EMPEROR AUGUSTUS

Octavian changed his title later on to Emperor Augustus. He was the first Roman emperor and managed to reign till AD 14. The republic was never abolished. Augustus cleverly used a number of legally held offices and it gave him the control and power over the state and army. While doing so the republic slowly but surely faded away. However, the Senate and traditional institution remained.

Augustus was a great ruler and his armies kept pushing the boundaries further until the borders of the empire reached the Danube.  While Augustus was successful the following rulers Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero were scandalous and did not have Augustus’s restrain. Also they all paid with life it only affected Rome itself and not the empire. The empire prospered as a result of Pax Romana (Roman Peace).  This meant Roman law enforcement, Roman rods, and Roman genius for building and engineering.

Another reason for the stabilization of Rome was further grants of citizenship to provincials. On e features not to be admired was the so called “bread and circuses”. It meant to keep the city crowd happy with doles and entertainment. The entertainments were mainly gladiatorial games and other murderous shows. 

On a whole Augustus successors took his advice and did not expand the empire any more. The only exception was conquering Britain which begun in 43 AD. It was during the reign of Claudius.  They occupied an area roughly of England and Wales. At first they had to defeat a revolt but the upper-class Britains started to wear toga, lived in villas, and followed the way of Roman’s life.

Nero was related to Caesar and Augustus and reigned form AD54 till 68. He was Roman’s last emperor. The word Caesar continued to be used as a title such Tsar and Kaiser came form it. After Nero there were several contestants for the title. Vespasian was a self-made man and restored order. His programme made him popular. He started to build the Colosseum and several other public buildings.

COLOSSEUM

RISE AND DECLINE OF ROMAN’S EMPIRE

The Flavian dynasty which included Vespasian, Titus and Domitian finished with the murder of Domitian. He was a tyrannical rule although his achievements were impressive. Then began the age of the Antonines from AD 96 and lasted till 192.  This era is always looked upon as the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. During its time it had five good rulers. They were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The remarkable rule of the Antonines era was that the Emperor does not appoint a man who was a close relative of his but in his view the most able man available. During the ruling of conqueror-emperor Trajan the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent.

The fall of the Roman Empire came when Marcus Aurelius who ruled from 161-180, done away with the Antonine rule of not appointing a close relative but choose the ablest man known. Marcus Aurelius made his own son, Commodus as a successor. Commodus ruled from 180 till 1192. He was a great tyrant and was murdered. This murder ended the Antonine line. When Commodus died civil wars broken out and it was only the start to the terrible and disastrous 3^rd century.

  

ROMAN EMPIRE

It is amazing that the great Roman Empire started with a few hill villages and eventually ruled the whole Mediterranean. Although they had cruel customs and were savage when they fought a war but they still developed a Roman civilization which lived in memories through centuries.

According to their recorded history the Romans originated from Aeneas a Trojan who escaped when the Greeks conquered and destroyed his city.  The legend is tells that Rome was founded by one of the twin sons of war-god Mars.

The reality is different. The beginning of Rome started with the few hill side villages which banded together. They were lucky to on the trade routes across Italy and therefore prospered. Rome stood in the shadow of the Etruscans for a long time that lived in Central Italy and provided several of its kings

NEW REPUBLIC

However, in 510 BC the Romans dethroned their last king, Tarquinius Superbus, and declare it a republic. Class conflict rages between the patricians (aristocrats) and the plebeians (people) for 200 years. After that a constitutional stability was achieved.

ANCIENT ROME SENATE

Under the new constitution an aristocrat called Senate made the laws and decisions but the real leadership was made by two consuls. The consuls were elected every year by the people.  He would then select aristocratic candidates. The two consuls will have then to represent their choice to the people. In reality the arrangements kept a sense of common citizenship and public spirit which was Rome’s power.

Thanks to this solid foundation the Romans were able to govern and reign and later dominate other tribes. Eventually they defeated the Etruscans, Samnites and Gauls. Part of their success was a great change in treating their defeated enemies.  No sooner they defeated them they granted them Roman citizenship. Therefore, they grew stronger and bigger by numbers instead of having to control rebels.

FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

By 272 BC the Romans ruled the Italian peninsular. They were joining forced with the Cathaginians to subdue the Greek cities of the south and expelled the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus form Sicily. The island was the course of 23-year war from 264 BC to 241 BC) between Rome and Carthage. Carthage was a great and commercial power in North Africa and pressure Rome to gain supremacy in the western Mediterranean. The Roman legions an essential citizen army stood up well against the mercenaries of Carthage. However, the main defeat came from Rome when they built a formidable navy. At the end Carthage took Sicily and Rome seized Sardinia and Corsica.

This was only the test which Rome was pushed to the limit. The Carthaginians built up a new empire in Spain. They had a commander Hannnibal who was an absolute genius. His father made him swear to hate Rome forever. When war was declared between the two nations Hannibal went across the Alps with African war-elephants. He descended on Italy  the Romans experienced a terrible defeat at Trebbia in 218 BC, at Lake Trsimene in 217 BC and Cannac in 216BC. In spite of being outnumbered by the Romans. However, the gates of Rome were closed even so Hannibal found support in southern Italy and he stayed there for 16 years he could not break it down. In the mean time Romans defeat Hannibal’s allies. Conquered Spain and invaded North Africa.  Eventually Hannibal was defeated at Zuma in 202BC and Carthage had to surrender.

