Chapter 6 The Roman Empire

Chapter 6
The Roman Empire
Timeline
The Age of Augustus
(31 B.C. – A. D. 14)
The New Order
Princeps
Senate
Army
• 28 Legions – 150,000 men
• Auxiliaries – 130,000 men
• Praetorian Guard
Imperator
Provincial Government
Frontier Policy
Attempts to conquer Germany
• Battle of Teutoburg Forest (9 A.D.)
Augustan Society
Social Stratification
Senators
• Own property worth 1 million sesterces
Equestrians
• Own property worth 400,000 sesterces
Lower Class
• Little political power
Roman Morals and Social Reform
A Golden Age of Latin Literature
Virgil (70 – 19 B.C.)
The Aeneid
Horace (65 – 8 B.C.)
Ovid (43 B.C. – A.D. 18)
Livy (59 B.C. – A.D. 17)
The Early Empire (14 – 180)
Julio-Claudian Dynasty (14 – 68)
Abuses and corruption
Nero (54 – 68)
Civil War – Year of the Four Emperors (69)
The Flavians (69 – 96)
Vespasian (69 – 79)
The Five Good Emperors (96 – 180)
Period of Peace and Prosperity
Power of Emperor increased at expense of the Senate
Trajan (98 – 117)
Hadrian (117 – 138)
Map 6.1: The Roman Empire from 14 to 117
(Augustus to Trajan)
The Roman Empire at its Height:
Frontiers and Provinces
Empire at its Height
3.5 million square miles
50 million people
Roman Frontiers
Role of the Army
Romanization
Cities and Towns
Municipal Administration
Romanization
Roman Aqueduct – Constantinople
Prosperity in the Early Empire
Trade
Manufacturing
Agriculture
Latifundias
Gulf between Rich and Poor
Mosaic Floor in a Roman Villa – Nora, Sardinia
Map 6.2: Trade Routes and Products in the
Roman Empire, c. 200
The Silver Age of Latin Literature
Seneca (4 B.C. – A.D. 65)
Stoicism
Tacitus (56 – 120)
Annals
Histories
Germania
Juvenal (c. 55 – c. 128)
Satire
Art in the Early Empire
Little original contribution
Roman innovation in architecture
Roman Engineering
Imperial Rome
1 million people
Overcrowded and noisy city
Insulae – apartment blocks
Dangers – fire and building collapse
Public Buildings
Temples, Forums, Markets, Baths, Theaters, Govt. Buildings and
Amphitheaters
Food for the Poor
Entertainment
Bread and Circuses
Map 6. 3: Imperial Rome
The Art of Medicine
Early Roman Medicine
Greek Influence
First public doctors attached to the army
Galen (129 – 199)
Roman Law in the Early Empire
The “Classical Age of Roman Law”
Natural Rights
Basis for laws of present-day Western
civilization
The Upper-Class Roman Family
Paterfamilias
Roles of women
Considerable freedom
Separate female sections
Influenced politics through their husbands
Roman Bath with Heating Unit Underneath
Nora, Sardinia
Gladiatorial Shows
First in 29 B.C.
The Colosseum
Gladiatorial Wild Beasts
Fulfilled a political and social need
Roman Amphitheater with Animal Pit in
the Middle Syracuse
Crisis in the Third Century
The Terrible Third Century
Septimius Severus (193 – 211)
• Severan Rulers (193 – 235)
• Military Monarchy
Military Anarchy (235 – 284)
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Civil Wars
22 Emperors in five decades
Germanic and Persian invasions
Decline in trade and agriculture
Financial Weakness
The Development of Christianity
The Religious World of the Roman Empire
State Religion focused on gods and goddesses
Cult of the Emperors
Mystery Religions
• Mithraism
The Jewish Background
Judaea
Made Roman Province in 6 A.D.
Jewish Groups
Sadducees
Pharisees
Essenes
Zealots
The Origins of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6 B.C. – A.D. 29)
Preached humility, charity and brotherly love
Messiah
Paul of Tarsus (c. 5 – c. 67)
Second Founder of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
Pauline Epistles
Early Christians mostly Jews
Increasing number of non-Jews converted in the second century
Roman views of Christianity
The Growth of Christianity
Centralized Organization
Bishops
Appeal
Message of Salvation
Familiarity
Universality – Open to men and women
Fulfilled human need to belong
Women and Christianity
Systematic persecutions in the third century
Discussion Questions
How was Augustus able to consolidate his power after
becoming princeps?
How important was the emperor in the governing of the
Roman Empire?
What were the major themes of Roman Golden and Silver
Age literature?
What place did the lower classes occupy in Imperial
Roman society?
What were some of the reasons for the success of Early
Christianity?
Web Links
Illustrated History of the Roman Empire
Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Lacus Curtius: A Gateway to Ancient Rome
Roman Art and Architecture
The Perseus Digital Library
The Roman Gladiator
Roman Britain
The Jewish Roman World of Jesus
The Early Church