Expansion of the Military and Civil War

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

2. Timeline for Ancient Rome • Kingship: 750 to 509 BCE • Early Republic: 509-287 BCE • Middle Republic: 287-133 BCE • Punic Wars • Socioeconomic & political impact • Cultural impact: transformation of religion • Late Republic: 133-27 BCE • Empire: 27 BCE – 476 CE

3. Timeline for Middle and Late Roman Republic • 264-241 BCE: First Punic War • 218-201: Second Punic War • 149-146: Third Punic War • 133: The Gracchi demand land redistribution; Tiberius Gracchus killed. • 107: Marius introduces client armies • 108-90: Rivalry between Populares and Optimates turns to civil war. • 49: Julius Caesar wins victory over Optimates. • 44: Caesar killed on steps of the Senate

4. Central questions for today • What impact did increased warfare likely have on the Roman Republic? • What were the consequences of establishing an empire? • Socioeconomic • Political • Cultural/religious

5. The Oath of the Horatii – Patriotic Duty

7. The Twelve TablesRoman Law c. 450 BCE

9. Unification of Italy450-250

11. What impact did warfare likely have on the Roman Republic? • It became more democratic • It became much poorer • Military discipline became central to Roman culture • It changed the distribution of power in the republic, with generals becoming more powerful

12. Centurions instilled discipline in Roman legionaries

15. Unification of Italy450-250

16. Samnites

17. Legionary Cornicen

18. Standard bearers:Signifer& Aquilifer

19. The Alps

21. Domitian and VespasianThe Flavian rulers of the late first century

26. Hannibal’s Victories in Italy218-216 BCE

28. In which Punic War did Hannibal ravage the Italian peninsula? • First • Second • Third • Fourth

29. Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

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

32. Gaius Julius Caesar100-44 BCE

33. Publius Cornelius Tacitus56-117 CE

34. Based on Agricola, what topics engaged Tacitus’s interests How did Tacitus’s perspective influence his writing? What events may have influenced that perspective?

35. Centurions instilled discipline in Roman legionaries

36. Discuss Tacitus • Given that Tacitus was born in the first century CE, what can his writings tell us about the political culture of early Rome? • What was Tacitus’s attitude toward the political system during his lifetime? • What was his attitude toward his father-in-law?

37. Which of the following was a central topic of Agricola? • The Roman conquest of Britain • The Roman Conquest of Gaul • The Roman Defeat by Herman the German • The Roman struggle against the Cimbri

38. What developments did the introduction to Tacitus highlight as having a big influence on Rome between 300 and 100 BCE? • The invasions of the Celts and the Germans • The Punic Wars • The rise of the Plebeian Assembly • The rise of a class of wealthy non-patricians, known as equites, or knights

39. What did Tacitus admire about Agricola • His sense of moderation and proportion • His recklessness in war • His drive to succeed at any cost • His admiration for the Britons’ attachment to peace

40. What was Tacitus’ attitude toward the barbarians to the North? Why was this topic so pressing during his lifetime? How did the political climate during his lifetime influence his perspective?

41. What was Tacitus’s attitude toward peace? How did he describe the Britons?

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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

48. Conquest 400-250 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

49. Conquest 250-150 BCE • The Punic Wars - a series of wars that pitted Rome against Carthage, its powerful rival in North Africa • First War (264-241) erupted when Carthage made inroads into Sicily; Rome gains control of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia; Rome expands its naval capabilities • Second War (218-201) - The daring Carthaginian general Hannibal marches troops and elephants over the alps and almost captures Rome; Rome eventually sacks Carthage • Third War(149-146) - Rome levels Carthage and establishes Roman government in N. Africa

50. 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