HIST1151

World Histories

ROME: EUROPE’S FIRST EMPIRE

 Origins of Rome

Earliest evidence for settlement at

Rome in the form of burial from
10th century BC
Formation of public space
 Palatine Hill from 8th century
BC
 paving of forum Romanum
 public cult on Capitoline Hill
Local conquests

Parallel urban
development in
Latium and Etruria
Earliest warfare with
neighbouring cities eg
Veii
Was it inevitable that
Rome would defeat its
neighbours?
 Local conquests

Conquest and consolidation

in central Italy:
 conquest by 290BC
 combination of alliances
and conquest
 war conducted
simultaneously against
multiple groups
 An overseas empire

Relationship between
Rome and Carthage
First Punic War 264-
241BC
Second Punic War
218-201BC
 An overseas empire

Consequences of the Punic Wars:

External consequences
 Rome now a dominant force in the Mediterranean
 different scale of warfare – and rewards
 provinces

Internal consequences
 loss of large amount of elite families
 increased number of magistrates with more responsibility
e.g. praetors
 richer rewards of warfare
 An overseas empire

Conquest on multiple fronts through to 60BC

 An overseas empire

Late Republican activity in the

eastern Mediterranean
 war with Macedon
 war with Greece and Achaean
League
 growing threat of Parthia
 conflict with Mithradates of
Pontus over influence in
region
 An overseas empire

Final phase of substantial

conquest under Augustus
31BC – AD14 (area shaded
green)
 final conquest of rest of Spain,
Gaul and Illyria
 pushed frontier to Danube
 pushed as far as the Elbe,
forming the new province of
Germania
 pacified Africa, Egypt and
Syria
 Character of imperialism

2 key phases of Roman imperialism

 Republican phase: 3rd century BC to late 1st century BC

 Principate (i.e. time of the emperors): Augustus (33BC-

AD14) onwards
 Character of imperialism

Republican imperialism – militaristic society?

 competitive democracy: elected magistrates from wealthy
elite; held office for one year
 military leadership was part of responsibility of magistrate
 the criteria for a good magistrate: success in warfare more
important than sound administration
 most important element of administration was tax collection
– system of out-sourcing
 limited incorporation of non-Italian provincials
 limited evidence of spread of Roman culture (continued
Hellenisation)
 Character of imperialism

Imperialism under the Principate – pax Romana

 military glory monopolised by the emperors
 ideology of peace
 new system of administration with magistrates responsible
for administration, justice, taxation; controlled by emperors
 more organised systems of law and taxation
 local communities (towns) given responsibility for local
administration through Roman-style town councils with
elected elite magistrates
 more opportunities for provincial elites to join elite at Rome
– even to become emperor
 Political and cultural interaction

Romanization: cultural and

political impact of Rome
through acquisition of
empire;
the political and cultural
unity of the entire
Mediterranean and
temperate Europe
 Political and cultural interaction

Known origins of senators at Rome

Vesp Domit Trajan Hadrian Anton P
Italian 83.2 76.6 65.8 56.4 57.5

Provincial 16.8 23.4 34.2 43.6 42.5

Marc A Comm SS & C Elag & A III

Italian 54.4 55.3 42.6 49.5 44.0

Provincial 45.6 44.7 57.4 52.5 56.0
 Political and cultural interaction

C. Julius Rufus from Gaul

(modern France)
 Priest of Augustus and Roma at
Lyon
 Praefectus fabrorum
 Paid for amphitheatre at Lyon
 Paid for Arch to Germanicus at
Saintes
 Political and cultural interaction

Septimius Severus, AD193-211

 born in Lepcis Magna, modern day
Libya
 grandfather a local magistrate;
uncles served as consuls in Rome
 junior magisterial career in Rome,
including provincial posts
 protégé of Pertinax, emperor
AD193
 governor of Upper Pannonia with 3
legions
 marched on Rome AD193; made
emperor
 Political and cultural interaction

More localised change

importance of Roman style political
organisation (urban magistrates)
represented by Roman political
buildings e.g. Clunia, Spain, plan and
detail of forum
 Political and cultural interaction

Romanization: shared cultural symbols e.g. Medusa

Reused Medusa head
Basilica cistern
Istanbul

Medusa on mosaic,
Italica, Spain

Gorgon’s head pediment

Medusa on relief Temple of Sulis Minerva,
Theatre, Myra, Turkey Bath
 Political and cultural interaction

Evidence for cultural continuity e.g.

religion
Votive dedication to the Germanic
goddess Vagdavercustis from Praetorian
Prefect Titus Flavius Constans

Syncretism = amalgamation of a local

deity with a Roman deity
e.g. Sulis Minerva at Bath = Sul(is) +
Minerva
interpretatio romana
 Political and cultural interaction

Why do the subject communities adopt Roman cultural

forms?
1. Rome is culturally superior to subject communities so it is
inevitable (social evolution)
2. Rome imposes its culture on the areas it conquers
3. the people of the conquered provinces voluntarily adopt
Roman cultural forms for their own reasons

Most people would argue for a combination of (2) and (3)

 Political and cultural interaction

 Rome’s aim was to administer through the local elites

 settlement gave elites power to govern, as long as it was
through Roman principles (i.e. urban magistracies)
 elites adopted Roman ways in order to maintain their social
position externally and internally:
 towards the imperial authorities

 to maintain a distinction from the local non-elites

 emulation further down the social hierarchy encouraged

other to aspire to all things Roman