(Redirected from Roman empire)
The 'Roman Empire' was the phase of the
ancient Roman civilization characterized by an
autocratic form of
government. It succeeded the 500 year-old
Roman Republic (510 BC - 1st century BC), which had been weakened by the conflict between
Gaius Marius and
Sulla and the
civil war of
Julius Caesar against
Pompey the Great.
[2] Several dates are commonly proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including the date of Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual
dictator (
44 BC), the victory of Caesar's heir
Octavian at the
Battle of Actium (
September 2,
31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to Octavian the
honorific ''
Augustus''. (
January 16,
27 BC).
[3]
The
Latin term
''Imperium Romanum'' (Roman Empire), probably the best-known Latin expression where the word "''imperium''" denotes a territory, indicates the part of the world under Roman rule. From the time of Augustus to the
Fall of the Western Empire, Rome dominated
Western Eurasia and
northern Africa and composed the majority of the region's population. Roman expansion began long before the state was changed into a monarchy and reached its zenith under Emperor
Trajan with the conquest of
Dacia in AD
106. At this territorial peak, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5 900 000 km² (2,300,000 sq.mi.) of land surface. Rome's influence upon the culture, law, technology, arts, language, religion, government, military, and architecture of civilizations that followed continues to this day.
The end of the Roman Empire is traditionally, if not strictly accurately, placed at
4 September AD
476, when the last emperor of the
Western Roman Empire,
Romulus Augustus, was deposed and not replaced. However, Diocletian, who retired in AD 305, was the last sole Emperor of an undivided Empire whose capital was the City of Rome. After the division of the Empire by Diocletian into East and West, each branch continued to style itself as "The Roman Empire." The Western Roman Empire declined and fell apart (see
Decline of the Roman Empire) in the course of the
5th century. The Eastern Roman Empire (which would later adopt
Greek as its main language), known largely today as the
Byzantine Empire, preserved Greco-Roman legal and cultural traditions along with Hellenic and
Orthodox Christian elements for another millennium, until its eventual collapse at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire in 1453.
Evolution of Imperial Rome
Traditionally, historians make a distinction between the
Principate, the period following Augustus until the
Crisis of the Third Century, and the
Dominate, the period from
Diocletian until the end of the empire in the west. According to this distinction, during the Principate (from the
Latin word ''princeps'', meaning "first citizen") the realities of absolutism were formally concealed behind republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word ''dominus'', meaning "lord") imperial power was clearly shown, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. More recently, historians have established that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the Byzantine period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.
The extent of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in 218 BC (dark red), 133 BC (light red), 44 BC (orange), AD 14 (yellow), after AD 14 (green), and maximum extension under Trajan 117 (light green).
First emperor
No definitive answer exists regarding the identity of the first emperor of Rome. Under a purely technical point of view there is no clear ''first emperor'', as the title itself was not an official post in the Roman constitutional system—rather, it was an
amalgam of separate roles.
Julius Caesar was a ''
Dictator Perpetuus'' (
dictator for life), which was a highly irregular form of dictator, an official position in the Roman republic. By law, the rule of a dictator would normally never exceed 6 months. The form created by Caesar was therefore quite contrary to the basic principles of the Roman Republic. Nevertheless, officially his authority rested upon this republican title, however irregular it might have been, and therefore he is considered a republican official. At the very least, he pretended to be one. Several senators, among them many former enemies who had been "graciously" pardoned by him, grew fearful that he would crown himself and try to establish a monarchy. Accordingly, they conspired to assassinate him, and on the
Ides of March,
44 BC, the life-long dictator perished under the blades of his assassins.
Octavian, his grand-nephew, adopted son and political heir, learned from the mistake of his predecessor and never claimed the widely feared title ''dictator'', disguising his power under republican forms much more carefully. All this was intended to foster the illusion of a restoration of the Republic. He received several titles like ''
Augustus—the honorable one'', and ''
Princeps''—translated as ''first citizen of the Roman republic'' or as ''first leader of the Roman Senate''. The latter had been a title awarded for those who had served the state well; Pompey had held that title.
In addition, Augustus (as he was named thereafter) was granted the right to wear the
Civic Crown of laurel and oak. However, it must be noted that officially, none of these titles or the Civic Crown, granted Augustus any additional powers or authority; officially, he was simply a highly-honored Roman citizen, holding the consulship. Augustus also became ''
Pontifex Maximus'' after the death of
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in
13 BC. He also received several additional and extraordinary powers without claiming too many titles. In the end, he only needed the authority itself, not all the titles.
From the Republic to the Principate: Augustus (27 BC–AD 14)
The
Battle of Actium resulted in the defeat and subsequent suicides of
Mark Antony and
Cleopatra. Octavian had also executed Cleopatra's young son and co-ruler,
Caesarion. Caesarion may have been the (only) son of Julius Caesar. Therefore, by killing Caesarion, Octavian removed any possibility of a male rival emerging with closer blood ties to Julius Caesar. Octavian, now sole ruler of Rome, began a full-scale reformation of military, fiscal and political matters. These were intended to stabilize and pacify the Roman world and also to cement acceptance of the new regime.
Upon Octavian's accession as ruler of the Roman world, the Roman Senate gave Octavian the name "Augustus." He had already adopted the title "imperator," commander-in-chief, as his
first name. It was a term that dated back to the days of the Republic and later evolved into "emperor."
As adopted heir of Caesar, Augustus preferred to be called by this name. "Caesar" was a component of his family name. Julio-Claudian rule lasted for almost a century (from Julius Caesar in the mid 1st century BC to the emperor
Nero in the mid 1st century AD). By the time of the Flavian Dynasty, and the reign of
Vespasian, and that of his two sons,
Titus and
Domitian, the term "Caesar" had evolved, almost ''de facto'', from a family name into a formal title. Derivatives of this title (such as czar and kaiser) endure to this day.
The Roman legions, which had reached an unprecedented number (around fifty) because of the civil wars, were reduced to twenty-eight. Several legions, particularly those with members of doubtful loyalties, were simply disbanded. Other legions were amalgamated, a fact hinted by the title ''Gemina'' (Twin).
[4] Augustus also created nine special
cohorts, ostensibly to maintain the peace in Italy, keeping at least three of them stationed at Rome. These cohorts became known as the
Praetorian Guard.
Octavian realized that autocracy and kingship were things that Romans had not experienced for centuries, and were wary of. Octavian did not want to be viewed as a tyrant and sought to retain the illusion of the constitutional republic. Even Rome's past dictators, such as the brutal
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, had only ruled Rome for short spans of time, never more than a year or two (with the exception of Julius Caesar). In
27 BC, Octavian officially tried to relinquish all his extraordinary powers to the
Roman Senate. In a carefully staged way, the senators, who by this time were mostly his partisans, refused and begged him to keep them for the sake of the republic and the people of Rome. Reportedly, the suggestion of Octavian stepping down as consul led to rioting amongst the Plebeians in Rome. A compromise was reached between the Senate and Octavian, known as the ''First Settlement''. This agreement gave Augustus legitimacy as an autocrat of the people, and ensured that he would not be considered a tyrant, starting the long period that would be known as
Pax Romana.
Octavian split with the Senate the governorships of the provinces. The unruly provinces at the borders, where the vast majority of the legions were stationed, were administrated by imperial legates, chosen by the emperor himself. These provinces were classified as
imperial provinces. The governors of the peaceful
senatorial provinces were chosen by the Senate. These provinces were usually peaceful and only a single legion was stationed in the senatorial province of
Africa.
''The Battle of Actium'', by Lorenzo A. Castro, 1672.
