Women in Ancient Rome

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Women in Ancient Rome Roman Egypt

• 1/13/05

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Historical Overview of Roman History
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Early Rome Archaeological Evidence

• Population grew with the transition from the
  Bronze to the Iron Age in the 10th c. BCE.
• Large nucleated settlements developed, including
  Rome, 20 km inland.
• Traces of iron-age huts (thatched) and cemeteries
  dating from the 9th-7th c. have been found in
  several places in Rome.
• Surviving literary accounts of the beginnings of
  Rome are based entirely on legend - show us how
  the Romans liked to see themselves.

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Early Latium
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Early Rome
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Roman Hut Urn
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Palatine Hut Foundations
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Palatine Hut Foundations
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Romulus City (8th-6th c.BCE)

• Later Roman tradition credited Romulus with
  founding Rome in 753 BCE, its first king.
• During the 8th-6th c. 3 distinct groupings
  appeared in central Italy in Latium, Etruria,
  and Samnium - the peoples in each spoke different
  languages (Latin, Etruscan, Oscan). They had
  similar social and political systems, but rather
  different religious and funerary practices.
• Individual settlements were separate, each with a
  king or small ruling elite of
  warrior-landowners.

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The Time of the Kings

• Legend preserves seven king names, but there were
  surely more.
• In the course of the 6th c. Rome grew into a
  major power.
• The city now contained a large temple of Jupiter,
  land drains and culverts to increase habitable
  land, large stone aristocratic houses.
• Romans built a defensive wall circuit enclosing
  426 hectares, and held sway over much of Latium
  (up to 100 km to the south).

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The Roman Republic The Capital of Italy

• Towards the end of the 6th c. Rome abolished the
  monarchy and established a new political order -
  the Republic.
• King was replaced by 2 consuls and a number of
  lesser magistrates elected yearly by the male
  citizen body.
• The consuls chose an advisory body, the Senate
  (later you had to have well-defined
  qualifications to serve landed wealth, military
  political service)

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The Patricians

• Consuls led the army in war and had executive
  legislative powers.
• Army service was a duty of citizenship, but in
  reality limited to those who could afford their
  own equipment.
• A small number of aristocratic families, the
  patricians, gained a monopoly on the consulship
  and most other civic and priestly offices from
  the middle of the 5th century on.

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The Plebeians

• Late 5th c. the lower classes formed their own
  alternative state, electing their own officers
  and forming their own cult.
• For 200 years this plebeian organization fought
  to improve the lot of its members.
• Principal demands debt relief, fairer
  distribution of economic resources (like land).
• 4th c. the plebeians won equal rights - a pleb
  could now run for consul. In 342, a rule was
  established mandating that one of the two consuls
  be plebeian.

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Cursus Honorum

• By the mid-4th c. a hierarchy of magistracies had
  been established successful nobles (both
  patrician and plebeian) expected to hold a
  succession of these offices in a rudimentary
  career pattern, called the cursus honorum
  quaestor, aedile or tribune, praetor, consul (age
  40 or above).
• Late 4th c senate became an independent body of
  permanent life members (ex-magistrates) - took a
  more important role in routine administration and
  formulation of policy for the state.

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Roman Territorial Expansion

• Romans conquered and destroyed Veii in Etruria in
  396, then moved on to take control of the rest of
  Latium and Samnium until all of central Italy was
  under its sway. By 300 Rome was the dominant
  power in Italy.
• Thereafter, it continued to expand its power both
  north and south through war and colonization.
  Roman imperialism was the result of continuous
  war, and continuous war was the result of the
  Roman system of alliances in Italy.

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Rome Capital of the Mediterranean

• 3rd-2nd c. BCE.
• Rome continued to gain power by making her
  enemies into allies.
• After Rome had control of peninsular Italy, it
  moved to control Sicily (first province),
  bringing war with Carthage (north African power).
• By 100 BCE most of the Aegean, large parts of
  Asia Minor and North Africa came under direct
  Roman rule.

