History Of Western Civilization

Chapter 3
Rome: From City-State to World Empire
Past Papers Questions (UOS)

1. Discuss in detail the philosophical, literary and cultural development made by

the Roman.
2. Write a detailed note on Roman Empire.
3. Discuss the rise of Christianity in Roman Empire.

Introduction:
Roman Empire:
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican state of ancient Rome. It included territory
around the Mediterranean in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled
by emperors. The adoption of Christianity as the state church in 380 and the fall of the
Western Roman Empire conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the
beginning of the Middle Ages.

Rome had expanded its rule to most of the Mediterranean and beyond, but became
severely destabilized in civil wars and political conflicts which culminated in the vic tory of
Octavian over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the
subsequent conquest of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt.

World-state:
Rome’s great achievement was to transcend the narrow political orientation of the city-
state and to create a world-state that unified the different nations of the Mediterranean
world.

Founder of Law and government

Although Hellenistic philosophers had conceived the possibility of a world community,
Hellenistic politics could not shape one. But Rome overcame the limitations of the city-state
mentality and developed an empire wide system of law and citizenship.

The Hebrews were distinguished by their prophets and the Greeks by their philosophers.
The Romans produced no Amos or Isaiah, and no Plato or Aristotle; their genius found
expression in law and government, in the practical, not the theoretical.

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Periods in Roman history:

Historians divide Roman history into two broad periods.

 The period of the Republic began in 509 b.c. with the overthrow of the Etruscan
monarchy;
 The period of the Empire began in 27 b.c., when Octavian (Augustus) became in
effect the first Roman emperor, ending almost five hundred years of republican self-
government.

By conquering the Mediterranean world and extending Roman law and, in some instances,
citizenship to different nationalities, the Roman Republic transcended the parochialism
typical of the city-state

EVOLUTION OF THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION

Romans preferred the rationalizing and secularizing politics and law based on Greeks
civilization. In time, the Romans, like the Greeks, came to view law as an expression of the
public will and not as the creation of god-kings, priest-kings, or a priestly caste.

Romans absorption of Etruscans and Greeks Civilization

By the eighth century b.c., peasant communities existed on some of Rome’s seven hills near
the Tiber River in central Italy. To the north stood Etruscan cities, and to the south, Greek
cities. The more advanced civilizations of both Etruscans and Greeks were gradually
absorbed by the Romans.

The origin of the Etruscans

The origin of the Etruscans remains a mystery, although some scholars believe that they
came from Asia Minor and settled in northern Italy. From them, Romans acquired
architectural styles and skills in road construction, sanitation, hydraulic engineering
(including underground conduits), metallurgy, ceramics, and portrait sculpture.

Evolution Roman Republic:

Rome became a republic at the end of the sixth century b.c.—the traditional date is 509
b.c.—when the landowning aristocrats, or patricians, overthrew the Etruscan king. As in the

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Greek cities, the transition from theocratic monarchy to republic offered possibilities for
political and legal growth.

The Reason for the growth of the Roman constitution:

The impetus for the growth of the Roman constitution came from a conflict—known as the
Struggle of the Orders —between the patricians(an aristocrat or nobleman) and the
commoners, or plebeians(ordinary or common people) . At the beginning of the fifth century
b.c., the patrician- dominated government consisted of two annually elected executives,
called consuls, the Centuriate Assembly, and the Senate. Patricians owned most of the land
and controlled the army.

The Centuriate Assembly was a popular assembly, but because of voting procedures, it was
controlled by the nobility. The Assembly elected consuls and other magistrates and made
the laws, which also needed Senate approval. m the nobility, commanded the army, served
as judges, and initiated legislation.

The tension between patricians and commoners:

The tension between patricians and commoners stemmed from plebeian grievances, which
included enslavement for debt, discrimination in the courts, prevention of intermarriage
with patricians, lack of political representation, and the absence of a written code of laws.
Resenting their inferior status and eager for economic relief, the plebeians organized and
waged a struggle for political, legal, and social equality.

