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ANCIENT AND : AN OVERVIEW

DR LEWIS WEBB, CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY AND / ANTIKENS KULTUR OCH SAMHÄLLSLIV

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Structure

Introduction Civilization? Why study and Rome? Primary sources Secondary sources Ancient Greece

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Civilization?

What is civilization? ‘Civilization’ often equated with ‘society’. Culturally-bound concept. Always contested and argued over. Often used to hierarchise and judge societies, e.g. one civilization is judged more ‘civilized’ than another. Arrogant, paternalistic, Euro-centric view: Kenneth Clark, 1969, Civilisation: https://youtu.be/JxEJn7dWY60?t=213 ‘I think I can recognise it when I see it ’.

Oxford English Dictionary s.v. civilisation (3 a-c): 1. The state or condition of being civilized; human cultural, social, and intellectual development when considered to be advanced and progressive in nature. Also in extended use. 2. The culture, society, and way of life of a particular country, region, epoch, or group. 3. A particular culture, society, and way of life as characteristic of a community of people; (also) a civilized society.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Civilization? Even in antiquity, Greek and Roman communities contrasted their own societies with others, deeming their own to be more civilized and others ‘barbaric’, for example Greek communities and the Persians, and Romans and the Celtic and Germanic communíties. : βάρβαρος (barbaros) – non-Greek, foreign. : barbarus – non-Greek, non-Roman, foreign, strange; civis – citizen; civitas – citizenship, community, polity; civilis – citizen-like, civil, polite, urbane.

Prof. Mary Beard (Cambridge) in Civilisations: How do we look (2018): “I am even more concerned than [Kenneth] Clark with the discontents and debates around the idea of civilisation, and with how that rather fragile concept is justified and defended. One of its most powerful weapons has always been ‘barbarity’: ‘we’ know that ‘we’ are civilised by contrasting ourselves with those we deem to be uncivilised, with those who do not – or cannot be trusted to – share our values. Civilisation is a process of exclusion as well as inclusion. The boundary between ‘us’ and ‘them’ may be an internal one (for much of world history the idea of a ‘civilised woman’ has been a contradiction in terms), or an external one, as the word ‘barbarian’ suggests; it was originally a derogatory and ethnocentric ancient Greek term for foreigners you could not understand, because they spoke in an incomprehensible babble: ‘bar-bar-bar ...’ The inconvenient truth, of course, is that so-called ‘barbarians’ may be no more than those with a different view from ourselves of what it is to be civilised, and of what matters in human culture. In the end, one person’s barbarity is another person’s civilisation.”

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Civilization?

‘Civilization’ used in Europe in to acclaim and denote so-called ‘advanced’ cultures. For example, the concept was weaponized in imperialist and colonialist rhetoric in the 19th century (and even to this day e.g. ‘Western civilization’). Used to distinguish between so-called ‘civilized Europe’ and so-called ‘primitive’ societies of the East (termed the ‘Orient’ in this rhetoric). Here we use the term ‘civilization’ in a restrictive sense to denote past societies in prehistoric times and antiquity with certain characteristic features: a society that reached a certain degree of political, economic, social, and cultural development. 1. Political: societies that were governed by with military apparatus. Bureaucracy and administration. 2. Economic: societies had a tax and/or tribute system, allowing for food surplus. Craftspeople. Trade system. 3. Social: societies that were socially differentiated into different groups and had social control apparatuses/mechanisms. 4. Cultural: societies that had a written culture (not all). Common religion/religious practices with religious centres controlled by priests. Religion legitimized and hierarchies. Theocracies. Monumental architecture, e.g., pyramids, palaces, temples.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Civilization?

When humans began to cultivate land and settle, such ‘civilizations’ arose. This so-called domestication process occurred at different times over the earth, from roughly 8000–2000 BCE. Examples of early civilizations follow. Several of the earliest arose in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ (present day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt).

