Historical Study: The Roman Empire

Carrying on with my study of Roman history, we now turn the page on the Roman Republic as it was transitioned into an Empire. The Roman Empire carried on with the success of the Republic, by further expanding their territory. They were the undisputed superpower of the world, with colonies that stretched from the coast of Spain, up into Britannia, thru Germania, along the African Coasts, and into the eastern lands of Babylon. While their territory continued to grow, they also oversaw a prosperous age of peace known as the Pax Romana. It was during this age that Roman society, culture, and infrastructure truly began to flourish.

During this age of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 395 AD there was the birth of Christianity at the center of it all. Romans play a central part in the story of Jesus Christ, from the beginning when they ruled over the province of Nazareth. They called for a census which forced Joseph and his wife to travel to Bethlehem where their baby Jesus was born. Later in his life, Jesus was crucified at the hands of Roman authority under Pontius Pilate. Although it was the Jews driving this persecution, the Romans carried forth the execution. The Romans would continue to persecute Jewish and Christian zealots for some time until finally converting to Christianity in 313 AD.    

Augustus ushers in the Pax Romana

After defeating Mark Antony, the nephew of Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus became the sole ruler of the Roman government and military. The senate recognized this authority by granting Augustus the title of imperium, emperor of Rome. Augustus ushered in a new golden era of peace known as the Pax Romana where the Roman Empire ruled with an iron fist. During this age of 200 years they were able to strengthen their domestic, political, territorial, and economic stability. It began with Augustus at the helm of the transition, who is often considered the greatest of the Roman emperors. It was during this time that Virgil wrote the Aeneid, considered the most famous work of Roman literature.

From the start of his reign in 27 BC, Augustus worked tirelessly to completely reform every phase of the government and it's infrastructure. This included a new system of governors to oversee the many provinces of Rome, all who answered to Augustus. He also changed the system of revenue and taxation which further advanced their wealth. With this wealth he was able to improve Rome's infrastructure with new roads, a mail service, police, firefighters, and architectural developments. He improved the military structure with a full time standing army, even when
they were not at dispute. Augustus also established the Praetorian Guard which served as a form of imperial security and also secret intelligence. 

He also oversaw expansion into Hispania (Spain and Portugal); the Alpine regions of Raetia and Noricum (modern day Switzerland, Bavaria, Austria); the Balkan territory of Albania, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Hungary. He expanded his territories along the African coast as well as in the eastern reaches of Galatia (modern day Turkey). Augustus established the province of Judea in 6 BC and recognized King Herod the Great for some time, until after his death the province became a complete Roman vassal state. The only territory Augustus was unable to acquire was the Germanic tribes to the north. However that was a war that would continue long after Augustus' reign. 

The Julio-Claudian Dynasty

After the death of Augustus in 14 AD he was succeeded by his step-son Tiberius who reigned from 13-37 AD. Tiberius sustained the might of Rome, however he was renown for his paranoia with the senate. He entrusted much of his decision making to his chief praetorian guard, Sejanus. Tiberius was succeeded by his grandnephew Caligula who reigned from 37-41 AD. Caligula's rule was brief and while he achieved some advancements he struggled with mental illness. He was later assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, who put his uncle Claudius in power.    

Claudius was a good emperor and made significant advancements to the Roman Empire. He organized the government bureaucracy with a better system of legality pertaining to citizens and senators alike. He also began a new military campaign to conquer Britain in 43 AD (this effort was withdrawn by Caesar in 44 BC). I briefly watched the television show I, Claudius and gathered that his life was like a soap opera of adultery and conspiracy. 

He was succeeded by Nero in 54 AD who added to Rome's cultural identity by building new theater, athletics venues, events, and games. He also oversaw conflicts with Parthian Empire in Iran and the British revolt of Boudica in 61 AD. However Nero was considered an eccentric and his greatest claim to fame was Great Fire of Rome in 64. Some historical accounts claim he staged the fire to blame it on Christians, and played the fiddle on his balcony while the event unfolded. He was especially harsh on the spread of Christianity and executed many Christians including the prophets Peter and Paul. Following the fire Nero became very unpopular and was forced into hiding by a military coup and then committed suicide in 68 AD.

