Flavians and Five “good” emperors; municipia
Announcements: Prepaper rewrites
SHIFT IN FOCUS - TOWARDS PROVINCES
I. FLAVIAN DYNASTY
A. Revolt in Judaea
The story of Vespasian’s rise to power starts far away from Rome, with the Jews.
Judaea:
Client kingdom under Herod
Judaea had been a province since 6 AD – the year of a census (recollected in Gospels in association with Jesus'’ birth).
Judaism was a legal religion with special privileges because of its monotheism - they did not have to serve in the Roman military, nor participate in the imperial cult under most emperors
But many Jews deeply resented being under foreign occupation – and esp. having Roman officials and military occupying Jerusalem (and under Caligula and Nero, setting up statues for imperial cult there)
Four main Jewish groups:
Some Jews dealt with this subjection to the Romans better than others.
Of the four main Jewish groups – the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots – only the Sadducees really cooperated with the Romans.
The Sadducees held the highest priesthoods (High Priest), and were wealthy landowners.
The next most conservative were the Pharisees.
The Pharisees (sect Josephus joined) emphasized the strict observance of Jewish laws, and tended to be anti-Roman.
Essenes - semi-monastic sect who lived own communities, had communal property
The most extreme of them were called the Zealots – who were in fact Jewish nationalists, fighting for liberation from the Romans.
These Zealots, along with some Pharisees were responsible for one of the most concerted rebellions faced by the Romans.
In 66 AD, the Jewish rebels drove the Roman garrison out of Jerusalem (MODELS OF TEMPLE; AND FORT OF ANTONIA built by Herod in honor of Mark Antony)
In the same year, the Greeks of Caesarea (in Palestine) massacred the Jewish population.
The war was on, and the Romans needed a general to fight it.
- Now we turn to Nero; it’s 66 AD, Nero is still in power.
Nero was busy conducting an artistic tour of Greece, with himself featured as a key performer, and so did not want to go leading armies himself.
So he appointed an insignificant senator – Vespasian - to put down the Jewish rebellion, with 60,000 Roman troops.
His theory was that a man like Vespasian would not try to become emperor; he was the son of an equestrian tax collector, from a small Italian town.
He would be proved wrong, but only after the end of a nasty civil war, known as the year of the four emperors
B. Year of the four emperors – 69 AD
The four emperors are Galba, Vitellius, Otho, and Vespasian.
The events are complicated and bring little credit to any of the participants.
First in 68 AD, the governor of central Gaul (Gallia Lugdunensis – Vindex) revolted, but was killed by the governor of Germany who was loyal to Nero.
The Galba, a governor in Spain, was hailed emperor by his soldiers.
The Senate confirmed him, liking him because he was from the old nobility (one of the last left) and was likely to die soon (he was 71 year old, ancient by Roman standards).
We see here the two acts which made emperors - proclamation by the army and a vote by the senate.
Nero at this point was abandoned by everyone – even his praetorian guard – and, in true Roman fashion, committed suicide.
Galba managed to alienate the soldiers at Rome (refusing a donativum among other things).
The army of Germany proclaimed a new empeorr – Vitellius .
In response, Galba tried to adopt a successor – and in the process offended one his key supporters –
Otho.
Otho had been a friend of Nero, until Nero had stolen his wife and sent him to rot in Spain.
Otho now put Galba to death with the help of the praetorians .
Now it was a fight between Otho, supported by the legions in Egypt, north Africa, and Danube – and Vitellius, supported by the legions of Germany.
The senate was on Vitellius’ side.
Vespasian proclaimed
At this point, the legions in Judaea an the Danube transferred their allegience to Vespasian.
Why? (Josephus 281-2)
Vespasian, surprisingly enough, did not try to go to Rome.
He based himself in Egypt – Alexandria – and cut off the grain supply Rome got from Alexandira.
He sent the governor of Syria, his supporter (Mucianus) to march to Rome; the Danubian commander got there first.
Vitellius was defeated, and Rome invaded.
