The Julio-Claudian Dynasty The term Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the series of the first five Roman Emperors. These men ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 68, when the last of the line, Nero, committed suicide.  The dynasty is so named from the family names of its first two emperors: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Augustus) and Tiberius Claudius Nero (Tiberius).  The ruling line was founded upon an alliance between these two families. The 5 Emperors of the Dynasty: 1.Augustus ( 27 BC– AD 14) 2.Tiberius (14– 37) 3.Caligula (37– 41) 4.Claudius (41– 54 5.Nero (54– 68)

1 Julius Caesar - The Man Who Ended the Roman Republic

"Sic Semper Tyrannus!"  -  Death to all Tyrants

The story of the Julio-Claudian Line begins with Julius Caesar.

Gaius Julius Caesar was one of history's most prolific conquerors, battling through Spain, Gaul, Germany, Britannia, and Egypt.  More than any other leader, he was responsible for the creation of the remarkable Roman Empire.  Yet for his efforts, he was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. 

First Came the Etruscans Caesar was assassinated because he was the man who dared to change Rome from a Republic to an Empire.   In so doing, Caesar hit a deep nerve.  Many Romans were deeply paranoid about giving too much power to one man.  They had good reason.  To understand Rome, you have to go back 750 years to the hated Etruscan kings who ruled Rome during its infancy.  According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 BC by the twins Romulus and Remus.  These men were the leaders of an invading tribe known as the Etruscans.  Prior to the Etruscans, this area on the Tiber River had been a small, inconspicuous town.  Then in 753 BC, out of nowhere, a powerful tribe known as the Etruscans moved into town and took over.  About a hundred years earlier, the Etruscans had migrated from Asia Minor over to Southern Italy.  Gradually expanding northward from the Bay of Naples, the Etruscans organized the backward Italic peoples into a loose confederation of Etruscan-dominated city-states.  Rome had become just the latest victim in the shadow of Etruscan expansion.  Before they were free.  Now they had rulers. From the very start, Rome was bathed in violence.  During an argument, Romulus killed his brother.  No one knows what the argument was about, but I suspect they couldn't agree on what to call their new city.  Remus' death solved that problem nicely.  Romulus decided to name the city after himself.

Now that he was in charge, Romulus didn't waste any time.  This town lacked fortifications, so it was vulnerable to attack.  Romulus put the conquered people of Rome to work in a massive building project.  In short order, Rome had grown from a village to a city.  It was now the largest city in the area. Just like a modern boomtown, people from around the countryside flocked to the area in search of work and adventure.  There was one problem - almost all the newcomers were nomadic single men.

This problem led to the incident with the Sabine women.  Rome's population growth was stagnating because there weren't enough women.  Romulus petitioned the surrounding tribes for rights to intermarry. Despite his efforts, the Roman requests were all met with stern declination.  Leave our women alone.

Romulus decided that if the neighboring towns would not share their women, Rome would take them. The Romans hid their dismay and pretended to be friends with their stingy neighbors. Then they resorted to trickery.

Romulus sent out word that they would hold the grandest festival and greatest games in a celebration to honor 'Equestrian Neptune'.  He made sure the spectacle was thoroughly announced to the neighboring peoples. He gave the event great publicity by the most lavish means possible in those days.

Excited at the prospect of such a festival and curious to get a glimpse of the new city, the surrounding tribes flocked to Rome.

The visitors were received with hospitality in the houses.  After having seen the position of the city, its walls, and the large number of buildings, they marveled that Rome had grown so fast.

The Sabine people came in the greatest number, bringing their wives and children. All were hypnotized by the great city; the men ready to compete against its builders in the games, the women and children anxious to watch.

When the games began and all were distracted, the signal was given. Suddenly the Roman men stopped whatever they were doing and rushed after the young maidens, mostly the women of the Sabine.  They swept them up and carried them off in all directions to their homes. Startled at the sudden violence, most of the visitors fled, leaving their women at the mercy of the Romans.

You have to assume the most barbaric of the Roman men won the initial mating privileges because their offspring would go on to carry the 'vicious gene' through many generations.  The Destiny of Rome would be one of brutality and blood lust for many centuries to come.

Rule of the Hated Etruscan Kings Romulus was the first of seven Etruscan Kings that would rule Rome.  One of the most important features of the Etruscan dynasty was the increase of the kingly power. All the Etruscan kings were powerful, ruthless rulers.   Although everyone wishes to be free, you can't help but note that without the Etruscan influence, Rome would never had amounted to anything.  The massive building project begun by Romulus turned Rome from a village into a city which in turn led to a rapid population growth.  Furthermore, the Italic people were more or less peaceful, but the Etruscans changed that attitude quickly.  They gave to Rome a certain kind of strength and influence which it did not have before.  Mostly the kings mistreated the citizens so badly that over time they began to grow a backbone.  Resentment has a way of doing that. The great power of the Etruscan kings was at first used for the good of the people, but unchecked power corrupts.  Etruscan Rule became a tyranny which was oppressive and hateful.  For 250 years, the Roman people chafed under the rule of these outsiders.  Finally, in 509 BC, the last Etruscan king was expelled.  This moment marked the birth of the Roman Republic. The ejection of the Etruscan kings brought about the establishment of a Republican government in Rome that allowed all citizens to participate.  Once the monarchy was abolished, a decree was passed that there would be no more kings in Rome.