Before the Senate controlled the treasury, Augustus had mandated that the taxes of the Imperial provinces were destined to the
Fiscus, which was administrated by persons chosen by, and answerable only to, Augustus. The revenue of the senatorial provinces continued to be sent to the
Aerarium, under the supervision of the Senate. This effectively made Augustus richer than the Senate, and more than able to pay the ''salarium'' (
salary) of the
legionaries, ensuring their continued loyalty. This was ensured by the Imperial province of
Aegyptus, which was incredibly wealthy and also the most important grain supplier for the whole empire. Senators were forbidden to even visit this province, as it was largely considered the personal fiefdom of the emperor himself.
Augustus renounced his consulship in
23 BC, but retained his consular imperium, leading to a second compromise between Augustus and the Senate known as the ''Second Settlement''. Augustus was granted the authority of a
tribune (tribunicia potestas), though not the title, which allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before it, veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, preside over elections, and gave him the right to speak first at any meeting. Also included in Augustus's tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a census and determine the membership of the Senate. No tribune of Rome ever had these powers, and there was no precedent within the Roman system for consolidating the powers of the tribune and the censor into a single position, nor was Augustus ever elected to the office of Censor. Whether censorial powers were granted to Augustus as part of his tribunician authority, or he simply assumed these responsibilities, is still a matter of debate.
In addition to tribunician authority, Augustus was granted sole imperium within the city of Rome itself; all armed forces in the city, formerly under the control of the praefects, were now under the sole authority of Augustus. Additionally, Augustus was granted ''imperium proconsulare maius'' (power over all proconsuls), the right to interfere in any province and override the decisions of any governor. With maius imperium, Augustus was the only individual able to grant a
triumph to a successful general as he was ostensibly the leader of the entire Roman army.
All of these reforms were highly unusual in the eyes of Roman republican tradition, but the Senate was no longer composed of the republican patricians who had the courage to murder Caesar. Most of these senators had died in the Civil Wars, and the leaders of the conservative Republicans in the senate, such as
Cato and
Cicero, had long since died. Octavian had purged the Senate of any remaining suspect elements and planted the body with his own partisans. How free a hand the Senate had in all these transactions, and what backroom deals were made, remains unknown.
Attempting to secure the borders of the empire upon the rivers
Danube and
Elbe, Octavian ordered the invasions of
Illyria,
Moesia, and
Pannonia (south of the Danube), and
Germania (west of the Elbe). At first everything went as planned, but then disaster struck. The Illyrian tribes revolted and had to be crushed, and three full legions under the command of
Publius Quinctilius Varus were ambushed and destroyed at the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in
AD 9 by German barbarians under the leadership of
Arminius. Being cautious, Augustus secured all territories west of
Rhine and contented himself with retaliatory raids. The rivers Rhine and Danube became the permanent borders of the Roman empire in the North.
Sources
The age of Augustus is far more poorly documented than the late Republican period that preceded it. While
Livy wrote his magisterial history during Augustus's reign and his work covered all of Roman history through
9 BC, only
epitomes survive of his coverage of the late Republican and Augustan periods. Important primary sources for this period include:
★ ''
Res Gestae Divi Augusti'', Augustus's highly partisan
autobiography,
★ ''Historiae Romanae'' by
Velleius Paterculus, a disorganized work which remains the best
annals of the Augustan period,
★ ''Controversiae'' and ''Suasoriae'' of
Seneca the Elder.
Though primary accounts of this period are few, works of poetry, legislation and engineering from this period provide important insights into Roman life. Archaeology, including
maritime archaeology,
aerial surveys,
epigraphic inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan
coinage, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions.
Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include
Tacitus,
Dio Cassius,
Plutarch and
Lives of the Twelve Caesars by
Suetonius.
Josephus's ''
Jewish Antiquities'' is the important source for
Judea in this period, which became a
province during Augustus's reign.
Julio-Claudian Dynasty (14–68)
Main articles: Julio-Claudian dynasty
Augustus had three grandsons by his daughter Julia. None of the three lived long enough to succeed him. He therefore was succeeded by his stepson
Tiberius, the son of his wife
Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the ''
gens''
Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient
patrician clans of
Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the ''gens''
Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the ''gens'' Claudia, through Tiberius's brother
Nero Claudius Drusus, and from ''gens'' Julia, either through
Julia the Elder, Augustus's daughter from his first marriage (
Caligula and
Nero), or through Augustus's sister
Octavia Minor (
Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian".
Tiberius (14–37)
Main articles: Tiberius
The early years of Tiberius's reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the overall power of Rome and enriched its treasury. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In
19, he was widely blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular
Germanicus. In
23 his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself. He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard,
Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius himself retired to live at his villa on the island of
Capri in 26, leaving administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish. Sejanus also began to consolidate his own power; in
31 he was named co-consul with Tiberius and married Livilla, the emperor's niece. At this point he was "hoisted by his own
petard": the emperor's paranoia, which he had so ably exploited for his own gain, was turned against him. Sejanus was put to death, along with many of his associates, the same year. The persecutions continued until Tiberius's death in
37.
Caligula (37–41)
Main articles: Caligula
At the time of Tiberius's death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius's own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus's son Gaius (better known as Caligula or "little boots"). Caligula started out well, by putting an end to the persecutions and burning his uncle's records. Unfortunately, he quickly lapsed into illness. The Caligula that emerged in late
37 demonstrated features of mental instability that led modern commentators to diagnose him with such illnesses as
encephalitis, which can cause mental derangement,
hyperthyroidism, or even a nervous breakdown (perhaps brought on by the stress of his position). Whatever the cause, there was an obvious shift in his reign from this point on, leading his biographers to think he was insane.
Most of what history remembers of Caligula comes from
Seutonius, in his book "
Lives of the Twelve Caesars." According to Seutonius, Caligula once planned to appoint his favorite horse
Incitatus to the Roman Senate. He ordered his soldiers to invade
Britain to fight the Sea God
Neptune, but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on
incestuous relations with his sisters. He ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at
Jerusalem, which would have undoubtedly led to revolt had he not been dissuaded from this plan by his friend king
Herod. He ordered people to be secretly killed, and then called them to his palace. When they did not appear, he would jokingly remark that they must have committed suicide. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard
Cassius Chaerea. The only member of the imperial family left to take charge was his uncle, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus.
Claudius (41–54)
Main articles: Claudius
Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither
paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor
insane like his nephew
Caligula, and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability. He improved the
bureaucracy and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the
conquest and colonization of Britain (in
43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. He ordered the construction of a winter port for Rome, at Ostia, thereby providing a place for
grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather.
In his own family life, Claudius was less successful. His wife
Messalina cuckolded him; when he found out, he had her executed and married his niece,
Agrippina the Younger. She, along with several of his freedmen, held an inordinate amount of power over him, and although there are conflicting accounts about his death, she may very well have poisoned him in
54. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 17-year-old Lucius Domitius Nero.
Nero (54–68)
Main articles: Nero
Nero ruled from
54 to
68. During his rule, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. He ordered the building of theatres and promoted athletic games. His reign included a successful war and negotiated peace with the
Parthian Empire (58–63), the suppression of the
British revolt (60–61) and improving cultural ties with Greece. Nero, though, is remembered as a tyrant and the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned" in
64. A military coup drove Nero into hiding. Facing execution at the hands of the Roman Senate, he reportedly committed suicide in
68. His last words were "What an artist dies in me."
Rebellions
In peacetime it was relatively easy to manage the empire from its capital city, Rome. Rebellions were expected to occur from time to time: a general or a governor would gain the loyalty of his officers through a mixture of personal charisma, promises and simple bribes. A conquered tribe would rebel, or a conquered city would revolt. This would be a bad, but not a catastrophic, event. The
Roman legions were spread around the borders, and the rebel leader would - in normal circumstances - have only one or two legions under his command. Loyal legions would be detached from other points of the empire, and would eventually drown the rebellion in blood. This happened even more easily in cases of a small local native uprising, as the rebels would normally have no great military experience. Unless the emperor was weak, incompetent, hated, and/or universally despised, these rebellions would be a local and isolated event.
