In historiography, ancient
Rome

Rome is Roman civilization from the
founding of the city of
Rome

Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of
the Western
Roman Empire

Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman
Kingdom,
Roman Republic

Roman Republic and
Roman Empire

Roman Empire until the fall of the western
empire.[1] The term is sometimes used to just refer to the kingdom and
republic periods, excluding the subsequent empire.[2]
The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian
peninsula, dating from the 8th century BC, that grew into the city of
Rome

Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it
ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The
Roman empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the
ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50
to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's
population[3]) and covering
5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD
117.[4]
In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a
monarchy to a
Classical Republic and then to an increasingly
autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it eventually
dominated the Mediterranean region, Western Europe, Asia Minor, North
Africa, and parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. It is often grouped
into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their
similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world.
Ancient

Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law,
politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology,
warfare, religion, language, and society.
Rome

Rome professionalised and
expanded its military and created a system of government called res
publica, the inspiration for modern republics[5][6][7] such as the
United States

United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and
architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system
of aqueducts and roads, as well as the construction of large
monuments, palaces, and public facilities.
By the end of the
Republic

Republic (27 BC),
Rome

Rome had conquered the lands
around the Mediterranean and beyond: its domain extended from the
Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the
Rhine

Rhine to North Africa.
The
Roman Empire

Roman Empire emerged with the end of the
Republic

Republic and the
dictatorship of
Augustus

Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars
started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia. It would
become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting
effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire
reached its territorial peak. Republican mores and traditions started
to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a
prelude common to the rise of a new emperor.[8][9][10] Splinter
states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would temporarily divide the
Empire

Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century.
Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating
peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent
"barbarian" kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a
landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of universal
history from the pre-medieval "Dark Ages" of Europe. The eastern part
of the empire endured through the 5th century and remained a power
throughout the "Dark Ages" and medieval times until its fall in 1453
AD. Though the citizens of the empire made no distinction, the empire
is most commonly referred to as the "Byzantine Empire" by modern
historians during the
Middle Ages

Middle Ages to differentiate between the state
of antiquity and the nation it grew into.[11]
Contents
1 Founding myth
2 Kingdom
3 Republic
3.1 Punic Wars
4 Late Republic
4.1 Marius and Sulla
4.2 Caesar and the First Triumvirate
4.3
Octavian

Octavian and the Second Triumvirate
5
Empire

Empire – the Principate
5.1
Julio-Claudian

Julio-Claudian dynasty
5.1.1 Augustus
5.1.2 From
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius to Nero
5.2 Flavian dynasty
5.2.1 Vespasian
5.2.2
Titus

Titus and Domitian
5.3 Nerva–Antonine dynasty
5.3.1 Trajan
5.3.2 From
Hadrian

Hadrian to Commodus
5.4 Severan dynasty
5.4.1 Septimius Severus
5.4.2 From
Caracalla

Caracalla to Alexander Severus
5.5 Crisis of the Third Century
6
Empire

Empire – the Dominate
6.1 Diocletian
6.2 Constantine and Christianity
7 Fall of the Western Roman Empire
8 Society
8.1 Class structure
8.2 Family
8.3 Education
8.4 Government
8.5 Law
8.6 Economy
8.7 Military
9 Culture
9.1 Language
9.2 Religion
9.3 Art, music and literature
9.4 Cuisine
9.5 Games and recreation
9.6 Ethics and morality
10 Technology
11 Legacy
12 Historiography
12.1 In Roman times
12.2 In modern times
13 See also
14 Notes
15 References
16 Further reading
17 External links
Founding myth
Main article: Founding of Rome
According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded on 21
April 753 BC by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who
descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas,[12] and who were grandsons of
the
Latin

Latin King
Numitor of Alba Longa. King
Numitor was deposed by his
brother, Amulius, while Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, gave birth to
the twins.[13][14] Because
Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia had been raped and impregnated
by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine.
According to legend,
Rome

Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and
Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf
The new king, Amulius, feared
Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus would take back the
throne, so he ordered them to be drowned.[14] A she-wolf (or a
shepherd's wife in some accounts) saved and raised them, and when they
were old enough, they returned the throne of
Alba Longa

Alba Longa to
Numitor.[15][14]
The twins then founded their own city, but Romulus killed Remus in a
quarrel over the location of the Roman Kingdom, though some sources
state the quarrel was about who was going to rule or give his name to
the city.[16] Romulus became the source of the city's name.[14] In
order to attract people to the city,
Rome

Rome became a sanctuary for the
indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem, in that Rome
came to have a large male population but was bereft of women. Romulus
visited neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage
rights, but as
Rome

Rome was so full of undesirables he was refused. Legend
says that the
Latins

Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their
unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the
Latins

Latins with the
Sabines.[17]
Another legend, recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, says that Prince
Aeneas

Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea
voyage to found a new Troy, since the original was destroyed at the
end of the Trojan War. After a long time in rough seas, they landed on
the banks of the
Tiber

Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men
wanted to take to the sea again, but the women who were traveling with
them did not want to leave. One woman, named Roma, suggested that the
women burn the ships out at sea to prevent their leaving. At first,
the men were angry with Roma, but they soon realized that they were in
the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman
who torched their ships.[18]
The Roman poet
Virgil

Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem
the Aeneid, where the Trojan prince
Aeneas

Aeneas is destined by the gods to
found a new Troy. In the epic, the women also refuse to go back to the
sea, but they were not left on the Tiber. After reaching Italy,
Aeneas, who wanted to marry Lavinia, was forced to wage war with her
former suitor, Turnus. According to the poem, the Alban kings were
descended from Aeneas, and thus Romulus, the founder of Rome, was his
descendant.
Kingdom
Main article: Roman Kingdom
Etruscan painting; dancer and musicians, Tomb of the Leopards, in
Tarquinia, Italy
The city of
Rome

Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river
Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade.[15] According to
archaeological evidence, the village of
Rome

Rome was probably founded some
time in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th
century BC, by members of the
Latin

Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the
Palatine Hill.[19][20]
The Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in Etruria,
seem to have established political control in the region by the late
7th century BC, forming an aristocratic and monarchical elite. The
Etruscans apparently lost power by the late 6th century BC, and at
this point, the original
Latin

Latin and
Sabine

Sabine tribes reinvented their
government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the
ability of rulers to exercise power.[21]
Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within
the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings
of the religious center there as well.
Numa Pompilius

Numa Pompilius the second king
of Rome, succeeding Romulus, began Rome's building projects with his
royal palace the
Regia

Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins.
Republic
Main article: Roman Republic
This bust from the
Capitoline Museums

Capitoline Museums is traditionally identified as a
portrait of Lucius Junius Brutus, Roman bronze sculpture, 4th to late
3rd centuries BC
According to tradition and later writers such as Livy, the Roman
Republic

Republic was established around 509 BC,[22] when the last of the
seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed by Lucius Junius
Brutus and a system based on annually elected magistrates and various
representative assemblies was established.[23] A constitution set a
series of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. The most
important magistrates were the two consuls, who together exercised
executive authority such as imperium, or military command.[24] The
consuls had to work with the senate, which was initially an advisory
council of the ranking nobility, or patricians, but grew in size and
power.[25]
Other magistrates of the
Republic

Republic include tribunes, quaestors,
aediles, praetors and censors.[26] The magistracies were originally
restricted to patricians, but were later opened to common people, or
plebeians.[27] Republican voting assemblies included the comitia
centuriata (centuriate assembly), which voted on matters of war and
peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the comitia
tributa (tribal assembly), which elected less important offices.[28]
Italy

Italy in 400 BC
In the 4th century BC,
Rome

Rome had come under attack by the Gauls, who
now extended their power in the
Italian peninsula

Italian peninsula beyond the Po Valley
and through Etruria. On 16 July 390 BC, a Gallic army under the
leadership of a tribal chieftain named Brennus, met the Romans on the
banks of the Allia River just ten miles north of Rome. Brennus
defeated the Romans, and the
Gauls

Gauls marched directly to Rome. Most
Romans had fled the city, but some barricaded themselves upon the
Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill for a last stand. The
Gauls

Gauls looted and burned the
city, then laid siege to the Capitoline Hill. The siege lasted seven
months, the
Gauls

Gauls then agreed to give the Romans peace in exchange for
1,000 pounds (450 kg) of gold.[29] (According to later legend,
the Roman supervising the weighing noticed that the
Gauls

Gauls were using
false scales. The Romans then took up arms and defeated the Gauls;
their victorious general Camillus remarked "With iron, not with gold,
Rome

Rome buys her freedom.")[30]
The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian
peninsula, including the Etruscans.[31] The last threat to Roman
hegemony in
Italy

Italy came when Tarentum, a major Greek colony, enlisted
the aid of
Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus of Epirus in 281 BC, but this effort failed as
well.[32][31] The Romans secured their conquests by founding Roman
colonies in strategic areas, thereby establishing stable control over
the region of
Italy

Italy they had conquered.[31]
Punic Wars
Main article: Punic Wars
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome, built in the mid 2nd century BC,
most likely by
Lucius Mummius Achaicus, Roman commander in the Achaean
War that destroyed Corinth
The Temple of Portunus, Rome, built between 120–80 BC
Roman bronze bust of
Scipio Africanus

Scipio Africanus the Elder from the Naples
National Archaeological Museum (Inv. No. 5634),
dated mid 1st century BC[33]
Excavated from the
Villa of the Papyri

Villa of the Papyri at
Herculaneum
.jpg/440px-Ercolano_2012_(8019396514).jpg)
Herculaneum by Karl Jakob
Weber, 1750–65[34]
In the 3rd century BC
Rome

Rome faced a new and formidable opponent:
Carthage.
Carthage

Carthage was a rich, flourishing Phoenician city-state that
intended to dominate the Mediterranean area. The two cities were
allies in the times of Pyrrhus, who was a menace to both, but with
Rome's hegemony in mainland
Italy

Italy and the Carthaginian thalassocracy,
these cities became the two major powers in the Western Mediterranean
and their contention over the Mediterranean led to conflict.
The
First Punic War

First Punic War began in 264 BC, when the city of Messana
asked for Carthage's help in their conflicts with Hiero II of
Syracuse. After the Carthaginian intercession, Messana asked
Rome

Rome to
expel the Carthaginians.
Rome

Rome entered this war because Syracuse and
Messana were too close to the newly conquered Greek cities of Southern
Italy

Italy and
Carthage

Carthage was now able to make an offensive through Roman
territory; along with this,
Rome

Rome could extend its domain over
Sicily.[35]
Although the Romans had experience in land battles, to defeat this new
enemy, naval battles were necessary.
Carthage

Carthage was a maritime power,
and the Roman lack of ships and naval experience would make the path
to the victory a long and difficult one for the Roman Republic.
Despite this, after more than 20 years of war,
Rome

Rome defeated Carthage
and a peace treaty was signed. Among the reasons for the Second Punic
War[36] was the subsequent war reparations
Carthage

Carthage acquiesced to at
the end of the First Punic War.[37]
The
Second Punic War

Second Punic War is famous for its brilliant generals: on the
Punic side
Hannibal

Hannibal and Hasdrubal; on the Roman, Marcus Claudius
Marcellus,
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus and Publius Cornelius
Scipio.
Rome

Rome fought this war simultaneously with the First Macedonian
War.
The war began with the audacious invasion of
Hispania

Hispania by Hannibal, the
Carthaginian general who had led operations on
Sicily

Sicily in the First
Punic War. Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, rapidly marched through
Hispania

Hispania to the Italian Alps, causing panic among Rome's Italian
allies. The best way found to defeat Hannibal's purpose of causing the
Italians

Italians to abandon
Rome

Rome was to delay the Carthaginians with a
guerrilla war of attrition, a strategy propounded by Quintus Fabius
Maximus, who would be nicknamed Cunctator ("delayer" in Latin), and
whose strategy would be forever after known as Fabian. Due to this,
Hannibal's goal was unachieved: he could not bring enough Italian
cities to revolt against
Rome

Rome and replenish his diminishing army, and
he thus lacked the machines and manpower to besiege Rome.
Still, Hannibal's invasion lasted over 16 years, ravaging Italy.
Finally, when the Romans perceived that Hannibal's supplies were
running out, they sent Scipio, who had defeated Hannibal's brother
Hasdrubal in Spain, to invade the unprotected Carthaginian hinterland
and force
Hannibal

Hannibal to return to defend
Carthage

Carthage itself. The result was
the ending of the
Second Punic War

Second Punic War by the famously decisive Battle of
Zama in October 202 BC, which gave to Scipio his agnomen
Africanus. At great cost,
Rome

Rome had made significant gains: the
conquest of
Hispania

Hispania by Scipio, and of Syracuse, the last Greek realm
in Sicily, by Marcellus.
More than a half century after these events,
Carthage

Carthage was humiliated
and
Rome

Rome was no more concerned about the African menace. The
Republic's focus now was only to the
Hellenistic

