Aim: Was Rome better off with or without Julius Caesar?

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Aim Was Rome better off with or without Julius
Caesar?

• Period Two 600 BCE 600 CE

NY State Standards 2 Common Core RS 5, 6, 9, WS 1
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I Slave Revolts

• A) In 134 BCE, over 70,000 slaves rebelled in
  Sicily. They decimated an entire Roman army
  before finally being quelled, only to revolt
  again in 104 BCE.
• B) In 73 BCE, a gladiator named Spartacus led a
  band of fugitive slaves on a rampage across
  southern Italy. Unlike previous slave revolts,
  this one had a core of trained fighters in
  Spartacus and his fellow gladiators. As Spartacus
  defeated legion after legion, more and more
  slaves flocked to his army, swelling its ranks to
  nearly 70,000. It took Rome nearly three years to
  defeat Spartacus. When his army was finally
  routed in 71 BCE, Romans wanted to make sure no
  slave ever got the thought of rebellion into
  their head again. 6,000 slaves were crucified
  along the Appian Way, from Rome to Capua, to
  serve as a grisly reminder of the price of
  rebellion.

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II The Grachus Brothers

• While the plebeians had been conquering new
  territories in the Roman army, the patricians had
  been buying up all the good land in Italy, using
  slaves from newly conquered lands to farm huge
  plantations. This left many plebs with no land to
  support themselves in the country, so many of
  them moved to the city. Yet, the story was the
  same in Rome. The Senators and Equites took
  control of the city's many trades, and staffed
  them with slaves. By the mid 2nd century BCE, the
  vast majority of Italy's farms, mines, mills and
  manufacturing ran on slave labor. This left most
  plebs with no land, no job and few prospects.
  Two Tribunes, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
  attempted to make reforms to help the poor.
• 1. Tiberius Grachus wanted to take land from the
  patricians and redistribute it to poor farmers.
  Instead of proposing his bill directly to the
  Senate, he first took it to an assembly of the
  people. After his bill became law, Tiberius was
  clubbed to death by enraged senators in 133 BCE.
• 2. His brother Gaius proposed a law to distribute
  wheat at a subsidized price to the poor. When
  confronted by the military, he ordered his slave
  to stab him to death in 121 BCE.

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The Grachus Brothers Continued
Recall that Tribunes were members of the Plebeian
class. They could veto and propose laws, but not
vote on laws.
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III Marius vs. Sulla

• In the final years of the Roman republic, the
  government was split between two factions the
  optimates, who wanted to keep most of the power
  in the hands of the senate and patricians, and
  the populares, who used the special rights and
  powers of the popular assemblies, to enact their
  own agendas. The populares, were not led by the
  actual "people", but rather by an aristocratic
  party that sought power to circumvent the
  majority of the senate, and in order to win the
  support of the plebeians, supported popular
  measures such as land-reform. The division
  between these two factions had begun during the
  era of the Gracchi.
• B) In 88 BCE a struggle for power arose between
  Generals Marius and Sulla. Marius, born a
  commoner, announced that he was the hero of the
  plebeians Sulla, an aristocrat, was backed by
  the patricians and the Senate. Although Sulla
  won the office of consul, a rebellion in Asia
  Minor required his attention. While Sulla was
  gone, Marius seized power and murdered many of
  Sulla's supporters.

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Marius vs. Sulla Continued

• C) Soon, though, Marius died. Sulla returned in
  83 BCE, mounting an attack on Rome's government.
  After the civil war, he appointed himself
  dictator in 82 BCE and began a reign of terror,
  killing as many of Marius' supporters as
  possible. Many of Rome's wealthy were also
  killed Sulla seized their property and used it
  to bribe the soldiers for loyalty. Although Sulla
  retired and died in 78 BCE, his civil war proved
  that the Roman Republic could no longer control
  its expansion as effectively as the army could.

A dictator was supposed to be appointed by the
Senate during an emergency, and only was supposed
to keep the job for 6 months.
On the left is Marius. His rival Sulla is on the
right.
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Ptolemaic Empire
Parthian Empire
Roman Empire
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IV Julius Caesar 100 44 BCE

• Julius Caesar was a popular military commander.
• By 60 BCE Caesar, Crassus (a wealthy man), and
  Pompey (a friend of Sulla) formed a secret
  political alliance, known by historians as the
  First Triumvirate. Together, they made most of
  the political decisions in Rome for 10 years.
• C) 58 BCE Caesar conquered Gaul (what is France
  today). Pompey feared he was becoming too
  powerful.