First Roman Code of Laws :

Early in the fifth century, the plebeians won the right to form their own assembly (the
Plebeian Assembly, which was later enlarged and called the Tribal Assembly). This
assembly could elect tribunes, officials who were empowered to protect plebeian rights. As
a result of plebeian pressure, around 450 b.c. the first Roman code of laws was written.
Called the Twelve Tables, the code gave plebeians some degree of protection against unfair
and oppressive patrician officials, who could interpret customary law in an arbitrary way.

Other concessions gained later by the plebeians included

 The right to intermarry with patricians,

 Access to the highest political, judicial, and religious offices in the state,
 And the elimination of slavery as payment for debt.

In 287 b.c., a date generally recognized as the termination of the plebeian-patrician

struggle, laws passed by the Tribal Assembly no longer required the Senate’s approval. Now

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the plebeians had full civil equality and legal protection and their assembly had full power to
enact legislation.

The Roman constitution was not a product of abstract thought, nor was it the gift of a great
lawmaker, such as the Athenian Solon. Rather, like the unwritten English constitution, the Ro man
constitution evolved gradually and empirically in response to specific needs.

ROMAN EXPANSION TO 146 B.C.

At the time of the Struggle of the Orders, Rome was also extending its power over the
Italian peninsula. Without the civic harmony and stability gained by patrician concessions, it
could not have achieved expansion. By 146 b.c., it had become the dominant power in the
Mediterranean world.

Roman expansion occurred in three main stages:

a) The uniting of the Italian peninsula, which gave Rome the manpower that transformed
it from a city-state into a great power;
b) The collision with Carthage, from which Rome emerged as ruler of the western
Mediterranean;
c) And the subjugation of the Hellenistic states, which brought Romans in close contact
with Greek civilization.

As Rome expanded territorially, its leaders enlarged their vision. Instead of restricting
citizenship to people having ethnic kinship, Rome assimilated other peoples into its political
community.

1. The Uniting of Italy

During the first stage of expansion, Rome extended its hegemony over Italy, subduing in the
process neighboring Latin kinsmen, semi civilized Italian tribes, the once-dominant
Etruscans (member of an ancient people of Etruria, Italy, between the Tiber and Arno rivers
west and south of the Apennines) and Greek city-states in southern Italy.

 Rome’s conquest of Italy stemmed in part from superior military organization, training,
and, iron discipline.
 Copying the Greeks, the Romans organized their soldiers into battle formations; in
contrast, their opponents often fought as disorganized hordes, which were prone to
panic and flight.
 Romans also willingly made sacrifices so that Rome might endure.

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 Also fueling Roman expansion was an aristocratic ethos that placed the highest value on
glory. Demonstrating prowess in war, aristocrats believed, was the finest way to win the
esteem of fellow Romans, bring honor to their family, and enhance their own political
career.
 Despite its army’s strength, Rome could not have mastered Italy without the
cooperation of other Italian peoples.
 Like other ancient peoples, Rome plundered, enslaved, and brutalized, at times with
great ferocity. But it also endeavored, through generous treatment, to gain the loyalty
of conquered people.

Conquered people received partial or full citizenship. In extending its dominion over Italy,
Rome displayed a remarkable talent for converting former enemies into allies and
eventually into Roman citizens. No Greek city had ever envisaged integrating nonnatives
into its political community.

2. The Conquest of the Mediterranean World

When Rome finished unifying Italy, there were five great powers in the Mediterranean
area:

1. The Seleucid monarchy in the Near East,

2. The Ptolemaic monarchy in Egypt,
3. The kingdom of Macedonia,
4. Carthage in the western Mediterranean,
5. And the Roman-dominated Italian Confederation.

One hundred twenty years later—in 146 b.c.—Rome had subjected the other states to its
dominion.

