University
of Waterloo
Classical
Studies 252/History 252
Ancient
Roman History
Overhead
Lecture Notes
Lecture
#VI
Content
for Test #2
Lecturer
: D. E. A. Hutter
Important:
1. These notes are for D. E. A. Hutter’s section only.
2. These
notes give only an outline of the lectures, and important names and terms.
Students are expected to take detailed notes during the lectures.
3.
Text Readings:
pages 164 – 193.
LECTURE VI
- THE WARLORDS: MARIUS -
-
THE SOCIAL WAR -
-
THE WARLORDS: SULLA –
-
SULLA’S REIGN OF TERROR -
- BREAK -
-
SULLA’S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS –
-THE
DISINTEGRATION OF THE REPUBLIC -
-
REVIEW FOR TEST #2 NEXT CLASS -
By 115
BC Rome is a great Mediterranean power
-politically sick and corrupt
-city-state government poorly running an Empire
-politicians compete for prestige and power
-“the Mob” of Rome becomes a political force
The
Numidian War (111-104 BC)
-Roman clients/ally since 2nd
Punic War
-112BC Jugurtha wins Numidian civil war
-sacks the Numidian capital of Cirta
-Italian merchants and Roman citizens
killed
-Rome launches a half-hearted war at
first
-109-108 BC Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus
“Numidicus” slowly drives Jugurtha into western Numidia
-Gaius Marius, an officer of Metellus, replaces him and
defeats Jugurtha in 106 BC
Gauis
Marius(157-86 BC)
-Equestrian from a distinguished family from the small
town of Arpinum
-Novus Homo (“New Man”)
-an experienced officer and tough soldier
-119 BC elected Tribune of the People
-a political opportunist
-maries Julia, the aunt of Julius Caesar
-115 BC elected Praetor
107 BC
elected Consul (Novus Homo)
-took advantage of political chaos
-seen to be the man to end the war
106 BC
made Proconsul and charged to end the war with Jugurtha
-creates Rome’s first professional army
-remodels army
-recruits the proletariat and creates an army of the
poor (volunteers vs "landed" citizens)
-better training, equipment, pay, conditions
-state provides same uniform and standardized equipment
for all soldiers (deducted from their pay)
-permanent army, not just for a campaign
-organized into 10 Cohort Legion of 5-6,000 vs old
Maniple Legion (in three lines) of 4,000
-each Legion receives a silver eagle standard
-professional vs political officers
-soldiers promised bonuses and land on retirement by the
General, not the Senate!
-army more loyal to the General than to the Senate
-General/Warlord can become a threat
106 BC
Marius defeats Jugurtha (through treachery) and murders him in Rome
German
migrations: Teutoni & Cimbri invade northern Italy
-105 BC Cimbri defeat 80,000 Romans at Orange
104-100
BC Rome panics and makes Marius Consul (5 times in a row!)
-evil precedent
-102 BC defeats Teutoni at Aquae Sextiae in southern
France
-101 BC defeat Cimbri at Vercellae in northern Italy
104-99 BC defeats slave revolt in Sicily and pirates
Marius
returns to Rome a glorified hero
-great warrior and loved the limelight
-politically inept, indecisive and heavy
handed
-no great talent as a political speaker
-wants to hold power & get his
veterans land
-frustrated by Senate
-allies to Lucius Appuleius Saturninus and his colleague
Gaius Servilius Glaucia (not really like either of them)
Lucius
Appuleius Saturninus
-radical Gracchan type Tribune in 103
& 100
-3 main policies
-a) Treason Court set up (criminal offense to
compromise, injure, or diminish the honour or dignity of the Roman people”)
-go after
opponents/failed generals
-b) Bonuses and 66 acres of land in Africa for each
of Marius’ veterans
-c) Cheap grain for Rome’s urban poor (beginnings of the
free grain dole in Rome)
-ignored/threatened the Senate’s objections and used
violence against rival Tribune’s veto
-many, including Marius, feel he went too far
-both successfully campaign Tribuneship and Consulship
(illegal)
-Glaucia hires gangsters to kill a political rival
Senate
declares a state of emergency and orders Marius to kill them (“final decree of
the Senate”)
-Marius does not want to harm his allies
-locks them in Senate house to protect
them
-mob of nobles and Equestrians tear of roof and pelt
them to death
Senate
vetoes Saturninus’ laws and Marius retires to his estate in Asia
-Senate does not trust him
-Equestrians disenchanted with him
-people disappointed
-veterans want land and bonuses
Livius
Drusus Jr, plebeian Tribune and reformer
-91 BC proposes extension of Roman citizenship to all
Latins and Italian allies
-Italians gain Latin status
-Latins gain Roman status
-reward for long service to Rome
-made up more than half the army
