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Monday, August 31, 2020

The Roman Empire

 

The Roman empire was the most powerful empire in the history of Western civilization. Its transition from a republic to an empire was marked by a change in the form of rule. Initially, in the Roman republic, it was ruled by annually elected magistrates (Roman consuls) in cooperation with the Roman senate. The political upheaval of the 1st century BC eventually led to rule by emperors. Rome endured a series of conspiracies, internal conflicts and civil wars beginning in the late 2nd century BC and its power began to extend beyond Italy. This period is known as the crisis of the Roman republic.

The crisis of the roman republic was the period of social unrest and political instability from about 134 BC to 44 BC that led to the end of the roman republic and the beginning of the Roman empire. Towards the end of this era in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was dictator for a short time before he was assassinated by a group of senators. The senators wanted to restore the Roman republic and they feared the full concentration of powers in the hands of Julius Caesar would undermine the Roman republic. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the triumvirate of Lepidus, Octavian, and Mark Antony ruled over Rome. However, Octavian went to war against Antony in north Africa and after his victory in the battle of Actium(31BCE), he became Rome’s first emperor Augustus. The reign of Augustus ushered in a period of social stability and economic prosperity. The form of government was principate which combined few elements of a republic with that of a monarchy. The Pax Romana (Roman peace) was a 200-year time of peace and prosperity.

After the death of Augustus his heir Tiberius(14-37AD) assumed power and he continued his predecessor’s policies. It was during the rule of Tiberius that Jesus Christ was crucified. After Tiberius, the Roman empire was ruled by Caligula (37-41 AD), Claudius (41-54 AD), and Nero (54-68 AD). The first five rulers of the empire are known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty due to the two-family names they descended from (either by birth or due to adoption), Julius and Claudius. Claudius expanded Roman rule in Britain. Caligula and Claudius were both assassinated while on the throne. Nero’s suicide ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty and thus began the period of social unrest known as the rule of the four emperors. The four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. Following Nero’s suicide in 68 AD Galba assumed power but he proved incompetent to rule. He was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard. Otho succeeded him and records indicate that he was expected to be a good emperor. General Vitellius wanted the throne for himself and thus civil war began which ended in Otho’s suicide and the ascendancy of Vitellius on the throne. Vitellius did not prove fit for the throne and the throne subsequently passed to Vespasian who became the founder of the short Flavian dynasty. The Flavian dynasty was followed by the Nerva-Antonine dynasty who ruled over the Roman empire from 96 AD to 192 AD. These emperors were Nerva(96-98AD), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian (117-138), Antoninus Pius (138-161), Lucius Verus (161-169), Marcus Aurelius (169-180) and Commodus (180-192).

During the rule of Commodus, the empire went in to decline. After his death, the Severan dynasty came to power whose rule was tumultuous, and following the collapse of the Severan dynasty the Roman empire suffered due to the crisis of the Third century which was characterized by invasions, economic disorder, civil strife, and plague. Aurelian (270-275) again went to the task of stabilizing the empire. His successor Diocletian(284-305) completed the work of fully restoring the empire, Diocletian divided the empire into four regions each ruled by a separate emperor, the Tetrarchy. The Tetrarchy eventually collapsed and Diocletian abdicated along with his co-emperor. Finally, an order was restored by Constantine the Great who was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and he established Constantinople(Istanbul) as the new capital of the Eastern Roman empire later called the Byzantine empire. During the rule of the Constantinian and the Valentinian dynasties the empire was divided into two parts east and west with dual capitals in Rome and Constantinople. The last emperor to rule over both east and west was Theodosius I who died in 395 AD after making Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

The Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the early 5th century due to Germanic migrations. The Romans were successful in resisting these migrations most notably of Attila. The Western Roman Empire finally collapsed due to this migration in 476 AD when the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate to Odoacer the Germanic warlord. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire known as the Byzantine empire continued for the next 1000 years when it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453.

The Romans have left a legacy in innovations and inventions. The days of the week and months of the year all come from Rome. The aqueducts, colosseum of Rome in Italy, and advancements in the construction of roads and buildings can be traced to the Romans. The military of the Romans consisted of mercenaries and hired soldiers and were equipped with the latest advancements in technology. The status of women in the Roman empire was considerably good though women could not hold office and women retained property though they still were under their husband’s authority. The language of the Romans was Latin and during the rule of the Roman emperors, the birth certificates and wills of Roman citizens had to be written in Latin. The political ideals of republicanism and the architecture of the Romans have influenced many buildings in Europe and the USA notably the Capitol building in Washington in the USA and the classical architecture in Italy.