4.3 Birth of an Empire

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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

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?

Planning for this lesson

Instruction 3.3 Birth of an Empire (with notes)

Which emperor are you?

Goals for this lesson

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

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

Planning for this lesson

Instruction 3.3 Birth of an Empire (with notes)

Which emperor are you?

Gaius Marius (c. 105 BC)

• Famous general.
• Changed the army= soldiers get a piece of loot and land after 25 years.
• Effect= very loyal soldiers.

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

Triumph

• Roman soldiers were very loyal to their general -> very strong motivated armies.
• Used agianst the Germanic Tribes.
• Successful generals would get a Triumph.

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

Green= term that will be explained in another lesson

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

Julius Caesar (what do you know about him)

Return of the King?

•  Julius Caesar was a famous general= got 3 triumphs.
• He conquered Gaul (France).
• Senate was scared that he wanted to be king.

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.

Civil War

• JC took his army to Rome -> result was a civil war = war between people of the same country.
• JC won and made himself a dictator for 10 years.

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

A new Caesar

•  Octavian manages to take power.
• Calls himself Augustus (The majestic).
• Becomes monarch of the Empire= 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.

Emperor= Keizer

Which of the 3 was the craziest?

1. Commodus
2. Nero
3. Caligula

[I] What was the main cause of the collapse of the Roman Republic?

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

wheelofnames.com

Planning for this lesson

Instruction 3.3 Birth of an Empire (with notes)

Which emperor are you?

4.3 Birth of an Empire

Right: Statue of emperor Nero

Left: Reconstruction of what he looked like in real life

You can skip the first parts of the textbook.
Read "Return of the King¨
1a. Why did Caesar need special powers to stay in command of his legion?

Remember this question from lesson 4.1?
1b. Which of these 2 statements is correct?


I. a dictator had the same power as a king, but only for a short time
II. a dictator was only appointed in times of an emergency

1. both are correct
2. both are incorrect
3. only I is correct
4. only II is correct

1c. In 44 BC Caesar became a dictator for life.
Was there a difference between being a dictator for
life and a Roman King? Explain your answer.

2a. The source you read was published in the 17th century
by the playwright William Shakespeare. He used
primary sources such as the Roman author Suetonius
to write his play. Do you think it was a reliable source?
Explain your answer.

2b. What is Marc Anthony saying?

3a. Read "A new Caesar"
What did Octavian do differently than Caesar?

3b. Sometimes we say Octavian was ‘princeps inter pares’ (first among equals). Why?

4a. Read "Republic or monarchy?"
Sometimes we call the time of Augustus the principate (time of the princeps).
Why would we call it that instead of an empire or a republic?

4b. Why, do you think, Augustus preferred the title Caesar and not rex (king)?