Hellenistic kingdoms of Greece
and revolts in Hispania. However, Carthage, after having paid the war
indemnity, felt that its commitments and submission to
Rome

Rome had
ceased, a vision not shared by the Roman Senate. When in 151 BC
Numidia

Numidia invaded Carthage,
Carthage

Carthage asked for Roman intercession.
Ambassadors were sent to Carthage, among them was Marcus Porcius Cato,
who after seeing that
Carthage

Carthage could make a comeback and regain its
importance, ended all his speeches, no matter what the subject was, by
saying: "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" ("Furthermore, I
think that
Carthage

Carthage must be destroyed").
As
Carthage

Carthage fought with
Numidia

Numidia without Roman consent, the Third Punic
War began when
Rome

Rome declared war against
Carthage

Carthage in 149 BC.
Carthage

Carthage resisted well at the first strike, with the participation of
all the inhabitants of the city. However,
Carthage

Carthage could not withstand
the attack of Scipio Aemilianus, who entirely destroyed the city and
its walls, enslaved and sold all the citizens and gained control of
that region, which became the province of Africa. Thus ended the Punic
War period.
All these wars resulted in Rome's first overseas conquests (Sicily,
Hispania

Hispania and Africa) and the rise of
Rome

Rome as a significant imperial
power and began the end of democracy. [38][39]
Late Republic
After defeating the Macedonian and Seleucid Empires in the 2nd century
BC, the Romans became the dominant people of the Mediterranean
Sea.[40][41] The conquest of the
Hellenistic

Hellenistic kingdoms brought the
Roman and Greek cultures in closer contact and the Roman elite, once
rural, became a luxurious and cosmopolitan one. At this time
Rome

Rome was
a consolidated empire – in the military view – and had no major
enemies.
Gaius Marius, a Roman general and politician who dramatically reformed
the Roman military
Foreign dominance led to internal strife. Senators became rich at the
provinces' expense; soldiers, who were mostly small-scale farmers,
were away from home longer and could not maintain their land; and the
increased reliance on foreign slaves and the growth of latifundia
reduced the availability of paid work.[42][43]
Income from war booty, mercantilism in the new provinces, and tax
farming created new economic opportunities for the wealthy, forming a
new class of merchants, called the equestrians.[44] The lex Claudia
forbade members of the Senate from engaging in commerce, so while the
equestrians could theoretically join the Senate, they were severely
restricted in political power.[44][45] The Senate squabbled
perpetually, repeatedly blocked important land reforms and refused to
give the equestrian class a larger say in the government.
Violent gangs of the urban unemployed, controlled by rival Senators,
intimidated the electorate through violence. The situation came to a
head in the late 2nd century BC under the
Gracchi

Gracchi brothers, a pair of
tribunes who attempted to pass land reform legislation that would
redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians.
Both brothers were killed and the Senate passed reforms reversing the
Gracchi

Gracchi brother's actions.[46] This led to the growing divide of the
plebeian groups (populares) and equestrian classes (optimates).
Marius and Sulla
Gaius Marius, a novus homo, who started his political career with the
help of the powerful
Metelli family soon become a leader of the
Republic, holding the first of his seven consulships (an unprecedented
number) in 107 BC by arguing that his former patron Quintus
Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was not able to defeat and capture the
Numidian king Jugurtha. Marius then started his military reform: in
his recruitment to fight Jugurtha, he levied very poor (an innovation)
and many landless men entered the army; this was the seed of securing
loyalty of the army to the General in command.
At this time, Marius began his quarrel with Lucius Cornelius Sulla:
Marius, who wanted to capture Jugurtha, asked Bocchus, son-in-law of
Jugurtha, to hand him over. As Marius failed, Sulla, a general of
Marius at that time, in a dangerous enterprise, went himself to
Bocchus and convinced Bocchus to hand
Jugurtha

Jugurtha over to him. This was
very provocative to Marius, since many of his enemies were encouraging
Sulla

Sulla to oppose Marius. Despite this, Marius was elected for five
consecutive consulships from 104 to 100 BC, as
Rome

Rome needed a
military leader to defeat the
Cimbri

Cimbri and the Teutones, who were
threatening Rome.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
After Marius's retirement,
Rome

Rome had a brief peace, during which the
Italian socii ("allies" in Latin) requested
Roman citizenship

Roman citizenship and
voting rights. The reformist Marcus Livius Drusus supported their
legal process but was assassinated, and the socii revolted against the
Romans in the Social War. At one point both consuls were killed;
Marius was appointed to command the army together with Lucius Julius
Caesar and Sulla.[47]
By the end of the Social War, Marius and
Sulla

Sulla were the premier
military men in
Rome

Rome and their partisans were in conflict, both sides
jostling for power. In 88 BC,
Sulla

Sulla was elected for his first
consulship and his first assignment was to defeat
Mithridates VI

Mithridates VI of
Pontus, whose intentions were to conquer the Eastern part of the Roman
territories. However, Marius's partisans managed his installation to
the military command, defying
Sulla

Sulla and the Senate, and this caused
Sulla's wrath. To consolidate his own power,
Sulla

Sulla conducted a
surprising and illegal action: he marched to
Rome

Rome with his legions,
killing all those who showed support to Marius's cause and impaling
their heads in the Roman Forum. In the following year, 87 BC,
Marius, who had fled at Sulla's march, returned to
Rome

Rome while Sulla
was campaigning in Greece. He seized power along with the consul
Lucius Cornelius Cinna

Lucius Cornelius Cinna and killed the other consul, Gnaeus Octavius,
achieving his seventh consulship. In an attempt to raise Sulla's
anger, Marius and Cinna revenged their partisans by conducting a
massacre.[47][48]
Marius died in 86 BC, due to age and poor health, just a few
months after seizing power. Cinna exercised absolute power until his
death in 84 BC.
Sulla

Sulla after returning from his Eastern campaigns,
had a free path to reestablish his own power. In 83 BC he made
his second march in
Rome

Rome and began a time of terror: thousands of
nobles, knights and senators were executed.
Sulla

Sulla also held two
dictatorships and one more consulship, which began the crisis and
decline of Roman Republic.[47]
Caesar and the First Triumvirate
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Bust of Caesar from the Naples National Archaeological Museum
In the mid-1st century BC, Roman politics were restless. Political
divisions in
Rome

Rome became identified with two groupings, populares (who
hoped for the support of the people) and optimates (the "best", who
wanted to maintain exclusive aristocratic control).
Sulla

Sulla overthrew
all populist leaders and his constitutional reforms removed powers
(such as those of the tribune of the plebs) that had supported
populist approaches. Meanwhile, social and economic stresses continued
to build;
Rome

Rome had become a metropolis with a super-rich aristocracy,
debt-ridden aspirants, and a large proletariat often of impoverished
farmers. The latter groups supported the Catilinarian conspiracy – a
resounding failure, since the consul
Marcus Tullius Cicero
_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg/440px-Bust_of_Cicero_(1st-cent._BC)_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg)
Marcus Tullius Cicero quickly
arrested and executed the main leaders of the conspiracy.
Onto this turbulent scene emerged Gaius Julius Caesar, from an
aristocratic family of limited wealth. His aunt Julia was Marius'
wife,[49] and Caesar identified with the populares. To achieve power,
Caesar reconciled the two most powerful men in Rome: Marcus Licinius
Crassus, who had financed much of his earlier career, and Crassus'
rival,
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (anglicized as Pompey), to whom he
married his daughter. He formed them into a new informal alliance
including himself, the First
Triumvirate

Triumvirate ("three men"). This satisfied
the interests of all three: Crassus, the richest man in Rome, became
richer and ultimately achieved high military command;
Pompey

Pompey exerted
more influence in the Senate; and Caesar obtained the consulship and
military command in Gaul.[50] So long as they could agree, the three
were in effect the rulers of Rome.
In 54 BC, Caesar's daughter, Pompey's wife, died in childbirth,
unraveling one link in the alliance. In 53 BC, Crassus invaded
Parthia

Parthia and was killed in the Battle of Carrhae. The Triumvirate
disintegrated at Crassus' death. Crassus had acted as mediator between
Caesar and Pompey, and, without him, the two generals manoeuvred
against each other for power. Caesar conquered Gaul, obtaining immense
wealth, respect in
Rome

Rome and the loyalty of battle-hardened legions. He
also became a clear menace to
Pompey

Pompey and was loathed by many
optimates. Confident that Caesar could be stopped by legal means,
Pompey's party tried to strip Caesar of his legions, a prelude to
Caesar's trial, impoverishment, and exile.
To avoid this fate, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River and invaded Rome
in 49 BC.
Pompey

Pompey and his party fled from Italy, pursued by
Caesar. The
Battle of Pharsalus

Battle of Pharsalus was a brilliant victory for Caesar and
in this and other campaigns he destroyed all of the optimates'
leaders: Metellus Scipio, Cato the Younger, and Pompey's son, Gnaeus
Pompeius.
Pompey

Pompey was murdered in
Egypt

Egypt in 48 BC. Caesar was now
pre-eminent over Rome, attracting the bitter enmity of many
aristocrats. He was granted many offices and honours. In just five
years, he held four consulships, two ordinary dictatorships, and two
special dictatorships: one for ten years and another for perpetuity.
He was murdered in 44 BC, on the
Ides of March

Ides of March by the
Liberatores.[51]
Octavian

Octavian and the Second Triumvirate
The Battle of Actium, by Laureys a Castro, painted 1672, National
Maritime Museum, London
Caesar's assassination caused political and social turmoil in Rome;
without the dictator's leadership, the city was ruled by his friend
and colleague, Mark Antony. Soon afterward, Octavius, whom Caesar
adopted through his will, arrived in Rome.
Octavian

Octavian (historians regard
Octavius as
Octavian

Octavian due to the Roman naming conventions) tried to
align himself with the Caesarian faction. In 43 BC, along with
Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Caesar's best friend,[52] he
legally established the Second Triumvirate. This alliance would last
for five years. Upon its formation, 130–300 senators were executed,
and their property was confiscated, due to their supposed support for
the Liberatores.[53]
In 42 BC, the Senate deified Caesar as Divus Iulius; Octavian
thus became Divi filius,[54] the son of the deified. In the same year,
Octavian

Octavian and Antony defeated both Caesar's assassins and the leaders
of the Liberatores,
Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus,
in the Battle of Philippi.
The Second
Triumvirate

Triumvirate was marked by the proscriptions of many
senators and equites: after a revolt led by Antony's brother Lucius
Antonius, more than 300 senators and equites involved were executed on
the anniversary of the Ides of March, although Lucius was spared.[55]
The
Triumvirate

Triumvirate proscribed several important men, including Cicero,
whom Antony hated;[56] Quintus Tullius Cicero, the younger brother of
the orator; and Lucius Julius Caesar, cousin and friend of the
acclaimed general, for his support of Cicero. However, Lucius was
pardoned, perhaps because his sister Julia had intervened for him.[57]
The
Triumvirate

Triumvirate divided the
Empire

Empire among the triumvirs: Lepidus was
given charge of Africa, Antony, the eastern provinces, and Octavian
remained in Italia and controlled
Hispania

Hispania and Gaul.
The Second
Triumvirate

Triumvirate expired in 38 BC but was renewed for five
more years. However, the relationship between
Octavian

Octavian and Antony had
deteriorated, and Lepidus was forced to retire in 36 BC after
betraying
Octavian

Octavian in Sicily. By the end of the Triumvirate, Antony
was living in Ptolemaic Egypt, an independent and rich kingdom ruled
by Antony's lover, Cleopatra VII. Antony's affair with Cleopatra was
seen as an act of treason, since she was queen of another country.
Additionally, Antony adopted a lifestyle considered too extravagant
and
Hellenistic

Hellenistic for a Roman statesman.[58]
Following Antony's Donations of Alexandria, which gave to Cleopatra
the title of "Queen of Kings", and to Antony's and Cleopatra's
children the regal titles to the newly conquered Eastern territories,
war between
Octavian

Octavian and Antony broke out.
Octavian

Octavian annihilated
Egyptian forces in the
Battle of Actium

Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Antony and
Cleopatra committed suicide. Now
Egypt

Egypt was conquered by the Roman
Empire, and for the Romans, a new era had begun.
Empire

Empire – the Principate
Main article: Roman Empire
In 27 BC and at the age of 36,
Octavian

Octavian was the sole Roman
leader. In that year, he took the name Augustus. That event is usually
taken by historians as the beginning of
Roman Empire

Roman Empire – although Rome
was an "imperial" state since 146 BC, when
Carthage

Carthage was razed by
Scipio Aemilianus and Greece was conquered by Lucius Mummius.
Officially, the government was republican, but
Augustus

Augustus assumed
absolute powers.[59][60] His reform of the government brought about a
two-century period colloquially referred to by Romans as the Pax
Romana.
Julio-Claudian

