The Roman Empire Augustus (r. 31 BCE – 14 CE) and the Pax Romana • Octavian (Augustus) takes power after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE • He set about reforming Rome • Passed tax laws that increased rates for childless adults • Also raised taxes on families with less than three children • Tries to legislate morality (he criminalized adultery, e.g.) • Daughter Julia, the poet Ovid are exiled • Cult of Roma, religious festivals; Augustus received honorary titles (Pater Patriae) • He encouraged trade • Praetorian guards are created • He also focused on rebuilding northern defenses Many problems still • Slave system is unstable • Frontier peoples are still a serious threat, esp. the Germanic Tribes (see Varus’s defeat in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE) • Corruption is endemic • Growing class of poor, often unemployed people • Senate did not have enough powers Other Julio-Claudian Emperors • Tiberius (r. 14-37 CE) – good military commander, allowed reign of terror by Sejanus during the 20s • Caligula (r.37-41 CE) – megalomaniac; political payments caused financial crisis; murdered in a conspiracy • Claudius (r. 41-54 CE) – stutterer; capable administrator • Nero (r. 54-68 CE) – talented but unstable; had Petronius, Lucan, Seneca killed; killed own mother also; committed suicide The Flavian Dynasty • Vespasian (r.69-79 CE) – tough soldier; participated in conquest of Britain, subjugation of Judea; from an equestrian family that had risen into the senatorial ranks; first emperor to be succeeded by natural son • Titus (r.79-81 CE) – eldest son of Vespasian; had directed assault on Jerusalem in 70 CE; rebuilt the Colisseum • Domitian (r.81-96) – reformed administration, persecuted Christians The Five Good Emperors • Nerva (r.96-98 CE) – built granaries, continued program of roadbuilding and repair • Trajan (r.98-117 CE) – born in Spain; expanded empire (Dacia) • Hadrien (r.117-138) – built wall to defend Roman Britain from Picts; reorganized army, patronized the arts • Antonius Pius (r. 138-161) – had a simple, benevolent, temperate character; supported public works, tolerated Christians • Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180) – noted advocate of Stoicism,; wrote Meditations; spent much of his reign on military campaigns Other notable rulers from the end of the 2nd century CE-4th century CE • Severus (r.193-211 CE) – born in N. Africa; rejected the Senate and based his power on the army; bought off people with grain doles and circuses in the Colisseum • Diocletian (r.284-305 CE) – ended “the period of military anarchy;” tried to curtail inflation by fixing wages and prices; persecuted Christians; divided the empire in half; started tetrarchy system • Constantine (r.306-337 CE) – recognized Christianity as a legitimate religion; built a new capitol (Constantinople) • In general, it can be said that Diocletian’s and Constantine’s reforms preserved the empire at the cost of turning it into an “armed camp” Spread of Christianity • Christians are persecuted for the first three centuries • Constantine grants Christians religious freedom in the Edict of Milan (313 CE) • The emperor Theodosius declares Christianity the state religion in 380 CE • After Roman Empire ends in the West (476 CE), Christian leaders help maintain some semblance of peace and order Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire • Economic difficulties (inflation, budget shortfalls) • Increase in crime and civil disorder • Lack of social mobility • Army was increasingly substandard, did not have enough men • Barbarian invasions (Goths, other Germans, Huns) (See also Gibbons’ (1782) four reasons – immoderate greatness (bureaucracy, army became too large); wealth and luxury led to moral decay; barbarian invasions; spread of Christianity.