Unit 10: The Early Roman Empire
Contents and layout ©1999 Joseph J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Revised 09 November 2000
Second Triumvirate Tiberius (14-37)
Philippi (42) Nero (54-68)
Principate Vespasian (69-79)
Augustus The Antonines
Pax Romana salus generis humani
co-option Praetorian Guard
I. The Second Triumvirate (Octavian, Antony, Lepidus)
A. causes
1. brought on by various causes
a. Caesarian causes most immediate
1). Octavian has the name and the blood
2). Antony has the troops
3). Cicero and the Senate have an attitude
b. already a number of civil wars in this century
1). Social War 91-88
2). Marius vs. Sulla 87
3). Sulla vs. Marians 83-82
4). Senate vs. Lepidus 79
5). Senate vs. Catiline 63
6). Caesar vs. Pompey 49-48
2. Octavian named tribune and proconsul in 44
a. Senate thought they could use him and throw him out
b. last laugh was on the Senate
3. Second Triumvirate sanctioned by law for 5 years
a. "reconstituting the Republic"
b. all Republican institutions remain
c. all power to triumvirs
1). all acts automatically legal
2). right to choose all magistrates
B. defeat of "Young Republicans"
1. large-scale proscriptions
a. kill enemies, real or potential
b. grab their property to give their soldiers
2. murder of Cicero
3. defeat of tyrannicides at Philippi (42)
a. Brutus and Cassius shoulda won
b. Bloody proscriptions in aftermath
4. Lepidus squeezed out
C. Civil War
1. Octavian's propaganda machine
a. Antony is a drunk
b. Antony is an Ancient Egyptian!
1). married to Egypto-Greek Cleopatra
2). thinks he is a king
c. Antony wants to turn Rome into a Egypto-Greek kingdom
2. Antony maneuvered into civil war
3. battle of Actium 31 BC
4. Egypt falls in 30 BC
5. Octavian is master of Roman world at age 32
II. Augustus' reorganization of the Roman state
A. assessment of Julius' strengths and failures
1. clemency
2. abuse of Republican institutions
B. principate: from L. princeps "first man"
1. titles signified power over equals
a. "elected" consul and censor every year until 23 BC
b. "proconsular" and "tribunician" power for life after 23 BC
2. appearance of the Republic carefully maintained
a. "Settlement with Senate" of 27 BC
1). state "given back to Senate"
2). Senatorial and Imperial provinces allotted
3). Title "Augustus" adopted
b. all institutions remain in place
1). Augustus "nominates" his approved candidates
2). Augustus "consults" the Senate
3). Augustus "gets elected" a lot
3. results of a decade of gradual progress
a. not the result of a master plan
b. masterful adaptation to prevailing conditions
4. Octavian's base of power
a. personal prestige
1). son of the deified Julius Caesar
2). survivor of civil wars
b. 28 legions = 150,000 veteran soldiers
1). some set up on farms in Italy
2). some kept under the standards
c. later became "imperial" provinces
d. oodles and oodles of land and money
C. arrangement with the orders
1. Senatorial order
a. Senate thinned out by "resignations"
1). much of the ruling class is now dead
2). new Senators are beholden to Augustus
b. new requirements
1). fortune of 1,000,000 sesterces
2). approval of Augustus
c. benefits to Senators
1). prestige of being senators
2). can "run for" eelective office
3). administer "senatorial" provinces
4). serve as a grand court
d. senators still tend to feel kept out of the loop
1). constant theme through Roman Empire
2). sometimes resulted in rebellions, etc.