The Flavian Dynasty and the Colosseum

Following Nero's death, a power vacuum occurred throughout the empire without a clear heir to the throne. This lead to a civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors where power quickly shifted from Galba to Otho to Vitellius, and finally to Vespasian in 69 AD. Vespasian thus ended the Caesar dynasty and ushered in the Flavian dynasty. However there were still years of political turmoil and civil war to follow during Vespasian's reign. Vespasian quickly ruled with an iron feast, disposing his opponents, limiting the power of the senate, and building the revenue of the treasury. He also sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD which destroyed Herod's 2nd Temple. This was a major turning point for Jewish history as they were forced to migrate and seek new beginnings once again.  

Vespasian's greatest claim to fame was the building of the Colosseum in 70 AD (to this day one of Rome's most iconic landmarks). The Colosseum was to become the largest amphitheater of its time holding up to 80,000 spectators. The construction took ten years to complete by Jewish slave labor. Vespasian did not live long enough to see the work finished in 80 AD, when his son Titus oversaw the completion. The stadium was to host gladiatorial events, which were extremely savage yet quite common for it's time. Aside from gladiator fights to the death there were also many executions that occurred within this arena, specifically of Jews and Christians. This Flavian Amphitheatre towered over Rome to became the beacon of Roman society and entertainment. 

Flavian's son Titus had played a key role in the military command of the Jewish Wars, however his reign as emperor was brief. His greatest claim to fame was dealing with the Volcano Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that killed thousands of people in Pompeii. He put forth great effort and resources to rebuild this city. Titus also oversaw the inaugural opening of the Colosseum with 100 days of gladiatorial games. Titus mysteriously died in the year 81 AD and was succeeded by his brother Domitian who reigned for 15 years. Domitian poured all his efforts to keep the people happy with donations and entertaining events in the Colosseum. He also oversaw the Dacian War of 86 AD to repel the Dacian Kingdom's invasion of the Balkan region. Towards the end of his reign he grew overly paranoid and made many enemies throughout the senate which led to his assassination in 96 AD.   

The Five Good Emperors

Nerva ascended to the throne with the support of the senate to restore political balance. His reign began a 100 year stretch of peaceful successions among five emperors often referred to as the Five Good Emperors. While he was popular with the senate and the people Nerva still had to answer for the assassination of Domitian which angered the army and the Pretorian Guard. Nerva used his chief commander Trajan as a buffer to find peace and compromise with the Pretorian leaders. Nerva's reign lasted only two years and he chose his military commander Trajan to succeed him in 98 AD.  

Trajan began a military campaign to crush the pesty Dacian Kingdom of Romania from 101 to 106 AD. He also captured the Kingdom of Armenia in 114, from the Parthian Empire but that was only a brief province. Trajan pressed further into Mesopotamia by crushing Jewish uprisings and capturing the cities of Babylon, Seleucia, and Ctesiphon (in modern day Iraq). He also captured the city of Susa, capital of the Parthian Empire and established a puppet ruler there. By 117 AD Trajan had gone further east then any Roman leader before him, and the empire had now reached it's territorial zenith. However after years of military campaign, Trajan decided he would not replicate Alexander the Great's eastward conquest. 

In 117 the imperial throne passed to one of Trajan's trusted military commanders, Hadrian. However after years of military service Hadrian's reign was marked by domestic projects and diplomacy. He relinquished much of the territory his predecessor had recently captured in Mesopotamia, feeling Rome had become too far stretch. He coordinated many construction projects across Rome such as rebuilding the Pantheon (that still stands to this day) and the massive Temple of Venus and Roma. He also established the Hadrian Wall as the northernmost point in central Britannia. This wall became a defensive barrier against British, Scottish, and Celtic tribes. Hadrian traveled more than any Roman emperor ensuring that the provinces were well managed. 

