As the Roman empire grew, more riches flowed into the country from all over the world. A new wealthy class emerged, building mansions and vast estates.

As the Roman empire grew, more riches flowed into the country from all over the world. A new wealthy class emerged, building mansions and vast estates called LATIFUNDIA. They forced people captured in war to work on the latifundia.

The use of slave labor hurt small farmers, who were unable to produce food as cheaply as the latifundia. To make matters worse, huge quantities of grain were pouring into Rome from other parts of the empire, lowering the price of grain. Many Roman farmers were forced into debt and forced to sell their land.

Thousands of poor farmers poured into the city of Rome itself, looking for jobs. They joined a restless class of unemployed, angry people, and riots began to break out.

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were two plebian tribunes who tried to reform the Roman government. Tiberius called on the state to break up the latifundia and give the land to the farmers. Gaius wanted to use tax money to buy grain for the poor.

The senate saw them as a threat. Tiberius was clubbed to death with 300 of his supporters in the forum. Gaius led a riot when he was failed to win a third term. A consul sent in a group of soldiers to slaughter Gaius' followers. Upon seeing this, Gaius ordered a slave to kill him.

Unable to resolve these issues, and growing increasingly violent, Rome plunged into a series of civil wars. At issue was who should hold power- the Senate, which wanted to govern as it had in the past, or popular political leaders who wanted to weaken the Senate and enact reforms. In the midst of this conflict, slave uprisings broke out in Rome, and different areas of the empire began to revolt. Rome was in peril.

In 58 bc, a popular Roman military leader named Julius Caesar set out with his army to restore order.

First, he launched a nine-year war to conquer Gaul, the area now called France and Belgium. Then, Caesar swept around the Mediterranean, suppressing the rising rebellions. He returned to Rome victorious, with the announcement

Veni, vidi, vici I came, I saw, I

conquered

He forced the senate to name him dictator, and was in fact, an absolute ruler.

Caesar immediately set out to repair the empire. He launched a program to put jobless people to work on building projects for the public good (called PUBLIC WORKS JOBS.) He granted Roman citizenship to more people in the empire. He also introduced the Julian calendar, which is still the basis for our calendar today. The month of July is named in his honor.

While on his conquests, Caesar went as far as Egypt, where he met Cleopatra. They had a child, and he set her up as Queen of Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Senate was still in place, but was totally powerless. Caesar's enemies feared he would declare himself king, and plotted against him. Also, Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra worried the Romans. Many feared this Egyptian would soon be Queen of Rome.

March 15, 44 bc, a group of senators led by Caesar's friend Marcus Brutus murdered him on the Senate floor. His last words:

This is violence!

After Caesar's death, his grandnephew Octavian and his friend Marc Antony tracked down the murderers, defeated their armies, and killed them. Marc Antony's armies travelled as far as Egypt. He fell in love with Cleopatra and they married, even though he was already married (to Octavian's sister.) Octavian eventually waged war on Marc Antony, and defeated him in the Battle of Actium in 31 bc, after which Antony and Cleopatra both committed suicide.

Octavian Marc Antony

The senate appointed Octavian sole consul, but he is commonly known as the first Roman emperor. He conquered huge chunks of new territory, and under his rule the empire stretched from Syria to Spain, and from Egypt to the Danube River. He never called himself emperor, but "Princeps," meaning "First Citizen." He was so loved by the Romans that the senate gave him the title "Augustus," or "Revered One." He is known as Caesar Augustus.

The reign of Caesar Augustus starts a period known as the "Pax Romana," or "Roman Peace." This period lasted about 200 years, but cost the Romans the powers of the senate and the assemblies. Augustus died in 14 AD, and for the next 54 years, relatives of Julius Caesar ruled the empire. These emperors were all-powerful, and some greatly abused their power.

Tiberius, the adopted son of Augustus, ruled from 14-37 AD, and was an adequate but disliked ruler.

Then came Caligula, who was brutal and insane. It is said that he appointed his horse consul of Rome. He murdered his wife and baby daughter by bashing her head against a wall. Caligula was murdered by his own guards in 41 AD.

Claudius was intelligent and ruled wisely until 54 AD. Under his rule, Rome conquered Britain. It is thought his wife Agrippina poisoned him when Claudius considered giving the throne to a son by a different woman.

Nero was also thought to be nearly insane. He wanted to rebuild the areas of Rome where the poor lived, so he took a vacation to the countryside. While he was gone, a massive fire broke out in that area, killing many and destroying their homes. Nero blamed a tiny group called Christians for the fires, and threw them to the lions. The people of Rome, however, blamed Nero, and he killed himself rather than face assassination.

Hadrian ruled from 117-138, and was born in Spain. To help protect the boundaries of the empire, he built Hadrian's Wall from sea to sea in Britain.

Marcus Aurelius was the well-educated, and preferred studying philosophy to fighting wars. During his reign, Rome was forced to fight constantly against foreign invaders, such as the Germanic Goths, and the Asian Huns.

Commodus is said to have fought in over 1,000 gladiator contests, often dressed as Hercules. Wounded soldiers or amputees would often be brought into the arena for him to kill. Once, the citizens of Rome who were missing their feet through some accident were tied together, and Commodus clubbed them to death while pretending they were a giant. For each appearance in the arena, he charged the city of Rome a huge fee. He was later poisoned by his mistress, but he vomited the poison up. He was then strangled as he bathed by his wrestling partner.

Romulus Augustulus was the last Roman Emperor. He was deposed (removed from the throne) in 476, and this date marks the end of the Roman empire, and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Roman emperors were good, bad, intelligent, insane, honorable, and murderous. The end of the Roman empire ended an age of culture and learning, and ushered in the Dark Ages. What brought about the end of the Roman Empire?You'll see.