76 BCE, Caesar had been captured by pirates and
held for ransom. After he was released, he hired
a ship, hunted down the pirates and killed them.
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The First Triumvirate
CAESAR
CRASSUS
POMPEY
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Julius Caesar Continued

• D) After Caesar had conquered Gaul, Pompey
  ordered him to return to Rome. Caesar paused at a
  bridge across the Rubicon (a stream). Caesar knew
  that if he crossed the stream with his army, he
  would be starting a Civil War. If he didnt, he
  risked being stripped of his powers as general.
  He crossed the Rubicon.

Caesar snatched a trumpet and ran to the river
with it then sounding the "Advance!" with a
piercing blast he crossed to the other side. At
this Caesar cried out, 'Let us go where the omens
of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon
us! THE DIE IS NOW CAST! - Seutonius, Roman
Historian
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Julius Caesar Continued

• F) After Caesar crossed the Rubicon, Pompey fled
  to Greece to prepare for war.
• G) Caesar returned to Rome and forced the Senate
  to make him a dictator. He was able to do this
  due to his popularity among the Roman people, and
  the allegiance of the Roman legions.
• F) After being defeated in battle in Greece by
  Caesar, Pompey fled to Egypt. The Pharaoh had
  Pompey killed in hopes of gaining favor with
  Caesar. However, Caesar was appalled, and buried
  Pompey with the highest of honors.

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V Caesar and Cleopatra

• Cleopatra VII was the last Macedonian ruler of
  Egypt. 48 BCE Caesar began an affair with
  Cleopatra, Pharaoh of Egypt.
• She was a co-Pharaoh with her brother/husband
  Ptolemy XIII. They were fighting each other for
  the throne when she met Caesar in 48 BCE.
• Cleopatra VII formed an alliance with Caesar and
  killed her brother. Together they were a threat
  to the Roman Senate.

According to legend, Cleopatra had herself rolled
up in a carpet to surprise Caesar. In 47 CE she
gave birth to their son Caesarean, and moved to
Rome.
Do you think their affair was due to love,
strategy, or both?
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Elizabeth Taylor vs. the Real Cleopatra
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Caesar and Cleopatra Continued

• E) Back in Rome, Caesar made many reforms (48
  43 BCE).
• 1. Made public works projects to create jobs
• 2. Gave public land to poor
• 3. Gave Roman citizenship to more people in
  conquered lands
• 4. Introduced the Julian Calendar based on
  knowledge from astronomers in Alexandria, Egypt.
  It had 365 days, 12 months, and a leap year every
  four years.

As the Julian Calendar created an extra day every
128 years, the calendar was replaced in the
Middle Ages.
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V Death of Caesar

1. Even though Caesar had refused to be crowned
   King, many in the Senate believed he acted as a
   King, and therefore was destroying the Roman
   Republic.
2. March 15, 44 BCE the Ides of March Caesar was
   stabbed to death on the steps of the Senate.

The Senate rose in respect for his position when
they saw him entering. Those who were to have a
part in the plot stood near him. Right next to
him went Cimber, whose brother had been exiled by
Caesar. Under pretext of a humble request
Cimber approached That was the moment for the
men to set to work. All quickly unsheathed their
daggers and rushed at him... Caesar rose to
defend himself, and in the uproar Casca shouted
to his brother. The latter heard him and drove
his sword into the ribs. After a moment, Cassius
made a slash at his face, and Brutus pierced him
in the side Under the mass of wounds, he fell at
the foot of Pompey's statue. Everyone wanted to
seem to have had some part in the murder, and
there was not one of them who failed to strike
his body as it lay there, until, wounded
thirty-five times, he breathed his last. " -
Nicolas of Damscus
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Julius Caesars Altar
Julius Caesar was the only Roman to be cremated
in the Roman Forum.
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VI After the Death of Caesar

• A) Following the death of Caesar in 43 BCE, a new
  alliance was formed, known by historians as the
  Second Triumvirate. (Mark Antony, Marcus Lepidus
  and Octavian, Caesars grand-nephew.) Unlike the
  First Triumvirate, the Second Triumvirate was
  given official powers by the Senate.
• B) Mark Antony fell in love with Cleopatra (she
  had returned to Egypt after Caesars
  assassination). This led to a civil war with
  Octavian Lepidus.

