
The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Rome polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). Although Rome accumulated a collection of tribute-states in the centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, the pre-Augustan state is conventionally described as the Roman Republic, since the structure of the power in that age was the one of a republic. Augustus' reorganization survived mostly unchanged until the Diocletian reform at end of the 3rd century, which turned the empire into a tetrarchy. 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 and the Western Roman Empire. The end of the Western Empire is traditionally set in 476, when Odovacar deposed the last Emperor and sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople. After another millennium, in 1453, the Eastern Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. Because the empire of Rome lasted for such a long period of time 31 BC – 1453, there are certain alternative names used by historians to distinguish various semantic periods or eras. Such names include Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire, which are used interchangably throughout this article to mean the same as Roman Empire. For many years historians made a distinction between the Principate, the period from 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 only title Augustus would permit himself) the realities of dictatorship were concealed behind Republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word ''dominus'', meaning "Master") imperial power showed its naked face, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. We now know 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. The Roman Empire's influence on government, law, and monumental architecture, as well as many other aspects of Western life remains inescapable. Roman titles of power were adopted by successor states and other entities with imperial pretensions, including the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the History of Bulgaria (see List of Bulgarian monarchs), the History of Russia dynasties (see tsar), and the German Empire (see Kaiser). See also Roman culture. ==Age of Caesar Augustus (31 BC - AD 14)== ===Political Developments=== [[Image:Roman Empire.png|thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), in 44 BC (orange), in 14 AD (yellow), and in 117 AD (green).]] As a matter of convenience, the Roman Empire is held to have begun with the constitutional settlement following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In fact the Republican institutions at Rome had been destroyed over the preceding century and Rome had been effectively under one-man rule since the time of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus greatly changed the view toward hereditary monarchy. Rome - the city that had not too long before assassinated its leader, Julius Caesar, when his ambitions seemed to threaten the republic - now placidly accepted one man rule. Augustus's reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire: *Creation of a hereditary office, which we refer to as Emperor of Rome. *Fixation of the payscale. 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, which would make and unmake emperors for centuries. *Expansion to the 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 with regions as far as India and China. *Creation of a civil service outside of the Roman Senate, 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, and the encouragement of a quasi-godlike status for himself in his own lifetime in the Hellenist East. This tradition lasted until the time of Constantine the Great, who was made both a Roman god and "the Thirteenth Apostle" upon his death. ===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'', unrivalled in Rome before or after, succeeded in Romanizing extensive territories in the East, in Africa, in Hispania and Gaul, beyond those areas that were directly controlled. ===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's 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 inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan Roman currency, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions. Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Plutarch and Suetonius. Josephus's ''Jewish Antiquities'' is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a Roman province during Augustus's reign. ==Julio-Claudian dynasty: Augustus' heirs== 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 (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of ancient Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the ''gens'' Claudius (gens), only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the ''gens'' Claudia, through Tiberius' brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from ''gens'' Julia, either through Julia Caesaris, Augustus' daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus' sister Octavia (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian". ===Tiberius (AD 14-37)=== The early years of Tiberius' reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched her treasury. However, Tiberius' reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In AD19, he was popularly blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In AD 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 AD 26, leaving administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish. Sejanus also began to consolidate his own power; in AD 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 apace until Tiberius's death in AD 37. ===Caligula (AD 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 epilepsy, and was more probably insane. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain, 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. 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 another nephew of Tiberius's, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, better known as the emperor Claudius. ===Claudius (AD 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 (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. In Italy, he constructed a winter port at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather. On the home front, 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 killed 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, or, as he was known by this time, Nero. ===Nero (AD 54 - 69)=== Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger. However, as he grew older, his desire for power increased; he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in Roman Britain, Armenia, Parthia, and Judaea. 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 for playing his fiddle while the city of Rome burned, though this story is apocryphal, as the fiddle had yet to be invented. Nero committed suicide, and the year 69 (known as the Year of the Four Emperors) was a year of civil war, with the emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian ruling in quick succession. By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome. ==Flavian Dynasty== The Flavians, although a relatively short lived dynasty, helped restore stability in an empire on its knees. Although there are criticism of all three, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, it was through the reforms and good rule of the three that helped create a stable empire that would last well into the 3rd Century. ===Vespasian (AD 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 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 quite the autocracy 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 exactly 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 Roman Colosseum; he also built a 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 further reduce 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 (AD 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 and Palestine (region), quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. Throughout his father's reign he had been tailored for rule, sharing the consul for several years with his father and receiving 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, 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; 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 (AD 81 - 96)=== The Flavians all had rather poor relations with the senate due to their more autocratic style, however Domitian was the only one who truly created 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, during 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 following the short lived rebellion in 89 of Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. This 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 advisors and family members lived in fear, leading them to his murder in 96. ==The Adoptive Emperors== ==="Five Good Emperors" (AD 96 - 180)=== The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not dynasty and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of the period were Nerva (AD 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 latter's lifetime. While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, many argue 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. Under Trajan, the Empire's borders briefly achieved their maximum extension with provinces created in Mesopotamia in 117 AD. From 166, Roman embassies to China, first sent under the reign of Antonius Pius and probably traveling on the southern sea route, are recorded in Chinese historical sources such as the Later Han History. ===Commodus (AD 180 - 192)=== [[Image:PtolemyWorldMap.jpg|thumb|300px|Ptolemy's 150 world map, indicating "Sinae" (China) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Trapobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (South-East Asian peninsula).]] 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. Commodus is often thought to have been insane, and he was certainly given to excess. He began his reign by making an unfavorable peace treaty with the Marcomanni, who had been at war with Marcus Aurelius. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator. In 190, a part of the city of Rome burned, and Commodus took the opportunity to "re-found" the city of Rome in his own honor, as Colonia Commodiana. The months of the calendar were all renamed in his honor, and the senate was renamed as the Commodian Fortunate Senate. The army became known as the Commodian Army. Commodus was strangled in his sleep in 192, a day before he planned to march into the Senate dressed as a gladiator to take office as a consul. Upon his death, the Senate passed ''damnatio memoriae'' on him and restored the proper name to the city of Rome and its institutions. The popular movies ''The Fall of the Roman Empire (movie)'' (1964) and ''Gladiator (2000 movie)'' (2000) were loosely based on the career of the emperor Commodus, although they should not be taken as an accurate historical depictions of his life. ===Why Commodus?=== Many wonder why Marcus Aurelius decided to break the successful scheme of adoptive succession. The real reasoning can be found in that line of succession before him. The other emperors did not have direct successors available, so had to adopt their successors. However, they attempted to keep it in the family as it were. Trajan was chosen by Nerva more likely to appease the Senate than anything else. Hadrian was a relative of Trajan, and although Antonius Pius was not related to Hadrian, the conditions of his being made heir included the adoption of Hadrian's young nephew Marcus Aurelius as heir to Pius. So, in fact, Aurelius' choice to make his son his successor was hardly out of place, and it's likely that had any of the previous emperors had available a suitable son as heir they would have taken the same course of action. It is then merely misfortune more than anything else that placed such a ill-suited man on the throne. ==Severan dynasty (AD 193 - 235)== 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 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. Abolishing the regular standing jury courts of Roman Republic times, Septimius Severus was likewise able to transfer additional power to the executive branch of the government, of which he was decidedly the chief representative. Septimius Severus' 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 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' 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 3rd Century (AD 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. During this period, Rome was ruled by more than 35 individuals, most of them prominent generals who assumed Imperial power over all or part of the empire, only to lose it by defeat in battle, murder, or death. After nearly 50 years of external invasion, internal civil wars and economic collapse, the Empire was on the verge of ending. A series of tough soldier-emperors saved it, but in the process fundamentally changed the Roman Empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity. ==Tetrarchy (AD 285 - 324)== [[Image:The-Tetrarchs.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''The Tetrarchs'', a porphyry (geology) sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of Mark the Evangelist, Venice]]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. