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Roman Empire

*** Shopping-Tip: Roman Empire
{{Roman Empire infobox}} {{dablink|For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation).}} The '''Roman Empire''' is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Rome Ancient Roman society in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Augustus in the late 1st century BC. After Constantinople had been made its capital and the Western parts were lost, the Eastern part continued its existence as the Eastern Roman Empire, in what has since been recoined the Byzantine Empire. ''Roman Empire'' is also used as translation of the expression, Imperium#Territories ''Imperium Romanum'', probably the best-known Latin (language) Latin expression where the word ''imperium'' is used in the meaning of a territory; the "Roman Empire" denotes that part of the world under Roman rule. The expansion of this Roman territory beyond the borders of the initial city-state of Rome had started long before the state organization turned into an Empire. In its territorial peak after the conquest of Dacia by Trajan, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5 900 000 km². (2,300,000 sq.mi.) of land surface, thereby being the largest empire in the classical antiquity period of European history. In the centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, Rome (Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic) had already accumulated most of its territory beyond the Italian Peninsula, including its former Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean competitors Syracuse, Italy#History Syracuse and Carthage. In the late Republic, Augustus definitively added Egypt to the ''Imperium Romanum''. Augustus's reforms, turning the Roman state into an empire, survived mostly unchanged until the Diocletian reform at end of the 3rd century, which turned the empire into a tetrarchy. This was due to the near-collapse of the empire during the period of invasion, civil war, and economic chaos known as the Crisis of the Third Century. While the political form given by Diocletian was short lived, it led to the division of the Empire into two halves. This allowed Roman rule to continue for two more centuries over the whole empire, although divided into the Eastern Roman Empire Eastern and the Western Roman Empire. The end of the Western Empire is traditionally set as 4th September 476, when the Germanic chieftain Odoacer forced the abdication of the last Western Emperor Romulus Augustus and sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople; henceforth Odoacer ruled nominally as ''dux'' on behalf of Constantinople. After another millennium, in 1453, the Eastern Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire, Fall of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. From the time of Augustus to the Decline of the Roman Empire Fall of the Western Empire, Rome dominated the region of History of West Eurasia Western Eurasia, comprising over half its population. The legacy of the Roman empires on the culture, law, language, religion, government, military, and architecture of Western civilization remains to the present day. Roman titles of power were adopted by most of the successor states and later entities with imperial pretensions, including the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the History of Bulgaria Bulgarian Empires, the History of Russia Russian/Kiev dynasties, and the German Empire. See also Roman culture.

Historians' viewpoints on the evolution of Imperial Rome
Image:Roman Empire.png Pompey.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), 44 BC (orange - late Republic, conquests by republican generals like [[Pompey and Julius Caesar), 14 AD (yellow - conquests of Augustus) and 117 (green - conquests by later emperors).html" title="Meaning of right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), 44 BC (orange - late Republic, conquests by republican generals like [[Pompey">thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), 44 BC (orange - late Republic, conquests by republican generals like [[Pompey and Julius Caesar), 14 AD (yellow - conquests of Augustus) and 117 (green - conquests by later emperors)">right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), 44 BC (orange - late Republic, conquests by republican generals like [[Pompey">thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), 44 BC (orange - late Republic, conquests by republican generals like [[Pompey and Julius Caesar), 14 AD (yellow - conquests of Augustus) and 117 (green - conquests by later emperors) Because the empire of Rome lasted for such a long period of time (31 BC – 1453 AD), there are certain alternative names used by historians to distinguish between various periods or eras. Such names include Western Roman Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, which are used interchangeably throughout this article to mean the same as Roman Empire (or the Western or Eastern part thereof). Traditionally, historians make a distinction between the Principate, the period following Augustus until the Crisis of the Third Century, and the Dominate, the period from Diocletian until the end of the Empire in the West. According to this theory, during the Principate (from the Latin word ''princeps'', meaning "first citizen") the realities of dictatorship were carefully concealed behind Republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word ''dominus'', meaning "Lord") imperial power showed its uncovered face, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. More recently historians have established that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the Byzantine period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.

Age of Augustus (31 BC – AD 14)


