The Oligarch Reaction 77-67 A. The Empire in Revolt a. Spain i. Roman General Didius tricked would be land owners by pretending to register them for distribution of land and had them massacred ii. A Roman Officer (from Sabine) Sertorius went over to the Spaniards and created a rebel kingdom from 80-72 iii. Pompeii eventually defeated the army after Sertorius was assassinated. b. Spartacus 73- i. 70,000 slaves from center of Italy hid on Mt Vesuvius and raided towns ii. Spartacus tries to march toward the Alps iii. Harassed Rome for three years iv. He was pinned by two armies, Pompeii returning from Spain and Crassus from Rome v. Seeing the Situation hopeless he plunged into battle and died vi. Crassus has 6000 crucified from Capua to Rome B. Pompeii and Crassus a. Pompey was sent to quell the rebellion in Spain 77-72 i. Favorable settlement earned him clients in Spain. b. Crassus was fighting the slave revolts i. Crassus became rich by buying property during the Proscriptions of Sulla ii. He used his wealth to launch his political career iii. Fighting Spartacus offered him a chance for glory. 1. Tarnished by Pompeii interference. c. Pompeii and Crassus became Consul in 70 i. The undid Sulla s reforms ii. Renewed war with Mitradates 1. Who was supporting pirates 2. These pirates disrupted grain shipments 3. Pompeii was chosen to deal with them 4. He was given increased authority in the provinces, and the sea 5. He was also to oversee the grain supply for five years. 6. He defeated the pirates in 3 months and settled them in Siciliy as farmers, more clients for himself. d. The Second Mitrhadatic War i. Pompeii turns sight to the East ii. He defeated Mith. And reorganized the Roman East iii. He basically acted as an absolute monarch in the east. iv. Forging alliances, reorganizing provinces v. He returned to Rome.
C. Crassus a. He tried to stifle Pompeii s popularity b. He financially backed a young nobleman, Ceasar (born in 100) i. He became praetor and pontifex maximus, ( head of religion) D. Catalina Conspiracy 63 bce a. Lucius Sergius Catalina, had lost consul appointments 3 times b. He then tried armed insurrection c. People suspected Crassus was behind it trying to undermine Pompeii d. Cicero, consul in 63 uncovered the plot. e. Catalina was killed in battle, it speaks of how unstable politics had become. E. The First Triumvirate a. Pompeii Returns i. Disbanded Army and retired b. Cato the Younger, Senator i. Pompeii Tried to get land for his troops and the Senate to ratify his reorganization of the East. ii. Led by Cato, the Senate resisted c. Caesar i. Had been governor of Spain, returned in 60 ii. Convinced Pompeii and Crassus in an alliance against the Senate iii. Now the three most ruthless people in Rome were working together. iv. The arranged for Cesar to be consul in 59. d. Cesar the Consul i. His election was marked with violence and intimidation ii. Caesars legislation was passed by force. 1. He assigned himself to a five-year command in Gaul and Illyria 2. He would command five legions at the time of his office ended 3. Pompeii received land for his troops and his settlements ratified 4. Crassus, also got favorable legislation F. The Gallic Wars 58-50 G. Trouble in the Triumvirate a. The Senate attempted to drive a wedge in the Alliance, which was the most powerful force in politics b. Caesar calls a meeting in 56. i. Caesar got five more years in Gaul ii. Pompeii became absentee governor of Spain iii. Crassus got 5 year command in Syria, he wanted military glory that his allies had. 1. Crassus was killed in 54 BC in battle of Carrhae c. Pompeii, wife (Caesars daughter) died in childbirth, severing their connections H. The Civil Wars 49-45
a. Despite being outnumbered Caesar drove Pompeii out of Italy in 49 b. Fought him Pharsalus in Northern Greece and Caesar won. c. Pompeii flees to Egypt where he is murdered. d. Caesar in Egypt (winter 48-47) i. He was embroiled in dynastic politics ii. Love Affair with Cleopatra 1. The affair produced a son, Caesarion, born in 47 BC. e. Caesar Cleans Up i. Pursued supporters of Pompeii, in Asia, Africa and Spain ii. By 45 he was master of the Roman World. I. The First Caesar a. Caesar enacted a policy of sparing his captured opponents (clementia), which was a shrewd political maneuver to place them forever under an obligation to him. He placed some of his spared opponents in positions of responsibility in his new regime (e.g., C. Cassius Longinus was praetor in 44 BC). b. He was essentially a dictator