Julio-Claudian dynasty
The
Julio-Claudian

Julio-Claudian dynasty was established by Augustus. The emperors
of this dynasty were: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,
Claudius

Claudius and Nero.
The dynasty is so-called due to the gens Julia, family of Augustus,
and the gens Claudia, family of Tiberius. The Julio-Claudians started
the destruction of republican values, but on the other hand, they
boosted Rome's status as the central power in the world.[61]
While
Caligula

Caligula and
Nero

Nero are usually remembered as dysfunctional
emperors in popular culture,
Augustus

Augustus and
Claudius

Claudius are remembered as
emperors who were successful in politics and the military. This
dynasty instituted imperial tradition in Rome[62] and frustrated any
attempt to reestablish a Republic.[63]
Augustus
Augustus

Augustus gathered almost all the republican powers under his official
title, princeps: he had powers of consul, princeps senatus, aedile,
censor and tribune – including tribunician sacrosanctity.[64] This
was the base of an emperor's power.
Augustus

Augustus also styled himself as
Imperator

Imperator Gaius
Julius Caesar
.jpg/440px-César_(13667960455).jpg)
Julius Caesar divi filius, "Commander Gaius Julius
Caesar, son of the deified one". With this title he not only boasted
his familial link to deified Julius Caesar, but the use of Imperator
signified a permanent link to the Roman tradition of victory.
The
Augustus

Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century AD, depicting Augustus, the
first Roman emperor
He also diminished the Senatorial class influence in politics by
boosting the equestrian class. The senators lost their right to rule
certain provinces, like Egypt; since the governor of that province was
directly nominated by the emperor. The creation of the Praetorian
Guard and his reforms in the military, creating a standing army with a
fixed size of 28 legions, ensured his total control over the army.[65]
Compared with the Second Triumvirate's epoch, Augustus' reign as
princeps was very peaceful. This peace and richness (that was granted
by the agrarian province of Egypt)[66] led the people and the nobles
of
Rome

Rome to support
Augustus

Augustus increasing his strength in political
affairs.[67]
In military activity,
Augustus

Augustus was absent at battles. His generals
were responsible for the field command; gaining such commanders as
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa,
Nero

Nero
Claudius

Claudius Drusus and
Germanicus

Germanicus much
respect from the populace and the legions.
Augustus

Augustus intended to extend
the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire to the whole known world, and in his reign, Rome
conquered
Cantabria
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Cantabria_(Official).svg.png)
Cantabria Aquitania, Raetia, Dalmatia, Illyricum and
Pannonia.[68]
Under Augustus's reign, Roman literature grew steadily in what is
known as the Golden Age of
Latin

Latin Literature. Poets like Virgil,
Horace,
Ovid

Ovid and Rufus developed a rich literature, and were close
friends of Augustus. Along with Maecenas, he stimulated patriotic
poems, as Virgil's epic
Aeneid

Aeneid and also historiographical works, like
those of Livy. The works of this literary age lasted through Roman
times, and are classics.
Augustus

Augustus also continued the shifts on the calendar promoted by Caesar,
and the month of August is named after him.[69]
Augustus

Augustus brought a
peaceful and thriving era to Rome, known as Pax Augusta or Pax Romana.
Augustus

Augustus died in 14 AD, but the empire's glory continued after
his era.
From
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius to Nero
The Julio-Claudians continued to rule
Rome

Rome after Augustus' death and
remained in power until the death of
Nero

Nero in 68 AD.[70] Augustus'
favorites for succeeding him were already dead in his senescence: his
nephew Marcellus died in 23 BC, his friend and military commander
Agrippa in 12 BC and his grandson
Gaius Caesar

Gaius Caesar in 4 AD.
Influenced by his wife, Livia Drusilla,
Augustus

Augustus appointed her son
from another marriage, Tiberius, as his heir.[71]
Extent of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire under Augustus. The yellow legend
represents the extent of the
Republic

Republic in 31 BC, the shades of
green represent gradually conquered territories under the reign of
Augustus, and pink areas on the map represent client states; areas
under Roman control shown here were subject to change even during
Augustus' reign, especially in Germania.
The Senate agreed with the succession, and granted to
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius the
same titles and honors once granted to Augustus: the title of princeps
and Pater patriae, and the Civic Crown. However,
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius was not an
enthusiast of political affairs: after agreement with the Senate, he
retired to
Capri

Capri in 26 AD,[72] and left control of the city of
Rome

Rome in the hands of the praetorian prefect
Sejanus

Sejanus (until 31 AD)
and Macro (from 31 to 37 AD).
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius was regarded as an evil
and melancholic man, who may have ordered the murder of his relatives,
the popular general
Germanicus

Germanicus in 19 AD,[73] and his own son
Drusus
Julius Caesar
.jpg/440px-César_(13667960455).jpg)
Julius Caesar in 23 AD.[73]
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius died (or was killed)[73] in 37 AD. The male line of the
Julio-Claudians was limited to Tiberius' nephew Claudius, his grandson
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius Gemellus and his grand-nephew Caligula. As Gemellus was still
a child,
Caligula

Caligula was chosen to rule the Empire. He was a popular
leader in the first half of his reign, but became a crude and insane
tyrant in his years controlling government.[74][75]
Suetonius

Suetonius states
that he committed incest with his sisters, killed some men just for
amusement and nominated a horse for a consulship.[76]
The
Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard murdered
Caligula

Caligula four years after the death of
Tiberius,[77] and, with belated support from the senators, proclaimed
his uncle
Claudius

Claudius as the new emperor.[78]
Claudius

Claudius was not as
authoritarian as
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius and Caligula.
Claudius

Claudius conquered
Lycia

Lycia and
Thrace; his most important deed was the beginning of the conquest of
Britain.[79]
Claudius

Claudius was poisoned by his wife,
Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger in
54 AD.[80] His heir was Nero, son of Agrippina and her former
husband, since Claudius' son
Britannicus

Britannicus had not reached manhood upon
his father's death.
Nero

Nero is widely known as the first persecutor of
Christians and for the Great Fire of Rome, rumoured to have been
started by the emperor himself.[81][82]
Nero

Nero faced many revolts during
his reign, like the
Pisonian conspiracy and the First Jewish-Roman
War. Although
Nero

Nero defeated these rebels, he could not overthrow the
revolt led by
Servius

Servius Sulpicius Galba. The Senate soon declared
Nero

Nero a
public enemy, and he committed suicide.[83]
Flavian dynasty
The Flavians were the second dynasty to rule Rome.[84] By 68 AD,
year of Nero's death, there was no chance of return to the old and
traditional Roman Republic, thus a new emperor had to rise. After the
turmoil in the Year of the Four Emperors,
Titus

Titus Flavius Vespasianus
(anglicized as Vespasian) took control of the
Empire

Empire and established a
new dynasty. Under the Flavians,
Rome

Rome continued its expansion, and the
state remained secure.[85][86]
Vespasian
Bust of Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty
Vespasian

Vespasian was a general under
Claudius

Claudius and Nero. He fought as a
commander in the
First Jewish-Roman War

First Jewish-Roman War along with his son Titus.
Following the turmoil of the Year of the Four Emperors, in 69 AD,
four emperors were enthroned: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and, lastly,
Vespasian, who crushed Vitellius' forces and became emperor.[87]
He reconstructed many buildings which were uncompleted, like a statue
of
Apollo

Apollo and the temple of Divus
Claudius

Claudius ("the deified Claudius"),
both initiated by Nero. Buildings once destroyed by the Great Fire of
Rome

Rome were rebuilt, and he revitalized the Capitol.
Vespasian

Vespasian also
started the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, more commonly
known as the Colosseum.[88]
The historians
Josephus

Josephus and
Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder wrote their works during
Vespasian's reign.
Vespasian

Vespasian was Josephus' sponsor and Pliny dedicated
his
Naturalis Historia

Naturalis Historia to Titus, son of Vespasian.
Vespasian

Vespasian sent legions to defend the eastern frontier in Cappadocia,
extended the occupation in Britain and reformed the tax system. He
died in 79 AD.
Titus

Titus and Domitian
Titus

Titus had a short-lived rule; he was emperor from 79–81 AD. He
finished the Flavian Amphitheater, which was constructed with war
spoils from the First Jewish-Roman War, and promoted games celebrating
the victory over the Jews that lasted for a hundred days. These games
included gladiatorial combats, chariot races and a sensational mock
naval battle on the flooded grounds of the Colosseum.[89][90]
Titus

Titus constructed a line of roads and fortifications on the borders of
modern-day Germany; and his general
Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Gnaeus Julius Agricola conquered
much of Britain, extending the Roman world to as far as Scotland. On
the other hand, his failed war against
Dacia

Dacia was a humiliating
defeat.[91]
Titus

Titus died of fever in 81 AD, and was succeeded by his brother
Domitian. As emperor,
Domitian

Domitian assumed totalitarian
characteristics,[92] thought he could be a new Augustus, and tried to
make a personal cult of himself.
Domitian

Domitian ruled for fifteen years, and his reign was marked by his
attempts to compare himself to the gods. He constructed at least two
temples in honour of Jupiter, the supreme deity in Roman religion. He
also liked to be called "Dominus et Deus" ("Master and God").[93] The
nobles disliked his rule, and he was murdered by a conspiracy in
96 AD.
Nerva–Antonine dynasty
The
Roman Empire

Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under
Trajan

Trajan in
AD 117
The Nerva–Antonine dynasty from 96 AD to 192 AD was the rule of the
emperors Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius,
Lucius Verus, and Commodus. During their rule,
Rome

Rome reached its
territorial and economical apogee.[94] This was a time of peace for
Rome. The criteria for choosing an emperor were the qualities of the
candidate and no longer ties of kinship; additionally, there were no
civil wars or military defeats in this period.
Following Domitian's murder, the Senate rapidly appointed
Nerva

Nerva to
hold imperial dignity. This was the first time that senators chose the
emperor since
Octavian

Octavian was honored with the titles of princeps and
Augustus.
Nerva

Nerva had a noble ancestry, and he had served as an advisor
to
Nero

Nero and the Flavians. His rule restored many of the liberties once
assumed by Domitian[95] and started the last golden era of Rome.
Trajan
The Justice of
Trajan

Trajan (fragment) by Eugène Delacroix
Nerva

Nerva died in 98 AD and his successor and heir was the general
Trajan.
Trajan

Trajan was born in a non-patrician family from
Hispania

Hispania and
his preeminence emerged in the army, under Domitian. He is the second
of the Five Good Emperors, the first being Nerva.
Trajan

Trajan was greeted by the people of
Rome

Rome with enthusiasm, which he
justified by governing well and without the bloodiness that had marked
Domitian's reign. He freed many people who had been unjustly
imprisoned by
Domitian

Domitian and returned private property that
Domitian

Domitian had
confiscated; a process begun by
Nerva

Nerva before his death.[96]
Trajan

Trajan conquered Dacia, and defeated the king Decebalus, who had
defeated Domitian's forces. In the
First Dacian War

First Dacian War (101–102), the
defeated
Dacia

Dacia became a client kingdom; in the Second Dacian War
(105–106),
Trajan

Trajan completely devastated the enemy's resistance and
annexed
Dacia

Dacia to the Empire.
Trajan

Trajan also annexed the client state of
Nabatea
.svg/500px-Nabatean_Kingdom_(flat_map).svg.png)
Nabatea to form the province of Arabia Petraea, which included the
lands of southern
Syria

Syria and northwestern Arabia.[97]
He erected many buildings that survive to this day, such as Trajan's
Forum,
Trajan's Market

Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column. His main architect was
Apollodorus of Damascus; Apollodorus made the project of the Forum and
of the Column, and also reformed the Pantheon. Trajan's triumphal
arches in
Ancona

Ancona and Beneventum are other constructions projected by
him. In the Second Dacian War, Apollodorus made a great bridge over
the Danube for Trajan.[98]
Marble

Marble bust of Trajan
Trajan's final war was against Parthia. When
Parthia

Parthia appointed a king
for Armenia who was unacceptable to
Rome

Rome (
Parthia

Parthia and
Rome

Rome shared
dominance over Armenia), he declared war. He probably wanted to be the
first Roman leader to conquer Parthia, and repeat the glory of
Alexander the Great, conqueror of Asia, whom
Trajan

Trajan next followed in
the clash of Greek-Romans and the Persian cultures.[99] In 113 he
marched to Armenia and deposed the local king. In 115
Trajan

Trajan turned
south into the core of Parthian hegemony, took the Northern
Mesopotamian cities of Nisibis and Batnae, organized a province of
Mesopotamia (116), and issued coins announcing that Armenia and
Mesopotamia was under the authority of the Roman people.[100]
In that same year, he captured
Seleucia

Seleucia and the Parthian capital
Ctesiphon. After defeating a Parthian revolt and a Jewish revolt, he
withdrew due to health issues. In 117, his illness grew and he died of
edema. He nominated
Hadrian