Their next step was to establish a constitution.  Roman Law became a way the citizens could find protection from complete domination by the elite.  Then they elected Senators to oversee Roman Law.

At the time of the Etruscan overthrow, the Senate had already been a part of Roman life for some time.  The Senate had been formed under the Etruscan kings as an advisory council with no real power.  Now the Roman people looked to their Senate for leadership.   The Senate appointed two consuls, patrician men who would rule Rome like a king, but only for one year.  This limited rule was a wise idea.  The two consuls ruled carefully and not as a tyrant, for they knew that otherwise they could be punished by the next consul once his year was up.

The word 'Republic' itself comes from the Latin (the language of the Romans) words 'res publica' which mean 'public matters' or 'matters of state'.  This new 'Republic' experiment turned out to be pretty successful.  It lasted from 510 BC until 23 BC - almost 500 years. By comparison, the government of the  United States of America has only existed since 1776 - less than 250 years!

Cicero denounces Cataline in the Senate (painting by Maccari)

Era of the Roman Republic - A Brief History   510 BC until 23 BC.  These 500 years marked the Era of the Roman Republic, the time when Rome was ruled by its citizens.  This was the period that witnessed the great expansion of Roman power and civilization.  The Roman Empire was an accident, so to speak.  The seeds of the Roman Empire were formed during the Era of the Roman Republic as the city became fanatical in its pursuit of security.  The history of the Republic involved continuous warfare.  All of the historical events which shape the tradition of Roman valor date from this tumultuous period of constant defense and invasion.

Only in the later stages of the Republic did building the Roman Empire become a deliberate objective.  In the beginning, Roman Power started as a defensive strategy.  As Nietzsche once said, "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  Having been conquered once, the Roman people were determined not to see it happen again.  250 years of domination had left a large collective chip on their shoulder.  Fortunately, that infusion of angry Etruscan blood had turned the Romans into warriors themselves.  Immediately the Romans built up their armies to fend off any threat of further Etruscan invasion. 

Originally, the wars which the Republic fought were largely defensive wars; the expulsion of the hated kings provoked many counter-attacks by the Etruscans and their allies. Soon, however, the Romans were moving to gain control over neighboring territory in order to further neutralize the threat of attack. Their logic was that control over these territories would obviate any potential attack from the people occupying those territories and at the same time provide a buffer region between themselves and potential attackers. Roman conquest, then, was pursued largely for Roman security; the end result of this process would be, first, the conquest of the entire Italian peninsula, and then the conquest of the world.

After the Etruscan overthrow, it took the Romans about 100 years to conquer Italy.  After the Romans had essentially annexed all of Italy, they found further expansion would be much more difficult.  Their progress in the north was checked by the Gauls, a fierce, warlike people of Celtic descent.  The Gauls dominated the area we now know as France, Switzerland, and Northern Italy.  The Gauls didn't appreciate being attacked by the Romans.  They decided to retaliate.  In 387 BC, the Gauls roared across the Alps into Italy, soundly defeated the Roman army, and then captured and burned Rome to the ground.  It took Rome 50 years to recover any semblance of its former might.  

Beaten once by the Etruscans, beaten a second time by the Gauls, the Romans reformed as a powerful military state.  They immediately went about reconquering Italy.  They took out all remaining Etruscans plus any Gauls that had lingered in their territory.  By 265 BC, Rome was now in control of the Italian Peninsula.   Twenty years later, Rome turned its attention to its enemy in the south - Carthage, a powerful adversary from across the sea (modern day Tunisia).

The Punic Wars with Carthage The Roman fight with Carthage began over the control of Sicily, a large island off the coast of southern Italy. Carthage owned it; Rome wanted it.  In 241 BC, Rome eventually prevailed in a prolonged battle known as The First Punic Wars.  Twenty years later, a brilliant Carthaginian commander known as Hannibal nearly put an end to the budding Roman Empire.  In September of 218, he crossed the Alps with his army and entered Italy on a war of invasion. Although his army was tired from the long trip, he literally smashed the Roman armies he encountered in northern Italy using a most unusual weapon - elephants!   Hannibal's victory over Rome, as he saw it, would be guaranteed by convincing Roman allies and subject cities to join Carthage.  After all, everyone loves to kick a bully when he is down.  These spectacular victories brought a horde of Gauls from the north to help Hannibal, 50,000 or more.  Hannibal couldn't be stopped!  Terror gripped Rome.