3). value mos maiorum over necessary change
2. Equestrian order
a. given new privileges by Augustus
1). elevated to an actual class
2). hold "Imperial" offices
b. requirements: fortune of 400,000 sesterces
c. in effect Augustus' picked backers
1). associated with the princeps's service
2). the princeps's own creation
3. popularity with Italians/Latin speakers
a. made it clear that Roman mores and ways were to rule the Empire
b. preferential treatment given to natives of Italy
1). military service
2). taxation
c. this was going to be a ROMAN empire
4. popularity with the VVLGVS
a. the popvlvs liked Augustus's style
b. they liked to think of him as their tribvne
c. Auggie took good care of the Romans at least
D. Augustus's corporate image (ethos ): read RES GESTAE
III. Principate and Propaganda
A. need for propaganda
1. importance of propaganda among Romans
a. auctoritas more important than actual power
b. must win sympathy of all inhabitants of Roman world
1). Auggie was not a nice guy
2). mindful of Daddy Ivlivs' example
2. need for propaganda in Hellenistic East
a. religious beliefs contrary to mos maiorum
1). mix of Greek and Oriental
2). precedent of god-kings like Alexander
b. Auggie and successors adapted
3. methods of propaganda
a. artistic works
1). suitably grand
2). easily copied
b. coinage
1). like worldwide advertisements
2). all nations do it today
c. literature
d. religious practices
B. Augustus's building program
1. "I found Rome a city of mvd brick and left it a city of marble"
2. Temple of Mars Vltor (23 BC)
a. overall plan
1). vow made to avenge Caesar: Auggie the Bad Ass
2). accompanied by Forum Augustum
b. function
1). all meetings with foreign representatives handled here
2). all triumphal gewgaws stored here
c. statues of all great Roman heroes
1). great Romans of yore
2). lots of people named Julius
3. Temple of Divine Julius (xx BC)
a. main purpose: self-aggrandizement
b. emphasize glory of Caesar family
4. Ara Pacis (13 BC)
5. Pantheon
C. RES GESTAE DIVI AVGVSTI
1. disseminated all through Empire in various languages
2. maintained fiction that Auggie was first among equals
3. maintained that he had always acted fairly and legally
a. avenged daddy Julius (no mention of march on Rome)
b. made war on foreign countries (no mention of war with Antony)
c. refused dictatorship (invented Principate )
d. handed over state to SPQR (got it back)
D. Imperial cult
1. Divus Julius
a. establishes precedent for posthumous deification
b. lends further prestige to Auggie and his successors
2. Dea Roma
a. worshiped in Greek East from beginning of Principate
b. consistent with Greek practice
c. useful tool for maintaining Roman supremacy
3. Pax Augusta
a. most salient feature of reign
b. relatively late concept
4. Augustus hisself
a. worshiped in parts of Greek east as a god
b. not worshipped by Romans or Latin speakers
1). went against mos maiorum
2). worshipped Auggie's genius instead
c. Tiberius deified Auggie
E. Augustus's personal life
1. personally sparing lifestyle
a. strict regard to the mos maiorum
1). probably not an act
2). backed up his moral legislation
b. maintained the facade that he was just a regular guy
2. wife Livia, the ultimate matrona
a. spun wool, etc.
b. actually a headstrong woman and valued counselor
3. his personal associates
a. M. Agrippa, the rough-tough general/admiral
b. C. Maecenas, the artsy Etruscan
IIII. The Julio-Claudians: HOW DO WE PICK A NEW PRINCEPS?
A. Tiberius (14-37 AD)
1. capable with regard to foreign affairs
a. did not add any conquests
b. maintained the Empire in good shape
2. problems with domestic affairs
a. not popular with citizens in Rome
b. Senate detested him personally
c. powers of Senate left unclear at Augustus' death
1). the "Principate" was legal only for Augustus
2). Who says Tiberius got to inherit it?