Hadrian as his heir. Under Trajan's leadership the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire reached the peak of its territorial expansion; Rome's
dominion now spanned 2,500,000 square miles (6,474,970 square
kilometres).[101]
From
Hadrian

Hadrian to Commodus
The prosperity brought by
Nerva

Nerva and
Trajan

Trajan continued in the reigns of
subsequent emperors, from
Hadrian

Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius.
Hadrian

Hadrian withdrew
all the troops stationed in
Parthia

Parthia and Mesopotamia, abandoning
Trajan's conquests. Although facing another revolt in Judea, Hadrian's
government was very peaceful, since he avoided wars: he constructed
fortifications and walls, like the famous
Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall between Roman
Britain and the barbarians of modern-day Scotland.
The Pantheon, Rome, built during the reign of Hadrian, which still
contains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world
A famous philhellenist,
Hadrian

Hadrian promoted culture, specially the Greek.
He also forbade torture and humanized the laws.
Hadrian

Hadrian built many
aqueducts, baths, libraries and theaters; additionally, he traveled
nearly every single province in the
Empire

Empire to check the military and
infrastructural conditions.[102]
After Hadrian's death in 138 AD, his successor
Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius built
temples, theaters, and mausoleums, promoted the arts and sciences, and
bestowed honours and financial rewards upon the teachers of rhetoric
and philosophy. Antoninus made few initial changes when he became
emperor, leaving intact as far as possible the arrangements instituted
by Hadrian. Antoninus expanded the
Roman Britain
.svg/500px-Roman_Empire_-_Britannia_(125_AD).svg.png)
Roman Britain by invading southern
Scotland and building the Antonine Wall.[103] He also continued
Hadrian's policy of humanizing the laws. He died in 161 AD.
Marcus Aurelius, known as the Philosopher, was the last of the Five
Good Emperors. He was a stoic philosopher and wrote the Meditations.
He defeated barbarian tribes in the
Marcomannic Wars

Marcomannic Wars as well as the
Parthian Empire.[104] His co-emperor,
Lucius Verus

Lucius Verus died in
169 AD, probably victim of the Antonine Plague, a pandemic that
killed nearly five million people through the
Empire

Empire in
165–180 AD.[105]
From
Nerva

Nerva to Marcus Aurelius, the empire achieved an unprecedented
happy and glorious status. The powerful influence of laws and manners
had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. All the citizens
enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth. The image of a free
constitution was preserved with decent reverence. The Roman senate
appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the
emperors all the executive powers of government.[clarification needed]
The Five Good Emperors' rule is considered the golden era of the
Empire.[106]
Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, became emperor after his father's
death. He is not counted as one of the Five Good Emperors. Firstly,
this was due to his direct kinship with the latter emperor; in
addition, he was passive in comparison with his predecessors, who were
frequently leading their armies in person.
Commodus

Commodus usually took part
on gladiatorial combats, which often symbolized brutality and
roughness. He killed many citizens, and his reign was the beginning of
Roman decadence, as stated Cassius Dio: "(
Rome

Rome has transformed) from a
kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust."[107]
Severan dynasty
Commodus

Commodus was killed by a conspiracy involving Quintus Aemilius Laetus
and his wife Marcia in late 192 AD. The following year is known
as the Year of the Five Emperors, during which Helvius Pertinax,
Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger,
Clodius Albinus

Clodius Albinus and Septimius
Severus held the imperial dignity. Pertinax, a member of the senate
who had been one of Marcus Aurelius's right hand men, was the choice
of Laetus, and he ruled vigorously and judiciously. Laetus soon became
jealous and instigated Pertinax's murder by the Praetorian Guard, who
then auctioned the empire to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus, for
25,000 sesterces per man.[108] The people of
Rome

Rome were appalled and
appealed to the frontier legions to save them. The legions of three
frontier provinces—Britain,
Pannonia

Pannonia Superior, and Syria—resented
being excluded from the "donative" and replied by declaring their
individual generals to be emperor. Lucius
Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus Geta, the
Pannonian commander, bribed the opposing forces, pardoned the
Praetorian Guards and installed himself as emperor. He and his
successors governed with the legions' support. The changes on coinage
and military expenditures were the root of the financial crisis that
marked the Crisis of the Third Century.
Septimius Severus
The Severan Tondo, c. 199, Severus, Julia Domna,
Caracalla

Caracalla and Geta,
whose face is erased
Severus was enthroned after invading
Rome

Rome and having Didius Julianus
killed. His two other rivals,
Pescennius Niger
.jpg)
Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus,
were both were hailed by other factions as Imperator. Severus quickly
subdued Niger in
Byzantium

Byzantium and promised to Albinus the title of Caesar
(which meant he would be a co-emperor).[109] However, Severus betrayed
Albinus by blaming him for a plot against his life. Severus marched to
Gaul

Gaul and defeated Albinus. For these acts,
Machiavelli

Machiavelli said that
Severus was "a ferocious lion and a clever fox"[110]
Severus attempted to revive totalitarianism and in an address to
people and the Senate, he praised the severity and cruelty of Marius
and Sulla, which worried the senators.[111] When
Parthia

Parthia invaded Roman
territory, Severus waged war against that country. He seized the
cities of Nisibis,
Babylon

Babylon and Seleucia. Reaching Ctesiphon, the
Parthian capital, he ordered plundering and his army slew and captured
many people. Albeit this military success, he failed in invading
Hatra, a rich Arabian city. Severus killed his legate, as the latter
was gaining respect from the legions; and his soldiers were hit by
famine. After this disastrous campaign, he withdrew.[112]
Severus also intended to vanquish the whole of Britain. To achieve
this, he waged war against the Caledonians. After many casualties in
the army due to the terrain and the barbarians' ambushes, Severus went
himself to the field. However, he became ill and died in 211 AD,
at the age of 65.
From
Caracalla

Caracalla to Alexander Severus
Bust of
Caracalla

Caracalla from the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Upon the death of Severus, his sons
Caracalla

Caracalla and Geta were made
emperors. During their youth, their squabbles had divided
Rome

Rome into
two factions. In that same year
Caracalla

Caracalla had his brother, a youth,
assassinated in his mother's arms, and may have murdered 20,000 of
Geta's followers. Like his father,
Caracalla

Caracalla was warlike. He continued
Severus' policy, and gained respect from the legions.
Caracalla

Caracalla was a
cruel man, and was pursued by the guilt of his brother's murder. He
ordered the death of people of his own circle, like his tutor, Cilo,
and a friend of his father, Papinian.
Knowing that the citizens of
Alexandria

Alexandria disliked him and were speaking
ill of his character, he served a banquet for its notable citizens,
after which his soldiers killed all the guests. From the security of
the temple of Sarapis, he then directed an in-discriminant slaughter
of Alexandria's people.[113][114] In 212, he issued the Edict of
Caracalla, giving full
Roman citizenship

Roman citizenship to all free men living in the
Empire, and at the same time raised the inheritance tax, levied only
on Roman citizens, to ten percent. A report that a soothsayer had
predicted that the
Praetorian prefect

Praetorian prefect
Macrinus

Macrinus and his son were to
rule over the empire was dutifully sent to Caracalla. But the report
fell into the hands of Macrinus, who felt he must act or die. Macrinus
conspired to have
Caracalla

Caracalla assassinated by one of his soldiers during
a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Moon in Carrhae, in 217 AD.
The incompetent Macrinus, assumed power, but soon removed himself from
Rome

Rome to the east and Antioch. His brief reign ended in 218, when the
youngster Bassianus, high priest of the temple of the Sun at Emesa,
and supposedly illegitimate son of Caracalla, was declared Emperor by
the disaffected soldiers of Macrinus. Bribes gained Bassianus support
from the legionaries and they fought against
Macrinus

Macrinus and his
Praetorian guards. He adopted the name of Antoninus but history has
named him after his Sun god Elagabalus, represented on Earth in the
form of a large black stone.
Elagabalus
.jpg/440px-Bust_of_Elagabalus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016_(2).jpg)
Elagabalus was an incompetent and
lascivious ruler,[38] who was well known for extreme extravagance,
that offended all but his favorites. Cassius Dio,
Herodian and the
Historia Augusta
.jpg/440px-Historia_Augusta,_seu_Vitae_Romanorum_Caesarum_-_Upper_cover_(Davis643).jpg)
Historia Augusta have many accounts about his extravagance. He adopted
his cousin, Alexander Severus, as Caesar, grew jealous, and attempted
to assassinate him. The Praetorian guard preferred Alexander, murdered
Elagabalus, dragged his mutilated corpse through the streets of Rome,
and threw it into the Tiber.
Elagabalus
.jpg/440px-Bust_of_Elagabalus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016_(2).jpg)
Elagabalus was succeeded by his cousin Alexander Severus. Alexander
waged war against many foes, like the revitalized
Persia

Persia and German
peoples who invaded Gaul. His losses made the soldiers dissatisfied
with the emperor, and some of them killed him during his German
campaign, in 235 AD.[115]
Crisis of the Third Century
Main article: Crisis of the Third Century
The
Roman Empire

Roman Empire suffered internal schisms, forming the Palmyrene
Empire

Empire and the Gallic Empire
A disastrous scenario emerged after the death of Alexander Severus:
the Roman state was plagued by civil wars, external invasions,
political chaos, pandemics and economic depression.[116][38] The old
Roman values had fallen, and
Mithraism

Mithraism and Christianity had begun to
spread through the populace. Emperors were no longer men linked with
nobility; they usually were born in lower-classes of distant parts of
the Empire. These men rose to prominence through military ranks, and
became emperors through civil wars.
There were 26 emperors in a 49-year period, a signal of political
instability.
Maximinus Thrax

Maximinus Thrax was the first ruler of that time,
governing for just three years. Others ruled just for a few months,
like Gordian I, Gordian II,
Balbinus

Balbinus and Hostilian. The population and
the frontiers were abandoned, since the emperors were mostly concerned
with defeating rivals and establishing their power.
The economy also suffered during that epoch. The massive military
expenditures from the Severi caused a devaluation of Roman coins.
Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation came at this time as well. The
Plague of Cyprian broke
out in 250 and killed a huge portion of the population.[117]
In 260 AD, the provinces of
Syria

Syria Palaestina,
Asia Minor

Asia Minor and
Egypt

Egypt separated from the rest of the Roman state to form the Palmyrene
Empire, ruled by Queen
Zenobia

Zenobia and centered on Palmyra. In that same
year the Gallic
Empire

Empire was created by Postumus, retaining Britain and
Gaul.[118] These countries separated from
Rome

Rome after the capture of
emperor Valerian by the Sassanids of Persia, the first Roman ruler to
be captured by his enemies; it was a humiliating fact for the
Romans.[117]
The crisis began to recede during the reigns of
Claudius

Claudius Gothicus
(268–270), who defeated the Gothic invaders, and Aurelian
(271–275), who reconquered both the Gallic and Palmyrene
Empires.[119][120] The crisis was overcome during the reign of
Diocletian.
Empire

Empire – the Dominate
Main article: Roman Empire
Diocletian
A Roman follis depicting the profile of Diocletian
In 284 AD,
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian was hailed as
Imperator

Imperator by the eastern
army.
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian healed the empire from the crisis, by political and
economic shifts. A new form of government was established: the
Tetrarchy. The
Empire

Empire was divided among four emperors, two in the West
and two in the East. The first tetrarchs were
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian (in the
East),
Maximian
.jpg/440px-MSR_-_Tête_de_l'empreur_Maximien_Hercule_-_Inv_34_b_(cropped).jpg)
Maximian (in the West), and two junior emperors,
Galerius

Galerius (in
the East) and Flavius Constantius (in the West). To adjust the
economy,
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian made several tax reforms.[121]
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian expelled the Persians who plundered
Syria

Syria and conquered
some barbarian tribes with Maximian. He adopted many behaviors of
Eastern monarchs, like wearing pearls and golden sandals and robes.
Anyone in the presence of the emperor had now to prostrate
himself[122] – a common act in the East, but never practiced in Rome
before.
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian did not use a disguised form of Republic, as the
other emperors since
Augustus

Augustus had done.[123] Between 290 and 330, half
a dozen new capitals had been established by the members of the
Tetrarchy, officially or not: Antioch, Nicomedia, Thessalonike,
Sirmium, Milan, and Trier.[124]
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian was also responsible for a significant Christian
persecution. In 303 he and
Galerius

Galerius started the persecution and
ordered the destruction of all the Christian churches and scripts and
forbade Christian worship.[125]
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian abdicated in 305 AD together with Maximian, thus, he
was the first
Roman emperor

Roman emperor to resign. His reign ended the traditional
form of imperial rule, the
Principate

Principate (from princeps) and started the
Dominate

Dominate (from Dominus, "Master").
The
Aula Palatina

Aula Palatina of Trier,
Germany

Germany (then part of the Roman province
of Gallia Belgica), a Christian basilica built during the reign of
Constantine I