Examples:

1. Egypt (around the Nile Delta): ca. 3200–30 BCE.

2. Mesopotamia (between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers). – Sumerians: ca. 2900–2300 BCE (Early Dynastic Period, communities included e.g., Ur, Uruk, Lagash). – Babylonians: ca. 2000–1600 BCE (Old Babylonian Period; famously Hammurabi’s conquests and his law code). – Assyrians: ca. 1900–1700 BCE (Old Assyrian Period).

3. . Minoans: 2600–1100 BCE.

4. Greek mainland. Myceneans: 1700–1050 BCE.

Many others: Indus Valley Civilization/Harappan Civilization (present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, around Indus River), ca. 3300–1300 BCE; Shang and Zhou dynasties (present day China, around Yellow River region), 1600–256 BCE; Maya Civilization, ca. 250–900 CE (present day Mexico and Central America); Inca Empire, 1438–1532 CE (present day Peru).

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Civilization?

How did these civilizations emerge? Various theories.

1. Ecology, e.g. fertile soil and food supply. Not all civilizations have these. 2. Technology, e.g. irrigation and metal production. Irrigation and ‘Hydraulic states’. 3. Military, e.g., defensible area, superior weapon technology, warrior elite, resources. 4. Trade. e.g., strategic area for trade-exchange. Long-distance trade. Cultural impulses from exchanges/external relations stimulated technological developments. 5. Religion, e.g., strong state-legitimizing religion. Community, legitimation of ideology, priests, bureaucracy, administration. Importance in all of these ‘civilizations’. Often accompanied by monumental architecture. Emergence through interaction of these factors.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Why study Ancient Greece and Rome?

Prof. Dan-el Padilla Peralta (Princeton): “the societies of ancient Greece and Rome oversaw the rise and development of literary, artistic, philosophical, political, legal, and scientific projects that have shaped—and remain vitally important to—contemporary life.”

Prof. Mary Beard (Cambridge): “Roman debates have given us a template and a language that continue to define the way we understand our own world and think about ourselves, from high theory to low comedy…many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, beauty, and even humour, have been formed, and tested, in dialogue with the Romans and their writing.”

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Why study Ancient Greece and Rome?

Much of European literature and arts go back, in many instances to the and Romans. Many major philosophical and religious questions that we struggle with today arose in the Greek and Roman world. European political language, structures, and principles often have a Greek or Roman heritage. Legal language and structures in European societies are often indebted to Greek and . Modern science owes a major debt to the scientists of Greece and Rome: e.g. astronomy, biology, geometry, and mathematics. Greek and Roman thinkers set the terms of theoretical discussions for millennia. Just ‘dead white guys’? No! A diverse array of peoples and cultures. Broadly: interdisciplinarity, rigour, and perspective.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Primary sources

Material Written

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Secondary sources

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG ANCIENT GREECE Politics and Culture

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Chronology

Ancient Greece (BA): ca. 3500–1100 BCE Mycenean Civilization (BA): ca. 1700–1050 BCE ‘Dark Ages’: ca. 1100–776 BCE Archaic Period: 776–479 BCE Classical Period: 479–323 BCE : 323–31 BCE Roman Period: 146 BCE ()–1453 CE

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Ancient Greece

Why study Ancient Greece? (Cultural, political, and ideological impact on later times) How did Ancient Greek cultures spread? (Migration and colonisation) What were the political systems? (, Tyranny, Oligarchy, ) How, and why, did Greek democracy emerge? What were the social conditions like? What was the impact of Greece on Rome?

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Why study Ancient Greece?