The senate at this point, approved Vespasian as emperor.
He and his sons would constitute the next imperial dynasty – the Flavians.
OK, what do we make of this? Lessons of Year of 4 emperors
Tacitus, probably the greatest Roman historian, said that "the secret of empire was discovered, namely, that the princeps could be nominated elsewhere than in Rome."
Who was doing the nomination? (legions)
(you can see this by the fact that Vespasian dated his reign from the proclamation by the army, not the appointment by the Senate)
Why would the legions want to proclaim their own emperor?
(donativum; but also to get decent general as emperor)
Were the praetorians and Senate still important – as they had been under the Julio Claudians?
(not as important as the legions)
Did the social origins of the emperors still matter?
(still need to be senator, if only just; but not noble, nor even from Rome itself)
II. FLAVIANS AS EMPERORS
A. What sort of emperor was Vespasian?
According to Tacitus, he was the first man to improve after becoming emperor.
He was a stern disciplinarian of the army, and unforgiving about payment of taxes (perhaps as result of being a tax collector’s son).
He was an unpretentious man , with a gruff soldier’s humor.
He had a dry wit – which is clear on his death bed.
When he felt himself dying, he said "Oh my, I must be turning into a god."
He lived simply; ate plain food; made fun of the diets of the some of his associates
He had married for affection, not social standing – choosing an equestrian’s daughter who had been the mistress of another man.
(This was the mother of Titus and Domitian)
Only gossip Suetonius could dig up about Vespasian:
After this wife’s death, he went back to his former mistress – Caenis (Greek name, a freedwoman).
According to Suetonius, he treated this mistress as a wife, even though it would have been illegal for him to marry her. (senators could not marry freedwomen).
Affection for this woman is the only scandal we can really dig up about Vespasian.
.
In short, he was a stern, hardworking emperor with a sense of humor.
Quite a change from Nero.
His accomplishments:
He undertook some major building campaigns in Rome which had more public use than Nero’s Domus Aurea.
On the lake within the Domus aurea, he built an amphitheatre for Rome – the Colosseum.
He also built a temple of Claudius – an emperor with whom he tried to connect himself in public opinion.
To pay for this building campaign:
Tax reform:
He revoked Greece’s tax- free status – Nero had made Greece tax free when he was performing there.
In order to fairly assess the provincial taxes, he undertook
new centuriation
Roman surveyors would go into the countryside, and impose a grid pattern on it, marking off little rectangles with lines of stone.
In many parts of the ex-Roman empire, you can still see this Roman grid pattern from aerial photography.
The point was that if a town had so many square of land of a certain quality, it had to pay a set tax – whether its inhabitants were actually growing anything on the land or not.
The Roman land tax was not a tax on actual income – but on assessed potential income.
It if fact forced people to put their land into cultivation or suffer the consequences (the notables of the town would have their property confiscated).
Vespasian’s reforms were not likely to make him popular with provincials, but they kept the army paid and Rome happy.
Perhaps his most important act was to extend the rights of half-citizenship – Latin rights – to many provincial municipia, especially in Spain.
Vespasian had two sons: Titus and Domitian.
Everybody liked Titus (except the Jews), but he died soon after becoming emperor.
Everybody disliked his brother – Domitian.
Domitian had had an unhappy childhood – his mother died when he was young, he was left alone much of the time while his father and older brother were off campaigning together.
Vespasian and Titus never let him do the important jobs.
But on Titus’ death, he was voted emperor by the Senate.
Accomplishments:
Great building campaign – more than 50 structures in Rome (including the Capitol)
Big road-builder in the provinces – (Romans in general were unsurpassed road builders, for the needs of their army).
He also continued the fortification of the empire’s borders – the limes – esp. on the Dabune
watchtower at intervals, and forts some distance behind the barrier (think of Hadrian’s wall).
Like his father, a good financial manager – if raising taxes, and keeping the empire in the black.
He tried to restore old Roman religious values – exiling the philosophers, rebuilding the temples, prohibiting mimes and farces.
