Pr03b_The Byzantine Empire was Roman with an Eastern Flavor! (Slide by Slide Description)

The accompanying presentation to this slide by slide description can be accessed by clicking the link above.

Cover Slide: The Hagia Sophia is depicted here. See slide #7 for additional information.

Slide #2: Map of Western Europe in the early 6th C. CE.
A major contributor to the collapse of the Western portion of the Roman Empire was the migration/ invasions of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples from the North and East. For centuries the Roman imperial army was able to repel these incursions and maintain relatively stable borders. That ended in the 5th C. CE.

These invaders are referred to as ‘Barbarians’ by Western texts. However, most had extensive exposure to the former empire and had diffused with it. The stereotypical image of a barbarian as being little more than a Neolithic nomad is false.

The naming of these ‘barbarian’ peoples is quite inaccurate as well. Goths (Ostrogoths and Visigoths) is a large category of peoples and NOT a distinct people. Major groups listed on the map include: Burgundians, Lombards, Saxons, Vandals, etc.

The Eastern portion of the Roman Empire will continue to live on for another 900 years around the former Greek city of Byzantium, to be renamed Constantinople. Historians in the West will rename the empire ‘Byzantine’ to distinguish it from the former empire that included the Western half. It should be noted, however, that imperial citizens of Constantinople still referred to themselves as ‘Romans’.

Slide #3: Constantinople. It’s location controlled the water passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterannean Sea. It was also a militarily strong location to defend from attackers.

Slide #4: This image shows a surviving section of the dual-wall perimeter that protected Constantinople from a land attack coming from the West. This was part of the wall designed under the Emperor Theodosius in the 5th C.

Slide #5: Mosaic depictions of Emperor Justinian and his wife, Theodora (6th C.).

Justinian reigned as emperor for many years and was at the helm for major achievements. Among these we would include: The Hagia Sophia, Corpus Juris Civilis, and reconquest of the former Western-half of the Roman Empire (temporarily).

Slide #6: Innovation continued under the Byzantine emperors. In this image we see the use of ‘Greek Fire’ to repel a sea attack.

Slide #7-8: The Hagia Sophia is depicted here. An architectural project sponsored by the Emperor Justinian (6th C. CE). Though built to serve as a church, it has gone through additional conversions over the centuries. The four towers around the structure are minarets added by the Islamic (Ottoman) Turks that conquered Constantinople in 1454. It now serves as a museum in the heart of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople).

The use of a dome to cap churches is a Roman cultural tradition that has survived until today. This tradition of placing domes on religious structures reaches back into the Roman classical age with the Pantheon being the stereotypical example.

The European Middle Ages will witness the absence of domed churches as the plans, skill, and materials necessary to construct a dome was ‘lost’ along with the Roman Empire in the West after 476 CE. It will not be until the Renaissance when Western Europe will see its next domed structure.

Slide #9: Corpus (Body) Juris (Law) Civilis (Civil) = Body of Civil Law.
Commissioned by Justinian, this compilation of Roman law was a legal and logistical achievement. Justinian had scholars comb the legal archives of the empire to consolidate and edit the statute books of the Roman Empire dating back to the Emperor Hadrian (2nd C.) His goal was to make the legal system nombre efficient by removing laws that were no-longer useful.

Slide #10: Several significant works by one of Justinian’s secretaries- Procopius. Since Procopius’ inflammatory accounts of Justinian’s private life (The Secret History) would surely have had him imprisoned and/ or sentenced to death, he waited to publish it after the emperor’s death.

Slide #11: A map of the Byzantine Empire at it’s height of size under the reign of Justinian.

Slide #12-13: A major holy site for Christians today has it’s origin with the Emperor Constantine, who also established Byzantium as a Eastern Roman capital city in the 4th C.

The church enshrines, on one end, the traditionally accepted site of Jesus’ crucifixion (Golgotha/ Calvary) and Jesus’ tomb on the other end.