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Effect of Conquests

• The nobility grew vastly more wealthy from spoils
  of military campaigns - the plebs also
  participated in the economic benefits.
• The upper classes adopted sophisticated habits,
  the influence of Greek culture grew pervasive
  (educated and cultured Greeks were slaves to
  elite Romans, educated Roman children, served as
  secretaries, etc.).
• Spurred the development of Roman architecture,
  visual arts, and literature on Greek models.

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Civil Wars 90-31 BC

• Widening gulf between rich and poor led to
  unrest.
• The republican style army and negotiating skills
  of Romes politicians achieved an empire - but
  had trouble governing it (war, invasion, slave
  revolts).
• A professional, long-service army was established
  in 107-100 by abolishing the old property
  qualifications and enlisting and training a
  proletariat force.
• Problem generals could make the army their own
  private weapon to achieve political goals.

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Rise of Dictators

• Much of the 1st century was taken up with a
  series of military dictatorships (magistrates
  given supreme powers to deal with emergencies).
• Internal wars - the Italian allies, spurred on by
  opposing Roman generals Marius and Sulla,
  rebelled against Rome (Social Wars), winning
  the right of Roman citizenship.

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Civil War

• Marius and Sulla battled it out first (88-82)
• Pompey (really popular), Crassus (really rich),
  Julius Caesar (really smart) first joined forces
  then fought next (49-45). Caesar became consul in
  48 and dictator for life in 45/44 (then
  assassinated on March 15, 44).
• Mark Antony and Octavian (44-31) fought last.
• Octavian won, becoming the first emperor under
  the name Augustus.
• These wars caused terrible loss of life.

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Augustus Imperial Rome

• Octavian was born in 63 to Julius Caesars niece
  - Caesar adopted him in 45 BC, making him his
  heir.
• When Caesar was murdered 6 months later, Octavian
  fought for 13 years to establish himself and to
  eliminate all possible rivals for power.
• Final victory battle of Actium in 31 BC. With
  the defeat of Antony and his ally Cleopatra VII,
  Egypt became a Roman province.

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Augustus Reforms

• Augustus called himself princeps - first
  citizen, or leader among equals. The Senate
  remained the most important political body, but
  its powers were restricted by Augustus control
  of fiscal and military policy.
• The army now owed its allegiance to the ruling
  emperor only. More military campaigns were
  undertaken to consolidate natural boundaries,
  increase revenue.
• Reorganization of taxation and administration of
  the provinces.

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Augustus, continued

• The provincial empire doubled in size, 1/5 of the
  population of Italy was resettled in overseas
  colonies.
• Augustus ruled for 44 years, blending tradition
  with innovation.

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The City of Rome

• By the start of the empire, Rome was the largest
  city in the ancient world, having a population of
  about 1,000,000.
• As their political power waned after the fall of
  the Republic, the elite focused not on townhouses
  in Rome but on elegant suburban houses, known as
  Gardens (horti).

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Other Emperors

• The lack of an established law of succession
  resulted in tension between emperors and the
  other elite, who might try to unseat them.
• The Julio-Claudians Tiberius to Claudius (CE
  14-54), Nero (54-68). Period of instability
  followed.
• The Flavians (CE 69-96). Vespasian restores order
  (69-79), his grandson Domitian blew it (murdered
  in 96)

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Roman Empire, 2nd c.

• Had a territory of about 5 million sq. km., with
  a population c. 55 million.
• Each province had a Roman governor aided by Roman
  procurators. There were 160 elite Romans serving
  in these capacities, who used local officials to
  perform routine administrative activities.
• Social structure - 3 elite classes over the rest
• senatorial order
• equestrian order
• local elites
• the lower-classes

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Other Emperors

• The High Empire Trajan, Hadrian, and the
  Antonines (CE 96-180). Series of adopted imperial
  heirs who all had been leading senators before
  their adoption. Marcus Aurelius son, Commodus,
  reignited political tensions - was assassinated
  on New Years Eve 192.
• The Severans (CE 193-238).
• The Later Third Century all hell broke loose, 18
  emperors and hordes of usurpers in 50 years
  nearly all met violent deaths after short reigns.

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4th c. CE

• The imperial burden was shared between 2
  emperors, until Constantine and his sons took
  control of the empire in 324.
• Constantine was the first emperor to convert to
  Christianity.