During real wartime however, which could develop from a rebellion or an uprising, like the massive
Jewish rebellion, this was totally and dangerously different. In a full-blown
military campaign, the legions under the command of the generals like
Vespasian were of a much greater number. Therefore a paranoid or wise emperor would hold some members of the general's family as
hostages, to make certain of the latter's loyalty. In effect,
Nero held
Domitian and
Quintus Petillius Cerialis the governor of
Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and the brother-in-law of Vespasian. In normal circumstances this would be quite enough. In fact, the rule of Nero ended with the revolt of the
Praetorian Guard who had been bribed in the name of
Galba. It became all too obvious that the Praetorian Guard was a sword of
Damocles, whose loyalty was all too often bought and who became increasingly greedy. Following their example the legions at the borders would also increasingly participate in the
civil wars. This was a dangerous development as this would weaken the whole Roman Army.
The main enemy in the West were, arguably, the "barbarian tribes" beyond the
Rhine and the
Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them, but ultimately failed and these "barbarians" were greatly feared. But by and large they were left in peace, in order to fight amongst themselves, and were simply too divided to pose a serious threat.
The empire of
Parthia, the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent (''c.''
60 BC), superimposed over modern borders.
In the East lay the empire of
Parthia (
Persia).
Crassus, a member of the
First Triumvirate during the late republic, attempted an invasion in
53 BC, but was defeated by
Persian forces led by
Surena in the
Battle of Carrhae. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated, but the threat itself was ultimately impossible to destroy. Parthia would eventually become Rome's greatest rival and foremost enemy.
In the case of a Roman civil war these two enemies would seize the opportunity to invade Roman territory in order to raid and plunder. The two respective military frontiers became a matter of major political importance because of the high number of legions stationed there. All too often the local generals would rebel, starting a new civil war. To control the western border from Rome was easy, as it was relatively close. To control both frontiers, at the same time, during wartime, was somewhat more difficult. If the emperor was near the border in the East, chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and
vice-versa. It was no longer enough to be a good administrator; emperors were increasingly near the troops in order to control them and no single Emperor could be at the two frontiers at the same time. This problem would plague the ruling emperors time and time again and many future emperors would follow this path to power.
Year of the Four Emperors (68–69)
Main articles: Year of the Four Emperors
The forced suicide of emperor
Nero, in
68, was followed by a brief period of civil war (the first
Roman civil war since
Antony's death in
31 BC) known as the ''year of the four emperors''. Between June of 68 and December of
69,
Rome witnessed the successive rise and fall of
Galba,
Otho and
Vitellius until the final accession of
Vespasian, first ruler of the
Flavian dynasty. This period of civil war has become emblematic of the cyclic political disturbances in the history of the Roman Empire. The military and political anarchy created by this civil war had serious implications, such as the outbreak of the
Batavian rebellion.
Flavian (69–96)
Main articles: Flavian Dynasty
The Flavians, although a relatively short-lived dynasty, helped restore stability to an empire on its knees. Although all three have been criticized, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, they issued reforms that created a stable enough empire to last well into the 3rd century. However, their background as a military dynasty led to further marginalization of the senate, and a conclusive move away from ''princeps'', or first citizen, and toward ''imperator'', or emperor.
Vespasian (69–79)
Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of
Galba, after whose death Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. Following the suicide of
Otho, Vespasian was able to take control of
Rome's winter grain supply in Egypt, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius. On December 20, 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops and, the next day, Vespasian, then sixty years old, was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate.
Although Vespasian was considered an
autocrat by the senate, he mostly continued the weakening of that body that had been going since the reign of Tiberius. The degree of the Senate's subservience can be seen from the post-dating of his accession to power, by the Senate, to
July 1, when his troops proclaimed him emperor, instead of
December 21, when the Senate confirmed his appointment. Another example was his assumption of the censorship in 73, giving him power over the make up the Senate. He used that power to expel dissident senators. At the same time, he increased the number of senators from 200, at that low level because of the actions of Nero and the year of crisis that followed, to 1000; most of the new senators coming not from Rome but from Italy and the urban centers within the western provinces.
Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. To do this, he not only increased taxes, but created new forms of taxation. Also, through his power as censor, he was able to carefully examine the fiscal status of every city and province, many paying taxes based upon information and structures more than a century old. Through this sound fiscal policy, he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury and embark on public works projects. It was he who first commissioned the ''Amphitheatrum Flavium'' (
Colosseum); he also built a
forum whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace. In addition, he allotted sizable subsidies to the arts, creating a chair of rhetoric at Rome.
Vespasian was also an effective emperor for the provinces in his decades of office, having posts all across the empire, both east and west. In the west he gave considerable favoritism to
Hispania (the
Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern
Spain and
Portugal) in which he granted
Latin rights to over three hundred towns and cities, promoting a new era of urbanization throughout the western (formerly barbarian) provinces. Through the additions he made to the Senate he allowed greater influence of the provinces in the Senate, helping to promote unity in the empire. He also extended the borders of the empire on every front, most of which was done to help strengthen the frontier defenses, one of Vespasian's main goals. The crisis of 69 had wrought havoc on the army. One of the most marked problems had been the support lent by provincial legions to men who supposedly represented the best will of their province. This was mostly caused by the placement of native auxiliary units in the areas they were recruited in, a practice Vespasian stopped. He mixed auxiliary units with men from other areas of the empire or moved the units away from where they were recruited to help stop this. Also, to reduce further the chances of another military coup, he broke up the legions and, instead of placing them in singular concentrations, broke them up along the border. Perhaps the most important military reform he undertook was the extension of legion recruitment from exclusively Italy to Gaul and Hispania, in line with the Romanization of those areas.
Titus (79–81)
Titus, the eldest son of Vespasian, had been groomed to rule. He had served as an effective general under his father, helping to secure the east and eventually taking over the command of Roman armies in
Syria and
Iudaea, quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. He shared the consul for several years with his father and received the best tutelage. Although there was some trepidation when he took office because of his known dealings with some of the less respectable elements of Roman society, he quickly proved his merit, even recalling many exiled by his father as a show of good faith.
However, his short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Mount
Vesuvius erupted in
Pompeii, and in 80, a fire destroyed much of Rome. His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100
gladiators and lasted 100 days. Titus died in
81, at the age of 41 of what is presumed to be illness; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor, although these claims have little merit. Whatever the case, he was greatly mourned and missed.
Domitian (81–96)
Main articles: Domitian
All of the Flavians had rather poor relations with the Senate, because of their autocratic rule, however Domitian was the only one who encountered significant problems. His continuous control as consul and censor throughout his rule; the former his father having shared in much the same way as his Julio-Claudian forerunners, the latter presenting difficulty even to obtain, were unheard of. In addition, he often appeared in full military regalia as an
imperator, an affront to the idea of what the Principate-era emperor's power was based upon: the emperor as the
princeps. His reputation in the Senate aside, he kept the people of Rome happy through various measures, including donations to every resident of Rome, wild spectacles in the newly finished Colosseum, and continuing the public works projects of his father and brother. He also apparently had the good fiscal sense of his father, because although he spent lavishly his successors came to power with a well-endowed treasury.
However, towards the end of his reign Domitian became extremely paranoid, which probably had its initial roots in the treatment he received by his father: although given significant responsibility, he was never trusted with anything important without supervision. This flowered into the severe and perhaps pathological repercussions following the short-lived rebellion in
89 of Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. Domitian's paranoia led to a large number of arrests, executions, and seizure of property (which might help explain his ability to spend so lavishly). Eventually it got to the point where even his closest advisers and family members lived in fear, leading them to his murder in
96 orchestrated by his enemies in the Senate, Stephanus (the steward of the deceased
Julia Flavia), members of the Praetorian Guard and empress
Domitia Longina.