Slide #14-15: These two slides begin to show the developing differences between the Christian Church that had developed under a Christian Roman Empire.

After the empire collapsed in the West, the influence of the migrating/ invading peoples contributed to a faith that was developing differently compared to the Eastern half of the empire that remained in Constantinople.

The Byzantine Empire gave birth to the Eastern Orthodox Church (Eastern Church). In this first image we see priests dressed in religious robes.

The Western half gave birth to the Roman Catholic Church (Western Church). In the second image we see a priest dressed in religious robes common to that Church.

Take note how the developing differences are showing up in the garb and the styles of Crosses (Crucifixes).

Slide #16: An image of icons in the form of small statues is shown in the upper-left. The lower-right is a modern image showing the interior of the Hagia Sofia.

A major religious rift between the two Churches was how to treat the use of icons (in the pre-Digital Age, icons were physical and in predominantly in the form of statues and paintings).

A movement referred to as ‘Iconoclasm’ (Icon Smashing) began to appear in the reign of Justinian, but shifted into significance a couple centuries later. The Western Church continued to have icons present in the churches during services, while there was a growing opposition to that practice in the Eastern Church. There were many in the Eastern Church who saw the presence of icons in religious services as a form of idol worship. Those who were against the use of icons were called ‘Iconoclasts’ (Icon Smashers). Sometimes, the dispute became so heated that violence broke out and spread from the churches to the streets of Constantinople in the form of riots.

Slide #17: Since 1054, when the Western and Eastern Churches officially split apart (The Great Schism), there have been repeated attempts by leaders of both Churches to reunify. All attempts, thus far, have failed to achieve that unity.

Pr02b4_Ancient Rome: Rise of Christianity and the Collapse of the Empire in the West (Slide by Slide Description)

Pr02b4_Ancient Rome: Rise of Christianity and the Collapse of the Empire in the West (Slide by Slide Description)

Click on Pr02b4_Ancient Rome: Rise of Christianity and the Collapse of the Empire in the West to view the slides that accompany these descriptions.

Cover Slide: “SPQR”. Represents republican Rome’s creed. As an acronym, it stands for “Senatus Populusque Romanus” => The Senate and People of Rome. Such a phrase/ Acronym would be affixed at the end of official documents and public monuments.

We enter the period of gradual decline and ultimate collapse of the empire in the Western half. The eastern half, later to be known as the Byzantine Empire, will continue on for another nine centuries. If we were to mark off the period of Roman decline and collapse, we would first have to decide what the signs of ‘decline’ are. This would be beyond the scope of our course. Instead, we’ll look at a few of the major decisions in the empire’s two to three centuries before the collapse that later came to aggravate the conditions that brought on a political collapse.

Slide #2: Our first crisis decision is about the Roman institution of Slavery. (There are parallels in the Roman institution with the institution of Slavery as practiced in the United States.)

Do you see any problem with maintaining a high population of enslaved peoples who are kept under control with brutal regulations?

Slide #3: A painting of crucified rebellious slaves from Spartacus’ Slave Army.

Slide #4: Under the rule of an Emperor, the Roman government never adequately solved the problem of who would be the next emperor. Except for a ~100 year period where each emperor hand-picked a successor (adopted as a ‘Son’- think of what Julius Caesar had done with Octavian), transfer of power from one emperor to the next was often accompanied with violence and civil war.

Why do you suppose anyone would plunge their society into violent chaos just to be Emperor?

Slide #5: The Five Good (Adopted) Emperors.

Nerva begins the process that ends with Marcus Aurelius. Augustus (Octavian), as the first emperor, starts a period known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) that lasts until the end of the reign of the Five Good (Adopted) Emperors.

Slide #6: Another critical period of Rome’s history involves the issue about the empire’s geographic size.

In the United States, much has been debated about the security of the nation’s borders. Rome had a problem with it’s borders and thus became concerned about the empire’s physical size.

A solution to the problem was enacted by Emperor Diocletian- The Tetrarchy.

