User:Crudiant/sandbox5
Roman Empire
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27 BC – 476 AD (Western) 330–1453 (Eastern) | |||||||||
Capital |
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Common languages |
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Religion |
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• 379–395 | Theodosius I | ||||||||
• 474–480 | Julius Neposa | ||||||||
• 527–565 | Justinian I | ||||||||
• 1081–1118 | Alexius I | ||||||||
• 1449–1453 | Constantine XI b | ||||||||
Legislature | Final War of the Roman Republic | 32–30 BC | |||||||
30–2 BC | |||||||||
• Empire at its greatest extent | AD 117 | ||||||||
• Constantinople becomes capital | 330 | ||||||||
395 | |||||||||
• Fall of Western Empire | 476 | ||||||||
1202–1204 | |||||||||
29 May 1453 | |||||||||
Area | |||||||||
25 BC[3][4] | 2,750,000 km2 (1,060,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
117 AD [3][5] | 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
390 AD [3] | 4,400,000 km2 (1,700,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
56,800,000 | |||||||||
Currency | Sestertius, Aureus, Solidus, Nomismac | ||||||||
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Today part of | 54 countries
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The history of the Roman Empire covers the history of
In 212, during the reign of
Diocletian divided the empire into four regions, each ruled by a separate Emperor (the
The Roman Empire began to
27 BC–AD 14: Augustus
Now sole ruler of Rome, Octavian began a full-scale reformation of military, fiscal and political matters. The
Augustus created his novel and historically unique position through consolidating the constitutional powers of several Republican offices. He 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 call together 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 a matter of debate.
In addition to tribunician authority, Augustus was granted sole imperium within the city of
The Senate re-classified the provinces at the frontiers (where the vast majority of the legions were stationed) as
The
Augustus completed the conquest of
Attempting to secure the borders of the empire upon the rivers
In 14 AD Augustus died at the age of seventy-five, having ruled the empire for forty years, and was succeeded as emperor by Tiberius.
Sources
The
- Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus's highly partisan autobiography,
- Historiae Romanae by Velleius Paterculus, the best annals of the Augustan period,
- Controversiae and Suasoriae of Seneca the Elder.
Works of poetry such as
Secondary ancient sources on the Augustan Age include
14–68: Julio-Claudian Dynasty
Augustus had three grandsons by his daughter
14–37: Tiberius
The early years of Tiberius's reign were relatively peaceful. Tiberius secured the overall power of Rome and enriched its treasury. However, his rule soon became characterized by paranoia. He began a series of treason trials and executions, which continued until his death in 37.[23] 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 contentment. 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' death in 37.
37–41: Caligula
At the time of Tiberius's death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been killed. The logical successor (and Tiberius' own choice) was his 24-year-old grandnephew, Gaius, better known as "Caligula" ("little boots"). Caligula was a son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. His paternal grandparents were Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, and his maternal grandparents were Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was thus a descendant of both Augustus and Livia.
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
In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard
41–54: Claudius
Claudius was a younger brother of
Claudius ordered the suspension of further attacks across the Rhine,[25] setting what was to become the permanent limit of the Empire's expansion in this direction.[26] In 43, he resumed the Roman conquest of Britannia that Julius Caesar had begun in the 50s BC, and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire.
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.[27] 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.
54–68: 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 the Roman–Parthian War (a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire (58–63) ), the suppression of a revolt led by Boudica in Britannia (60–61) and improving cultural ties with Greece. However, he was egotistical and had severe troubles with his mother, whom he felt was controlling and over-bearing. After several attempts to kill her he finally had her stabbed to death. He believed himself a god and decided to build an opulent palace for himself. The so-called Domus Aurea, meaning golden house in Latin, was constructed atop the burnt remains of Rome after the Great Fire of Rome (64). Because of the convenience of this many believe that Nero was ultimately responsible for the fire, spawning the legend of him fiddling while Rome burned which is almost certainly untrue. The Domus Aurea was a colossal feat of construction that covered a huge space and demanded new methods of construction in order to hold up the gold, jewel encrusted ceilings. By this time Nero was hugely unpopular despite his attempts to blame the Christians for most of his regime's problems.
A military coup drove Nero into hiding. Facing execution at the hands of the Roman Senate, he reportedly committed suicide in 68. According to Cassius Dio, Nero's last words were "Jupiter, what an artist perishes in me!"[28]
68–69: Year of the Four Emperors
Since he had no heir, Nero's suicide was followed by a brief period of civil war, known as the "
Through his sound fiscal policy, the emperor Vespasian was able to build up a surplus in the treasury, and began construction on the
69–96: Flavian dynasty
The Flavians, although a relatively short-lived dynasty, helped restore stability to an empire on its knees. Although all three have been criticised, especially based on their more centralised 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 marginalisation of the senate, and a conclusive move away from princeps, or first citizen, and toward imperator, or emperor.
69–79: Vespasian
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 of 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 1,000; most of the new senators coming not from Rome but from Italy and the urban centres 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 (
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 favouritism to
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 Romanisation of those areas.
79–81: Titus
However, his short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Mount
81–96: 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 Lucius Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germania Superior. Domitian's paranoia led to a large number of arrests, executions, and seizures 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 to his murder in 96, which was orchestrated by his enemies in the Senate, Stephanus (the steward of the deceased Julia Flavia), members of the Praetorian Guard and empress Domitia Longina.
96–180: Five Good Emperors
The next century came to be known as the period of the "
The last 2 of the "Five Good Emperors" and Commodus are also called
96–98: Nerva
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.
98–117: Trajan
After his accession to the throne, Trajan prepared and launched
In 112, Trajan was provoked by the decision of
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 and continue on eastward.
But he did not stop there. Later in 116, he captured the great city of
117–138: 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
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
138–161: Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius's 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.
161–180: 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 revitalised Parthian Empire renewed its assault. Marcus Aurelius sent his co-emperor Lucius Verus to command the legions in the East to face it. Lucius 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.
In 175, while on campaign in the northern Germany in the Marcomannic Wars, Marcus was forced to contend with a rebellion by Avidius Cassius, a general who had been an officer during the wars against Persia. Cassius was proclaimed Roman Emperor and took the provinces of Egypt and Syria as his part of the empire. Reports say that Cassius had revolted because he had heard word that Marcus was dead. After three months Cassius was assassinated and Marcus took back the eastern part of the empire.
In the last years of his life Marcus, a philosopher as well as an emperor, wrote his book of Stoic philosophy known as the Meditations. The book has since been hailed as Marcus' great contribution to philosophy.
When Marcus died in 180 the throne passed to his son Commodus, who had been elevated to the rank of co-emperor in 177. This ended the succession plan of the previous four emperors where the emperor would adopt his successor, although Marcus was the first emperor since Vespasian to have a natural son that could succeed him, which probably was the reason he allowed the throne to pass to Commodus and not adopt an outside successor.
180–193: Commodus and the year of six emperors
Commodus
The period of the "Five Good Emperors" was brought to an end by the reign of
Pertinax
After the murder had been carried out, Pertinax, who was serving as
Didius Julianus
Upon his accession, Julianus immediately devalued the
The Praetorian Guard, lacking discipline and sunk in debauchery and sloth, were incapable of offering any effectual resistance.[52] Matters being desperate, Julianus now attempted negotiation and offered to share the empire with his rival.[53] Severus ignored these overtures and pressed forward, all Italy declaring for him as he advanced.[54] At last the Praetorians, having received assurances that they would suffer no punishment – provided they surrendered the actual murderers of Pertinax – seized the ringleaders of the conspiracy and reported what they had done to Silius Messala, the consul, by whom the Senate was summoned and informed of the proceedings.[55] Julianus was killed in the palace by a soldier in the third month of his reign (1 June 193).[56] Severus dismissed the Praetorian Guard and executed the soldiers who had killed Pertinax.[57] According to Cassius Dio, who lived in Rome during the period, Julianus's last words were "But what evil have I done? Whom have I killed?"[58] His body was given to his wife and daughter, who buried it in his great-grandfather's tomb by the fifth milestone on the Via Labicana.[59]
193–235: Severan dynasty
Septimius Severus (193–211)
Lucius Septimius Severus was born to a family of Phoenician
Severus fought a successful war against the
Caracalla (198–217)
The eldest son of Severus, he was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in
Geta (209–211)
Younger son of Severus, Geta was made co-emperor with his older brother Caracalla upon his father's death. Unlike the much more successful joint reign of
Interlude: Macrinus (217–218)
M.M. Opelius Macrinus was born in 164 at Caesarea. Although coming from a humble background that was not dynastically related to the Severan dynasty, he rose through the imperial household until, under the emperor
His most significant early decision was to make peace with the
Elagabalus (218–222)
Born Varius Avitus Bassianus on May 16, 205, known later as M. Aurelius Antonius, he was appointed at an early age to be priest of the sun God, Elagabalus, represented by a large, dark rock called a baetyl, by which name he is known to historians (his name is sometimes written "Heliogabalus"). He was proclaimed emperor by the troops of Emesa, his hometown, who were instigated to do so by Elagabalus's grandmother, Julia Maesa. She spread a rumor that Elagabalus was the secret son of Caracalla. This revolt spread to the entire Syrian army (which, at the time, was swollen with troops raised by the Emperor Caracalla, and not fully loyal to Macrinus), and eventually they were to win the short struggle that followed by defeating Macrinus at a battle just outside Antioch. Elagabalus was then accepted by the senate, and began the slow journey to Rome.