Carthage in the western Mediterranean:

Shortly after asserting supremacy in Italy, Rome engaged Carthage, the other great power in
the western Mediterranean, in a prolonged conflict, the First Punic War (264–241 b.c.).
Founded about 800 b.c. by Phoenicians, the North African city of Carthage had become a
prosperous commercial center. The Carthaginians had acquired an empire comprising North
Africa and coastal regions of southern Spain, Sardinia, Corsica, and western Sicily.

 Causes of war:

War between the two great powers began because Rome feared Carthage’s designs on the
northern Sicilian city of Messana. Rome was apprehensive about the southern Italian city-
states that were its allies, fearing that Carthage would use Messana either to attack them or

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to interfere with their trade. Rome decided that the security of its allies required
intervention in Sicily.

 Rome victory

Drawing manpower from loyal allies throughout Italy, Rome finally prevailed over Carthage,
which had to surrender Sicily to Rome. Three years later, Rome seized the islands of
Corsica and Sardinia from a weakened Carthage. With the acquisition of these territories
beyond Italy, which were made into provinces, Rome had the beginnings of an empire.

3. Rome’s entry into Hellenistic world

The Second Punic War left Rome as the sole great power in the western Mediterranean; it
also hastened Rome’s entry into the politics of the Hellenistic world.

Hellenistic world

Intervention in Greece led to Roman involvement in the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Near
East and Asia Minor: Seleucia, Egypt, and Pergamum. The Hellenistic states became client
kingdoms of Rome and consequently lost their freedom of action in foreign affairs .

In 146 b.c., the same year that Rome’s hegemony over the Hellenistic world was ensured,
Rome concluded an unnecessary Third Punic War with Carthage. It had launched this war of
annihilation against Carthage in 149 b.c. Rome sold Carthaginian survivors into slavery,
obliterated the city, and turned the territory into the Roman province of Africa.

Rome’s savage and irrational behavior toward a helpless Carthage was an early sign of the
deterioration of senatorial leadership; there would be others.

Rome had not yet reached the limits of its expansion, but there was no doubt that by 146
b.c. the Mediterranean world had been subjected to its will. No power could stand up to
Rome.

The Consequences of Expansion

Expansion had important consequences for Rome and the Mediterranean world.

 Thousands of Greeks, many of them educated persons who had been enslaved as a
result of Rome’s eastern conquests, came to Rome.
 This influx accelerated the process of Hellenization the adoption of Greek culture that
had begun earlier through Rome’s contact with the Greek cities of southern Italy.

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CULTURE IN THE REPUBLIC

One of the chief consequences of expansion was greater contact with Greek culture.

During the third century b.c., Greek civilization started to exercise an increasing and fruitful
influence on the Roman mind. Greek teachers, both slave and free, came to Rome and
introduced Romans to Hellenic cultural achievements.

Romans acquired from Greece knowledge of scientific thought, philosophy, medicine, and
geography. Roman writers and orators used Greek history, poetry, and oratory as models.

Literature:

Plautus (c. 254–184 b.c.), Rome’s greatest playwright, adopted features of fourth- and third
century Greek comedy. His plays had Greek characters and took place in Greek settings; the
actors wore the Greek style of dress.

Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 b.c.), a native of northern Italy, is generally regarded as one of the
world’s great lyric poets.

Philosophy:

The leading Roman Epicurean philosopher, Lucretius (c. 96–c. 55 b.c.), was influenced by
the conflict fostered by two generals, Marius and Sulla, which is discussed later in this
chapter. Distraught by the seemingly endless strife, Lucretius yearned for philosophical
tranquility. In his work On the Nature of Things, Lucretius expressed his appreciation of
Epicurus.

Cicero (106–43 b.c.), a leading Roman statesman, was also a distinguished orator, an
unsurpassed Latin stylist, and a student of Greek philosophy. Cicero’s discussion of such
topics as republicanism, citizenship, friendship, virtue, duty, and justice had an enduring
influence on Western moral and political thought.

The Collapse or End Of Republic

After five hundred years Roman Republic began to fall. Roman leaders attempted to govern
an empire with city-state institutions, which had evolved for a different purpose. The
established Roman administration proved unable to govern the Mediterranean world.