Politics Greek democracy. Unique! Influenced many other states, including Rome and beyond. Science Greek philosophy, science, and medicine: , , , , , , , . Greek concepts: politics, philosophy, art, literature, and science. Culture History - ἱστορία, historia, an inquiry Greek literature, art, history, and drama: e.g., , , (Persian Wars), , (Peloponnesian Wars between and ), , , , (Rise of Rome). Greek religion: Impacted and spread to numerous other cultures. : e.g., history, geography, orchestra, gymnastics, church, school, meter, kilogram, tyranny, philosophy, tragedy etc. Ancient Greek cultures were influenced and developed in interaction with numerous other civilizations, including the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Persians. Spread throughout Europe, , and , not just by Greeks, but many other cultures, including Muslims.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Mycenaean Civilization

ca.1700–1050 BCE (in Bronze Age, 3000–1200 BCE) Aggressive warrior culture. Dominated Aegean. Monarchic (, wanax). Palace centres: Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, and Thebes. Writing system: . Homer: Struggles between Mycenae and (Iliad and Odyssey). Reflect 8th century BCE, not the Bronze Age. Mycenae, Tiryns, and Troy discovered by Heinrich Schliemann. Collapse of Mycenaean palace centres in 1200 BCE: internal economic and social issues, invasions and migration (Sea People), change in weaponry and warfare (iron), earthquakes, climate change.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG ‘Dark Ages’ ca. 1100–776 BCE Mycenaean collapse and cessation of Linear B. Absence of archaeological and textual evidence. Orality that gave rise to epic poems treating the human and the divine. Homer’s Iliad ( – Mycenaean memories) and Odyssey (’ homecoming, nostos, to Ithaca). ’s Theogony (origin of gods) and Work and Days (gods and humans). Migration and resettlement of peoples throughout Mediterranean. Spread of Greek cultures.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Homer and Hesiod

Homer Odyssey 1–11 Hesiod Theogony 1–21 Odysseus’ homecoming, nostos. Tr. Wilson. Olympian Gods. Tr. Dillon and Garland. Tell me about a complicated man. Let us begin our song with the Helikonian muses Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost Who dwell on Helikon, the great and holy mountain And around the violet spring on their soft feet when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, Dance, circling the altar of the mighty son of Kronos. [...] and where he went, and who he met, the pain Praise to aegis-bearing Zeus and queenly he suffered in the storms at sea, and how Of Argos, who walks on golden sandals, he worked to save his life and bring his men And the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, grey-eyed Athena, back home. He failed to keep them safe; poor fools, To Phoibos and Artemis who delights in arrows, they ate the Sun God’s cattle, and the god , earth-holder and earth-shaker, Revered Themis and quick-glancing , kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus, Golden-crowned Hebe and fair Dione, tell the old story for our modern times. Leto, Iapetos and Kronos of cunning counsel, Find the beginning. Dawn, great Sun and bright Moon, Earth and great Oceanos and black Night And all the sacred race of the deathless immortals.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Archaic Period

776–479 BCE

Textual sources more common.

Age of the development of the Greek city-state, (plural. poleis).

A polis was variable in form, but typically included a small city, an elevated area with temples and other religious structures, the akropolis, a public square or market-place surrounded by public buildings, the , sanctuaries, and the surrounding countryside. Major poleis include Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth.

Mycenaean gave way to tyrannies, oligarchies, and in these poleis. Under tyranny, power lay in the hands of a single man, a tyrannos, . Under oligarchy (the rule of a few, oligarkhia), power lay in the hands of a few wealthy, influential families, aristocrats, the aristoi (literally: the best). Under democracy (demokratia, people power), power lay in the hands of a broader group of male citizens (frequently excluding women, enslaved persons, and foreigners).

Poleis relied on citizen armies of (, typically aristocratic citizens) and heavily armed infantrymen known as (hoplites, other citizens) for protection.

The rise of poleis coincided with increasing prosperity, population growth, and demands for food. Resulting social and political tensions, including famine and rebellions, led to one of the major features of the Archaic Period: .

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Greek Colonization

In the Archaic Period, Greeks travelled and formed colonies throughout the Mediterranean, spreading Greek cultures. Included establishment of a colony (apoikia), or trading post (emporion). Expansion of agriculture and trade. Often intentional, organized colonization ventures planned by a polis or the departure of the losers of a particular conflict in a polis.