His reign in Rome has long been known for outrageousness, although the historical sources are few, and in many cases not to be fully trusted. He is said to have smothered guests at a banquet by flooding the room with rose petals: married his male lover - who was then referred as the 'Empress's husband', and married one of the vestal virgins. Some say he was transgender, and one ancient text states that he offered half the empire to the physician who could give him female genitalia.
The running of the Empire during this time was mainly left to his grandmother and mother (Julia Soamias). Seeing that her grandson's outrageous behavior could mean the loss of power, Julia Maesa persuaded Elagabalus to accept his cousin
Alexander Severus (222–235)
Born Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus, Alexander was adopted as
235–284: Crisis of the Third Century
The situation of the Roman Empire became dire in AD 235, when the emperor
In the years following the emperor's death, generals of the Roman army fought each other for control of the Empire and neglected their duties in preventing invasions from foreigners. Provincials became victims of frequent raids by foreign tribes, such as the
By 258, the Roman Empire broke up into three competing states. The
An invasion by a vast host of Goths was beaten back at the
Aurelian reigned (270–275) through the worst of the crisis, defeating the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Palmyrenes, the Persians, and then the remainder of the Gallic Empire. By late 274, the Roman Empire was reunited into a single entity, and the frontier troops were back in place. More than a century would pass before Rome again lost military ascendancy over its external enemies. However, dozens of formerly thriving cities, especially in the Western Empire, had been ruined, their populations dispersed and, with the breakdown of the economic system, could not be rebuilt. Major cities and towns, even Rome itself, had not needed fortifications for many centuries; many then surrounded themselves with thick walls.
Finally, although Aurelian had played a significant role in restoring the Empire's borders from external threat, more fundamental problems remained. In particular, the right of succession had never been clearly defined in the Roman Empire, leading to continuous civil wars as competing factions in the military, Senate and other parties put forward their favored candidate for emperor. Another issue was the sheer size of the Empire, which made it difficult for a single autocratic ruler to effectively manage multiple threats at the same time. These continuing problems would be radically addressed by Diocletian, allowing the Empire to continue to survive in the West for over a century and in the East for over a millennium.
284–301: Diocletian and the Tetrarchy
The transition from a single united empire to the later divided Western and Eastern empires was a gradual transformation. In July 285,
He defeated the
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 northwest axis just east of Italy, and created two equal Emperors to rule under the title of
In 293 authority was further divided, as each Augustus took a junior Emperor called a
After an initial period of tolerance, Diocletian, who was a fervent pagan and was worried about the ever-increasing numbers of Christians in the Empire,
In spite of his failures, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the empire economically and militarily, enabling the empire to remain essentially intact for another hundred years despite being near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on 1 May 305, and became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate the position (John VI retired to a monastery in the 14th century). He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the core of the modern-day city of Split.
305–363: Constantinian dynasty
Constantine and his sons
The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of
The year 307 saw the return of Maximian to the rank 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 officially put an end to the persecution of Christians, and Constantine legalised Christianity definitively in 313 as evidenced in the so-called Edict of Milan. Constantine defeated his brother-in-law Licinius in 324, unifying the Empire under his control. He would rule until his death on 22 May 337.
The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons. The
Constantine II was killed in conflict with his youngest brother in 340. Constans was himself killed in conflict with the army-proclaimed Augustus
Constantius's rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law
361–364: Julian and Jovian
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 favourably 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
364–392: Valentinian dynasty
Valentinian and Valens
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.
The election of Valens was soon disputed.
On August 4, 367, the eight-year-old Gratian was proclaimed as a third Augustus by his father Valentinian and uncle Valens, a nominal co-ruler and means to secure succession.
In April 375 Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against the
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 stepmother Justina. However the division was merely nominal as the actual authority still rested with Gratian.
378: Battle of Adrianople
Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. The
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
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.
379–457: Theodosian dynasty
383: Disturbed peace in the West
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
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 recognised as a co-ruler by all three Augusti.
The increasing unpopularity of Gratian would cause the four Augusti problems later that same year. Magnus Maximus, a general from Hispania, 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 25.
Maximus was a firm believer of the
Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, at the time only twelve 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
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
Final partition of the Empire
In 392 Valentinian II was murdered in Vienne. Arbogast arranged for the appointment of Eugenius as emperor. However, the eastern emperor Theodosius refused to recognise Eugenius as emperor and invaded the West, defeating and killing Arbogast and Eugenius at the Battle of the Frigidus. He thus reunited the entire Roman Empire under his rule.
Theodosius had two sons and a daughter, Pulcheria, from his first wife,
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. The Roman state would continue to have two different emperors with different seats of power throughout the 5th century, though 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.