Constantine I (r. 306–337 AD)
Constantine and Christianity
Constantine assumed the empire as a tetrarch in 306. He conducted many
wars against the other tetrarchs. Firstly he defeated
Maxentius

Maxentius in
312. In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted liberty for
Christians to profess their religion.[126] Constantine was converted
to Christianity, enforcing the Christian faith. He began the
Christianization of the
Empire

Empire and of Europe – a process concluded
by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.
He was defeated by the
Franks

Franks and the
Alamanni

Alamanni during 306–308. In
324 he defeated another tetrarch, Licinius, and controlled all the
empire, as it was before Diocletian. To celebrate his victories and
Christianity's relevance, he rebuilt
Byzantium

Byzantium and renamed it Nova
Roma ("New Rome"); but the city soon gained the informal name of
Constantinople

Constantinople ("City of Constantine").[127][128] The city served as a
new capital for the Empire. In fact,
Rome

Rome had lost its central
importance since the Crisis of the Third Century-–
Mediolanum

Mediolanum was the
western capital from 286 to 330, until the reign of Honorius, when
Ravenna

Ravenna was made capital, in the 5th century.[129]
Constantine's administrative and monetary reforms, that reunited the
Empire

Empire under one emperor, and rebuilt the city of
Byzantium

Byzantium changed
the high period of the ancient world.
Germanic and Hunnic invasions of the Roman Empire, 100–500 AD
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Main article: Fall of the Western Roman Empire
In the late 4th and 5th centuries the Western
Empire

Empire entered a
critical stage which terminated with the fall of the Western Roman
Empire.[130] Under the last emperors of the
Constantinian dynasty and
the Valentinian dynasty,
Rome

Rome lost decisive battles against the
Sasanian
Empire

Empire and Germanic barbarians: in 363, emperor Julian the
Apostate was killed in the Battle of Samarra, against the Persians and
the
Battle of Adrianople

Battle of Adrianople cost the life of emperor
Valens

Valens (364–378);
the victorious
Goths
.jpg/440px-Tomb_of_Theodoric_the_Great_Ravenna_(cropped).jpg)
Goths were never expelled from the
Empire

Empire nor
assimilated.[131] The next emperor,
Theodosius I
_obverse.jpg/440px-Nummus_of_Theodosius_I_(YORYM_2001_12133)_obverse.jpg)
Theodosius I (379–395), gave
even more force to the Christian faith, and after his death, the
Empire

Empire was divided into the Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Arcadius
and the Western Roman Empire, commanded by Honorius, both of which
were Theodosius' sons.[citation needed]
The situation became more critical in 408, after the death of
Stilicho, a general who tried to reunite the
Empire

Empire and repel
barbarian invasion in the early years of the 5th century. The
professional field army collapsed. In 410, the
Theodosian dynasty saw
the
Visigoths

Visigoths sack Rome.[132] During the 5th century, the Western
Empire

Empire experienced a significant reduction of its territory. The
Vandals

Vandals conquered North Africa, the
Visigoths

Visigoths claimed Gaul, Hispania
was taken by the Suebi, Britain was abandoned by the central
government, and the
Empire

Empire suffered further from the invasions of
Attila, chief of the Huns.[133][134][135][136][137][138]
General Orestes refused to meet the demands of the barbarian "allies"
who now formed the army, and tried to expel them from Italy. Unhappy
with this, their chieftain
Odoacer

Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes,
invaded
Ravenna

Ravenna and dethroned Romulus Augustus, son of Orestes. This
event of 476, usually marks the end of
Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity and
beginning of the Middle Ages.[139][140]
After some 1200 years of independence and nearly 700 years as a great
power, the rule of
Rome

Rome in the West ended.[141] Various reasons for
Rome's fall have been proposed ever since, including loss of
Republicanism, moral decay, military tyranny, class war, slavery,
economic stagnation, environmental change, disease, the decline of the
Roman race, as well as the inevitable ebb and flow that all
civilizations experience. At the time many pagans argued that
Christianity and the decline of traditional Roman religion were
responsible; some rationalist thinkers of the modern era attribute the
fall to a change from a martial to a more pacifist religion that
lessened the number of available soldiers; while Christians such as
Augustine of Hippo
_-_The_Four_Doctors_of_the_Western_Church,_Saint_Augustine_of_Hippo_(354–430).jpg/440px-Gerard_Seghers_(attr)_-_The_Four_Doctors_of_the_Western_Church,_Saint_Augustine_of_Hippo_(354–430).jpg)
Augustine of Hippo argued that the sinful nature of Roman society
itself was to blame.[142]
The Eastern
Empire

Empire had a different fate. It survived for almost 1000
years after the fall of its Western counterpart and became the most
stable Christian realm during the Middle Ages. During the 6th century,
Justinian reconquered Northern Africa and Italy. But within a few
years of Justinian's death, Byzantine possessions in
Italy

Italy were
greatly reduced by the
Lombards

Lombards who settled in the peninsula.[143] In
the east, partially due to the weakening effect of the Plague of
Justinian, the Byzantines were threatened by the rise of Islam. Its
followers rapidly brought about the conquest of Syria, the conquest of
Armenia and the conquest of
Egypt

Egypt during the Byzantine-Arab Wars, and
soon presented a direct threat to Constantinople.[144][145] In the
following century, the Arabs also captured southern
Italy

Italy and
Sicily.[146] On the west, Slavic populations were also able to
penetrate deep into the Balkans.
The Byzantines, however, managed to stop further Islamic expansion
into their lands during the 8th century and, beginning in the 9th
century, reclaimed parts of the conquered lands.[144][147] In
1000 AD, the Eastern
Empire

Empire was at its height: Basil II
reconquered Bulgaria and Armenia, and culture and trade
flourished.[148] However, soon after, this expansion was abruptly
stopped in 1071 with the Byzantine defeat in the Battle of Manzikert.
The aftermath of this battle sent the empire into a protracted period
of decline. Two decades of internal strife and Turkic invasions
ultimately led Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos to send a call for help to
the Western European kingdoms in 1095.[144]
The West responded with the Crusades, eventually resulting in the Sack
of
Constantinople

Constantinople by participants of the Fourth Crusade. The conquest
of
Constantinople

Constantinople in 1204 fragmented what remained of the
Empire

Empire into
successor states; the ultimate victor was the
Empire

Empire of Nicaea.[149]
After the recapture of
Constantinople

Constantinople by Imperial forces, the Empire
was little more than a Greek state confined to the Aegean coast. The
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire collapsed when
Mehmed the Conqueror

Mehmed the Conqueror conquered
Constantinople

Constantinople on 29 May, 1453.[150]
Society
The Roman Forum, the political, economic, cultural, and religious
center of the city during the
Republic

Republic and later Empire
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The imperial city of
Rome

Rome was the largest urban center in the empire,
with a population variously estimated from 450,000 to close to one
million.[151][152][153] The public spaces in
Rome

Rome resounded with such
a din of hooves and clatter of iron chariot wheels that Julius Caesar
had once proposed a ban on chariot traffic during the day. Historical
estimates show that around 20 percent of the population under
jurisdiction of ancient
Rome

Rome (25–40%, depending on the standards
used, in Roman Italy)[154] lived in innumerable urban centers, with
population of 10,000 and more and several military settlements, a very
high rate of urbanization by pre-industrial standards. Most of those
centers had a forum, temples, and other buildings similar to Rome's.
Average life expectancy was about 28.[155][timeframe?]
Class structure
Main articles: Social class in ancient
Rome

Rome and Status in Roman legal
system
The Patrician Torlonia bust of Cato the Elder, 1st century BC
The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze statue depicting Aule
Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga
while engaged in rhetoric; the statue features an inscription in the
Etruscan alphabet
Roman society is largely viewed as hierarchical, with slaves (servi)
at the bottom, freedmen (liberti) above them, and free-born citizens
(cives) at the top. Free citizens were also divided by class. The
broadest, and earliest, division was between the patricians, who could
trace their ancestry to one of the 100 Patriarchs at the founding of
the city, and the plebeians, who could not. This became less important
in the later Republic, as some plebeian families became wealthy and
entered politics, and some patrician families fell economically.
Anyone, patrician or plebeian, who could count a consul as his
ancestor was a noble (nobilis); a man who was the first of his family
to hold the consulship, such as Marius or Cicero, was known as a novus
homo ("new man") and ennobled his descendants. Patrician ancestry,
however, still conferred considerable prestige, and many religious
offices remained restricted to patricians.
A class division originally based on military service became more
important. Membership of these classes was determined periodically by
the Censors, according to property. The wealthiest were the Senatorial
class, who dominated politics and command of the army. Next came the
equestrians (equites, sometimes translated "knights"), originally
those who could afford a warhorse, and who formed a powerful
mercantile class. Several further classes, originally based on the
military equipment their members could afford, followed, with the
proletarii, citizens who had no property at all, at the bottom. Before
the reforms of Marius they were ineligible for military service and
are often described as being just above freed slaves in wealth and
prestige.
Voting power in the
Republic

Republic depended on class. Citizens were enrolled
in voting "tribes", but the tribes of the richer classes had fewer
members than the poorer ones, all the proletarii being enrolled in a
single tribe. Voting was done in class order, from top down, and
stopped as soon as most of the tribes had been reached, so the poorer
classes were often unable to cast their votes.
Women shared some basic rights with their male counterparts, but were
not fully regarded as citizens and were thus not allowed to vote or
take part in politics. At the same time the limited rights of women
were gradually expanded (due to emancipation) and women reached
freedom from paterfamilias, gained property rights and even had more
juridical rights than their husbands, but still no voting rights, and
were absent from politics.[156]
Allied foreign cities were often given the
Latin

Latin Right, an
intermediary level between full citizens and foreigners (peregrini),
which gave their citizens rights under
Roman law

Roman law and allowed their
leading magistrates to become full Roman citizens. While there were
varying degrees of
Latin

Latin rights, the main division was between those
cum suffragio ("with vote"; enrolled in a Roman tribe and able to take
part in the comitia tributa) and sine suffragio ("without vote"; could
not take part in Roman politics). Some of Rome's Italian allies were
given full citizenship after the Social War of 91–88 BC, and
full
Roman citizenship

Roman citizenship was extended to all free-born men in the Empire
by
Caracalla

Caracalla in 212.
Family
A gold glass portrait of a Roman family. According to legend, it has
been believed to depict
Galla Placidia

Galla Placidia and her children, and even
Queen Ansa and her children; the Greek inscription on the medallion
may indicate either the name of the artist or the pater familias who
is absent in the portrait.[157] Academics have suggested it may
actually be a family from
Roman Egypt
.svg/500px-Roman_Empire_-_Aegyptus_(125_AD).svg.png)
Roman Egypt (with clear similarities to the
Fayum mummy portraits);[158][159] the central knot worn by the woman
in the center most likely indicates her as a cult follower of the
Egyptian goddess Isis;[160] gold glass portrait (most likely by an
Alexandrian Greek due to the Egyptian dialect of the inscription),
dated 3rd century AD[161][162][163][164]
The basic units of Roman society were households and families.[165]
Households included the head (usually the father) of the household,
pater familias (father of the family), his wife, children, and other
relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and servants were also part of
the household.[165] The power of the head of the household was supreme
(patria potestas, "father's power") over those living with him: He
could force marriage (usually for money) and divorce, sell his
children into slavery, claim his dependents' property as his own, and
even had the right to punish or kill family members (though this last
right apparently ceased to be exercised after the 1st century
BC).[166]
Patria potestas even extended over adult sons with their own
households: A man was not considered a paterfamilias, nor could he
truly hold property, while his own father lived.[166][167] During the
early period of Rome's history, a daughter, when she married, fell
under the control (manus) of the paterfamilias of her husband's
household, although by the late
Republic

Republic this fell out of fashion, as
a woman could choose to continue recognizing her father's family as
her true family.[168] However, as Romans reckoned descent through the
male line, any children she had belonged to her husband's family.[169]
Little affection was shown for the children of Rome. The mother or an
elderly relative often raised both boys and girls. Unwanted children
were often sold as slaves.[170] Children might have waited on tables
for the family, but they could not have participated in the
conversation.
In noble families a Greek nurse usually taught the children
Latin