Colonised far and wide! , in , , France, Spain, Libya, Egypt, the Black Sea, and Asia Minor. Major colonies or trading posts. In the West, Syracuse, , Tarentum, Messalia, and Saguntum: wheat (Gaul, Spain), iron (Italy), and amber (Gaul). In the South, Cyrene (cattle) and Naucratis (wheat). In the East, Pontic colonies and . Greeks became prominent traders, competing with Phoenicians from the Levant.

Consequences: social, cultural, and economic. Social. Emergence of new social groups (e.g. merchants and craftsmen) with financial power. Emergence of soldiers who purchased their own weapons and armour – less dependent on aristocrats. These new groups demanded increasing rights, including written legislation. Previously law was the province of aristocrats, but written legislation marked the beginning of a legal society, one of the prerequisites for democracy. Cultural. Through colonization, Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean. Greek language spread. Opposition between Hellenes and Barbaroi (onomatopoeia – foreign language). Greeks influenced by multiple other cultures, e.g. Phoenicians and Egyptians, but collective identity strong: rise of Panhellenism. Economic. Colonisation led to increased trade and beginning of monetary economies.

These changes threatened established aristocracies. The governance in many poleis transitioned from oligarchy to tyranny.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Tyranny!

Tyranny flourished in Greek poleis in the 600–500s BCE. Famous : Pheidon of Argos, Cypselus and Periander of Corinth, Cleisthenes of Sicyon, Pisistratus, Hippias, and of Athens, Hieron and Dionysius of Syracuse. Tyrants typically belonged to major aristocratic families. Tyrants took advantage of aristocratic warfare and demagoguery (seeking popular support). Supported the people (demos) against the aristocracy. In exchange for support, the people provided military support for the tyrant in his warfare. Tyrants often encouraged and funded national cults, building projects, arts, and literature. They were ‘great builders’. Social (new social groups and new demands), economic (growing prosperity), and military changes coincided to foster tyranny. Primary explanation for the rise of tyranny is military. Prior to the Archaic Period, the aristocracy had dominated warfare with their cavalry and fighting methods: the survival of communities depended on aristocrats. However, hoplite warfare appeared in the Archaic Period, which involved groups of foot soldiers (hoplites) armed with swords, spears, heavy armour, and shields, who fought together in . This form of warfare was a repudiation of aristocratic warfare and corresponded to the political repudiation of aristocratic regimes by tyrants. Tyrants entrenched and maintained their power with these hoplites.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Tyranny!

Tyrant’s came to power through violence and were dependent on hoplites. Hoplites thus became politically important. Hoplites were an organized citizen army and included, e.g., merchants and farmers who could afford their own weapons and armour. These citizen soldiers weakened aristocratic power, especially as tyrants were highly dependent on them, as opposed to other aristocratic families. Hoplites began to have influence through political institutions in various poleis. Their popular influence could lead to democratic reforms: some scholars even refer to the emergence of ‘hoplite democracy’. The people (demos) had a voice. Tyrannies did not last: they typically emerged during transitional phases of poleis, creating order out of chaos. Notably, the polis of Sparta did not have a tyranny until the Hellenistic Period.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Classical Period

