Page 155 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

CHRONOLOGY The Decline and Fall of the Roman Republic
Reforms of Tiberius Gracchus Reforms of Gaius Gracchus Marius: First consulship
Marius: Consecutive consulships Sulla as dictator
Pompey’s command in Spain
Campaign of Crassus against Spartacus First Triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey, Crassus) Caesar in Gaul
Murder of Crassus by Parthians
Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon
Caesar named dictator
End of civil war
Assassination of Caesar
Octavian’s defeat of Antony at Actium
133 B.C.E. 123–122 B.C.E. 107 B.C.E. 104–100 B.C.E. 82–79 B.C.E. 77–71 B.C.E. 73–71 B.C.E. 60 B.C.E. 59–49 B.C.E. 53 B.C.E.
49 B.C.E.
47 B.C.E.
45 B.C.E.
44 B.C.E.
31 B.C.E.
Chapter Summary
Sometime in the eighth century B.C.E., a group of Latin- speaking people built a small community called Rome on the Tiber River in Italy. Between 509 and 264 B.C.E., this city expanded and united almost all of Italy under its control. Diplomacy was as important as the Roman armies in this achievement, and the Romans made their rule acceptable by allowing local autonomy and gradually granting Roman citizenship to non-Romans. During this time of conquest, Rome also developed the political institutions of a republic ruled by an aristocratic oligarchy.
Although Rome had no master plan for expansion, its relationship with its neighbors outside Italy soon led to involvement in new wars. Its first challenge was Carth- age and the Carthaginian empire in Spain and Africa. Rome was vic- torious after the three long and bloody Punic Wars. In the east,
Rome conquered Macedonia and also took control of the Greek states. Thus, between 264 and 133 B.C.E., Rome expanded to the west and east and became master of the Mediterranean Sea.
Religion and law permeated Roman life. Ritual was at the focus of religion, for ritual established the correct relationship with the gods, both for individuals and for the state. Roman law was among Rome’s most enduring accomplishments. The early
laws, written in the Twelve Tables, constituted civil law for Romans. As Rome expanded, the Romans developed a new body of law, the law of nations, that applied to Romans and non- Romans alike. Republican Rome was also influenced by Hellenis- tic Greece, especially in literature, art, and philosophy.
In the second century B.C.E., the con-
servative, traditional values of Rome
declined as affluence and individualism
increased. After 133 B.C.E., Rome’s
republican institutions proved inad-
equate for the task of ruling an empire.
In the breakdown that ensued, ambi-
tious individuals such as Pompey, Cras-
sus, and Caesar saw opportunities for
power unparalleled in Roman history
and succumbed to the temptations. The military reforms of Mar- ius at the beginning of the first century B.C.E. had made possible the creation of professional armies that were loyal to the generals who recruited them, rather than to the state. Bloody civil war ensued as powerful individuals jockeyed for power. Peace was finally achieved when Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian, who came to be known by the title of Augustus, would soon create a new system of government that seemed to preserve the republic while establishing the basis for a new system that would rule the empire in an orderly fashion.
Chapter Summary • 117
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