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long time friend Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half. In 293 authority was further divided as each Augustus took a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession; Galerius became the junior emperor of Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus the junior emperor of Maximian. This constituted what was called in Latin a quadrumvirate and in Greek language a Tetrarchy; the leadership of four. The system allowed the peaceful succession of the Augusti as the Caesar in each half 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' troops in Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son Constantine the Great 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) under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by Rufus Volusianus and Zenas. Alexander ended his life in captivity in 309. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of Carnuntum with the participation of all four Augusti and the Caesar. 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 received official recognition as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire. *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. 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 Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Maxentius and Licinius) and a sole Caesar (Constantine). 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. Constantine was promoted to Augustus. 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. In August 313 Maximinus met his death at Tarsus in Cilicia. 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. ==Christian Empire (AD 324 - 395)== The beginning of the Roman Empire as a Christian empire lies in 313 AD, with the Edict of Milan. The edict was signed under the reigns of Constantine I (emperor) and Licinius. The edict made Christianity one of the official religions of Rome. Christianity became the single official religion of Rome under Theodosius (r. 379-395 AD). Initially the emperor had control over the church. While Christianity flourished, the Empire by no means became uniformly Christian; paganism remained significant. Theodosius massacred Thessalonica for rebelling against his new Christian policies condemning homosexuality, which was a common practice in both ancient Greece and Greece under Roman rule. Upon his return to Rome the Bishop Ambrose refused to let Theodosius enter the church until he made a public repentance. Theodosius did so, and from then on the church's powers grew. Eventually the church would gain enough power that it would outlast the empire in the west. ==Late Antiquity in the West (AD 395 - 476)== In popular history, the year 476 is generally accepted as the Fall Of The Roman Empire. In that year, Odoacer disposed of 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 the remainder of the Western Empire to his Italian kingdom). The last Emperor who ruled 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. 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' Book VI. The post of consul was last filled in the west under Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the 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 the Franks could not be taken for Roman, but in Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king Leovigild considered himself the heir of Rome. In Alexandria, dreams of a "Christian Empire" with genuine continuity were shattered when a rampaging mob of Christians were encouraged to sack and destroy the Serapeum in 392. 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. In Athens the end came for some in 529, when the Emperor Justinian closed the Academy and its remaining members fled east for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I; for other Greeks it had come long before, in 396, when Christian monks led Alaric I to vandalize the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Finally to footnote, the Romans didn't share ''all'' their knowledge. An example is cement. (See Bridge: History.) After the "fall" of Rome the technology for cement was "lost." ==From Roman to Byzantine in the East== ===Under Constantine I (emperor) (AD 330 - 337) and his sons (AD 337 - 361)=== Constantinople would serve as the capital of Constantine the Great from May 11, 330 to his death on May 22, 337. The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons.The Western Roman Empire was divided among the eldest son Constantine II (emperor) 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 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 Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire till 353 while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and suicide left Constantius as sole Emperor. Constantius' rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law 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' timely demise on November 3, 361 prevented this war from ever occurring. ===Under Julian & Jovian (AD 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) 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 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 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 (AD 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' election would soon be disputed. Procopius (usurper), 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 Reims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni, Procopius managed to bribery two Roman legion 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 which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience to an Diplomatic mission from the Quadi at Brigetio on the Danube (part of modern-day Komárom, Hungary), Valentinian suffered a burst blood vessel in the skull while Anger 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 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 (AD 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 Alavinus 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 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 (AD 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 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 and faction 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 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 millennium after his death. Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, actually only twelve year 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. In 385 Theodosius was left a widower following the sudden death of his ''Augusta'', Aelia Flaccilla. He was remarried to Galla, sister of Valentinian II, and the marriage secured closer relations between the two legitimate Augusti. In 386 Maximus and Victor finally received official recognition by Theodosius but not 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 (AD 392 - 395)=== 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. ===Later Eastern Empire (AD 476-1461)=== The west would continue to decline during the 5th century. However, the richer east would be spared much of the destruction. The last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed in 476 by Odoacer, the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic tribes Heruli. The Eastern Empire counter-attacked in the 6th century under the eastern emperor Justinian, taking much of the west back. 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 evolved into the Middle Age Byzantine Empire although it was never called this (rather it was called Romania or Basileia Romaion) and the Byzantines continued to consider themselves Roman until their fall in the 15th century, after which their modern descendants the Greeks have continued to call themselves ''Romioí'' (Romans) to this day. The modern Aromanians, Istro-Romanian language and Romanians also use ethnonyms that derive from ''Romanus''. 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 Ottomans, who based their state around the Byzantine model, took Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed II established his capital there and assumed the title "Roman Emperor". But excluding these states claiming their heritage, the Romans lasted, 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 destruction by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. Their 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. ==Timeline of the Roman Empire== ==Roman Provinces==
{| class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 2em 0 2em;"
! style="background:#ccccff" align="center" width="100%" | Roman Provinces Circa 120 AD ||
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" colspan="2" | Achaea | Aegyptus | Africa Proconsularis | Arabia Petraea | Armenia | Armenia Inferior | Asia | Assyria | Bithynia | Britannia | Cappadocia | Cilicia | Commagene | Corsica and Sardinia | Cyprus | Cyrenaica | Dacia | Dalmatia | Epirus | Galatia | Gallia Alpes Cottiae | Gallia Alpes Maritimae | Gallia Alpes Penninae | Gallia Aquitania | Gallia Belgica | Gallia Lugdunensis | Gallia Narbonensis | Germania Inferior | Germania Superior | Hispania Baetica | Hispania Baleares | Hispania Lusitania | Hispania Tarraconesis | Italia | Judaea (Palaestina) | Langobardi/Cherusci/Sugambri | Lycaonia | Lycia | Macedonia | Mauretania | Mesopotamia | Moesia | Noricum | Numidia | Osroene | Pamphylia | Pannonia | Pisidia | Pontus | Rhaetia | Sicilia | Sophene | Syria | Thracia
|}
==See also==
===General===
*Byzantine Empire
*Daqin
*Gallic Empire
*History of the Balkans
*History of Europe
*List of Ancient Rome-related topics
*Pax romana
*Roman commerce
*Roman culture
*Roman currency
*Roman law
*Roman military history
*Roman place names
*Roman province
*Roman roads
*Roman technology
*Western Roman Empire
===Emperors===
===Ancient Historians of the Empire===
In Latin
*Livy - history is of Roman Republic, but wrote during Augustus' reign
*Suetonius
*Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
*Ammianus Marcellinus
In Greek
*Eusebius of Caesarea
*Sozomen
===Latin Literature of the Empire===
*Apuleius
*Augustine of Hippo
*Horace
*Juvenal
*Ovid
*Petronius Arbiter
*Virgil
==External links==
* ''[http://www.romancoins.info/Tabula-Peutingeriana.html The Tabula Peutingeriana]'', a Medioeval copy of a Roman map of the Roman Empire
*[http://www.compart-multimedia.com/virtuale/us/roma/movie.htm A virtual tour of Ancient Rome] with pictures and virtual reality movies
* Grout, James, "[http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/encyclopaedia_romana/index.html ''Encyclopaedia Romana'']"
*[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/wola.html J. O'Donnell, Worlds of Late Antiquity website:] links, bibliographies: Austine, Boethius, Cassiodorus etc.
* [http://www.simaqianstudio.com History Forum Simaqianstudio]
* [http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Life.html Roman Life Expectancy]
* [http://www.livius.org/ei-er/emperors/emperors01.html Portrait gallery of Roman emperors]
==References==
===18th & 19th century history===
* Edward Gibbon, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (1776-1788)
===Modern histories of the Roman Empire===
* J. B. 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
* M.I. Rostovtzeff, ''The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire'' 2nd ed., 1957, ISBN B-000-0CJ-VIB
* Ronald Syme, ''The Roman Revolution'', 1939, ISBN 0-192-803-204
* Colin Wells, ''The Roman Empire'', 2nd ed., 1992, ISBN 0-006-862-527
Roman Empire
bn:রোমান সাম্রাজ্য
la:Imperium Romanum
lv:Romas impērija
nds:Römsche Riek
sq:Perandoria Romake
simple:Roman Empire
/archive1 ==NPOV: Greek versus Latin Empire== ===I fear arguing with ignorant men … === "I fear arguing with ignorant men" Plato What can we argue amongst such profound ignorance amongst so many contributors. One bases his views on one book another on another book and each thinks they know something. If in the scope of historical exploration, especially something as deeply involving and overwhelmingly abundant in information such as the Roman Empire, you base opinions and so called facts from so few sources that focus on such a narrow perspective how can you possibly summerise the Roman Empire. "For the majority of time and by the majority of people and by the majority of emporers the Roman Empire was a Greek speaking Empire." Warren Treadgold. "There were only two emporers who spoke exclusively Latin Julius and Nero." Warren Treadgold. "Roman History in the West all too often omits the heirachy and lineage of emporers in the East." Warren Treadgold. The Celts traded in Tetradrachmas not in Aureus profound vanity and dillusions irrespective of the overwhelming fact the west rebelled and found opportunity to control Alexanders' empire for 200 years before the Greek born Diocles renamed himself Diocletian in Rome and began teh process that Constantine finalised by moving the capital and seat of authority back to the Greeks. Julius was despite the high praise a victim of Cleopatra living descendant of Ptolemy (Alexanders Generals), Greek states allied with him and used Roman power to break the overwhelming strength of the Eastern Kingdoms. Mithridates was a sign of the turn around when teh Latins resorted to henious crimes against Greeks and Christians. "Roman Law, Greek Language, Christianity, sciense, art, philosophy, math all spread because of the Greeks and Byzantium." Warren Treadgold. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 16:03, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) === Lost People === If the empire fell in 465AD Then what was Leo doing in Byzantium? If the empire fell in 465AD then what do we do with the COnstantine decree to move the capitol to Byzantium? (Burn it?) If the empire ended in 465AD then what was the Eastern Empire? It was never called the Holy Roman Empire at all. Not a single historical first hand source says so. It was called the Roman Empire. If rome fell in 465AD then why are you talking about the Tetrarchy of Diocletian. He ruled the Eastern Half and that continued unbroken in lineage till 1453AD. Constantine ratified the shift of the captal by decree making it official. If the Roman empire was different to Byzantium then what should we do with the ancient parchments that stipulate the term POMAIOI = ROmans in reference to the Greeks of Byzantium? Occuring post 465AD and prior. If the empire had an official language of LATIN then why did only 2 emporers Ioulios and Nero speak latin exclusively? And why did all other emporers west and east speak Greek? Infact why did they need to declare an official language if they were all LATIN speakers? What happened to the Greek colony Neapolis, Kolabria, Sicily? As I recall Sicily didnt even use Roman coins the Greek King and his bloodline of the island preserved autonomy throughout the empires life till late ....800?-1453? If the language of the Roman army was LATIN then what do we do with the fact the Lingua Franca during Christs' time was Greek including in ROme, Carthage and almost every part known as the Roman EMpire. What do we do with the Bible which was only first re-translated in 365AD into LATIN (but was considered heretical by the Pope and never used). Are you saying that up-until 465AD there were no christians in the West? Why are the "nomisma" of Byzantium found throughout the entire empire yet the coinage of Latin Rome sporadically dotted in close proximity to the city Rome and a few locations west eg England. Their coinage never reached Babylon or Persia. By volume of discovered coins alone we know the common coinage of the Roman EMpire always continued to have a Greek side. The Latin revolution around 100BC gave control to the Latin and Greek peasants by 100AD their control subsided. By 285AD the control was back where it started. The Roman Empire was more Greek than Latin by the number of people, the number of Greek speaking emporers, the number of Christians, the number of of of ..... in anyway you want to measure it even physical area. The bottom line is that the Roman EMPIRE was Helleno-Roman. Something totally misunderstood by those contributing. Your foundations and opinions are biased and focus on a totally western perspective that entirely defeats the purpose of history. The mistakes of Edward Gibbon still persist despite all the new information, knowledge and plethora of evidence discovered in the East. It was not until 1958 for gods sake that anyone from an english speaking country realised there was Byzantium. Since then bigots and narrow minded people have refused to consider this as a treasure instead they persist with some pathetic historical ritual established in the 1800's. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 20:11, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) ---- Where exactly are you getting your information from? If greek was the language of the empire, why is the entirety of the former Roman west composed of Romance languages? In truth, although greek was an extremely important language, why did latin continue to be the language of nobility and science in the west for centuries after Rome's fall? Why, if greek was the language of soldiers, why is Vulgar Latin so widespread? Why is the roman alphabet used everywhere in western Europe? The empire was greek AND Roman. After all, a large portion of the empire was composed of the Greek successor states. However, this doesn't mean that the empire was dominated by either. The west was pretty much dominated by Roman influence, and the east by Greek (although both were merely unifying factors in regions with numerous indigenous peoples and dialects completely different from both). Your changes and post here are what's narrow-minded. If you want to be a revisionist historian, make a site on Geocities, but please, this is an encyclopaedia. --User:Masamax 21:19, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC) === In continuation with the Hellnic Nature of Rome === [ Where exactly are you getting your information from? ] From over 20 assorted personal books written in Greek and English. Along with over 10 years of studying many many books on teh subject. [ If greek was the language of the empire, why is the entirety of the former Roman west composed of Romance languages? ] The academic language of the West is still Greek. For example: The plethora of didactics and symposiums formed by proto Hellenic philosophers gave genesis to an aristotolean epistimiological method. (English words used The, of, and, by, gave, to, an) I can continue to write in this manner to express any idea. True for all Romance languages but also true of all former Byzantine states. Unlike Latin which is considered a dead language Greek persists to be the academic language. [ In truth, although greek was an extremely important language, why did latin continue to be the language of nobility and science in the west for centuries after Rome's fall? ] Indirectly answering your self and also further proving that Romance languages were heavily influenced post 1453AD by Italic/Latin. It was not until the fall of Rome 1453AD that the Greek texts were initially translated from Greek and later passed on to other nations most were Italic/Latin translations many were French. (Hence many French and Latin derived words in late English post 1453AD) Comparing Shaksperian English with Modern English gives you enormous variations. English in 1200's is clearly Germanic. Post 1453AD English has Greek and Latin foundations also French which was the major source of these Greek and Latin Words. The very Germanic nature of Old English compared to post 1453AD, something Edward Gibbon was probably embarassed about. That is the English (Saxxons) were relatives of the the very barbarians he was talking about. he made a point to diistinguish himself and justified his nationalities herritage to Rome. Although it is transparent if you take into account allot more than what he writes verbatim. [ if greek was the language of soldiers, why is Vulgar Latin so widespread? ] Amongst many proofs an important one to note is that Diocles was born to a poor family in Illyciria he spoke Greek as his primary langauge and had no need to learn Latin. His decrees and commands were recorded as being Greek. perhaps it comes down to your failure in seeing that Rome was to Greece as USA is to Britain. Perhaps a better example would be Mexico to Spain. Rome Neapolis was a colony of the Greeks period! [ Why is the roman alphabet used everywhere in western Europe? ] The so called Roman alphabet was used along side Attic before Rome the city was established. All the letters in the Roman Alphabet come from various derivative Greek Alphabets. Not one letter in the Roman Alphabet is original. The Spartan Alphabet for example used the letter "R" instead of "P" to mean the same thing. Aside archaeological evidence that supports this we also have a blurb of history stating it was a Gift to Rome as Cyrilic was a Gift to the slavs (Saint Cyril being a Greek Orthodox Monk who invented the Cyrilic Alphabet). Despite Archaeological and historical proof. Western historians still persist in some fantasy about Romulus....Something completely absurd. [ The empire was greek AND Roman. After all, a large portion of the empire was composed of the Greek successor states. However, this doesn't mean that the empire was dominated by either. ] There was a continous bloody battle between former Greek colonies against the usurption of Power by the peasantry (Latin mainly but also the Italiotes being Greeks of Italia) in Rome. Teh republic they introduced aimed to mimic Athens instead it unleashed a hidden dictatorship. When the Dictators took their efforts out of the Italic Peninsula between 32BC -100AD the Greeks sluggishly manouvered to counter the domination of ROman power. In 285AD the purpose of the resistance was apparent when Diocles took control over the empire. No sooner did he take it than he placed all his investments in the Eastern half. In terms of military domination Latin Rome dominated for 200 years an empire pre-forged by the Greeks, Given that the continuity of teh Greek colonies remained for the most part untouched including their coinage and lineage it would even be difficult to say that Alexanders Empire had diminished. If Diocles formed a Tetrarchy, the still existing Polyarchy of Alexander remained. [ The west was pretty much dominated by Roman influence, and the east by Greek (although both were merely unifying factors in regions with numerous indigenous peoples and dialects completely different from both). ] This is again a falsehood. The West was pretty much dominated culturally and linguistically by Greek hence the term Hellenisation. Greek culture was spread in both directions further proving the dominions' keepers. The Latin Roman influences were apparent in the West and hardly a sign of their existance in the East. The only great and significant thing the Romans (Latin) provided was a better system of Laws. However, the ones who spread this system were not Latin romans but the Greeks. Treadgold mentions "predominantly Christianity, Roman Laws, Greek Language and Culture were spread by the Greeks of Byzantium". I refer you to Warren Treadgold and Vasiliev purely to enlighten you on the Eastern part of Rome. I would say Latin became influential not because of the ROman EMpire but because Byzantium fell in 1453AD. While the Greeks of Byzantium Rome were supressed for 400 years all their literature was stolen, revised and republished as if it was Latin in origin. Most if not all Latin and Roman literature presents itself as such. I guide you to the Perseus Project which contains first hand historical sources and texts. Read them and make what you will out of them. As for your last comment you have very little to offer other than more questions that bury you deeper . The article is a fake and has no valid substantiation for the claims it makes. The first hand sources all support what I am saying, yet you call me a revisionist. I suggest you read the subject elsewhere before plastering such a disgraceful article and claim it to be history. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 22:38, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) The whole introduction as it stands now is still very unsatisfactory and gives a heavily eastward slant; it's still very POV, and the current tweaking of the recent edits don't go far enough to redress the balance. User:Djnjwd 22:53, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) === I wont touch your article I am waiting for you to change it. === The tetradrachma was the common currency. The other imperial coins were decoratives they printed millions over the centuaries and kept them in vaults or treasuries to stabalise the value of their circulated money: Official Circulation of coin [http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1989.html Tetradrachma 56BC] [http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/nero/milne_131.jpg] :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 20:01, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) === Moved text here === Ive moved the below block of text from the opening lead section to here: ::''The original Bible was written in Koine, the dialect or language that spread the word of Judaism and Christianity; but it was also the vehicle that allowed Roman law to spread once Christianity became the state Roman religion in Late Antiquity. Thus some scholars (Warren Treadgold) beleive it was essentially the Greeks of Byzantium (the inheritors of the Roman Empire) that transmitted Christianity, Roman Law, Philosophy, and Administration to western Europe.'' It's theory on transmission of Roman institutions by way of the Byzantine Empire to the West, via the Bible. I'm not sure what article this text belongs, but ROman Empire is more a narrative political history article, and it's allready over 60k in size, about twice what it should be, so we need to trim back and more tightly focus, moving stuff to other articles. Also, this paragraph really needs more explanation and citations. User:Stbalbach 23:04, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) My question is how were the greeks of a small city like Byzantium responsible for spreading roman laws everywhere? This statement basically is saying that Romans spread their laws to Byzantium, which then spread them BACK to Rome? Excuse me if I am confused. --User:Masamax 23:51, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) === Common Language and Christianity === I don't feel that Vulgar Latin was a common language in the West see "basilect" and it certainly wasn't used in the East Empire. Between 400-1453 we have clearly different languages hardly to be considered Latin such as French for example and Spanish. To constitute a common Language it must 1. be used east and west 2. form an important part in administration, military etc 3. hence I will revert the Lingua France of the empire (which is already well documented) back to Koine. There are many books referring to the Lingua Franc as Koine none stipulate Vulgar Latin. So I will add a new table heading called popular languages in that will be Vulgar Latin, Frankish (established by 476AD) etc. In terms of Roman Achievements the reference to Csars and the name is unimportant it has a political conitation of relation to them where in fact it should not. For example the first Czar of Russia was post 1453. The terms Kaisar are immediate derivatives from the Greek usage of the word not Latin. So I will remove this text because it is not substantiated