479–323 BCE 500/490–479 BCE: Persian Wars (Greece and Persia). 431–404 BCE: Peloponnesian War (Athens and Sparta). 404–323 BCE: Macedonian Hegemony. 323 BCE: Death of . Emergence of democracy in Athens. Political and cultural highpoint for the polis of Athens. Political. Democracy develops in Athens. Greeks Mediterranean. Cultural. Spread of Greek culture throughout Mediterranean. Philosophy of Socrates and Plato. Drama of , Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Euripides. Science of Aristotle. Histories of Herodotus and Thucydides. Athens: and social structure. Sparta: Spartan mixed constitution and social structure.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Athenian democracy Athenian democracy (demokratia – people, demos, and power, kratos). Distribution of power among (some) people. Direct democracy. Power was only given to citizen males in , not women or foreigners or enslaved persons. Institutions of Athenian democracy: 1. Ekklesia: Citizen Assembly of male citizens that met in the Pnyx 2. : Administrative Council of 500 members selected by lot 3. Eliaia: People’s Courts with jurors selected by lot 4. : Council of aristocrats/ex-magistrates (Archons) 5. Elected Magistrates. Primary democratic reforms in Athens were undertaken by: 1. in his archonship of 594/3 BCE: abolition of debt slavery, division of Athenians into four property classes with wealth-based political rights, public lawsuits and courts, publication of new law code. 2. Cleisthenes in his archonship of 508 BCE: reorganisation of citizen body into 139 demes, increase of the size of the boule, and institution of . Isonomia. 3. Ephialtes in ca. 460s BCE: led political attacks on Areopagus, supported by , and had its juridical powers transferred to the boule and the eliaia. 4. Pericles in ca. 450s BCE: introduction of jury pay. Overall, they constituted a transfer of political power from the aristocracy to various popular institutions, equality before the law (isonomia), and broader political rights for the people. Reforms driven by need for citizen soldiers during conflicts (e.g. Persian Wars).

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Athenian social structure

Reforms of Solon in 594/3 BCE. Timocracy (timokratia, rule by assessment): Four property classes as basis for political rights. 1. Pentakosiomedimnoi: Aristocracy, generals. 2. Hippeis: cavalry. 3. Zeugitai: hoplites. 4. Thetes: workers. Metoikos: foreigners Women Douloi: enslaved persons – largest % population Greek polis-societies based on household (). Oikos - free people and enslaved persons, male citizen in charge. Women (esp. elite Athenian) expected to live inside house. Not a monolithic experience (working women, sex workers).

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Spartan mixed constitution and social structure

Archaic and Classical Sparta had a so-called mixed constitution with power distributed between monarchic (dual kingship), oligarchic (, ephoroi), and democratic elements (, ephoroi). Mixed constitution attributed to the lawgiver Lycurgus in the 9th century BCE. Institutions privileged citizen males and excluded women, foreigners, and enslaved persons. Institutions of Spartan mixed constitution. 1. A dual kingship: Two (basileis) 2. Ephoroi: a board of five elected magistrates, . 3. Gerousia: a council of elders. 4. Apella: a citizen assembly (apella). Sparta maintained this system with an oppressive, hierarchical social structure based on citizenship status: 1. Homoioi: , own land and vote. 2. Spartan women and children. 3. Perioikoi: Laconians. Hypomeiones: Spartans without full citizen rights. 4. Heilotes: enslaved persons – largest % population.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Macedonian Hegemony and beyond

Peloponnesian War: 431–404 BCE. Sparta won. Devastating effect on Athenian democracy. Numerous citizens died. Athens declined in power. Monarchy arose again in Greece. Macedonian Hegemony under King Philip II of Macedon’s reign from 359–336 BCE. His son, Alexander the Great, conquered vast tracts of Asia and established a short-lived Empire. After his death in 323 BCE, this Empire was divided into a number of smaller kingdoms, notably Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia. Hellenistic Period: 323–31 BCE. Economic decline and dwindling trading power of Greek poleis. Roman conquest, marked by destruction of last major free polis, Corinth, in 146 BCE. Greece incorporated into . ‘End’ or ‘transformation’ of Ancient Greek civilization. Graecia capta.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Greece and Rome

