The Roman Empire is a kind of phase in the development of Roman statehood of that time. It existed from 27 BC. e. to 476, and the main language was Latin.
The great Roman Empire for centuries held in excitement and admiration for many other states of that time. And this is no accident. This power did not appear immediately. The empire developed gradually. Consider in the article how it all began, all the main events, emperors, culture, as well as the coat of arms and the colors of the flag of the Roman Empire.
Periodization of the Roman Empire
As you know, all states, countries, civilizations in the world had a chronology of events, which can conditionally be divided into several periods. The Roman Empire has several main stages:
- the period of the principate (27 B.C.E. - 193 B.C.E.);
- crisis of the Roman Empire in the III century. AD (193 - 284 years. BC. E.);
- period of dominance (284 - 476 years. BC. E.);
- the collapse and division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern.
Before the formation of the Roman Empire
Let us turn to history and briefly examine what preceded the formation of the state. In general, the first people in the territory of modern Rome appeared around the second millennium BC. e. on the river Tiber. In the VIII century BC. e. two large tribes united, built a fortress. Thus, we can assume that April 13, 753 BC. e. Rome was formed.
First there was the royal, and then the republican periods of government with its events, kings and history. This period of time from 753 BC. e. called Ancient Rome. But in 27 BC e. thanks to Octavian Augustus an empire was formed. A new era has come.
Principle
The formation of the Roman Empire was facilitated by civil wars, of which Octavian emerged victorious. The Senate gave him the name Augustus, and the ruler himself established the principle system, which included a mixture of monarchical and republican forms of government. He also became the founder of the Yuliev-Klavdiev dynasty, but it did not last long. The capital of the Roman Empire remained the city of Rome.
The reign of Augustus was considered very favorable for the people. Being the nephew of the great commander - Gaius Julius Caesar - it was Octavian who became the first emperor of Rome. He carried out reforms: one of the main ones is the reform of the army, the essence of which was to form a Roman military force. Each soldier had to serve until the age of 25, could not start a family, and lived on welfare. But it helped finally form a permanent army after almost a century of its formation, when it was unreliable due to inconstancy. Also merit Octavian Augustus considered the conduct of fiscal policy and, of course, a change in the system of government. Under him, Christianity began to emerge in the empire.
The first emperor was deified, especially outside of Rome, but the ruler himself did not want a cult of ascension to God in the capital. But in the provinces in his honor many temples were erected and sacred significance was attached to his rule.
August spent a decent part of his life on the road. He wanted to revive the spirituality of the people, thanks to him, dilapidated temples and other structures were restored. Under his rule, many slaves were freed, and the ruler himself was a kind of example of ancient Roman valor and lived in modest possession.
Dynasty Yuliev-Klavdiev
The next emperor, as well as the great pontiff and representative of the dynasty, was Tiberius. He was the adopted son of Octavian, who also had his own grandson. In fact, the question of the heritage of the throne remained unresolved after the death of the first emperor, but Tiberius stood out for his merits and intelligence, and therefore he was to become a sovereign ruler. He himself did not want to be a despot. He ruled very dignified and not cruel. But after problems in the emperor’s family, as well as a clash of his interests with the senate, full of republican attitudes, everything turned into a “wicked war in the Senate.” He ruled only from 14 to 37 years old.
The third emperor and representative of the dynasty was the son of Tiberius's nephew - Caligula, who ruled for only 4 years - from the 37th to the 41st. At first, everyone sympathized with him as a worthy emperor, but the power changed him greatly: he became cruel, caused strong discontent among the people and was killed.
The next emperor was Claudius (41-54), with the help of which, in fact, his two wives ruled Messalina and Agrippina. Through various manipulations, the second woman managed to make the ruler of her son Nero (54-68). During his time, a "great fire" occurred in the year 64 A.D. e., which very much destroyed Rome. Nero committed suicide, and a civil war broke out in which in just one year, the last three representatives of the dynasty died. 68-69th was called "the year of the four emperors."
Flavian Dynasty (from 69 to 96 years A.D.)
