Roman Empire: characteristics, history, emperors and contributions

Roman empire

What is the Roman Empire?

The Roman Empire was a political-military domain exercised by the Roman civilization over part of Europe, Africa, and the Near East between the year 27 BC and the year 476 AD It represents the third period of Roman civilization and the last stage of Classical Antiquity.

It begins with the coming to power of Octavio Augusto, the first Roman leader to concentrate all political, religious, and military powers. The now emperor left behind the model of the republic and launched an expansive political project.

Standard of the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire controlled the entire Mediterranean area and its adjacencies. This means that their domains extended to almost all of Europe, much of the Near East (Western Asia), and North Africa.

The influence of the Roman Empire on civilization is indelible. Numerous contributions in law, engineering, architecture, and other areas that promoted the growth of the towns derive from this. But above all, the Roman Empire is responsible for having connected the ancient world through the use of Latin and the construction of a common culture.

Characteristics of the Roman Empire

Political organization. The Roman Empire was based on a centralized power system in the figure of the emperor, empowered to legislate, command the army, and preside over religion. The emperor had an advisory body, called the senate, and an institution representing the Roman people called the assembly or comitia. The latter had little influence in the High Empire period and ceased to convene in the Lower Empire.

Military organization. The army was made up of legions. Each legion was divided into cohorts and these into centuries. There came to be thirty legions of 5,300 men each. The provincial governor commended the local units, under the direction of the Emperor. The ranks were distributed as follows:

• Tribunus militum: superior officer of a legion, who was chosen to represent a tribe.
• Primur pilus– In a legion, he was the centurion of the first century of the first cohort.
• Centurion: head of a century.
• Aquilifer– Senior non-commissioned officer who carried the eagle banner.
• Signifer– the non-commissioned officer who carried the banner of the legion.
• Legionnaire: Heavy infantryman.
• Cavalry: soldiers on horseback.
• Auxiliary troops: non-citizen soldiers who supported the Roman army.

Social organization. Society was hierarchical. The family was patriarchal. This means that the father exercised the ultimate authority over finances and children, regardless of his marital status. On the other hand, the social classes were framed in two groups: 1) citizens (patricians, equities, and plebeians); 2) non-citizens (slaves and freedmen).

• Patricians: their name comes from pater (father) in allusion to the founders of Rome. It was a hereditary aristocratic class, which made up the senatorial order (senators).
• Equites: patrician males of lower rank than senators, were originally members of the equestrian order. They dealt with commercial and financial activity (banking, taxes, exports, imports, etc.).
• Commoners: This class was in charge of professional functions (such as teaching or architecture) or productive functions (such as agriculture, crafts, industry, etc.). They were divided into rich and poor.
• Freedmen: former slaves who bought their freedom or it was granted to them by their owner. They could aspire to citizenship, but they could not hold public office. Their children did enjoy full citizenship rights.
• Slaves: they fulfilled various tasks, especially the most forced. They used to be recruited from prisoners of war during the Roman conquests. It was not related to race.

Economy. The State intervened in the economy and had a tax system. There was currency circulation (sestertius, denarius), which facilitated economic integration. Trade was encouraged by the Empire's road network. Economic growth allowed for the division of labor.

Religion. Until the fourth century, the religion of the Roman Empire was paganism. Along with this, the Romans had the habit of absorbing the pantheon of gods of the conquered peoples. In the year 313 the Christianization of Rome began, until the definitive officialization of Christianity in the year 380.

Culture. The Roman Empire stood out for being cosmopolitan and open to the knowledge of foreign peoples, which allowed great innovations. Along with this, it promoted the construction of a common culture in all its domains, facilitated by its public works of engineering and architecture (aqueducts, baths, theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, etc.), Latin art, and literature.

