FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE

FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE

Early in the days of the Roman Republic, farmers fulfilled their duty to Rome by

serving in the army. As Rome grew, the landed aristocracy became more powerful,

and the ideals of the Republic changed. By 133 B.C., Rome stood supreme over the

Mediterranean Sea, but problems arose in Rome itself,

The End of the Roman Republic

By the second century b.c., the Senate had become the real governing body of

the Roman state. Members of the Senate were drawn mostly from the landed

aristocracy. They remained senators for life and held the chief offices of the republic.

the small farmers. Over a period of time, however, many small farmers were unable to

compete with large, wealthy landowners and lost their lands. By taking over state-

owned land and by buying out small peasant owners, these landed aristocrats had

developed large estates that used slave labor. As a result, many of these small farmers

drifted to the cities, especially Rome, forming a large class of landless poor.

Some aristocrats tried to remedy the growing economic and social crisis caused

by the decline of the small farmer. Two brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

(GRA•kuhs), urged the council of the plebs to pass land-reform bills that called for the

government to take back public land held by large landowners and give it to landless

Romans.

A New Role for the Army

In 107 b.c., a Roman general named Marius became consul and began to recruit

his armies in a new way. For a long time, the Roman army had been made up of small

farmers who were landholders. Now Marius recruited volunteers from the urban and

rural poor who owned no property. To recruit them, he promised them land. These

volunteers swore an oath of loyalty to the general, not to the Roman state. As a result,

Marius created a new type of army that was not under government control. In addition,

generals were forced to become involved in politics to get laws passed that would

provide the land they needed for their veterans. Marius left a powerful legacy. He

created a new system of military recruitment that placed great power in the hands of

foundation to restore a traditional Roman republic governed by a powerful Senate. His

real legacy was quite different from what he had intended, however. His example of

using an army to seize power would prove most attractive to ambitious men.

The First Triumvirate

For the next 50 years (82–31 b.c.), Roman history was characterized by civil wars

as many individuals competed for power.

Three men—Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar—emerged as victors of the

civil wars. Crassus was known as the richest man in Rome. Pompey had returned from

a successful command in Spain as a military hero. Julius Caesar also had a military

command in Spain. The combined wealth and power of these three men was

two powerful men were left. Fearing Caesar’s popularity, leading senators decided that

rule by Pompey alone would be to their benefit. They voted for Caesar to lay down his

command. Caesar refused to obey the Senate. While serving in Gaul, he had gained

military experience, as well as an army of loyal veterans. He chose to keep his army

and to enter Italy by illegally crossing the Rubicon, the river that formed the southern

boundary of his province. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” means to take a decisive

action that cannot be taken back.

Caesar’s march on Rome started a civil war between his forces and those of

Pompey and his allies. Pompey’s defeat left Caesar in complete control of the Roman

government. Caesar was officially made dictator, or absolute ruler, in 45 b.c. This

weakened the power of the Senate. He granted citizenship to his supporters in the

provinces and introduced the solar calendar. Caesar had plans for building projects

and military campaigns to the east. Many Senators thought that he had plans to

continue as dictator. That is why in 44 b.c., a group of leading senators assassinated

The Second Triumvirate

A new power struggle followed the death of Caesar. Three men—Octavian,

soon came into conflict. Antony allied himself with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.

At the Battle of Actium in Greece in 31 b.c., Octavian’s forces smashed the army and

the navy of Antony and Cleopatra. Both fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide a

year later.

Octavian, at the age of 32, stood supreme over the Roman world. The civil wars

had ended. So had the republic. The period beginning in 31 b.c. and lasting until a.d.

14 came to be known as the Age of Augustus.

The Beginning of the Roman Empire

In 27 b.c., Octavian proclaimed the “restoration of the Republic.” He knew that

only traditional republican forms would satisfy the Senate. At the same time, he was

aware that the republic could not be fully restored. Although he gave some power to

the Senate, Octavian in fact became the first Roman emperor.

The Age of Augustus

In 27 b.c., the Senate awarded Octavian the title of Augustus—the revered one,

a fitting title in view of his power. Augustus proved to be highly popular. No doubt

around 130,000 under Augustus. Augustus also instituted a praetorian guard of

roughly 9,000 men who had the important task of guarding the emperor.