by fact. I will replace this text with reference to the spread of the Bible there is no mandate requisite to refrain from ommiting the truth and the truth is that Koine, Bible and Christianity were the vehicle for transmitting christianity it is not a theory it is established by fact. For 795 years after christ the only version of the bible was written in Greek. All christians in the West learned Greek and read teh bible this was the foundation for their common language. Sorry but on a historical point of view the church, christ and the bible deserve more mention. Oh and also will add that Christ was killed by Romans as an achievemnt of the Romans. -Comment left by User:Ephestion June 9 2005 This article, in scope at least, refers ONLY to the Roman Empire as it existed until 476 AD (at which is where the Western Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire articles take over. The languages you refer to (ie French, Spanish, etc) almost CERTAINLY did not EXIST during the Roman Empire, and instead were regional dialects of Latin (ie. Vulgar Latin). And btw, even if Koine was a Lingua Franca of the empire (which I would not necessarily agree with) it was certainly NOT the language of all commoners in the empire. Latin and Greek both were important cultural contributors to the Empire, and although it's certain that the Greeks had a great influence upon the development of Rome, that doesn't mean that Rome was forever in their shadow as you seem to believe. --User:Masamax 09:18, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC) This article, in scope at least, refers ONLY to the Roman Empire as it existed until 476 AD Well any mention of Rome must include the full picture before you procede with the finer points and details. So everything done here so far is fixing up some minor issues on that whole view rather than a narrow view. Better to do it that way by introducing both parts of the empire and then leading off to describe the seperate parts. I would suggest moving all the content bellow the intro to appropriate headings like Early Roman Empire, and then two other divisions Western and Eastern Roman Empire. But then we again lose that whole image of the empire so its up to you and others. And btw, even if Koine was a Lingua Franca of the empire (which I would not necessarily agree with) it was certainly NOT the language of all commoners in the empire. As mentioned by many already the Roman Empire was a superficial Authority over pre-existing Greek colonies and pre-established civilised people. The Latins did not colonise Europe they took over the colonies of the Greeks. Most of the places they took were Hellenic and if not Hellenic were undergoing self civilisation such as the Celts who were in trade with the Greeks for thousands of years. The 5 good emporers for example wrote in Greek Marcus Aurelius has preserved his memoirs at the perseus project. Latin Romans offered little towards cultural value until ~400AD when some decent Latin works started to come into fashion. You could say that as the Empire approached 1453AD Latin in the west was slowly but surely becoming more important. But I dont want to sound like that guy that fixes everything with Windex, by saying almost all the founding and root words in Romance languages are from Greek first. Then there is that Grey of what was Indo European and how much overlap was already existing. Take for example the word "Base" being Greek, does it mean it replaced a word meaning the same thing in all of those languages or was it already there? Having said that the etimology of European languages especially ROmance languages places them in lineage to Greek be it foreign influence or otherwise. While Western Germanic philosophy tends to put Greek in a class of its own, Eastern thought tends to feel all of europe was one big family and certainly the seeds of knowledge , civilisation, and language were passed on by the Ancient Greeks not Latin Rome. Also existing proof is in the English language where by the amount of Greek words in it surpass the Latin Lexicon. In a standard medical dictionary some 60% of terms a Greek these words did not choose to live in a medical dictionary they were once part of the common lexicon. If today all English speakers decided to learn the Greek in their language they would be speaking clearly Greek as I mentioned earlier. The scope(gr) of didactics (gr) and symposiums(gr) is to form(gr) a basis(gr) for the genesis(gr) of syncarpous(gr) pragma(gr) called orthographia (gr) in truth (no idea :D ). This suggests that at some stage Greek was psrt of these languages but became replacesd by more "trendy vocab and cooler ways of getting on the same wave with folks" ie language just changed based on what each nation felt was best for it. Latin was important post 1453AD between 400-1453AD is when LATIN starts having an impact on Europe but hardly to be called a Lingua Franca. (Latin implied throughout as either classical or Vulgar.) Agreed the commoners did not all speak Greek or Vulgar Latin. the commoners spoke their native languages. However, traders and people who travelled and certainly anyone with anything close to an education would learn Koine for sake of reading teh Bible and also Latin post 400AD becoming increasingly important. The Lingua Franca most certainly was Koine '''...and although it's certain that the Greeks had a great influence upon the development of Rome, that doesn't mean that Rome was forever in their shadow as you seem to believe....''' I never implied this! its just how the real history seems to stipulate. :D Just kidding. The Latin Romans as I mentioned dominated by military force for 200 or so years the remaining 1200 years of Rome were ruled from the East. What can we say? I mean they did have an awsome army, and they did have a good system of Laws, their architecture was not as impressive I dont beleive to the Greeks nor was their literature...but thats all personal preference. From purely an aesthetic pont of view I mean. However, the Basilica churches were awsome architectural deisgns. Rome, especially Latin and its impact is over-hyped in the West. I am not putting their history into a shadow, its their history as it really happened. But I am interested to see what you feel should change so tell me more. I have given you some quotes already from historians stating so. also the 5 good emporers such as Marcus Aurelius wrote in Greek. Modern Etimology is now changing the way it views ROmance languages as many are starting to realise the more common link they have. Modern historical accounts such as EU meetings have had many argumanets over the common language one man I beleive stated "If we wanted a common language we would all revert back to Greek". -Ephestion : To whomever wrote "Rome, especially Latin and its impact is over-hyped in the West" -- I'm honestly at a loss of words over how to respond to this opinion. It can only be believed if one ignores a number of facts: :* The modern languages of several European nations -- French, Provincial, Spanish, Italian in Western Europe, Romanian in Eastern Europe -- all have been shown to be derived from Latin. Languages related to Greek in Western Europe is spoken only in some small enclaves in southernmost Italy. While some of the words in the vocabulary of many of modern European languages is taken from Greek, they also take words from Arabic, Sanskrit, Chinese & Japanese. :* The vocabularity associated with Empire all come from Rome & its history, not Greece: for example, the European words for Emperor comes either from Latin ''imperator'' or from Julius Caesar's name, not from the Greek ''Basileus''. (And to argue that "Tsar" & "Kaisar" come from an immediate Greek borrowing is disingenuous, because Greek borrowed the word from Latin. And German form "Kaisar" is possible only if the "C" in Caesar is pronounced like a "K" -- which points to a direct borrowing from Latin, similar to German ''Fenster'' ("Window") from Latin ''fenestra''.) :* BTW, a number of polities proclaimed themselves either a new Roman Empire (e.g., Charlemagne's, or the Holy Roman Empire), or described themselves as a "New Rome" (most notibly Constantinople & Moscow). ::: New Rome or Nova ROme was the official name given by Constantine when he by decree and un-arguably relocated the capital to Byzantium/Constantinople aka NEW ROME (unsigned comment, assumably from Ephestion) :* Use of Latin by the military & civil servants has been attested throughout the Empire: in papyri from Egypt & Mesopotamia, from inscriptions in Greece and Turkey -- & a number of important writers from Spain & North Africa (Seneca, Apuleius, Tertullian, Cyprian, & forward). :* Civil law was developed at Rome -- although some scholars at Constantinople did contribute to it (who received their education at places like Beirut), they published their work in Latin. Further practically all legal proceedings under Roman Law were in Latin until c.600, because that was the language of the conquerors, who decided the point of the sword gave them the right to make everyone else subject to their laws & customs. :* The language of the Christian Church in Western Europe was Latin until a few centuries ago; & a person was not truly thought educated unless he could read & write in Latin until at least as late as the 18th century (e.g., John Milton was Cromwell's Latin secretary -- the person who carried on Cromwell's diplomatic correspondence). : You're not Internet troll us, are you? -- User:Llywrch 18:00, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC) This is you Opinion Coins of for example Pontius Pilatos of Jerusalem 56AD and there after many coins use the phrasing KAISAP not Latin at all! The Majority of EMporers spoke Greek exclusively....(Warren Treadgold) During the trial of Socrates there was a Jury, Judge, a respresentative and lawyers. ROme had laws and bypassed the rest and went straight for a Judge and executioner(cant remember i think Critio) This is your opinion Only in the West Greek is testified both East and West - eg Hadrian insignias in Greek Latin writers emerged post 465AD when the Koine was no longer accessable due to cut trade route by the Hun, Goths, Germanics of whom over-ran the West Democracy was a better system, the Orthodox Church preserved that as each Bishop is still elected into power by the people and not the clergy All Greek writings were stolen by either Western crusaders, Papal Jesewits or Turkish Invaders I cant provide much evidence other than the fact the Administrative language was officially Greek '''Koine was still in use throughout Europe until Western Rome fell to Goths and Hun'' This is your opinion The first bible in Latin was a rejected Heresy 365AD, in 750AD the first LATIN bible became used. So from 750AD onwards Latin begins to grow in contrast Greek shrinking in usage in Europe between 750AD till today. There are no Latin words in the Orthodox liturgy (gr word). \"Kirie Eleison\" used in the Papal or Catholic Church is one of many small reminders that the Church of Christianity was spread from the Greek NT most certainly not Latin. This reached beyond any military borders even into Asia. No you just didnt read what I wrote properly and you became emotional. Restoring the page again I suggest you investigate further what has been said I have given you ample directions. -Left by 203.59.216.xxx who I can only assume is Ephestion. : No, it is ''not'' my opinion; it is the consensus of Classical scholarship (and linguistics -- you did notice that part about Latin being the parent language of all of those European languages, right?) And even were I the only one to embrace it, it is at least as valid as yours -- & you are the one who is removing any mention & leaving only yours, which is against the spirit of WP:NPOV. : And since it is the consensus of Classical Scholarship, ''I'' can easily document these points. I asked Ephestion to supply sources that prove or assert that ''koine'' was the official language of the Roman Empire -- & have not seen a reply. (And your arguments based on the language of the New Testament are irrelevant here.) Can you supply any reference that I can check that states what you claim? And I need more than just a name: if it is a book, I need the title & page number; if it is an article, the name of the periodical, title of the article & the year & pages it was printed on. So far all you have provided me is what we call on Wikipedia no original research, & is not allowed. : A last point -- putting your comments in bold do not make them any more true. Instead, they make ''you'' appear emotional. -- User:Llywrch 22:16, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Masamax use of the NPOV tag == Masamax, when asked why you put a NPOV tag on the article, you hsve gone back through the discussion history and pulled up every commentary from past authors, most (none?) of who even brought up using the NPOV tag. This is not how it works. NPOV tags are put up when there is a specific reason. When there has been a lengthy discussion on the talk page. When there has been no reconciliation between the parties. Your behaviour here is somewhat bizzare. We need to know why the NPOV tag is on the article, so the article can be acted on and adjusted accordingly, or, an argument made on why the artucle is justified to have a NPOV tag. I suspect you have some reason for the NPOV tag, but you are not telling us what it is. User:Stbalbach 15:51, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :: I added the tag for a very good reason. Ephestion sees this article as completely biased and inaccurate, and this article has gone through half a dozen reverts in a few days based upon POV from either side. If that's not enough to warrent the NPOV tag, what exactly IS? --User:Masamax 23:36, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :Dates are all wrong Western pre 1960 bias NPOV reverting back to historical account. :We can go step by step on this if you like. First of all :1. Roman Empire continued till 1453AD :If anyone has any historical proof to counter this or any decent theory then we will consider it. :::Cmon, there is no "right" answer, there are various opinions. There are various opinions on this, and no single one is the right answer. Wikipedia represents all opinions. What this article should do is state that: there are multiple points of view, and then detail those points of view. Simple. User:Stbalbach 18:05, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :2. Koine was used in Europe and in the Middle east since teh time of ALexander the Great up until a period which varies for each area but lets assume the first instance of a recorded Translation from Greek to English was the Vulgar Bible 324AD. In otherowrds before this we have no proof that there was a need to translate Greek into Latin. Keep also in mind that the Vulgar Bible was for the Church in Rome. Also we have church history where all the letter of Paul except a hndfull were written in Greek. The few that were sent to Roman administration were for the formal consideration of the Latin
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Rome polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). Although Rome accumulated a collection of tribute-states in the centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, the pre-Augustan state is conventionally described as the Roman Republic, since the structure of the power in that age was the one of a republic. Augustus' reorganization survived mostly unchanged until the Diocletian reform at end of the 3rd century, which turned the empire into a tetrarchy. 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 and the Western Roman Empire. The end of the Western Empire is traditionally set in 476, when Odovacar deposed the last Emperor and sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople. After another millennium, in 1453, the Eastern Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. Because the empire of Rome lasted for such a long period of time 31 BC – 1453, there are certain alternative names used by historians to distinguish various semantic periods or eras. Such names include Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire, which are used interchangably throughout this article to mean the same as Roman Empire. For many years historians made a distinction between the Principate, the period from 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 only title Augustus would permit himself) the realities of dictatorship were concealed behind Republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word ''dominus'', meaning "Master") imperial power showed its naked face, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. We now know 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. The Roman Empire's influence on government, law, and monumental architecture, as well as many other aspects of Western life remains inescapable. Roman titles of power were adopted by successor states and other entities with imperial pretensions, including the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the History of Bulgaria (see List of Bulgarian monarchs), the History of Russia dynasties (see tsar), and the German Empire (see Kaiser). See also Roman culture. ==Age of Caesar Augustus (31 BC - AD 14)== ===Political Developments=== [[Image:Roman Empire.png|thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in 133 BC (red), in 44 BC (orange), in 14 AD (yellow), and in 117 AD (green).]] As a matter of convenience, the Roman Empire is held to have begun with the constitutional settlement following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In fact the Republican institutions at Rome had been destroyed over the preceding century and Rome had been effectively under one-man rule since the time of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus greatly changed the view toward hereditary monarchy. Rome - the city that had not too long before assassinated its leader, Julius Caesar, when his ambitions seemed to threaten the republic - now placidly accepted one man rule. Augustus's reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire: *Creation of a hereditary office, which we refer to as Emperor of Rome. *Fixation of the payscale. 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, which would make and unmake emperors for centuries. *Expansion to the 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 with regions as far as India and China. *Creation of a civil service outside of the Roman Senate, 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, and the encouragement of a quasi-godlike status for himself in his own lifetime in the Hellenist East. This tradition lasted until the time of Constantine the Great, who was made both a Roman god and "the Thirteenth Apostle" upon his death. ===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'', unrivalled in Rome before or after, succeeded in Romanizing extensive territories in the East, in Africa, in Hispania and Gaul, beyond those areas that were directly controlled. ===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's 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 inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan Roman currency, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions. Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Plutarch and Suetonius. Josephus's ''Jewish Antiquities'' is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a Roman province during Augustus's reign. ==Julio-Claudian dynasty: Augustus' heirs== 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 (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of ancient Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the ''gens'' Claudius (gens), only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the ''gens'' Claudia, through Tiberius' brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from ''gens'' Julia, either through Julia Caesaris, Augustus' daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus' sister Octavia (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian". ===Tiberius (AD 14-37)=== The early years of Tiberius' reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched her treasury. However, Tiberius' reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In AD19, he was popularly blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In AD 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 AD 26, leaving administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish. Sejanus also began to consolidate his own power; in AD 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 apace until Tiberius's death in AD 37. ===Caligula (AD 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 epilepsy, and was more probably insane. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain, 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. 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 another nephew of Tiberius's, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, better known as the emperor Claudius. ===Claudius (AD 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 (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. In Italy, he constructed a winter port at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather. On the home front, 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 killed 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, or, as he was known by this time, Nero. ===Nero (AD 54 - 69)=== Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger. However, as he grew older, his desire for power increased; he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in Roman Britain, Armenia, Parthia, and Judaea. 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 for playing his fiddle while the city of Rome burned, though this story is apocryphal, as the fiddle had yet to be invented. Nero committed suicide, and the year 69 (known as the Year of the Four Emperors) was a year of civil war, with the emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian ruling in quick succession. By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome. ==Flavian Dynasty== The Flavians, although a relatively short lived dynasty, helped restore stability in an empire on its knees. Although there are criticism of all three, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, it was through the reforms and good rule of the three that helped create a stable empire that would last well into the 3rd Century. ===Vespasian (AD 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 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 quite the autocracy 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 exactly 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 Roman Colosseum; he also built a 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 further reduce 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 (AD 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 and Palestine (region), quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. Throughout his father's reign he had been tailored for rule, sharing the consul for several years with his father and receiving 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, 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; 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 (AD 81 - 96)=== The Flavians all had rather poor relations with the senate due to their more autocratic style, however Domitian was the only one who truly created 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, during 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 following the short lived rebellion in 89 of Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. This 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 advisors and family members lived in fear, leading them to his murder in 96. ==The Adoptive Emperors== ==="Five Good Emperors" (AD 96 - 180)=== The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not dynasty and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of the period were Nerva (AD 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 latter's lifetime. While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, many argue 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. Under Trajan, the Empire's borders briefly achieved their maximum extension with provinces created in Mesopotamia in 117 AD. From 166, Roman embassies to China, first sent under the reign of Antonius Pius and probably traveling on the southern sea route, are recorded in Chinese historical sources such as the Later Han History. ===Commodus (AD 180 - 192)=== [[Image:PtolemyWorldMap.jpg|thumb|300px|Ptolemy's 150 world map, indicating "Sinae" (China) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Trapobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (South-East Asian peninsula).]] 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. Commodus is often thought to have been insane, and he was certainly given to excess. He began his reign by making an unfavorable peace treaty with the Marcomanni, who had been at war with Marcus Aurelius. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator. In 190, a part of the city of Rome burned, and Commodus took the opportunity to "re-found" the city of Rome in his own honor, as Colonia Commodiana. The months of the calendar were all renamed in his honor, and the senate was renamed as the Commodian Fortunate Senate. The army became known as the Commodian Army. Commodus was strangled in his sleep in 192, a day before he planned to march into the Senate dressed as a gladiator to take office as a consul. Upon his death, the Senate passed ''damnatio memoriae'' on him and restored the proper name to the city of Rome and its institutions. The popular movies ''The Fall of the Roman Empire (movie)'' (1964) and ''Gladiator (2000 movie)'' (2000) were loosely based on the career of the emperor Commodus, although they should not be taken as an accurate historical depictions of his life. ===Why Commodus?=== Many wonder why Marcus Aurelius decided to break the successful scheme of adoptive succession. The real reasoning can be found in that line of succession before him. The other emperors did not have direct successors available, so had to adopt their successors. However, they attempted to keep it in the family as it were. Trajan was chosen by Nerva more likely to appease the Senate than anything else. Hadrian was a relative of Trajan, and although Antonius Pius was not related to Hadrian, the conditions of his being made heir included the adoption of Hadrian's young nephew Marcus Aurelius as heir to Pius. So, in fact, Aurelius' choice to make his son his successor was hardly out of place, and it's likely that had any of the previous emperors had available a suitable son as heir they would have taken the same course of action. It is then merely misfortune more than anything else that placed such a ill-suited man on the throne. ==Severan dynasty (AD 193 - 235)== 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 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. Abolishing the regular standing jury courts of Roman Republic times, Septimius Severus was likewise able to transfer additional power to the executive branch of the government, of which he was decidedly the chief representative. Septimius Severus' 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 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' 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 3rd Century (AD 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. During this period, Rome was ruled by more than 35 individuals, most of them prominent generals who assumed Imperial power over all or part of the empire, only to lose it by defeat in battle, murder, or death. After nearly 50 years of external invasion, internal civil wars and economic collapse, the Empire was on the verge of ending. A series of tough soldier-emperors saved it, but in the process fundamentally changed the Roman Empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity. ==Tetrarchy (AD 285 - 324)== [[Image:The-Tetrarchs.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''The Tetrarchs'', a porphyry (geology) sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of Mark the Evangelist, Venice]]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. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long time friend Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half. In 293 authority was further divided as each Augustus took a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession; Galerius became the junior emperor of Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus the junior emperor of Maximian. This constituted what was called in Latin a quadrumvirate and in Greek language a Tetrarchy; the leadership of four. The system allowed the peaceful succession of the Augusti as the Caesar in each half 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' troops in Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son Constantine the Great 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) under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by Rufus Volusianus and Zenas. Alexander ended his life in captivity in 309. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of Carnuntum with the participation of all four Augusti and the Caesar. 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 received official recognition as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire. *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. 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 Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Maxentius and Licinius) and a sole Caesar (Constantine). 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. Constantine was promoted to Augustus. 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. In August 313 Maximinus met his death at Tarsus in Cilicia. 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. ==Christian Empire (AD 324 - 395)== The beginning of the Roman Empire as a Christian empire lies in 313 AD, with the Edict of Milan. The edict was signed under the reigns of Constantine I (emperor) and Licinius. The edict made Christianity one of the official religions of Rome. Christianity became the single official religion of Rome under Theodosius (r. 379-395 AD). Initially the emperor had control over the church. While Christianity flourished, the Empire by no means became uniformly Christian; paganism remained significant. Theodosius massacred Thessalonica for rebelling against his new Christian policies condemning homosexuality, which was a common practice in both ancient Greece and Greece under Roman rule. Upon his return to Rome the Bishop Ambrose refused to let Theodosius enter the church until he made a public repentance. Theodosius did so, and from then on the church's powers grew. Eventually the church would gain enough power that it would outlast the empire in the west. ==Late Antiquity in the West (AD 395 - 476)== In popular history, the year 476 is generally accepted as the Fall Of The Roman Empire. In that year, Odoacer disposed of 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 the remainder of the Western Empire to his Italian kingdom). The last Emperor who ruled 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. 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' Book VI. The post of consul was last filled in the west under Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the 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 the Franks could not be taken for Roman, but in Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king Leovigild considered himself the heir of Rome. In Alexandria, dreams of a "Christian Empire" with genuine continuity were shattered when a rampaging mob of Christians were encouraged to sack and destroy the Serapeum in 392. 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. In Athens the end came for some in 529, when the Emperor Justinian closed the Academy and its remaining members fled east for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I; for other Greeks it had come long before, in 396, when Christian monks led Alaric I to vandalize the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Finally to footnote, the Romans didn't share ''all'' their knowledge. An example is cement. (See Bridge: History.) After the "fall" of Rome the technology for cement was "lost." ==From Roman to Byzantine in the East== ===Under Constantine I (emperor) (AD 330 - 337) and his sons (AD 337 - 361)=== Constantinople would serve as the capital of Constantine the Great from May 11, 330 to his death on May 22, 337. The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons.The Western Roman Empire was divided among the eldest son Constantine II (emperor) 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 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 Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire till 353 while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and suicide left Constantius as sole Emperor. Constantius' rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law 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' timely demise on November 3, 361 prevented this war from ever occurring. ===Under Julian & Jovian (AD 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) 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 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 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 (AD 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' election would soon be disputed. Procopius (usurper), 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 Reims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni, Procopius managed to bribery two Roman legion 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 which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience to an Diplomatic mission from the Quadi at Brigetio on the Danube (part of modern-day Komárom, Hungary), Valentinian suffered a burst blood vessel in the skull while Anger 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 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 (AD 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 Alavinus 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 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 (AD 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 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 and faction 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 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 millennium after his death. Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, actually only twelve year 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. In 385 Theodosius was left a widower following the sudden death of his ''Augusta'', Aelia Flaccilla. He was remarried to Galla, sister of Valentinian II, and the marriage secured closer relations between the two legitimate Augusti. In 386 Maximus and Victor finally received official recognition by Theodosius but not 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 (AD 392 - 395)=== 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. ===Later Eastern Empire (AD 476-1461)=== The west would continue to decline during the 5th century. However, the richer east would be spared much of the destruction. The last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed in 476 by Odoacer, the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic tribes Heruli. The Eastern Empire counter-attacked in the 6th century under the eastern emperor Justinian, taking much of the west back. 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 evolved into the Middle Age Byzantine Empire although it was never called this (rather it was called Romania or Basileia Romaion) and the Byzantines continued to consider themselves Roman until their fall in the 15th century, after which their modern descendants the Greeks have continued to call themselves ''Romioí'' (Romans) to this day. The modern Aromanians, Istro-Romanian language and Romanians also use ethnonyms that derive from ''Romanus''. 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 Ottomans, who based their state around the Byzantine model, took Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed II established his capital there and assumed the title "Roman Emperor". But excluding these states claiming their heritage, the Romans lasted, 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 destruction by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. Their 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. ==Timeline of the Roman Empire== ==Roman Provinces==
Roman Empire
/archive1 ==NPOV: Greek versus Latin Empire== ===I fear arguing with ignorant men … === "I fear arguing with ignorant men" Plato What can we argue amongst such profound ignorance amongst so many contributors. One bases his views on one book another on another book and each thinks they know something. If in the scope of historical exploration, especially something as deeply involving and overwhelmingly abundant in information such as the Roman Empire, you base opinions and so called facts from so few sources that focus on such a narrow perspective how can you possibly summerise the Roman Empire. "For the majority of time and by the majority of people and by the majority of emporers the Roman Empire was a Greek speaking Empire." Warren Treadgold. "There were only two emporers who spoke exclusively Latin Julius and Nero." Warren Treadgold. "Roman History in the West all too often omits the heirachy and lineage of emporers in the East." Warren Treadgold. The Celts traded in Tetradrachmas not in Aureus profound vanity and dillusions irrespective of the overwhelming fact the west rebelled and found opportunity to control Alexanders' empire for 200 years before the Greek born Diocles renamed himself Diocletian in Rome and began teh process that Constantine finalised by moving the capital and seat of authority back to the Greeks. Julius was despite the high praise a victim of Cleopatra living descendant of Ptolemy (Alexanders Generals), Greek states allied with him and used Roman power to break the overwhelming strength of the Eastern Kingdoms. Mithridates was a sign of the turn around when teh Latins resorted to henious crimes against Greeks and Christians. "Roman Law, Greek Language, Christianity, sciense, art, philosophy, math all spread because of the Greeks and Byzantium." Warren Treadgold. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 16:03, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) === Lost People === If the empire fell in 465AD Then what was Leo doing in Byzantium? If the empire fell in 465AD then what do we do with the COnstantine decree to move the capitol to Byzantium? (Burn it?) If the empire ended in 465AD then what was the Eastern Empire? It was never called the Holy Roman Empire at all. Not a single historical first hand source says so. It was called the Roman Empire. If rome fell in 465AD then why are you talking about the Tetrarchy of Diocletian. He ruled the Eastern Half and that continued unbroken in lineage till 1453AD. Constantine ratified the shift of the captal by decree making it official. If the Roman empire was different to Byzantium then what should we do with the ancient parchments that stipulate the term POMAIOI = ROmans in reference to the Greeks of Byzantium? Occuring post 465AD and prior. If the empire had an official language of LATIN then why did only 2 emporers Ioulios and Nero speak latin exclusively? And why did all other emporers west and east speak Greek? Infact why did they need to declare an official language if they were all LATIN speakers? What happened to the Greek colony Neapolis, Kolabria, Sicily? As I recall Sicily didnt even use Roman coins the Greek King and his bloodline of the island preserved autonomy throughout the empires life till late ....800?