European History – Rome Essay

By Jessica

1) Factors which contribute to the fall of the Roman Empire.

The factors which contributed to the demise of Rome’s Western Empire were the unstable economy, unfit Emperors, the military problems, idle citizens, and finally the invading Germanic tribes.

The economy of Rome began to slide downhill once the Emperors began to devalue money; everything became too expensive. Because of this, no real estate was bought because of its price. Therefore, Rome relied on its provinces for goods. The leaders of those provinces held too much influence because of this, which would lead to corruption in the Roman government. Also, the prestige of wanting to live in the Rome by the Provincials boosted the demand of land in the Italian Peninsula, therefore increasing its price.

The Emperors of Rome had steadily brought all these factors upon Rome. From about 180– 285 A.D., there had been a series of civil wars in Rome amongst the men fighting to be Emperor. With Emperor Commodus, the office if princep no longer became a wanted position. The Emperors after Commodus (installed by the military), were by no means “fit” for the job. Septimius Severus was pro–military. His motto was “Take care of the military, and the rest will take care of itself”. They began to raise taxes and devalue money to fund the military affairs in the north, as well as confiscating property of those who contributed too slowly. Rome was not able to handle their expansion, so they didn’t know what to do to handle it.

The Roman military had changed once the Emperor Commodus was assassinated. After this, the Praetorian Guard began to auction–off the title of Emperor. Later, they installed whoever they wanted. If the Emperor wasn’t giving the military what they wanted, they installed a new one. Another problem was that all free men were granted citizenship within the Empire. The provincials inside Rome were allowed to be citizens, so they joined the Army. The Roman population had begun to decline, so during this time Rome could use all the volunteers it could get. The Roman military was unorganized and useless.

Part of this military problem, was the idle citizens. The citizens of the Roman Empire had become more reliant on the provincial armies. The armies were now made up of German and Gaul troops; they even altered the Roman tactics of war. Now with more Germanic and Gaul troops, they had more influence than Rome’s own Praetorian Guard. Now, the citizens cared nothing to be legionaries. The Roman citizens had obviously lost their traditional Mos Maiorum.

With the economy collapsing, a majority of the military not being Roman, and the idle citizens, now the worst came. The German tribes began to infiltrate the Roman borders as settlers and mercenaries. As they entered the Army, they began to find the weak points in the Empire. Then in 410, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths, and later by the Vandals (455 A.D.).

2) The nature of Rome’s wars with Carthage (Punic) and its impact upon Rome’s rise to Empire.

The wars of Rome against Carthage brought about changes to the Republic. One major change was the establishing of the Empire. The Punic Wars installed many new ideas into the citizens of Rome, but the main idea was expansion.

The first Punic War (264 B.C.) was fought over control of Sicily. The Carthaginians were the greatest naval power at the time, and to fight against them, Rome had to acquire new tactics and a navy. The Romans found a Carthaginian quinquereme along the coast of Sicily. With the help of Greeks, the Romans built one–hundred copies in 60 days of the battleship. The Romans not accustomed to battle on water, the ramming and all, they developed the corvus. The corvus was a large plank with an iron spike on the end. Connected the quinquereme, the plank was dropped on top of the enemy boat and the Roman soldiers ran across it to fight hand–to–hand. In 241 B.C., the Carthaginians signed a treaty with Rome. In the treaty, Carthage gave up Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia to Rome. The Romans now controlled trade of the Western Mediterranean and new territories outside of the Italian Peninsula: their first expansion.

Controlling trade brought about the Paradox of Empire and Expansion. Rome now received slaves and imports of grain from its newly acquired territory. Before the war, the grain had come from the Roman farmers, which were the foundation of the Republic. Now with imports, the grain of the new territory became cheaper than how much the farmers sold it for, this put farmers out of work. With so many unemployed, the Senate voted for ghettos to be made.

The Second Punic War (218 B.C.) started because Carthage wanted to have dominance again. A Carthaginian general named Hannibal attacked not head on, but from the north. He marched into Western Africa, up through Spain, and along the Pyrenees and Gaul to Italy. He had about 150 elephants with him, but when he came out of the Alps, one elephant and 55,000 men remained. Though he beat many Roman armies in Northern Italy, his main goal was to make the other Italian cities revolt against Rome; but they didn’t. While Hannibal was in Italy, a Roman general names Scipio Africanus went to Spain, and then into Africa. Learning of this, Hannibal sailed back and was defeated in 202 B.C. at the battle of Zama. Again, Carthage signed a treaty, and this time Rome received Spain and North Africa, but they did not destroy Carthage.