Latin and
Greek. Their father taught the boys how to swim and ride, although he
sometimes hired a slave to teach them instead. At seven, a boy began
his education. Having no school building, classes were held on a
rooftop (if dark, the boy had to carry a lantern to school).
Wax-covered boards were used as paper, papyrus, and parchment were too
expensive—or he could just write in the sand. A loaf of bread to be
eaten was also carried.[171]
Groups of related households formed a family (gens). Families were
based on blood ties or adoption, but were also political and economic
alliances. Especially during the Roman Republic, some powerful
families, or Gentes Maiores, came to dominate political life.
In ancient Rome, marriage was often regarded more as a financial and
political alliance than as a romantic association, especially in the
upper classes (see marriage in ancient Rome). Fathers usually began
seeking husbands for their daughters when these reached an age between
twelve and fourteen. The husband was usually older than the bride.
While upper class girls married very young, there is evidence that
lower class women often married in their late teens or early 20s.
Education
Main article: Roman school
In the early Republic, there were no public schools, so boys were
taught to read and write by their parents, or by educated slaves,
called paedagogi, usually of Greek origin.[172][173][174] The primary
aim of education during this period was to train young men in
agriculture, warfare, Roman traditions, and public affairs.[172] Young
boys learned much about civic life by accompanying their fathers to
religious and political functions, including the Senate for the sons
of nobles.[173] The sons of nobles were apprenticed to a prominent
political figure at the age of 16, and campaigned with the army from
the age of 17 (this system was still in use among some noble families
into the imperial era).[173] Educational practices were modified after
the conquest of the
Hellenistic

Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd century BC and the
resulting Greek influence, although Roman educational practices were
still much different from Greek ones.[173][175] If their parents could
afford it, boys and some girls at the age of 7 were sent to a private
school outside the home called a ludus, where a teacher (called a
litterator or a magister ludi, and often of Greek origin) taught them
basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and sometimes Greek, until the age
of 11.[173][174][176]
Beginning at age 12, students went to secondary schools, where the
teacher (now called a grammaticus) taught them about Greek and Roman
literature.[173][176] At the age of 16, some students went on to
rhetoric school (where the teacher, usually Greek, was called a
rhetor).[173][176] Education at this level prepared students for legal
careers, and required that the students memorize the laws of
Rome.[173] Pupils went to school every day, except religious festivals
and market days. There were also summer holidays.
Government
Main articles:
Roman Constitution

Roman Constitution and History of the Roman
Constitution
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Initially,
Rome

Rome was ruled by kings, who were elected from each of
Rome's major tribes in turn.[177] The exact nature of the king's power
is uncertain. He may have held near-absolute power, or may also have
merely been the chief executive of the Senate and the people. At least
in military matters, the king's authority (Imperium) was likely
absolute. He was also the head of the state religion. In addition to
the authority of the King, there were three administrative assemblies:
the Senate, which acted as an advisory body for the King; the Comitia
Curiata, which could endorse and ratify laws suggested by the King;
and the Comitia Calata, which was an assembly of the priestly college
that could assemble the people to bear witness to certain acts, hear
proclamations, and declare the feast and holiday schedule for the next
month.
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate:
Cicero
_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg/440px-Bust_of_Cicero_(1st-cent._BC)_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg)
Cicero attacks
Catilina, from a 19th-century fresco
The class struggles of the
Roman Republic

Roman Republic resulted in an unusual
mixture of democracy and oligarchy. The word republic comes from the
Latin

Latin res publica, which literally translates to "public business".
Roman laws traditionally could only be passed by a vote of the Popular
assembly (Comitia Tributa). Likewise, candidates for public positions
had to run for election by the people. However, the Roman Senate
represented an oligarchic institution, which acted as an advisory
body.
In the Republic, the Senate held actual authority (auctoritas), but no
real legislative power; it was technically only an advisory council.
However, as the Senators were individually very influential, it was
difficult to accomplish anything against the collective will of the
Senate. New Senators were chosen from among the most accomplished
patricians by Censors (Censura), who could also remove a Senator from
his office if he was found "morally corrupt"; a charge that could
include bribery or, as under Cato the Elder, embracing one's wife in
public. Later, under the reforms of the dictator Sulla, Quaestors were
made automatic members of the Senate, though most of his reforms did
not survive.
The
Republic

Republic had no fixed bureaucracy, and collected taxes through the
practice of tax farming. Government positions such as quaestor,
aedile, or praefect were funded by the office-holder. To prevent any
citizen from gaining too much power, new magistrates were elected
annually and had to share power with a colleague. For example, under
normal conditions, the highest authority was held by two consuls. In
an emergency, a temporary dictator could be appointed. Throughout the
Republic, the administrative system was revised several times to
comply with new demands. In the end, it proved inefficient for
controlling the ever-expanding dominion of Rome, contributing to the
establishment of the Roman Empire.
In the early Empire, the pretense of a republican form of government
was maintained. The
Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor was portrayed as only a princeps, or
"first citizen", and the Senate gained legislative power and all legal
authority previously held by the popular assemblies. However, the rule
of the Emperors became increasingly autocratic, and the Senate was
reduced to an advisory body appointed by the Emperor. The
Empire

Empire did
not inherit a set bureaucracy from the Republic, since the Republic
did not have any permanent governmental structures apart from the
Senate. The Emperor appointed assistants and advisers, but the state
lacked many institutions, such as a centrally planned budget. Some
historians have cited this as a significant reason for the decline of
the Roman Empire.
Further information: History of citizenship § Roman conceptions
of citizenship
Law
Main article: Roman law
The roots of the legal principles and practices of the ancient Romans
may be traced to the Law of the
Twelve Tables

Twelve Tables promulgated in
449 BC and to the codification of law issued by order of Emperor
Justinian I
.jpg/440px-Mosaic_of_Justinianus_I_-_Basilica_San_Vitale_(Ravenna).jpg)
Justinian I around 530 AD (see Corpus Juris Civilis). Roman law
as preserved in Justinian's codes continued into the Byzantine Empire,
and formed the basis of similar codifications in continental Western
Europe.
Roman law

Roman law continued, in a broader sense, to be applied
throughout most of Europe until the end of the 17th century.
The major divisions of the law of ancient Rome, as contained within
the Justinian and Theodosian law codes, consisted of
Ius

Ius Civile, Ius
Gentium, and
Ius

Ius Naturale. The
Ius

Ius Civile ("Citizen Law") was the body
of common laws that applied to Roman citizens.[178] The Praetores
Urbani (sg.
Praetor

Praetor Urbanus) were the people who had jurisdiction over
cases involving citizens. The
Ius

Ius Gentium ("Law of nations") was the
body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings
with Roman citizens.[165] The Praetores Peregrini (sg. Praetor
Peregrinus) were the people who had jurisdiction over cases involving
citizens and foreigners.
Ius

Ius Naturale encompassed natural law, the
body of laws that were considered common to all beings.
Economy
Main articles: Roman agriculture, Roman commerce, Roman finance, and
Roman currency
Night view of Trajan's Market, built by Apollodorus of Damascus
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome commanded a vast area of land, with tremendous natural
and human resources. As such, Rome's economy remained focused on
farming and trade. Agricultural free trade changed the Italian
landscape, and by the 1st century BC, vast grape and olive estates had
supplanted the yeoman farmers, who were unable to match the imported
grain price. The annexation of Egypt,
Sicily

Sicily and
Tunisia

Tunisia in North
Africa provided a continuous supply of grains. In turn, olive oil and
wine were Italy's main exports. Two-tier crop rotation was practiced,
but farm productivity was low, around 1 ton per hectare.
Industrial and manufacturing activities were smaller. The largest such
activities were the mining and quarrying of stones, which provided
basic construction materials for the buildings of that period. In
manufacturing, production was on a relatively small scale, and
generally consisted of workshops and small factories that employed at
most dozens of workers. However, some brick factories employed
hundreds of workers.
The economy of the early
Republic

Republic was largely based on smallholding
and paid labor. However, foreign wars and conquests made slaves
increasingly cheap and plentiful, and by the late Republic, the
economy was largely dependent on slave labor for both skilled and
unskilled work. Slaves are estimated to have constituted around 20% of
the Roman Empire's population at this time and 40% in the city of
Rome. Only in the Roman Empire, when the conquests stopped and the
prices of slaves increased, did hired labor become more economical
than slave ownership.
Although barter was used in ancient Rome, and often used in tax
collection,
Rome

Rome had a very developed coinage system, with brass,
bronze, and precious metal coins in circulation throughout the Empire
and beyond—some have even been discovered in India. Before the 3rd
century BC, copper was traded by weight, measured in unmarked lumps,
across central Italy. The original copper coins (as) had a face value
of one Roman pound of copper, but weighed less. Thus, Roman money's
utility as a unit of exchange consistently exceeded its intrinsic
value as metal. After
Nero

Nero began debasing the silver denarius, its
legal value was an estimated one-third greater than its intrinsic
value.
Horses were expensive and other pack animals were slower. Mass trade
on the
Roman roads

Roman roads connected military posts, where Roman markets were
centered.[179] These roads were designed for wheels.[180] As a result,
there was transport of commodities between Roman regions, but
increased with the rise of Roman maritime trade in the 2nd century BC.
During that period, a trading vessel took less than a month to
complete a trip from Gades to
Alexandria

Alexandria via Ostia, spanning the
entire length of the Mediterranean.[101] Transport by sea was around
60 times cheaper than by land, so the volume for such trips was much
larger.
Some economists consider the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire a market economy, similar in
its degree of capitalistic practices to 17th century Netherlands and
18th century England.[181]
Military
Main articles:
Military history

Military history of ancient Rome, Military of ancient
Rome, Structural history of the Roman military, Roman army, and Roman
navy
Part of a series on the
Military of ancient Rome
753 BC – AD 476
Structural history
Army
Unit types and ranks
Legions
Auxilia
Generals
Navy
Fleets
Admirals
Campaign history
Wars and battles
Decorations and punishments
Technological history
Military engineering
Castra
Siege engines
Triumphal arches
Roads
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics
Frontiers and fortifications
Limes
Limes

Limes Britannicus
Antonine Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Saxon Shore
Limes

Limes Germanicus
Alb Limes
Lauter Valley Limes
Lower Germanic Limes
Main Limes
Neckar-Odenwald Limes
Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
Wetterau Limes
Danube–Iller–
Rhine

Rhine Limes
Norican Limes
Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
Pannonian Limes
Limes

Limes Alutanus
Limes

Limes Moesiae
Trajan's Wall
Anastasian Wall
Limes

Limes Sarmatiae
Limes

Limes Arabicus
Limes

Limes Tripolitanus
Limes

Limes Mauretaniae
Military of ancient
Rome

Rome portal
v
t
e
Modern replica of lorica segmentata type armor, used in conjunction
with the popular chainmail after the 1st century AD
Roman tower (reconstruction) at
Limes

Limes –
Taunus

Taunus / Germany
The early
Roman army

Roman army (c. 500 BC) was, like those of other
contemporary city-states influenced by Greek civilization, a citizen
militia that practiced hoplite tactics. It was small (the population
of free men of military age was then about 9,000) and organized in
five classes (in parallel to the comitia centuriata, the body of
citizens organized politically), with three providing hoplites and two
providing light infantry. The early
Roman army

Roman army was tactically limited
and its stance during this period was essentially
defensive.[182][183][184]
By the 3rd century BC, the Romans abandoned the hoplite formation in
favor of a more flexible system in which smaller groups of 120 (or
sometimes 60) men called maniples could maneuver more independently on
the battlefield. Thirty maniples arranged in three lines with
supporting troops constituted a legion, totalling between 4,000 and
5,000 men.[182][183]
The early Republican legion consisted of five sections, each of which
was equipped differently and had different places in formation: the
three lines of manipular heavy infantry (hastati, principes and
triarii), a force of light infantry (velites), and the cavalry
(equites). With the new organization came a new orientation toward the
offensive and a much more aggressive posture toward adjoining
city-states.[182][183]
At nominal full strength, an early Republican legion included 4,000 to
5,000 men: 3,600 to 4,800 heavy infantry, several hundred light
infantry, and several hundred cavalrymen.[182][185][186] Legions were
often significantly understrength from recruitment failures or
following periods of active service due to accidents, battle
casualties, disease and desertion. During the Civil War, Pompey's
legions in the east were at full strength because they were recently
recruited, while Caesar's legions were often well below nominal
strength after long active service in Gaul. This pattern also held
true for auxiliary forces.[187][188]
Until the late Republican period, the typical legionary was a
property-owning citizen farmer from a rural area (an adsiduus) who
served for particular (often annual) campaigns,[189] and who supplied
his own equipment and, in the case of equites, his own mount. Harris
suggests that down to 200 BC, the average rural farmer (who
survived) might participate in six or seven campaigns. Freedmen and
slaves (wherever resident) and urban citizens did not serve except in
rare emergencies.[190]
After 200 BC, economic conditions in rural areas deteriorated as
manpower needs increased, so that the property qualifications for
service were gradually reduced. Beginning with
Gaius Marius