Antonine Dynasty (96–180)
Main articles: Antonines
Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of
Trajan, 117 AD
The next century came to be known as the period of the "
Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not
dynastic and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of this period were
Nerva (96–98),
Trajan (98–117),
Hadrian (117–138),
Antoninus Pius (138–161) and
Marcus Aurelius (161–180), each being adopted by his predecessor as his successor during the former's lifetime. While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, it has been argued that the real reason for the lasting success of the adoptive scheme of succession lay more with the fact that none but the last had a natural heir.
Nerva (96–98)
After his accession,
Nerva set a new tone: he released those imprisoned for treason, banned future prosecutions for treason, restored much confiscated property, and involved the Roman Senate in his rule. He probably did so as a means to remain relatively popular (and therefore alive), but this did not completely aid him. Support for Domitian in the army remained strong, and in October 97 the Praetorian Guard laid siege to the Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill and took Nerva hostage. He was forced to submit to their demands, agreeing to hand over those responsible for Domitian's death and even giving a speech thanking the rebellious Praetorians. Nerva then adopted Trajan, a commander of the armies on the German frontier, as his successor shortly thereafter in order to bolster his own rule.
Casperius Aelianus, the Guard Prefect responsible for the mutiny against Nerva, was later executed under Trajan.
Trajan (98–117)
Main articles: Trajan
In 112, provoked by Parthia's decision to put an unacceptable king on the throne of
Armenia, a kingdom over which the two great empires had shared hegemony since the time of Nero some fifty years earlier, Trajan marched first on Armenia. He deposed the king and annexed it to the Roman Empire. Then he turned south into
Parthia itself, taking the cities of
Babylon,
Seleucia and finally the capital of
Ctesiphon in 116. He continued southward to the Persian Gulf, whence he declared
Mesopotamia a new province of the empire and lamented that he was too old to follow in the steps of
Alexander the Great. But he did not stop there. Later in 116, he captured the great city of
Susa. He deposed the Parthian King
Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler
Parthamaspates on the throne. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east.
Hadrian (117–138)
Main articles: Hadrian
Despite his own excellence as a military administrator, Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts but to defend the vast territories the empire had. He surrendered Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace. Hadrian's army crushed a massive
Jewish uprising in Judea (132–135) led by
Simon Bar Kokhba.
Hadrian was the first emperor to extensively tour the provinces, donating money for local construction projects as he went. In Britain, he ordered the construction of a wall, the famous
Hadrian's Wall as well as various other such defenses in
Germany and Northern Africa. His domestic policy was one of relative peace and prosperity.
Antoninus Pius (138–161)
His reign was comparatively peaceful; there were several military disturbances throughout the Empire in his time, in Mauretania, Judaea, and amongst the Brigantes in Britain, but none of them are considered serious. The unrest in Britain is believed to have led to the construction of the
Antonine Wall from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, although it was soon abandoned.
Marcus Aurelius (161–180)
Main articles: Marcus Aurelius
Germanic tribes and other people launched many raids along the long north European border, particularly into Gaul and across the Danube — Germans, in turn, may have been under attack from more warlike tribes farther east. His campaigns against them are commemorated on the Column of Marcus Aurelius. In Asia, a revitalized Parthian Empire renewed its assault. Marcus Aurelius sent his joint emperor
Verus to command the legions in the East to face it. He was authoritative enough to command the full loyalty of the troops, but already powerful enough that he had little incentive to overthrow Marcus. The plan succeeded — Verus remained loyal until his death on campaign in 169.
Commodus (180–192)
The period of the "Five Good Emperors" was brought to an end by the reign of
Commodus from 180 to 192. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius, making him the first direct successor in a century, breaking the scheme of adoptive successors that had turned out so well. He was co-emperor with his father from 177. When he became sole emperor upon the death of his father in 180, it was at first seen as a hopeful sign by the people of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, as generous and magnanimous as his father was, Commodus turned out to be just the opposite. In
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by
Edward Gibbon, it is noted that Commodus at first ruled the empire well. However, after an assassination attempt, involving a conspiracy by certain members of his family, Commodus became paranoid and slipped into insanity. The
Pax Romana, or "Roman Peace", ended with the reign of Commodus. One could argue that the assassination attempt began the long decline of the Roman Empire.
Severan Dynasty (193–235)
Reconstruction of the centre of Rome during the reign of Septimius Severus, showing the Colosseum and the area to the south of it
Caracalla
The
Severan Dynasty includes the increasingly troubled reigns of
Septimius Severus (193–211),
Caracalla (211–217),
Macrinus (217–218),
Elagabalus (218–222), and
Alexander Severus (222–235). The founder of the dynasty, Lucius Septimius Severus, belonged to a leading native family of
Leptis Magna in
Africa who allied himself with a prominent Syrian family by his marriage to
Julia Domna. Their provincial background and cosmopolitan alliance, eventually giving rise to imperial rulers of Syrian background, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, testifies to the broad political franchise and economic development of the Roman empire that had been achieved under the
Antonines. A generally successful ruler, Septimius Severus cultivated the
army's support with substantial remuneration in return for total loyalty to the emperor and substituted equestrian officers for senators in key administrative positions. In this way, he successfully broadened the power base of the imperial administration throughout the empire, also by abolishing the regular standing jury courts of
Republican times.
Septimius Severus's son, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — nicknamed
Caracalla — removed all legal and political distinction between Italians and provincials, enacting the ''
Constitutio Antoniniana'' in 212 which extended full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Caracalla was also responsible for erecting the famous
Baths of Caracalla in
Rome, their design serving as an architectural model for many subsequent monumental public buildings. Increasingly unstable and autocratic, Caracalla was assassinated by the
praetorian prefect Macrinus in 217, who succeeded him briefly as the first emperor not of senatorial rank. The imperial court, however, was dominated by formidable women who arranged the succession of
Elagabalus in 218, and
Alexander Severus, the last of the dynasty, in 222. In the last phase of the Severan principate, the power of the Senate was somewhat revived and a number of fiscal reforms were enacted. Despite early successes against the
Sassanian Empire in the East, Alexander Severus's increasing inability to control the army led eventually to its mutiny and his assassination in 235. The death of Alexander Severus ushered in a subsequent period of soldier-emperors and almost a half-century of civil war and strife. The pax Romana started at the death of Octavian and ended about 2 hundred years later.
Crisis of the Third Century (235–284)
The
Crisis of the Third Century is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284. It is also called the period of the "military anarchy."
After
Augustus declared an end to the Civil Wars of the 1st century BC, the Empire had enjoyed a period of limited external invasion, internal peace and economic prosperity (the
Pax Romana). In the
3rd century, however, the Empire underwent military, political and economic crises and began to collapse. There was constant barbarian invasion, civil war, and runaway
hyperinflation. Part of the problem had its origins in the nature of the Augustan settlement. Augustus, intending to downplay his position, had not established rules for the
succession of emperors. Already in the 1st and 2nd century disputes about the succession had led to short civil wars, but in the 3rd century these civil wars became a constant factor, as no single candidate succeeded in quickly overcoming his opponents or holding on to the Imperial position for very long. Between 235 and 284 no fewer than 25 different emperors ruled Rome (the Soldier-Emperors). All but two of these emperors were either murdered or killed in battle. The organization of the Roman military, concentrated on the borders, could provide no remedy against foreign invasions once the invaders had broken through. A decline in citizens' participation in local administration forced the Emperors to step in, gradually increasing the central government's responsibility.