What difficulties do you see materializing from a division of the empire into four, semi-autonomous regions with their own local ruler with the title of ‘Caesar’?

Slide #7: Maps that are related to the problem of an empire that’s too large to govern efficiently.

The map in the bottom-center shows a city that one emperor, Constantine, uses as a ‘new’ eastern capital for the empire in the 4th C.

In essence, the empire is divided into two large parts: The Western portion- governed from Rome, and the Eastern portion- governed from Byzantium.

Slide #8: For most of Rome’s history, it reflected similar religious beliefs to other ancient civilizations- Polytheistic, nature-based faiths. The emperors Galerius and Constantine make major social changes in this field. The faith developing from the teachings of a Jewish Rabbi (to become Christianity) become increasingly accepted in Roman society. A persecuted faith gradually becomes the empire’s official faith under the reign of the Emperor Theodosius in the 4th-5th C. At that time the government’s position flip-flops. A formerly persecuted faith becomes the official faith of the government and once accepted faiths become targets of persecution.

What disruptions might you envision for a society that makes such a change?

Slide #9: The issue of troublesome borders comes back to haunt the empire in the 5th C. for the final time. Peoples who were once controlled by Rome’s mighty armies become ‘invaders’. These become the mislabeled ‘Barbarian’ invasions.

While these incursions were often violent, border security doesn’t always involve the movement of violent people. Can movement of people across borders, if done in a non-violent fashion, still endanger a society?

Slide #10 – 13: These slides highlight the divided development of the two former halves of the once mighty Roman Empire.

The Western half becomes divided among the ethnic groups represented by the (Barbarian) invaders in the 5th C.
The Eastern half continues on. Modern historians have labeled this remaining half as the BYZANTINE EMPIRE (records indicate that the people stilled referred to themselves as ‘Roman’). It’s capital city being the one Emperor Constantine established as the Eastern Capital in the 4th C.- Byzantium. It would later be renamed Constantinople.

These two halves will pursue divergent religious and political paths. Slides 11 – 12 illustrate some of the religious differences via the priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Eastern Christian Church) and the Roman Catholic Church (Western Church). Both of these ‘Churches’ still exist today.

Pu03b_Byzantines, Russians, Turks Interact

Pu03b_Byzantines, Russians, Turks Interact

Pu03b_Byzantines, Russians, Turks Interact

Oriental – Occidental

3. An architectural achievement in the use of arches and domes. It’s name means “Holy Wisdom”. 2 words
9. By controlling trade passing through this narrow waterway (between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara) the city of Byzantium accumulated great wealth.
12. A prince favored by Russia’s overlords and rewarded for his service against his own people. 2 words
13. Vladimir, in the 10th C., converted to Christianity and so did this city, which he ruled. The city was, and continued to be, a commercially driven urban center since its founding by Vikings.
14. The Mongols swept into Western and Southwestern Asia and dealt a death blow to this final caliphate of the Islamic civilization.
15. The historical term referring to the official split between the Western (Roman Catholic) Church and the Eastern (Orthodox) Church in the year 1054. 2-words
19. A Central Asian nomadic group that comes to conquer a vast expanse of the Eurasian continent in the 13th and 14th C., including the fledgling Russian state.
20. A prince that will confront and shake-off Russia’s conquerors in the 14th C. He is the first to adopt the title of Czar. 2-words
22. Literally means “smasher of icons”.
23. Generally accepted name of the Eastern Christian Church, administered from the city of Constantinople during the Byzantine period. 3 words
25. Byzantine monks helped create the Cyrillic Alphabet to aid this group in the development of a written language.

