Rome and Han China Part I Pantheon Rome and Han China Part I An Age of Empires: 753 BCE – 600 CE Colosseum

A new kind of empire The Roman Empire included all the lands around the Mediterranean and stretched from continental Europe to the Middle East. Its contemporary (though arising somewhat later and ending sooner), the Han Empire, spanned from the Pacific Ocean to the oases of Central Asia. They were the largest empires the world had yet seen, in both land and population. They were: centralized to a greater degree than earlier empires. more culturally influential on the land and peoples they dominated. remarkably stable and long-lasting.

Eurasia, 116 CE Han Kushan Roman Parthian The Roman Empire and Han China were separated by thousands of miles, and neither directly influenced the other. But they were linked by a far-flung international trading network, so they were vaguely aware of each other’s existence.

Rome’s Mediterranean Empire Italy’s climate (long growing seasons, wide variety of crops) and geography (numerous navigable rivers, well forested and rich in iron and other metals) were conducive to sustaining a large population. Rome lay at the midpoint of the peninsula, and the peninsula was a crossroads in the Mediterranean. Vast majority of early Romans were self-sufficient independent farmers owning small plots of land … small number of families able to acquire large tracts of land  heads of these wealthy families were members of the Senate – a “Council of Elders” dominating Roman politics.

The Roman Republic According to tradition: seven kings of Rome between 753 and 507 BCE … when senatorial class – vowing never again to be ruled by a harsh tyrant – deposed the king and instituted a res publica, “a public possession” or republic. republic – a form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders. (The United States today is a republican form of democracy.) The Roman Republic (507-31 BCE) – unlike the direct democracy of the Greeks, sovereign power rested in several assemblies: all male citizens eligible to attend, but votes of wealthy classes counted more than votes of the poor citizens. Real center of power  Roman Senate – technically an advisory council, but increasingly made policy, governed; self-perpetuating body whose members served for life and nominated their sons for public offices.

“Conflict of the Orders” Inequalities in Roman society periodically led to unrest and conflict between the elite (wealthy landowners called patricians) and the majority of the population (common farmers, artisans and merchants called plebeians). Plebeian gains: Twelve Tables (c. 450 BCE) – laws carved on 12 tablets, hung in the Forum (laws now written, published  patrician officials now can’t interpret law to suit themselves); became basis of later Roman law. tribunes – new officials drawn from and elected by the lower classes; had power to veto, or block, actions of the Assembly or patrician officials.

The class-conscious Roman family Roman society extremely conscious of status (determined by achievements of ancestors, living members of family). The Roman family, made of several generations plus domestic slaves, was basic unit of society. Absolute authority in family exercised by paterfamilias – the oldest living male  could sell children into slavery or have them killed … but this began to change by second century CE. Statue of a Roman carrying busts of his ancestors (c. first century BCE).

Institutionalized inequality In Rome, inequality was accepted and turned into a system of mutual benefits and obligations. patron/client relationship – Senator to middle class, middle class to poor: Men of wealth and influence might have dozens, hundreds of clients (lower status men he provided guidance, protection, money … in return for loyalty in politics and war, work on land and even money for daughter’s dowry). Large retinues of clients brought prestige: clients would await their patrons in morning, accompany them to Forum for the day’s business.

The Roman Forum Built on the site of an old cemetery, the Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. It contained many buildings, including temples and basilicas. People would come to conduct commerce, and political leaders carried out public affairs and administrated matters of justice.

Institutionalized inequality Women in Roman society Girls in some upper-class families received a primary education but were pushed into marriage (arranged by fathers) commonly by the time they were 14 (12 was the legal minimum). Nearly everything we know of Roman women pertains to the upper classes. In early times, women never ceased to be a child in eyes of the law  needed male guardian advocates. Over time, gained greater personal protections and freedoms  could own, inherit and dispose of property; unlike Greek women, weren’t segregated from husbands but rather appreciated at the center of the household, could attend races, the theater, events in the amphitheater.