3. maiestas trials
a. strictly speaking, "majesty" of the Roman state
b. became "majesty" of the princeps
c. occasionally a reign of terror
4. end of Tiberius
a. ascendancy of praetorian prefect Sejanus
b. reign of terror following Sejanus' death
c. Germanicus' son Gaius selected as heir
d. death of Tiberius 37
5. evaluation of Tiberius
a. capable but ruthless administrator
b. despicable individual
c. picture somewhat colored
1). Augustus a tough act to follow
2). historical tradition hostile
B. Caligula (37-41 AD)
1. accession approved by the Roman senate
2. promising start
3. personality takes a drastic change
4. excesses of Caligula
a. offenses against society
b. offenses against decency
c. squandering of money
5. assassinated 41 AD
a. no constitutional means to remove an emperor
b. Praetorian Guard took action
c. brought an end to "Julian" line
C. Claudius (41-54)
1. eccentric brother of the popular Germanicus
2. bribed the Praetorian Guard
3. turned his back on excesses of Caligula
4. Senate did not like him very much
5. poisoned by Agrippina in 54, replaced by her son Nero
6. watch his TV show sometime
D. Nero (54-68)
1. early reign (54-59) promising
2. balance of reign
a. concentrated on his artistic achievements
b. Empire then run by praetorian prefects
c. still quite an autocrat
3. great unhappiness in Rome resulted from Nero's misrule
a. fire of 64
b. first conspiracy in 65
c. eventually deposed in 68
4. end of Julio-Claudian line
E. Year of Four Emperors (69)
1. too much power in provinces
2. hereditary principate flawed idea
3. centralized government problematic
4. generals from all parts of Roman empire rise up
5. Flavius Vespasianus gains control
F. Assessment of Julio-Claudians
1. not absolutist dictators
a. still ruled via Principate
b. still based on personal charm of Augustus
c. boundaries of Principate still not clearly defined
1). tended to depend on Praetorian Guard
2). tended to depend on military commanders
d. most reasonably sensitive to mos maiorum
2. Senate still opposed
a. not totally kept in the loop
b. still want their Republic back
c. occasionally willing to die trying
3. sensible foreign policy
a. find and secure the natural boundaries of the Roman world
1). no more Republican land grabs
2). we have enough to rule as it is
b. defend them at all costs
1). Germans
2). Parthians
3). Danubian barbarians
4. worked toward making Rome "one world"
a. coherent political entity despite linguistic and cultural differences
1). West becomes increasingly Latinate
2). Greek East acclimates itself to Roman rule
b. the government organism functions regardless
1). conscientious emperors: Tiberius, Claudius
2). bums: Caligula, Nero
IV. The Flavian Dynasty (69-96 AD)
A. Vespasian (69-79)
1. solidifies the princeps' hold upon the Empire
a. wanted to name his own successor
b. instituted rule of primogeniture
c. made stature of -princeps- legal: mos maiorvm vs. necessary change
1). lex de Vespasiani imperio
2). all power now legally his: a needed clarification
2. reconstruction of the Roman state
a. financial and social reconstruction
b. made changes in the military
B. Successors of Vespasian
1. Titus (79-81)
a. beloved by people
b. died young
2. Domitian (81-96)
a. capable in foreign policy
b. repressive emperor on home front: tendency toward autocracy
c. assassinated by Praetorian Guard 96 BC
V. Rome under the Good Emperors (96-180)
A. Nerva and the succession
1. started by Praetorian Guard
2. instituted principle of co-option
a. went outside of one's own family for a successor
b. select a "junior colleague" from Senatorial class
c. system worked until reign of Marcus Aurelius
B. The Good Emperors
1. Nerva (96-98)
a. nice old senator
b. no military clout whatsoever
2. Trajan (98-117)
a. personal characteristics
1). born of Hispano-Roman stock
2). tried and tested military commander
b. military campaigns: pursued a strong offensive
1). Dacia (101-107)
2). Parthians (110-116)
3. Hadrian (117-138)
a. personal characteristics
1). Spanish descent, soldier
2). avid traveler
b. primarily concerned with -status- -quo-
4. Antoninus Pius (138-161)
a. deferential to Senate
b. did not relinquish any control
5. Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
a. personal characteristics
1). Stoic philosopher
2). author of the Meditations
b. fought great defensive wars on the borders
B. Characteristics of the Good Emperors
1. a humane view of the principate
a. salus generi humani the goal:
1). infl. by Stoic thought
2). government for the good of human race
b. Empire ruled for the benefit of its inhabitants
1). Emperor is still a princeps
2). The Senate is kept in the loop
c. not autocratic
1). relied on valued counselors
2). allowed initiative to subordinates
2. good relations with the Senate
3. great concern for public well-being
a. extensive public works
b. alimenta established
c. other contributions to public welfare
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