Domitian’s problems lay in his relations with the Senate.
He had an inner circle of friends – amici – who he relied on for most important decision; not the senators.
He executed senators fairly frequently for treason.
The senators got their revenge
one of them , Nerva, helped assassinate Domitian and replaced him as emperor, with the help of Domitian’s own wife and the praetorian commanders (common soldiers supported Domitian).
Then the senate cursed Domitian’s memory, and order his name erased from al public monuments.
secondy, senatorial historians, went out of their way to blacken Domitian’s reputation after his death – lazy, lustful (with his own niece as his mistress) (Pliny in his small way part of this – heroism of Arria and Fabbia)
II. THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS (96 AD - 180 AD )
Flavians replaced with dynasty of “five good emperors”
What have in common:
- Provincial origin (except Nerva): They are sign of rise of the provinces – .
- they were gentle to the Senate
- they had the support of the army (except perhaps for Nerva)
- no sons (except for the last); so adopted adults to succeed them
A. Nerva
How came to power: old senator who helped assassinate Domitian; senate’s candidate 96 CE
Died within a year
.
B. Trajan 98-117.
Trajan was the first emperor to come from the provinces, instead of Italy - from family who had immigrated to southern Spain – to Baetica
One of most important Roman emperors.
In personalities, rather like Vespasian – a soldier’s emperor, unpretentious, fond of camp life, not very intellectual.
The Romans admired him excessively.
.
1. Administration:
As we know from Pliny the Younger’s correpondence, Trajan paid close attention to the routine administration of his governors – the building of canals, governance of cities, treatment of criminals.
Two of his best known domestic policies were poor relief to children, and “don’t ask / don’t tell” approach to the Christians.
1. The alimenta scheme: gave poor relief (cheap interest loans) to the guardians of poor children in Italy -–the point was to increase the birth rate. (first and last sort of welfare in Roman empire)
2. His policy towards Christians was not to pursue them unless someone else (usually the Greek citizens) brought them to the governor’s attention.
The famous letter from Pliny the Younger (a governor in Asia Minor at time) had informed Trajan that the Christians seemed to be grossly superstitutious, but not guilty of all of the crimes the Greeks were accusing them of (cannibalism).
Trajan adopted a policy of compromise: governors should not go after the Christians, but if someone else took them to court for their religion, they could still be prosecuted.
2. Foreign policy
Although a good administrator, it was his conquests which Trajan would be remembered for.
Last Roman emperor to be a successful conqueror
- Foreign policy:
Aggressive imperialism, more like late Republic than Augustus’ policy of consolidation.
He extended Roman borders on two main fronts: first Dacia, second Parthia.
- Trajan’s Conquests:
Dacian Wars
He first went against the Dacians, with a five-year war - 101 - 106 CE
The Dacians dwelt beyond the Danube, in a region which would come to be Romania (of Dracula fame).
Thanks to Trajan, they still speak a form of Latin – a Romance language.
Before the Romans conquered them, the Dacians were an Indo-European people, who had been somewhat influenced by the Greeks of the Black Sea.
Settled people – with agriculture, basic crafts like pottery making;
did not have level of economic sophistication of Romans and Greeks - They lived in wooden houses;
They little coinage.
What they had was great gold resources ; gold was what the Romans wanted from them.
Trajan’s Dacian campaigns in 101-2 , and 105-6 AD – destroyed the beginnings of a unified Dacian state, and won the last permanent province for the Romans.
He used of huge army of 100,000 to 150,000 men
He had to cut down mountains to get through the rough terrain
The main source for this war is Trajan’s column - a visual record of the war.
We can see the army in action –
coming against the Dacians in pitched battles
legionaries buidling camps and roads as they go; taking and torturing prisoners; .; setting their houses on fire.
(and Dacians doing similar things to the Romans – Dacian women torturing a Roman prisoner)
The last panels show the Dacians submitting themselves to Trajan – last of all, remnants of the Dacians leaving their homes with their animals, being relocated to become Roman subjects.
