cyber day 24


I will be taking the Sup Western Civ test from 8:55- 9:45am on June 2nd.


Poor Plebs
  • How do you keep the plebs happy (or at least keep them from revolting) ?
  •  the poet Juvenal said Rome "anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses"
  • bread(free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet, distracted, and docile
a change in rule
  •  Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)
  •  Military generals worked that angle - lead an army conquers a land, then give then a share in the spoils
  •  Soldiers' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic
nobody did that better than Caesar
  •  Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE)
  •  a highly successful general
  •  he conquered the huge territory of Gaul
he could play the game (of politics)
  •  made common folks happy
  •  made friends in high places  
                    - Pompey (a general who conquered Syria Palestine)
                    - Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history) 
                    - these three men formed the first the first Triumvirate ("rule of three men") 
Caesar seizing power
  •  serves as consul (one year) 
  •  Appoints himself governor of Gaul
  •  Pompey is jealous, becomes his rival
  •  Caesars armies clash with Pompey in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt 
  •  In 44 BC he is named dictator - first for 6 months, then for life
Caesar's reforms
  •  Granted citizenship to people in Provinces
  •  Expanded the Senate, adding his friends
  •  Created jobs for the poor, especially through public works projects
  •  increased pay for soldiers
  •  started colonies where those without land could own property
Assassination
  •  Why? The senators saw Caesar's rise in power as a huge threat to their political viability
  •  How? They lured him into the Senate, stabbing him 23 times, making sure all were involved
  •  Who? Even Brutus, Caesar's ally
  •  Senators were not punished
  •  Octavian was named Julius Caesar's sole heir
  •  This was the end of the republic

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