Below are my notes ....
Poor plebs (literally)
- The poet Juvenal said the people "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
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 that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
- soldiers' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic
Nobody did that better then 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 and Palestine)
- Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history)
- these three men formed the First Triumvirate ("rule of three men")
No comments:
Post a Comment