Greece spread culture throughout the Roman Empire. Numerous Greek enslaved persons and hostages (Polybius) greatly influenced the development of Roman culture. Alexander the Great inspired many Roman generals (). Politics. Greek political institutions influenced the development of Roman Republican political institutions. Finance and administration: The Romans often used Greeks to develop and support their growing bureaucracy. Culture and religion. Greek religion influenced Roman religion (cults, deities, oracles, religious practices). Literature, art, and architecture influenced and impacted Rome. Romans spread Greek culture throughout Europe. Highly educated Romans often spoke in Greek. The Eastern Roman Empire wrote and spoke in Greek! . Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit (Captured Greece captured its savage conqueror, Hor. Ep. 2.1.156)

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG ANCIENT ROME Politics and Culture

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Chronology Ancient Rome : 753–509 BCE : 509–31/27 BCE – Early Republic: 509–264 BCE – Middle Republic: 264–133 BCE – Late Republic: 133–31/27 BCE Roman Empire: 31/27 BCE–1453 CE – : 31/27 BCE–284 CE . to the Antonines: 31/27 BCE–192 CE – Crisis of the Third Century: 200–284 CE . to Constantine: 193–337 CE – ‘Dominate’: 284–476 CE . ‘’: 293–324 CE . Division into Western and Eastern Roman Empire: 395 CE . Sack of Rome: 410 CE . End of : 476 CE ( Augustus) – Western Roman Empire: 395–476 CE. – Eastern Roman Empire: 395–1453 CE

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Ancient Rome

Why study Ancient Rome? How far did Rome expand? What were the forms of political governance and some of the social conditions in the Republic and Empire? Did the Roman Empire fall? What is Rome’s heritage?

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Why study Ancient Rome?

A unique phenomenon in world history: lasted more than two millennia. Politics Roman political systems, concepts, and ideologies influenced, and continue to influence, governments throughout the world: Republic, senators, voting, secret ballots, , equality, liberty, virtue etc. Culture Roman literature, art, history, and drama influenced European cultures: e.g. , , , , Sulpicia, , Horace, , Seneca, , , , , and . Roman law is the basis for many European legal systems. The Church propagated Latin and Roman culture throughout Europe and beyond in Late Antiquity. Latin was the religious, legal, literary, and scientific language for centuries after 1453 CE. Many European languages influenced by Latin (e.g. English, Spanish, French, Italian etc.).

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman expansion

Advanced military technologies and effective administration of conquered territories. Foundation of later Roman Empire laid 499–50 BCE through various major external conflicts in the Republic: Conquest of Italy: 499–270 BCE. Wars with , , Aequi, Volsci, Samnites, Gauls, Etruscans, Umbrians, Pyrrhus. Punic and Macedonian Wars: 264–146 BCE. Three major wars with : the . Four wars with . Carthage and Corinth sacked in 146 BCE. Social Wars: 91–88 BCE. War with Italian allies. Mithridatic and Gallic Wars: 88–50 BCE. Three wars with Mithridates VI. Various wars with Gaul and . Through these wars Rome obtained vast wealth and slaves. By 146 BCE, they controlled the Mediterranean: Mare nostrum.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman expansion Carthage as major antagonist and competitor of Rome from 264–146 BCE. Phoenician colony founded from Tyre in ca. 814/13 BCE. Major power from 600s–146 BCE. Controlled trade in the Mediterranean. The Punic Wars forged Rome and led to the decline of Carthage over the 200s BCE and its destruction in 146 BCE. Famous leaders: . Cato. Clamaret omni senatu Carthaginem delendam (he shouted at every Senate meeting: “let Carthage be destroyed!”, Plin. HN 15.74).