This period ended with the accession of
Diocletian. Diocletian, either by skill or sheer luck, solved many of the acute problems experienced during this crisis. However, the core problems would remain and cause the eventual destruction of the western empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of
Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity.
Partition of the Empire
The transition from a single united empire to the later divided Western and Eastern empires was a gradual transformation. In July 285,
Diocletian defeated rival Emperor
Carinus and briefly became sole emperor of the Roman Empire.
Diocletian saw that the vast Roman Empire was ungovernable by a single emperor in the face of internal pressures and military threats on two fronts. He therefore split the Empire in half along a north-west axis just east of Italy, and created two equal Emperors to rule under the title of
Augustus. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long-time friend
Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half. In doing so, Diocletian created what would become the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The western empire would collapse less than 200 years later, and the eastern empire would become the Byzantine Empire, centered in the Greek city of
Byzantium, which would later be renamed
Constantinople by the emperor
Constantine I, and would survive another thousand years. Also, since Diocletian was a fervent pagan and was worried about the ever-increasing numbers of Christians in the Empire, he persecuted them with zeal unknown since the time of Nero; this was to be one of the greatest Christian persecutions in history.
In 293 authority was further divided, as each Augustus took a junior Emperor called Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession;
Galerius became Caesar under Diocletian and
Constantius Chlorus Caesar under Maximian. This constituted what is called the
Tetrarchy (in
Greek: the leadership of four) by modern scholars. After Rome had been plagued by bloody disputes about the supreme authority, this finally formalized a peaceful succession of the emperor: in each half the Caesar rose up to replace the Augustus and proclaimed a new Caesar. On
May 1 305, Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favor of their Caesars. Galerius named the two new Caesars: his nephew
Maximinus for himself and
Flavius Valerius Severus for Constantius. The arrangement worked well under Diocletian and Maximian and shortly thereafter. The internal tensions within the Roman government were less acute than they had been. In ''
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'',
Edward Gibbon notes that this arrangement worked well because of the affinity the four rulers had for each other. Gibbon says that this arrangement has been compared to a "chorus of music." With the withdrawal of Diocletian and Maximian, this harmony disappeared.
The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus on
July 25 306. Constantius's troops in
Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son
Constantine an Augustus. In August 306, Galerius promoted Severus to the position of Augustus. A revolt in
Rome supported another claimant to the same title:
Maxentius, son of Maximian, who was proclaimed Augustus on
October 28, 306. His election was supported by the
Praetorian Guard. This left the Empire with five rulers: four Augusti (Galerius, Constantine, Severus and Maxentius) and a Caesar (Maximinus).
The year 307 saw the return of Maximian to the role of Augustus alongside his son Maxentius, creating a total of six rulers of the Empire. Galerius and Severus campaigned against them in Italy. Severus was killed under command of Maxentius on
September 16 307. The two Augusti of Italy also managed to ally themselves with Constantine by having Constantine marry
Fausta, the daughter of Maximian and sister of Maxentius. At the end of 307, the Empire had four Augusti (Maximian, Galerius, Constantine and Maxentius) and a sole Caesar.
In 311 Galerius ended the official persecution of Christians and Constantine, as the first Christian Roman Emperor, declared Christianity legal in 313.
Sons of Constantine (337–361)
.jpg)
A map of Rome in 350
The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons. The
Western Roman Empire was divided among the eldest son
Constantine II and the youngest son
Constans. The
Eastern Roman Empire along with Constantinople were the share of middle son
Constantius II.
Constantine II was killed in conflict with his youngest brother in 340. Constans was himself killed in conflict with the army-proclaimed Augustus
Magnentius on
January 18 350. Magnentius was at first opposed in the city of Rome by self-proclaimed Augustus
Nepotianus, a paternal first cousin of Constans. Nepotianus was killed alongside his mother
Eutropia. His other first cousin Constantia convinced
Vetriano to proclaim himself Caesar in opposition to Magnentius. Vetriano served a brief term from
March 1 to
December 25 350. He was then forced to abdicate by the legitimate Augustus Constantius. The
usurper Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire until 353 while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and
suicide left Constantius as sole Emperor.
Constantius's rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law
Julian as his Caesar of the Western Roman Empire in 355. During the following five years, Julian had a series of victories against invading
Germanic tribes, including the
Alamanni. This allowed him to secure the
Rhine frontier. His victorious
Gallic troops thus ceased campaigning. Constantius sent orders for the troops to be transferred to the east as reinforcements for his own currently unsuccessful campaign against
Shapur II of Persia. This order led the Gallic troops to an
insurrection. They proclaimed their commanding officer Julian to be an Augustus. Both Augusti were not ready to lead their troops to another
Roman Civil War. Constantius's timely demise on
November 3,
361 prevented this war from ever occurring.
Julian and Jovian (361–364)
Julian would serve as the sole Emperor for two years. He had received his
baptism as a
Christian years before, but apparently no longer considered himself one. His reign would see the ending of restriction and persecution of paganism introduced by his uncle and father-in-law Constantine I and his cousins and brothers-in-law Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II. He instead placed similar restrictions and unofficial persecution of
Christianity. His
edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan
temples and the reinstitution of alienated temple properties, and, more problematically for the
Christian Church, the recalling of previously
exiled Christian
bishops. Returning
Orthodox and
Arian bishops resumed their conflicts, thus further weakening the Church as a whole.
Julian himself was not a traditional pagan. His personal beliefs were largely influenced by
Neoplatonism and
Theurgy; he reputedly believed he was the
reincarnation of
Alexander the Great. He produced works of
philosophy arguing his beliefs. His brief renaissance of paganism would, however, end with his death. Julian eventually resumed the war against
Shapur II of Persia. He received a mortal wound in battle and died on
June 26,
363. According to Gibbon in ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', upon being mortally wounded by a dart, he was carried back to his camp. He gave a farewell speech, in which he refused to name a successor. He then proceeded to debate the philosophical nature of the soul with his generals. He then requested a glass of water, and shortly after drinking it, died. He was considered a
hero by pagan sources of his time and a
villain by Christian ones. Gibbon wrote quite favorably about Julian. Contemporary historians have treated him as a controversial figure.
Julian died childless and with no designated successor. The officers of his army elected the rather obscure officer
Jovian emperor. He is remembered for signing an unfavorable
peace treaty with
Persia, ceding terrorities won from the Persians, dating back to
Trajan. He restored the privileges of Christianity. He is considered a Christian himself, though little is known of his beliefs. Jovian himself died on
February 17 364.
Valentinian dynasty (364–392)
Main articles: Valentinian Dynasty
The role of choosing a new Augustus fell again to army officers. On
February 28 364,
Pannonian officer
Valentinian I was elected Augustus in
Nicaea,
Bithynia. However, the army had been left leaderless twice in less than a year, and the officers demanded Valentinian choose a co-ruler. On
March 28 Valentinian chose his own younger brother
Valens and the two new Augusti parted the Empire in the pattern established by Diocletian: Valentinian would administer the Western Roman Empire, while Valens took control over the Eastern Roman Empire.
Valens's election would soon be disputed.
Procopius, a
Cilician maternal cousin of Julian, had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but was never designated as such. He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian. In 365, while Valentinian was at Paris and then at Rheims to direct the operations of his generals against the
Alamanni, Procopius managed to
bribe two
legions assigned to
Constantinople and take control of the Eastern Roman capital. He was proclaimed Augustus on
September 28 and soon extended his control to both
Thrace and Bithynia. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated. Valens had him executed on
May 27,
366.
On
August 4 367, a third Augustus was proclaimed by the other two. His father Valentinian and uncle Valens chose the 8 year-old
Gratian as a nominal co-ruler, obviously as a means to secure succession.
