The Roman Empire

Dates: 31 BC to 476 AD

Government and Politics

• 27 BC to 68 AD: Julian-Claudian Dynasty
• Octavian/Augustus
• Created the Praetorian Guard (bodyguards for the emperor and his family)
• System for controlling provinces of the empire
• Gave citizenship to the people in the provinces
• Made a more uniform tax system
• Encouraged religion
• Tiberius-strict and practical with the economy
• Caligula-used money for extravagant games and entertainment, assassinated
• Claudius
• Centralized the government
• Took control of the treasury
• Expanded the civil service
• Proponent of public works
• Developed Ostia as the port of Rome
• Added Britain and other provinces to the empire
• Nero
• Successful army
• Patron of the arts
• Rebuilt the city and imperial palace when Rome was destroyed in a fire
• Took away private estates of the Upper Class
• Others: Gaba, Otho, Vitellius
• 68-96 AD: Flavian Dynasty
• Vespasian, Titus, Domitian
• Created the Amphitheatrum Falvium (Colosseum)
• Arch of Titus in Rome
• 98-180 AD: The Five Good Emperors
• Nerva-tradition of finding someone to take place after death
• Trajan-increased power of the Senate, increased public works, expanded the empire
• Hadrian-consolidated empires, built walls in Scotland/Rhine River to hold in barbarians
• Antonius-just, tranquil empire
• Aurelius-ruled well in times of barbaric uprisings
• 3rd Century Crisis
• Pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, economic despression
• 20-25 people claimed the title of Empire
• Empire split into three states
• Diocletian split the empire into a tetrarchy, created successors
• After this, the empire just began to crumble

Social, Cultural and Religious Trends

• Julius Caesar was the first to claim to be a direct descendant of Aeneas, the son of Venus
• Emperors accepted divine honors before their deaths
• Required sacrificial rituals
• Christians refused to worship the emperor as a god
• Religious strife and turmoil until Constantine made Christianity an acceptable part of Roman religion
• 392 AD-Emperor Theodosius I banned practice of pagan religions in Rome, Christianity became the official religion

Major Events and Persons

• AD 284-Diocletian divided the Roman empire into two
• AD 307 to AD 337-Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople, which was in the Eastern Empire and far away from the Western Empire
• AD 410-leader of the Visigoths captured Rome, and territory in Spain, France, Africa and England fell to the tribes
• AD 455-Rome attacked by Vandals
• AD 476-last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, was removed from power

Major External Factors

• Threats from tribes in northern Europe
• Starting in AD 190-attacked by tribes, civil wars in the empire, respect for Roman law dwindled
• The Goths wanted to move into the Roman empire for a better climate
• Disease and plagues were rampant throughout the population
• Attacked by the Huns, Germans, and other tribes

Ruins of Ancient Rome