Gaius Marius in
107 BC, citizens without property and some urban-dwelling
citizens (proletarii) were enlisted and provided with equipment,
although most legionaries continued to come from rural areas. Terms of
service became continuous and long—up to twenty years if emergencies
required although six- or seven-year terms were more typical.[191]
Beginning in the 3rd century BC, legionaries were paid stipendium
(amounts are disputed but Caesar famously "doubled" payments to his
troops to 225 denarii a year), could anticipate booty and donatives
(distributions of plunder by commanders) from successful campaigns
and, beginning at the time of Marius, often were granted allotments of
land upon retirement.[182][192] Cavalry and light infantry attached to
a legion (the auxilia) were often recruited in the areas where the
legion served. Caesar formed a legion, the Fifth Alaudae, from
non-citizens in Transalpine
Gaul

Gaul to serve in his campaigns in
Gaul.[193] By the time of Caesar Augustus, the ideal of the
citizen-soldier had been abandoned and the legions had become fully
professional. Legionaries received 900 sesterces a year and could
expect 12,000 sesterces on retirement.[194]
At the end of the Civil War,
Augustus

Augustus reorganized Roman military
forces, discharging soldiers and disbanding legions. He retained 28
legions, distributed through the provinces of the Empire.[195] During
the Principate, the tactical organization of the Army continued to
evolve. The auxilia remained independent cohorts, and legionary troops
often operated as groups of cohorts rather than as full legions. A new
versatile type of unit - the cohortes equitatae – combined
cavalry and legionaries in a single formation. They could be stationed
at garrisons or outposts and could fight on their own as balanced
small forces or combine with other similar units as a larger
legion-sized force. This increase in organizational flexibility helped
ensure the long-term success of
Roman military

Roman military forces.[196]
The Emperor
Gallienus

Gallienus (253–268 AD) began a reorganization that
created the last military structure of the late Empire. Withdrawing
some legionaries from the fixed bases on the border,
Gallienus

Gallienus created
mobile forces (the
Comitatenses

Comitatenses or field armies) and stationed them
behind and at some distance from the borders as a strategic reserve.
The border troops (limitanei) stationed at fixed bases continued to be
the first line of defense. The basic unit of the field army was the
"regiment", legiones or auxilia for infantry and vexellationes for
cavalry. Evidence suggests that nominal strengths may have been 1,200
men for infantry regiments and 600 for cavalry, although many records
show lower actual troop levels (800 and 400).[197]
Many infantry and cavalry regiments operated in pairs under the
command of a comes. In addition to Roman troops, the field armies
included regiments of "barbarians" recruited from allied tribes and
known as foederati. By 400 AD, foederati regiments had become
permanently established units of the Roman army, paid and equipped by
the Empire, led by a Roman tribune and used just as Roman units were
used. In addition to the foederati, the
Empire

Empire also used groups of
barbarians to fight along with the legions as "allies" without
integration into the field armies. Under the command of the senior
Roman general present, they were led at lower levels by their own
officers.[197]
Military leadership evolved over the course of the history of Rome.
Under the monarchy, the hoplite armies were led by the kings of Rome.
During the early and middle Roman Republic, military forces were under
the command of one of the two elected consuls for the year. During the
later Republic, members of the Roman Senatorial elite, as part of the
normal sequence of elected public offices known as the cursus honorum,
would have served first as quaestor (often posted as deputies to field
commanders), then as praetor.[198][199] Julius Caesar's most talented,
effective and reliable subordinate in Gaul,
Titus

Titus Labienus, was
recommended to him by Pompey.[200]
Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, c. 122 BC; the altar shows two Roman
infantrymen equipped with long scuta and a cavalryman with his horse.
All are shown wearing chain mail armour.
Following the end of a term as praetor or consul, a Senator might be
appointed by the Senate as a propraetor or proconsul (depending on the
highest office held before) to govern a foreign province. More junior
officers (down to but not including the level of centurion) were
selected by their commanders from their own clientelae or those
recommended by political allies among the Senatorial elite.[198]
Under Augustus, whose most important political priority was to place
the military under a permanent and unitary command, the Emperor was
the legal commander of each legion but exercised that command through
a legatus (legate) he appointed from the Senatorial elite. In a
province with a single legion, the legate commanded the legion
(legatus legionis) and also served as provincial governor, while in a
province with more than one legion, each legion was commanded by a
legate and the legates were commanded by the provincial governor (also
a legate but of higher rank).[201]
During the later stages of the Imperial period (beginning perhaps with
Diocletian), the Augustan model was abandoned. Provincial governors
were stripped of military authority, and command of the armies in a
group of provinces was given to generals (duces) appointed by the
Emperor. These were no longer members of the Roman elite but men who
came up through the ranks and had seen much practical soldiering. With
increasing frequency, these men attempted (sometimes successfully) to
usurp the positions of the Emperors who had appointed them. Decreased
resources, increasing political chaos and civil war eventually left
the Western
Empire

Empire vulnerable to attack and takeover by neighboring
barbarian peoples.[202]
Less is known about the
Roman navy

Roman navy than the Roman army. Prior to the
middle of the 3rd century BC, officials known as duumviri navales
commanded a fleet of twenty ships used mainly to control piracy. This
fleet was given up in 278 AD and replaced by allied forces. The
First Punic War

First Punic War required that
Rome

Rome build large fleets, and it did so
largely with the assistance of and financing from allies. This
reliance on allies continued to the end of the Roman Republic. The
quinquereme was the main warship on both sides of the
Punic Wars

Punic Wars and
remained the mainstay of Roman naval forces until replaced by the time
of Caesar
Augustus

Augustus by lighter and more maneuverable vessels.[203]
As compared with a trireme, the quinquereme permitted the use of a mix
of experienced and inexperienced crewmen (an advantage for a primarily
land-based power), and its lesser maneuverability permitted the Romans
to adopt and perfect boarding tactics using a troop of about 40
marines in lieu of the ram. Ships were commanded by a navarch, a rank
equal to a centurion, who was usually not a citizen. Potter suggests
that because the fleet was dominated by non-Romans, the navy was
considered non-Roman and allowed to atrophy in times of peace.[203]
Information suggests that by the time of the late Empire
(350 AD), the
Roman navy

Roman navy comprised several fleets including
warships and merchant vessels for transportation and supply. Warships
were oared sailing galleys with three to five banks of oarsmen. Fleet
bases included such ports as Ravenna, Arles, Aquilea, Misenum and the
mouth of the Somme River in the West and
Alexandria

Alexandria and Rhodes in the
East. Flotillas of small river craft (classes) were part of the
limitanei (border troops) during this period, based at fortified river
harbors along the
Rhine

Rhine and the Danube. That prominent generals
commanded both armies and fleets suggests that naval forces were
treated as auxiliaries to the army and not as an independent service.
The details of command structure and fleet strengths during this
period are not well known, although fleets were commanded by
prefects.[204]
Culture
Main article: Culture of ancient Rome
The seven hills of Rome
Life in ancient
Rome

Rome revolved around the city of Rome, located on
seven hills. The city had a vast number of monumental structures like
the Colosseum, the Forum of
Trajan

Trajan and the Pantheon. It had theatres,
gymnasiums, marketplaces, functional sewers, bath complexes complete
with libraries and shops, and fountains with fresh drinking water
supplied by hundreds of miles of aqueducts. Throughout the territory
under the control of ancient Rome, residential architecture ranged
from modest houses to country villas.
In the capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on the
elegant Palatine Hill, from which the word palace derives. The low
Plebeian and middle Equestrian classes lived in the city center,
packed into apartments, or Insulae, which were almost like modern
ghettos. These areas, often built by upper class property owners to
rent, were often centred upon collegia or taberna. These people,
provided with a free supply of grain, and entertained by gladatorial
games, were enrolled as clients of patrons among the upper class
Patricians, whose assistance they sought and whose interests they
upheld.
Language
Main article: Latin
Roman fresco of a blond maiden reading a text, Pompeian Fourth Style
(60–79 AD), Pompeii, Italy
The native language of the Romans was Latin, an Italic language the
grammar of which relies little on word order, conveying meaning
through a system of affixes attached to word stems.[205] Its alphabet
was based on the Etruscan alphabet, which was in turn based on the
Greek alphabet.[206] Although surviving
Latin

Latin literature consists
almost entirely of Classical Latin, an artificial and highly stylized
and polished literary language from the 1st century BC, the spoken
language of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire was Vulgar Latin, which significantly
differed from Classical
Latin

Latin in grammar and vocabulary, and
eventually in pronunciation.[207]
While
Latin

Latin remained the main written language of the Roman Empire,
Greek came to be the language spoken by the well-educated elite, as
most of the literature studied by Romans was written in Greek. In the
eastern half of the Roman Empire, which later became the Byzantine
Empire,
Latin

Latin was never able to replace Greek, and after the death of
Justinian, Greek became the official language of the Byzantine
government.[208] The expansion of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire spread Latin
throughout Europe, and Vulgar
Latin

Latin evolved into dialects in different
locations, gradually shifting into many distinct Romance languages.
Religion
Main articles: Religion in ancient Rome, Roman mythology, and Roman
temple
Further information:
Constantine the Great and Christianity

Constantine the Great and Christianity and State
church of the Roman Empire
Punishment of Ixion: in the center is Mercury holding the caduceus and
on the right Juno sits on her throne. Behind her Iris stands and
gestures. On the left is Vulcan (blond figure) standing behind the
wheel, manning it, with
Ixion

Ixion already tied to it.
Nephele

Nephele sits at
Mercury's feet; a Roman fresco from the eastern wall of the triclinium
in the
House

House of the Vettii, Pompeii, Fourth Style (60–79 AD).
Archaic Roman religion, at least concerning the gods, was made up not
of written narratives, but rather of complex interrelations between
gods and humans.[209] Unlike in Greek mythology, the gods were not
personified, but were vaguely defined sacred spirits called numina.
Romans also believed that every person, place or thing had its own
genius, or divine soul. During the Roman Republic, Roman religion was
organized under a strict system of priestly offices, which were held
by men of senatorial rank. The College of Pontifices was uppermost
body in this hierarchy, and its chief priest, the Pontifex Maximus,
was the head of the state religion. Flamens took care of the cults of
various gods, while augurs were trusted with taking the auspices. The
sacred king took on the religious responsibilities of the deposed
kings. In the Roman Empire, emperors were deified,[210][211] and the
formalized imperial cult became increasingly prominent.
As contact with the Greeks increased, the old Roman gods became
increasingly associated with Greek gods.[212] Thus, Jupiter was
perceived to be the same deity as Zeus, Mars became associated with
Ares, and Neptune with Poseidon. The Roman gods also assumed the
attributes and mythologies of these Greek gods. Under the Empire, the
Romans absorbed the mythologies of their conquered subjects, often
leading to situations in which the temples and priests of traditional
Italian deities existed side by side with those of foreign gods.[213]
Beginning with Emperor
Nero

Nero in the 1st century AD, Roman official
policy towards Christianity was negative, and at some points, simply
being a Christian could be punishable by death. Under Emperor
Diocletian, the persecution of Christians reached its peak. However,
it became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under
Diocletian's successor, Constantine I, with the signing of the Edict
of Milan in 313, and quickly became dominant. All religions except
Christianity were prohibited in 391 AD by an edict of Emperor
Theodosius I.[214]
Art, music and literature
Main articles: Roman art,
Latin

Latin literature, Music of ancient Rome,
Roman sculpture, and Theatre of ancient Rome
Woman playing a kithara, from the
Villa

Villa Boscoreale, 40–30 BC
Roman painting styles show Greek influences, and surviving examples
are primarily frescoes used to adorn the walls and ceilings of country
villas, though Roman literature includes mentions of paintings on
wood, ivory, and other materials.[215][216] Several examples of Roman
painting have been found at Pompeii, and from these art historians
divide the history of Roman painting into four periods. The first
style of Roman painting was practiced from the early 2nd century BC to
the early- or mid-1st century BC. It was mainly composed of imitations
of marble and masonry, though sometimes including depictions of
mythological characters.
The second style of Roman painting began during the early 1st century
BC, and attempted to depict realistically three-dimensional
architectural features and landscapes. The third style occurred during
the reign of
Augustus

Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), and rejected
the realism of the second style in favor of simple ornamentation. A
small architectural scene, landscape, or abstract design was placed in
the center with a monochrome background. The fourth style, which began
in the 1st century AD, depicted scenes from mythology, while retaining
architectural details and abstract patterns.
Portrait sculpture during the period[which?] utilized youthful and
classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and
idealism. During the Antonine and Severan periods, ornate hair and
bearding, with deep cutting and drilling, became popular. Advancements
were also made in relief sculptures, usually depicting Roman
victories.
Latin

Latin literature was, from its start, influenced heavily by Greek
authors. Some of the earliest extant works are of historical epics
telling the early military history of Rome. As the
Republic