The Third and final Punic War began in 149 B.C., when Carthage refused to move inland of Africa. This time, Rome attacked the city itself. The people who were not killed were sold into slavery. In 146 B.C., the city of Carthage was destroyed, and the Roman Army salted the city so nothing else could grow.

After the battles with Carthage, Rome was revered as a super power. Along with the paradox of grain, slaves coming from the war were too many. Having slaves means you don’t have to pay them, leaving even more Romans unemployed. Also, the treasures from war were a major crisis. With money, the Republic made bad decisions as far as the unemployed goes. Building ghettos: they just threw money at the problem but didn’t address it. Also, the money led to corruption. All these factors led to the Roman Empire, just 175 years after the last Punic War.

3) The Paradox of Empire

At the end of the First Punic War (241 B.C.), Rome had obtained its first territories outside of Italy: Corsica, Sicily, and Sardinia. With these new territories, Rome began to experience the first of many problems which eventually led to the Roman Empire.

The treaty giving Rome the three islands brought three main things to the Republic: grain, slaves, and treasure. All of these were good at the time, but later became paradoxical. The first was grain. Grain had for the many years of the Republic been provided by the farmers, which were indeed the backbone of the city. With three new territories, grain came as well, but for a cheaper price. If the grain imported from the islands was cheaper, than why would anyone buy it from the farmers who sold it for more? The farmers soon began to become poor and lose their farms, so they moved to the city. Rome was a large city with already numerous people living there, so soon it became overpopulated. With this, the newly gained treasure was used to build ghettos for housing the poor.

With more people in the city, more jobs were needed. The slaves that came from the three islands were used in many jobs now, leaving little or no room for employment of the farmers. There were also a large number of slaves because of the wars, and the large numbers indeed were inclined to revolt. In 139 and 104 B.C., slaves had revolted on the island of Sicily. The largest revolt was that led by the Thracian soldier Spartacus in 73 B.C.

The other “spoil” of war which had a ironic effect, was treasure. The treasures of war were used in greedy ways in Rome. The Senators of the Republic and the other rich patrician families began to get richer as the spoils of war poured in. The Senate began to throw money at the obvious problems of the city (unemployment, gangs, etc.), and the city began to grow worse.

To put a stop to the obvious problems of Rome, two brothers came into the political spotlight. The first was Tiberius Gracchus. In 134 B.C., Tiberius became a Tribune of the Plebes, and proposed reforms in order to stabilize the government and its people. The one that stood out the most was the re–distribution of the land to the farmers, which now belonged to the patricians. The Senate bribed another Tribune to oppose Tiberius’ reform, but it was over ruled. In 133 B.C., Tiberius Gracchus was murdered along with 300 of his followers in a riot started by the Senate.

In 124 B.C., his brother Gaius Gracchus was elected Tribune of the Plebes. Along with proposing the same reforms as Tiberius, he proposed that the Senate allow other Italians to be Roman citizens. This, of course, outraged the Senate, and they provoked violence in the city. Blaming Gaius for the trouble, this made him an enemy of the state. In fear, Gaius had a servant kill him before the Senate and the mobs could.

4) Ancient Rome analogous to present–day United States

There are many similarities between Ancient Rome and the United States of present day. The most common resemblances would be in the republic, political spectrums, segregation, governmental affairs, and foreign affairs.

The first system of government that Rome chose for itself was a republic. The bases of the Republic, was the Senate. In the Senate, there were 4 major positions you could hold. The fixed course of political advancement in Rome was called the Cursus Honorum. The highest position in the Senate was the consuls, which is similar to the president. Next were the praetors, the highest judges in the Republic. Their office was similar to the Supreme Court. Next were the aediles, which supervised public places. Last, were the quaestors, who administered finances of the state treasury.

The political spectrums of Rome are very similar to that of present day. The conservative side was the optimates (republicans). The optimates tended to be rich patrician families. The middle–class was known as the equestrians, and they could usually be swayed to either side in political debates. Usually the liberals were the lowest class of plebeians called populares (democrats).

During the fifth and fourth century B.C., the “Conflict of Orders” arose amongst the optimates and populares. The populares had very little of a role to play in the government besides the comitia centuriata, which was overseen by patricians. Populares were segregated because of their wealth, such as how African–Americans were segregated because of the color of their skin. The “Conflict of Orders” was similar to the civil rights movements in the 1950’s and 1960’s; both wanted to equality. When the populares, which were predominantly farmers, threatened to leave Rome, the Senate negotiated with them. They now were allowed to participate in the government with the Tribunate of the Plebes.

