the fall of the republic - 6th grade social...

The Fall of the

Republic

HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.7 Studentsanalyze the geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures during thedevelopment of Rome.

CHAPTER 9: The Rise of Rome 435

Looking Back, Looking AheadBy the end of the Third Punic

War, Rome ruled the Mediterraneanworld. All was not well, however.Closer to home, the republic facedincreasing dangers that would soonlead to its end.

Focusing on the • The use of enslaved labor hurt

farmers, increased poverty andcorruption, and brought the armyinto politics. (page 436)

• Military hero Julius Caesar seizedpower and made reforms. (page 438)

• The Roman Republic, weakened bycivil wars, became an empire underAugustus. (page 440)

Meeting PeopleJulius Caesar

(jool•yuhs SEE•zuhr)Octavian (ahk•TAY•vee•uhn)Antony (AN•tuh•nee)Cicero (SIH•suh•ROH)Augustus (aw•GUHS•tuhs)

Locating PlacesRubicon (ROO•bih•KAHN)Actium (AK•shee•uhm)

Content Vocabularylatifundia (LA•tuh•FUHN•dee•uh)triumvirate (try•UHM•vuh•ruht)

Academic Vocabularydespite (dih•SPYT)estate (ihs•TAYT)sole (SOHL)foundation (fown•DAY•shuhn)

Reading StrategyFinding the Main Idea Use a chart likethe one below to identify the main ideasof Section 3 and supporting details.

Main Idea

Supporting Supporting SupportingDetail Detail Detail

Supporting Supporting SupportingDetail Detail Detail

82 B.C.Sulla becomes dictator ofRome

44 B.C.Group ofsenators murderJulius Caesar

27 B.C.Octavianbecomes Rome’sfirst emperorASIA

MINOR

GAUL

ITALY

GREECE

SPAIN Rome

100 B.C. 60 B.C. 20 B.C.100 B.C. 60 B.C. 20 B.C.

CHAPTER 9 • The Rise of Rome 435

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WH6.7.1 Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic, including the importance of such mythical and historicalfigures as Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero.

Trouble in the RepublicThe use of enslaved labor hurt farmers,

increased poverty and corruption, and brought thearmy into politics.

Reading Connection Poverty, corruption, unemploy-

ment, crime, and violence are problems we hear about

today. Read on to learn how the Romans struggled with

these same issues 2,000 years ago.

Rome’s armies were victorious wher-ever they went. Yet problems were buildingat home. As you read in Section 2, most of the people who ruled Rome were patricians—rich people who owned largefarms. These rich landowners ran the Senateand held the most powerful governmentjobs. They handled Rome’s finances anddirected its wars. Despite some gains for theplebeians, many people became veryunhappy about this situation.

Problems for Farmers Rome had fewprivileged citizens compared with themany Romans who farmed small plots ofland. In the 100s B.C., however, these farm-ers were sinking into poverty and debt.Why? Many of them had been unable tofarm because they were fighting in Rome’swars. Others had suffered damage to theirfarms during Hannibal’s invasion of Italy.

Moreover, owners of small farms couldnot compete with the new latifundia (LA •tuh•FUHN•dee•uh), or large farming estatescreated by wealthy Romans. The latifundiawere tended by a new source of labor—thethousands of prisoners captured during

Rome’s wars. By using enslaved labor, thelatifundia could produce cheap crops anddrive small farms out of business.

Faced with debts they could not payoff, many farmers sold their land andheaded to the cities, desperate for work.However, jobs were hard to find, andwages were low. Enslaved people did mostof the work. These conditions createdwidespread anger.

Roman politicians quickly turned thesituation to their advantage. To win thevotes of the poor, they began providingcheap food and entertainment. This policyof “bread and circuses” helped many dis-honest rulers come to power.

Why Did Reform Fail? Not all wealthy peo-ple ignored the problems facing the RomanRepublic. Two prominent officials whoworked for reforms were Tiberius and GaiusGracchus (GRA•kuhs). These brothers thoughtthat many of Rome’s problems were causedby the loss of small farms. They asked theSenate to take back public land from the richand divide it among landless Romans.

This issue concerned many senators whohad claimed parcels of public land. Puttingtheir own interests above the general wel-fare, they rejected the Gracchus brothers’proposals. A band of senators even went sofar as to kill Tiberius in 133 B.C. Twelve yearslater, Gaius met the same fate.