Vespasian was the main in the struggle against the rebellious Jews. He became emperor and founded a new dynasty. He managed to suppress the uprisings in Judea, restore the economy, rebuild Rome after the "great fire" and put in order the empire after numerous internal troubles and riots, improve relations with the Senate. He ruled until 79 A.D. e. His decent rule was continued by his son Titus, who ruled only two years. The next emperor was the youngest son of Vespasian - Domitian (81-96). Unlike the first two representatives of the dynasty, he was distinguished by hostility and confrontations with the senate. He was killed in a conspiracy.
During the reign of the dynasty, the Flavians created the great amphitheater Colosseum in Rome. They worked on its construction for 8 years. There were numerous gladiatorial fights.
Dynasty Antoninov
The heyday of the Roman Empire fell precisely during the reign of this dynasty. The rulers of this period were called the "five good emperors." The Antonins (Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius) ruled successively from 96 to 180 A.D. e. After the plot and the assassination of Domitian because of his hostility to the Senate, Nerva became the emperor, who was from the senatorial milieu. He ruled for two years, and the next ruler was his adopted son, Ulpius Trajan, who became one of the best people ever to rule during the time of the Roman Empire.
Trajan significantly expanded the territory. 4 well-known provinces were formed: Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria and Arabia. Colonization of other places was required by Trajan rather than for conquest purposes, but for protection against attacks by nomads and barbarians. The most remote places were built up with numerous stone towers.
The third emperor of the Roman Empire from the time of the Antonin dynasty and the successor of Trajan is Adrian. He made many reforms in law and education, as well as in finance. He received the nickname "enrichment of the world." The next ruler was Antoninus, who was nicknamed the "father of the human race" for his concern not only for Rome, but also for the provinces that he was landscaping. Then ruled Marcus Aurelius, who was a very good philosopher, but he had to spend a lot of time in the war on the Danube, where he died in 180. In this era of "five good emperors", when the empire flourished, and democracy reached its peak, ended.
The last emperor to put an end to the dynasty was Commodus. He was fond of gladiatorial battles, and the administration of the empire laid on the shoulders of other people. He died at the hands of the conspirators in 193.
Dynasty of the North
People proclaimed the ruler of a native of Africa - the commander Septimius Severus, who ruled until his death in 211. He was very warlike, which was passed on to his son Caracallus, who became emperor by killing his brother. But it was thanks to him that people from the provinces finally got the right to become citizens of Rome. Both rulers did a lot. For example, they returned Alexandria independence and gave the right to Alexandrians to occupy the state. posts. Then Heliogabal and Alexander ruled until 235.
The crisis of the third century
This turning point was so important for the people of that time that historians distinguish it as a separate period in the history of the Roman Empire. This crisis lasted almost half a century: from 235 after the death of Alexander Sever and up to 284.
The reason was the war with the tribes on the Danube, which began during the time of Marcus Aurelius, clashes with Zarein people, the inconsistency of power. People had to fight a lot, and the authorities spent money, time and effort on these conflicts, which significantly worsened the economy and economy of the empire. And also during the crisis, there were constant conflicts between the armies that nominated their candidates for the throne. In addition, the Senate also fought for the right of its significant influence on the empire, but lost it altogether. Ancient culture after the crisis also fell into decay.
Dominate Period
The end of the crisis was the construction of Diocletian into emperors in 285. It was he who laid the foundation for a period of domination, which meant a change in the republican form of government to an absolute monarchy. The era of the Tetrarch also dates back to this time.
The emperor began to be called "dominate," which means "master and god." Domitian first called himself that. But in the 1st century such a position of the ruler would be perceived with hostility, and after 285 - calmly. The Senate as such did not cease to exist, but now it did not have such a great influence on the monarch, who ultimately made decisions himself.
Under the dominance, when Diocletian ruled, Christianity had already penetrated the life of the Romans, but all Christians began to be persecuted and taken even more punitively for their faith.
In 305, the emperor renounced power, a small struggle for the throne began, until Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337, came to the throne. He was the sole ruler, but there was a division of the empire into provinces and prefectures. Unlike Diocletian, he was not so harsh towards Christians and even stopped subjecting them to persecution and persecution. Moreover, Constantine introduced faith, and Christianity made the state religion. He also transferred the capital from Rome to Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople. From 337 to 363, the sons of Constantine ruled. In 363, Julian the Apostate died, which was the end of the dynasty.
