1. Expansion of the Military and Civil War
The Decline of the Roman Republic
400 BCE – 27 CE

2. What do you find most interesting about the ancient Romans?
The organization of the government
Their military victories
Their influence in spreading Christianity
Their clothes and their artwork
Something else

4. Unification of Italy

5. Centurion

6. Roman Roads c. 200 BCE

9. Samnites

10. Cornicen
Legionary

11. Standard bearers: Signifer & Aquilifer

12. The Alps

13. Publius Cornelius Tacitus 56-117 CE

14. What topic does the introduction to Tacitus begin with?
Tacitus’s background in the military
The threat that northern barbarians posed to Rome
The causes of the collapse of the Roman republic
Conditions in Rome during the Pax Romana (27 BCE to 180 CE)

15. When did Tacitus write Agricola & Germania?
The early republic
The Late republic
Rome at its height of power
After the fall of the Empire

16. Domitian and Vespasian The Flavian rulers of the late first century

17. What was Agricola about?
His father-in-law
A farmer
The benefits of being a Roman citizen
The German barbarians

20. Hannibal on Carthaginian Coins

23. Hannibal’s Victories in Italy 218-216 BCE

24. Devastation of Italy c. 205 BCE

25. Scipio Africanus Roman General of Second Punic War

27. Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

28. Gaius Marius Lucius Sulla 157 – 86 BCE 138 - 78 BCE

30. Gaius Julius Caesar 100-44 BCE

32. Which Roman principle partly inspired him to write about his father-in-law’s life
The separation of powers
The rule of law
Reverence for ancestors
The glory of Rome

33. The Republican Empire: Overview
The Romans maintained their republican traditions for hundreds of years as they expanded their political influence throughout the Italian peninsula
However, as the wars of aggression brought their citizen soldiers further from home, especially during the Punic Wars, the social underpinnings of the republic began to falter
Increasingly Rome became the home of a landless mass of dispossessed citizens who relied on government support for survival

34. Background on the Roman Army
Highly organized
Command structure
Highly Specialized functions
Layout of the Camps
Earthen walls
Replicated structure
Provided basis for many permanent cities
Engineering
Stone walls
Aqueducts
Siege craft
Ramparts
Bridges and roads

35. Background on the Roman Army
Training exercises in the Roman Army was no different from combat except for the amount of bloodshed; in some ways it was actually harder
Double weighted swords and javelins
20 mile marches with weapons, armor, and equipment
Virtually all soldiers knew at least the rudiments of construction engineering from ditch digging and wall building to the construction of canals and aqueducts
To join a legion, one had to be a Roman citizen, although by the first century BCE this requirement was frequently evaded

36. Background on the Roman Army
Between the early years of the republic and the first century BCE, a full tour of service in the legions had increased from seven to 20 years
Soldiers were paid directly by their legionary commander, the legatus; this practice increased but did not guarantee loyalty to the legatus in times of crisis
Discipline in the Roman army was intense
Its most brutal form of punishment was decimation, flogging to death, usually reserved for those who fled in battle

37. The Roman Army: First Century BCE
Roman Legions – 28 throughout the Empire
Known for flexibility in battle
Infantry carried javelins and short, broad swords
Grew in size from approximately 3500 to 6000 soldiers during first century BCE
Proportion of cavalry increased from 1/7th to ¼ of fighting force
Led by a legatus who commanded
10 cohorts, each under control of a senior centurion
60 centurions who originally exercised command over 100 soldiers (later 80)
six tribunes who handled administrative issues; five of these were from the equestrian class; one from the senatorial class
Centurions had virtually limitless power over their men; they carried a staff as a symbol of their authority

38. Conquest BCE
Fist major conquest occurred in early fourth century
Between that victory and 220 BCE, the Romans gained control of all of the Italian peninsula; their peace terms varied significantly
enslavement
grants of partial citizenship
alliances
All conquered peoples were required to provide military aid in time of need; Rome did not tax its Italian subjects
Wars of aggression were presented to the people as
necessary for the defense of the republic
a sign of the gods’ favor for Rome

39. Conquest BCE
The Punic Wars - a series of wars that pitted Rome against Carthage, its powerful rival in North Africa
First War ( ) erupted when Carthage made inroads into Sicily; Rome gains control of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia; Rome expands its naval capabilities
Second War ( ) - The daring Carthaginian general Hannibal marches troops and elephants over the alps and almost captures Rome; Rome eventually sacks Carthage
Third War( ) - Rome levels Carthage and establishes Roman government in N. Africa

40. Consequences of Conquest:150 BCE
Roads built throughout the peninsula
Rome gains control of western Mediterranean commerce
Trade and dissemination of Roman culture and language
Decline of the yeoman farmer
normal agrarian patterns disrupted
as wars lasted longer and took men further away from home, the number of fatherless and landless families increases
many of these families move to Rome and and require public support for their survival
the population of the city swells to over 200,000 by 300 BCE

41. Consequences of Conquest c. 100 BCE
During the last half of the second century BCE, a popular political faction championed the cause of the landless Roman soldier
The wealthiest members of Roman society generally opposed measures aimed at restoring land to the yeoman farmer/soldier and hired thugs to assassinate the Grachus brothers, the leaders of the popular faction
From approximately 133 BCE until 44 BCE, Roman politics became increasingly violent until it erupted in civil war after the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE

42. Leaders During the Republican Empire
After the death of the Gracchi, Roman generals and consuls became increasingly influential in politics beginning in the late second century BCE (c. 100 BCE) when republican institutions increasingly lost power
By the time of Julius Caesar, the republican form of Roman government had given way to a series of Army generals assuming power in order to “save the republic”
The power of the senate weakened
Troops in Rome
Generals, such as Marius and Sulla, rely on booty to command loyalty of their troops, who ensured political power and occupied Rome

43. Growth of the Military
From the time of Julius Caesar (50 BCE) to Diocletian (300 CE) the Roman Army consisted of about 150,000 legionaries (approximately 30 legions) and 150,000 auxiliaries
Auxiliaries were non-Roman citizens organized into 500 man cohorts under Roman commanders
Auxiliaries often fought on the front lines
Auxiliary soldiers received about ½ the pay of the legionaries and attained Roman citizenship upon retirement

44. Summary
Rome occupied a strategic location in the middle of Italy and in the middle of the Mediterranean
By the second half of the third century BCE (c. 220), it had gained control over Italy; during the next 200 years, it exercised imperial power over the entire Mediterranean basin
This spectacular growth placed enormous strains on the republican social and political customs and institutions

45. Summary
During the transition from republic to Empire, civil wars wrought destruction and havoc on the city of Rome and the people of the Italian peninsula
Rome’s inability to maintain its republican institutions in the wake of its imperial acquisitions induced many historians to assume that republics must necessarily be limited in size

46. Summary
As the size of the Roman state grew, the opportunities for accumulating wealth through political office also grew
By the second century BCE political offices were increasingly held by those who sought wealth and power; the political ideals of the early republic, which included serving the interests of the common people, had given way to power plays cloaked in republican rhetoric
In addition, violence and factional interests became increasingly common during the last 100 years of the Republic ( BCE)