History of the Roman Empire ENG 251 Western World Literature I

Legendary Origins According to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC (on April 21) by Romulus and Remus.

Early Roman History 509 BC The Romans drive out the Etruscans and establish a republic In this republic, the two social classes were the patricians and the plebians. The patricians were the wealthy 10%, and the plebians were the other 90%.

Early Roman History The Roman republic was nominally ruled by the consuls, two rulers. Originally, both were patricians, although later on there was one patrician and one plebian. The real power in Rome was found in the Senate, a group of 300 patricians.

Early Wars of Domination 380 BC Rome is sacked by the Celts; it would not be touched by outside military forces again for 800 years 338 BC End of the Samnite Wars, Romans defeat the Latins 280-279 Romans defeat the Greek colonies 270 BC Romans dominate the Italian peninsula south of the Rubicon River 264-241 BC First Punic War, Rome defeats Carthage 218-201 BC Second Punic War, Romans defeat Hannibal

Early Wars of Domination 215-205 First Macedonian War 200-196 Second Macedonian War 171-168 Third Macedonian War 149-148 Fourth Macedonian War ends with Macedonia becoming a Roman province 148-146 Third Punic War, Romans destroy Carthage, plow it under, and salt the earth

Early Political Intrigue 133 BC Tiberius attempts to transfer lands to the poor. He is killed by a group of senators. 123-121 Gaius, the brother of Tiberius, attempts to break the power of the Senate. He and 3000 follower are slain. 111-105 Jugurthine War established the power and reputation of the first great Roman general/policitian Marius

Early Political Intrigue 107-101 Marius is consul for an unprecedented number of years in a row, essentially a military dictatorship 90-88 Sulla proves his power as a general in the Social War between Rome and its Italian allies 88 BC Sulla and Marius are rivals 86 BC Marius dies

Early Political Intrigue 78 BC Sulla dies 72 BC Pompey and Crassus gain power and reputation by putting down the slave revolt led by Spartacus 70 BC Pompey and Crassus are elected consuls 60 BC The first Triumvirate is formed, with Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar being triumvirs

The Rise of Caesar 58-56 Caesar leads the Romans in fighting the Gallic Wars 56 BC Due to tension between Crassus and Pompey, Caesar attempts to reconcile the triumvirs 54 BC Caesar’s daughter, who was married to Pompey, dies 53 BC Crassus is killed by the Parthians 52 BC Pompey turns on Caesar

The Rise of Caesar 49 BC Caesar brings his army across the Rubicon River (a no-no at the time, defies the Senate, and beats Pompey In effect, Caesar becomes the sole ruler at this point with Crassus dead, Pompey exiled, and the Senate beaten 48 BC Pompey is assassinated in Egypt 45 BC Caesar finally defeats the last of Pompey’s supporters 44 BC Six months after solidifying control over the empire, Caesar is assassinated by Brutus, Cassius, and a group of senators.

Life After Julius Caesar 43 BC Octavian (Caesar’s nephew), Marc Antony (Caesar’s protégé) and Lepidus (Caesar’s second in command) become the second triumvirate They force to Senate to recognize them for five years. 42 BC The second triumvirate defeats the forces of Brutus and Cassius; both Brutus and Cassius commit suicide 40 BC Antony marries Octavia, the sister of Octavian

Life After Julius Caesar 37 BC The second triumvirate is recognized for five more years by the Senate. Octavian removes Lepidus Antony spends an increasing amount of time in the east, falling in love with Cleopatra, ruler of Egypt 31 BC Battle of Actium -- Octavian beats the forces of Antony and Cleopatra 30 BC Antony and Cleopatra both commit suicide after Octavian arrives in Egypt Octavian is now the sole ruler

The New Caesar 29 BC Octavian is named Imperator (supreme commander of the army) 27 BC Octavian changes his name to Caesar Augustus Octavian/Augustus never officially declared himself emperor; he didn’t need to. He preferred the title “Princeps” meaning, “first among equals” Establishment of the Pax Romana AD 14 Caesar Augustus dies

Pax Romana Humanitas (social heroism) – subordination of the individual to the social good Pietas (piety) – subordination of the human will to the divine Gravitas (self-restraint) – intellectual integrity Virtus (masculine virtue) – strength, courage, military prowess

Roman Law Single sovereignty – law should come from a single source Universality – all citizens are under the same laws Equity – circumstances should alter the individual application of laws

The Julio-Claudian Emperors AD 14 Tiberius (the son of Augustus’ first wife by her first marriage) becomes emperor upon the death of Augustus AD 37 After the death of Tiberius, Caligula becomes emperor AD 41 After the assassination of Caligula, Claudius becomes emperor AD 54 After the assassination of Claudius, Nero becomes emperor AD 64 Nero condemned many Christians after the burning of Rome; among the dead are Peter and Paul AD 68 Nero commits suicide

The Flavian Emperors AD 68 There are actually four emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) during this year; only the last actually manages to survive for an extended period AD 79 After Vespasian dies, Titus becomes emperor AD 81 Domitian becomes emperor AD 96 Domitian is assassinated on the orders of his wife

The Antoine Emperors AD 96 Nerva becomes emperor and begins the process of succession by adoption AD 98 Traja, born in Spain, becomes the first non-Italian emperor AD 117 Hardian, likewise from Spain, becomes emperor AD 138 Antonius Pius becomes emperor AD 161 Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor AD 180 Aurelius breaks the Antoine tradition of choosing a worthy sucessor and instead chooses his son Commodus

The Beginning of the End 192 Commodus is assassinated; Pertinax and Didius Julianus briefly serve as emperor over the next year 193 Septimus Severus takes over by using troops 211 Caracalla becomes emperor Then follows a long succession of general-emperors; for example, between 235 and 284 there were more than 2 dozen emperors and all but one died a violent death

The Long Goodbye 284 Diocletian is placed on the throne by the army; he begins the eventual split of the empire by establishing the Tetrarchy (2 Augustii and 2 Caesars) 305 Diocletian retires; the Tetrarchy fails 306 Constantine becomes emperor in the west 324 Constantine reunites the empire 395 Empire is formally split in two with the death of Theodosius, into the western Roman empire and the eastern Byzantine empire

The Long Goodbye Rome is sacked by the Goths Attila the Huns and his forces swarm into Gaul 476 The western Roman empire falls as the last emperor Romulus Augustulus (just a boy) is deposed by Odoacer

Why did it end? From Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization: “The changing character of the native population, brought about through unremarked pressures on porous borders; the creation of an increasingly unwieldy and rigid bureaucracy, whose own survival becomes its overriding goal …”

Why did it end? “the despising of the military and the avoidance of its service by established families, while its offices present unprecedented opportunity for marginal men to whom its ranks had once been closed; the lip service paid to values long dead; the pretense that we still are what we once were; the increasing concentrations of the populace into richer and poorer by way of a corrupt tax system, and the desperation that inevitably follows…”

Why did it end? “the aggrandizement of executive power at the expense of the legislature; ineffectual legislation promulgated with great show; the moral vocation of man at the top to maintain order at all costs, while growing blind to the cruel dilemmas of ordinary life – these are all themes with which our world is familiar.”