ancient rome notes master fall 2007
TRANSCRIPT
History of Western Civilization/Fall 2007
The Italian Peninsula…ideal location
The first Romans and Italians
• …were farmers and nomadic herdsmen
• …were highly developed technically (bronze, horses, wheeled carts)
• …included different ethnic groups
Etruscans
• Moved in between 800 and 700 BCE
• Probably came originally from the Middle East
• Stretched from the Arno River (North) to the Tiber River (central)
Mix and match
• Etruscans had contact with the natives (like Latins); provided religion, language, ideas
• Etruscans formed city-states, not unlike the Greeks
Italian Peninsulaat the dawn of Rome…
Rome…according to legend
• Rome was created by Remus and Romulus
Rome…according to history
• Tribal culture and social order dominates Rome until about 750 BCE
• The likely village of Rome developed into a town/city
• Drew aggressively on Etruscan culture/urban expectations
Early Roman Government
• Governed by a monarchy, who was absolute
• Monarch’s power was described as imperium; which is best described as similar to the power a father has over a household
Speaking of fathers…
• Roman monarchy is patrilineal (passed down to sons)
• In the Roman family, father is all powerful– Can kill children, or sell them
into slavery, if they talked to the fam
– Couldn’t kill wife, but was allowed to divorce (rare)
– Father was the family priest
• Monarchy followed the father model…absolute power, but had to acknowledge the people, the welfare and tradition
Early Government Structure…
The King(Absolute)
Senate(Council of Elders, “clan confederacy”)
Assembly(All male citizens [both parents Roman])
• System means that a form of democracy existed early in Rome
Roman Growth
• City inspired growth, and the accumulation of wealth
• Most wealth is concentrated among the rich
• Develops a system of HAVES and HAVE-NOTS:– Patricians: the wealthy;
controlled trade, the military and government
– Plebians: the rest; the farmers, laborers and crafts people
Roman Expansion
• Fear or invasion pushes Roman control outward; Rome forces its power through the peninsula
• Romans weren’t greedy for land and territory, just paranoid
Relics of expansion: roads
Transition
• Eventually, the native (?) Romans tired of Etruscan influence
• Drove them from power in 509 BCE
Generalities aboutthe Republic Era
• State of– …constant warfare– …constant expansion– …solidification of law codes
New Government Forms2 Consuls
(Patricians; Rulers of Rome; elected for a 1 year term)
evolved to…
Preconsuls(Extended terms during military campaigns)
Plus…
Quaestors (Financial Officers)
Praetor(Jusifical Military Official)
Censor(Tax officiers)
Poverty creates reform…
• Peblians and patricians fight for power
• Peblians actually threaten a separatist government
The Law of Twelve Tables
• Formalizes Roman law and organizes the constitution
• New laws emerge:– Patricians and plebians allowed
to intermarry– Eventually gained the right to
be elected counsul and to the Senate
– Plebian assembly eventually considered binding
• Crisis averted? Woo hoo!
The Republic adds territory…
• Tarquin? Check• Etruscans? Check• Guals? Whoops; burns Rome to
the ground • Samnites? Check• Greek city-states in the South?
Check• By 290BCE, Rome controls the
Italian Pennisula
The Roman Way…
• How to keep everyone happy?– Owned territories send taxes
and troops to Rome, but…– They get liberal rights– Roads are built to the cities (
trade)