Political developments
Image:LocationRomanRepublic.png Roman Republic.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|300px|right|The territorial extent of the [[Roman Republic before the conquests of Octavian.html" title="Meaning of 300px|right|The territorial extent of the [[Roman Republic">thumb|300px|right|The territorial extent of the [[Roman Republic before the conquests of Octavian">300px|right|The territorial extent of the [[Roman Republic">thumb|300px|right|The territorial extent of the [[Roman Republic before the conquests of Octavian As a matter of convenience, the Roman Empire is said to have begun with the constitutional settlement following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In fact, the Republican institutions at Rome had been slowly undermined and set aside over the preceding century, and Rome had been in continuous political crisis with periods of dictatorial rule since Lucius Cornelius Sulla Sulla. The Augustan settlement proclaimed the "Republic restored" and retained the old republican institutions. However, the Emperor controlled all the armed forces and many provinces and in the city his word was considered of supreme authority. The increasingly thorough and visible power of the Emperor gradually developed into autocratic rule, while the republican institutions eroded into political meaninglessness. The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus was essential in establishing this "restored Republic". Whereas his uncle Julius Caesar had established the undisguised rule of one man and was subsequently assassinated, Augustus retained republican forms and tried to de-emphasize his power while firmly retaining control. Augustus's reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire: *Creation of a position of supreme authority, controlling all military power and holding special political privileges. We refer to this position as Emperor of Rome; *Fixation of the pay scale. Duration of Roman military service marked the final step in the evolution of the Roman Army from a citizen army to a professional one; *Creation of the Praetorian Guard to protect the Emperor. The Emperors also used it to eliminate (real or perceived) threats, and the Praetorians frequently made and unmade Emperors before losing their preeminence in the 3rd century; *Expansion to the easily defended natural borders of the Empire. The borders reached upon Augustus's death remained the limits of Empire, with minimal exceptions, for the next four hundred years; *Development of Roman commerce trade links with regions as far away as India and China; *Creation of a civil service outside of the Roman Senate Senatorial structure, leading to a continuous weakening of Senatorial authority; *Enactment of the ''lex Julia'' of 18 BC and the ''lex Papia Poppaea'' of AD 9, which rewarded childbearing and penalized celibacy; *Promulgation of the cult of the Deified Julius Caesar throughout the Empire. This tradition of deifying the Emperor upon his death lasted until the time of Constantine I (emperor) Constantine I. One significant failure of Augustus was his inability to pacify and Romanize the German frontier. The fact that Julius Caesar had done this to Gaul has been credited by historians for the ultimate extension of the life of the empire by at least a century. Eventually, the Germanic barbarians would sack Rome and destroy the empire. In the Battle of Teutoburg Forest during Octavian's rule, three Roman legions were wiped out by the Germanic tribes, partly due to poor planning by the general Publius Quintilius Varus. This failure resulted in the establishment of the rivers Rhine and Danube as the natural border natural northern border of the Empire. In the following centuries Germanic tribes would cross this border - vast and difficult to guard - to make incursions into the Empire.

Cultural developments
:''Main article: Roman culture'' The Augustan period saw a tremendous outpouring of cultural achievement in the areas of poetry, history, sculpture and architecture. At the same time, a tremendous outpouring of energy in founding colonies and municipium ''municipia'', unrivalled in Rome before or after, succeeded in Romanization (cultural) romanizing extensive territories in the East, in Africa, in Hispania and Gaul, beyond those areas that were traditionally within the Roman sphere of influence.

Sources
The Age of Augustus is paradoxically far more poorly documented than the Late Republican period that preceded it. While Livy wrote his magisterial history during Augustus's reign and his work covered all of Roman history through 9 BC, only epitomes survive of his coverage of the Late Republican and Augustan periods. Our important primary sources for this period include the: *''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'', Augustus'a highly partisan autobiography, *''Historiae Romanae'' by Velleius Paterculus, a disorganized work which remains the best annals of the Augustan period, and *''Controversiae'' and ''Suasoriae'' of Seneca the Elder. Though primary accounts of this period are few, works of poetry, legislation and engineering from this period provide important insights into Roman life. Archeology, including maritime archeology, aerial surveys, Epigraphy epigraphic inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan Roman currency coinage, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions. Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Plutarch and Lives of the Twelve Caesars Suetonius. Josephus's ''Jewish Antiquities'' is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a Roman province province during Augustus's reign.

Julio-Claudian dynasty: Augustus's heirs (AD 14-69)
{{roman government}} Augustus, leaving no sons, was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the ''gens'' Julius Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of ancient Rome Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the ''gens'' Claudius (gens) Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the ''gens'' Claudia, through Tiberius's brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from ''gens'' Julia, either through Julia the Elder, Augustus's daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus's sister Octavia Minor (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian".

=Tiberius (14–37)
= The early years of Tiberius's reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched its treasury. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In 19, he was popularly blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In 23 his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself. He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard, 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 relish. 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 "hoist 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 cronies, the same year. The persecutions continued until Tiberius's death in 37.

=Caligula (37–41)
= At the time of Tiberius's death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius's own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus's son Gaius (better known as Caligula). 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 may have suffered from a certain mental instability which has left 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 him insane. Lives of the Twelve Caesars Suetonius reported a rumour that Caligula planned to appoint his favourite horse Incitatus to the Roman Senate. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain to fight the Sea God Neptune, but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on incestuous relations with his sisters. He had ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem, which would have undoubtedly led to revolt had he not been dissuaded. He would have people secretly killed, and call for them to his palace. When they did not appear, he would jokingly remark that they must have committed suicide. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard Cassius Chaerea. The only member left of the imperial family to take charge was his own uncle, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus.

=Claudius (41–54)
= Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor insane like his nephew Caligula, and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability. He improved the bureaucracy and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the Roman invasion of Britain conquest and colonization of Britain (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. He ordered the construction of a winter port for Rome, at Ostia, thereby providing a place for Rome's grain supply grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather. 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 very probably poisoned him in 54. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 16-year-old Lucius Domitius Nero.

=Nero (54–69)
= Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca. However, as he grew older, his desire for power and paranoia increased and he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of major riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in Roman Britain Britannia, Armenia, Parthia, and Iudaea (Roman province) Iudaea. Nero's inability to manage the rebellions and his basic incompetence became evident quickly and, in 68, even the Imperial guard renounced him. Nero is best remembered by the rumour that he played the lyre and sang during the Great Fire of Rome in 64, and hence "fiddled while Rome burned" (though the fiddle had yet to be invented). Nero is also remembered for his immense rebuilding of Rome following the fires. Nero began one of the first wholesale persecutions of Christians. The mark of the beast amongst Christians, 666, is believed to have originated based on Nero. Nero committed suicide, and the year 69 was a year of civil war and is known as the Year of the Four Emperors, with Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian ruling as Emperors in quick and violent succession. By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome.