395–476: Decline of the Western Roman Empire
After 395, the emperors in the
Odoacer then sent the Imperial Regalia back to the emperor Zeno. Zeno soon received two deputations. One was from Odoacer requesting that his control of Italy be formally recognised 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 gallery
- Empire
- Orient
See also
- History of Rome
- Legacy of the Roman Empire
- Roman imperial period (chronology)
- History of the Byzantine Empire
Notes
- to indicate the Roman state in matters involving other nations. The term Romania, initially a colloquial term for the empire's territory as well as a collective name for its inhabitants, appears in Greek and Latin sources from the 4th century onward and was eventually carried over to the Byzantine Empire(see R. L. Wolff, "Romania: The Latin Empire of Constantinople" in Speculum 23 (1948), pp. 1–34 and especially pp. 2–3).
References
- ^ Bennett, J. Trajan: Optimus Princeps. 1997. Fig. 1. Regions east of the Euphrates river were held only in the years 116–117.
- ^ Constantine I (306–337 AD) by Hans A. Pohlsander. Written 2004-01-08. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ JSTOR 1170959.
- ^ John D. Durand, Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation, 1977, pp. 253–296.
- ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ Christopher Kelly, The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 4ff.; Claude Nicolet, Space, Geography, and Politics in the Early Roman Empire (University of Michigan Press, 1991, originally published in French 1988), pp. 1, 15; T. Corey Brennan, The Praetorship in the Roman Republic (Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 605 et passim; Clifford Ando, "From Republic to Empire," in The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World (Oxford University Press, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Dio Cassius 72.36.4, Loeb edition translated E. Cary
- ^ Brown, P., The World of Late Antiquity, London 1971, p. 22.
- ^ Adrian Goldsworth, How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower (Yale University Press, 2009), pp. 405–415.
- ^ Potter, David. The Roman Empire at Bay. 296–98.
- ^ Chester G. Starr, A History of the Ancient World, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1974. pp. 670–678.
- ^ Isaac Asimov. Asimov's Chronology of the World. Harper Collins, 1989. p. 110.
- ^ Asimov, p. 198.
- ^ Eck, Werner; translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider; new material by Sarolta A. Takács. (2003) The Age of Augustus. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p12
- ^ Paul K. Davis, 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The World’s Major Battles and How They Shaped History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 63.
- ^ a b Abbott, 269
- ^ Abbott, 267
- ^ Abbott, 268
- ^ Eck, Werner; translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider; new material by Sarolta A. Takács. (2003) The Age of Augustus. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p40
- ^ Birley, E.B. "A Note on the Title 'Gemina'". Journal of Roman Studies (18): 56–60.
- ^ Abbott, 272
- ^ a b Abbott, 273
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories XXVIII.5.23.
- ^ Abbott, 293
- ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 269
- ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 38
- ^ Scramuzza, Vincent (1940). The Emperor Claudius Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p29
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LXIII.29
- ^ Abbott, 298
- ^ Abbott, 296
- ^ "De Imperatoribus Romanis". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
Although the Dacians had been defeated, the emperor postponed the final siege for the conquering of Sarmizegetuza because his armies needed reorganisation. Trajan imposed on the Dacians very hard peace conditions: Decebalus had to renounce claim to some regions of his kingdom, including Banat, Tara Hategului, Oltenia, and Muntenia in the area south-west of Transylvania. He had also to surrender all the Roman deserters and all his war machines. At Rome, Trajan was received as a winner and he took the name of Dacicus, a title that appears on his coinage of this period. At the beginning of the year 103 A.D., there were minted coins with the inscription: IMP NERVA TRAIANVS AVG GER DACICVS.
- ^ Statius Silvae 5.1; Dio Cassius 68.17.1.; Arrian Parthica frs 37/40
- ^ a b Canduci, pg. 50
- ^ Bowman, pg. 1
- ^ Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 4:5
- ^ Gibbon, Ch. 4
- ^ Zosimus, 1:8
- ^ a b Dio, 74:8
- ^ Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 10:4
- ^ Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 11:1
- ^ Dio, 74:9
- ^ Historia Augusta, Pertinax, 11:7
- ^ Dio, 74:10
- ^ Tulane University "Roman Currency of the Principate"
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 13.2–5; Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 4.2–7; Herodian, ii.7.3
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 13.3
- ^ Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 4.2, 4.4
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 14.3–4; Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 5.1–2
- ^ Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 5.3; Septimius Severus, 5.5
- ^ Historia Augusta, Septimius Severus, 5.5
- ^ Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 5.4–8
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 16.3
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 17.2; Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 6.9, Septimius Severus, 5.7; Herodian, ii.12.3
- ^ Herodian, ii.11.6
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 17.3
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 17.5; Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 8.8
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxv, 1.1
- ^ Cassius Dio, lxxiv, 17.5
- ^ Historia Augusta, Didius Julianus, 8.10
- ^ " Herodian says "in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the Germans for their previous insolence" (Herodian vi.7.10).
- ISBN 9781108050739.