1. Rome:
From Republic to Empire

2. By 100 BC slaves made up one-third of Rome’s population
Spread of Slavery
Romans made slaves of captured peoples during the wars and conquests which followed
By 100 BC slaves made up one-third of Rome’s population
Roman Slave Collar

3. Expansion and Wealth Creates Problems
The spread of slavery caused small farmers (former soldiers) to lose their land.
The influx of wealth caused prices to rise (inflation)

4. Unemployment Loss of jobs Unemployment: Loss of jobs
Landless former farmer-soldiers flocked into the into cities looking for jobs and joined the ranks of the restless urban poor (25% of the population)
The gap between the rich and the poor widened.

5. Decline of the Republic
The end of democracy in Rome
Civil wars erupted due to class conflicts and rivalries between politician-generals
Another civil war erupted over the power of Julius Caesar

6. The First Triumvirate
Three rulers who joined forces to take power from the senate and dominate Rome.
The Senate had been seriously insulting Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, so they joined together in 60 B.C. and made up a secret political group known as the First Triumvirate. The First Triumvirate quickly began to wrestle the government of Rome away from the senate, planning to make Caesar consul in 59 B.C.
    Caesar then began to try to take over Gaul (now France, Belguim, and a little bit of Germany) and succeeded by 51 B.C. Pompey stayed in Rome to keep the power from slipping through their fingers. Meanwhile, Crassus was attempting to take over the Parthians(now Iran) but was killed in 53 B.C. Caesar counteracted by forming the so-called triumvirate, or, to use the more adequate term that was coined by the historian Titus Livy (59 BCE - 17 CE), a conspiracy against the state by its three leading citizens. The other two citizens implied in the conspiracy were the rich banker Marcus Licinius Crassus (above) and the generalissimo Gnaeus Pompeius, better known as Pompey. 
    Caesar returned to Italy with his army in 49 B.C. gaining control of the entire peninsula. Pompey, fearing Caesar, fled from the country and eventually went to Egypt, where he was then murdered. Caesar chased him there and started a relationship with Queen Cleopartra VII. When he returned to Rome he took Cleopatra with him. He set up colonies for his soldiers and for the unemployed, and also handled Rome's serious debt problem wisely. He had been a dictator since 49 B.C., and in 44 B.C. he was appointed dictator for the rest of his life. Next he planned to go east and conquer something, but his plans were interrupted because a group of senators stabbed him to death because they thought he was destroying the republic.
Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey

7. Julius Caesar He conquered Gaul (France today)
He had the support of the masses and the army

8. Caesar went to war with Pompey and won
He returned to Rome with his army and forced the senate to make him dictator for life.

9. Julius Caesar is Assassinated
A group of senators stabbed Julius Caesar to death in the senate chamber

10. After Julius Caesar’s death civil war erupted
More Civil Wars
After Julius Caesar’s death civil war erupted

11. More Civil Wars
Octavian (Augustus) joined forces with Mark Antony and Lepidus and together they took control of Rome for ten years.

12. Octavian vs. Marc Anthony
Civil war erupted again between Octavian and Mark Anthony
Octavian won.
Octavian (Augustus)
Anthony and Cleopatra

13. Augustus Caesar
Octavian assumed absolute power and accepted the title “Augustus”
Rome became an empire ruled by an emperor (no longer a republic or democracy).

14. The Pax Romana
200 years of peace and prosperity established by the rule of Augustus (pax = peace, Romana = Roman)
The Roman Empire continued to expand and solidify

15. Roman Empire
By the end of the second century, the Roman Empire stretched from Spain to Mesopotamia, and from North Africa to Great Britain.

16. Economic Impact
Augustus established a uniform system of money helping to expand trade.
It was safe to travel and trade on Roman roads.

17. Social Impact Augustus returned stability to the social classes
Increased emphasis on the family

18. Political Impact
Augustus created a civil service: He paid workers to manage the affairs of government (postal system, tax collection, etc.)
He developed a uniform rule of law

19. Problems With Succession
Succession – selection of the next emperor
Because Rome had no written law for choosing a new emperor, crisis or civil war could occur when an emperor died.