i. Ignoring its hateful associations with Sulla, Caesar employed the dictatorship, in conjunction with frequent consulships, as his office of choice. In 49 BC Caesar was dictator for only eleven days, long enough to organize consular elections and see himself installed as consul for 48 BC. In 47 BC he resumed the dictatorship and held it continuously from then until his death. ii. iii. His consulships also ran annually from 46 44 BC. His dictatorship was made increasingly more permanent in his last years. It was extended to a ten-year duration in 46 BC, and to lifetime tenure in February 44 BC. iv. He declared the Republic a mere word without form or substance. v. On one occasion, he greeted the senators while seated like a despot. The Senate, in response, acted with abject sycophancy in voting him honors, including even deification. vi. In 44 BC the infamous crown-offering incident occurred, which was taken by many as a sign that Caesar s ultimate goal was kingship itself. c. Legislation i. Did not try to cure the problems of the state ii. Rather he was planning invasion of Parthia when he was killed. d. The Death of Caesar i. Alarmed by Caesar s openly autocratic behavior, a group of nobles led by C. Cassius Longinus conspired to assassinate the tyrant. It carried out the act on 15 March 44 BC. ii. Following the crown-offering affair in February of 44 BC, some nobles decided that Caesar had to be eliminated.
iii. Numbering perhaps eighty members, the conspiracy focused only on the elimination of Caesar. This limited focus of The Liberators proved their greatest mistake. iv. At a Senate meeting in Pompey s theater on the Ides of March in 44 BC, Caesar was surrounded by a group of conspirators and cut down with twenty-three stab wounds at the foot of Pompey s statue. v. Declaring the tyrant justly killed, the conspirators rushed from the scene believing they had restored the Republic to liberty. Events were to prove them mistaken. J. Mark Anthony and Octavian a. The power struggle for Rome was between Mark Anthony Caesar s right-hand man, and Octavian, Caesar s adopted heir. b. The Second Triumvirate i. After a lengthy political and military struggle they formed an alliance ii. Mark Anthony met his intrigues with Cleopatra iii. Octavian won K. Octavian The Imperator Augustus Caesar 31bc-14ad a. The Creation of the Principate i. 31-27 he is consul ii. 27 he made his position permanent 1. First Constitutional settlement 13 January 27BC a. He announced he was retiring, b. Senate asked him to reconsider c. This was staged. d. They confirmed numerous powers on him. e. More over his 31 year rule. b. The Principate i. The Roman Republican system and administration remained intact. 1. Consulship, Senate Meetings, etc 2. Augustus was given defacto control over all of it 3. Offices would remain in place, the highest powers were left for him. ii. Several characteristics of the new system warrant attention. 1. All of Augustus powers and titles were, officially, granted to him voluntarily by the Senate and people of Rome. 2. The twin powers of imperium maius in the provinces and tribunicia potestas in Italy gave Augustus an avenue into all regions of the empire and all wings of administration. 3. The familiar and traditional Republican forms were maintained: consuls continued to be elected, senatorial meetings held, popular votes taken. In essence, Augustus was grafted on top of the old Republican institutions.
L. Problems of Succession a. Powers were technically personally given to Augustus b. They would technically lapse upon his death. c. He named 5 successors. d. Tiberius Emerged as Next Emperor. M. The Julio-Claudian Dynasty a. The Julio-Claudian dynasty ruled from AD 14 68 and encompasses four emperors. i. Tiberius (14 37), Augustus stepson, was a manic-depressive whose reign was unpopular but generally successful. ii. The reign of Gaius, a.k.a. Caligula (37 41), who was Tiberius greatnephew, was an unmitigated catastrophe. The young man was either corrupted by absolute power or crazy and was the first emperor to be assassinated. iii. Claudius (41 54) was Caligula s uncle. He ruled well and efficiently, even if he was unpopular with the ruling classes. iv. Nero (54 68), Claudius stepson and adopted son, was another disaster. He spent his time in idle pursuits while persecuting his family and members of the elite. An army revolt ousted him in the summer of AD 68 and brought the dynasty to an end. b. Consolidation i. During the Dynasty power was officially consolidated