1 CAO HOANG TUAN Instructor: PhD.

Nguyen Ngoc Tho, History of World Civilization 2 Summer, 2012 ROMAN CIVILIZATION Due time: August 15th, 2012

THE DISCUSSED ISSUE I The first part (discussed in the last lecture) 1. How was Roman civilization in comparison with Greek civilization? - The Roman civilization is inferior to Greek civilization 2. Did Roman civilization come from inside their state? - No, it did not. Roman civilization derived in large measure from that of the Greece. 3. The origin of the ancient Romans? Indo-European. These Indo-European invaders seem to have been the ancestors of most of the so-called Italic people, including Romans. Racially they were probably related to the Hellenic invaders of Greece.

4. The Etruscans and the Greeks in Italy? The Etruscan: the natives of some parts of the Near Orient, probably Asia Minor. They had an alphabet based upon the Greece, a high degree of skill in metallurgical arts, a flourishing trade with the East, and a gloomy religion. Established no great empire. the Greeks in Italy located mainly along the southern and southwestern shores of Italy and on the island Sicily.

2 Most important settlement was Tarentum, Syracuse, Naples. From the Greece Roman derived their alphabet, a number of their religion concepts, and much of their art and mythology. 5. The founding of Rome? Actual founder: Italic peoples who lived in the district of Latium south of the Tiber River. Date: No later than 1000 BC. Traditional date, 753 BC, was the invention of later Roman writers.

6. How was the first monarchy in Rome? Patriarchal family. The king exercising a jurisdiction over his subject comparable to that of the head of the family.

7. How was the power of the king? - The King has his own power but limited by the Senate and the Assembly. 8. The political system? (the Senate, the assembly?) Assembly: composed of all the male citizens of military age. This body had an absolute veto on any proposal for a change in the law. Determined whether pardons should be granted and whether aggressive war should be declared. The Senate: Consists of the heads of the various clans. The rulers of the clans embodied the sovereign power of the state. Examine proposals of the king which had been ratified by the assembly and to veto them if they violated rights. 9. The ending of the monarchy? The end of the 6th century BC, senatorial jealously of the king increased to such a point that the monarchy was overthrown and an oligarchic republic set up. A movement of the aristocracy to gain supreme power for itself.

3 THE ISSUES TO WORK IN GROUP

II The Early Republic 1. The origin of Roman imperialism? more than two centuries the causes which led to the series of conflicts are not easy to untangle. It is possible that the overthrow of the Tarquins resulted in acts of reprisal by their kinsmen in neighboring countries. It is conceivable also that other nations on the borders took advantage of the confusion accompanying the revolution to slice off portions of Roman territory the cause which apparently led to the wars with the Volsci and the Aequi at the beginning of the fifth century First the Republic had to fight the powerful Etruscan city of Veii 390 B.C. Gauls took advantage of the temporary exhaustion of Rome to invade "the Republic. by 165 B.C. Rome had conquered the entire Italian peninsula. 2. The effects of the early military conflicts? Long service in the army forced the ordinary farmers to neglect the cultivation of the soil No need for the development of industry and as means of earning a livelihood! The Roman wars of conquest

enslaved the nation to the military ideal and thereby retarded cultural growth. 3. How was the Roman society and culture at the early stage? writing had been adopted as early as the sixth century, little use was made of it accept for the copying

of laws, treaties, and funerary inscription and orations. majority of the people were still illiterate War and agriculture continued as the chief occupations for the bulk of the citizens

4. How was the religion?

4 Resembled the religion of the Greeks, same source Jupiter corresponded roughly to Zeus as god of the sky, Minerva to Athena as patroness of crafts- men, Venus to Aphrodite as goddess of love, Neptune to Poseidon at god of the tea, and so on. III The Punic Wars 1. Causes of the War with Carthage? Carthage had a civilization superior in luxury and scientific attainment to that of Rome when the struggle between the two countries began. 2. Who was the Carthagians? Carthage is a great maritime empire which stretched along the northern coast of Africa from Numidia

to the Strait of Gibraltar. Cathage had originally been founded in the ninth century B.C. as a Phoenician colony. The Carthaginians appear to have had no conception of free and orderly government