From there on Romans made sure they never were defeated again. During the 2^nd century BC they conquered Macedon, Greece, Pergamum in Asia Minor (Turkey) and the Mediterranean coast of France were all under the rules of Rome. Faction-ridden Egypt remained nominally independent but was a dependent ally.

START OF RESENTMENT

To conquer at such a fast rate put a strain on its Roman citizens. Romans loved sternness and simplicity but all the new found wealth did not improve their characters or way of life. Their constitution was established for a city-state but quick change to be able to rule an empire was not very successful and flaws appeared. Then new wealthy ‘middle-class’ knights resented the aristocrats who had the power and ruled Rome. 

Furthermore all these conquests brought a great number of slaves to the country and drove the peasant off because were cheaper.  The peasants moved into the cities and showed their discontent. Also free Italians who had not received Roman citizenship became irritated. The great number of slaves began to revolt against servitude.  All these problems started to come up to boiling points.

There was a time when Rome had a great political struggle and murders to often seem to tear Rome apart. For instant, the murders of the reforming brothers Gracchi created rival parties, the aristocratic Optimates and the more plebeian Populares whose conflict then undermined the republic.

CIVIL WARS

All these rivalries ended up in a civil war. In the 1^st century BC Rome had a civil between the partisans Maritus and Sulla. Marius cam from a more modest family but became famous with his victories in North Africa and against barbarian invaders.

Marius was part of the popular party while Sulla a member of the Opimates. Apart from these two rival causing frictions there was the rebellion of the Rome’s Italian allies. This developed into a Social war (91-88BC) until the end citizenship was granted. The war going on at the same time in the East had also in impact

When Marius died Sulla became a dictator in 82 BC. His achievements were a series of purges, reorganized the state and strengthened the role of the Senate. All this collapsed soon after his death.

There followed two great chiefs. One was the brilliant general Pompey and the other the multi-millionaire Crassus. They had major success with Pompey conquests in the East and Crassus by defeating the Great Slave Revolt (73-71 BC). It was led by the famous ex-gladiator Spartacus.

COLOSEUM IN ROME

With successes always comes envy and suspicion. The Senates pushed them into an alliance (the First Triumvirate, 60BC), with the great politicians Julius Caesar. The Triumvirates achieved so much wealth and influence and they were able to create laws almost as they want.  One of the many offices was a commander Caesar in the Roman province Gaul (France). Middle Aged Caesar discovered he has great military abilities and conquered whole Gaul during 58-51BC. He further made twO successful expeditions to the island of Britain during 55 and 54 BC. 

FORUM IN ROME

During all this time of the triumvirates a great loss occurred. Crassus was defeated and killed in the East by Rome’s Parthians enemies. Pompey became allies with the Senate and felt himself threatened. In 49 BC Caesar marched into Italy with his veteran army. This brought another civil war and went right across the Mediterranean.  In 45 BC Caesar won his battles, became a dictator and was assassinated in 44 BC

ROMAN ARMY

This started another series of wars. The senatorial party was led by Brutus and Cassius but they were defeated by a second Triumvirate with Caesar’s nephew and adopted son, Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus. When Lepidus was eliminated; Octavian and Antony fought each other. Eventually Antony and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt were defeated at Actium in 31 BC. Octavian became the victor and ruler of the Roman Empire

ROMAN VILLAGE

GOYA

GOYA PAINTED BETWEEN 1795-1797

GOYA WAS THE FIRST PAINTER 
EMPLOYED BY THE SPANISH COURT

Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) was the most powerful painter in 18th century Spain. The range of painting is from nightmarish visions of war to satirical portraits of high personalities.

He came from a poor family but rose to be the First Court Painter in Spain. He worked for the most powerful people and every monarch. He gained admission to the most powerful inner-circle of the courts. However, Goya did never portray in a more flattering style. The portraits were always telling the truth, no matter unflattering they may be.

In his long career, he suffered illnesses and lived in a time of a terrible war. Yet it gave his art a new, personal direction. He also began etchings (Prints) which venture into the darkest working of the human mind and behaviour. This work has not been explored at that time and brought Goya practically into the 20th century.

Before Goya was born, Spain's boundaries expanded further than the Roman Empire. Huge quantities of gold and silver came into Madrid from the colonies of Latin America. This enormous wealth was wasted on foreign wars and intrigues. The monarch, Church and nobility lived a luxurious life but the Spanish people were poor.

In the 18th century, when Goya was born, the kings of Spain were weak and inbred which was leading to insanity. Through the Church they maintained power which established the terrible inquisition. In Europe and America new ideas emerged about human rights and equality. Spain ignored the situation. When the French revolution in 1789 swept the country, Spain could not ignore it. Goya recorded this painful and turbulent time in history.

Goya was born in a small farming village of Fuendetodos which near Saragossa in Aragon. His schooling was very limited and he could hardly read and write. However, one of his teachers noticed he had a great gift in drawing.