-citizens, Equestrians, and Senate
opposes
-Senate vetoes his laws
-Drusus murdered
The
Social (Allied) War (90-88 BC)
-Rome’s first civil war
-Marsi tribes rebel in the east
-Samnites rebel in the south
-many tribes join rebellion and raise 100,000 veteran
soldiers
-set up own capital and Senate at Corfinium (75 miles
east of Rome), and mint own coinage
Rome
loses several battles in 90 BC
-Marius recalled but only as a legatus (deputy commander) to Publius Rutilius Lupus (who ignored
his advice and lost battles)
-Etruria and Umbria join revolt in the
north
89 BC
Rome passes three laws:
a)
Lex Julia gave Roman citizenship to all Latins and Italians still loyal
to Rome, and to those who would at once lay down their arms
b)
Lex Plautia-Papiria granted Roman citizenship to all free persons
resident in any allied community who would register before a Roman Praetor
within 60 days
c)
Lex Pompeia Roman citizenship to all free people living in Cisalpina
south of the Po River, and Latin rights to those north of the river
Rebellion
begins to collapse
-many join Rome
-Lucius Cornellius Sulla (a former officer of Marius)
finishes off southern rebels
Rome
wins by diplomacy what she could not win on the battlefield
-Italy all Roman, except for the Celtic lands along the
Po River
-Rome gains 500,000 new citizens
-Italian elite now join the ranks of the Equestrians
-some eventually join the Senatorials
Lucius
Cornelius Sulla Felix (“Lucky”) 138-78 BC
-Patrician and colleague of Marius
-had served as
Quaestor under Marius in Africa
-hero in Social War
-92 BC Governor of Cilicia (Asia Minor)
King
Mithridates VI (the Great) of Pontus
(120-63 BC)
-rich kingdom on south shores of Black
Sea
-warrior and hunter, not a diplomat
-115 BC took
sole power by killing mother and brother
-90 BC invade Cappadocia and Bithynia (Roman allies),
who request aid
-Consul Manius Aquilius compels Mithridates to leave,
and puts Nicomedes III on the Bithynian throne
88 BC
Aquilius encourages Nicomedes to invade Pontus in order to reward him/Rome for
their aid
-Mithridates defeats him, then invades Pergamum, Asia
Minor and Greece
-80,000 Italians killed in one day
-Aquilius has molten gold poured down his throat!
Marius and Sulla both want command against Mithridates
-Senate awards it to Sulla
-Tribune Sulpicius Rufus pushes through laws in the
Tribal Assembly that gave Marius the command against Mithridates
-violence erupts in Rome
-Marius helps Sulla escape Rome
-Sulla marches on Rome with army
-Sulpicius murdered and head posted on the Rostra
(Speakers Corner)
-Sulla murders a few opponents and then given the
command against Mithridates
-Marius captured and allowed to escape to Africa
-Sulla sails to the East
Lucius
Cornelius Cinna (Consul in 87, 86, 85 & 84 BC)
-father-in-law of young Julius Caesar
-dominates Rome and Italy while Sulla in
East
-supported by Populares (demogagues willing to use the
popular assemblies)
-opposed by Optimates (those who stand with the Senate,
ie Sulla)
-annuls laws of Sulla, enacts laws of
Sulpicius
(Marius back in charge of the East!)
-Senate declares Cinna a public enemy and drives him out
of Rome
-Cinna recalls Marius
Marius
(in his 70’s) marches on Rome
-reign of terror against Senators and nobles who opposed
him (heads on the Rostra)
-confiscate property and wealth
-86 BC made Consul (7 times in 20 years, and 5 times in
a row!)
-dies a few days later
-Cinna becomes Marian leader
-84 BC lynched by his own troops
1st
Mithridatic War (88-84 BC)
-87 BC Sulla arrives in the East
-crushes all opposition
-generous peace with Mithridates (abandon his conquests,
give up 80 warships, pay 2,000 Talents)
-wishes to make peace to get back to Rome
83 BC
Sulla marches on Rome
-joined by young Marcus Licinius Crassus (small army
from Spain)
-joined by 23-year old Pompey (who raised three legions
on his own
-Sulla hails him as Imperator
and “The Great”
-long, bloody civil war begins
82 BC
Sulla defeats last Marian and Samnite army at the Battle of Colline Gates
-6,000 Samnite prisoners tortured and murdered
-The Proscriptions begin
-list of persona non gratia
-property seized by the state
-reward for killing those on the list
-descendants not allowed public office
-1,000’s killed, including 90 Senators, 15 Consulars,
and 2,600 Equestrians
Enemy’s
wealth used to pay his veterans
82 BC
Sulla made “Dictator for the Reconstruction of the State” for life
-power of life or death
-only he can terminate his power
-changes
made to bolster the power and majesty of the Senate (and keep him alive and in
power!)
