1. Section Two: From Republic To Empire

2. Objectives
1. Characterize the internal instability of the Roman Empire
2. Summarize the event in which Octavian, titled Caesar Augustus, was named emperor.

4. I. Growing Inequality & Unrest
Landed aristocracy governed Rome
Wealthy, powerful families
Senate & political offices

5. Growing Inequality & Unrest
Small farmers losing land to large, wealthy landowners
New urban class of landless poor
Economic & social unrest

6. Growing Inequality & Unrest
Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus, reform-minded aristocrats
Called for laws giving public land back to the landless poor
Both brothers eventually killed
Discontent & unrest grew

7. II. A New Role for the Army
Traditionally small landowning farmers made up the army
Marius recruited soldiers by promising land for allegiance to him
Generals began gaining political & individual power

8. A New Role for the Army
Sulla & Marius fight to gain control
Sulla seized power in 82 B.C.
Restored power to the Senate & took away most of the powers of the assemblies

9. III. The Collapse of the Republic
Civil Wars B.C.
Crassus, Pompey & Julius Caesar emerged as victors
combined wealth & power to dominate the political scene

10. A. The First Triumvirate
60 B. C. first triumvirate – a government by three people with equal power
Crassus, Pompey & Caesar
Crassus killed in 53 B.C.

11. The First Triumvirate
Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the river
Caesar and Pompey start a civil war against each other to gain power

12. The First Triumvirate
Caesar defeats Pompey’s forces
Caesar become a dictator – an absolute ruler
gave land to poor & increased the Senate to 900 members

13. Julius Caesar

14. 44 B.C. a group of leading senators assassinated him
The First Triumvirate
44 B.C. a group of leading senators assassinated him

16. B. The Second Triumvirate
Octavian, Antony & Lepidus
Octavian took the west & Antony, the east
soon came into conflict

17. The Second Triumvirate
Antony allied himself with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII
Like Caesar before him, Antony had fallen in love with her

18. Mark Anthony

19. Cleopatra VII

20. The Second Triumvirate
At the Battle of Actium, Octavian’s forces smashed the army & the navy of Antony & Cleopatra
Both committed suicide a year later

21. 27 B.C. Octavian became “Augustus” the revered one
IV. The Age of Augustus
27 B.C. Octavian became “Augustus” the revered one
Imperator – or commander in chief, gave us the word emperor

22. Octavian

23. The Age of Augustus
Maintained a huge army
stabilized the frontiers
Failed to conquer Germany
Taught Augustus that Rome’s power was not unlimited

25. V. The Early Empire
A.D. 14 a series of new emperors ruled Rome
ending in A.D. 180, is called the Early Empire

26. A. Emperors of the Early Empire
Nero, had people killed if he wanted them out of the way - including his mother
Roman legions revolted
Nero committed suicide by stabbing himself in the throat

27. Nero

28. Emperors of the Early Empire
Five good emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius & Marcus Aurelius
Pax Romana, “Roman Peace”
lasted 100 years

30. Pax Romana
Treated ruling classes with respect
ended arbitrary executions
maintained peace in the empire
supported domestic policies

31. C. Extent of the Empire
Trajan extended into Dacia (modern Romania), Mesopotamia & Sinia Peninsula
Hadrian strengthened the fortifications along a line connecting the Rhine & Danube Rivers

32. C. Extent of the Empire
Hadrian built a defensive wall (Hadrian’s Wall) across northern Britain
2nd century Roman was at it’s height
3 1/2 million square mile & 50 million people

34. C. Extent of the Empire
Cities spread Roman culture, law & the Latin language
Freely mixed with Greek culture
Greco-Roman Civilization

35. D. Economic & Social Conditions
high levels of trade & commerce
farming still the basis of Roman prosperity
latifundia, large landed estates
raised sheep & cattle

37. Economic & Social Conditions
Upper class lived in villas & vast estates
poor worked in shops & markets
thousand of unemployed depended on the emperor’s handouts

39. Roman Villa in England