By 106 CE, Dacia was a new Roman province. – would be so for 165 years (271 Romans withdraw)
Dacia was the only one of Trajan’s conquests which the Romans kept.
Parthian wars
Trajan wanted to e Alexander – to conquer the east, the Parthians (Persian empire)
He got as far as the Tigris , and made it to the Persian Gulf (the fist and last Roman general to do so).
His navy ravaged the Arabian coasts
He received embassies from India – and perhaps China.
The result were three new provinces – Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria - but these were shortlived.
Jewish Bar Kochba revolt interrupted Trajan's further expansion: revolt (115-117)
Trajan had aggravated the Jews even more than usually making Jerusalem a formal Roman colony, with an altar of Jupiter on the site of the former Jewish temple.
He also prohibited circumcision – considering it child abuse.
(Bar Kochba led revolt)
This was the last serious Jewish revolt until the 7th century CE; Hadrian would put it down brutally
Eventual failure of these conquests – except for Dacia, the Romans would not be able to keep these new provinces, and the expense of the campaigns were resented.
Trajan helped teach the Romans that although they could probably still conquer foreign peoples – these victories were somewhat Pyrrhic – not worth the expense in the end.
C. Hadrian 117-138
Hadrian was different from Trajan in both personality and foreign policy.
In personalities, Hadrian was moody, artistic, an intellectual (a little like Nero with brains)
He loved the Greeks – physically as well as mentally.
He was the one who promoted the 2nd Sophistic - a revival of classical Greek oratory and philosophy .
He became obsessed with a young Greek man from Egypt – Antinous, which was something of an embarrassment for the Romans.
Hadrian kept Antinous as his lover with the court, and then after Antinous death, made the young man into a god.
Much more peaceful foreign policy than Trajan
Hadrian resigned eastern conquests as the first act of his reign.
He allowed Parthians to elect their kings again; withdrew Roman army from Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria.
The Euphrates was once again the eastern frontier of Rome.
Hadrian focused on defense
Hadrian had built Hadrian’s Wall as the northern frontier of the Roman empire; he saw no possible motive in conquering Scotland.
He did not try to conquer foreign peoples, but he visited the troops often – in every province,
In administration, Hadrian followed Trajan’s lead.
His biggest contribution was the reform of the Praetor’s edict.
Remember praetors were senatorial magistrates in Rome – originally – with authority to settle civil disputes.
The praetor’s edict was just an unofficial handbook praetors had been using for guidance.
Hadrian had one of his jurists (Julianus) codify and edit the praetor’s Edict.
He promoted this as official civil law for Roman citizens.
To sum up Hadrian:
Personality: Graecophile intellectual, More scandalous love life than most of the good emperors – Antinous affair.
Administered by traveling through provinces and treating Senate gently
Defensive rather than aggressive foreign policy.
D. Antoninus Pius 138-161
The fourth of the "good" emperors, Antoninus Pius, was in fact too good to say anything interesting about.
He got title Pius when he forced Senate to deify Hadrian (Senate didn’t much like Graecophile tendencies of Hadrian)
Antoninus was ally of the senate, who stayed in Italy.
His greatest achievement was keeping the empire in the black ( he even remitted taxes), and being fortunate that noone invaded the empire while he ruled.
E. Marcus Aurelius 161-180
His successor Marcus Aurelius was not so lucky.
Marcus had known from a very young age that he would be emperor – Hadrian had forced Antoninus to adopt him and his weak minded brother Verus.
But Marcus Aurelius would have preferred to be a philosopher: his Meditations are one of the most important works of Stoic philosophy written under the Romans – written in Greek.
The most important eventes under Marcus Aurelius were resurgence of foreign enemies of the Romans – both the Parthians, and the Germans , who would mean much for the rest of Roman history.
Marcus Aurelius would defeat them – but only after constant wars in the 160’s and 170’s.
He died in 180, just about to open a new campaign on the Danube.
He was succeeded by his actual, not adopted son – Commodus, and this would be a disaster for the empire.