In 138 AD, Antoninus Pius took to the throne and continued peaceful stability throughout the empire. His notable achievements were constructing the Antonine Wall in southern Scotland, improving the aqueduct water systems, legal reforms, and increasing the Roman treasury. In 161 AD the throne passed to two joint emperor rulers in Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, who were adopted brothers. Marcus Aurelius dealt with the Germanic Barbarian tribes in the north while his brother commanded the Roman armies against the Parthian Empire in the east. Both brothers led without any tension, however Marcus Aurelius is regarded as the more famous of the two. His victory over the Germanic tribes during the Marcomannic Wars, were well documented in his philosophical writing known as the Meditations. Lucis Verus died in 169 of illness and Marcus Aurelius became the sole emperor for some time until his son Commodus joined his side as co-emperor in 177.

Commodus and the End of the Pax Romana

The great Marcus Aurelius mysteriously died in 180 AD and was succeeded by his ambitious son Commodus. The name of Commodus is quite familiar after his wicked depiction from the film Gladiator. While the movie took some major liberties with his character, it was true that Commodus ended the peaceful era of the Pax Romana. During his 13 year reign the Roman Empire began it's decline as Commodus slipped into further paranoia and insanity. He eagerly sought favor with the people and created a godlike persona, by staging victories as a gladiator in the Colosseum. He was eventually assassinated in 192 AD thru a plot be the senate. This once again led to a power vacuum and a period of instability. 

In the year 193 there were five emperors beginning with Pertinax, who was quickly killed by the Praetorian Guard. Didius Julianus replaced Pertinax thru the support of the Praetorian Guard, but this claim was opposed by the prominent senator Septimius Severus. Julianus was thus quickly overthrown by Severus who became emperor. Pescennius Niger a supporter of Julianus, declared himself emperor in opposition to Severus and waged a civil war. During this time Severus appointed a co-emperor, Clodius Albinus, to help him administer the government while he dealt with the civil war. The conflict finally came to end in 194 when Niger was defeated and killed in Antioch. 

The Severus Dynasty

The early reign of Septimius Severus was a partnership with Clodius Albinus dealing with civil conflict for some time. In 197 however he turned against his partner and killed Clodius at the Battle of Lugdunum, thus becoming the sole ruler of Rome. He then turned his attention by waging war on the Parthians to the east and the German and British barbarians to the north. In 211 AD he died of disease while campaigning in Britain. He was succeeded by his twin sons Caracalla and Geta (portrayed in Gladiator II) who were both under the influence of their mother Julia Domna. The two brothers were both unfit to rule and constantly fighting with the other. Caracalla eventually killed his brother Geta in 211 to become the sole ruler. Caracalla was renown for his cruelty, bribery, and corruption and was eventually assassinated in 217 by the Praetorian prefect Macrinus.

Macrinus ruled with his son Diadumenian as co-emperors very briefly but were defeated by Elagablus in 218 who had a claim to the Severus Dynasty. At the age of 14, Elagablus was a high priest of the Sol Invictus, and instituted a cultish regime for a brief period. He quickly became unpopular for his outlandish personae and was assassinated at the age of 18. The throne then passed to his cousin Severus Alexander who with the help of his mother, restored some stability in the empire from 222 to 235 AD. However by this point the mighty Roman Empire had begun to show cracks, beginning with the rising eastern strength of the Sasanian Empire and the continuous challenges brought on by the Germanic tribes. Severus Alexander was eventually overthrown and killed by his own army at the age of 27.