While claiming to have restored the republic, Augustus began a new system for

governing the provinces. Under the Roman Republic, the Senate had appointed the

governors of the provinces. Now, the emperor controlled certain provinces and

appointed deputies to govern them. Augustus stabilized the frontiers of the Roman

Empire, conquering many new areas. His attempt to conquer Germany failed,

however, when three Roman legions led by the Roman general Varus were massacred

by German warriors. These defeats in Germany taught Augustus that Rome’s power

was not unlimited. This knowledge devastated him. For months, he would beat his

head on a door, shouting, “Varus, give me back my legions!” After the death of

Augustus in a.d. 14, a series of new emperors ruled Rome. This period, ending in a.d.

emperors took over more and more of the responsibilities that Augustus had given to

the Senate. As the emperors grew more powerful, many became more corrupt.

Nero, for example, had people killed if he wanted them out of the way, including

his own mother. Without troops, the senators were unable to oppose his excesses, but

the Roman legions finally revolted. Nero, abandoned by his guards, committed suicide

after allegedly uttering these final words: “What an artist the world is losing in me.”

After Nero’s death, a civil war broke out in a.d. 69. It soon became obvious that the

Roman Empire had a major flaw. Without a system for selecting a new emperor,

emperors could be made and deposed by the Roman legions. At the beginning of the

second century, a series of five so-called good emperors came to power. They were

treated the ruling classes with respect, ended arbitrary executions, maintained peace

in the empire, and supported domestic policies generally helpful to the empire.

Although they were absolute rulers, they were known for their tolerance. By adopting

capable men as their sons and successors, the first four good emperors reduced the

good emperors also created new social programs. Trajan, for example, provided state

funds to assist poor parents in the raising and educating of their children. The good

emperors were widely praised for their building programs. Trajan and Hadrian were

especially active in building public works—aqueducts, bridges, roads, and harbor

facilities—throughout the provinces and in Rome.

The Empire Expands

Rome expanded further during the period of the Early Empire. Although Trajan

extended Roman rule into Dacia (Romania), Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula,

his successors realized that the empire was too large to be easily governed. Hadrian

withdrew Roman forces from much of Mesopotamia. To protect the frontier, he

strengthened the fortifications along a line connecting the Rhine and Danube Rivers.

He also built a 74-mile (118 km) long wall—Hadrian’s Wall—across northern Britain to

keep out the Piots and the Scots. By the end of the second century, it became apparent

that it would be more and more difficult to defend the empire. Roman forces were

located in permanent bases behind the frontiers. When one frontier was attacked,

however, troops were drawn from another, leaving those frontiers open to attack. At its

height in the second century, the Roman Empire was one of the greatest states the

world had ever seen. It covered about three and a half million square miles (9.1 million

square km) and had a population that has been estimated at more than 50 million.

The emperors and the imperial government provided a degree of unity

throughout the empire. At the same time, the Romans gave much leeway to local

customs. The privileges of Roman citizenship were granted to many people in the

local officials acted as Roman agents, performing many government duties, especially

taxation. Most cities were not large by modern standards. But cities were important in

the spread of Roman culture, Roman law, and the Latin language. Provincial cities

resembled each other because they followed a Roman plan. Each Roman-built city

all parts of the empire and freely mixed with Greek culture. The result has been called

Greco-Roman civilization.

Economy and Society

of Puteoli (pyu•TEE•uh•ly) on the Bay of Naples and Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber.

Trade went beyond the Roman frontiers as well and included even silk goods from

China. Large quantities of grain were imported, especially from Egypt, to feed the

people of Rome. Luxury items poured in to satisfy the desires of the wealthy upper

classes. It could be said that the Roman Empire became the first consumption-

oriented society in the West. Despite the active trade and commerce, however, farming

remained the chief occupation of most people and the underlying basis of Roman

prosperity. Large, landed estates, called latifundia (la•tuh•FUHN•dee•uh), dominated

farming in southern and central Italy. These estates mostly used slaves to raise sheep

and cattle on a large scale. Small peasant farms continued to exist in northern Italy.

An enormous gulf separated rich and poor in Roman society. The upper classes lived

lives of great leisure and luxury in their villas and on their vast estates. Many small

farmers became dependent on the huge estates of their wealthy neighbors. In the

cities, many poor citizens worked in shops and markets. Thousands of unemployed