In April 375 Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against the
Quadi, a
Germanic tribe which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience with an
embassy from the Quadi at
Brigetio on the
Danube, a town now part of modern-day
Komárno,
Slovak republic, Valentinian suffered a burst
blood vessel in the
skull while
angrily yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on
November 17 375.
Succession did not go as planned. Gratian was then a
16 year-old and arguably ready to act as Emperor, but the troops in Pannonia proclaimed his
infant half-brother emperor under the title
Valentinian II.
Gratian acquiesced in their choice and administered the Gallic part of the Western Roman Empire. Italy,
Illyria and Africa were officially administrated by his brother and his step-mother
Justina. However the division was merely nominal as the actual authority still rested with Gratian.
Battle of Adrianople (378)
Main articles: Battle of Adrianople
Barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire, showing the Battle of Adrianople.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. The
Thervingi, an
East Germanic tribe, fled their former lands following an invasion by the
Huns. Their leaders
Alavivus and
Fritigern led them to seek refuge from the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens indeed let them settle as
foederati on the southern bank of the Danube in 376. However, the newcomers faced problems from allegedly
corrupted provincial commanders and a series of hardships. Their dissatisfaction led them to revolt against their Roman hosts.
For the following two years conflicts continued. Valens personally led a campaign against them in 378. Gratian provided his uncle with reinforcements from the Western Roman army. However this campaign proved disastrous for the Romans. The two armies approached each other near
Adrianople. Valens was apparently overconfident of the numerical superiority of his own forces over the Goths. Some of his officers advised caution and to await the arrival of Gratian, others urged an immediate attack and eventually prevailed over Valens, who, eager to have all of the glory for himself, rushed into battle. On
August 9 378, the
Battle of Adrianople resulted in the crushing defeat of the Romans and the death of Valens. Contemporary historian
Ammianus Marcellinus estimated that two thirds of the Roman army were lost in the battle. The last third managed to retreat.
The battle had far reaching consequences.
Veteran soldiers and valuable administrators were among the heavy casualties. There were few available replacements at the time, leaving the Empire with the problems of finding suitable
leadership. The Roman army would also start facing recruiting problems. In the following century much of the Roman army would consist of Germanic mercenaries.
For the moment however there was another concern. The death of Valens left Gratian and Valentinian II as the sole two Augusti. Gratian was now effectively responsible for the whole of the Empire. He sought however a replacement Augustus for the Eastern Roman Empire. His choice was
Theodosius I, son of formerly distinguished general
Count Theodosius. The elder Theodosius had been executed in early 375 for unclear reasons. The younger one was named Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire on
January 19 379. His appointment would prove a deciding moment in the division of the Empire.
Disturbed peace in the West (383)
Gratian governed the Western Roman Empire with energy and success for some years, but he gradually sank into indolence. He is considered to have become a
figurehead while
Frankish general
Merobaudes and bishop
Ambrose of
Milan jointly acted as the
power behind the throne. Gratian lost favor with factions of the
Roman Senate by prohibiting traditional paganism at Rome and relinquishing his title of
Pontifex Maximus. The senior Augustus also became unpopular with his own Roman troops because of his close association with so-called
barbarians. He reportedly recruited
Alans to his personal service and adopted the guise of a
Scythian
warrior for public appearances.
Meanwhile Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius were joined by a fourth Augustus. Theodosius proclaimed his oldest son
Arcadius an Augustus in January, 383 in an obvious attempt to secure succession. The boy was still only five or six years old and held no actual authority. Nevertheless he was recognized as a co-ruler by all three Augusti.
The increasing unpopularity of Gratian would cause the four Augusti problems later that same year.
Spanish Celt general
Magnus Maximus, stationed in
Roman Britain, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 383 and rebelling against Gratian he invaded
Gaul. Gratian fled from
Lutetia (
Paris) to
Lugdunum (
Lyon), where he was assassinated on
August 25 383 at the age of twenty-five.
Maximus was a firm believer of the
Nicene Creed and introduced state persecution on charges of
heresy, which brought him into conflict with
Pope Siricius who argued that the Augustus had no authority over church matters. But he was an Emperor with popular support and his reputation survived in
Romano-British tradition and gained him a place in the ''
Mabinogion'', compiled about a thousand years after his death.
Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, at the time only 12 years old, as the senior Augustus. The first few years the
Alps would serve as the borders between the respective territories of the two rival Western Roman Emperors. Maximus controlled Britain, Gaul,
Hispania and Africa. He chose Augusta Treverorum (
Trier) as his capital.
Maximus soon entered negotiations with Valentinian II and Theodosius, attempting to gain their official recognition. By 384, negotiations were unfruitful and Maximus tried to press the matter by settling succession as only a legitimate Emperor could do: proclaiming his own infant son
Flavius Victor an Augustus. The end of the year found the Empire having five Augusti (Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Magnus Maximus and Flavius Victor) with relations between them yet to be determined.
Theodosius was left a widower in 385, following the sudden death of
Aelia Flaccilla, his ''Augusta''. He was remarried, to the sister of Valentinean II, Galla, and the marriage secured closer relations between the two legitimate Augusti.
In 386 Maximus and Victor finally received official recognition by Theodosius but not by Valentinian. In 387, Maximus apparently decided to rid himself of his Italian rival. He crossed the Alps into the valley of the
Po and threatened
Milan. Valentinian and his mother fled to
Thessaloniki from where they sought the support of Theodosius. Theodosius indeed campaigned west in 388 and was victorious against Maximus. Maximus himself was captured and executed in
Aquileia on
July 28 388.
Magister militum Arbogast was sent to Trier with orders to also kill Flavius Victor. Theodosius restored Valentinian to power and through his influence had him converted to Orthodox Catholicism. Theodosius continued supporting Valentinian and protecting him from a variety of usurpations.
Reunification under Theodosius (392–395)
The division of the empire after the death of Theodosius I, ''c.'' 395 superimposed on modern borders.
In 392
Valentinian II was murdered in
Vienne. Arbogast arranged for the appointment of
Eugenius as emperor. However, Theodosius refused to recognise Eugenius as emperor and invaded the Western Empire, defeating and killing Arbogast and Eugenius at the
Battle of the Frigidus. He now reunited the entire Roman Empire under his own rule.
Theodosius had two sons and a daughter, Pulcheria, from his first wife,
Aelia Flacilla. His daughter and wife died in 385. By his second wife, Galla, he had a daughter,
Galla Placidia, the mother of
Valentinian III, who would be Emperor of the West.
Theodosius was the last Emperor who ruled over the whole Empire. After his death in 395 he gave the two halves of the Empire to his two sons
Arcadius and
Honorius; Arcadius became ruler in the East, with his capital in
Constantinople, and Honorius became ruler in the west, with his capital in Milan and later Ravenna. Though the Roman state would continue to have two emperors, the Eastern Romans considered themselves Roman in full. Latin was used in official writings as much as, if not more than, Greek. The two halves were nominally, culturally and historically, if not politically, the same state.
The Decline of the West (395–476)
Main articles: Decline of the Roman Empire
After 395, the emperors in the
Western Roman Empire were usually figureheads. For most of the time, the actual rulers were military strongmen who took the title of ''
magister militum'', of
patrician or both -
Stilicho from
395 to
408,
Constantius from about
411 to
421,
Aëtius from
433 to
454 and
Ricimer from about
457 to
472.
The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
In June 474,
Julius Nepos became Western Emperor. In 475, the ''
Magister militum'',
Orestes, revolted and made his son
Romulus Augustus the Roman emperor. Nepos fled to the province of
Dalmatia. Romulus, however, was not recognized by the Eastern Emperor
Zeno and so was technically an usurper, Nepos still being the legal Western Emperor. Nevertheless, Romulus Augustus is often known as the last Western Roman Emperor.
