Roman Empire
I The Emperors after Augustus
A) Tiberius (14-27 CE)—
Suetonious claimed that Tiberius “no longer feeling himself under public scrutiny, he rapidly succumbed to all the vicious passions which he had for a long time strived, not very successfully to disguise.... [he] made for himself a private sporting house where sexual extravagances were practiced for his secret pleasure. Executed people for carrying a coin into a lavatory or brothel
B) Caligula (37-41) Wanted to be worshipped as a god; Murdered by Praetorian Guard?
C) Claudius (41-54) stuttered, weak, but effective extended dominion to Britain
D) Nero (54-68) See Tacitus
E) Four Emperors (69)
F) 5 good emperors from Nerva to Marcus Aurelius (96-180)
II Function of Monarchy—Obviously not held together by virtue of emperors
A) Formality of retaining Senate—Senators loyal to Monarch who promoted them
B) Ruled by council of trusted bureaucrats
C) Law
D) Deification of Emperors—Cremations are apotheosis-Eagles
E) pacifying the plebes with bread and circuses
F) Laese majesty-criticizing ruler ’s Lacan
G) Ability to welcome new groups—212 CE Every Free Male in the borders of the Empire given citizenship--Leaders of Rome from all over the empire: Seneca, Martial, Quintillian, from Spain as was Hadrian and Trajan; Septimus Severius emperor from Africa
H) Auxiliary Troops and Colonies—Censuses town, councils, accountability to some extent
III Roman Economy
A)
Rome--Population one million; 400,000 slaves
B) Italy—Population 4 million 2-3 million slaves
C) Empire 50 Million
D) Network of cities. Seacoast cities much larger. Inland cities could only draw on a 30 mile radius of resources
E) Lack of Innovation—few new techniques of production, volume of trade greatly increased—for instance a
representative of Marcus Aurelius reached the Chinese Court
F) Roads incredibly important—50,000 miles of roads--most famous the Appian Way –From Rome to Capua—stones
were smoothed flat, shaped and joined without mortar made it seem like they had simply grown together
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| Appian Way | Roman Road Network |
IV Rome in the Time of Marcus Aurelius
A) Mediterranean Culture
B) Edge of the starvation 90% of those on the land supported 10 percent of those of the city
--Galen “The city dwellers as was their practice collected and stored corn for all the coming year immediately after the harvest. They carried off all the wheat, barley, beans, and lentils and left what remained to the country folk”
C) transportation of food occurred mostly over water
D) two roman worlds of sea and inland
E) Cost of Extensive roads
F) Rule established by sleight of hand—illusion of a small world—villas identical, culture identical, diet, amphora etc. Or at least two worlds on of the east one of the west—in the east more cities, wealth and emperor worship, in the west cities more administrative function, less emperor worship
G) Pressure of the Barbarian both in the sense of warfare and in the sense of a fear of becoming barbarian, of losing culture
H) The Look of the City
expectancy of birth at 25.....sanitation in Rome
V Culture In Rome
A) Banqueting
B) Colleges
C) Public Spectacles–what were the arguments for and against gladiators?
D) The Baths–a whole ritual
E) Sex