Polar

1. A panel of legal experts were called together. The panel combed through 400 years of Roman law. It found a number of laws that were outdated and others that were contradictory. The panel created a single, uniform code consisting of four works: A. “The Code” contained nearly 5,000 Roman laws that were still considered useful. B. “The Digest” quoted and summarized the opinions of Rome’s greatest legal thinkers. C. “The Institutes” was a textbook that told law students how to use the laws. D. “The Novellae” (New Laws) presented legislation passed after 534. 3-words
2. This literally means “removal” of a Christian from the community of Christ’s followers. In both Eastern and Western traditions, such an act will prevent that person from entering Heaven (reaching Salvation).
4. A 6th C. movement within the Eastern Orthodox Church that erupts into violence on the streets of Constantinople. Supporters of the movement protested the use of religious icons by smashing them.
5. This Central Asian group of Turkic nomads swept into Southwest Asia and conquered Baghdad in the 11th C. They converted to Islam in the process of migrating.
6. Generally accepted name of the Western Christian Church, administered from the city of Rome. 3 words
7. The tradition whereby an inheritance is left to the eldest son. Ignoring this tradition contributed to fragmentation and the decline of Kiev as a political power.
8. This empire was the surviving (Eastern) portion of the original Roman Empire. It would last until ~1454.
10. By discovering how this material was made, Byzantine merchants were able to undermine the Chinese monopoly and strengthen their grip on East-West trade.
11. The title of the religious leader of the Christian Church established in the surviving (Eastern) portion of the Roman Empire.
16. Capital city of the Byzantine Empire.
17. This urban center produced powerful princes that will eventually lead Russia toward liberation from its conquerors. It will help create the Russian Empire.
18. In 527, this person became emperor of the (Eastern) Roman Empire. He had the Hagia Sophia built and his best general, Belisarius, almost reconquered the former (Western) Roman empire.
21. Title of the religious leader of the Western Church. Established in the former (Western) portion of the Roman Empire.
22. Religious symbols used in rituals and observance of the faith. It was the source of a major dispute between the Eastern and Western Christian churches.
24. The weakening Byzantine state and the incursions of nomadic (Muslim) peoples into the Holy Lands, convinced the head of the Western Christian (Roman Catholic) Church to call for this sacred effort.

Pu02b_Ancient Rome- Birth of Christianity

Gr02b_Republican Roman Legacy and Timeline

Gr02b_Roman Legacy

Gr02b_Roman Timeline

 

Gr02b_Republican Rome Timeline

Gr02b_Republican Rome Timeline

Choices
1. Etruscan king overthrown; Republic established; Start of Plebeians vs. Patricians Rivalry
2. Italy conquered
3. Collapse of the Republic. Birth of the Empire (Imperial System).
4. Punic Wars fought; Marian Reforms, Gracchi Brothers.
5. Rome controls the Mediterranean
6. Twelve Tables created

R02b_Roman Construction Innovation

R02b_Republican Roman Construction

by Judith Geary

1. Ruins often reveal that stone or brick was precisely laid at a building ́s front, corners and around doorways, and less regularly at the back and the walls between. Sometimes, these “important” places were cut stone and the walls and between them were some other material, mud bricks or mortar and rubble. Vitruvius reports that “basketwork,” lath or cane woven together and covered with mortar or plaster, might be used by the poor or for interior walls, particularly on upper stories. This construction was neither moisture resistant nor fireproof, but it was lightweight, cheap and quickly built. Of course, these walls have not survived.

2. About the third century BCE, Roman builders discovered that volcanic ash, when added to lime mortar, made a cement that cured to a rocklike hardness even under water. Mixed with sand and gravel, this material was the equivalent of modern concrete. At first concrete was used like a particularly durable mortar, or for places where its ability to harden without drying out was important—for the water courses of aqueducts and for bridge pilings, for example.

