4.3 Birth of an Empire

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 Birth of an Empire

Right: Statue of emperor Nero

Left: Reconstruction of what he looked like in real life

Most power

Least power

Slaves

Patricians

2 Consuls

300 senators

Plebeians

''[R] Rich plebeians who could veto the consuls'' Who is this referring to?

1. Senators
2. Consuls
3. Kings
4. People's tribunes

[R] Who was the new enemy of Rome in the Mediterranean Sea?

Goals for this lesson

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Explain how Marius’ army reforms changed soldiers’ loyalty.

• Explain how powerful generals like Caesar weakened the Roman Republic.

• Explain how Augustus concentrated republican powers and created the Roman Empire.

Gaius Marius (c. 107–100 BC)

Roman general and reformer

Reformed the army:

– Removed the land requirement

– Recruited poor citizens

– Promised land after service

Consequence:

-Soldiers became loyal to their general — not to Rome.

Thanks to Marius generals became more popular and therefore also more powerful

Triumph

A Triumph was a public victory parade in Rome.
-The general marched through the city like a king
-Soldiers followed him in celebration
-Spoils of war were displayed

Why this mattered:
-It increased the general’s prestige
-It strengthened soldiers’ loyalty to him

A triumph for a Roman general: They even built a triumph arch for him.

[I] Why could famous generals become danger to the Republic?

Julius Caesar (what do you know about him)

Was Caesar becoming a king?

Was Caesar Becoming a King?

-Successful general in Gaul

-Extremely loyal army

-Celebrated with four triumphs

Why the Senate was afraid:

-He held enormous military power

-He had popular support from the people of Rome

Julius Caesar: He was famous with his soldiers and with the plebeians.

The senate hated him because they thought he wanted to become a king.

From Fear to Civil War (49–45 BCE)

After his victories in Gaul, Caesar had:

-A loyal army / Enormous prestige

-Growing political enemies in the Senate

The Senate ordered him to give up his army and return to Rome.

-Giving up his army meant losing his power and facing prosecution

-49 BCE – Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army.-This decision started a civil war against the Senate.

Caesar wins the civil war:

-46 BCE – Caesar appointed dictator for 10 years

-44 BCE – Caesar declared dictator for life

-The Republic now depended on one man.

Sometimes even brothers were fighting on different sides in the civil war

A new Caesar

After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, Rome fell into another civil war.

-Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son and heir, defeated his rivals and became the most powerful man in Rome.

-In 27 BCE, he received the title Augustus.

-He did not call himself king. Instead, he called himself Princeps — primus inter pares (“first among equals”).

He kept the Senate, but he held:

– control of the army

– control of the treasury

– supreme political authority

Rome was still called a Republic.

In reality, Augustus ruled as  what we now call emperor.

Emperor Austustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar. He managed to punish the murderers of Caesar and became the absolute ruler of Rome. This was the end of the Republic.

Augustus did not create a new office.

He combined key republican powers.

Imperium maius

→ Supreme command of the army

Tribunician power

→ Control over laws and veto

Pontifex Maximus

→ Highest Religious authority

In practice:

He controlled the army, politics, and religion.

Rome remained a Republic in name —

but real power was in his hands.

[IOfficialy Rome remained a Republic under Augustus. Explain while say it was actualy an Empire

Goals for this lesson

At the end of this lesson you will be able to...

• Understand why generals were the cause of the fall the republic.
• Understand how Rome became a monarchy again with the Emperors

On a scale of 1-10. How difficult was this lesson for you?

010

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4.3 Birth of an Empire

Right: Statue of emperor Nero

Left: Reconstruction of what he looked like in real life