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INTRO TO ANCIENT ROME
Outline for
Lecture 4: From Republic to
Empire
Sulla
- defeats Marian forces in civil war (88-82).
- ruled as dictator (82-81); proscription of enemies
- goal: to restore senatorial oligarchy; to restore the
power and authority of the senate.
- but reforms were short-lived; they failed to address
underlying problems.
First Triumvirate
- political alliance between Caesar, Pompey, Crassus (60
BCE)
- power of Triumvirate based on
- the loyalty of the army (esp. to Pompey and Caesar)
- the popularity of Caesar and Pompey
- Crassus' money
- death of Crassus (53 BCE) ends the Triumvirate.
Civil War
- Pompey and Caesar at odds; the senate exploited the
rift
- meanwhile, by trying to win over Pompey to their cause
- in 50 BCE senate orders Caesar to disband his army
- 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon
- Pompey defeated decisively in Pharsalus in 48 BCE
Caesar as Dictator
- various important reforms (e.g. Julian calendar,
agrarian laws, building programs)
- 44 BCE named dictator for life, creating resentment in
upper classes
- on March 15 (the Ides of March), 44 BCE, he was killed
in the senate house.
Augustus (Octavian)
- alliance between Octavian, Antony, Lepidus: the Second
Triumvirate
- Octavian (in west) and Antony (in east, with Cleopatra)
vied for power
- Octavian declared war; victorious at Actium (31 BCE)
- Octavian (now Augustus) devises a political and
constitutional formula: he takes power without appearing
like a monarch
- 27 BCE: sham "restoration of the Republic"
-issue of succession: CE 14, the transfer of power to
Tiberius was swift, smooth
- Augustus' dynasty, the Julio- Claudians, ruled Rome
from 31 B.C. to A.D. 68
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