Rebellions, uprisings and political consequences
In peacetime, it was relatively easy to rule the empire from its capital city, Rome. An eventual rebellion was expected and would happen from time to time: a general or a governor would gain the loyalty of his officers through a mixture of personal charisma, promises and simple bribes. A conquered tribe would rebel, or a conquered city would revolt. This would be a bad, but not a catastrophic event. The Roman legions were spread around the borders and the rebel leader would in normal circumstances have only one or two legions under his command. Loyal legions would be detached from other points of the empire and would eventually drown the rebellion in blood. This happened even more easily in cases of a small local native uprising as the rebels would normally have no great military experience. Unless the emperor was weak, incompetent, hated, and/or universally despised, these rebellions would be a local and isolated event. During real wartime however, which could develop from a rebellion or an uprising, like the massive Jewish rebellion, this was totally and dangerously different. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions under the command of the generals like Vespasian were of a much greater number. Therefore a paranoid or wise emperor would hold some members of the general´s family as hostages, to make certain of the latter's loyalty. In effect, Nero held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis the governor of Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and the brother-in-law of Vespasian. In normal circumstances this would be quite enough. In fact, the rule of Nero ended with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard who had been bribed in the name of Galba. It became all too obvious that the Praetorian Guard was a sword of Damocles, whose loyalty was all too often bought and who became increasingly greedy. Following their example the legions at the borders would also increasingly participate in the civil wars. This was a dangerous development as this would weaken the whole Roman Army. The main enemy, in the West, were arguably the "barbarian tribes" behind the Rhine and the Danube. Octavian had tried to conquer them, but ultimately failed and these "barbarians" were greatly feared. But, by and large, they were left in peace, in order to fight amongst themselves, and were simply too divided to pose a serious threat. Image:LocationParthia.PNG Parthia.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|right|300px|The empire of [[Parthia, the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60 BC.html" title="Meaning of right|300px|The empire of [[Parthia">frame|right|300px|The empire of [[Parthia, the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60 BC">right|300px|The empire of [[Parthia">frame|right|300px|The empire of [[Parthia, the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60 BC Parthia, in the East, on the other hand, was too far away to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated, but the threat itself was ultimately impossible to destroy. In the case of a Roman civil war these two enemies would seize the opportunity to invade Roman territory in order to raid and plunder. The two respective military frontiers became a matter of major political importance due to the high number of legions stationed there. All too often the local generals would rebel, starting a new civil war. To control the western border from Rome was easy, as it was relatively close. To control both frontiers, at the same time, during wartime, was hard. If the emperor was near the border in the East, chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and List of Latin phrases (P–Z) vice-versa. It was no longer enough to be a good administrator; emperors were increasingly near the troops in order to control them and no single Emperor could be at the two frontiers at the same time. This problem would plague the ruling emperors time and time again and many future emperors would follow this path to power.

Year of the Four Emperors: (68-69)
The forced suicide of emperor Nero, in 68, was followed by a brief period of civil war (the first Roman Republican civil wars Roman civil war since Marc Antony Antony's death in 30 BC) known as the '''year of the four emperors'''. Between June of 68 and December of 69, Ancient Rome Rome witnessed the successive rise and fall of Galba, Otho and Vitellius until the final accession of Vespasian, first ruler of the Flavian dynasty. This period of civil war has become emblematic of the cyclic political disturbances in the history of the Roman Empire. The military and political anarchy created by this civil war had serious implications, such as the outbreak of the Batavian rebellion.

Flavian Dynasty (69-96)
The Flavians, although a relatively short-lived dynasty, helped restore stability to an empire on its knees. Although there are criticisms of all three, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, it was the reforms and good rule of the three that helped create a stable empire that would last well into the 3rd century. However, their background as a military dynasty led to further [http://www.answers.com/Irrelevance irrelevancy] of the senate, and the move from ''princeps'', or first citizen, to ''imperator'', or emperor, was finalized during their reign.

=Vespasian (69–79)
= Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of Galba; however, on his death, Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. After the suicide of Otho, Vespasian was able to hijack Rome's grain supply Rome's winter grain supply in Egypt, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius. On December 20, 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops and, the next day, Vespasian was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate. At the age of 60 and battle hardened he was hardly a charismatic emperor, but he turned out to be an excellent ruler none the less. Although Vespasian was considered an autocracy autocrat by the senate, he mostly continued the weakening of that body that had been going since the reign of Tiberius. This was typified by his dating his accession to power from 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 who made up 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 due to the actions of Nero and the year of crisis that followed, to 1000; most of the new senators coming not from Rome but from Italy and the urban centers 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 Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater); he also built a Roman forum forum whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace. In addition, he alloted sizable subsidies to the arts, creating a chair of rhetoric at Rome. 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 favoritism to Spain in which he granted Latin rights to over three hundred towns and cities, promoting a new era of urbanization throughout the western (i.e. formerly barbarian) provinces. Through the additions he made to the Senate he allowed greater influence of the provinces in the Senate, helping to promote unity in the empire. He also extended the borders of the empire on every front, most of which was done to help strengthen the frontier defenses, one of Vespasian's main goals. 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 Spain, in line with the Romanization of those areas.

=Titus (79–81)
= Titus, the eldest son of Vespasian, had been groomed to rule. He had served as an effective general under his father, helping to secure the east and eventually taking over the command of Roman armies in Syria (Roman province) Syria and Iudaea (Roman province) Iudaea, quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. He shared the consul for several years with his father and received the best tutelage. Although there was some trepidation when he took office, due to his known dealings with some of the less respectable elements of Roman society, he quickly proved his merit, even recalling many exiled by his father as a show of good faith. However, his short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, and in 80, a fire decimated much of Rome. His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100 gladiators and lasted 100 days. Titus died in 81, at the age of 41 of what is presumed to be illness; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor, although these claims have little merit. Whatever the case, he was greatly mourned and missed.