Cleopatra allegedly first met Mark Antony while
dressed up as Venus, the Roman Goddess of love,
to make Antony fall in love with her.
Mark Antony was Caesars second in command at the
time of the assassination.
Upon Caesars death, Octavian was adopted as
Caesars son in his will. Octavian began to raise
an army and got himself elected to the consulship
to legitimize his power.
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After the Death of Caesar Continued

• C) 31 BCE the Senate declared war on Mark Antony
  and Cleopatra. After a major defeat in
  Alexandria, Egypt by Octavian, Cleopatra
  committed suicide by an asp. When Mark Antony
  heard of her death, Mark Antony stabbed himself
  to death with his sword.

An asp is a poisonous snake, and a symbol of
divine royalty.
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After the Death of Caesar Continued

• D) In 31 BCE (the same year as the death of
  Antony and Cleopatra), Octavian made himself
  consul for the 3rd time, although he allowed his
  colleague and other positions in the government
  to be elected. He claimed he had no more power
  than anyone else in the Roman government, and
  even referred to himself as princeps (the first
  man among equals) he was not the first to have
  this title. However, he used his consulship to
  maintain control over the army.
• E) In 27 CE Octavian declared he had restored the
  Republic. He gave amnesty to his deceased rivals.
  The same year the Senate gave Octavian the title
  of Augustus (Exalted One), making his full
  title Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus.

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After the Death of Caesar Continued

• F) In 23 CE Augustus abdicated the consulship
  (due to resentment he had the title 10 times in a
  row. The same year, he became a tribune for life.
  (Is that really any better?) With this grant,
  Augustus regained the initiative to bring
  legislation and motions before the senate he got
  the right of putting the first motion in any
  meeting of the senate, despite the fact that the
  seniority of the actual tribunate was very low
  he technically had the right to the tribunician
  veto, but he probably never had to use it,
  because he would already have approved of motions
  before they reached the senate he got
  magisterial power to compel citizens to obey his
  orders he got the power to help citizens
  oppressed by other magistrates (and he had
  already been granted tribunician sacrosanctity
  for his personal protection in 36). Augustus did
  not need any of these new powers themselves, but
  rather the legitimacy they providedIn 19 he
  accepted consular power for life, the right to
  sit between the two elected consuls, to bear the
  fasces as symbols of power, and to be attended by
  twelve lictors. Though Augustus did not need
  consular power, the visibility of it appeared to
  quell the agitation of the people. He also
  accepted a five-year appointment as supervisor of
  morals with censorial powers. By 19 he held not
  the invidious offices but the actual powers of
  the consulship, tribunate, censorship
  effectively, he also held the military

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After the Death of Caesar Continued

• dictatorshipIn 18 Augustus used his censorial
  power to reduce the ranks of the senate again
  from eight-hundred to six- hundred members (the
  three such senatorial reforms took place in 29,
  18, and 11). By the authority of his tribunician
  power, he passed the Julian Laws of 18 for moral
  reform and the criminal code. The new laws were
  intended to mitigate the social and civil
  disorder caused by the cynicism of late
  Republican anarchy, and to encourage long-term
  stability for the state. There were laws against
  adultery and promoting marriage and childbirth by
  the grant of special privileges or penalties,
  laws against luxury and electoral corruption, and
  appellate laws superseding public jury-verdicts
  ultimately to the jurisdiction of Augustus
  himself. Nino C. Coppolino
• E) In 12 CE he named himself pontifex maximus
  (the highest official Roman priest).
• Was the Roman Republic officially over?

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Focus Questions

• 1. What were the causes and consequences of the
  Roman Social Wars? (Mention Spartacus, the
  Gracchus brothers, Marius and Sulla)
• 2. What allowed for the rise of Caesar to power?
• 3. What do the quotes below tell you about Julius
  Caesar? Augustus?
• 4. Was the assassination of Caesar justified?
• 5. Was Rome better off as a Republic or as an
  Empire? Explain.
• A) Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I
  conquered. Julius Caesar
• B) I love the name of honor, more than I fear
  death. Julius Caesar
• C) I found Rome of clay I leave it to you of
  marble. Augustus, on his death bed

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Key Vocabulary

• Augustus
• Civil War
• Cleopatra VII
• Crassus
• Empire
• First Triumvirate
• Julian Calendar
• Julius Caesar
• Lepidus
• Marius
• Mark Antony
• Octavian
• Pompey
• Punic Wars
• Rubicon
• Second Triumvirate
• Subsidized
• Sulla
• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus