st
1
th
-5
c. CE
 After Augustus Rome added:
 more of N. Africa, Most of Great Britain, Parts of Germany, E.
Europe around the Black Sea, Mesopotamia, N. part of the
Arabian Peninsula
 27 B.C.E. – 180 C.E.: Pax Romana continued.
 No more pretending there wasn’t an Emperor
 First Emperors of Rome
 From Julio-Claudian Dynasty
 Augustus (d. 14 CE), Tiberius (d. 37 CE), Caligula (d. 41 CE),
Claudius (d. 54 CE), & Nero (d. 68 CE)
 69 CE: Four emperors try to take the throne backed by
armies.
 69-79 CE: Roman General Vespasian started the Flavian
dynasty
 Not from a noble or aristocratic family
 hard headed; practical solider-ruler
 Highly effective
 79-81 CE: Titus, son of Vespasian
 81-96 CE: Domitian, son of Vespasian
 Second wave of Christian persecution
 Assassinated
 Died without a successor so Senate elected Nerva
 End of the Flavian Dynasty
 Each died without a successor, so the next was elected by &
from Senate (except Marcus Aurelius)
 Period of greatest political stability since Augustus
 Widespread exporting of Roman Culture
 Build up of large urban centers through Empire with all rights
of Romans
 Ruled by upper class who grew more loyal to the emperor, with
strong central rule by Rome.
 Nerva (r. 96-98 CE)
 Trajan (r. 98-117 CE)
 Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE)
 Antoninus Pius (r. 138-161 CE)
 Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180 CE)
 Followed by his son Commodus
 END of THE PAX ROMANA
 Poor Emperors  Commodus (killed by guards)
 External threats
 Rise of the Sassanids in the East (trying to restore Persian
Empire)
 German tribes in the north began raiding provinces &
winning land.
Military Dictatorship
 After Commodus power seized by General Septimius
Severus (r. 193-211 CE)
 Third to try to take power
 Ruled as an absolute dictator
 Ruined the economy by raising taxes dangerously high
 Attacked senators and replaced them with military men
 Senate became a military aristocracy
 Created a rigid class system with almost no social mobility
 His son Alexander ruled after his death until 235 CE
14 Emperors – over
33 Years!
 235-280 CE: Generals follow the example of Septimius
 Worst period in Roman History
 Internal politics destroyed, economy = disaster,
taxation = confiscation levels, foreigners captured
Roman lands
 Growth of interest in powerful religions with a good afterlife among
lower class) mostly Hellenistic religion of Mithraism
 Growth of interest in powerful philosophies stressing the oneness of all
people among upper class (Neo-Platonism)
 Paving the way for Christianity.
 Two of the last Barracks Emperors helped end the destruction
 Claudius II Gothicus (268-270 CE) & Aurelian (270-275 CE)
 Pulled back troops from the frontier; hired mercenaries
 Politics stayed a mess until Diocletian’s reforms
Barracks
Emperors
(note the look
of concern on
their faces)
 Diocletian (r. 284-305)
 Last of the Barracks Emperors
 Split the Empire in half.
 West ruled from Rome. East ruled from Turkey/Greece.
 Diocletian took the East. Called the Augustus (senior leader).
 Helped by two officials called Caesars (they were successors as well)
 Ensured smooth transition to competent experienced administrators.
 Stabilized the Empire
 Some historians believe the Empire ended with his restructuring.
 Retired in 305 and his system broke down when the Caesars started
fighting
 306 CE: Constantine (son of an original Caesar) took the
throne; ended fighting.
 Ruled ½ the empire until 324 BCE; Civil war to rule the entire
empire again.
Western Half of
the Roman
Empire
Eastern Half of the Roman
Empire
 Started a hereditary line of Emperors.
 Built his own capital: Constantinople (on the former Greek city of Byzantium)
 Legalized Christianity 313 CE (Edict of Milan)
 Caused Christianity to grow in the East
 Was he a Christian? Insisted on being Deified!
 Problems with Christianity in his lifetime
 No established doctrine; many forms of Christianity
 It was anti-political (Jesus condemned worldly authorities and insisted on a
non-political life)
 It was anti-Roman (Jesus lived in Judea, a Roman province)
 325 BCE: Christian Bishops convened at Nicea by Constantine
 Basic belief established: Nicene Creed
 Ratified power of the monarch
 Upon his death the empire was divided among his 3 sons and erupted into civil
war.
 All had converted to Christianity
 Dynastic squabbles, internal factions,
 Theodosius (r. 379-395 CE)
 First time empire united since Constantine
 Declared Christianity the state religion of Rome
 All pagan religions made illegal
 410 CE: Visigoths migrated into N. Italy due to Hunnic
invasions & captured and sacked Rome
 451-453 CE: Atilla the Hun invaded Rome
 455 CE: Vandals conquered Rome
 476 CE: Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus & named
himself emperor
 Middle Ages had begun in the West
 The Byzantine Empire, based out of Constantinople would
maintain Greco-Roman tradition in the East.