=Domitian (81–96)
= All of the Flavians had rather poor relations with the Senate, due to 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 sharing in much the same way of his Julio-Claudian forerunners, the latter having difficulty even obtaining, 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 Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. Domitian's paranoia led to a large number of arrests, executions, and seizure 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 them to his murder in 96 orchestrated by his enemies in the Senate, Stephanus (the steward of the deceased Julia Flavia), members of the Praetorian Guard and empress Domitia Longina.

Five Good Emperors - The Antonine Dynasty (96 – 180)
Image:Roman empire.png Trajan.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|280px|right|Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of [[Trajan.html" title="Meaning of 280px|right|Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of [[Trajan">thumb|280px|right|Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of [[Trajan">280px|right|Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of [[Trajan">thumb|280px|right|Roman Empire as its greatest extent with the conquests of [[Trajan The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not dynasty dynastic and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of this period were Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), each being adopted by his predecessor as his successor during the former's lifetime. While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, it has been argued that the real reason for the lasting success of the adoptive scheme of succession lay more with the fact that none of them had a natural heir.

=Nerva (96-98)
= After his accession, Nerva went to 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. Image:Traiani iustitia.jpg Delacroix.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|[[Delacroix. ''Trajan's justice''.html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|200px|[[Delacroix. ''Trajan's justice''">200px|[[Delacroix">thumb|200px|[[Delacroix. ''Trajan's justice''

=Trajan (98-117)
= In 113, provoked by Parthia's decision to put an unacceptable king on the throne of Armenia, a kingdom over which the two great empires had shared hegemony since the time of Nero some fifty years earlier, 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. But he did not stop there. Later in 116, he captured the great city of Susa. He deposed the Parthian king Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the throne. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east.

=Hadrian (117-138)
= Despite his own excellence as a military administrator, Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts. He surrendered Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace. Hadrian's army crushed a massive Jewish uprising in Judea (132-135) led by Bar Kokhba.

=Antoninus Pius (138-161)
= His reign was comparatively peaceful; there were several military disturbances throughout the Empire in his time, in Mauretania, Iudaea, 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. Image:Antoninus Pius 2D.jpg thumb|150px|right| Antoninus Pius {{3d alt|Antoninus Pius 3d.jpg}}

=Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
= Germanic tribes and other peoples 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 revitalized Parthian Empire renewed its assault. Marcus Aurelius sent his joint emperor Verus to command the legions in the East to face it. He 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. Image:Marcus Aurelius equestrian 2d.jpg thumb|150px|left|Marcus Aurelius {{3d alt|Marcus Aurelius equestrian 3d.jpg}} The period of the "five good emperors" was brought to an end by the reign of Commodus from 180 to 192. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius, making him the first direct successor in a century, breaking the scheme of adoptive successors that had turned out so well. He was co-emperor with his father from 177. When he became sole emperor upon the death of his father in 180, it was at first seen as a hopeful sign by the people of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, as generous and magnanimous as his father was, Commodus turned out to be just the opposite. In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, it is noted that Commodus at first ruled the empire well. However, after an assassination attempt, involving a conspiracy by certain members of his family, Commodus became paranoid and slipped into insanity. The Pax Romana, or "Roman Peace", ended with the rein of Commodus. One could argue that the assassination attempt began the long decline of the Roman Empire.

Severan Dynasty (193–235)
Image:Rome rulez.jpg thumb|150px|Reconstruction of the centre of Rome during the reign of Septimius Severus, showing the Colosseum and the area to the south of it Image:Caracalla.jpg thumb|150px|Caracalla {{3d alt|Caracalla 3d.jpg }} The Severan dynasty includes the increasingly troubled reigns of Septimius Severus (193–211), Caracalla (211–217), Macrinus (217–218), Elagabalus (218–222), and Alexander Severus (222–235). The founder of the dynasty, Lucius Septimius Severus, belonged to a leading native family of Leptis Magna in Africa who allied himself with a prominent Syrian family by his marriage to Julia Domna. Their provincial background and cosmopolitan alliance, eventually giving rise to imperial rulers of Syrian background, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, testifies to the broad political franchise and economic development of the Roman empire that had been achieved under the Antonines. A generally successful ruler, Septimius Severus cultivated the Roman army army's support with substantial remuneration in return for total loyalty to the emperor and substituted equestrian officers for senators in key administrative positions. In this way, he successfully broadened the power base of the imperial administration throughout the empire, also by abolishing the regular standing jury courts of Roman Republic Republican times. Septimius Severus's son, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — nicknamed Caracalla — removed all legal and political distinction between Italians and provincials, enacting the ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' in 212 which extended full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Caracalla was also responsible for erecting the famous Baths of Caracalla in Rome, their design serving as an architectural model for many subsequent monumental public buildings. Increasingly unstable and autocratic, Caracalla was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard praetorian prefect Macrinus in 217, who succeeded him briefly as the first emperor not of senatorial rank. The imperial court, however, was dominated by formidable women who arranged the succession of Elagabalus in 218, and Alexander Severus, the last of the dynasty, in 222. In the last phase of the Severan principate, the power of the Senate was somewhat revived and a number of fiscal reforms were enacted. Despite early successes against the Sassanian Empire in the East, Alexander Severus's increasing inability to control the army led eventually to its mutiny and his assassination in 235. The death of Alexander Severus ushered in a subsequent period of soldier-emperors and almost a half-century of civil war and strife.

