The Roman Empire was an empire founded by Emperor Augustus in 27 BC. C. that lasted until 476 d. C . It was characterized by the great territorial extension reached thanks to a strong political and military power .
Roman forum where political institutions, markets and religion met, by Bert Kaufmann.
Characteristics of the Roman Empire
Some of the characteristics of the Roman Empire were the following:
- For much of its history its capital was the city of Rome. From the reign of Constantine, and then when the empire was divided, the capital of the eastern part was the city of Byzantium (Constantinople).
- Its official language was Latin. Towards the end of the period, in the Eastern Roman Empire, the official language became Greek.
- Until the adoption of Christianity as the officialreligion, the Roman state religion was polytheistic , that is, it included many gods. Emperors were also deified.
- For the year 117 d. C., when the empire reached its maximum extension, it occupied more than 7 million square kilometers of territory.
Location of the Roman Empire
The extent of the Roman Empire varied as territories were incorporated or lost by conquest. At the time of greatest expansion, it reached more than 7 million square kilometers . It included all the territories around the Mediterranean Sea, much of Europe to the north, and part of Asia Minor, from the Black Sea to the Tigris River in Asiatic Mesopotamia.
Location of the Roman Empire in the year 117.
Stages of the Roman Empire
The history of the Roman Empire can be divided into two stages: the High Empire and the Low Empire .
High empire
It is the stage that goes from the beginning of the empire in the year 27 a. C. with the coronation of Augustus with the title of emperor until the death of the last emperor of the Severus dynasty, in the third century.
During the period, 4 dynasties ruled :
- Julio-Claudian dynasty, successors of Augustus, 14 to 68 AD. C. (Emperors Augusto, Tiberio, Calígula, Claudio and Nerón).
- Flavian Dynasty, 69 to 96 AD. C. (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian emperors).
- Antonine Dynasty, AD 96-192 C. (Emperors Nerva, Hadrian, Antonio Pio and Marco Aurelio).
- Severe Dynasty, 192 to 235 AD. C. (Emperors Septimius Severus, Geta, Caracalla, Heliogabalus and Alexander Severus).
The High Empire culminated in a period of infighting, economic crisis, and increasing pressure from barbarian peoples on the empire’s borders.
Low empire
The Lower Empire began with the arrival of Diocletian to power in 284 AD. C., and ended with the fall of the empire, in the year 476 d. C .
Diocletian established a tetrarchy , that is, a government of four men. It was made up of two co-emperors (Augustos), one for the East and one for the West. In turn, each had an assistant emperor (Caesar).
After a reunification of the empire under the rule of Constantine, in the year 380 the emperor Theodosius divided the territory between his two sons and thus a new territorial and political organization was definitively constituted: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire .
Social and political organization
Social organization
Social pyramid of the Roman Empire.
Imperial society was divided into the following estates:
- Patricians and large landlord and mercantile proprietors: it was the highest class of society. They had the political, religious and economic power.
- Commoners: they were free citizens. This group was made up of city officials, peasants, merchants, artisans, and a large part of the army. From 212 AD Roman citizenship was granted to all free men of the empire
- Slaves: it was a very large group. They could buy their freedom or be manumitted by their owner. During this period they acquired some rights.
Political organization
The highest authority of the empire was the emperor , who concentrated all political power and was in charge of military, legislative, religious and judicial affairs.
The Senate acted as an advisor to the emperor, but did not have sufficient power to make decisions.
The assemblies remained a Roman tradition from the time of the republic, but they had no effective power.
Economy of the Roman Empire
The economy was based on slave labor . The great mass of slave labor was made up of prisoners of war and came from the conquests.
The main economic activities were agriculture and commerce .
Agricultural activity was specialized by region. Much of it was used for trade and was carried out on rural farms worked by slaves.
Trade, facilitated by monetary circulation, was favored by the dominance of the Mediterranean Sea.
Roman Empire religion
- Main article: Roman gods .
During most of the Roman Empire, the official religion was polytheistic , that is, many deities were worshiped.
In addition to the official religion, the population practiced numerous cults from the conquered regions. One of them was Christianity, which quickly became popular and was legalized by the Edict of Milan in 313.
Christianity was transformed into the official religion of the Empire by Emperor Theodosius in 380.
Sculpture of Diana, goddess of hunting, nature and the moon.
The fall of the Roman empire
Following the division of the Empire by Emperor Theodosius, both parties began to function as separate entities. While in the East, the emperors consolidated their power and managed to prosper, the Western Empire began a process of disintegration. To the frequent economic crises , were added the invasions of the Germanic towns that the Roman army could not stop. Insecurity in cities caused people to migrate to the countryside and a phenomenon of ruralization occurred .
Finally, in 476, the Visigoth king Odoacer deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and the Western Roman Empire came to an end. This moment is considered as the beginning of the Middle Ages .
The Eastern Empire, with the name of the Byzantine Empire , lasted until 1453, with the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Empire , a fact that began the Modern Age .