The year
476 is generally accepted as the
end of the Western Roman Empire. That year, Orestes refused the request of Germanic mercenaries in his service for lands in Italy. The dissatisfied mercenaries, including the
Heruli, revolted. The revolt was led by the Germanic chieftain
Odoacer. Odoacer and his men captured and executed Orestes. Within weeks, Ravenna was captured and Romulus Augustus was deposed, the event that has been traditionally considered the fall of the Roman Empire, at least in the West. Odoacer quickly conquered the remaining provinces of Italy.
.PNG)
The Western and
Eastern Roman Empires by 476
Eastern Hemisphere, 475ad.
Eastern Hemisphere, 476ad.
Eastern Hemisphere, 500ad.
Odoacer then sent the Imperial Regalia back to the emperor Zeno, and the
Roman Senate sadly informed Zeno that he was now the Emperor of what was left of the Roman world. Zeno probably expected that the Italians under the leadership of the senate would start a revolt and reorganize the Western Roman Empire, however there are no records of any significant resistance or insurgency against Odoacer. Zeno soon received two deputations. One was from Odoacer requesting that his control of Italy be formally recognized by the Empire, in which case he would acknowledge Zeno's supremacy. The other deputation was from Nepos, asking for support to regain the throne. Zeno granted Odoacer the title
Patrician.
Zeno told Odoacer and the Roman Senate to take Nepos back; however, Nepos never returned from Dalmatia, even though Odoacer issued coins in his name. Upon Nepos's death in 480, Zeno claimed Dalmatia for the East;
J. B. Bury considers this the real end of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer attacked Dalmatia, and the ensuing war ended with
Theodoric the Great, King of the
Ostrogoths, conquering Italy under Zeno's authority.
Map of Ostrogothic Kingdom
The next seven decades played out as aftermath. Theodoric was King of the Ostrogoths, but couched his claim to Italy in diplomatic terms as being the representative of the Emperor of the East. Consuls were appointed regularly through his reign: a formula for the consular appointment is provided in Cassiodorus's Book VI. The post of consul was last filled in the west by Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the
Gothic War in Italy, which was meant as the reconquest of a lost province for the Emperor of the East and a re-establishment of the continuity of power, actually caused more damage and cut more ties of continuity with the Antique world than the attempts of Theodoric and his minister
Cassiodorus to meld Roman and Gothic culture within a Roman form.
The western empire though, was unable to support itself because of population concerns. As much as 80% of the population was estimated to live in the eastern realm. A plague killed off a large percentage of the population of the Western Roman Empire. In addition, the Western Empire lacked sufficient military resources to maintain order and to secure borders. It is estimated that the empire required over 3 million soldiers to meet its basic security needs. However, by AD300, they only had an estimated 500,000 troops, which meant that they could not control the territory the empire possessed. Therefore, they became increasingly vulnerable to attacks from the outside of the imperial borders. Finally, an economic crisis later hit the empire, which arose from the lack of plunder of outlying territories and of slaves from Roman conquests.
In essence, the "fall" of the Roman Empire to a contemporary of that age depended a great deal on where they were and their status in the world. On the great
villas of the Italian Campagna, the seasons rolled on without a hitch. The local overseer may have been representing an Ostrogoth, then a
Lombard duke, then a Christian bishop, but the rhythm of life and the horizons of the imagined world remained the same. Even in the decayed cities of Italy ''consuls'' were still elected. In Auvergne, at Clermont, the Gallo-Roman poet and diplomat
Sidonius Apollinaris,
bishop of Clermont, realized that the local "fall of Rome" came in 475, with the fall of the city to the Visigoth
Euric. In the north of Gaul, a Roman kingdom existed for some years and the Franks had their links to the Roman administration and military as well. In Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king
Liuvigild considered himself the heir of Rome.
Hispania Baetica was still essentially Roman when the Moors came in 711, but in the northwest, the invasion of the
Suevi broke the last frail links with Roman culture in 409. In Aquitania and Provence, cities like
Arles were not abandoned, but Roman culture in Britain collapsed in waves of violence after the last legions evacuated: the final legionary probably left Britain in 409.
Revival in the west - Holy Roman Empire (800-1806)
Main articles: Holy Roman Empire
324 years after Odoacer abdicated Romulus Augustulus,
Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne as
King of the Romans, and as
Imperator Augustus, attempting to revive the empire in the west. The Holy Roman Empire was a conscious attempt to resurrect the Western Roman Empire, which is considered to have ended with the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476. The Emperors thought of themselves as continuing the function of the Roman Emperors in defending, governing and supporting the Church.
The Holy Roman Empire consisted of some of the territories of the ancient empire, along with all of modern day
Germany, and some of modern day
Poland. Although most of the emperors were German, the Holy Roman Emperors thought of themselves as being in direct succession of those of the Roman Empire and called themselves ''Augusti''.
The Empire was formally dissolved on
August 6,
1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor,
Francis II abdicated, following a military defeat by the
French under
Napoleon, thus removing the last traces of the Roman Empire as an existing political entity in the West.
Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantine Empire (395–1453)
Main articles: Byzantine Empire
As the Western Roman Empire declined during the 5th century, the richer Eastern Roman Empire would be spared much of the destruction, and in the 6th century the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperor
Justinian I reconquered the
Italian peninsula from the
Ostrogoths, North Africa from the
Vandals, southern
Hispania, and parts of
Illyria. Justinian's conquest of Italy and southern Hispania were somewhat ephemeral, but North Africa served the
Byzantines for another century; Illyria almost a millennium.
Eastern Hemisphere, 600ad.
Of the many accepted dates for the end of the Roman state, the latest is 610. This is when the Emperor
Heraclius made sweeping reforms, forever changing the face of the empire. Greek was readopted as the language of government and Latin influence waned. By 610, the Eastern Roman Empire had come under Greek influence and became what many modern historians now call the
Byzantine Empire, although the Empire was never called that way by its contemporaries (rather it was called ''Romania'', ''Basileia Romaion'' or ''Pragmata Romaion'', meaning "Land of the Romans", "Kingdom of the Romans"). The sack of Constantinople at the hands of the
Fourth Crusade in 1204 is sometimes used to date the end of Eastern Roman Empire: the destruction of Constantinople and most of its ancient treasures, total discontinuity of leadership, and the division of its lands into rival states with a Catholic-controlled "Emperor" in Constantinople itself (the
Latin Empire which lasted for 52 years) was a blow from which the Empire never fully recovered. However, the
Byzantines continued to call themselves Romans until their fall to
Ottoman Turks in 1453. That year the eastern part of the Roman Empire was ultimately ended by the
Fall of Constantinople. Even though
Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, declared himself the Emperor of the Roman Empire (''Caesar of Rome / Kayser-i Rum''),
Constantine XI, emperor of the Byzantine Empire during 1453, is usually considered the last Roman Emperor. The Greek ethnic self-descriptive name "Romans" survives to this day.
Language
The language of
Rome before its expansion was
Latin and this became the Empire's official language. It is important to note that by the time of the imperial period Latin could be considered (at least) two languages:
Classical Latin and
Vulgar Latin. Classical Latin was the written language whereas as Vulgar Latin was the spoken language. Classical Latin, in reality, was not precisely the same as any language that had ever been spoken, instead having evolved from the spoken language into its own form. It remained relatively stable throughout the imperial period and even through the
Middle Ages (excluding changes in writing styles). Vulgar Latin, by its nature, was a fluid language that differed in various regions of the Empire and changed substantially over time. In the western provinces Vulgar Latin became the
lingua franca and later evolved into the modern
Romance languages:
Italian,
Spanish,
French, etc.
Although Latin remained the official language of the Imperial administration through the
fall of Rome and for some centuries after in the
Eastern Roman, or ''Byzantine'', Empire, the
Greek language was always the primary language used in the eastern provinces for administration outside the Imperial court.