During the end of the Republic of Rome, problems arose in the government. Corruption was a major factor to this. At the end of the Punic Wars, much of the treasure obtained went to the Senators and to the other rich patrician families; keeping the plebeians poor. Also, along with the war, grain poured in from Rome’s new territories for cheaper prices, putting plebeian farmers out of work. Being out of work, the farmers were forced to come to Rome to look for a job. Overpopulation of Rome soon became a problem. The Senate had decided to build insulae (“Islands”) for the people, which were poorly constructed apartment houses. They just threw money at the problem instead of addressing it, which is similar to nowadays. Many people do not have enough money to support themselves; therefore they might live in ghettos and go on welfare. Rome was indeed the first welfare state. The Romans were big on military spending.

5) The Decline and Fall of the Republic through the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar and the Empire’s rise with Augustus.

When discussing the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, much material should and needs to be included. The main points of the fall of the Republic are the Punic Wars, the Gracchus brothers, the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, and the reign of Augustus.

The Punic Wars (264 – 146 B.C.) were fought against the Carthaginians of Northern Africa. The first one was fought over control of trade in the western Mediterranean from three islands: Corsica, Sicily, and Sardinia. With the victory in the first war, the paradox of empire and expansion came about. In this case, treasure from war was the main issue. The optimates of Rome began to become richer as the treasure was doled among them, and the plebian populares became poorer. This was the first factor.

The second point of the decline and fall of the Republic is the Gracchus brothers’ reforms. Both the brothers knew where the problems in the Republic lay. When Tiberius Gracchus was appointed Tribune in 134 B.C., he proposed that the Senate re–distribute the land to the farmers. The land belonging to the Senators, this outraged. The Senators bribed another Tribune to oppose it, but he was overruled. The Senate still angry, resorted to violence and started a riot that killed Tiberius and three hundred of his followers. Gaius, Tiberius’ brother, became Tribune in 124 B.C., and proposed the same reforms as his brother, as well as the proposition to allow other Italian cities citizenship in Rome. Again, as soon as the Senate found out, they staged a riot, and blamed Gaius. Knowing what they were up to, Gaius had a servant kill him before the angry citizens and the Senate could. These two incidents were the first time that the Senate had resorted to violence in order to get what they wanted. From then on, the Senate was no longer thought of as the equalizer of Rome.

During the beginning of the First Century B.C., Gaius Marius had begun his sixth consulship of Rome. Through his years of consulship, Gaius made drastic reforms on the army. He made a citizen’s time in the army his career, and paid them. Also, when they retired, their generals had to provide land to them, which made the soldiers even more loyal. The generals, having the loyalty and trust of the soldiers, now held a higher position, knowing they could make their armies do anything. This was shown with the battles against Marius and his adversary, Lucius Sulla. With the loyalty of the army, and the sway of the Senate, there would be no way to restore the Republic to its rightful form.

Gaius Julius Caesar knew that the Republic was failing, and he proved it when he made himself dictator of Rome. In 49 B.C., Caesar had returned to Rome after battles against Gallic armies to find out that Pompey had issued resolutions commanding that Caesar disband his army. Defying the Senate and Pompey, Caesar crossed the Rubicon into Rome, an act of defiance, and this forced Pompey to flee because most of his army was still in Spain. This started the beginning of the civil wars of Rome between Caesar and Pompey. When Caesar declared himself perpetual dictator in 44 B.C., this was the sure sign of the end of the Republic, because he declared an heir: the mark of monarchy.

After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., a war broke out between the conspirators and those still loyal to Caesar. In the end, his loyal armies won, leaving Mark Antony and his grandnephew Octavian in charge. By 27 B.C., Octavian had destroyed all opposition, and was proclaimed princep of Rome, which is just a nice way of saying “Emperor”. Augustus Caesar (as he was now called) decided to keep the Senate around because of its many years experience in running affairs, while he retained most of the power, and so as not to let the Senate lost its stature and place of dignity. While in office, Augustus had told his successors to keep Rome within its existing boundaries, because he knew that it was difficult enough to hold Rome together as it was, so there would be even more trouble if it were to expand. To him, and further expansion would make the empire beyond governable.

 

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