The Roman Empire still continued to exist, although the transfer of the capital was a very sharp event for the Romans. After 363, two more clans ruled: the Valentinian dynasty (364-392) and Theodosius (379-457). It is known that the significant event in 378 was the Adrianople battle between the Goths and the Romans.
Consider further in the article, yet in what year did the Roman Empire collapse? Indeed, in fact, the empire existed even longer than before 453 years.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire
Rome actually continued to exist. But the end of the history of the empire is considered the year 476.
Its fall was affected by the transfer of the capital to Constantinople under Constantine in 395, where the Senate was even recreated. This year, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. The beginning of the history of Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) is also considered this event in the 395th. But it is worthwhile to understand that Byzantium is no longer the Roman Empire.
But why then does the story end only in 476? Because after 395, the Western Roman Empire with its capital in Rome remained. But the rulers could not cope with such a large territory, suffered constant attacks from the enemies, and Rome went bankrupt.
This disintegration was facilitated by the expansion of lands that needed to be monitored, the strengthening of the army of enemies. After the battle with the Goths and the defeat of the Roman army, Flavius Valenta in 378, the former became very powerful for the latter, while the inhabitants of the Roman Empire were increasingly inclined towards peaceful life. Few people wanted to devote themselves to many years of the army, most loved just farming.
Even with the weakened Western Empire, the Visigoths took Rome in 410, the Vandals captured the capital in 455, and on September 4, 476, the leader of the Germanic tribes Odoacre forced him to abdicate the throne of Romulus Augustus. He became the last emperor of the Roman Empire; Rome no longer belonged to the Romans. The history of the great empire was over. For a long time, the capital was ruled by different people who had nothing to do with the Romans.
So still, in what year did the Roman Empire collapse? Definitely in the 476th, however, this collapse, we can say, began long before the events when the empire began to decline and weaken, and barbarian Germanic tribes began to inhabit the territory.
History after 476
Nevertheless, although at the top of power the overthrow of the Roman emperor happened, and the empire passed into the possession of German barbarians, the Romans still continued to exist. Even the Roman Senate continued to exist for several centuries after 376 until 630. But now only parts of present-day Italy belonged to Rome. At this time, the Middle Ages had just begun.
The successor to the culture and traditions of the civilization of ancient Rome was Byzantium. It has existed for almost a century after its formation, while the Western Roman Empire fell. Only by 1453 the Ottomans captured Byzantium, and this was the end of its history. Constantinople was renamed to Istanbul.
And in 962, thanks to Otto the Great, the Holy Roman Empire - the state - was formed. Its core was Germany, in which he was king.
Otto 1 the Great already owned very large territories. The empire of the X century included almost the whole of Europe, including Italy (the lands of the fallen Western Roman Empire, whose culture they wanted to recreate). Over time, the boundaries of the territory changed. Nevertheless, this empire lasted almost a millennium until 1806, when Napoleon was able to dissolve it.
Formally, the capital was Rome. The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire ruled and had many vassals in other parts of their large estates. All the rulers claimed the highest power in Christianity, which at that time gained widespread influence throughout Europe. The crown of emperors of the Holy Roman Empire was given only by the pope after the coronation in Rome.
The double-headed eagle is depicted on the coat of arms of the Roman Empire. This symbol was found (and still is) in the symbolism of many states. Oddly enough, the emblem of Byzantium also depicts such a symbol as the emblem of the Roman Empire.
The flag of the XIII — XIV centuries depicted a white cross on a red background. However, he became different in 1400 and lasted until 1806 until the fall of the Holy Roman Empire.
Since 1400, the flag has a double-headed eagle. This symbolizes the emperor, while the one-headed bird is the king. The colors of the flag of the Roman Empire are also interesting: a black eagle on a yellow background.
Nevertheless, this is a very big mistake - to attribute the Roman Empire to the Holy German Roman Empire, which included Italy, but in fact it was already a completely different state.