[5]
In fact, Greek was the most widely spoken language in the Empire, mainly owing to the larger urban centers and
Greek legacy in the East. Even in the city of Rome itself Greek became the language of the educated and the elite.
[6] By the second century BCE (before the imperial period), more than 15% of Rome's population spoke Greek and that percentage continued to grow. Greek became the common language in the
Church (although in the
Diocese of Rome Latin was still official), the language of scholarship and the arts, and, to a large degree, the lingua franca for trade between provinces and with other nations. The language itself gained a
dual nature, somewhat like Latin, with the primary spoken language,
Koine Greek, existing along side the literary language, a variant of the ancient
Attic Greek dialect (the latter would evolve into what become known as
Medieval, or ''Byzantine'', Greek).
[7]
By the fourth century Greek no longer held such dominance over Latin as it had, resulting to a great extent from the growth and development of the western provinces. This is reflected in the publication in the early fifth century of the
Vulgate Bible, the first truly official Latin translation of the
Bible (there had been previous
unofficial Latin translations of nonuniform quality but the formally accepted translations were Greek). As the Western Empire
declined the number of people who spoke both Greek and Latin declined as well contributing greatly to the future
East-
West /
Orthodox-
Catholic /
Byzantine-
Frankish cultural divide in
Europe. It is interesting to note that, important as both languages were, whereas the
descendants of Latin are widely spoken in the world today, the Greek dialects today are limited mostly to
Greece,
Cyprus, and parts of
Turkey. To some degree this can be attributed to the fact that the western provinces to a great extent fell to "Latinized",
Christian tribes, whereas the eastern provinces fell largely to
Muslim Arabs and Turks for whom Greek help less significance in their cultures.
Many other languages existed in the Empire as well, as a result of its multi-ethnic nature and some of these were given limited official status in their provinces at various times. Notably by the beginning of the Middle Ages
Syriac/
Aramaic had become more widely used by the educated classes in the far eastern provinces.
[8] Similarly
Coptic and
Armenian became significant among the educated in
Egypt and
Armenia, respectively.
Legacy
Several states have claimed to be the Roman Empire's successor after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire. First was the Byzantine Empire, the modern historiographical term used for later period of the
Eastern Roman Empire. Then the
Holy Roman Empire, an attempt to resurrect the Empire in the West, was established in 800 when
Pope Leo III crowned
Frankish King
Charlemagne as
Roman Emperor on
Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalized for some decades. After the fall of
Constantinople, the
Russian Tsardom, as inheritor of the Byzantine Empire's
Orthodox Christian tradition, counted itself the third Rome (with Constantinople being the second). And when the
Ottomans, who based their state on the Byzantine model, took Constantinople in 1453,
Mehmed II established his capital there and claimed to sit on the throne of the Roman Empire, and he even went so far as to launch an invasion of Italy with the purpose of "re-uniting the Empire", although
Papal and
Neapolitan armies stopped his march on Rome at
Otranto in 1480. Constantinople was not officially renamed
Istanbul until
March 28,
1930.
Excluding these states claiming its heritage, the Roman state lasted (in some form) from the founding of Rome in 753 BC to the fall in 1461 of the
Empire of Trebizond (a successor state and fragment of the Byzantine Empire which escaped conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. The Roman impact on Western and Eastern civilizations lives on. In time most of the Roman achievements were duplicated by later civilizations. For example, the technology for
cement was rediscovered 1755–1759 by
John Smeaton.
The Empire contributed many things to the world, such as the (more-or-less) modern calendar, the institutions of
Christianity and aspects of modern
neo-classicistic and ''
Byzantine''
architecture. The extensive system of roads that was constructed by the
Roman Army lasts to this day. Because of this network of roads, the time necessary to travel between destinations in
Europe did not decrease until the 19th century, when steam power was invented.
The Roman Empire also contributed its form of government, which influences various constitutions including those of most
European countries and many former European colonies. In the
United States, for example, the framers of the
Constitution remarked, in creating the
Presidency, that they wanted to inaugurate an "Augustan Age." The modern world also inherited legal thinking from
Roman law, codified in
Late Antiquity. Governing a vast territory, the Romans developed the science of
public administration to an extent never before conceived nor necessary, creating an extensive civil service and formalized methods of tax collection. The
western world today derives its intellectual history from the
Greeks, but it derives its methods of living, ruling and governing from those of the Romans.
See also
★
Ancient Rome
★
Global Empire
★
List of topics related to ancient Rome
★
Sino-Roman relations
★
Borders of the Roman Empire
★
Slavery in ancient Rome
★
Ancient history
★
Structural history of the Roman military
Ancient historians of the Empire
In Latin:
★
Livy, wrote about the history of the
Roman Republic, but during
Augustus' reign
★
Suetonius
★
Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
★
Ammianus Marcellinus
In Greek:
★
Eusebius of Caesarea
★
Sozomen
★
Plutarch
★
Dio Cassius
★
Polybius
★
Josephus
Literature of the Empire
In Latin:
★
Apuleius
★
Augustine of Hippo
★
Horace
★
Juvenal
★
Martial
★
Ovid
★
Petronius Arbiter
★
Virgil
In Greek:
★
Alciphron
★
Athenaeus
★
Dio Chrysostom
★
Lucian
★
Marcus Aurelius
★
Pausanias
★
Philo
★
Strabo
In Syriac:
★
Aphrahat
★
Ephrem the Syrian
★
Jacob of Serugh
★
Narsai
Notes
1. John D. Durand, ''Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation'', 1977, pp. 253-296.
2. During these struggles hundreds of senators were killed or died, and the Roman Senate had been refilled with loyalists of the First Triumvirate and later those of the Second Triumvirate.
3. Octavian/Augustus officially proclaimed that he had saved the Roman Republic and carefully disguised his power under republican forms; consuls continued to be elected, tribunes of the plebeians continued to offer legislation, and senators still debated in the Roman Curia. However, it was Octavian who influenced everything and controlled the final decisions, and in final analysis, had the legions to back him up, if it ever became necessary.
4. A Note on the Title 'Gemina', , E.B., Birley, Journal of Roman Studies,
5. Fergus Millar, ''A Greek Roman Empire:
Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408-450)''. Sather Classical Lectures, Vol. 64. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Pp. 279. ISBN 0-520-24703-5
6. McDonnell/MacDonnell, ''Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic''
7. ''Greek Language'', Encyclopedia Britannica[1]
8. Versteegh, Cornelis H. M., ''Greek Elements in Arabic Linguistic Thinking'', E. J. Brill, 1977, Chapter 1.
References
★
John Bagnell Bury, ''A History of the Roman Empire from its Foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius'', 1913
★ J. A. Crook, ''Law and Life of Rome, 90 BC–AD 212'', 1967, ISBN 0-8014-9273-4
★
Suzanne Dixon, ''The Roman Family'', 1992, ISBN 0-8018-4200-X
★
Donald R. Dudley, ''The Civilization of Rome'', 2nd ed., 1985, ISBN 0-452-01016-0
★
Edward Gibbon, ''
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (1776–1788)
★
Peter Heather ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'', 2005, ISBN 0-330-49136-9
★ A.H.M. Jones, ''The Later Roman Empire, 284–602'', 1964, ISBN 0-8018-3285-3
★
Andrew Lintott, ''Imperium Romanum: Politics and administration'', 1993, ISBN 0-415-09375-9
★
Ramsay Macmullen, ''Roman Social Relations, 50 BC to AD 284'', 1981, ISBN 0-300-02702-8
★
Michael Rostovtzeff, ''The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire'' 2nd ed., 1957
★
Santo Mazzarino. ''The end of the ancient world''. New York,
.PNG)
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