CHAPTER 7: THE ROMANS Lesson 2 – From Republic to Empire (p )

Roman Republic (around 500 BC) & the power of the Senate  By second century BC the Senate (members drawn from landowning aristocracy) had tremendous power.  They were in the Senate for life;  Held the most important offices in the Roman Republic;  Senate controlled foreign policy, domestic policy AND all financial affairs of the Roman State.

Decline of the Small Farmer  The backbone of Rome was always the small farmer (key to gov. & military) BUT  Over time the landed aristocrats bought out the small peasant farmers creating large estates for themselves that they worked using slave labor.  THE RISE OF LARGE ESTATES LED TO THE DECLINE OF THE SMALL CITIZEN FARMERS creating a large class of landless poor citizens, many of whom went to live in the cities of the Republic.  This was a new ECONOMIC and SOCIAL crisis for the Republic.

Council of Plebs & Land Reform  Created to help the landless poor.  Called for Land Reform (which is usually aimed at getting land ownership out of the hands of the few/wealthy & into the hands of the masses/poor).  Of course the Roman Senators (who were the wealthiest landowners) did NOT want to turn their land over to be given to the poor & the killed the head of the Council of Plebs! (and his brother as well)  This attempt at land reform made the instability and violence in the Republic much worse.

Changes in the military  Around 100 BC Roman generals began recruiting soldiers in a new way (for centuries the Roman army was made up of the owners of small farms);  BUT – at this time the military switched to recruiting soldiers from the urban & rural poor who did not own any land.  These new volunteer soldiers saw their loyalty to whichever general had recruited them RATHER THAN to the Roman Republic.  The Generals eventually became involved in politics to have laws passed that would provide the land they needed for veteran soldiers.  This new system of military recruitment resulted in great power being placed with the Generals.

Civil War in Rome  The competition between powerful Generals ultimately led to CIVIL WAR in the Republic (around 87 BC)  One General (“SULLA”) seized Rome & conducted a reign of terror to wipe out all of his opposition and ultimately restored power to the SENATE alone – wiping out all of the people’s assemblies.  Although many believe Sulla intended to restore the Republic to the people that did not happen… instead his legacy became….  Using the military to overthrow a government and seize power (usually called a “coup”).

TRIUMVERATE 1  For the next 50 years Rome saw COMPETITION FOR POWER AMONG INDIVIDUALS and CIVIL WARS CAUSED BY THEIR CONFLICTS. (SEE QUOTE ON PAGE 135 IN TEXT…What is Sallust blaming Rome’s troubles on?)  3 powerful men (had wealth & military leadership) became most important in the Republic holding all political & military power in a form of gov. called a TRIUMVERATE (3 people with = power in charge).’  This situation prevailed until – following another civil war - Julius Caesar became the DICTATOR or absolute ruler of Rome (ultimately became dictator for life).  Realizing the need for reform in order to save the Empire Julius Caesar restored the Senate – gave land to the poor & granted citizenship to conquered peoples who had helped him. Ultimately he weakened the Senate by packing it with those loyal to him & instead of restoring the old Roman Republic he set the stage for another CIVIL WAR that ended the Roman Republic.

Second Triumvirate  After Julius Caesar’s death a second triumvirate is formed by 3 different men;  Eventually 2 of those 3 came to control the entire Roman Empire BUT  The 2 new leaders (Antony & Octavian) came into conflict leading Antony into an alliance with Egyptian Queen “Cleopatra” (with whom he fell in love & ultimately committed suicide with) and FINALLY  Octavian (called AUGUSTUS – “The Revered One”) – age 32 – stood supreme over the entire Roman Empire - & is considered the first EMPEROR of Rome!  Although he claimed to restore the Republic he served as the IMPERATOR (“commander in Chief”);  He made many political and social changes restoring some of the control to Roman citizens.  Augustus ruled Rome for 45 years. He created a new political order & restored many traditional values – BUT – after his death in AD 14 Rome would continue to be ruled by EMPERORS moving forward. THE ROMAN REPUBLIC HAD ENDED!

What if…?  How different would the world we live in today look if the Roman Empire never fell (spoiler alert)?  What if?? What if??

Economic challenges due to Roman Expansion  End of small peasant farmers left Rome unable to compete with imports from other areas of the Empire (comparative advantage);  Comparative Advantage is a favorable position in a trade relationship – where imports are cheaper due to a lower set of costs of production;  Effect of this is typically the DOMESTIC goods are inferior to the IMPORTED goods in quality and they are often more expensive…  BOTH OF THESE THINGS ARE BAD NEWS FOR DOMESTIC FARMERS… and in the case of Rome – this deepened the poverty experienced by the new poor class of Roman citizens. These economic & social changes would contribute to the eventual end of the Roman Empire.  Crash course Crash course