Having a burning desire to learn, he managed to get a four-year apprenticeship with a local master painter. At the age of 17 he went to Madrid. He was refused twice by the Academy. He went to a studio of the neo-classical painter, Francisco Bayeu. After that he studied Baroque and Rococo art in Rome. Apparently, he fell in love with a nun and tried to kidnap her.

After returning to Spain and Saragossa, he received a commission of a serial of painting for a chapel. He became acquainted and married the sister of his former teacher. She was Josafa Bayeu. His teacher Bayeu became, in the meantime, a popular court painter under the leading artist Mengs. In 1774 he recommended Goya to paint some tapestry designs for King Charles III. Goya painted scenes of ordinary life, especially the 'majos' and 'majas' from the streets of Madrid. Apparently, it was then in fashion with the aristocrats who only saw luxurious living.

GOYA 1819

THE CLOTHED MAYA 1800

THE NAKED MAYA  1800

CHARLES IV AND FAMILY  1800

GOYA'S THIRD OF MAY 1808

In the private collection of the King, Goya discovered the work of the famous 17th Century portraitist, Velasquez, which impressed him so deeply, that he declared later on, 'I have three masters, Rembrandt, Velasquez and Nature.'

During his career in 1760 a new style of paintings took place - the Neoclassicism. Especially in France, where the philosophers Voltaire and Diderot tried to establish a better social order which would be free of corruption of the Church and monarchy. The ancient republics of Greece and Rome were very influential. They believed that they were of nobility, justice and morality.

The classical art was also revived with the discovery of ancient treasure at Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. Artist went to these sites and to Rome to draw countless sketches of the statues, sculptures and carvings,

Goya started to make a name for him and became a fellow of the Academy which rejected him when he was young. When his confidence grew he started to quarrel with his fellow artist, especially Bayeu. He arranged now his own commissions. The first important one was the Prime Minister Floridablanca.  In 1786 he became the King's painter.

Eventually, he became so busy that he worked so late and he fixed candles onto his hat to light up the canvas. One of patrons was the powerful Duke and Duchess of Osuna.

In 1789 the French monarchy became prisoners of the Revolution and Charles IV and Maria Luisa became King and Queen of Spain. He was a lout and dim-witted king and his wife dominated him. She made Manuel Godoy, one of her lovers, Prime Minister. This provoked hatred from the Spanish people and of the Crown Prince Ferdinand himself.

The King promoted Goya to Painter of the Chamber and sat for a portrait. The King was very pleased with the result. Goya's position was secured but at the age of 46 years he suddenly collapsed. He suffered a grave and mysterious illness and was blind, paralysed and closed to madness. He was stone deaf after he recovered. The fear that he might not have a lot of time to finish all his work made him turn more and more to dark and sinister subjects.

In spite of all his ill health, Goya gained two more sponsors, Duke and Duchess of Alba. Goya visited her household often and when her husband died in 1796 he went with her to their estate in Andalusia. It was assumed that they were lovers and likely that she inspired two of Goya's famous paintings; The Naked Maja and The Clothed Maja.

When he completed those years later, he was summoned to the Inquisition because nudes were banned in Spanish art. Goya managed to avoid imprisonment and never revealed the name of the model.

Goya produced his first etchings, los Caprichos (Caprices) in which he showed the folly of humans. They are full with monsters, witches and goblins. The central image is called 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters' and shows the nightmare which Goya fears when reason 'sleeps'.

These etchings did no harm to his reputation. In 1799 Goya became the First Court Painter. Then he received his most important commission, to portrait The Family of Charles IV. It took him a year to complete the painting and it shows the family in its splendour, arrogance and mediocrity.  After that the disaster started as the Crown Prince sited with Napoleon in order to overthrow his parents.

Napoleon seized the chance and invaded Spain.  Napoleon put his brother, Joseph, on the throne. In Madrid there was an uprising and the people were executed. Goya made a record of it and titled it 'The Second of May 1808' and 'The Third of May 1808'.

He done a new set of etching called 'The Disasters of War' which showed the atrocities of war during the six years between the French and the Spanish Guerrillas. It didn't show any heroes but rape, torture, murder and famine. The good scene in it was the girl Maria Augustin operating the guns during the siege of Goya's own city of Saragossa. He never published these etching but they were one of his greatest work. His intended message was for men not to be barbaric.

Goya remained, after the war, the First Court Painter' with the new King Ferdinand VII. The King paid little attention to him and Goya withdrew from court's life. He lived in a house in Madrid. His wife was now dead and a handsome, mysterious woman, Leocadia Weiss and her daughter Rosario lived with him.

Even so he was very ill, he still worked hard. He covered the walls of the house with dark and disturbing pictures. These pictures are called the 'The Black Paintings' and the most terrifying 'Saturn Devouring One of His Sons'.

Shortly afterward Goya left Spain and went to Bordeaux. He loved the peace and tranquillity. He painted miniatures with Rosarito.  In 1828, his grandson and daughter-in-law visited him and he wrote that he was indisposed with so much happiness.

He died a few weeks later surrounded by family.

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