The Empire once again fell into civil chaos with competing claims to the throne, but without a sole leader for some time. In the year 238 AD there were 6 claimed emperors of Rome. While this civil conflict ensued Rome lost control of many of it's outer provinces such as Gaul, Britain, Hispania, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Further crisis ensued in 251 AD with the outbreak of the Cyprian Plague (smallpox) wiped out millions of Roman citizens. By 268 AD the emperor Claudius II achieved a significant morale victory for the Romans during the Gothic Wars by crushing the Goth's advance in the Balkans. Emperor Aurelian continued this string of victories from 270-275 by defeating other threatening Germanic tribes encroaching on Roman territory.

The Constantinian Dynasty

Emperor Diocletian finally brought an end to the Crisis of the Third Century in 284 AD by resorting total control of the empire. He also appointed a secondary emperor, Maximian, to rule the western regions while Diocletian focused on the eastern half of the empire. This marked the beginning of the eastern/western split as both emperors were granted equal power. Each emperor created their own governing body and even established their own heirs. Furthermore each emperor established junior emperors in a new system referred to as the Tetrarchy. This system worked for a while and helped restore order to the splintering Roman Empire. However Diocletian's greatest claim to fame was not the establishment of the Tetrarchy, but rather his persecution of the Christians from 303-311. This was to become the bloodiest persecution in Christian history, but was also the last one by the Romans.

In 306 AD Constantine the Great ascended to the throne and quickly brought an end to the Christian persecutions and allowed religious freedom (especially since the Christians now made up more than half of the population). In 324 AD the Tetrarchy broke into civil war and Constantine emerged victorious as the sole ruler of Rome. He reorganized the government, the military, and the infrastructure by establishing a new golden coin currency (that would last for over a thousand years). He also oversaw successful military campaigns against the Franks, the Alemanni, the Goths, and the Sarmatians. Constantine is most recognized for his development of the Christian Catholic faith of which the Nicene Creed was developed in Rome 325, during his reign. In 330 Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Byzantine, which was later renamed to Constantinople. This essentially marked the beginning of the Byzantine Empire which was to become the new Eastern Roman Empire. 

Constantine's children succeeded him after his death in 337 AD and the empire was once again divided into regions. However this once again led to civil war and various military insurgencies throughout the empire. The nephew of Constantine the Great, Julian became sole ruler in 361 AD and unlike his uncle he denounced the practice of Christianity. His reign was brief however and he was later replaced by his cousin Jovian, who restored Christian prominence yet also gave up much territory to the Sasanian Empire. Jovian's reign was also very brief, and he died in 364 to become the last of the Constantinian dynasty. 

The Division of the Roman Empire

The leadership of Rome once again came under military control in which Valentinian the Great declared himself emperor and appointed his brother Valens as the co-emperor. Valentinian achieved many military victories on the western side of the empire crushing Germanic assaults and British uprisings. However his brother Valens was not as successful on the eastern region and suffered a serious loss to the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople in 378 AD. After Valentinian and Valen's death the emperor Gratian took sole control of western Rome. However he quickly grew unpopular with the senate which led to a rebellion in 383 under general Magnus Maximus.

Maximus was a general from Spain and a devout Christian, who had previously crushed a rebellion in Britannia. With the support of the senate he marched his army into Rome to overthrow the emperor Gratian (no doubt inspiration for the film Gladiator). Maximus reigned as emperor for five years until he was defeated by the Eastern Emperor Theodosius at the Battle of Poetovio in 388 AD. Theodosius the Great strengthened the Roman Empire from 379 to 395 AD, crushed many rebellions, and is best known for making Christianity the official religion of Rome in 388. He is regarded as the final emperor of the glorious Roman Empire. 

Following his death in 395 AD, the empire was once again divided among his sons Arcadius and Honorius into the eastern and western regions. From this point the western empire lost absolute authority, and fell under military control. Little by little the Western Empire began to collapse to frequent Germanic assaults culminating to a decisive victory in 476 AD where Theodoric the Great claimed control of Italy. Meanwhile the Eastern Roman Empire quickly transitioned to become the mighty Byzantine Empire based out of Constantinople, an empire that would last for another thousand years.