Key Term s

Theme fo r today :

fide:
Moti vat io n fo r Roman expansion
impe -1alts m
Conflict of powe rs
defe nsive 1mperi al1sm
Divisions in Rom an society
publ,can, = publicans
Roma n except1onalism
prol Pta ri1 / assi du1
J, .. d n Hut: Keith Bous h r
latifund,a Jark Me1selrnJn ( o n n r Ch 1p rn d r
opti m ates / popu lists Joshud Bt·clrd (JI 1n f r1fE I H
Tiberius Semproni us Gracch us JonJth 1n Bt•rnard1 Kr I h n J l> d d j L
JcJrn1 Bohrer Ch r I t , n P cJ f-' l I r g P
Co r nelia
Juqin rh Jo p ~H r G 11t f--' rt
(. IH I t
regn um JJrf rj E lgJrtf•n C urt1 Hunt
Gaius Sempron ius Gracchus Jpffu y H c litH rg ldtlirildH
senatus co nsultum ul t 1m um J ,ridth,H J din nr l t ,Hlf M ~nuf-
J hn LPt Ht< ( t r1 t fPr M11un )
J<)~( r ·r JI >l j

Jin ~dP R
J3 c t t H rn H
Direct fo rm s of control: m ilita ry conquest, econom ic
exploit at ion, t erritorial acquisition, direct annexation

Indirect forms (often ca lled " hegemon " ): cont rol of "cli ent"
states, cultu ral influe nce of cent er on periphery

" Im per ialism" is now heavily loaded wit h moral weight.

 Traditional Roman explanation

Rome prote cts its own inte rests and those of its allies out of
fide. (loya lty).

Defensive Imperialism Hegemony achieved as unintended

co nsequence of
meeting o bl igations to allies.

Ove rlo o ~s wh at kind of motivation s Romans may have had.

Critiqu e of "d efensive im peria lism"

W.V. Ha rris, War and Im per ialism in Republican Rome (1979)

focu ses on ince nt ives f or wa r

disti ngu ishe s betwee n aristo cratic & popu la r incenti ves

conc lu des t hat Rom an acti ons in 3 rd and 2 nd cent uri es

we re essenti ally aggressive (not defensive) &
were part of a delib erate move tow ard empire

Arthur Eckste in disagrees on both of th ese la st t wo points.

 Building blocks of Harris argument (Part One: aristocratic motivations)

1 ) Roma n exceptionalis1 : Rom ans are more aggressive than other peop les

2) Romans go t o war on an almost annual basis (e.g., Temple of Janus)

3) War is part of t he Roman calendar

4) M ilitary exce llence is part of the Roman aristocratic ethos

~ - : : , . L-CO ~ N E\. IOJCNfHIPIO ~

ii I
Building blocks of Harris' argument (Part Two: popular motivations)

1) v Ict o ry is fun a n d good

an other facet of Roman xceptionalism : they win m ore often

than everyone el se

2) econom ic benefit s

land and natural res ources

gold/ silver / plunder

sale o f capt ives into slavery

pub lic contracts ➔ Jub/1can1

t axes
Eck~e1n ' counter ra 1 ment
Harri, only looks at Rome , but Rome did not ex ist 1n 1sol at1on

Have to look at Mediterranean as a syst em with competing powers.

Rom e, Greece, and Hellen 1st 1c kingdoms (M acedonia, Syna, and Egypt esp.)

Rom e 1s not so exceptiona l ➔ everyo ne else 1s doing the same th ing

Ob ervat1on made by other

Ro m an expan sion 1s not monol ithic: varies i n pace and level

M ot1vat1on 1s vaned ➔ Rome' s act for different rea so ns 1n differe nt circumstanc es

➔ no single answer
Signs trouble 1s brewing in Italy 1n the 2 nd century BCE:

General popula ti on decl in e ➔ especia lly the number of ss1dt drops

State begins eq uipping so ld iers (at so ldi ers' expe nse)

En ormous influx of slaves

Land distribution : w ealthy landowners buy out smallholders ➔ at1fund1a

Slave wa rs 1n 134-131 and 104-100

Gro wi ng t ension amo ng senatorial elite

no longer a patri cian / plebe1a n divide
d1v1d ed developing between ot1mace and )opul1sts
crysta l1 zed after the Gracch,
d1v1de a Isa deve lo ping bet \vee n sen atona I and eq uestrian classe s
 Fan1 1ly 1·rcc

Sc1p10 /\ fric anu, .. .L\ c1n ll 1us Paullus~Scip io Aen1 il ian us ., and the Gracchi

P Comt..lius Scipio

L AcrnilnL" Pau l.i.s PComchr Scipio Cn. Cornelius )c1 p10 Calvw.)
I
I
Pap tr1a - L Acm, ,us Pau llt.c" Acm d,a = P Cornelius Scipio \ f n canu, L Cornelius Sc1p10 A.s1agcncs

Q f nbius Ma.\:1111u, .-\cm1ltanu.s

- ~eM lia = P 7 c11us Scipio L Corncliu" Sc1p10 Cornelia ~taior Cnrnd1a ~linor
. Acm ·1
P Comcl,u-:, P f Sc1p10 - ~
, rnn us Alncanus
Sempror 1u, Grace , us

= I
~cmpronia ft.Scmprnnius Gracch u~ ( Scmproni u.s Gracchus x x , x x x x x .\.
I
 · tnbun f the pleb 13_l)_

en forc e re strict io n of ho ldings of public land to 500 1ugera ➔ withou t rent

alrea dy on books since 367 BCE

add s prov1s1on of 250 1ugera for each of two son s

provide<; for compensat io n t o current hold ers for improvem ents made on prop erty

la nd recovered by state to be d1str1b ute d to th e poor by co mm1 ss1on of thre e me n

allo tm ents to be 1n large area acq uired by Rom ans 1n 2 nd Carth W ar

new all o tm ents ca nnot be sold ➔ have t o pay nom ina l rent fe e
 Issues Tiberius Gracchus is trying to solve

Dec linin g military ma n power

growt h in slave po pu la t io n

growth tn urban poor

possib le devel o p ing economic cris is

(vve al th not fl o\v ing into Ro m e like it had be en)

p o p u la t ion growth in p oorest sectors is outpacing income growth

NB: n eith er th e p ro blems nor th e so lutions are new in 133

 f Ga1u {tr pl 1n 123 and 122)
To b e nefi t th e peopl e
restore fu ll power t o comm1ss1on for land allotm ents
build ro ad s
esta b lish colonies at d ecl1n1ng ur ban ce nters & at Carthage
r eg ul ation of grain su ppl y (not a d o le)
proh1b1t conscri pti on p rior t o age 1 7

To p u nish t hose w ho kille d his brother

magist rates who usurp peopl e's right to adjud icate capital cases
can themselves be given capital p u nishment
capital se ntence for j u dge who takes a bribe

To benefit provi ncials & equestrians (mostly the latter}

Jury for extort ion cou rt : eithe r all eq uestrian or half eq .
cons u la r pro vinces must be chosen before consular electi ons
ta xe s for provin ce Asi a to be co ll ected by uo11 a ,

To benefit th e alli es
full rights fo r th ose with Latin rights, Latin ri ghts for allies