3. Concrete gradually caught on for construction of homes and public buildings, but not in the sense it has in modern times, when architects have taken advantage of the characteristics of the material to create soaring skyscrapers, fantastic shapes and homes cantilevered out over waterfalls. (The soaring dome of Hadrian ́s Pantheon is an example of a particularly sophisticated concrete design, but that ́s a product of the Empire.) In the time of the Republic, the core of a wall would be concrete, but the facings remained brick or stone. At first, the concrete might be poured between facings of masonry, and layers of rubble added. Eventually, walls became essentially a mass of concrete, poured into a wooden form and finished before it was completely set. The old terms acquired new meanings. Opus testaceum referred to a concrete wall in which wedge-shaped pieces of brick were inserted, point first, so that the wall appeared to be of laid brick. Opus incertum referred to a concrete wall in which irregular chunks of stone were pressed into the soft concrete. When the concrete set, the stones were chiseled down even with the concrete surface. Opus reticulatum, or “netlike work” in which little square pyramids of stone were inserted point first in a diamond pattern, became quite popular. This pattern appears as the flat surfaces of walls between corners of laid brick or stone. According to Vitruvius, opus incertum is an “ancient style,” and opus reticulatum, while not as strong, is the “style used by everybody.”

4. We might ask ourselves why Roman builders bothered with facings of brick or stone for concrete walls. They certainly added nothing to the strength, and they were covered in the finished wall with plaster and paint. The striking opus reticulatum walls we see today at Pompeii and other ruins were likely not visible when the buildings were in use. Perhaps we can look to the basic conservatism of the Roman people. If a man was paying to have a wall built, he expected to see brick or stone.

5. We have inherited much from the early Romans. Constructing a picture for ourselves of builders of Republican Rome, we find they share many characteristics with modern builders. They were capable of building monuments of enduring beauty and grandeur. However, they were also guilty of taking particular care with the parts of the building that “showed,” and less with the parts that did not. The Romans had “faux-finishes” on walls and columns. They used plaster and stucco to simulate carvings of stone and wood. So the designer faux wallpapers, plastic crown moldings and ceiling medallions of modern homes may be more traditional than we think.

© Judith Geary 2000

Sources
-Adkins, Lesley & Roy A. Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome Facts on File, New York, 1994.
-De Camp, L. Sprague, The Ancient Engineers Barnes & Noble Books, 1993.
-GimbH, E.T.V., Architecture of the World: The Roman Empire Compagnie du Liver d’Art, S.A., Lausanne, Germany, (no date given). Morgan, Morris Hicky, trans., Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1960 ed.

Taken from an entry on http://www.about.com in 2001 by Mr.V and edited for classroom use. The author’s rights remain in force.

Questions
1. What explanation can you offer for Rome’s decision to increasingly use Cement/ Concrete as a building material rather than continuing to use stone or brick?
2. Despite Rome’s advancements in using Cement/ Concrete, they often covered walls with fake brick and, at times, painted-over the brick appearance (rather than leaving out the fake appearance to begin with). Can you surmise why?

Pr02b3_New Directions in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: Republic to Empire (Slide by Slide Description)

Pr02b3_New Direction in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: Republic to Empire (Slide by Slide Description)

Click on Pr02b3_New Directions in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: The Republic to Empire to view the slides that accompany these descriptions.

Cover Slide: “SPQR“. Represents republican Rome’s creed. As an acronym, it stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus => The Senate and People of Rome. Such a phrase/ acronym would be affixed at the end of official documents and public monuments.

Slide #2: This slide depicts an excerpt of a text written by Sallust, a Roman historian. A more complete version was assigned as a reading and can be accessed via the course website. As Rome grew in size, wealth, and military dominance in the Mediterranean world, some in the Republic raised concerns about the apparent disregard for traditional Roman values. Some of these values were evident in legendary figures like Cincinnatus.

Slide #3: Rome’s growth into a regional power also disrupted many of the norms in daily life. The Patrician and Plebeian classes of Roman citizens had existed for centuries as distinct social groups. The changes wrought by Rome’s growing imperial power made these groups increasingly argue, often violently, about issues that are not uncommon today: Distribution of wealth, political influence, and reigning-in the authority of government.