a) 300 Equestrians added to
the Senate (600 total)
b) Courts and Juries
reformed to be more fair and effective
c) Regularized the Cursus
Honorum (create an order and schedule for “climbing the ladder”)
d) Crippled the power of the
Tribunes
-can hold no higher office
-veto only valid in cases of personal rights
-can
only propose laws before the Senate (not the Tribal Assembly)
e) Abolish the Censorship
(no one to check if Senators have minimum wealth to hold office)
f) Limited powers of
Governors & reorganized the Provinces
Sulla made Consul in 80 BC,
retired in 79 BC & died in 78 BC (“I have always rewarded my friends with
good, my enemies with evil.)
81 BC 2nd
Mithridatic War
78 BC Consul Marcus Aemilius
Lepidus (Sullan) marches on Rome to take power
-defeated
and escapes to Spain to join the Sertorian revolt
Quintus Sertorius (a Marian)
was one of Rome’s greatest generals
-loved by Spaniards & Portuguese
-defeated every Sullan army sent after him
-82-72 BC lead forces against Rome in Spain
Pompey “The Great” demands
command against Sertorius (76-71 BC)
-73
BC defeats Sertorius by bribing an officer to turn traitor and murder him
-then
executes officer for murder!
-makes
respectable peace with Spaniards
-returns
to Rome in triumph
Spartacus: the Slave War in Italy (73-71 BC)
-Thracian
slave (possibly royal descent)
-Gladiator
School at Capua
-Mt.
Vesuvius
-70,000
Gauls, Germans, slaves & poor
-defeat
armies of 4 Praetors & 2 Consuls
-Marcus
Licinius Crassus given 6 new legions
-Spartacus
escapes from southern Italy
-Germans
& Gauls slit off from rest of army
-Pompey
recalled to help out (Crassus hurries!)
-71 BC
Crassus defeats Spartacus in the south
-6,000
prisoners crucified on the road between Capua and Rome
-Pompey
defeats last 5,000 slaves in Etruria, then claims credit for ending the war!
70 BC
Crassus & Pompey arrive in triumph in Rome
-both
demand a consulship
-Pompey
6 years too young (must be at least 43 according to Sullan reforms)
-Senate
try to play off the two men
-not
like each other, but ally for power
-both
made Consul
-Pompey
restores powers to the Tribunes (allies!)
-both
restore the Censorship (64 pro-Sullan Senators ejected)
-Equestrians
return to jury service in equal numbers to the Senators
-all
these acts wiped out the oligarchic reforms of Sulla and supported a more
democratic platform, as in the pre-Sullan days
The
Great Mithridatic War (74-63 BC)
-Pontus,
Armenia (Tigranes II his son-in-law) and the pirates of Crete & Cilicia
-Mithridates
invades Bithynia
-Consul
L. Licinius Lucullus occupies Bithynia, most of Pontus and Armenia (brilliant
victories!)
-67 BC
Roman army tired & overextended in Armenia and refuses to fight
-mutiny
inflamed my corrupt bankers
-Tigranes
and Mithridates rally troops and push Romans back
-66 BC
Lucullus humiliated and replaced by Pompey (too young for such a command!)
-Lucullus
retires to his wine, fish ponds and cherry trees
66-62
BC Pompey acts quickly to finish off his opponents
-force
Tigranes to accept status as ally of Rome
-Mithridates
cornered and commits suicide (murders his wife and daughters)
-Pompey
allows Mithridates son, Pharnaces II to bury him with honours in tomb of Pontic
kings
-defeat
pirates and conquer Cilicia
-annex
Syria and Phoenicia as a Roman Province
-extend
Roman rule to the Euphrates River
63 BC
Pompey in Judea
-brothers
fight over the throne of the Maccabees
Hyrcanus
is the weaker brother, supported by the Pharisees (Torah + oral tradition and
interpretations handed down by the Scribes)
Aristobulus
is the stronger, pro-Parthian, brother, supported by the Sadduccees (rich
land-owners and priestly caste, fundamentalists who took the Torah literally)
Pompey
supported Hyrcanus
-impact
on future of Judaism & Christianity?
Pompey
now the most powerful man in Rome