Crisis of the Third Century (235–284)
The Crisis of the 3rd Century is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284. It is also called the period of the "military anarchy." After Augustus declared an end to the Civil Wars of the 1st century BC, the Empire had enjoyed a period of limited external invasion, internal peace and economic prosperity (the Pax Romana). In the 3rd century, however, the Empire underwent military, political and economic crises and almost collapsed. There was constant barbarian invasion, civil war, and runaway hyperinflation. Part of the problem had its origins in the nature of the Augustan settlement. Augustus, intending to downplay his position, had not established rules for the succession of emperors. Already in the 1st and 2nd century disputes about the succession had lead to short civil wars, but in the 3rd century these civil wars became a constant factor, as no single candidate succeeded in quickly overcoming his opponents or holding on to the Imperial position for very long. Between 235 and 284 no fewer than 25 different emperors ruled Rome (the "Soldier-Emperors"). All but two of these emperors were either murdered or killed in battle. The organisation of the Roman military, concentrated on the borders, could provide no remedy against foreign invasions once the invaders had broken through. A decline in citizens' participation in local administration forced the Emperors to step in, gradually increasing the central government's responsibility. This period ended with the accession of Diocletian. Diocletian, either by skill or sheer luck, solved many of the acute problems experienced during this crisis. However, the core problems would remain and cause the eventual destruction of the western empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity.

Tetrarchy (285–324) and Constantine I (emperor) Constantine I (324-337)
Image:The-tetrarchs.jpg porphyry (geology) thumb|right|300px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine architecture Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of Mark the Evangelist St Mark's, Venice {{3d alt|Details in 3d.jpg}}.html" title="Meaning of porphyry.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry">thumb|right|300px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine architecture Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of Mark the Evangelist St Mark's, Venice {{3d alt|Details in 3d.jpg}}">porphyry.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry">thumb|right|300px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine architecture Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of Mark the Evangelist St Mark's, Venice {{3d alt|Details in 3d.jpg}} The transition from a single united empire to the later divided Western and Eastern empires was a gradual transformation. In July 285, Diocletian defeated rival Emperor Carinus and briefly became sole emperor of the Roman Empire. 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 north-west axis just east of Italy, and created two equal Emperors to rule under the title of Augustus (honorific) Augustus. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long-time friend Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half. In doing so, Diocletian created what would become the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The western empire would collapse less than 200 years later, and the eastern empire would become the Byzantine Empire, centred at Constantinople, which would survive another one thousand years. In 293 authority was further divided as each Augustus took a junior Emperor called Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession; Galerius became Caesar under Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus Caesar under Maximian. This constituted what is called the Tetrarchy (in Greek language Greek: the leadership of four) by modern scholars. After Rome had been plagued by bloody disputes about the supreme authority, this finally formalized a peaceful succession of the Emperor: in each half the Caesar rose up to replace the Augustus and proclaimed a new Caesar. On May 1 305 Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favor of their Caesars. Galerius named the two new Caesars: his nephew Maximinus for himself and Flavius Valerius Severus for Constantius. The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus on July 25 306. Constantius's troops in Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son Constantine I (emperor) Constantine an Augustus. In August, 306, Galerius promoted Severus to the position of Augustus. A revolt in Rome supported another claimant to the same title: Maxentius, son of Maximian, who was proclaimed Augustus on October 28, 306. His election was supported by the Praetorian Guard. This left the Empire with five rulers: four Augusti (Galerius, Constantine, Severus and Maxentius) and a Caesar (Maximinus). The year 307 saw the return of Maximian to the role 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. The end of 307 saw the Empire with four Augusti (Maximian, Galerius, Constantine and Maxentius) and a sole Caesar (Maximinus). The five were briefly joined by another Augustus in 308, Domitius Alexander, vicarius of the Roman province of Africa (province) Africa under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by Rufius Volusianus and Zenas. Alexander was executed in 311. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of Carnuntum with the participation of Diocletian, Maximian and Galerius. The final decisions were taken on November 11, 308: *Galerius remained Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire. *Maximinus remained Caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire. *Maximian was forced to abdicate. *Maxentius was still not recognized, his rule remained illegitimate. *Constantine received official recognition but was demoted to Caesar of the Western Roman Empire. *Licinius replaced Maximian as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire. Problems however continued. Maximinus demanded to be promoted to Augustus. He proclaimed himself to be one on May 1 310; Constantine followed suit shortly after. Maximian similarly proclaimed himself an Augustus for a third and final time. He was killed by his son-in-law Constantine in July, 310. The end of the year again found the Empire with four legitimate Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius) and one illegitimate one (Maxentius). Galerius died in May 311 leaving Maximinus sole ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. Meanwhile Maxentius declared a war on Constantine under the pretext of avenging his executed father. He was among the casualties of the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28 312. This left the Empire in the hands of the three remaining Augusti, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius. Licinius allied himself with Constantine, cementing the alliance by marriage to his younger half-sister Constantia in March 313 and joining open conflict with Maximinus. Maximinus met his death at Tarsus in Cilicia in August 313. The two remaining Augusti divided the Empire again in the pattern established by Diocletian: Constantine becoming Augustus of the Western Roman Empire and Licinius Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire. This division lasted ten years until 324. A final war between the last two remaining Augusti ended with the deposition of Licinius and the elevation of Constantine to sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. Deciding that the empire needed a new capital, Constantine chose the site of Byzantium for the new city. He refounded it as Nova Roma, but it was popularly called Constantinople: Constantine's City. Constantinople would serve as the capital of Constantine the Great from May 11, 330 to his death on May 22 337.