Desperate, they asked Quintus Fabius Maximus to become absolute dictator of Rome. The Romans weren't sure that they could beat Hannibal in open warfare. Therefore Fabius was determined to avoid open warfare at any cost.  His strategy was to simply harass the Carthaginian army until they were weak enough to be engaged with openly.  However, when Hannibal marched into Cannae and started decimating the countryside in 216 BC, Fabius sent an army of eighty thousand soldiers against him. This army was completely wiped out, the largest defeat Rome ever suffered. Roman allies in the south of Italy literally ran to Hannibal's side; the whole of Sicily allied itself with the Carthaginians. In addition, the king of Macedon, Philip V, who controlled most of the mainland of Greece, allied himself with Hannibal and began his own war against Roman possessions in 215 BC.  This was Rome's darkest day.

The situation seemed nearly hopeless for the Romans.  Fabius had been so chastened by his bitter defeat that he absolutely refused to go against Hannibal again.  Hannibal's army moved around the Italian countryside absolutely unopposed. Hannibal, however, couldn't find a way to put a stake through Rome's heart.  Once the Gauls had their victory and their plunder, they returned to the north.  Hannibal had indeed wreaked great havoc on Italy, but was so far isolated from his supply lines that his army lacked a finishing kick.  His army was far too weak in numbers and in equipment to conquer an entire country singlehandedly. Hannibal couldn't be beaten, but at the same time he didn't have enough soldiers to lay siege to cities such as Rome nor did he have the men or equipment to storm those cities by force.  All he could do was roam the countryside and lay waste to it.   This kept his men well fed, but basically spinning their wheels in the process.

The Romans had lived to fight another day.  They knew they couldn't beat Hannibal face to face.  However, Hannibal's failure to attack their city gave them time to regroup.  Once they began to understand why he couldn't attack Rome, they decided to fight the war through the back door.  Hannibal was dependent on Spain for future supplies and men, but he had left the defense of Spain in the hands of inferior generals.  A young, strategically brilliant man known as Scipio was put in charge of the Roman army.  Scipio soon conquered all of Spain, leaving Hannibal high and dry in Italy.

Scipio then crossed into Africa in 204 BC and took the war to the walls of Carthage itself. This forced the Carthaginians to sue for peace with Rome; part of the treaty demanded that Hannibal leave the Italian peninsula. Hannibal was one of the great strategic generals in history; during his war with Rome he never once lost a battle. Now, however, he was forced to retreat to save his home country.  Although Hannibal had won every battle he fought against Rome, Carthage had ultimately lost the war.

When Hannibal returned to Carthage, the Carthaginians took heart and rose up against Rome in one last desperate roll of the dice.  In 202 BC, at Zama in northern Africa, Hannibal fought against Scipio and his army.  Now Hannibal met his first defeat.  Afterwards, the terms Carthage acceded to were so punishing that it was never able to challenge Rome for supremacy of the Mediterranean again.  Rome controlled the whole of the western Mediterranean as well as northern Africa.

World Domination This was the defining historical experience of the Romans. They had faced certain defeat with toughness and determination and had won against overwhelming odds. For the rest of Roman history, the character of being Roman would be rooted in the histories of this desperate war against Carthage. The Second Punic War turned Rome from a regional power into an international empire: it had gained much of northern Africa, Spain, and the major islands in the western Mediterranean.  In addition, Rome had a new score to settle.  Because Philip V of Macedon had allied himself with Hannibal and started his own war of conquest, after the Second Punic War, Rome turned east in wars of conquest against first Philip and then other Greek kingdoms. The end result of the Second Punic War marked the beginning of the domination of the known world by Rome.

Ancient history has shown that it is enormously difficult to hang onto conquered territories.  The Romans, however, seemed to have figured out how to peacefully hold onto conquered territory with both liberal and militaristic policies. First, Rome didn't destroy conquered cities, but granted them certain rights. Some cities were allowed full Roman citizenship, particularly those near to Rome. Others were allowed certain Roman rights. Some were allowed complete autonomy. Some were allowed to become allies without war, Egypt for example.

All, however, were required to send Rome taxes and troops. In addition, Rome settled soldiers on the captured lands as payment for their service. Some of these land grants were especially lucrative. The soldiers got land wealth, and the Romans got permanent military settlers in the conquered lands. In this way, Rome was able to maintain a permanent military settlement in every conquered land. In order to reinforce these settlements, the Romans began an ambitious road-building project. Their roads were of the highest quality and went in straight lines—right straight over mountains in fact—so that soldiers and supplies could be quickly moved into rebellious territories. The response to any revolt was swift and harsh. So the combination of granting conquered territories rights and citizenship (or the promise of future rights and citizenship) and the surety of a swift, harsh response to rebellion gave a compelling reason to simply "accept" Roman Rule.  This produced a lasting, peaceful empire throughout their vast territories. It took Caesar ten years to conquer Gaul (France), but once he succeeded, the Roman Empire had reached the pinnacle of its power.  It was an amazing accomplishment.