Sept. 25, From Roman Republic to Empire

 

HOW DID CONQUERING AN EMPIRE CHANGE THE ROMANS?

- Influx of wealth and slaves

Taxes and booty from conquered provinces flow into Italy.

After conquering so much of the Mediterranean world, 100's of thousands of foreign slaves were imported into Italy  (Most Roman slaves were acquired through war; Enslavement was a victor’s right in war)

to be used both for domestic service and as field hands on Roman plantations..

 

This created two significant changes in composition of Roman society:

- First, slave plantations began to replace the small farmers who had been the backbone of Roman society (and army)

- Among the rich slave-owning Romans, women become more liberated – slaves begin to do most of the domestic work

 

- Enormous expansion of the citizen body

both because of slave manumission (Romans were unusual in making their slaves Roman citizens when they freed them; much of the Roman citizen body eventually had slave origin) and extension of citizenship to conquered populations in Italy and the provinces

no long practical for all Roman citizens to go to Rome to vote in Assemblies; Empire had grown to large for political system

 

- Romans adopt Greek (Hellenistic) culture

The Romans conquered the Greeks - but the Greeks ended up influencing Roman culture far more than Roman culture influenced Greek.

In the 3rd and 2nd centuries, Greek intellectuals (and in 2nd and 1st c  slaves) poured into Rome.

The Romans adopted Greek literary genres (drama, epic poetry, history), Greek philosophy (Stoicism, Epicureanism), Greek art, Greek social life (like public baths, gyms, theatres), even Greek food and sexual practices (homosexual romance became acceptable in upper class circes).

Even the shape of Roman houses became more Greek

addition of Greek peristyle.

A few conservative Romans tried to resist the Hellenizing trend - but they failed.

A truly "Graeco-Roman" culture was formed.

 

 II. END OF REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT

 

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS CREATED BY THESE CHANGES

 

Urban proletariat of displaced farmers

Hurt military enrollment - because the Roman armies had been made up of the small farmers

 

Idea of being ruled by a monarch less repulsive to most of the foreign born Roman citizens

 

Belief that Romans (esp. Roman women) losing their traditional values

 

 

Rise of powerful general: example of Julius Caesar

 

Client armies

The generals began to develop client armies.

(meaning of "client" in Roman society)

armies which fought for them personally instead of the Roman Republic.

Roman soldiers started to look towards their generals to support them, instead of going back to their farms.

They expected their generals to keep them on as paid soldiers even after the current war was over, or give them land as a reward.

Generals like Julius Caesar turned citizen soldiers into their clients - the soldiers swore oath of loyalty to the general in return for promises of rewards.

Example of Julius Caesar

New style epitomized by someone like Julius Caesar, in 1st century BC

Julius Caesar - before he became rich from conquering much of Europe - got greatly into debt in order to maintain a rich life style

He gave elaborate public games to the Roman people; and elaborate banquets to his fellow senators

He divorced several wives, and had affairs with men as well as women

("every woman's man, and every man's woman" the saying went

He had an affair with Cleopatra, the last Hellenistic queen of Egypt - and son by her.

Above all, Julius Caesar wanted military glory - instead of just doing his duty like an old fashioned Roman, he wanted to conquer the world, imitating Alexander -

Caesar responsible for conquering much of Europe - n. Spain, France, Belgium, S. Germany, England (briefly)

He would also turn his armies against Rome itself - and become its dictator.

 

Civil Wars

When Senate tried 50 BC to take away Caesar’s command in Gaul, and not let him run for consul.

Caesar’s response in 49 BC was to lead a legion across the Rubicon, a small river which separated Cisalpine Gaul and Italy.

This began the civil war BETWEEN CAESAR AND SENATE

His odds were not good: the senate had a great general - Pompey; and more troops in Greece

Nevertheless in 48 BC, at Pharsalus in Greece, Caesar defeated Pompey and the senate - largely because of the loyalty he could command of his troops.

 

Caeasar as dictator

It is hard to say whether Caesar would have been able to rule as well as he fought, because after the end of the civil war, he had only a year to live.

He offended the Romans by adopting some of the trappings of monarchy.

coins - Caesar’s head first image of a living human to appear on a Roman coin 44 BC

office of dictator (like Sulla) 49 BC on; by 44 BC, for life.

Military ambitions - to defeat Parthians (who had executed the triumvir Crassus, a humilitiation the Roman were not likely to forget), and perhaps to rival Alexander in his conquests.

He planned to leave on campaign on March 18, 44 BC.

He never made it:

Conspiracy - led by two senators who had gone over to Caesar during the civil wars - Cassius and Marcus Brutus.

Caesar aware of conpiracies, but too proud to act against them; renowned for his clementia. He even had disbanded his private body=guard.

March 15, 44 BC, ides of March - groups of Roman senators stabbed Caesar in the Senate house; stabbed him.