The Empire after Constantine (337–395)


The sons of Constantine (337–361)
Image:Map of Imperial Rome by William R Shepherd (died 1934).jpg thumb|right|300px|A map of Rome in 350 The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons. The Western Roman Empire was divided among the eldest son Constantine II (emperor) Constantine II and the youngest son Constans. The Eastern Roman Empire along with Constantinople were the share of middle son Constantius II. Constantine II was killed in conflict with his youngest brother in 340. Constans was himself killed in conflict with the army-proclaimed Augustus Magnentius on January 18 350. Magnentius was at first opposed in the city of Rome by self-proclaimed Augustus Nepotianus, a paternal first cousin of Constans. Nepotianus was killed alongside his mother Eutropia. His other first cousin Constantia convinced Vetriano to proclaim himself Caesar in opposition to Magnentius. Vetriano served a brief term from March 1 to December 25 350. He was then forced to abdicate by the legitimate Augustus Constantius. The List of Roman usurpers usurper Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire until 353 while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and suicide left Constantius as sole Emperor. Constantius's rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law Julian the Apostate Julian as his Caesar of the Western Roman Empire in 355. During the following five years, Julian had a series of victories against invading Germanic tribes, including the Alamanni. This allowed him to secure the Rhine frontier. His victorious Gallic troops thus ceased campaigning. Constantius send orders for the troops to be transferred to the east as reinforcements for his own currently unsuccessful campaign against Shapur II of Persia. This order led the Gallic troops to an insurrection. They proclaimed their commanding officer Julian to be an Augustus. Both Augusti were not ready to lead their troops to another Roman Civil War. Constantius's timely demise on November 3, 361 prevented this war from ever occurring.

=Julian the Apostate Julian and Jovian (361–364)
= Julian would serve as the sole Emperor for two years. He had received his baptism as a Christian years before, but apparently no longer considered himself one. His reign would see the ending of restriction and persecution of paganism introduced by his uncle and father-in-law Constantine the Great and his cousins and brothers-in-law Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II. He instead placed similar restrictions and unofficial persecution of Christianity. His edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan Temple (Roman) temples and the reinstitution of alienated temple properties, and, more problematically for the Christian Church, the recalling of previously exiled Christian bishops. Returning Orthodox and Arianism Arian bishops resumed their conflicts, thus further weakening the Church as a whole. 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. He was considered a hero by pagan sources of his time and a villain by Christian ones. Later 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 Jovian emperor. He is remembered for signing an unfavorable peace treaty with Persian Empire Persia and restoring the privileges of Christianity. He is considered a Christian himself, though little is known of his beliefs. Jovian himself died on February 17 364.

Valentinian Dynasty (364–392)
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 to 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. Valens's election would soon be disputed. Procopius (usurper) Procopius, a Cilician maternal cousin of Julian, had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but was never designated as such. He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian. In 365, while Valentinian was at Paris and then at Rheims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni, Procopius managed to bribery bribe two Roman legion legions assigned to Constantinople and take control of the Eastern Roman capital. He was proclaimed Augustus on September 28 and soon extended his control to both Thrace and Bithynia. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated. Valens had him executed on May 27, 366. On August 4 367, a 3rd Augustus was proclaimed by the other two. His father Valentinian and uncle Valens chose the 8 year-old Gratian as a nominal co-ruler, obviously as a means to secure succession. In April 375 Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against the Quadi, a Germanic tribes Germanic tribe which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience to an Diplomatic mission embassy from the Quadi at Brigetio on the Danube, a town now part of modern-day Komárom, Hungary, Valentinian suffered a burst blood vessel in the skull while Anger angrily yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on November 17 375. Succession did not go as planned. Gratian was then a adolescence 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 administrated the Gallic part of the Western Roman Empire. Italy, Illyria and Africa were officially administrated by his brother and his step-mother Justina. However the division was merely nominal as the actual authority still rested with Gratian.

=Battle of Adrianople (378)
= Meanwhile the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. The East Germanic tribe known as the Goths were forced to flee their former lands following an invasion by the Huns. Their leaders Alavius and Fritigern led them to seek refuge from the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens indeed let them settle as foederati on the southern bank of the Danube in 376. However, the newcomers faced problems from allegedly Political corruption corrupted provincial commanders and a series of hardships. Their dissatisfaction led them to revolt against their Roman hosts. 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 Adrianople. Valens was apparently overconfident of his numerical superiority of his own forces over the Goths. His officers advised him to wait for the promised arrival of Gratian himself with further reinforcements. But Valens instead rushed to battle. On August 9 378, the Battle of Adrianople resulted in the crushing defeat of the Romans and the death of Valens. Contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus estimated that two thirds of the Roman army were lost in the battle. The last third managed to retreat. 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 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.

