ANCIENT ROME

753 BC – 476 AD

1
Periodization

AD
BC
476
509
–
Republic Principate
–
284
509 – 27 BC 27 BC – 284 AD
753
e
dom
inat
King
Dom
Etruscan civilization
•Unknown origins
•They were heavily influenced by Greek culture
•They reached the height of their power around 750 BC
•The were organized in a confederation of twelve cities
(Etruscan League)
•Each city was ruled by a king (Lucumo), but they would
eventually lose power to the wealthiest families
•Architecture
• Round arch
•Polytheistic
•Writing
Foundation of Rome
• Romulus and Remus were purported to be sons of Rhea Silvia and
Mars. They were abandoned at birth because of a prophecy that they
would overthrow their uncle Amulius, who had overthrown Silvia's
father Numitor
• The twins were abandoned on the river Tiber by servants who took
pity on the infants, despite their orders. The twins were nurtured by a
she-wolf until a shepherd found the boys and took them as his sons
• When Remus and Romulus became adults, they killed Amulius and
restored Numitor. They decided to establish a city; however, they
quarreled, as Romulus was on Palatine Hill, while Remus wanted to
found the city on Aventine Hill, until Remus and his followers attacked,
and Romulus killed his brother
Kingdom
• First Etruscan King
•He increased the number of
• Founder of Rome senators to 300
•He divided the population in 30 • Warlike King •He built the Cloaca Maxima • Last king of Rome
curiae (clans) • He destroyed the city of Alba (sewers system)
•He was expelled from the city
• He created the Senate and the Longa • He built the Forum after an incident between his
Curiate Assembly •He built the first Senate House •He built the Circus Maximus son and a Roman noblewoman

BC 509 BC
716 534 –
Noma Pompilius Tullus Hostilius Ancus Marcius Tarquinius Priscus •Servius Tullius
bus
753 – Super
lus 715 – 672 BC 672 – 640 BC 640 – 616 BC 616 – 578 BC 578 – 534 BC nius
Romu •Tarqui

• He established many •He built the first bridge across • He built the first wall around
religious institutions and the River Tiber Rome
practicies, including the • He founded the port of Ostia • He reorganized the army
office of Pontifex Maximus
•He built Rome’s first aqueduct • He instituted the first census
•He reformed the calendar
•He created the Centuriate and
Tribal Assemblies
Conflict of the Orders
(494 – 287 BC)
It was a political conflict between the • 494 BC: Creation of the Plebeian Council and the office
plebeians and patricians, in which the of the plebeian tribune
plebeians sought political equality with
the patricians • 449 BC: The Laws of the Twelve Tables were
promulgated. These were the first written laws and
This conflict played a major role in stated the rights and duties of citizens
shaping the Roman Republican
Constitution • 445 BC: The Lex Canuleia allowed marriages between
plebeians and patricians
This conflict was connected to the
Roman conquest of Italy, as plebeians • 367 BC: The Lex Licinia Sextia established a limit on the
made a huge part of the Roman army amount of public land that could be owned by a citizen
and they refused keep fighting until and required the election of one plebeian consul
they were given full political rights • 312 BC: During his censorship, Appius Claudius increased
By the end, the ruling-class transformed the voting power of the plebeians in the Tribal Assembly
from a patrician-only group to a and admitted sons of freedmen to serve in the Senate
nobilitas (nobility) composed of both • 287 BC: The Lex Hortensia made the plebiscitia
patricians and plebeians (resolutions passed by the Plebeian Council) binding on
all citizens
 Republican Magistracies Assemblies
Institutions + Annuality + Curiate Assembly
• Patrician-controlled
+ Collegiality
• Ceremonial functions
Senate + Ad honorem
+ Centuriate Assembly
+ Ordinary • Represented the army, which
+ It was an advisory council
• Consuls (heads of was divided in centuries
to the consuls on matters
government) • Centuries were later grouped
of foreign and military into classes according to a
policy, and it exercised a • Praetors (judges) means test
great deal of influence over • Aediles • It was in charge of electing
consular decision-making (administrators) high-ranking magistrates and
declaring war and peace
+ It was composed by 300 • Quaestors (treasurers)
senators + Tribal Assembly
+ Extraordinary • Citizens were organized in 35
+ During an emergency, the • Plebeian Tribune tribes (4 urban and 31 rural)
Senate could appoint a • Censor • It was in charge of legislative
Dictator matters and electing low-
• Dictator ranking magistrates
TÍTULO DE LA PRESENTACIÓN

Roman
Expansion
•Punic Wars (264 – 146
BC)
•Illyrian Wars (229 – 167
BC)
•Macedonian Wars (214 –
148 BC)
•Seleucid War (192 -188
BC)
•Celtiberian Wars (181 –
133 BC)
•Lusitanian War (155 –
139 BC)
•Achaean War (146 BC)
Crisis of the Republic
The Roman expansion during the third and second centuries
resulted in a crisis, due to several causes:
• Concentration of public land in the hands of a small group
of landowners
• Shortage of soldiers for the army
• Internal conflict inside the nobilitas (Optimates vs.
Populares)
• Exponential increase in the number of slaves
Several attempts were made in order to fix this crisis:
• Reforms of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
• Marian Reforms
Although these reforms alleviated the symptoms of the crisis,
they did not manage to solve the underlying causes of the
crisis
Consequently, this culminated in a series of civil wars:
• Marius vs. Sulla
• Caesar vs. Pompey
• Mark Anthony vs. Octavian
These wars ended with the ultimate victory of Octavian and his
consolidation as the undisputed leader of the Roman world
Principate (27 BC – 235 AD)
•On his return from Egypt, Octavian received the title of
Augustus (venerable)
•His aim was to bring back stability to Rome after decades of civil
wars, yet he could not do so by taking direct control of the
government
•Instead, he managed to consolidate his influence through his
personal authority (auctoritas), while appearing not to aspire to
dictatorship or monarchy (Republican facade)
•Furthermore, Augustus was granted the power of the tribunes
(tribunicia potestas) and the proconsular imperium (imperium
proconsulare maius)
•As a result, even though Augustus was publicly considered to be
under the Senate and the Roman People, privately it was
Augustus who was in control of Rome, allowing the senators to
save face
•After the death of Augustus in 14 AD, the following 200-year-
period saw the consolidation of the Principate and the instituted
a state of relative peace throughout the empire (Pax Romana)
Origins of Christianity
•It started in Roman Judea during the first century
•Jewish society was divided in four sects:
• Pharisees (Rabbis)
• Sadducees (Priests)
• Essenes (Mystics)
• Zealots (Radicals)
•Messianism
• A leader from the House of David who would expel the foreign rulers from Israel
•Between 30-33 Jesus preached about the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God
and announced himself as the Messiah
•Jesus’ teachings were very popular and he also performed healing miracles
•As his teachings were a threat to the interests of the ruling-class, they managed to
convince the Roman governor to order his crucifixion
•He resurrected at the third day and appeared to his former disciples afterwards,
ordering them to spread the Gospel and thus becoming his Apostles
•From the first to the third century, Christianity separated from Judaism and started
spreading throughout the Roman Empire
•As Christian beliefs conflicted with the Roman religion, Christians were persecuted
and forced to repent. Those who did not re-embraced Roman religion, were
executed and became martyrs
•Nonetheless, the spread of Christianity was impossible to stop as it was very
popular, not only for the poor, but also among the ruling-class as well