Slide #4: Any change in Rome’s circumstances (ie: growing military and economic dominance) would eventually force the society to adjust. The adjustment often came after violent street protests. One major issue was the representative assembly that was the voice of the Plebeians in the republican government (a diagram of how that government was structured can be found in your auxiliary notes and an earlier presentation in this series). The Centuriate Assembly had administrative flaws that limited the influence Plebeian representatives exerted. Through the leadership of certain Roman political figures (see the next slide), the Centuriate Assembly was replaced by a new representative body within the government=> The Tribunate.

Slide #5: Among the leaders of the Plebeian cause were the Gracchi Brothers (Tiberius & Gaius). As part of the Tribunate, they used the enhanced authority that the title of Tribune carried to make changes. These changes were often opposed by leaders of the Patrician class. Patricians believed that any Plebeian advance meant a Patrician retreat. Patricians, who always controlled the Senate, would do anything to stop the changes the Gracchi brothers sought. The Gracchi threatened street protests (often violent) as well as hindering Rome’s military machine, which was entirely dependent on the disciplined legionnaire- who were Plebeian. The Gracchi did not start Rome’s tradition of street violence, but they were not shy in using it as a political weapon. As is often the case, “those who live by the sword shall die from the sword”. Both brothers were assassinated in street riots. Is it possible that the Senate was involved in the murders? The evidence is lost in time.

Slide #6: The social violence did not diminish in the closing centuries of the BC Era. Powerful politicians attempted to consolidate power in their hands. This was hard to do as an individual, so several leaders would combine their efforts to form a Triumvirate (“Rule by three“). There were several periods in Roman republican history when leaders tried to rule as a group. Our attention here is turned toward the Triumvirate that Julius Caesar participated in. This Triumvirate also included Crassus and Pompeii. Within a decade, Octavian will form a Triumvirate of his own which included Lentulus and Mark Antony.

Slide #7: By 60 BCE, Rome was at the helm of a massive empire. This growth placed challenges on the political system that was initially customized to a small city-state. Of importance is the use of the Fasces. As a city-state, Rome’s republican founders only foresaw a limited use of the authority that the Fasces represented. But, centuries later, Rome controls an area thousands of times it’s size. If you wish to rule over distant lands, you’ll have to invest powers in the person (Proconsul) chosen to govern in the name of Rome. Therefore, many Fascii were issued to the Proconsuls who were to govern Rome’s new provinces. Within those borders, they exercised the authority represented by the Fasces. In other words, they were dictators in those provinces only. They were prohibited to exert that authority outside the borders of their province. So if they were called to Rome, they must leave the Fasces and the army behind. The only Fasces and army allowed in the Italian peninsula were the ones in the care and control of the Senate. It was the Senate’s Fasces “…that ruled them all”.

Slide #8: Julius Caesar is pivotal because he set in motion a series of events that would violate Rome’s most ancient and revered traditions while setting the government on a path that would essentially abandon it’s republican institutions. As Proconsul of the province of Gaul, Caesar left his province with an army (and the Fasces/ authority that gave him that army) and entered the Italian peninsula from the North via the Alps. “…The die has been cast…” is an oft cited quote from Caesar’s Latin classic The Civil Wars. Supposedly, Caesar said this just before crossing the Rubicon River, the traditional northern border of Roman Italy. The rest is history!

Slide #9: Caesar captures the government and takes the title of ‘Dictator’ for life. This was too much for many Roman Patricians to support. He was assassinated by members of the Senate in 44 BCE. This would propel his nephew into the limelight.

Octavian was Caesar’s nephew, but Caesar’s Will indicated that Octavian was his adopted son, in addition to being nephew. Adoptions were accepted practice in Rome. Of course, now that Caesar subverted the government, anyone hoping to succeed Caesar (Mark Antony, Octavian) would want to do the same. The Republic is lost forever and Rome will fall into another civil war. Octavian will come out the winner.

Slide #10: Octavian, who will now become ‘Augustus‘, will consolidate power and become the first Roman Emperor. He takes the title of Princep (first citizen) because it’s a title that few will find threatening.