Eventually it collapsed, a victim of class tensions, poor leadership, powerhungry

demagogues, and civil war. Underlying all these conditions was the breakdown of social
harmony and the deterioration of civic patriotism. The Republic had conquered an empire,
only to see the spiritual qualities of its citizens decay.

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The Gracchian Revolution:

The Gracchi brothers were two brothers at the start of the late Roman Republic: Tiberius
Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus. They served in the plebeian tribunates of 133 BC and 122–
121 BC, respectively.

They introduced some reforms in republic e.g. Land reforms

The main goal of Tiberius' agrarian proposal was three-fold:

 establish a commission to investigate, survey, and catalogue the land owned by the
state,

 limit the amount of public land any one possessor could hold to about 500 jugera,
possibly up to 1,000 jugera for those with two children, and

 privatise all remaining land by distributing it to poor Roman citizens (Italians were
excluded).

Rival Generals:
Rival Generals also contributed to the fall of Republic. A conflict over who would command
an army in the east broke out between Marius and Sulla (generals) (138–78 b.c.), who had
distinguished himself in the Social War. In this prolonged civil war, Sulla won the first round,
capturing the capital. But then Marius and his troops retook Rome and, in a frenzy, lashed
out at Sulla’s supporters.

Sulla believed that only rule by an aristocratic oligarchy could protect Rome from future
military adventurers and ensure domestic peace. Consequently, he restored the Senate’s
right to veto acts of the Assembly, limited the power of the tribunes and the Assembly, and,
to prevent any march on Rome, reduced the military authority of provincial governors.

Julius Caesar:
The Senate, however, failed to wield its restored authority effectively. The Republic was still
menaced by military commanders who used their troops for their own political advantage,
and underlying problems remained unsolved. In 60 b.c., a triumvirate (a ruling group of
three) consisting of

 Julius Caesar (c. 100–44 b.c.), a politician,

 Pompey, a general,
 and Crassus, a wealthy banker

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conspired to take over Rome. The ablest of the three was Caesar.

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman
Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by
political rivals in 44 B.C.

Caesar was born on July 12 or 13 in 100 B.C.E. to a noble family. During his youth, the
Roman Republic was in chaos. Seizing the opportunity, Caesar advanced in the political
system and briefly became governor of Spain, a Roman province.

Returning to Rome, he formed political alliances that helped him become governor of Gaul,
an area that included what is now France and Belgium. His Roman troops conquered Gallic
tribes by exploiting tribal rivalries. Throughout his eight-year governorship, he increased
his military power and, more importantly, acquired plunder from Gaul. When his rivals in
Rome demanded he return as a private citizen, he used these riches to support his army and
marched them across the Rubicon River, crossing from Gaul into Italy. This sparked a civil
war between Caesar’s forces and forces of his chief rival for power, Pompey, from which
Caesar emerged victorious.

In 44 B.C.E., Caesar declared himself dictator for life. His increasing power and great
ambition agitated many senators who feared Caesar aspired to be king. Only a month after
Caesar’s declaration, a group of senators, among them Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s
second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus assassinated Caesar in fear of
his absolute power.

AUGUSTUS AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Augustus:
Augustus, also called Augustus Caesar or (until 27 BCE) Octavian, original name Gaius
Octavius, adopted name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, (born September 23, 63 BCE—died
August 19, 14 CE, Nola, near Naples [Italy]), first Roman emperor, following the republic,
which had been finally destroyed by the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and
adoptive father.

Octavian demonstrated his political genius by reconciling his military monarchy with
republican institutions: he held absolute power without abruptly breaking with a republican
past.

The reign of Augustus signified the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the
Roman Empire—the termination of aristocratic politics and the emergence of one-man rule.

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Augustus instituted reforms and improvements throughout the Empire.

 He reformed the army to guard against the reemergence of ambitious generals like
those whose rivalries and private armies had wrecked the Republic.
 Augustus had aqueducts and water mains built, bringing water to most Roman homes.
 In Italy, Augustus had roads repaired, fostered public works.
 He corrected taxation and abolished corruption.