The Army Enters Politics For most ofRome’s history, the army had stayed out ofpolitics. This changed when a general namedMarius became consul in 107 B.C. Previously,most soldiers were owners of small farms.Now because this type of farmer was disap-pearing, Marius began to recruit soldiersfrom the poor. In return for their service, hepaid them wages and promised them theone thing they desperately wanted—land.

436 CHAPTER 9 • The Rise of Rome

Web Activity Visit ca.hss.glencoe.com andclick on Chapter 9—Student Web Activity tolearn more about the rise of Rome.

The Art Archive/Archeological Museum Aquileia/Dagli Orti

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http://ca.hss.glencoe.com

Marius changed the Roman army fromcitizen volunteers to paid professional sol-diers. The new troops, however, felt loyalto their general, not to the RomanRepublic. This gave individual generals agreat deal of influence and good reason tobecome involved in politics. Their goalwas to get laws passed that would providethe land they had promised their soldiers.

Marius’s new military system led tonew power struggles. It was not long beforeMarius faced a challenge from a rival gen-eral with his own army, a man named Sulla.

In 82 B.C. Sulla drove his enemies out ofRome and made himself dictator.

Over the next three years, Sulla changedthe government. He weakened the Councilof the Plebs and strengthened the Senate.After he left power, Rome plunged into anera of civil wars for the next 50 years.Ambitious men saw how Sulla used anarmy to seize power. They decided to fol-low the same path.

Explain What change didMarius make to the Roman army?

Farmworkers have facedproblems throughout history. In the

United States, farmworkers in theSouthwest were paid very low wages. In

the 1960s and 1970s, César Chávezorganized the United Farm Workers union. He

used strikes, boycotts, and protest marches toconvince farm owners to deal with the union.Why do you think farmers and farmworkersoften have economic problems?

Rights for FarmersTiberius Gracchus and his brother Gaius

believed Rome’s problems could be solved by giving poorpeople their own farms. Gaius also wanted to givetax money to owners of small farms. Wealthylandowners opposed this idea because mosttax money came from taxes on their largefarms. When Roman leaders tried toundo the Gracchi reforms, riots erupted,and both brothers were killed.

Tiberius Gracchus

César Chávez

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WH6.7.4 Discuss the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome's transition from republic to empire.

438 CHAPTER 9: The Rise of Rome

Julius CaesarMilitary hero Julius Caesar seized

power and made reforms.

Reading Connection Did you know that George

Washington, Andrew Jackson, William H. Harrison, Zachary

Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all com-

manded armies before becoming president? Read to learn

about a famous Roman who made a similar jump from mil-

itary leader to political leader.

After Sulla left office, different Romanleaders battled for power, supported bytheir loyal armies. In 60 B.C. three men wereon top: Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar(jool • yuhs SEE • zuhr). Crassus was a mili-tary leader and one of the richest men inRome. Pompey and Caesar were not as rich,but both were successful military men.Drawing on their wealth and power, theyformed the First Triumvirate to rule Rome.A triumvirate (try • UHM • vuh • ruht) is apolitical alliance of three people.

Caesar’s Military Campaigns The mem-bers of the Triumvirate each had a militarycommand in a remote area of the republic.Pompey was in Spain, Crassus in Syria, andCaesar in Gaul (modern France). While inGaul, Caesar battled foreign tribes andinvaded Britain. He became a hero toRome’s lower classes. Senators and othersback home in Rome feared that Caesar wasbecoming too popular and might seizepower like Sulla.

After Crassus was killed in battle in 53 B.C., the Senate decided that Pompeyshould return to Italy and rule alone. In 49 B.C. the Senate ordered Caesar to give uphis army and come home. Caesar faced adifficult choice. He could obey the Senateand perhaps face prison or death at thehands of his rivals, or he could march onRome with his army and risk a civil war.

Caesar decided to hold on to his 5,000loyal soldiers. He marched into Italy bycrossing the Rubicon (ROO • bih • KAHN), a

A scene showing a battle between Romans and Gauls

Pompey

Caesar

Crassus

Caesar was part of the First Triumvirate,whose members are shown below.

Caesar’s Rise to PowerCaesar’s Rise to Power

(tl)Archaeological Museum, Venice/E.T. Archives, London/SuperStock, (bl)Louvre, Paris/Bridgeman Art Library, (c)Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY, (r)Ronald Sheridan/Ancient Art & Architecture Collection

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Caesar crossing the Rubicon

Brutus (left) was one ofthe senators who killedCaesar. Antony (above)supported Caesar andhis nephew Octavianand fought againstCaesar’s assassins.

small river at the southern boundary of hiscommand area. By doing so, Caesar knewthat he was starting a civil war and that therewas no turning back. The phrase “crossingthe Rubicon” is used today to mean makinga decision that you cannot take back.