-1453? If the language of the Roman army was LATIN then what do we do with the fact the Lingua Franca during Christs' time was Greek including in ROme, Carthage and almost every part known as the Roman EMpire. What do we do with the Bible which was only first re-translated in 365AD into LATIN (but was considered heretical by the Pope and never used). Are you saying that up-until 465AD there were no christians in the West? Why are the "nomisma" of Byzantium found throughout the entire empire yet the coinage of Latin Rome sporadically dotted in close proximity to the city Rome and a few locations west eg England. Their coinage never reached Babylon or Persia. By volume of discovered coins alone we know the common coinage of the Roman EMpire always continued to have a Greek side. The Latin revolution around 100BC gave control to the Latin and Greek peasants by 100AD their control subsided. By 285AD the control was back where it started. The Roman Empire was more Greek than Latin by the number of people, the number of Greek speaking emporers, the number of Christians, the number of of of ..... in anyway you want to measure it even physical area. The bottom line is that the Roman EMPIRE was Helleno-Roman. Something totally misunderstood by those contributing. Your foundations and opinions are biased and focus on a totally western perspective that entirely defeats the purpose of history. The mistakes of Edward Gibbon still persist despite all the new information, knowledge and plethora of evidence discovered in the East. It was not until 1958 for gods sake that anyone from an english speaking country realised there was Byzantium. Since then bigots and narrow minded people have refused to consider this as a treasure instead they persist with some pathetic historical ritual established in the 1800's. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 20:11, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) ---- Where exactly are you getting your information from? If greek was the language of the empire, why is the entirety of the former Roman west composed of Romance languages? In truth, although greek was an extremely important language, why did latin continue to be the language of nobility and science in the west for centuries after Rome's fall? Why, if greek was the language of soldiers, why is Vulgar Latin so widespread? Why is the roman alphabet used everywhere in western Europe? The empire was greek AND Roman. After all, a large portion of the empire was composed of the Greek successor states. However, this doesn't mean that the empire was dominated by either. The west was pretty much dominated by Roman influence, and the east by Greek (although both were merely unifying factors in regions with numerous indigenous peoples and dialects completely different from both). Your changes and post here are what's narrow-minded. If you want to be a revisionist historian, make a site on Geocities, but please, this is an encyclopaedia. --User:Masamax 21:19, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC) === In continuation with the Hellnic Nature of Rome === [ Where exactly are you getting your information from? ] From over 20 assorted personal books written in Greek and English. Along with over 10 years of studying many many books on teh subject. [ If greek was the language of the empire, why is the entirety of the former Roman west composed of Romance languages? ] The academic language of the West is still Greek. For example: The plethora of didactics and symposiums formed by proto Hellenic philosophers gave genesis to an aristotolean epistimiological method. (English words used The, of, and, by, gave, to, an) I can continue to write in this manner to express any idea. True for all Romance languages but also true of all former Byzantine states. Unlike Latin which is considered a dead language Greek persists to be the academic language. [ In truth, although greek was an extremely important language, why did latin continue to be the language of nobility and science in the west for centuries after Rome's fall? ] Indirectly answering your self and also further proving that Romance languages were heavily influenced post 1453AD by Italic/Latin. It was not until the fall of Rome 1453AD that the Greek texts were initially translated from Greek and later passed on to other nations most were Italic/Latin translations many were French. (Hence many French and Latin derived words in late English post 1453AD) Comparing Shaksperian English with Modern English gives you enormous variations. English in 1200's is clearly Germanic. Post 1453AD English has Greek and Latin foundations also French which was the major source of these Greek and Latin Words. The very Germanic nature of Old English compared to post 1453AD, something Edward Gibbon was probably embarassed about. That is the English (Saxxons) were relatives of the the very barbarians he was talking about. he made a point to diistinguish himself and justified his nationalities herritage to Rome. Although it is transparent if you take into account allot more than what he writes verbatim. [ if greek was the language of soldiers, why is Vulgar Latin so widespread? ] Amongst many proofs an important one to note is that Diocles was born to a poor family in Illyciria he spoke Greek as his primary langauge and had no need to learn Latin. His decrees and commands were recorded as being Greek. perhaps it comes down to your failure in seeing that Rome was to Greece as USA is to Britain. Perhaps a better example would be Mexico to Spain. Rome Neapolis was a colony of the Greeks period! [ Why is the roman alphabet used everywhere in western Europe? ] The so called Roman alphabet was used along side Attic before Rome the city was established. All the letters in the Roman Alphabet come from various derivative Greek Alphabets. Not one letter in the Roman Alphabet is original. The Spartan Alphabet for example used the letter "R" instead of "P" to mean the same thing. Aside archaeological evidence that supports this we also have a blurb of history stating it was a Gift to Rome as Cyrilic was a Gift to the slavs (Saint Cyril being a Greek Orthodox Monk who invented the Cyrilic Alphabet). Despite Archaeological and historical proof. Western historians still persist in some fantasy about Romulus....Something completely absurd. [ The empire was greek AND Roman. After all, a large portion of the empire was composed of the Greek successor states. However, this doesn't mean that the empire was dominated by either. ] There was a continous bloody battle between former Greek colonies against the usurption of Power by the peasantry (Latin mainly but also the Italiotes being Greeks of Italia) in Rome. Teh republic they introduced aimed to mimic Athens instead it unleashed a hidden dictatorship. When the Dictators took their efforts out of the Italic Peninsula between 32BC -100AD the Greeks sluggishly manouvered to counter the domination of ROman power. In 285AD the purpose of the resistance was apparent when Diocles took control over the empire. No sooner did he take it than he placed all his investments in the Eastern half. In terms of military domination Latin Rome dominated for 200 years an empire pre-forged by the Greeks, Given that the continuity of teh Greek colonies remained for the most part untouched including their coinage and lineage it would even be difficult to say that Alexanders Empire had diminished. If Diocles formed a Tetrarchy, the still existing Polyarchy of Alexander remained. [ The west was pretty much dominated by Roman influence, and the east by Greek (although both were merely unifying factors in regions with numerous indigenous peoples and dialects completely different from both). ] This is again a falsehood. The West was pretty much dominated culturally and linguistically by Greek hence the term Hellenisation. Greek culture was spread in both directions further proving the dominions' keepers. The Latin Roman influences were apparent in the West and hardly a sign of their existance in the East. The only great and significant thing the Romans (Latin) provided was a better system of Laws. However, the ones who spread this system were not Latin romans but the Greeks. Treadgold mentions "predominantly Christianity, Roman Laws, Greek Language and Culture were spread by the Greeks of Byzantium". I refer you to Warren Treadgold and Vasiliev purely to enlighten you on the Eastern part of Rome. I would say Latin became influential not because of the ROman EMpire but because Byzantium fell in 1453AD. While the Greeks of Byzantium Rome were supressed for 400 years all their literature was stolen, revised and republished as if it was Latin in origin. Most if not all Latin and Roman literature presents itself as such. I guide you to the Perseus Project which contains first hand historical sources and texts. Read them and make what you will out of them. As for your last comment you have very little to offer other than more questions that bury you deeper . The article is a fake and has no valid substantiation for the claims it makes. The first hand sources all support what I am saying, yet you call me a revisionist. I suggest you read the subject elsewhere before plastering such a disgraceful article and claim it to be history. :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 22:38, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) The whole introduction as it stands now is still very unsatisfactory and gives a heavily eastward slant; it's still very POV, and the current tweaking of the recent edits don't go far enough to redress the balance. User:Djnjwd 22:53, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) === I wont touch your article I am waiting for you to change it. === The tetradrachma was the common currency. The other imperial coins were decoratives they printed millions over the centuaries and kept them in vaults or treasuries to stabalise the value of their circulated money: Official Circulation of coin [http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1989.html Tetradrachma 56BC] [http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/nero/milne_131.jpg] :The above was an unsigned comment by User:Ephestion at 20:01, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC). User:Paul August User_talk:Paul August 22:57, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC) === Moved text here === Ive moved the below block of text from the opening lead section to here: ::''The original Bible was written in Koine, the dialect or language that spread the word of Judaism and Christianity; but it was also the vehicle that allowed Roman law to spread once Christianity became the state Roman religion in Late Antiquity. Thus some scholars (Warren Treadgold) beleive it was essentially the Greeks of Byzantium (the inheritors of the Roman Empire) that transmitted Christianity, Roman Law, Philosophy, and Administration to western Europe.'' It's theory on transmission of Roman institutions by way of the Byzantine Empire to the West, via the Bible. I'm not sure what article this text belongs, but ROman Empire is more a narrative political history article, and it's allready over 60k in size, about twice what it should be, so we need to trim back and more tightly focus, moving stuff to other articles. Also, this paragraph really needs more explanation and citations. User:Stbalbach 23:04, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) My question is how were the greeks of a small city like Byzantium responsible for spreading roman laws everywhere? This statement basically is saying that Romans spread their laws to Byzantium, which then spread them BACK to Rome? Excuse me if I am confused. --User:Masamax 23:51, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) === Common Language and Christianity === I don't feel that Vulgar Latin was a common language in the West see "basilect" and it certainly wasn't used in the East Empire. Between 400-1453 we have clearly different languages hardly to be considered Latin such as French for example and Spanish. To constitute a common Language it must 1. be used east and west 2. form an important part in administration, military etc 3. hence I will revert the Lingua France of the empire (which is already well documented) back to Koine. There are many books referring to the Lingua Franc as Koine none stipulate Vulgar Latin. So I will add a new table heading called popular languages in that will be Vulgar Latin, Frankish (established by 476AD) etc. In terms of Roman Achievements the reference to Csars and the name is unimportant it has a political conitation of relation to them where in fact it should not. For example the first Czar of Russia was post 1453. The terms Kaisar are immediate derivatives from the Greek usage of the word not Latin. So I will remove this text because it is not substantiated by fact. I will replace this text with reference to the spread of the Bible there is no mandate requisite to refrain from ommiting the truth and the truth is that Koine, Bible and Christianity were the vehicle for transmitting christianity it is not a theory it is established by fact. For 795 years after christ the only version of the bible was written in Greek. All christians in the West learned Greek and read teh bible this was the foundation for their common language. Sorry but on a historical point of view the church, christ and the bible deserve more mention. Oh and also will add that Christ was killed by Romans as an achievemnt of the Romans. -Comment left by User:Ephestion June 9 2005 This article, in scope at least, refers ONLY to the Roman Empire as it existed until 476 AD (at which is where the Western Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire articles take over. The languages you refer to (ie French, Spanish, etc) almost CERTAINLY did not EXIST during the Roman Empire, and instead were regional dialects of Latin (ie. Vulgar Latin). And btw, even if Koine was a Lingua Franca of the empire (which I would not necessarily agree with) it was certainly NOT the language of all commoners in the empire. Latin and Greek both were important cultural contributors to the Empire, and although it's certain that the Greeks had a great influence upon the development of Rome, that doesn't mean that Rome was forever in their shadow as you seem to believe. --User:Masamax 