The senators thought that they had restored the Roman Republic

They were wrong. Next class we will see how Caesar's heir, Octavian Augustus, founded the Roman empire.

 

Octavian Augustus' founds the Roman Principate

 

In his will, Julius Caesar had adopted a son  - Octavian Augustus

            (Octavian was only 18 years old at the time).

            He got the loyalty of Caesar's army veterans.

            Civil war sprang up between Caesar's supporters and the senators who had murdered Caesar

After some attempts to share power (the Trimvirates), Octavian fights a series of civil wars with Mark Antony, one of Caesar's old supporters.

The last Hellenistic queen - Cleopatra - fought against Octavian.

            She became Mark Antony's lover

            She let him use the wealth of Egypt to attack Octavian.

            But in 31 BC, Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

            Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than be captured (the Romans considered suicide a noble way to avoid defeat)

 

Octavian had won the civil wars; no one was left to oppose him

After decades of civil war, Romans wanted peace at all costs.

 

B. Augustus' foundation of the Principate - a disguised monarchy

Actium marks the turning point in Roman history.

After this, the Roman Republic is no more, the Roman Empire (or Principate) begins.

Instead of Senatorial rule, there is imperial rule.

And yet, according to Octavian's own words, he was not the destroyer, but restorer of the Republic.

Then in  27 BC Octavian "restores" republic "transferred the Republic from my power into that of the Senate and the Roman People" (RG 34)

Senate renames him Augustus in gratitude (after this Octavian called Augustus)

 

What exactly did Octavian mean by restoration of republic?

 

Octavian decided not to call himself dictator or king - but rather princeps and imperator

Princeps was his title with respect to the senate - meant "first" of the senators

Imperator "emperor" - meant  commander of the army; the army gave him this title

Even though Augustus wasn't called king, he had most of the real power in the Roman state.

 

1. Republican forms retained

- Senate continued to meet, pass laws (senatusconsultum)

- Elections returned

magistrates like consuls were elected by senate and Assembly again

Augustus not even consul after 23 BC, other men were

Senate even had say in electing Roman emperors:

            Senators voted emperors tribunician power (Army voted them imperator) - imperial title not automatically inherited!

- Some provinces in theory controlled by Senate: (Asia, Africa, Greece, most important)

            Senate got to decide who would become governor of these consuls.

            The military largely removed  - peaceful civilian government restored.

 

2. Powers retained by Augustus:

-Had power, but not title of key magistracies

Tribunician power: voted to him by Senate

veto; right to convene Senate; propose laws

Senate voted him all of these powers

- Control of army

But real power derived from his control of the army.

Imperator "emperor" - meant  commander of the army; the army gave him this title

Emperor had command of         provinces with most legions - Germanies; Syria; Danube; Spain - in emperor's control

Changes in army:

Army was no long a citizen militia - called up only in times of war - but rather a professional, standing army.

            100's of thousands of Roman soldiers were stationed throughout the Roman empire - esp. on the borders.

            Augustus, as emperor, appointed their commanders, he paid their salaries, he ordered them to fight the wars;  the Senate did none of this.

 

So emperor had military control; the power though not title of high magistrates, and enormous revenues

Senate still exercised power in form - but in fact the Principate was a little more than a disguised monarchy.

 

III.  ROMAN WOMEN AND Octavian Augustus’ attempts to reform family values

Augustus marketed himself as the restorer of traditional Roman values  - values Romans had possessed before they had conquered an empire.

 

A. The perceived problem: childlessness and sexual immorality of late Republic

Widespread feeling that old fashioned family values were hard to find any more - families where husband focused on his household; wife was loyal; luxurious living was avoided.

 

1. Problem (at least perceived problem) was that more and more women refusing to have children; more having extramarital affairs, and more men choosing not to marry at all.

Instead of having the trouble of a wife (who may cheat on you), why not enjoy yourself in other ways.

 

Other sexual outlets for men:

Men could consort with their slaves (male or female) or prostitutes (usually slaves as well).

They could have concubines - free or freed women whom they lived with and supported, along with any resulting children;

this was sort of semi-marriage (the Christians would later consider it marriage in full).

for freed women (ex slaves) being a concubine was required

 

Even though wealthy men would have had no trouble finding sex in other ways than adultery, there are signs in the 1st century BC , Romans desired to have affairs with women of thier own status; women who actually wanted to be with them, and were not forced to.

We might call this a birth of romantic love.

            Ovid - jealous of the ugly husband of his married girlfriend

            Most of the Latin poetry which expresses powerful emotions of love, passion, are written to high class women, who are someone's else's wife.