THE PAX ROMANA (Latin for "Roman peace")

The Romans called the Pax Romana the “Time of Happiness.” They saw this period as the
fulfillment of Rome’s mission: the creation of a worldstate that provided peace, security,
ordered civilization, and the rule of law.

Nerva’s(successor of Augustus) adoptive system of selecting emperors provided Rome with

internal stability. Here are some features of the Pax Romana.

Constructive Rule:
Roman rule was constructive. The Romans built roads—some fifty-three thousand miles of
roads, from Scotland to the Euphrates— improved harbors, cleared forests, drained
swamps, irrigated deserts, and cultivated undeveloped lands.

Improved Conditions for Slaves and Women:

The freeing of slaves also became more common during the Empire. Freed slaves gained
citizenship, with most of the rights and privileges of other citizens; their children suffered no
legal disabilities whatsoever.

The status of women had gradually improved during the Republic. In the early days of the
Republic, a woman lived under the absolute authority first of her father and then of her
husband. By the time of the Empire, a woman could own property and, if divorced, keep her
dowry. A father could no longer force his daughter to marry against her will. Women could
make business arrangements and draw up wills without the consent of their husbands.

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Roman Culture and Law During the Pax Romana:

During the late Roman Republic, Rome had acquired Greek scientific thought, philosophy,
medicine, and geography. Roman writers used Greek models; sharing in the humanist
outlook of the Greeks.

i) Literature and History

Roman cultural life reached its high point during the reign of Augustus, when Rome
experienced the golden age of Latin literature. At the request of Augustus, who wanted a
literary epic to glorify the Empire and his role in founding it.

 Virgil (70–19 b.c.) wrote the Aeneid, a masterpiece of world literature. The Aeneid is a
literary epic of national glory. The profoundest ideas and feelings expressed in the poem
are Roman virtues—patriotism, devotion to the family, duty to the state, and a strong
sense of religion.
 In his History of Rome, Livy (59 b.c.–a.d. 17) also glorified Roman character, customs,
and deeds. He praised Augustus for attempting to revive traditional Roman morality, to
which Livy felt a strong attachment.

ii) Philosophy:
Stoicism was the principal philosophy of the Pax Romana, and its leading exponents were
Seneca (4 b.c.–a.d. 65), Epictetus (a.d. c. 60–c. 117), and Marcus Aurelius. Perpetuating the
rational tradition of Greek phi losophy, Rome’s early Stoics saw the universe as governed by
reason, and they esteemed the human intellect.

iii) Science
The two most prominent scientists during the Greco-Roman Age were

 Ptolemy, a mathematician, geographer, and astronomer who worked at Alexandria in

the second century a.d.
 Galen (a.d. c. 130–c. 201), who investigated medicine and anatomy.

In the Ptolemaic system, a motionless, spherical earth stood in the center of the universe;
the moon, sun, and planets moved about the earth in circles or in combinations of circles .

Just as Ptolemy’s system dominated astronomy, so the theories of Galen dominated

medicine down to modern times. By dissecting both dead and living animals, Galen
attempted a rational investigation of the body’s working parts .

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iv) Art and Architecture

The Romans borrowed art forms from other peoples, particularly the Greeks, but they
borrowed creatively, transforming and enhancing their inheritance. Roman portraiture
continued trends initiated during the Hellenistic Age.continued trends initiated during the
Hellenistic Age. Roman sculptors realistically carved every detail of a subject’s face: unruly
hair, prominent nose, lines and wrinkles, a jaw that showed weakness or strength .

v) Engineering
The Romans excelled at engineering. In addition to amphitheaters and public baths, they
built the finest roads in the ancient world. Roman engineers carefully selected routes, with
an eye for minimizing natural barriers and drainage problems.

