Page 167 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

internal stability but also pacified bordering territories, thus reducing the threat that bandits posed to traders. As a result, merchants developed a network of trade routes that brought these two great empires into com- mercial contact. Most important was the overland Silk Road, a regular caravan route between West and East.
The Silk Road was the route used to transport Chi- nese exports of silk cloth to the West. Silk became a craze among Roman elites, leading to a vast outpouring of silver from Rome to China and provoking the Roman emperor Tiberius to grumble that “the ladies and their baubles are transferring our money to foreigners.” The silk trade also stimulated a degree of mutual curiosity between the two great civilizations but not much mutual knowledge or understanding. So far as is known, no per- sonal or diplomatic contacts between the two civiliza- tions ever took place.
Increased trade helped stimulate manufacturing. The cities of the East still produced the items made in Hellenistic times. The first two centuries of the empire also witnessed the high point of industrial develop- ment in Italy. Some industries became concentrated in certain areas, such as bronze work in Capua and pot- tery in Arretium in Etruria. Other industries, such as brickmaking, were pursued in rural areas on large landed estates. Much production remained small-scale and was done by individual craftsmen, usually freed- men or slaves. In the course of the first century, Italian centers of industry began to experience increasing com- petition from the provinces.
Despite the extensive trade and commerce, agricul- ture remained the chief occupation of most people and the underlying basis of Roman prosperity. While the large landed estates called latifundia still dominated agriculture, especially in southern and central Italy, small peasant farms persisted, particularly in Etruria and the Po Valley. Although large estates concentrating on sheep and cattle raising used slaves, the lands of some latifundia were worked by free tenant farmers who paid rent in labor, produce, or sometimes cash.
In considering the prosperity of the Roman world, it is important to remember the enormous gulf between rich and poor (see the box on p. 130). The development of towns and cities, so important to the creation of any civilization, is based in large degree on the agricultural surpluses of the countryside. In ancient times, the mar- gin of surplus produced by each farmer was relatively small. Therefore, the upper classes and urban popula- tions had to be supported by the labor of a large num- ber of farmers who never found it easy to produce much more than enough for themselves. In lean years,
when there were no surpluses, the townspeople often took what they wanted, leaving little for the peasants.
Roman Culture and Society in the Early Empire
Q FOCUS QUESTION: What were the chief intellectual, artistic, and social developments in the early empire? How did these differ from the intellectual, artistic, and social developments of the republic?
The shift from republic to empire not only transformed the Roman political world but also affected its cultural and social life. Intellectuals found ways to accommodate the autocratic rule of emperors, while Roman architects created massive buildings befitting an empire. Gladiatorial games increased dramatically in size and number in the early empire, and upper- class women acquired greater independence.
The Golden Age of Latin Literature
The most distinguished poet of the Augustan Age was Virgil (VUR-jul) (70–19 B.C.E.). The son of a small land- holder in northern Italy, he welcomed the rule of Augustus and wrote his greatest work in the emperor’s honor. Virgil’s masterpiece was the Aeneid, an epic poem clearly meant to rival the work of Homer. The connection between Troy and Rome is made explicitly. Aeneas (i-NEE-uss), the son of Anchises of Troy, sur- vives the destruction of Troy and eventually settles in Latium; hence, Roman civilization is linked to Greek history. The character of Aeneas is portrayed as the ideal Roman—his virtues are duty, piety, and faithful- ness. Virgil’s overall purpose was to show that Aeneas had fulfilled his mission to establish the Romans in Italy and thereby start Rome on its divine mission to rule the world.
Let others fashion from bronze more lifelike, breathing images—
For so they shall—and evoke living faces from marble; Others excel as orators, others track with their instruments The planets circling in heaven and predict when stars will
appear.
But, Romans, never forget that government is your medium! Be this your art:—to practice men in the habit of peace, Generosity to the conquered, and firmness against
aggressors.6
As Virgil expressed it, ruling was Rome’s gift.
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