Dec. 3- Dec. 7

[6Aimie]

12/3- talked about George HW Bush

12/4-12/5

• Julius Caesar 
  • rules from 49- 44 BCE
  • Veni Vidi Vici
    • I came, I saw, I conquered
• Gaius Julius Caesar's Resume
  • Grew up in a patrician family
  • Father died when he was 16
  • Married Cornelia in 84 BCE
  • Became the High Priest of Jupiter 
  • There was a Civil War in Rome and the person Caesar backed lost
  • Due to this, Caesar joined the military to hide from Sulla, the new dictator
  • Fought in Asia and Cilicia 
  • After Sulla's death, Caesar returned to Rome and went into politics
  • During his travels, he was captured by pirates
  • Became Governor of Spain, a Roman province in 61- 60 BCE
  • In 60 BCE, Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey, a popular general
  • With their help, Caesar was elected Consul in 59 BCE
  • For the next ten years, these three men dominated Rome as a triumvirate, a group of three rulers
  • Was known as the First Triumvirate
  • After being Consul for one year, he became Governor of Gaul (France and Belgium) from 58- 50 BCE
  • Caesar's power and popularity concerned Crassus and Pompey back in Rome
• First Triumvirate Falls Apart
  • Crassus was killed in a battle in Syria so he was out of the picture
  • Pompey became jealous of Caesar's power and popularity so the Senate ordered Caesar to disband military and return to Rome to face trial
  • Caesar refused and instead crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BCE and attacked Pompey's troops
  • Pompey fled to Spain and then Greece where Caesar's troops defeated him
    • Pompey was able to escape and fled to Egypt where he was killed
  • Caesar returned to Rome with support from the people and the military and became dictator- 46 BCE
  • In 44 BCE, Caesar was named dictator for life
• Caesar and Cleopatra in Egypt 47 BCE
  • Caesar arrived in Egypt and was not happy that they had killed Pompey
  • Caesar declared martial law and took over the palace and deposed Ptolomey XIII 
    • Ptolomey I became the first ruler of Egypt in 323 BCE
  • He ordered Cleopatra VII back to the throne, aligned with her and defeated Ptolomey XIII and the Egyptains in 47 BCE in the Battle of the Nile River
  • Cleopatra VII was the last Egyptian leader before Rome took it over 
  • Cleopatra and Caesar would have a son together, Ptolomey Caesar (known as Caesarion)
  • Cleopatra prolaimed him her heir and successor to the Roman throne
    • Not something that Caesar did as he named his grandnephew his successor
• Caesar as Dictator
  • Served just a year before he was assassinated
  • Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the provinces
  • Gave land to the poor
  • Expanded the senate, adding friends and supporters from Italy and other regions
  • Helped the poor by creating jobs, especially through the construction of new public buildings
  • Started colonies where people without land could own property
  • Increased pay for soldiers and helped veterans get land
  • Abolished the tax system
  • Helped rebuild Carthage as a Roman colony
  • Reformed the Roman calendar
• Julian vs Gregorian Calendar
  • The Julian calendar was the calendar from 46 BCE to 1582 CE when the Gregorian Calendar took its place
  • The Gregorian Calendar was introduced and named after Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and is still used today
  • The difference in the average length of teh year between Julian (365.25 days) and Gregorian (365.2425 days) is 0.002%
• Caesar's Assassination 44 BCE
  • Due to helping the middle and lower class, Caesar made enemies with the wealthy class including many in the Senate
  • Many were scared that Caesar wanted to be king
  • Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus were the two that killed Caesar- stabbed 23 times by as many as 60 consipirators
• After Julius Caesar
  • Octavian=Caesar Augustus=Augustus
    
    • Julius Caesar's adopted son who Julius picked as his heir instead of his other son. His other son was not his successor because he was part Egyptian 
• The Second Triumvirate 43 BCE- 33 BCE
  • Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew/adopted son), Marc Antony (a general), and Lepidus (a politician) ruled Rome for ten years
  • Civil War broke out after Caesar's death with Octavian winning 
    • Eliminated enemies and anyone involved in Caesar's assassination
      • Brutus, Cassius, Pompeius (Pompey's son)
  • Triumvirate fell apart eventually due to jealousy and violence 
    • Octavian forced Lepidus to retire after insulting him
    • Octavian went to war against Marc Antony(Queen Cleopatra from Egypt)
    • Octavian defeated Antony/Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE

12/6-

• Once Octavian and Marc Antony defeated Caesar's killers, they split the Roman Republic in two-Octavian took Rome and Antony took Egypt
• Antony quickly falls in love with Cleopatra(had three kids) This was a big problem because...
  1. Antony was married to Octavian's sister, Octavia. Octavian was not pleased. Antony divorced Octavia.
  2. Octavian was concerned that Antony and Cleopatra want to take over Rome
     
     • Antony proclaimed many things in his will but one was that Caesarion was the rightful heir to Julius Caesar and not Octavian
• These issues led to war between Octavian and Antony
• Octavian decided to attack first and defeated Antony and Cleopatra's fleet in the Battle of Actium 
• Antony and Cleopatra were able to escape but eventually committed suicide together instead of being captured
• Octavian had Caesarion strangled as well as Antony's oldest son 
  • "two Caesars are one too many"
• Octavian was now the lone ruler of Rome and it's empire
• However, he decided to act like he wanted to allow the Rupublic to continue
• The Senate loved this and gave him the name "Augustus" or "Illustrious one" or "Exalted one"
• By 19 BCE, he was given supreme power to rule the Roman Empire and became the first(and probably greatest) emperor of Rome

 

• Augustus and the Roman Empire- 27 BC- 14 AD
  • Augustus would usher in the "Pax Romana" (27BC-180 AD) which means "Roman Peace"
    • This was the period of time where Rome was at it's peak and the economy, the arts and agriculture flourished
• Augustus' Accomplishments
  • Stabilized the frontier
  • Created a system of government that survived for centuries
  • Set up civil service within Rome
    • Paid workers to manage the affairs of government
  • Made adultery illegal
  • Tax incentives for families with three or more children
  • Glorified Rome with awesome public buildings- "found Rome brick and left it marble"
• Augustus' Death
  • Died in 14 CE(AD)
  • His last words were either "I found Rome a city of clay but left it a city of marble" or...
    • According to his wife Livia, "Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit"
  • His adopted son, Tiberias, succeded him as emperor

12/7-

• Roman Life
  • Discipline, strength, and loyalty were stressed in Rome
    • People had gravitas if they had these characteristics
  • 90% of people farmed throught the empire
  • The rich lived by conspicuous consumption
  • Most people lived in poverty
    • High unemployment
    • Lived in cramped tenements- fires were very common
    • Government provided grain every day
    • They struggled for survival
• Roman slaves
  • Slavery was a significant part of Roman life and economy
  • The Romans had more slaves than any previous civilization- 1/3 of the population
  • Most slaves were conquered people and included men, women, and children
  • Children born to slaves also became slaves
  • Slaves could be bought and sold as they were seen as property 
  • They could be punished, rewarded, set free, or put to death
  • Some strong slaves became gladiators
• Gladiator Contests
  • Government put on entertainment to appease the poor
  • Provided free of charge during holidays (150/ year by 250 AD)
  • Fought in the Colosseum in ROme
  • Animal vs animal, man vs animal, man vs man