TO SUM UP "GOOD EMPERORS"
- Why called "good"?
Nice to senate – no executions; successful at defending empire; paid attention to administration and except perhaps for Hadrian, did not have annoying personal flaws (megalomania, sexual predation, etc.)
- Perhaps single most important reason for the high quality of ruler – was lack of natural sons. Adopted effective successors.
- Kept peace through combination of aggression (Trajan), attention to military discipline, and investment of borders. But Marcus Aurelius’ reign hinted at the dangers of the future – the rise of the border peoples.
III. FOUNDING OF MUNICIPIA
One of the most important things which happened under the Flavians was the increase in the number of recognized municipia and coloniae in the provinces – this would continue in the 2nd century.
Unless you understand these towns, you don’t understand Roman imperial government.
For this enormous empire of 3 ½ million square miles, with a population of perhaps 70 million people, was governed by the towns, not by the Roman officials.
A. Cities of western Roman empire
Differences between Roman cities and our cities:
Population and commercial districts not as important: "villages" could be bigger and have more industry/shops than cities.
What mattered:
- Juridical status: only a colonia or municipium was a full, self-governing city.
Government of the municipia and coloniae:
Curia or
ordo – council of decurions
Assembly of all citizens (males)
Magistrates – duumviri chief; aediles for public works.
The magistrates and council were not paid; in fact, service was a big financial drain.g Important council members and magistrates were expected to build pbulic buidings and sponsor gaims at their own expense.
And the decurions were collectively responsible for the Roman taxes; if someone in the city had not paid their share, the decurions had to pay it.
So what are the differences between a colonia and a
municipium?
Municipia: these were originally native towns which had been granted by the emperor the status of municipium – or self-governing community.
When they became a municipium, they got a copy of the Roman municipal constitution (authored by the emperors and published as series of laws).
They had to adopt some version of this constitution.
Their leaders were Roman citizens; but most of their inhabitants were not.
Colonia: originally required a settlement of Roman citizens (usually veterans).
Citizens of Roman colonies were all Roman citizens.
These cities – whether in Spain, Africa, etc. – tended to have large rural territories.
Colonies and municipia almost always aped the public architecture of Italian cities
- The public buildings for the western Roman empire were the same as those we saw in Pompeii
(What were they? – forum with curia, basilica, Capitol; theatre; baths; water supply; sometimes walls)
B. Cities of Eastern Roman empire
A city state in the Greek east was called a polis.
Unlike Europe, the Greek east had already been urban before the Romans conquered it, and therefore kept more of their preRoman administrative structure.
These poleis were governed by a popular assembly, a council (boule), and annual magistrates.
They were more democratic than municipia –
In municipia like Rome, membership in the town council – curia (or senate) was primarily determined by the possession of wealth.
Greek cities (poleis) also differed from Roman in their physical structures.
Instead of a forum, you find an acropolis – high point, originally defensive.
And their inhabitants did not speak Latin, but Greek.
Greek was the language of administration and literature in the eastern Roman empire under the Romans; they did not try to change this - and in fact most upper class Romans spoke Greek themselves.
The Romans tolerated the Greek city-states – the poleis- within they empire, granting them the same sort of privileges as municipia.
They also helped spread them – new cities founded in the Greek East, took on a Greek form.
Regions which had never had cities in the east became urbanized under the Romans, on a Greek model.
But of course some regions did not want to urbanized on a Greek or a Roman model.
Some peoples wanted to keep their own separate institutions, without being civilized, Romanized, Hellenized, or any other sort of acculturation.
This week you will read (or have read) about one of these groups – the Jews, whose last stand at Masada is described by Josephus..
Under the Flavians, more cities began to become municipia, but still the vast majority of communities were not.
Example of how a provinces was divided up among cities:
Baetica – that province of southern Spain we talked about last week.
Under Vespasian, it had 9 colonies, 8 municipia, 29 Latin towns, 6 free towns, 3 federate towns, and 120 tributory civitates.