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 1^st century BC eventually led to rule by emperors. Rome endured a series of conspiracies, internal conflicts and civil wars beginning in the late 2^nd 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 5^th 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.

The Black Death in Europe

The Black death or the Bubonic plague was the greatest epidemic which hit Europe in the Middle Ages. It was a pandemic that killed up to 30% to 60% of the population of Europe. It started in 1347 and continued till 1351 in the 14^th century. The Black death originated in Central or East Asia. It travelled along the Silk Road from China to the Middle East, West Asia and the rest of Europe via the Italian peninsula.

The cause of the disease was most likely fleas which lived on the black rats and which got transmitted through merchant ships eventually spreading the disease throughout Europe. It affected the demographics of Europe and estimates place the population of Europe declined from 475 million to 350-375 million in the 14^th century.

The 13^th century Mongol conquest of China led to a decline in farming and combined with natural disasters and epidemics contributed to widespread famine in 1331 in Europe. In the Middle East the Muslim religious scholars believed that the disease was a martyrdom and mercy for believers, and it was a punishment for non-believers.

The main cause for the transmission of Bubonic plague was rodents which carried a strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.Plague was carried to Europe by the Genoese merchants of Italy in 1347.The Mongol army catapulted the infected corpses during the siege of Genoa in 1345-46.From Genoa the disease was carried by merchants to Sicily in Italy in 1347.From Italy the disease spread to France,Spain.In 1348 the disease was carried to Portugal,England,Germany,Scotland,Denmark and Netherlands. Eventually it spread to Russia.The disease also spread to West Asia and North Africa which led to population decline and a change in the economic and social structures. It spread by sea to Constantinople (Istanbul). By the summer of 1348 it reached Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. It also spread to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Morocco.

The symptoms of the disease were a fever of 38-41-degree Celsius, aching joints, headaches, nausea and vomiting. Left untreated, the persons who contracted the bubonic plague died with in a span of 8 days. In acute conditions the fever became severe accompanied by vomiting of blood. Spots and rashes caused by flea bites were the other symptoms of plague.

The death toll caused by plague varied greatly. In cities with greater population there was a greater mortality rate and it killed 75 to 200 million people in Europe and Asia. There was also an economic and religious impact of the disease. The population decline caused by the disease led to a shortage of labour and an increase in wages. For example, due to the Black death in England labourers, craftsmen and artisans suffered a reduction in their real incomes due to rampant inflation.

The plague also had a religious impact as various groups were persecuted such as Jews, foreigners, beggars, lepers and pilgrims. Europeans also came to believe astrological forces and the poisoning of wells by Jews as the causes for the outbreak of the disease. There were attacks against the Jewish communities and in 1349 the Jewish communities in Mainz and Cologne cities of Germany were killed. Because of this many Jews fled to Poland. Many Europeans also believed that the epidemic was a punishment from God for their sins and could be eradicated by asking for God’s forgiveness. The demographic change caused by the disease 

The Rise of Modern Europe

Modern Europe is characterized by the beginning of the decline and eventual disappearance of feudalism and growth of mercantilism, capitalism, Industrial revolution and the formation of nation states in Europe. Historians have marked the common features of modern Europe such as the Renaissance, The Protestant Reformation and the European colonization of the Americas, Asia and Africa. The beginning of scientific revolution, Enlightenment and the secularization of politics were also the main factors in the beginning of Modern Europe.

The Middle Ages in Europe witnessed the absolute authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. But by the late 15^th century and the early 16^th century its power began to be challenged. The Church was criticized for its corruption which subsequently led to the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the establishment of new Protestant Churches. In ideas the Renaissance saw a renewed interest in the writings of ancient Greece and Rome and the use of observation as the means of knowledge. These ideas further led to discoveries in the field of science by Galileo, Newton and Copernicus. They proposed the Heliocentric model of the universe which further revolutionized science. The invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg was a milestone in the field of printing.