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman expansion

Greatest extent of expansion under the in 98–117 CE. From England to Mesopotamia, from Romania to Morocco, from Spain to Egypt. Larger and more enduring than Alexander the Great’s Empire and far more enduring than the larger Mongol Empire. Endured for millennia. Eastern Roman Empire lasted until 1453 CE when was captured by the Ottomans.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic

Republic from ca 509–31/27 BCE Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) Constitution evolved over time. By 2nd century BCE it was a Mixed Constitution: Monarchic (magistrates), aristocratic (Senate), democratic (assemblies) Checks and balances on power Institutions of Magistrates: and potestas Senate: 300, 600, 900 senators Assemblies: the People

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic Course of offices Annual elections – finances Plebeian – legislation, intercession (Curule, Plebeian) – markets, festivals, temples – legal cases, city management, imperium Consul – warfare, supreme power, imperium *Censor – census, Senate, public morals, 18 months *Dictator – supreme power, imperium, 6 months Patricians and Patricians – hereditary aristocrats Plebeians – aristocrats and commoners

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic

Social structure Timocracy and timocratic voting order in by ca. 200–100s BCE.

Class Property Rating Votes Military [asses] [193] Hereditary (100,000+) 12 Officers, cavalry First Class 100,000+ 80 Cavalry Patricians (sex suffragia) Hereditary (100,000+) 6 Officers, cavalry Engineers 100,000+ 2 Infantry Second Class 75,000 20 Infantry Third Class 50,000 20 Infantry Fourth Class 25,000 20 Infantry Fifth Class 12,500 30 Infantry Musicians 12,500 2 Infantry Proletariat Under 12,500 1 Slaves

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic

Roman family (familia, part of a clan, ) Oldest male in familia, , had absolute legal authority Paternal and disciplinary authority, patria potestas and manus Married sons, their wives and children Unmarried sons and daughters Ownership, dominium, over enslaved persons Owned all family property and held all legal rights Marriage Daughters and authority of pater familias Cum manu marriage – authority of husband’s pater familias Sine manu marriage – authority of their pater familias Values Respect for elders, family and religious obligations, pietas Family ancestors and ancestral custom, Respect for elder Roman politicians, seriousness, Roman conservatism and freedom (libertas) Roman women had more autonomy than Athenian women. Citizens without the vote. Legally under power of pater familias or other men, but practically had influence and power. Public lives, business, and politics.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic Patronage System Patron (patronus/patrona) Client (cliens) Patron provides benefits to client, beneficia Land to , legal help, food and money Client had duties to patron, officia Followed in war, voted for patron, salutatio Entourage, supported financially Clients eventually included freedmen, foreigners, nations Protected by Roman law Complex patronage networks

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Empire – Principate Principate from ca 27 BCE – 284 CE Monarchy with Republican trappings Augustus Ruled by (first citizen) , Augustus, Powers of the plebeian tribune and consul Appoints Senate – military commanders Legates – provincial governers Procurators – provincial financial officers

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Empire – ‘Dominate’ Dominate from ca 284 – 476 CE Despotic monarchs, master, dominus Power sharing. Tetrarchy, ca 293 – 324 CE Geographic administrative divisions Western and Eastern Roman Empire Western and Eastern capitals, ca. 317 – 476 CE Rome and Constantinople Split rule 364 CE, split 395 CE Fall of Western Roman Empire, 476 CE Bureaucratic administration Regional – Praetorian Prefects Central – Magister Officiorum Imperial Household

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman Republic and Empire Shifting governments Changes in empire 509 – 27 BCE Republic – Mixed constitution Monarchic, aristocratic, democratic Annual magistracies, families, patronage 27 BCE – 476 CE Empire – Monarchy Principate – Monarchy with Republican elements ’Dominate’ – Despotic monarchy

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Did the Roman Empire ‘fall’?

