Roman History Overview

Overview

This lecture traces the entire span of Roman history, from mythic origins through the fall of the Western Empire and the survival of Byzantium, highlighting political, cultural, and institutional transformations and their enduring legacy.

Mythic Origins and Early Rome

• Rome’s foundation myth involves Aeneas from Troy, Romulus and Remus, and divine ancestry.
• SPQR (Senate and People of Rome) symbolized Rome's collective political identity.
• Early Roman history is part legend due to lack of records after 390 BC (sack by Gauls).
• Roman society was integrated, welcoming outsiders as citizens, and open to cultural borrowing.
• The Patrician (nobility) and Plebeian (commoner) classes shaped early social structure.

Roman Republic: Institutions & Expansion

• The Republic was established in 509 BC, replacing Etruscan kings.
• Mixed constitution: consuls (executive), Senate (advisory), assemblies (popular vote).
• Plebeians gradually gained political equality through strikes and reforms.
• Rome’s "Expanding Defense" justified conquests as preemptive self-defense.
• Major conquests: Italian peninsula, Magna Graecia, then Carthage in the Punic Wars.
• Rome adapted foreign technologies and incorporated conquered peoples.

Crisis of the Late Republic

• Political violence began with the Gracchi brothers’ reforms and deaths.
• Patron-client system and wealth disparities led to social unrest and civil wars.
• Key conflicts: Marius vs. Sulla, Social War (leading to wider citizenship), and factionalism.
• The First Triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey, Crassus) manipulated Republican structures.

Caesar and the Fall of the Republic

• Caesar used political alliances and military campaigns (notably in Gaul) to gain power.
• Crossing the Rubicon (49 BC) sparked civil war; Caesar became dictator for life.
• Caesar’s rule mixed popular reforms with autocracy and legal abuses.
• His assassination in 44 BC failed to restore the Republic, leading to more conflict.

From Republic to Empire: Augustus

• Augustus (Octavian) outmaneuvered rivals after Caesar’s death, defeating Antony and Cleopatra.
• He preserved republican forms but centralized power as princeps (first citizen).
• Augustan reforms stabilized Rome and initiated the Pax Romana.
• Major achievements included building projects and cultural patronage (e.g., Virgil’s Aeneid).

Imperial Rome and Its Achievements

• Emperors ruled a Mediterranean-wide state; the military became loyal to the emperor.
• Rome was a cosmopolitan, urban, and commercial civilization, reliant on slavery.
• Engineering feats included roads, aqueducts, the Colosseum, and city planning.
• Rome assimilated cultures but had trouble with monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity).

Crisis of the Third Century

• Debasement of currency, military anarchy, foreign invasions, and plague weakened Rome.
• Breakaway states (Gallic, Palmyrene) emerged but were reconquered under Aurelian.
• Diocletian's Tetrarchy divided rule to stabilize the empire and reorganized administration.

Late Antiquity and the Fall of the West

• Constantine legalized Christianity, moved the capital to Constantinople, and split rule.
• "Barbarian" migrations/invasions gradually chipped away at Western Roman territory.
• 476 AD: Last Western emperor deposed; Roman institutions persisted locally.
• Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire survived and adapted culturally and politically.

Rome in the Middle Ages and Beyond

• Rome became the center of the Papacy, exerting religious and political power.
• The Latin language evolved into the Romance languages.
• Classical architecture was repurposed for churches, and Roman law influenced Europe.
• The idea of Rome influenced successor states, including Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire.

Byzantine Empire: Survival and Legacy

• Byzantium carried on Roman traditions, endured invasions, and experienced a cultural golden age.
• Thematic military system and diplomacy were critical to its survival.
• Religious controversies (iconoclasm, schism with Rome) shaped its development.
• 1204: Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople; Byzantium later recaptured it but declined.
• 1453: Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, but Roman-Greek culture lived on.

Key Terms & Definitions

• SPQR — Abbreviation for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus, representing the Senate and People of Rome.
• Patrician — Aristocratic, noble class in Rome.
• Plebeian — Commoner class in Rome.
• Consul — One of two annually elected chief magistrates in the Republic.
• Triumvirate — Political alliance of three powerful individuals (First: Caesar-Pompey-Crassus; Second: Octavian-Antony-Lepidus).
• Pax Romana — Period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire (27 BC–180 AD).
• Tetrarchy — Rule by four emperors, instituted by Diocletian.
• Foederati — Allied non-Roman tribes settled within the empire in exchange for military service.
• Byzantine Empire — Eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, centered at Constantinople.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review class notes on Roman political institutions, key emperors, and social structure.
• Read excerpts from Livy, Plutarch, and Suetonius on early Rome, the Republic, and Caesar.
• Prepare a timeline of major shifts: Kingdom, Republic, Empire, Crisis, Byzantine era.
• Study the causes and consequences of the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the survival of Byzantium.