Extension of the Roman Empire. The Empire came to encompass the Middle East, North Africa, and much of Europe. Its maximum extension was reached in the second century AD The occupied territory would correspond to 47 current countries. Namely:

• Europe: Albania, Germany, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, France, Italy (and Vatican City), Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom (England, Wales and southern Scotland), Romania, Russia (only part of the Black Sea), San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine.
• Asia (Middle East): Saudi Arabia (northwest), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq (north), Iran (north), Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey.
• Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.

Expansion of Rome, from the founding of the Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

history of the roman empire

The history of the Roman Empire can be studied according to its stages. These stages are the High Roman Empire (27 BC-284 AD) and the Low Roman Empire (284-476 AD). But to understand them, we must first look at their background.

History of the Roman Empire

Vincenzo Camuccini: The Death of Julius Caesar. 1804-1805.

The Roman Empire has its antecedents in the Republic of Rome. Shortly before being assassinated, Julius Caesar had been appointed dictator for the life of Rome (year 44 BC). Given the power vacuum, a triumvirate was formed made up of Marco Emilio Lépido, Marco Antonio, and César Octavio, his great-nephew and adopted son. But the triumvirate dissolved in 42 BC, leading to a war between Octavian and Mark Antony.

In the year 31 BC, Octavio defeated Marco Antonio and Cleopatra in the battle of Accio. A year later Marco Antonio won the battle of Alexandria, but the military desertion left him exposed, and Octavio achieved the annexation of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Both the Senate and the people hailed Octavian as First Citizen and Augustus in 27 BC The Senate gave him the authority to appoint their senators and governors. Later, Octavian Augustus established dynastic succession, all of which signal the start of the imperial age.

high roman empire

The High Roman Empire spans from 27 BC to 284 AD When Octavian was appointed Augustus, he began a collegiate monarchy called the Principate. The princeps (Octavio Augusto) concentrated the titles of princeps civium (first citizen), princeps senatus (president of the senate), and Imperator (victorious general).

The beginning of the Pax Romana

Altar of the Peace of Augustus. Circa 9 BC

Octavio Augusto, the first emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, protected the borders and invested great resources in new constructions.

Thus began a period of political, economic, and social stability that became known as the Pax Romana or Pax Augusta, which lasted for two centuries. He was succeeded in power by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, all from the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

The year of the four emperors and the Flavian dynasty

On Nero's death in AD 68, a period of crisis called The Year of the Four Emperors ensued, referring to the reigns of Galba, Otto, Vitellius, and Vespasian. Only the latter achieved stability by rising to power in the year 69.

Founder of the Flavian dynasty, Vespasian promoted imperial prosperity and projects of great importance to the city, such as the construction of the Roman Colosseum. The successors of his dynasty were Titus and Domitian. The latter was assassinated by the Senate.

the Antonine dynasty

The Flavian dynasty was deposed by the Antonine dynasty. The expansion of the Roman Empire reached its peak in this period, also marked by increased prosperity.

During the Antonine dynasty, the so-called five good emperors stood out, namely: Nerca, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. The latter was co-emperor with Lucius Verus, but Lucius Verus was a negligent emperor, as was Commodus, the last Antonine monarch.

the severe dynasty

Then another year of civil wars was generated again, which had five emperors. With the final accession of Septimus Severus, the Severan dynasty was established.

Severus extended the empire, but his conquests were very costly. He was succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. The latter was named co-emperor by his father but ended up assassinated by his brother.

After a brief interruption, Elagabalus rose to power. He was succeeded by Alexander Severus, responsible for the Crisis of the Third Century that caused the civil war for control of Rome.

under roman empire

The Low Roman Empire covers from the year 284 to 476. This stage begins with the government of Diocletian, who instead of princeps, preferred the position of dominus (master and lord). The resulting governance model is known as Dominated.

The dominated consisted of the concentration of power in the hands of an absolute monarch, ignoring the authority of the institutions inherited from the republic and the High Empire.

The first division of the Empire and the tetrarchy

In green: Western Roman Empire. In the pink: Eastern Roman Empire.