Pompey tried to stop Caesar, but Caesarwas the better general. He drove Pompey’sforces from Italy and then destroyedPompey’s army in Greece in 48 B.C.

Caesar’s Rise to Power In 44 B.C. Caesarhad himself declared dictator of Rome forlife. This broke with the Roman traditionthat allowed dictators to hold power foronly short periods of time. To strengthen hishold on power, Caesar filled the Senate withnew members who were loyal to him.

At the same time, Caesar knew thatreforms were needed. He granted citizen-ship to people living in Rome’s territoriesoutside the Italian peninsula. He started newcolonies to provide land for the landless andcreated work for Rome’s jobless people. Heordered landowners using slave labor to hire

more free workers. These measures madeCaesar popular with Rome’s poor.

Caesar also created a new calendar with12 months, 365 days, and a leap year. TheJulian calendar, as it was called, was usedthroughout Europe until A.D. 1582. Thatyear it was modified slightly to become theGregorian calendar. This calendar, based onthe birth of Christ, has been used in theUnited States since its beginning and isused by most countries in the world today.

While many Romans supported Caesar,others did not. His supporters believed hewas a strong leader who brought peace andorder to Rome. His enemies, however,feared that Caesar wanted to be king. Theseopponents, led by the senators Brutus andCassius, plotted to kill him. Caesar ignoreda famous warning to “beware the Ides ofMarch” (March 15). On that date in 44 B.C.,Caesar’s enemies surrounded him andstabbed him to death.

Explain Why did Brutus,Cassius, and others kill Caesar?

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WH6.7.4 Discuss the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome's transition from republic to empire.

Rome Becomes an EmpireThe Roman Republic, weakened by civil

wars, became an empire under Augustus.

Reading Connection Have you ever been in a traffic

jam and wished that a police officer would show up to

get things moving? Read on to learn how Romans wel-

comed the arrival of a strong new ruler.

Caesar’s death plunged Rome intoanother civil war. On one side were forcesled by the men who had killed Caesar. Onthe other side was Caesar’s grandnephewOctavian (ahk • TAY • vee • uhn), who hadinherited Caesar’s wealth, and two ofCaesar’s top generals, Antony (AN • tuh •nee) and Lepidus. After defeating Caesar’sassassins, these three men created theSecond Triumvirate in 43 B.C.

The Second Triumvirate The members ofthe Second Triumvirate began quarrelingalmost at once. Octavian soon forcedLepidus to retire from politics. Then thetwo remaining leaders divided the Romanworld between themselves. Octavian tookthe west; Antony took the east.

In short order, though, Octavian andAntony came into conflict. Antony fell inlove with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VIIand formed an alliance with her. Octaviantold the Romans that Antony, withCleopatra’s help, planned to make himselfthe sole ruler of the republic. This alarmedmany Romans and enabled Octavian todeclare war on Antony.

In 31 B.C., at the Battle of Actium (AK •shee • uhm) off the west coast of Greece,Octavian crushed the army and navy of

440 CHAPTER 9 • The Rise of Rome

This excerpt is from Cicero’s sixthspeech about the struggle betweenOctavian and Antony (MarcusAntonius):“Therefore, when I saw that a nefarious [evil] war was waged against the republic, Ithought that no delay ought to be inter-posed to our pursuit of Marcus Antonius; andI gave my vote that we ought to pursue withwar that most audacious [bold] man, who . . .was at this moment attacking a general ofthe Roman people. . . . I said further, that . . .the garb of war should be assumed by thecitizens, in order that all men might applythemselves with more activity and energy toavenging the injuries of the republic.”

—Cicero, “The Sixth Oration ofM.T. Cicero Against

Marcus Antonius”

Why did Cicero want Rome to fightAntony?

Cicero Calls for War Cicero

Bettmann/CORBIS

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Antony and Cleopatra. The couple then fledto Egypt. A year later, as Octavian closed in,they killed themselves. Octavian, at the ageof 32, now stood alone at the top of theRoman world. The period of civil wars wasover, but so was the republic. Octavianwould lay the foundation for a new systemof government—the Roman Empire.

