How many years did the Roman Empire exist? Periodization of history

The opinion of how long the Roman Empire lasted until the collapse in historical science is debatable. Including because it ultimately split into two parts. For the Western part, two dates of the end of the existence of the state are called, and for the Eastern part, four. It will examine periodization and how many years the Roman Empire has existed .

Three main periods

Before talking about how many years the Roman Empire lasted, we give a brief description of it. As you know, one of the leading civilizations of the past centuries was Ancient Rome. This is the greatest ancient state, named after its capital, Rome, which, in turn, bears the name of the founder - the legendary first king Romulus.

In its development, it went through several different stages. Below will be given the periodization of the history of Rome, which is based on the form of government. Each of them is a reflection of the socio-political situation that existed in this state, starting from the reign of seven kings and ending with the dominant empire.

This periodization is as follows.

1. The Tsarist period (mid-VIII - beginning of the V century BC)
2. Republican (end - 1st half of the 1st century BC) Subdivided into: Early Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic, which includes the Age of Great Conquests and Civil Wars.
3. Imperial (until the end of the 5th century AD) It includes: the stage of the early empire, called the "Principate", the crisis period, the stage of the late empire, called the "Dominate".

Before proceeding to answer the question of how many years the Roman Empire existed, we will consider its last, imperial period.

From Octavian to partition and fall

As can be seen from the above periodization, the Roman Empire is one of the phases in the development of ancient Roman statehood that followed the republic. Its characteristic feature was autocratic rule. At the heart of autocracy lies unlimited control of power by one person individually or together with a group close to it. The second important characteristic is the huge territorial possessions located throughout Europe and throughout the Mediterranean.

This was a unique state in the history of mankind, which completely conquered the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The beginning of the existence of the Roman Empire, historians attribute to the reign of Octavian Augustus, who became its very first emperor. Subsequently, there was a division into the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, which alternately broke up, the first in the V century, and the second - almost a thousand years later.

To find out how and how many years the Roman Empire existed, we study the content of each of its periods.

Principate (I century BC. - III century)

The principle in Rome was a form of government that combined the features of a republic and a monarchy. But this was only the external side of the matter. In fact, power belonged to the military monarchy, which was only covered by republican institutions.

The time of the principal consists of such stages as:

1. The formation of the principled system that took place during the reign of Yuliev-Klavdiev, starting from 27 BC to the 68th year.
2. The onset of a large-scale crisis of power in the year of 4 emperors (from the 68th to the 69th year).
3. The heyday of the principate, observed during the time when the dynasties of Flavius ​​and Antoninus ruled. It lasted from the 69th to the 192nd year.
4. The foundation was laid for the creation of a military bureaucracy during the reign of the Northern Dynasty (1993 - 235th years).
5. One of the largest crises of the III century, worn both socio-economic and political in nature, lasting from the 235th to the 284th year.

The crisis of the 3rd century, Aurelian

By this time in the Roman Empire there was a fierce struggle for power, civil strife and the impoverishment of the masses. It was so shaken that large areas were separated from it, in which the autonomous rule of local commanders was established. From the north, the Goths threatened Rome.

This danger forced the Roman defenders to rally in the person of generals of Illyrian origin. One after another, at meetings of commanders, such prominent generals and administrators as Claudius, Aurelian, Prob, Kar were elected. One of the leading roles in overcoming the crisis belonged to Lucius Domitius Aurelian (better known as Aurelian), the Roman emperor, who ruled in 270-275.

He conquered the kingdom of Palmyra and returned to Gaul, which allowed to restore the unity of the Roman state. Aurelian was called the "Restorer of the Empire and the East." To finally strengthen the country, he carried out a monetary reform and introduced the veneration of the Invincible Sun, declared the supreme god.

The reign of this emperor prepared the basis for the subsequent dominant era, which was characterized by unlimited imperial power. Aurelian was the first of the rulers of Rome, who officially began to put a diadem on his head, called himself "Lord", as well as "God." He died in a conspiracy.

How many years did the Roman Empire exist before the arrival of Aurelian? Let's make a simple calculation. As mentioned above, it began with the era of the Principate in 27 BC. Aurelian was elected emperor in 270. Consequently, the existence of the empire at this point is 297 years.

Dominate (III - V century)

Dominate is a political system closer to the monarchy. Inside this period, such stages are distinguished as:

1. The construction of the dominate system during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Constantine I, which included a number of reforms - socio-economic, administrative, military. Occurred from the 284th to the 337th years.
2. The existence of a stable system, a manifestation of the tendency to divide the empire into two parts (from 337 to 295).
3. The final division into the Eastern and Western empires, which lasted from the 295th to 476th year.

Adhering to the described version of the periodization of the history of Rome, we can now answer the question of how many years the Roman Empire existed. For the West, it is about five hundred years (from 27th B.C. to 476th year), and for the East it is about 1480 years (from 27th B.C. to 1453th g.)