=Disturbed peace in the West (383)
= 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 figurehead while Franks Frankish general Merobaudes and bishop Ambrose of Milan jointly acted as the power behind the throne. Gratian lost favor with factions of the Roman Senate by prohibiting traditional paganism at Rome and relinquishing his title of Pontifex Maximus. The senior Augustus also became unpopular to his own Roman troops due to his close association with so-called barbarians. He reportedly recruited Alans to his personal service and adopted the guise of a Scythian warrior for public appearances. Meanwhile Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius were joined by a fourth Augustus. Theodosius proclaimed his oldest son Arcadius to be an Augustus in January, 383 in an obvious attempt to secure succession. The boy was only still five or six years old and held no actual authority. Nevertheless he was recognized as a co-ruler by all three Augusti. The increasing unpopularity of Gratian would cause the four Augusti problems later that same year. Spanish people Spanish Celt general Magnus Maximus, 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 twenty-five. Maximus was a firm believer of the Nicene Creed and introduced state persecution on charges of heresy, which brought him in conflict with Pope Siricius who argued that the Augustus had no authority over church matters. But he was an Emperor with popular support and his reputation survived in Romano-British tradition and gained him a place in the ''Mabinogion'', compiled about a thousand years after his death. Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, actually only 12 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 Flavius Victor an Augustus. The end of the year find the Empire having five Augusti (Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Magnus Maximus and Flavius Victor) with relations between them yet to be determined. 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 Po and threatened Milan. Valentinian and his mother fled to Thessaloniki from where they sought the support of Theodosius. Theodosius indeed campaigned west in 388 and was victorious against Maximus. Maximus himself was captured and executed in Aquileia on July 28 388. Magister militum Arbogastes was sent to Trier with orders to also kill Flavius Victor. Theodosius restored Valentinian to power and through his influence had him converted to Orthodox Catholicism. Theodosius continued supporting Valentinian and protecting him from a variety of usurpations.

Theodosian Dynasty (392–395)
Image:Roman empire 395.jpg Theodosius I.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|300px|The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under [[Theodosius I.html" title="Meaning of right|300px|The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under [[Theodosius I">thumb|right|300px|The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under [[Theodosius I">right|300px|The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under [[Theodosius I">thumb|right|300px|The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under [[Theodosius I In 392 Valentinian was murdered in Vienne. Theodosius succeeded him, ruling the entire Roman Empire. Theodosius had two sons and a daughter, Pulcheria, from his first wife, Aelia Flacilla. His daughter and wife died in 385. By his second wife, Galla, he had a daughter, Galla Placidia, the mother of Valentinian III, who would be Emperor of the West. 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. Though the Roman state would continue to have two emperors, 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.

Decline of the Roman Empire The Fall of the Western Roman Empire (395–476)
The year 476 is generally accepted as the Decline of the Roman Empire end of the Western Roman Empire. In that year, Odoacer deposed his puppet Romulus Augustus (475–476), and for the first time did not bother to induct a successor, choosing instead to rule as a representative of the Eastern Emperor (although Julius Nepos, the emperor deposed by Romulus Augustulus, continued to rule Illyricum until his death in 480, at which point Odoacer annexed this remnant of the Western Empire to his Italian kingdom). The last Emperor who ruled over the whole Empire from Rome, however, had been Theodosius, who removed the seat of power to Mediolanum (Milan). Edward Gibbon, in writing ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' knew not to end his narrative at 476. The great corpse continued to twitch, into the 6th century. Nearly all historians believed that the barbarians, which was realized were Germanic peoples Germanic or Briton people, seized the Western Empire. On the other hand, in 409, with the Emperor of the West fled from Milan to Ravenna and all the provinces wavering in loyalties, the Goth Alaric I, in charge at Rome, came to terms with the senate, and with their consent set up a rival emperor and invested the prefect of the city, a Greek named Priscus Attalus, with the diadem and the purple robe. In the following year when the Goths rampaged in the City, local power was in the hands of the Bishop of Rome. The transfer of power to Christian pope and military ''dux'' had been effected: the Western Empire was effectively dead, though no contemporary knew it. The next seven decades played out as aftermath. Theodoric the Great as King of the Goths, couched his legitimacy in diplomatic terms as being the representative of the Emperor of the East. Consuls were appointed regularly through his reign: a formula for the consular appointment is provided in Cassiodorus's Book VI. The post of consul was last filled in the west by Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the Gothic War (535–552) Gothic War in Italy, which was meant as the reconquest of a lost province for the Emperor of the East and a re-establishment of the continuity of power, actually caused more damage and cut more ties of continuity with the Antique world than the attempts of Theodoric and his minister Cassiodorus to meld Roman and Gothic culture within a Roman form. In essence, the "fall" of the Roman Empire to a contemporary depended a great deal on where they were and their status in the world. On the great villas of the Italian Campagna, the seasons rolled on without a hitch. The local overseer may have been representing an Ostrogoth, then a Lombard duke, then a Christian bishop, but the rhythm of life and the horizons of the imagined world remained the same. Even in the decayed cities of Italy ''consuls'' were still elected. In Auvergne, at Clermont, the Gallo-Roman poet and diplomat Sidonius Apollinaris, bishop of Clermont, realized that the local "fall of Rome" came in 475, with the fall of the city to the Visigoth Euric. In the north of Gaul, a Roman kingdom existed for some years and the Franks had their links to the Roman administration and military as well. In Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king Liuvigild considered himself the heir of Rome. Hispania Baetica was still essentially Roman when the Moors came in 711, but in the northwest, the invasion of the Suevi broke the last frail links with Roman culture in 409. In Aquitania and Provence, cities like Arles were not abandoned, but Roman culture in Britain collapsed in waves of violence after the last legions evacuated: the final legionary probably left Britain in 409. The last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed in 476 by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer.

