The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It?: Crash Course World History #10

In which John Green explores exactly when Rome went from being the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Here's a hint: it had something to do with Julius Caesar, but maybe less than you think. Find out how Caesar came to rule the empire, what led to him getting stabbed 23 times on the floor of the senate, and what happened in the scramble for power after his assassination. John covers Rome's transition from city-state to dominant force in the Mediterranean in less than 12 minutes. Well, Rome's expansion took hundreds of years, he just explains it in under 12 minutes. The senate, the people, Rome, the caesarian section, the Julian calendar, and our old friend Pompey all make appearances, but NOT the Caesar Salad, as Julius had nothing to do with it.

Chapters:
Introduction: SPQR 00:00
The Roman Republic 0:41
The Roman Senate 1:15
Cincinnatus 2:14
Gaius Julius Caesar 2:49
The First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar 3:40
The End of Caesar's Reign 5:22
The Second Triumvirate: Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus 6:26
An Open Letter to the Roman Senate 7:05
Power Struggles in the SPQR 8:07
The Punic Wars 9:47
Credits 11:44

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[oliversime]

"Destroyed Netflix in 2 weeks"

Oh 2012, how little did you know what was about to happen

[gurusmurf]

"When, if ever, is it OK to stab someone 23 times?"
When stabbing them 22 times won't get the job done.

[nicksifuentes]

"How much damage can happen in a year?"

Oh 2020, how little did we know you were coming... and it's only halfway over.

[LarlemMagic]

sources say that instead of "et tu brute", ceaser said

[MultiKawa]

listening to John talk about the CEO crashing netflix in 2016 is so weird.

[PurpleCatWithC]

Any Salad can become a Caesar Salad, if stab it enough times.

[beminter]

my 9-year-old, at the end of the video: "This was the first episode when he didn't mention the Mongols!"

[elephantofdoom]

I can explain the baby attached to the leg thing. So the original statue was most likely made of bronze and did not have the baby. Someone liked the statue and wanted a copy of it, but they were too cheap to get one made from bronze, so they had it made from marble. But marble is both heavier and weaker than bronze, so the sculptor had to add something to the legs to give it more support. This is why in museums you see statues of people in athletic poses leaning against trees, usually the bronze originals were melted down centuries ago so we are left with a bunch of marble copies.

[a_e_hilton]

Hahahaha watching this 6 years after the video was produced and Netflix is arguably the most successful streaming service in the world

[emperoraugustus]

Emperor "There is a baby attached to my leg" Augustus

Quite a catchy name actually

[campuscryptid]

how do you cut apart the Roman Empire?

You use a pair of Caesars!

[joycezhang]

Octavian/Augustus was very careful to never call himself emperor and aggressively used the term "princeps" or "first among equals" (among the senate) throughout his reign. Maybe to avoid Caesar's murderous fate.

[sawahtb]

Caesar did not conquer Britain, he landed, took a look around and left. Britain was not part of the Roman empire until Claudius.

[Seqtopus]

"Netflix was destroyed in 2 immediately checks year of video

[GoDLiKeKakashi]

If I remember correctly, Octavian never adopted the title of "Emperor" and instead took the title of "First Citizen" as he was very aware of the need to preserve the illusion of the republic. Although he is the first emperor of Rome, Romans themselves didn't consider their state an empire until long after Octavian was gone. Something to consider for us in the modern age too...

[HQ_Default]

Last year I hated history...

Now I'm watching Crash Course just because

[evancabralsilva]

the average person swallows 8 lobsters in their sleep each year

[ashleyrossini]

I'm a teacher in a community that is primarily ESL and someone gave me a tip that is SO helpful! I love these videos because the thought bubbles help my students visualize concepts, but John talks way too fast for my students struggling with English. A teacher in my master's program showed me that if you click the gear icon you can slow the video down. I put the videos on .75 and add subtitles. My students comprehension of these crash course videos has sky rocketed! Just wanted to share!

[TheFarmersFarmington]

"I AM THE SENATE"- Gaius Octavius

[Vospader]

Hold on a minute is this the same guy who wrote fault in our stars?