The great embanked roads constructed during the Empire were designed by military
engineers. Stone bridges across rivers, as well as aqueducts, which carried water to Roman
cities, still survive.

vi) Law
Expressing the Roman yearning for order and justice, law was Rome’s great legacy to
Western civilization. Roman law passed through two essential stages: the formation of civil
law (jus civile) and the formation of the law of nations (jus gentium).

vii) Entertainment
Despite its many achievements, Roman civilization presents a paradox. On the one hand,
Roman culture and law evidence high standards of civilization. On the other, the Romans
institutionalized barbaric practices: battles to the death between armed gladiators and the
tormenting and slaughtering of wild beasts. The major forms of entertainment in both the
Republic and the Empire were chariot races, wild- animal shows, and gladiatorial combat.

THE DECLINE OF ROME

In the third century a.d., the ordered civilization of the Pax Romana ended. Several elements
caused this disruption. The Roman Empire was plunged into military anarchy, raided by
Germanic tribes, and burdened by economic dislocation.

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Reasons for Rome’s Decline:

To analyze so monumental a development as the fall of Rome, some preliminary
observations are necessary.

 First, the fall of Rome was a process lasting hundreds of years; it was not a single event
that occurred in a.d. 476.
 Second, only the western half of the Empire fell. The eastern half—wealthier, more
populous, less afflicted with civil wars, and less exposed to barbarian invasions—
survived as the Byzantine Empire until the middle of the fifteenth century.
 Third, no single explanation suffices to account for Rome’s decline; multiple forces —
internal problems and external threats— operated concurrently to bring about the fall.

1. Invasions by Barbarian (Germanic) tribes.

The barbarian attacks left border regions depopulated and impoverished—expenditures for
the military drained the Western Empire’s resources. The Empire imposed high taxes and
labor services on its citizens in order to strengthen the armed forces, causing the
overburdened middle and lower classes to hate the imperial government that took so much
from them.

2. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor.

Rome was suffering a severe financial crisis. Constant wars and overspending left the
treasury empty. Heavy taxation and inflation impoverished the population. Many wealthy
Romans fled to the countryside and set up independent fiefdoms. By the second century the
empire was no longer able to expand its territory. Without a new source of slaves, the
empire did not have enough laborers.

3. The rise of the Eastern Empire in the late third century.

The two halves of the empire often quarreled over resources and military aid. The largely
Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew in wealth while the Latin-speaking West descended
into economic crisis. The Western political structure finally disintegrated in the fifth century,
while the Eastern Empire functioned for another thousand years.

4. Overexpansion and military overspending.

At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the
Euphrates River in the Middle East. With such a vast territory to govern, the empire faced

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administrative and logistical challenges. Rome struggled to enlist the required troops and
resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks.

5. Government corruption and political instability.

Ineffective and inconsistent leadership also weakened the empire. Civil war created chaos,
and there were more than 20 emperors over a 75-year span. The changes often occurred
due to murder of a reigning emperor.

6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes.

The Huns invaded Europe in the late fourth century, leading to migration of Barbarian tribes.
As the Barbarians rampaged through northern Europe, many Germanic tribes took refuge
on the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans allowed these Visigoths into the safety of
Roman territory, but they treated them with extreme cruelty. Germanic tribes like the
Vandals and the Saxons began to occupy Britain, Spain, and North Africa.

7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values.

Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having
a divine status. There was a shift in focus from the glory of the state to a single god.

8. Weakening of the Roman legions.

Unable to recruit enough Roman citizens to serve as soldiers, Roman emperors hired foreign
mercenaries to fill out their armies. These Germanic soldiers proved to be fierce warriors
but had little loyalty to the empire.

In a nutshell
The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall
of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in
which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several
successor polities. The Roman Empire lost the strengths that had allowed it to exercise
effective control over its Western provinces; modern historians posit factors including the
effectiveness and numbers of the army, the health and numbers of the Roman population,
the strength of the economy, the competence of the emperors, the internal struggles for
power, the religious changes of the period, and the efficiency of the civil administration.
Increasing pressure from invading barbarians outside Roman culture also contributed
greatly to the collapse.

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