3. The first Punic War? The initial clash with Carthage began in 264 B.C. The primary cause was Roman jealousy over Carthaginian expansion in Sicily. Rome declared war upon Carthage with the hope of forcing her back into her African domain. Twenty-three years of fighting finally brought victory to the Roman generals. Carthage was compelled to

surrender her possessions in Sicily and to pay an indemnity of 3200 talents, or about 2 million dollars at 1957 silver prices. 4. The second Punic War? In 218 B.C. the Romans interpreted the Carthaginian attempt to rebuild an empire in Spain as a threat to their interests and responded with a declaration of war. sixteen years Carthage was more completely humbled than before. 5. The third Punic War?

5 In 149 B.C. the Senate dispatched an ultimatum demanding that the Carthaginians abandon their city and settle at least ten miles from the coast. The result was the Third Punic War, which was fought between 149 and 146 B.C 6. The results of the Punic Wars? they brought her into conflict with eastern Mediterranean powers and thereby paved the way for world dominion Rome sent an army into the East. The result was the conquest of Greece and Asia Minor and the establishment of a protectorate over Egypt. The conquest of the Hellenistic East led to the introduction of semi-Oriental ideas and customs into Rome. (1) a marked increase in slavery due to the capture and sale of prisoners of war; (2) the decline of the small farmer as a result of the establishment of the plantation system in conquered areas and the influx of cheap grain from the provinces; (3) the growth of a helpless city mob composed of impoverished farmers and workers displaced by slave labor; (4) the appearance of a middle class comprising merchants, moneylenders, and publicans or men who held government contracts to operate mines, build roads, or collect taxes; (5) an increase in luxury and vulgar display, particularly among the parvenus who fattened on the profits of war.

IV The Storm and Stress of the Late Republic 1. The new turbulence? From the end of the Punic Wars in 146 BC to the accession of Julius Caesar. Bitter class conflicts, assassinations, desperate struggles between rival dictators, wars, insurrections were all to common occurrences of this time. Slaves contributed their part to the general disorder.

2. The revolt of Gracchi and its significances? Gracchi: the spokesmen for the landless farmers against the senatorial aristocracy.

6 a law limiting the amount of land which any person might hold 3. The struggle between Pompey and Caesar The most famous of them were Pompey and Julius Caesar. For a time they pooled their energies and resources in a plot to gain control of the government Pompey won fame as the conqueror of Syria and Palestine, while Caesar devoted his talents to a series of brilliant forays against the Gauls Pompey was defeated and soon afterward was murdered by agents of the king of Egypt. 4. Caesars triumph and his downfall? After dallying for a season at the court of Cleopatra in Egypt, Caesar returned to Rome. In 46 b.c he became dictator for ten years, and in the following year for life he was assassinated in 44 b.c. by a group of conspirator, under the leadership of Brutus and Cassius, representing the old aristocracy.

5. Caesars achievements? Caesar carried out numerous reforms With the lid of a Greek astronomer he revised the official calendar so as to bring it into harmony with the Egyptian solar calendar of 365 days, with an extra day added every fourth year. He investigated

extravagance in the distribution of public grain and reduced the number of recipients by more than 50 per cent. He made plan for codification of the law and increased the penalty for criminal offenses. By conferring citizenship upon thousands of Spaniards and Gauls. He settled a great many of his veterans and a considerable proportion of the urban poor on unused lands

V Sophisticated Rome 1. How was Rome under Hellenistic influences?