09:18, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC) This article, in scope at least, refers ONLY to the Roman Empire as it existed until 476 AD Well any mention of Rome must include the full picture before you procede with the finer points and details. So everything done here so far is fixing up some minor issues on that whole view rather than a narrow view. Better to do it that way by introducing both parts of the empire and then leading off to describe the seperate parts. I would suggest moving all the content bellow the intro to appropriate headings like Early Roman Empire, and then two other divisions Western and Eastern Roman Empire. But then we again lose that whole image of the empire so its up to you and others. And btw, even if Koine was a Lingua Franca of the empire (which I would not necessarily agree with) it was certainly NOT the language of all commoners in the empire. As mentioned by many already the Roman Empire was a superficial Authority over pre-existing Greek colonies and pre-established civilised people. The Latins did not colonise Europe they took over the colonies of the Greeks. Most of the places they took were Hellenic and if not Hellenic were undergoing self civilisation such as the Celts who were in trade with the Greeks for thousands of years. The 5 good emporers for example wrote in Greek Marcus Aurelius has preserved his memoirs at the perseus project. Latin Romans offered little towards cultural value until ~400AD when some decent Latin works started to come into fashion. You could say that as the Empire approached 1453AD Latin in the west was slowly but surely becoming more important. But I dont want to sound like that guy that fixes everything with Windex, by saying almost all the founding and root words in Romance languages are from Greek first. Then there is that Grey of what was Indo European and how much overlap was already existing. Take for example the word "Base" being Greek, does it mean it replaced a word meaning the same thing in all of those languages or was it already there? Having said that the etimology of European languages especially ROmance languages places them in lineage to Greek be it foreign influence or otherwise. While Western Germanic philosophy tends to put Greek in a class of its own, Eastern thought tends to feel all of europe was one big family and certainly the seeds of knowledge , civilisation, and language were passed on by the Ancient Greeks not Latin Rome. Also existing proof is in the English language where by the amount of Greek words in it surpass the Latin Lexicon. In a standard medical dictionary some 60% of terms a Greek these words did not choose to live in a medical dictionary they were once part of the common lexicon. If today all English speakers decided to learn the Greek in their language they would be speaking clearly Greek as I mentioned earlier. The scope(gr) of didactics (gr) and symposiums(gr) is to form(gr) a basis(gr) for the genesis(gr) of syncarpous(gr) pragma(gr) called orthographia (gr) in truth (no idea :D ). This suggests that at some stage Greek was psrt of these languages but became replacesd by more "trendy vocab and cooler ways of getting on the same wave with folks" ie language just changed based on what each nation felt was best for it. Latin was important post 1453AD between 400-1453AD is when LATIN starts having an impact on Europe but hardly to be called a Lingua Franca. (Latin implied throughout as either classical or Vulgar.) Agreed the commoners did not all speak Greek or Vulgar Latin. the commoners spoke their native languages. However, traders and people who travelled and certainly anyone with anything close to an education would learn Koine for sake of reading teh Bible and also Latin post 400AD becoming increasingly important. The Lingua Franca most certainly was Koine '''...and although it's certain that the Greeks had a great influence upon the development of Rome, that doesn't mean that Rome was forever in their shadow as you seem to believe....''' I never implied this! its just how the real history seems to stipulate. :D Just kidding. The Latin Romans as I mentioned dominated by military force for 200 or so years the remaining 1200 years of Rome were ruled from the East. What can we say? I mean they did have an awsome army, and they did have a good system of Laws, their architecture was not as impressive I dont beleive to the Greeks nor was their literature...but thats all personal preference. From purely an aesthetic pont of view I mean. However, the Basilica churches were awsome architectural deisgns. Rome, especially Latin and its impact is over-hyped in the West. I am not putting their history into a shadow, its their history as it really happened. But I am interested to see what you feel should change so tell me more. I have given you some quotes already from historians stating so. also the 5 good emporers such as Marcus Aurelius wrote in Greek. Modern Etimology is now changing the way it views ROmance languages as many are starting to realise the more common link they have. Modern historical accounts such as EU meetings have had many argumanets over the common language one man I beleive stated "If we wanted a common language we would all revert back to Greek". -Ephestion : To whomever wrote "Rome, especially Latin and its impact is over-hyped in the West" -- I'm honestly at a loss of words over how to respond to this opinion. It can only be believed if one ignores a number of facts: :* The modern languages of several European nations -- French, Provincial, Spanish, Italian in Western Europe, Romanian in Eastern Europe -- all have been shown to be derived from Latin. Languages related to Greek in Western Europe is spoken only in some small enclaves in southernmost Italy. While some of the words in the vocabulary of many of modern European languages is taken from Greek, they also take words from Arabic, Sanskrit, Chinese & Japanese. :* The vocabularity associated with Empire all come from Rome & its history, not Greece: for example, the European words for Emperor comes either from Latin ''imperator'' or from Julius Caesar's name, not from the Greek ''Basileus''. (And to argue that "Tsar" & "Kaisar" come from an immediate Greek borrowing is disingenuous, because Greek borrowed the word from Latin. And German form "Kaisar" is possible only if the "C" in Caesar is pronounced like a "K" -- which points to a direct borrowing from Latin, similar to German ''Fenster'' ("Window") from Latin ''fenestra''.) :* BTW, a number of polities proclaimed themselves either a new Roman Empire (e.g., Charlemagne's, or the Holy Roman Empire), or described themselves as a "New Rome" (most notibly Constantinople & Moscow). ::: New Rome or Nova ROme was the official name given by Constantine when he by decree and un-arguably relocated the capital to Byzantium/Constantinople aka NEW ROME (unsigned comment, assumably from Ephestion) :* Use of Latin by the military & civil servants has been attested throughout the Empire: in papyri from Egypt & Mesopotamia, from inscriptions in Greece and Turkey -- & a number of important writers from Spain & North Africa (Seneca, Apuleius, Tertullian, Cyprian, & forward). :* Civil law was developed at Rome -- although some scholars at Constantinople did contribute to it (who received their education at places like Beirut), they published their work in Latin. Further practically all legal proceedings under Roman Law were in Latin until c.600, because that was the language of the conquerors, who decided the point of the sword gave them the right to make everyone else subject to their laws & customs. :* The language of the Christian Church in Western Europe was Latin until a few centuries ago; & a person was not truly thought educated unless he could read & write in Latin until at least as late as the 18th century (e.g., John Milton was Cromwell's Latin secretary -- the person who carried on Cromwell's diplomatic correspondence). : You're not Internet troll us, are you? -- User:Llywrch 18:00, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC) This is you Opinion Coins of for example Pontius Pilatos of Jerusalem 56AD and there after many coins use the phrasing KAISAP not Latin at all! The Majority of EMporers spoke Greek exclusively....(Warren Treadgold) During the trial of Socrates there was a Jury, Judge, a respresentative and lawyers. ROme had laws and bypassed the rest and went straight for a Judge and executioner(cant remember i think Critio) This is your opinion Only in the West Greek is testified both East and West - eg Hadrian insignias in Greek Latin writers emerged post 465AD when the Koine was no longer accessable due to cut trade route by the Hun, Goths, Germanics of whom over-ran the West Democracy was a better system, the Orthodox Church preserved that as each Bishop is still elected into power by the people and not the clergy All Greek writings were stolen by either Western crusaders, Papal Jesewits or Turkish Invaders I cant provide much evidence other than the fact the Administrative language was officially Greek '''Koine was still in use throughout Europe until Western Rome fell to Goths and Hun'' This is your opinion The first bible in Latin was a rejected Heresy 365AD, in 750AD the first LATIN bible became used. So from 750AD onwards Latin begins to grow in contrast Greek shrinking in usage in Europe between 750AD till today. There are no Latin words in the Orthodox liturgy (gr word). \"Kirie Eleison\" used in the Papal or Catholic Church is one of many small reminders that the Church of Christianity was spread from the Greek NT most certainly not Latin. This reached beyond any military borders even into Asia. No you just didnt read what I wrote properly and you became emotional. Restoring the page again I suggest you investigate further what has been said I have given you ample directions. -Left by 203.59.216.xxx who I can only assume is Ephestion. : No, it is ''not'' my opinion; it is the consensus of Classical scholarship (and linguistics -- you did notice that part about Latin being the parent language of all of those European languages, right?) And even were I the only one to embrace it, it is at least as valid as yours -- & you are the one who is removing any mention & leaving only yours, which is against the spirit of WP:NPOV. : And since it is the consensus of Classical Scholarship, ''I'' can easily document these points. I asked Ephestion to supply sources that prove or assert that ''koine'' was the official language of the Roman Empire -- & have not seen a reply. (And your arguments based on the language of the New Testament are irrelevant here.) Can you supply any reference that I can check that states what you claim? And I need more than just a name: if it is a book, I need the title & page number; if it is an article, the name of the periodical, title of the article & the year & pages it was printed on. So far all you have provided me is what we call on Wikipedia no original research, & is not allowed. : A last point -- putting your comments in bold do not make them any more true. Instead, they make ''you'' appear emotional. -- User:Llywrch 22:16, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Masamax use of the NPOV tag == Masamax, when asked why you put a NPOV tag on the article, you hsve gone back through the discussion history and pulled up every commentary from past authors, most (none?) of who even brought up using the NPOV tag. This is not how it works. NPOV tags are put up when there is a specific reason. When there has been a lengthy discussion on the talk page. When there has been no reconciliation between the parties. Your behaviour here is somewhat bizzare. We need to know why the NPOV tag is on the article, so the article can be acted on and adjusted accordingly, or, an argument made on why the artucle is justified to have a NPOV tag. I suspect you have some reason for the NPOV tag, but you are not telling us what it is. User:Stbalbach 15:51, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :: I added the tag for a very good reason. Ephestion sees this article as completely biased and inaccurate, and this article has gone through half a dozen reverts in a few days based upon POV from either side. If that's not enough to warrent the NPOV tag, what exactly IS? --User:Masamax 23:36, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :Dates are all wrong Western pre 1960 bias NPOV reverting back to historical account. :We can go step by step on this if you like. First of all :1. Roman Empire continued till 1453AD :If anyone has any historical proof to counter this or any decent theory then we will consider it. :::Cmon, there is no "right" answer, there are various opinions. There are various opinions on this, and no single one is the right answer. Wikipedia represents all opinions. What this article should do is state that: there are multiple points of view, and then detail those points of view. Simple. User:Stbalbach 18:05, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) :2. Koine was used in Europe and in the Middle east since teh time of ALexander the Great up until a period which varies for each area but lets assume the first instance of a recorded Translation from Greek to English was the Vulgar Bible 324AD. In otherowrds before this we have no proof that there was a need to translate Greek into Latin. Keep also in mind that the Vulgar Bible was for the Church in Rome. Also we have church history where all the letter of Paul except a hndfull were written in Greek. The few that were sent to Roman administration were for the formal consideration of the Latin