By the late middle Ages there was a decline in feudalism and serfdom as the number of people who held land under the feudal system declined. In the Middle Ages the nobles held the land in lieu of military service to the king and the farmers paid a part of their produce to the nobles. But this changed with the beginning of the early modern period. Farmers directly paid rent in goods and money. This was the beginning of Capitalism. Around the same time, Britain, France, Spain and Portugal discovered the New World and Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to the Americas.

In religion the early modern period led to an end to the Wars of Religion in Europe and the rise of constitutional and liberal democracies in Britain, France and the unification of Italy and Germany in the 19^th century. The rise of capitalism and mercantilism is also associated with the modern period as the dominant economic theories. Capitalism believes in the private ownership of property and free trade. The origins of capitalism in modern Europe began when the feudal economy of medieval Europe began to shift substantially in 16^th century England as the manorial system had broken down and land came in the hands of fewer landlords with large estates. The serfdom system in feudalism eventually gave way to capitalism as the serfs who were previously bonded to the land in the feudal structure could directly pay a part of their produce in goods and money.

The economic theory of mercantilism became dominant in Europe from the Renaissance to the early modern period. Mercantilism implied an excess of exports over imports and that trade balances should be favourable. The colonial countries served as export markets and supplied raw materials to the mother country. Mercantilism was profitable to the mother country and not to the colonies. For example Britain ruled over India and its economy was so designed so as to maximize the exports of Britain while India became a source of raw material and imports for the British.

In the technological field the Industrial revolution which originated in England in the mid 18^TH century was marked by a gradual change in the methods of production. The invention of the steam power, water frame and the power loom mechanized production in England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution England was a largely agrarian and rural society but the industrial revolution transformed England and subsequently Europe in to an industrialized and urbanized economy. More efficient and mechanized methods of production allowed for greater production of textiles in Britain. The industrial revolution also had an impact on the transportation networks in Britain as road and railway networks became more efficient. George Stephenson invented the steam engine in Britain and the beginning of rail network started in Britain.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain and the French Revolution of 1789 in France saw the rise of constitutional and democratic institutions in Europe. The Glorious revolution was preceded by the English Civil war in 1642 which proclaimed a constitutional monarchy in Britain while the French Revolution of 1789 in France saw the overthrow of Louis XVI and the eventual establishment of people’s sovereignty in France. During the 19^th century Europe experienced the rise of nationalism inspired by the ideals of the French revolution. Though initially suppressed by the monarchs and rulers of Europe nationalism  found its expression in the liberation of people from foreign rule like the Greek War of Independence, The Italian war of Independence and the  unification of Germany after the defeat of France in the Franco Prussian war by Germany .

By the latter half of the 19^th century Britain and Germany rivaled each other in naval supremacy. Secret pacts and treaties were signed by the various European powers which ultimately set the stage for the First World War. The immediate trigger for the First World War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist. The war caused immense losses in men and material.

It was fought between the Allies (Britain, USA, France, Japan, Italy and Russia) and the Central powers (Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey). After the war the Allies emerged victorious and forced Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

The League of Nations was formed to establish peace after the First World War. But Germany being forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles and accept humiliating terms after the First World War saw the rise of dictatorship under Adolf Hitler. Italy also saw the rise of Fascism under Benito Mussolini and Japan also followed an aggressive policy in Asia which eventually led to the Second World war. Meanwhile the Russian revolution of 1917 brought the Bolsheviks to power in Russia and the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II and the establishment of the Soviet Union.

It can be concluded that Europe from being a feudal and religious society in the Middle Ages saw revolutions and ideas which ultimately signalled the beginning of democracy and scientific thinking among the masses. The beginning of constitutional democracy in Britain and the Ideas of liberty and equality became an inspiration for the American Revolution and the subsequent decolonization of Africa and Asia. Modern Europe owes its democratic institutions largely to these ideals.