Over time, the political-economic center shifted to the East, and the borders began to come under attack. To respond, in the year 296 Diocletian divided the territory into two: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire, each ruled by an emperor or Augustus.

To avoid conflict, Diocletian determined that each emperor appoints a successor from the beginning of the mandate. These successors would bear the title of Caesar and share the administration of the territory. It was thus that Diocletian instituted a tetrarchy. Power was organized and distributed as indicated in the following table:

Empire Wing	Governor	Qualification	Territories or provinces	Campus
Eastern Roman Empire	Diocletian	August	Asia and Egypt	Nicomedia
	Gallery	Cease	Greece and Danube provinces	sirmium
western roman empire	Maximian	August	Italy and Africa	Milan
	Constantius Chlorine	Cease	Gaul, Spain, and Britain	treves

In the year 303, Diocletian began the so-called Great Persecution against Christians, the bloodiest until then. Diocletian abdicated his office peacefully in 305 and made Maximian abdicate as well. Despite this, the persecution against Christians continued.

The Caesars Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were promoted to Augustus, and Severus II and Maximin Daya were appointed Caesars. But on the death of Constantius Chlorus, tensions would begin between Constantine I, his son, and Maxentius, son of Maximian.

On July 28, 312, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place, in which Constantine I the Great defeated Maxentius. With the triumph, Constantine secured himself as emperor and began his conversion to Christianity.

The Christianization of the Roman Empire

Raphael's Workshop: The Vision of the Cross. 1520-1524.

In the year 313, Constantine promulgated the Edict of Milan, in which he decreed religious toleration for Christianity. He also promoted a series of councils designed to unify Christian doctrine. Later, in the year 330, Constantine would establish the capital of the Empire in Byzantium and call it Constantinople (current Istanbul, in Turkey).

After several successions, Theodosius I the Great came to power. In 380, he promulgated the Edict of Thessalonica, in which he made Christianity official as the imperial religion and outlawed paganism.

Towards the fall of the Empire

On the death of Theodosius in 395, the Empire was divided. The West remained in the hands of Flavius ​​Honorius, the youngest son of Theodosius. Oriente was left in the hands of Arcadio, his eldest son. But while the eastern wing of the empire prospered, the west declined.

Throughout the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire began to be undermined by barbarian invasions, also called Germanic migrations.

Finally, the emperor Romulus Augustulus was overthrown by the Germanic Odoacer in the year 476, who adopted the title of King of Italy. This represents the final fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Although the East perceived itself as the last bastion of the Roman Empire, it was losing control over the western territory, and it was outlined as the Byzantine Empire. This would only come to an end in the year 1453 after the Ottoman invasion.

Contributions of the Roman Empire

Pantheon of Agrippa (interior). Built in Hadrian's time between 118 and 125.

Among the different contributions of the Roman Empire to history, we can mention the following:

• Various advances in the field of law, medicine, and military life.
• The invention of mortar or mortar facilitated the development of architecture.
• The invention of the semicircular arch, the groin vaults, and the ribbed vaults, the basis of all Roman architecture.
• Development of communication channels (roads, highways, and bridges).
• Creation of a water channeling system (aqueducts, sewers, and fountains).
• Creation of hot springs or public baths for hygiene.
• Island development, multi-apartment buildings.
• Creation of the Julian calendar, the names of the days of the week and the months of the year.
• Creation of lock and key systems.
• Creation of the first newspapers, made by hand.
• Creation of satire.