Contraction of Roman Empire: 3rd century CE Division into West and East: 395 CE End of Western Roman Empire: 476 CE Romulus Augustus, Final Western Flavius , King of Italy E. Gibbon (1776) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire G. Bowersock (1996): “From the eighteenth century onward we have been obsessed with the fall: it has been valued as an archetype for every perceived decline and, hence, as a symbol of our own fears.” Cultural transformation

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Crisis of the Third Century

Third Century CE Response to external threats 50 provinces Civil wars Legions proclaim commanders Roman Empire threatened Secession in 260 CE Gallo-Celtic West Palmyrene East Conflict with Goths Aurelian reunites Empire Restitutor orbis in 272-4 CE Changing religious needs

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Tetrarchy Resolution of Crisis of the Third Century Diocletian and Constantius I Tetrarchy: 293–324 CE Senior (Augusti) and junior (Caesares) co-emperors Enlargement of army Reformation of tax system Provinces split into 100 units New administrative unit: 12 Dioceses Vast bureaucracy Diocletian’s edicts of persecution (religious) Breakdown of Tetrarchy in one generation Civil wars

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Constantine and Christianity Constantine I Son of Constantius I Co-emperor from 306 – 324 CE Fought battles with other Tetrarchs Sole emperor from 324 CE Christianity Edict of Toleration: 311 CE Battle of Milvian Bridge: 312 CE ἐν τούτῳ νίκα () / in hoc signo vinces Edict of Milan: 313 CE From toleration to preferred cult Emperor as ruler appointed by God Divine authority, harsh changes justified

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Constantinople Constantinople Constantine I Asia (Turkey) Founded in 324 CE Inaugurated in 330 CE Seven hills Senate New Rome, Nova Eastern shift of Roman Empire New capital Politics, economy, religion, culture Greek

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Division

Fragile unity of empire Death of Constantine I in 337 CE Warfare between sons Succession of dynasties Emperors in West and East Theodosius I Death in 395 CE Succeeded by sons Formal division in 395 CE Arcadius, Eastern Roman Emperor Honorius, Western Roman Emperor Spheres of control consolidated Political and religious differences

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Western Roman Empire Visigoths Rise of Alaric I Fought for and against Rome Death of Theodosius Cessation of Visigoth treaty of 382 CE Wars and alliances between Alaric and Stilicho Execution of Stilicho by Honorius in 408 CE Last bastion of the Western Roman Empire Sack of Rome: 410 CE Alaric sieged Rome in 408, 409, 410 CE Sacked in 410 CE for three days St. to Principia: Capitur urbs, quae totum cepit orbem (“the city which had taken the whole world was itself taken”, Jerome, Ep. 127.12)

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Western Roman Empire Turmoil: 405 – 418 CE Invasions Loss of Hispania and Gaul Civil wars Death throes: 424 – 476 CE Vandals take Carthage in 439 CE Attila and the Hunnic invasion, 444 – 453 CE Flavius Odoacer and Romulus Augustus Deposes Romulus Augustus in 476 CE Sends Western imperial insignia to Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno Granted title patricius, but uses title rex in some documents Collapse of Western Roman Empire

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Western Roman Empire? Cultural continuities Franks in Gaul Clovis, 509-11 CE Merovingian dynasty in Italy Theoderic Rules Italy from 493 CE Imitatio imperii Germanic kingdoms 5–7th centuries CE Roman symbols Language, laws, administration Rome as mobile idea

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Eastern Roman Empire Eastern Roman Empire 395–1453 CE Continuation of Roman Empire Greek not Latin culture Different forms of Christianity Renovatio imperii Justinian Dynasty Justinian I: 527–565 CE Legal Reforms and Codification Slow contraction Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 CE

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Did the Roman Empire ‘fall’?

Western Roman Empire Crises of the Third Century Division Invasions and turmoil End of Western Roman Empire Transformation and continuities Eastern Roman Empire Continuity Difference Longevity Complex cultural transformations

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Roman heritage

Enduring afterlife of Rome. The Church and Roman heritage. Roman Empire as ideological basis for later empires: Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire Napoleon and the French Empire Hitler and the Third Reich Roman law as basis for medieval law. Roman institutions as basis for many medieval institutions. Roman concepts and institutions as basis for new states and revolutions e.g. the Constitution of the United States and the French Revolution. Longevity of Latin as language of the church, royal courts, literature, science etc. Rome as the eternal city, Urbs aeterna.

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG