years, Hannibal ravaged the Italian countryside. “Hannibal ad portas!”

2ND PUNIC WAR• Finally, Scipio was placed in charge.

• He took the Roman army and laid siege to Carthage.

• Hannibal was recalled to defend Carthage.

• Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal at the battle of Zama.

• Rome got Spain and some other colonies of Carthage. Carthage had to pay an indemnity, and had to agree not to declare war without the permission of Rome.

3RD PUNIC WAR: 149-146BC• Many Romans hated Carthage, especially Cato the

Elder. Carthage was regaining prosperity and had paid off its war debt early.

• Cato kept telling the Roman Senate: “Carthago delenda est!”

• Cato brought ripe figs recently picked in Carthage into the Roman Senate, to illustrate just how close Carthage was to them.

• Rome looked for an excuse to attack Carthage.

• Numidia was an ally of Rome. Carthage got in a conflict with Numidia & attacked Numidia without Rome’s Permission. Rome considered this breaking the treaty.

• Rome attacked Carthage, utterly destroyed it, slaughtered or enslaved many of its people, and poured salt on the ground.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND THE GRACCHI BROTHERS

• Between the 2nd and 3rd Punic Wars, Rome took over Greece and Macedonia. The excuse was that Macedonia had sided with Carthage in the 2nd Punic War.

• Rome now had a large empire stretching most of the way around the Mediterranean.

• War loot from conquered territories was pouring into Rome. The rich were getting much richer, but the poor were getting poorer.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND THE GRACCHI BROTHERS

• The situation for the poor in Rome was bad. More and more land was held by a few very rich men. More and more small landowners, including war veterans, lost their land, and moved to the cities.

• In 133BC, Tiberius Gracchus, an idealistic, radical reformer. He proposed a legal limit on how much land any individual could own, and that excess land held by the rich be taken and redistributed to the poor.

• He was elected Tribune. He was a patrician, but he took up for the common people. He was murdered during a riot.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND THE GRACCHI BROTHERS• 122BC: Gaius Gracchus, younger brother of Tiberius, took up his brother’s cause and the

cause of the poor.

• He was elected tribune and proposed numerous reforms (sort of like the “New Deal”), including

• Selling grain to the poor at a low, subsidized price

• Establishing a colony for poor Romans near the ruins of Carthage

• Giving citizenship to all Italians.

• These were partially carried out.

• There was a bitter political dispute over these reforms. Martial law was declared. The Senate sent forces to arrest Gaius Gracchus, and he committed suicide

THE “SOCIAL WAR”: 90BC-88BC• The Italian allies (areas of Italy that were ruled by Rome

but did not have full citizenship) demanded full citizenship.

• They rebelled. There was a war between Rome and Italian allies called the Social War. “Social” because “socius” was the word for “ally”.

• Roman forces under Gaius Marius put down the rebellion, but in the end, they gave all Italians full citizenship anyway.

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• Gaius Marius (157BC-86BC) , was the first of a series of generals who gained a lot of

political power.

• He totally reformed the army, and made it professional. It was made of men who signed up, usually for 25 years. Many of these were landless, poor Romans, whom he recruited. He also reorganized the structure of the legions into cohorts.

• He led the Roman forces in the Social War, as well as other campaigns

• He was consul an unprecedented 7 times.

• He belonged to the Populares party (party of the people)

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• Another general Lucius Cornelius Sulla, 138BC-

78BC, rose to power as Marius’s power was weakening

• He was supported by the Senate, and belonged to the Optimates Party. He opposed giving any more favors to the poor, and giving power back to the Senate.

• He was consul twice, and when Rome was in a state of turmoil, became dictator.

• He put up names of his enemies, declared them “public enemies”, to be killed for a reward.

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• In 60BC, the 1st Triumvirate share power. It included

• Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), who defeated the pirates on the Mediterranean Sea & conquered land in the east

• Crassus: The richest man in Rome. He also served as general in the campaign against the slave revolt led by Spartacus. He also led an army against the Parthians (Persians) and was killed.

• Gaius Julius Caesar- youngest and eventually the most powerful of the three.

FROM REPUBIC TO EMPIRE• 59-49BC: Gaius Julius Caesar commanded an ary

& conquered Gaul.

• His most famous battle in Gall was the battle of Alesia, where he defeated Vercingetorix, a Celtic leader.

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• Pompey and the Senate ordered Caesar to return to disband his army and return to

Rome. He returned with his army. He crossed the Rubicon into Italy, and said, “Alea iacta est!”.

• Pompey and the Senate fled to Greece where Caesar defated them at the battle Pharsalus.

• Pompey then fled to Egypt where the ruler of Egypt (Ptolemy) had him beheaded, assuming that this would be pleasing to Caesar.

• Caesar put Cleopatra (sister of Ptolemy on the Egyptian throne and made Egypt and “ally” of Rome.

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• Caesar took control of Rome with the title “Dictator for Life”.

• Caesar made numerous reforms for the benefit of the poor. He gave public land to poor farmers, gave jobs to the unemployed, continued the policy of giving bread to the poor, reformed the calendar

• 44BC: Senators including Brutus believed that Caesar was destroying the republic & assassinated hi on the Ides of March, 44BC.

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE• After the assassination of Caesar, the Marcus Antonius and Octavian pursued the

assassins, including Brutus and Cassius.

• The assassins were defeated at the battle of Philippi.

• For a while, the 2nd Triumvirate held power: It included:

• Marcus Antonius (general, friend & brother in law of Caesar)

• Gaius Iulius Octavius: grandnephew of Caesar, adopted as son of Caesar. After the adoption his name was: Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus.

• Marcus Aemilius Lepidus