Roman emperors

dynasty or period	emperor or ruler	title or rank	Date
Julio-Claudian dynasty	Octavian	August	27 a.m. C. - 14 d. c.
	Tiberius	August	14-37
	Caligula	August	37-41
	Claudius	August	41-54
	Nero	August	54-68
Year of the Four Emperors	Galba	August	68-69
	otto	August	69
	Viterius	August	69
Flavian dynasty	Vespasian (last of the four emperors and first of the Flavians)	August	69-79
	titus	August	79-81
	Domitian	August	81-96
Antonine dynasty	nerve	August	96-98
	Trajan	August	98-117
	Hadrian	August	117-138
	Antoninus Pius	August	138-161
	Marcus Aurelius	August	161-180
	Lucio Vero	co-emperor	161-169
	Avid Cassius	August	175
	Comfortable	August	180-192
Civil war	Pertinax	assassinated Commodus	193
	Dido Julian	He won the throne auction	193
	Niger	August	193-194
	Clodius Albino	self-proclaimed	193-197
Severe dynasty	Septimius Severus	August	193-211
	Caracalla	August	198-217
	Geta	Augustus (co-emperor of Caracalla)	211
	Macrinus	August	217-218
	Diadunemian	August	217-218
	Elagabalus	August	218-222
	Alexander Severus	August	222-235
crisis of the third century	Maximin the Thracian	August	235-238
	Gordian I	August	238
	Gordian II	August	238
	Gordian III	August	238-244
	Philip the Arab	August	244-249
	Trajan Decius	August	249-251
	Etruscan Herenius	August	251
	Hostilian Valente	August	251
	Gallic Trebonianus	August	251-253
	Vibio Volusioan	August	251-253
	Emiliano	August	253
	Valerian	August	253-260
	Salonino	August	260
	Gallienus	August	260-268
Illyrian Emperors	Claudius II the Gothic	August	268-270
	quintile	August	270
	Aurelian	August	270-275
	Ulpia Severina	August	275
	Claudius Tacitus	August	275-276
	Floriano	August	276
	tried	August	276-282
	Expensive	August	282-284
	Dear	August	283-285
	Numerian	August	283-284
Dominated	Diocletian	domain	284-286
tetrarchy		Augustus of the East	286-305
	Maximian	Augustus of the West	286-305
	Constantius I	Caesar of the West	305-306
	Gallery	Caesar of the East	306-311
	Constantine I (see continuation in Constantinian dynasty)	Augustus of the West	306-324
	Valerius Severus	Augustus of the West	306-307
	Maxentius	usurper augustus	306-312
	Maximin II Daya	Augustus in the East	310-313
	Licinius	Augustus of the East	308-324
	Valerius Valente	Augustus of the East	316-317
	Martinian	Augustus of the West	324
Constantinian dynasty	Constantine I the Great (comes from the tetrarchy)	August	324-337
	Constantine II	August	337-340
	Constant I	August	337-350
	magnesium	Usurper	350-353
	Constantius II	August	353-361
	Julian the Apostate	Consul (rejected the title of Augustus)	361-363
	Jovian	August	363-364
Valentinian dynasty	Valentinian I	Augustus of the West	364-375
	Valente	Augustus of the East	364-378
	Gratian	Augustus of the West	367-383
	Valentinian II	Augustus of the West	375-392
	Great Maximus	Usurper of the West	383-388
	Flavio Victor	Co-emperor (and son) of Great Maximus	383-388
	Theodosius I the Great	Augustus of the West	379-394
Western Theodosian dynasty		August	394-395
	Honorius	Augustus of the West	395-423
	Constantine III	Not recognized by the Eastern Empire	407-411
	Constant II	Augustus of the West	410-411
	Constantius III	Augustus of the West	421
	John	Augustus of the West	423-425
	Valentinian III	Augustus of the West	425-455
Decline of the Western Roman Empire	Max Pretonium	Augustus of the West	457-461
	Eparquio Avitus	Augustus of the West	455-456
	Majorian	Augustus of the West	457-461
	Severe Libyan	Augustus of the West	461-465
	Anthemius	Augustus of the West	467-472
	Olibrio	Augustus of the West	472
	glycerium	Augustus of the West	473-474
	Julius Nepos	Augustus of the West	474-475 (Italy)
			474-480 (Dalmatia)
	Romulus Augustulus	Augustus of the West	475-476

 

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