The loyalty of his troops was understood and it was difficult to prevent him from taking a leading role in the politics of the City.Ĭaesar’s informal power sharing arrangement with Pompey and Crassus (now referred to as the first triumvirate) breaks down with the death of Crassus in 53 BCE and Pompey in 48 BCE. The Roman people were well aware of his military prowess, even if they disagreed with his methods. Caesar’s military exceptionalism in the 50s BCE translates into a controversial political sway with the crossing of the Rubicon. had become wealthy himself, had enriched his soldiers from their campaigns, and had been saluted by them as Imperatorīut what happens after that defines Caesar’s career and changes Rome itself. Julius Caesar is acclaimed imperator in 60 BCE by his troops in Hispania Ulterior ( Plutarch, Life of Caesar 12) : This usually comes from the soldiery, you can’t buy it (at least theoretically). As a military commander, one of the honours you can receive is acclamation as imperator. This is where an appreciation for Latin can open up our understanding of the complexity at play in ancient Rome. This is an extension of monarchy, but where a monarch rules over their own people as sovereign and is often the chief law-maker, an emperor rules over their own state and conquered states.ĭoes Julius Caesar fit the bill? Julius Caesar accrues vast military power which he parleys into political influence. The second type of empire is a political structure, headed up by – drum roll please – an emperor. Rome is an established empire of this kind by around 264 BCE, when they put down an uprising in the Etruscan city of Volsinii. This control of geography and peoples who may not be Latin speakers is definitely what we would call “an empire created through conquest”. Rome is also infamous for their victory in the Punic Wars with the destruction of Carthage (North Africa) in 146 BCE. Greece ends up under the thumb (214-146 BCE) and then Rome sets sight on the states of Asia Minor (roughly equivalent to the modern Middle East). Rome expanded from there to annex states and cities further abroad. In the ongoing struggle between cities and regions, Rome came to rule over all Italy. Italy was populated by many different peoples and language groups from the Greek colonial outposts of Magna Grecia to the Etruscans to the Oscan speakers and more. Rome has a reputation as a war machine, gradually bringing the whole geographic region of Italy under its sway. The first is empire as “domination over territory of peoples who are not Roman”. There are two important ideas to appreciate about empire that help us understand Rome and its politics. Let’s start with the concept of a Roman empire. In order to appreciate the nuance of the debate, we’ll need to explore a little bit of Latin and the concept of “empire”. This is a great question because different scholars have different perspectives about who was the first emperor of Rome.
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