Slide #11: Over time (Augustus ruled for 41 years), Virgil is hired by the emperor to embellish Rome’s founding myths. Virgil produces the Aenied. In this tale, Rome is connected to the Homeric tales of Troy via a man named Aeneas.

Pr02b2b_New Directions in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: The Republic (Slide by Slide Description)

Pr02b2b_New Direction in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: The Republic (Slide by Slide Description)

Click on Pr02b2_New Directions in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: The Republic to view the slides that accompany these descriptions.

Cover Slide: “SPQR“. Represents republican Rome’s creed. As an acronym, it stands for “Senatus Populusque Romanus” => The Senate and People of Rome. Such a phrase/ acronym would be affixed at the end of official documents and public monuments.

Now we enter the Roman republican period. The period lasts ~482 years. It marks the toppling of the Etruscan monarchs by Rome’s citizens and the development of republican political ideals.

Slide #2: Traditionally, Roman history has pegged a deep hatred of ‘kings’ on the Roman citizenry. The absolute power monarchs exercised arbitrarily, and the Fasces represented, were an element of political rule that the founders of Rome’s republican government wanted to avoid. The Twelve Tables (12 Tablets) are sometimes compared to the first 10 amendments of the US Constitution (The Bill of Rights). Without going too deep into that discussion, it’s enough to know that the 12 Tables enumerated basic rights that all Roman citizens had and could not be deprived without due process. It’s primary role was to limit the power of the government. Along those lines, the republican government was structured.

Slide #3: Carefully analyze this diagram of the Roman Republican government. Notice the division of powers and the inherent checks-balances between ‘branches’ of government.

Slide #4 – 5: The next two slides highlights the importance of Cincinnatus. Legend has it that when the Gallic tribes ventured south and threatened the city of Rome, Cincinnatus (who was already retired and working on his farm) was approached by members of the Roman Senate. They asked him to assume the powers of the Imperator and lead Rome through this crisis. The Imperium was the power vested in the Imperator and symbolically represented by the Fasces. In English, Dictator is substituted for Imperator.

Always fearing anyone with too much power, republican Rome placed a limit of six months on anyone holding the title of Dictator. After the period expires, the Fasces is returned to the Senate if the crisis, which called for a Dictator in the first place, is over. If the crisis continues, the Senate may extend the authority of the Imperium or give the Fasces to another citizen who will then exercise that authority for another six months.

Cincinnatus’ story is special because he handled the crisis quickly then surrendered the Fasces voluntarily to the Senate before the six months term was over. Here is a man who willingly surrendered absolute power, choosing instead to return to his farm. The bronze statue of Cincinnatus you see in the image is located in the center of the US city that bears his name- Cincinnati, OH. The statue captures forever the moment that Cincinnatus surrenders the Fasces to the Senate so he can return to his farm (notice the plow behind him?).

While Arete represented the traits of the ideal Greek, the three Latin terms listed on the slide represent Roman ideals vested in Cincinnatus: Gravitas => Seriousness (Don’t joke around), Pietas => Piety, fervor to the point of Religiousness (Perform your public duties as if the State is divine or ultra special), and Frugalitas => Frugal (Don’t be wasteful).

Slide #6 – 12: 22 centuries of Roman civilization meant that there would be many crises to handle and learn from. In early Roman history, there was no greater threat than that posed by the Carthaginians. So combative were these two civilizations engaged in three wars (Punic Wars).

The word Punic comes from the Latin word for Carthage. Etymologically, ‘Punic’ is derived from the same word that produced Phoenicia. It is widely accepted that Carthage was a colony of the Phoenicians who sailed the Mediterranean Sea many centuries before.

No Carthaginian spread as much fear among the Romans as Hannibal. For a limited time, watch this video at home. It reveals just how much of a threat Hannibal was. Rome’s worst defeat (ever!) was at the hands of this military genius, at the Battle of Cannae.

