Transcript The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire
World History – Libertyville HS
The Roman Empire
• “Pax Romana” =
Roman Peace
• Lasted 200 years, from
27 BC to 180 AD
• Few civil wars & no
invasions
• Legal system helped to
Romanize regions
• Empire covered 2.2
million square miles
with 120 million pop.
Government of the Empire
• Emperor had total
control over the
government
• Senate still met, but
had little real power
(no legions)
• Efficient bureaucracy,
like the Han Chinese
• Army socialized noncitizens to become
loyal Roman citizens
Economy of the Empire
• Based on trade and
farming
• Trade
• Traded throughout
Europe, SW Asia,
North Africa – even
China (226 AD)
• Road network very
important to trade
(quick / cheap)
• Mediterranean was
pirate free (19th C.)
Infrastructure
• Roads
• Built for and by the
Army
• Encouraged trade and
defense of Empire
• Over 55K miles of roads
• Many towns that sprung
up at road intersections
exist today (Paris;
London)
• Aqueducts delivered
water to cities
Life in the Roman Empire
• Life in Rome
• City of 1 million+,
mostly unemployed
plebeians
• “Bread & circuses”
• Bread = daily dole of
food
• Circuses = games,
theater, etc.
Life in Rome
• Haves and the have
nots
• Haves =Patricians,
equestrians were
decadent
• Have nots = plebeians
• Desperately poor
• Lived in cramped
apartment buildings
prone to fires, collapse
Life in the Roman Empire
• Life in the provinces
• Security of Pax
Romana meant
hundreds of towns,
cities springing up
• Simpler life where
people farmed, raised
families, and lived
their lives
Life in the Roman Empire
• Life along frontiers
• Use of client state as
buffers to protect against
invasion
• Transformed German
border tribes into semi
civilized states
• Germans provided most
troops of army
• German people wanted
to move into Empire
• Led to tension, invasion
Octavian, First Emperor (27
BC-14 AD)
• Adopted by Julius
Caesar at age 19
• “Restored” Republic in
27 AD; Senate promptly
named him emperor
(“Augustus”)
• Focused on
consolidation of his
own power
• Kept tabs on rivals
• Kept control over army
Octavian, First Emperor
• State of Empire, under
Octavian
• Frontier (“Imperial”)
provinces (28 legions,
no senators)– why?
• Interior Provinces
(Romanized; Senate
control, NO legions)
Octavian’s Plans for Expansion
• Expansion plans
included invasion of
Bohemia
• Setbacks
• 3 year revolt in Balkans
• Loss of 3 legions in
Germany (Teutoburg
Forest story)
• After Teutoburg Forest,
Octavian switched
strategy to defense
Succession of Emperors
• Julian Emperors (27 BC
to 68 AD)
• 5 emperors, from Octavian
to Nero
• Post Julian Emperors
• Lots of insanity, amorality
• “Five Good Emperors”
(96-180 AD)
• Good because they were
not insane
• Long reigns
• Militarily successful
Decline of Imperial Rome
• From 180 to 284 AD, 30
Emperors ruled in
succession
• Short reigns led to political
paralysis
• Civil wars by contenders for
the throne weakened
frontier
• Army, especially Praetorian
Guard, began deciding who
would be emperor
• Some of the emperors were
insane or had short reigns
Decline of Imperial Rome
• Difficulty maintaining
borders
• Army on frontier gradually
became less Roman and more
“barbarian”
• Migratory pressures from
outside empire
• Increasing cost of
bureaucracy
• Taxes paid only by citizens
(212 AD: citizenship)
• Subject population paid tribute
• Rich tended to avoid taxes
• Land, local power went to rich
Partial Recovery and Reform
(284-337 AD)
• Diocletian (284-311
AD)
• Great organizer
• Recognized that
empire was too big
• Split empire into four
parts
• East was “Hellenized”
• West war Germanic
• Leaders of North, South
were “Caesar”, or junior
emperors
• Doubled size of army
(300k to 600k)
Partial Recovery and Reform
• Diocletian’s reforms
• Excluded patricians from
military command
• Imposed rigid direction of
labor on all people
• Constantine “The Great”
(307-337 AD)
• Time of great unrest in
West
• City populations shrinking
• Trade declined
• Farmland not cultivated
Partial Recovery and Reform
• Constantine moved
capital from Rome to
Byzantium
• Renamed city
Constantinople
• Allowed for free
worship of Christianity
throughout empire
(converted on deathbed)