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.
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