Who Was Augustus? Octavian couldhave made himself dictator for life, likeJulius Caesar did. He knew, though, thatmany people favored a republican form ofgovernment. One such person was Cicero(SIH • suh • ROH), a political leader, writer, andRome’s greatest public speaker. Cicero hadargued against dictators and called for a rep-resentative government with limited powers.

Cicero’s speeches and books swayedmany Romans. Centuries later, his ideas

would also influence the writers of the UnitedStates Constitution.

Although Cicero did not live to see Octavianrule, he had supported him, hoping he wouldrestore the republic. In 27 B.C. Octavianannounced that he was doing just that.

He knew the Senate wanted this form ofgovernment. However, Octavian also knewthat the republic had been too weak to solveRome’s problems. Although he gave somepower to the Senate, he really put himself incharge. His title, imperator, translates to“commander in chief,” but it came to mean“emperor.” Octavian also took the title ofAugustus (aw• GUHS • tuhs)—“the revered ormajestic one.” From this point on, he wasknown by this name.

Explain How did the Battleof Actium affect the history of Rome?

Study Central Need help understanding howthe republic collapsed? Visit ca.hss.glencoe.comand click on Study Central.

Reading SummaryReview the • As the gap between the ruling

class and the poor in Romeincreased, a number of reformsfailed, and generals began togather power.

• Julius Caesar became dictatorand carried out reforms to aidRome’s poor. Later he was assas-sinated by members of theSenate.

• Caesar’s grandnephew Octaviandefeated Antony and Cleopatraand became Augustus, the firstRoman emperor.

1. What is a triumvirate?

2. Who was Cicero, and how didhe influence the writers of theUnited States Constitution?

Critical Thinking3. Understanding Cause and

Effect Draw a diagram like theone below. Fill in the chain ofevents that led to Julius Caesartaking power.

4. Summarize What reforms didthe Gracchus brothers suggest?

5. How did failuresin leadership help bring aboutthe fall of the republic? Whatnew leaders took power as aresult?

6. Analyze What reforms didJulius Caesar put in place thatincreased his popularity withpoor and working-class Romans?

7. Persuasive Writing Imagineyou are a Roman citizen. Decidewhether you would have beenfor or against Julius Caesar’srise to power and his reforms.Then write a newspaper edito-rial explaining your views.

CA 6RC2.1; 6WA2.5

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CA 6RC2.4

CA CS2.

What Did You Learn?

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442

Was Caesar a Reformer or a Dictator?

During his life, Julius Caesar was

greatly admired by many people. He was

also hated and feared by many others.

Some believed he was too ambitious—

exceptionally eager for fame and power—

and that his ambition would keep him

from acting in Rome’s best interest.

Was Caesar a great reformer or an

ambitious dictator? Those who saw him as

a great leader and reformer said that he

• won the support of his soldiers

through his military leadership

and strategy

• treated many of his defeated

enemies generously and

appointed some of them—

including Brutus—to gov-

ernment positions

• ended the rule of corrupt

Roman nobles

• brought order and peace to

Rome

• restored cities that had

been destroyed by the

republic

• strengthened and

expanded the state of

Rome

• started public jobs pro-

grams to aid the poor

• granted Roman citizen-

ship to people from for-

eign countries or states.

Great Reformer

The assassinationof Julius Caesar

442

WH6.7.4 Discuss theinfluence of Julius Caesarand Augustus in Rome'stransition from republic toempire.

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AmbitiousDictator

Caesar also had many enemies,

including some who had been his

friends. They saw Caesar as a dan-

gerous dictator and thought he was

taking advantage of his growing

power. They said that he

• became an enemy when he

refused to follow the Senate’s

order to return to Rome

• started a civil war that led

to the destruction of the

republic

• increased the number

of senators to add to his

number of supporters

• treated his defeated enemies

with cruelty

• punished those who wanted

to uphold the traditions and

laws of the republic

• weakened the Senate to gain

absolute power over Rome

• kept hidden any facts that did

not make him look brave and

intelligent

• sought glory for himself at the

expense of the republic.

443

Julius Caesar

Checking for Understanding1. Define ambition. Identify some

ways ambition can be a positivecharacteristic and some ways itcan be a negative characteristic.

2. What could Caesar have done toshow his enemies that he wasnot abusing his power?

3. Do you think Caesar was a greatleader and reformer or an ambi-tious dictator? Write a briefessay that explains how youview Caesar. Use facts to support your position.

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