 

2. How much of this is true - was there really a crisis of Roman marriage by 1st century AD?

Big change of late Republic: Patria potestas (paternal power) over women was increasing

Patria potestas, the authority of  the father (pater), over his family (family including children, grandchildren, slaves)

In theory, patria potestas included the power of life or death (at least in early Roman history)

                        Most frequently, this meant infanticide: (esp. of girls)

      Also father had power to inflict capital punishment for recognized offenses - say fornication by daughter

            Father's arranged marriages - his sons' as well as his daughters'

It used to be that patria potestas ended when a daughter married:

            she came under her husband's authority instead of her father's.

But by the late Republic (for reasons having to do with increase in family wealth), women were remaining under their father's authority even after marriage.

            only death of father freed them from patria potestas (marriage, as typically practiced, did not)

And then, after father's death, they came under male guardianship =Guardianship)

guardians usually their male kin - uncles, brothers, etc.

guardians had to approve transfers of property (e.g. sale, dowry)

            in practice, guardians tended to "rubber-stamp" adult women's requests - allowing women to have real choice of what to do with money (cf. Cicero's wife) and who to marry as second (or third) husband.

 

This extension of patria potestas limited authority of husband over wife

The real impact of patria potestas  was the limited power of husbands over their wives.

In the kind of marriage that was most common by the later Republic (sine manu), daughters remained in their father's power, even after they married

This made Romans different from other premodern peoples (and  from early Romans):

wives usually pass into the husband's guardianship, who takes the wife's property, represents her in court, i.e. treats her like a daughter legally. - think of the New Testament injunction, wife cleaves unto her husband -

 

Because the Roman wife remained part of her father's family, her property belonged to her (and her father), not to her husband;

 it was illegal for husbands and wives to give each other property.

If a husband mistreated his wife, she (with her father's support) could just go back home and get a divorce.

 

Roman women in comparison with Greek women: Roman wives ended up with a lot more freedom than Greek women we talked about earlier:

            Control over own property (with some interference by father and guardian)

            Easy divorce

            No segregation - Roman women moved around freely; dined with men who weren't their husbands; not confined to the home

 

So by ancient standards - Roman women were somewhat of control

 

3. Problem for state: fears of reduced fertility

What worried the state was Roman might stop having children - because Roman women preferred not to, and men were reluctant to marry because their wives were too independent (and adulterous).

Remember that there were not that many Romans, in an empire of millions of conquered peoples.

The Romans army was recruited from Roman citizens only.

Octavian Augustus, after founding the Principate, became obsessed with taking censuses - to determine how many citizens there were (28 BC           1st  full census:  4,063,000 citizens; 8 BC          2nd full census:  4, 233,000 citizens)

The Roman opulation did not seem sufficient for him.

He feared that men were deciding not to marry; women were refusing to remarry; and both men and women were refraining from having children, by use of birth control and infanticide. 

 

B. AUGUSTUS' RESPONSE:  MAKE THEM HAVE BABIES

 

1. Augustus' marriage legislation:

18 BC  Senate asks Augustus to be supervisor of laws and morals

18 BC  Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus:  is approved by Senate and Assembly

What did this law do?

Penalized the unmarried: men over 25 / women over 20 .

Unmarried can't receive legacies from non-relatives

unmarried can't attend public games (where Ovid advised meeting new lovers)

            Penalizes childless: childless only half  (beyond 6th degree)

Rewards those who have 3+ children:

3 children allowed freedman to escape duty of letting patron inherit;

3 gives woman freedom from guardianship (4 for freedwomen)

*Requires remarriage: women must remarry after death of husband (one year grace period), divorce (6 mo. grace period) (later extended to 2 years and 1 1/2 years by The Papio-Poppaean Law)

 

Motive: to increase number of children of propertied classes

 

2. Augustus' adultery legislation

Same year as marriage legislation, Augustus got passed a law on adultery: Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis:       (Treggiari 890 ff.; Sources 104-5 - Paul and Digest)

            Double-standard in way adultery was defined: a woman having extramarital affairs (not a man, unless he is involved with a married woman; men sleeping with slaves, prostitutes, concubines doesn't count as adultery)

Augustus establisshed a permanent public court for adultery (making adultery a public crime like murder)

            Husband must prosecute and divorce wife for adultery (can't forgive her)

            She lost half of dowry; 1/3 of rest of property, and exiled to island; couldn't remarry (adulterer 1/2 property and exile)

            If caught in act, woman's father could kill man and daughter (but husband can't kill wife; and only kill adulterer if of low social origin)  (this is traditional practice)

 

WAS AUGUSTUS' LEGISLATION EFFECTIVE?

 

Marriage legislation: effect

none on lower classes

some evidence that upper class men in politics married early, remarried quickly

complaints and attempts to avoid best evidence that laws somewhat effective

e.g. women "hired" a poor man to act as husband

some very short marriages (in order to stand for office)

requests for special grants of the ius trium liberorum

Adultery legislation:

            Not always enforced, although certain emperors (Septimius) will choose to enforce with a vengeance

            It is true that Roman upper classes seem to get a little more prudish during the empire; Catullus might have had a harder time.