7 The result that Hellenistic influences brought about a modest flowering of intellectual activity and a futher impetus to social change beyond what the Punic War had occurred. Several of the components of the Hellenistic pattern of culture were never adopted by the Roman at all. ( Eg: science, art) The science of the Hellenistic Age was largely ignored 2. Roman Epicureanism? The most renowned of the Roman exponents was Lucretius 3. Stoic philosophy of Cicero? - Cicero ( 106 43 BC), the famous orator and statesman. - Cicero derived far more of his ideas from the Stoics than from any other source. - Chief ethical writings: On Duty & Tusculan Disputations : reflect the doctrines of Zeno and his school. - Ethical philosophy: Virtue is sufficient for happiness, tranquility of mind is the highest good. - Ideal man: the one who has been guided by reason to an indifference toward sorrow and pain. - Political philosophy: denied that the state is superior to the individual, government had its origin in a compact among men for their mutual protection. 4. The Roman literary progress? In political philosophy Cicero went considerably beyond the earlier Stoics. He was one of the first to deny that the state is superior to the individual and taught that government had its origin in a compact among men for their mutual protection. The comedies The passionate lyrics The histories The letters, essays, and orations of Cicero

VII Culture and Life in the Period of the Principate

8 1. Cultural progress This period witnessed also the feeble awakening of an interest in science, the growth of a distinctive

art, and the production of the best literary works. 2. Achievement in arts Distinctive character as an expression of the national life from the Hellenic East. Conquering armies

brought back to Italy wagonloads of statues, reliefs, and marble columns as part of the plunder from Greece and Asia Minor. These became the property of wealthy publicans and bankers and were used to embellish their

sumptuous mansions. 3. Main achievements in science The achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and to the organization

of public services. 4. Signs of moral decay Divorce is common 32,000 prostitutes, homosexuality, crimes of violence, the passion for cruelty,

the gladiatorial combats, the course of a single exhibition. VIII Late Empire Main features/events only From 284 to 476 A.D, accession of Diocletian in 284, the government of Rome undisguised

autocracy. Constantine I (306 337), Julian (361 363), and Theodosius I (379 395). Constantine of a new

capital, called Constantinople. A generation after Constantines death the Emperor Julian attempted to stimulate a pagan reaction. The first of its basic teachings was emanationism: everything that exists proceeds from God. God have burned themselves out, as the symbol of evil and darkness. The second, the soul of man, a part of God separated from him through its union with matter.

9 The highest goal of life mystic reunion with the divine. Asceticism, the third main. The real founder of Neo-Platonism was Plotinus, in Egypt about 204 A.D. His principle successors diluted the philosophy with more and more bizarre superstitions. Neo-Platonism became so popular in Rome in the third and fourth centuries A.D.

IX Decay and decline 1. The historical events In 476 A.D. the last of the emperors in the West. The fall of Rome, extended over a period of two centuries. Pagan culture of Rome from the middle of the third century belonging to the Dark Ages. 2. Main causes The creation of the city mob, growth of slavery, strife between classes and the widespread political corruption. The barbarian invasions, exhaustion of the resources of the state influx of alien ideas. The third and fourth centuries A.D: (1) the disappearance of money from circulation and the return to a natural economy; (2) the decline of industry and commerce; (3) the growth of serfdom and the rise of an extralegal feudalism; (4) the extension of government control over a large portion of the economic sphere; (5) the transition from a regime of individual initiative to a regime of hereditary status. Unfavorable balance of trade which Italy suffered in her commerce with the provinces. Salaries had to be paid in food and clothing. X The Roman heritage 1. Roman culture and modern world Rome is nearer to us in time than any of the other civilizations of antiquity

10 Roman seems to bear such a close kinship to the modern temper. The Roman economic evolution progressed all the way from a simple agrarianism to a complex

urban system with problems of unemployment, monopoly, gross disparities of wealth, and financial crises. 2. The Roman concept of a world empire Hellenic empires Under the Pax Romana none of the smaller nations was really master of its own fate. the Mediterranean Sea had become a Roman lake. Pax Romana provided much of die inspiration for the Pax Britannica of the nineteenth century. At the end of the nineteenth century many Americans also fell under the spell of the Pax Ramona. ----- THE END OF THE ASSIGNMENT --------