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1461)
{{main|Byzantine Empire}} As the west would decline during the 5th century, the richer east would be spared much of the destruction, and in the 6th century the Eastern Empire under the emperor Justinian I reconquered the Italy Italian peninsula from the Ostrogoths, North Africa from the Vandals (their kingdom collapsing in 533), southern Spain, and a narrow tract of the Illyrian coast. These gains were lost during subsequent reigns. Of the many accepted dates for the end of the Roman state, the latest is 610. This is when the Emperor Heraclius made sweeping reforms, forever changing the face of the empire. Greek was readopted as the language of government and Latin influence waned. By 610, the Classical Roman Empire had fallen into the rule of the Greeks and evolved into what modern historians now call the Middle Age Byzantine Empire, although the Empire was never called that way by its contemporaries (rather it was called Romania or Basileia Romaion). After the revival of the Western Empire under Charlemagne in the 9th century AD, it was common practice in the West to refer to Byzantium strictly as the ''Empire of the Greeks'', and reserve the "Roman" title for the Franks. The Byzantine Greeks continued to call themselves Romans until their fall in the 15th century. The Greek ethnic self-descriptive name "Romans" survives to this day.

Legacy of the Roman Empire
Several states claiming to be the Roman Empire's successor arose, before as well as after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Holy Roman Empire, an attempt to resurrect the Empire in the West, was established in 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalized for some decades. After the fall of Constantinople, the Russian Empire, as inheritor of the Byzantine Empire's Orthodox Christian tradition, counted itself as the third Rome (with Constantinople being the second). And when the Ottoman Empire Ottomans, who based their state around the Byzantine model, took Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II established his capital there and claimed to sit on the throne of the Roman Empire, and he even went so far as to launch an invasion of Italy with the purpose of "re-uniting the Empire", although Papal States Papal and Neapolitan armies stopped his march on Rome at Otranto in 1480. Constantinople was not officially renamed to Istanbul until March 28, 1930. But excluding these states claiming their heritage, the Roman state lasted (in some form) from the founding of Rome in 753 BC to the fall in 1461 of the Empire of Trebizond (a successor state and fragment of the Byzantine Empire which escaped conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. The Roman impact on Western and Eastern civilizations lives on. In time most of the Roman achievements have been duplicated by later civilizations. For example, the technology for cement was rediscovered 1755–1759 by John Smeaton. The Empire contributed many things to the world, such as the (more-or-less) modern calendar, the institutions of Christianity and aspects of modern neo-classical architecture. The extensive system of roads, which were constructed by the Roman Army, still last to this day. It has been noted that, due to this network of roads, the amount of time necessary to travel between destinations in Europe did not decrease until the 19th century after the invention of steam power. The Roman Empire also contributed its form of government, which influences various constitutions including those of most European countries, and that of the United States, whose framers remarked, in creating the Presidency, that they wanted to inaugurate an "Augustan Age." The modern world also inherited legal thinking from the Roman law, codified in Late Antiquity. Governing a vast territory, the Romans developed the science of public administration to an extent never before conceived or necessary, creating an extensive civil service and formalized methods of tax collection. The world today derives its intellectual history from the Greeks, but it derives its methods of living, ruling and governing from those of the Romans. Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1944, planned to rebuild the Roman Empire after he won World War II. However, Italy lost that war and Mussolini was captured and killed. (Mussolini's vision for the boundaries of the new Roman Empire would have crossed the boundaries of countries directly controlled by Adolf Hitler, his ally.)

See also
*List of Ancient Rome-related topics

Emperors
{{Epochs of Roman Emperors}}

=Roman Provinces
= {{Roman provinces 120 AD}}

Ancient Historians of the Empire
In Latin: *Livy, wrote about the history of the Roman Republic, but during Augustus' reign *Lives of the Twelve Caesars Suetonius *Gaius Cornelius Tacitus *Ammianus Marcellinus In Greek: *Eusebius of Caesarea *Sozomen

Latin Literature of the Empire
*Apuleius *Augustine of Hippo *Horace *Juvenal *Martial *Ovid *Petronius Arbiter *Virgil

References


18th and 19th century historians
* Edward Gibbon, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (1776–1788)

Modern historians
* John Bagnell Bury, ''A History of the Roman Empire from its Foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius'', 1913 * J. A. Crook, ''Law and Life of Rome, 90 BC–AD 212'', 1967, ISBN 0-801-492-734 * Suzanne Dixon, ''The Roman Family'', 1992, ISBN 0-801-842-00X * Donald R. Dudley, ''The Civilization of Rome'', 2nd ed., 1985, ISBN 0-452-010-160 * A.H.M. Jones, ''The Later Roman Empire, 284–602'', 1964, ISBN 0-801-832-853 * Andrew Lintott, ''Imperium Romanum: Politics and administration'', 1993, ISBN 0-415-093-759 * Ramsay Macmullen, ''Roman Social Relations, 50 BC to AD 284'', 1981, ISBN 0-300-027-028 * Michael Rostovtzeff, ''The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire'' 2nd ed., 1957 * Ronald Syme, ''The Roman Revolution'', 1939, ISBN 0-192-803-204 * Colin Wells, ''The Roman Empire'', 2nd ed., 1992, ISBN 0-006-862-527

External links
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- Interactive Map of the Roman Empire from resourcesforhistory.com
- The ''Tabula Peutingeriana'', a Medieval copy of a Roman map of the Roman Empire
- Rome Unleashed - Roman History Link
- www.roman-empire.net An extensive site on the Roman Empire. *Grout, James, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/index.html''Encyclopaedia Romana'']
- J. O'Donnell, Worlds of Late Antiquity website: links, bibliographies: Augustine of Hippo Augustine, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius Boethius, Cassiodorus etc.
- Portrait gallery of Roman emperors
- The Roman Empire in the First Century from PBS. Resources about Emperors, poets and philosophers of Rome, life in the 1st Century AD, and an "Emperor of Rome" game
- Rulers of ancient Rome a list of rulers in the Roman world from 753 BC - 476 AD
- Durnovaria town house pictures
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