The Carthaginian Wars proved to the Romans that changes needed to be made if Rome was to grow and dominate the region. Rome learned from many different crises and the military benefitted from some of the changes.

Rome abandoned the use of the phalanx and created the Manipular formation. Manipular => Maniple => ‘Hand’ formation. The maniple made Roman forces more flexible on the battlefield compared to the phalanx. It emphasized close-In fighting to take advantage of the superb Roman training, discipline, and weapons (Scutum, Pilum, & Gladius).

We have, therefore, three examples of how “learning from your mistakes” permitted Rome to excel in several fields: Political Emergencies– The 5th C. BCE invasion of the Italian Peninsula by a Gallic army. The Fasces was used to permit one person to plan a response and defeat the invaders; Construction– the ‘Dome’, an architectural feature immortalized by the Pantheon was made possible by the invention of Cement and Concrete; Military Science– The crushing defeats meted out by Hannibal, particularly at Cannae, forced Rome to abandon old methods of organizing and employing their army. The Phalanx is replaced by the Maniple.

Slide #13: Here is a riddle disguised as a poem. I adopted and adapted it from a popular fantasy that young and old alike may recognize. Among other modifications, I substituted “Fasces” for “Ring”. Can you guess the fantasy? Can you decipher the riddle as I’ve written it?

Pr02b2_Ancient Rome- The Fasces and Monarchy (Slide by Slide Description)

Pr02b2_New Direction in Government and Society- Ancient Rome: The Fasces and Monarchy (Slide by Slide Description)

Click on Pr02b2_Ancient Rome- The Fasces and Monarchy to view the slides that accompany these descriptions.

Cover Slide: “SPQR“. Represents republican Rome’s creed. As an acronym, it stands for “Senatus Populusque Romanus” => The Senate and People of Rome. Such a phrase/ acronym would be affixed at the end of official documents and public monuments.

We now enter the monarchy period of ancient Rome’s history. The period stretches for 244 years. It is sometimes referred to as the Etruscan Period because the city of Rome was ruled by monarchs from its much more powerful neighbor- The Etruscans.

The Etruscans were from the North of Rome centered around the Italian region known today as Tuscany (whose name is derived from ‘Etruscan’). Along with the Greeks and Latins, the Etruscans were major contributors to Roman cultural development.

Slide #2: I posted the same Roman town template I used in the first presentation of this series (Pr02b). The Pomerium was described in that presentation, but is here reintroduced since it has a role to play vis-a-vis the Fasces.

Slide #3: The Fasces was a device that historians have traced to the Etruscan monarchial period. Though it may look like a weapon, it’s purpose is purely symbolic. Most Roman citizens would know what it means when they saw it. It could be small enough to be cradled in the arms of a Lictor (whose role, among others, was to carry the device while walking behind the person who is vested with the authority it represented). Or, the device could be much larger to be carried on a bearer’s shoulder during a procession. The larger size improved its visibility to viewers who would be expected to crowd around the procession as it moved along. Historians now know that the component parts of the device had a symbolic meaning.

Slide #4 – 11: Many of you may not recognize the Fasces, but it doesn’t mean you’ve never seen it. These images all show a Fasces and it’s quite possible you’ve seen them multiple times, never once asking what the object was. Of course, it’s easy to connect the Fasces with the fascists depicted on the WWII era stamp (Etymologically, Fasces => Fascists).

Slide #5: Symbolic meaning of the main components of the Fasces.
Several government officials (magistrates) would be vested with this device, implying the authority that official will wield. Of the three I listed on the slide, I left the third official unnamed. I will reveal that during class discussions. Students are sure to find that individual to be surprising.

Slide #6: WWII era stamp issued by Germany

Slide #7: Pre-WWII US Dime coin.

Slide #8: Flag of Brooklyn, NY.

Slide #9: Medal of Honor (Highest military honor the US government can bestow upon a person in the armed forces.)

Slide #10: Speaker’s podium of the US House of Representatives.

Slide #11: The Lincoln Memorial.