Republic expanded,
authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy.
Roman music was largely based on Greek music, and played an important
part in many aspects of Roman life.[217] In the Roman military,
musical instruments such as the tuba (a long trumpet) or the cornu
(similar to a French horn) were used to give various commands, while
the bucina (possibly a trumpet or horn) and the lituus (probably an
elongated J-shaped instrument), were used in ceremonial
capacities.[218] Music was used in the amphitheaters between fights
and in the odea, and in these settings is known to have featured the
cornu and the hydraulis (a type of water organ).[219]
Most religious rituals featured musical performances, with tibiae
(double pipes) at sacrifices, cymbals and Tambourines at orgiastic
cults, and rattles and hymns across the spectrum.[220] Some music
historians believe that music was used at almost all public
ceremonies.[217] Music historians are not certain if Roman musicians
made a significant contribution to the theory or practice of
music.[217]
The graffiti, brothels, paintings, and sculptures found in
Pompeii

Pompeii and
Herculaneum
.jpg/440px-Ercolano_2012_(8019396514).jpg)
Herculaneum suggest that the Romans had a sex-saturated culture.[221]
Cuisine
Main article:
Ancient

Ancient Roman cuisine
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this
section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material
may be challenged and removed. (September 2014) (Learn how and when to
remove this template message)
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September
2014)
Ancient

Ancient Roman cuisine changed over the long duration of this ancient
civilization. Dietary habits were affected by the influence of Greek
culture, the political changes from kingdom to republic to empire, and
empire's enormous expansion, which exposed Romans to many new,
provincial culinary habits and cooking techniques. In the beginning
the differences between social classes were relatively small, but
disparities evolved with the empire's growth. Men and women drank wine
with their meals, a tradition that has been carried through to the
present day.[222]
Games and recreation
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Choregos
218-219-Halai_honorific_decree-2.JPG/440px-EPMA-13262-AM66(1941)218-219-Halai_honorific_decree-2.JPG)
Choregos and theater actors, from the
House

House of the Tragic Poet,
Pompeii, Italy. Naples National Archeological Museum
The "bikini girls" mosaic, showing women playing sports, from the
Villa

Villa Romana del Casale,
Roman province

Roman province of Sicilia (Sicily), 4th
century AD
The youth of
Rome

Rome had several forms of athletic play and exercise,
such as jumping, wrestling, boxing, and racing.[223] In the
countryside, pastimes for the wealthy also included fishing and
hunting.[224] The Romans also had several forms of ball playing,
including one resembling handball.[223] Dice games, board games, and
gamble games were popular pastimes.[223] Women did not take part in
these activities. For the wealthy, dinner parties presented an
opportunity for entertainment, sometimes featuring music, dancing, and
poetry readings.[215]
Plebeians

Plebeians sometimes enjoyed similar parties
through clubs or associations, but for most Romans, recreational
dining usually meant patronizing taverns.[215] Children entertained
themselves with toys and such games as leapfrog.[224][215]
Public games were sponsored by leading Romans who wished to advertise
their generosity and court popular approval; in the Imperial era, this
usually meant the emperor. Several venues were developed specifically
for public games. The
Colisseum

Colisseum was built in the Imperial era to host,
among other events, gladiatorial combats. These combats had begun as
funeral games around the 4th century BC, and became popular spectator
events in the late
Republic

Republic and Empire. Gladiators had an exotic and
inventive variety of arms and armour. They sometimes fought to the
death, but more often to an adjudicated victory, dependent on a
referee's decision. The outcome was usually in keeping with the mood
of the watching crowd. Shows of exotic animals were popular in their
own right; but sometimes animals were pitted against human beings,
either armed professionals or unarmed criminals who had been condemned
to a spectacular and theatrical public death in the arena. Some of
these encounters were based on episodes from Roman or Greek mythology.
Chariot

Chariot racing was extremely popular among all classes. In Rome, these
races were usually held at the Circus Maximus, which had been
purpose-built for chariot and horse-racing and, as Rome's largest
public place, was also used for festivals and animal shows.[225] It
could seat around 150,000 people;[226] The charioteers raced in teams,
identified by their colours. The track was divided lengthwise by a
barrier that contained obelisks, temples, statues and lap-counters.
The best seats were at the track-side, close to the action; they were
reserved for Senators. Behind them sat the equites (knights), and
behind the knights were the plebs (commoners) and non-citizens. The
donor of the games sat on a high platform in the stands alongside
images of the gods, visible to all. Large sums were bet on the
outcomes of races. Some Romans offered prayers and sacrifices on
behalf of their favourites, or laid curses on the opposing teams, and
some aficionados were members of extremely, even violently partisan
circus factions.
Ethics and morality
Like many ancient cultures, concepts of ethics and morality, while
sharing some commonalities with modern society, differed greatly in
several important ways. Because ancient civilizations like
Rome

Rome were
under constant threat of attack from marauding tribes, their culture
was necessarily militaristic with martial skills being a prized
attribute.[227] Whereas modern societies consider compassion a virtue,
Roman society considered compassion a vice, a moral defect. Indeed,
one of the primary purposes of the gladiatorial games was to inoculate
Roman citizens from this weakness.[228][227][229] Romans instead
prized virtues such as courage and conviction (virtus), a sense of
duty to one's people, moderation and avoiding excess (moderatio),
forgiveness and understanding (clementia), fairness (severitas), and
loyalty (pietas).[230]
Contrary to popular descriptions, Roman society had well-established
and restrictive norms related to sexuality, though as with many
societies, the lion's share of the responsibilities fell on women.
Women were generally expected to be monogamous having only a single
husband during their life (univira). Women were expected to be modest
in public avoiding any provocative appearance and to demonstrate
absolute fidelity to their husbands (pudicitia). Indeed, wearing a
veil was a common expectation to preserve modesty. Sex outside of
marriage was generally frowned upon for men and women and indeed was
made illegal during the imperial period.[231] Nevertheless,
prostitution was seen entirely differently and indeed was an accepted
and regulated practice.[232]
Technology
Main article: Roman technology
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Pont du Gard

Pont du Gard in
France

France is a
Roman aqueduct

Roman aqueduct built in c. 19 BC. It
is a World Heritage Site.
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome boasted impressive technological feats, using many
advancements that were lost in the
Middle Ages

Middle Ages and not rivaled again
until the 19th and 20th centuries. An example of this is insulated
glazing, which was not invented again until the 1930s. Many practical
Roman innovations were adopted from earlier Greek designs.
Advancements were often divided and based on craft. Artisans guarded
technologies as trade secrets.[233]
Roman civil engineering and military engineering constituted a large
part of Rome's technological superiority and legacy, and contributed
to the construction of hundreds of roads, bridges, aqueducts, baths,
theaters and arenas. Many monuments, such as the Colosseum, Pont du
Gard, and Pantheon, remain as testaments to
Roman engineering

Roman engineering and
culture.
The Romans were renowned for their architecture, which is grouped with
Greek traditions into "Classical architecture". Although there were
many differences from Greek architecture,
Rome

Rome borrowed heavily from
Greece in adhering to strict, formulaic building designs and
proportions. Aside from two new orders of columns, composite and
Tuscan, and from the dome, which was derived from the Etruscan arch,
Rome

Rome had relatively few architectural innovations until the end of the
Republic.
The
Appian Way

Appian Way (Via Appia), a road connecting the city of
Rome

Rome to the
southern parts of Italy, remains usable even today
In the 1st century BC, Romans started to use concrete widely. Concrete
was invented in the late 3rd century BC. It was a powerful cement
derived from pozzolana, and soon supplanted marble as the chief Roman
building material and allowed many daring architectural forms.[234]
Also in the 1st century BC,
Vitruvius

Vitruvius wrote De architectura, possibly
the first complete treatise on architecture in history. In the late
1st century BC,
Rome

Rome also began to use glassblowing soon after its
invention in
Syria

Syria about 50 BC. Mosaics took the
Empire

Empire by storm
after samples were retrieved during Lucius Cornelius Sulla's campaigns
in Greece.
With solid foundations and good drainage,[235]
Roman roads

Roman roads were known
for their durability and many segments of the Roman road system were
still in use a thousand years after the fall of Rome. The construction
of a vast and efficient travel network throughout the Empire
dramatically increased Rome's power and influence. They allowed Roman
legions to be deployed rapidly, with predictable marching times
between key points of the empire, no matter the season.[236] These
highways also had enormous economic significance, solidifying Rome's
role as a trading crossroads—the origin of the saying "all roads
lead to Rome". The Roman government maintained a system of way
stations, known as the cursus publicus, that provided refreshments to
couriers at regular intervals along the roads and established a system
of horse relays allowing a dispatch to travel up to 80 km
(50 mi) a day.
The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts to supply water to cities
and industrial sites and to aid in their agriculture. By the third
century, the city of
Rome

Rome was supplied by 11 aqueducts with a combined
length of 450 km (280 mi). Most aqueducts were constructed
below the surface, with only small portions above ground supported by
arches.[237][238] Sometimes, where valleys deeper than 500 m
(1,640 ft) had to be crossed, inverted siphons were used to
convey water across a valley.[51]
The Romans also made major advancements in sanitation. Romans were
particularly famous for their public baths, called thermae, which were
used for both hygienic and social purposes. Many Roman houses came to
have flush toilets and indoor plumbing, and a complex sewer system,
the Cloaca Maxima, was used to drain the local marshes and carry waste
into the
Tiber

Tiber river.
Some historians have speculated that lead pipes in the sewer and
plumbing systems led to widespread lead poisoning, which contributed
to the decline in birth rate and general decay of Roman society
leading up to the fall of Rome. However, lead content would have been
minimized because the flow of water from aqueducts could not be shut
off; it ran continuously through public and private outlets into the
drains, and only a few taps were in use.[239] Other authors have
raised similar objections to this theory, also pointing out that Roman
water pipes were thickly coated with deposits that would have
prevented lead from leaching into the water.[240]
Legacy
Main articles: Legacy of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire and Classics
External video
Ancient

Ancient Rome[241] (13:47),
Smarthistory

Smarthistory at Khan Academy
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome is the progenitor of Western civilization.[242][243][244]
The customs, religion, law, technology, architecture, political
system, military, literature, languages, alphabet, government and many
factors and aspects of western civilization are all inherited from
Roman advancements. The rediscovery of
Roman culture

Roman culture revitalized
Western civilization, playing a role in the
Renaissance

Renaissance and the Age of
Enlightenment.[245][246]
Historiography
Main article: Roman historiography
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Although there has been a diversity of works on ancient Roman history,
many of them are lost. As a result of this loss, there are gaps in
Roman history, which are filled by unreliable works, such as the
Historia Augusta
.jpg/440px-Historia_Augusta,_seu_Vitae_Romanorum_Caesarum_-_Upper_cover_(Davis643).jpg)
Historia Augusta and other books from obscure authors. However, there
remains a number of reliable accounts of Roman history.
In Roman times
The first historians used their works for the lauding of Roman culture
and customs. By the end of Republic, some historians distorted their
histories to flatter their patrons—especially at the time of
Marius's and Sulla's clash.[247] Caesar wrote his own histories to
make a complete account of his military campaigns in
Gaul

Gaul and during
the Civil War.
In the Empire, the biographies of famous men and early emperors
flourished, examples being
The Twelve Caesars

The Twelve Caesars of Suetonius, and
Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Other major works of Imperial times were
that of
Livy

Livy and Tacitus.
Polybius

Polybius – The Histories
Sallust

Sallust – Bellum Catilinae and Bellum Jugurthinum
Julius Caesar
.jpg/440px-César_(13667960455).jpg)
Julius Caesar –
De Bello Gallico

De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili
Livy

Livy – Ab urbe condita
Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus – Roman Antiquities
Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder – Naturalis Historia
Josephus

Josephus – The Jewish War
Suetonius

Suetonius –
The Twelve Caesars

The Twelve Caesars (De Vita Caesarum)
Tacitus

Tacitus – Annales and Histories
Plutarch

Plutarch –
Parallel Lives

Parallel Lives (a series of biographies of famous Roman
and Greek men)
Cassius Dio – Historia Romana
Herodian – History of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire since Marcus Aurelius
Ammianus Marcellinus
.jpg/400px-Bust_of_Constantius_II_(Mary_Harrsch).jpg)
Ammianus Marcellinus – Res Gestae
In modern times
Part of a series on the
History of Italy
Ancient
Prehistoric Italy
Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization (12th–6th c. BC)
Magna Graecia

Magna Graecia (8th–7th c. BC)
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome (Roman Italy) (753 BC–476 AD)
Medieval
Italy

Italy in the Middle Ages
Kingdom
Odoacer's
Ostrogothic
Vandal
Lombard
Byzantine reconquest of
Italy

Italy (6th–8th c.)
Italy

Italy in the Carolingian
Empire

Empire and HRE
Islam and Normans in southern Italy
Maritime Republics

Maritime Republics and Italian city-states
Guelphs and Ghibellines
Early modern
Italian
Renaissance

Renaissance (14th–16th c.)
Italian Wars

Italian Wars (1494–1559)
Foreign domination (1559–1814)
Italian unification
.jpg/480px-Episodio_delle_cinque_giornate_(Baldassare_Verazzi).jpg)
Italian unification (1815–1861)
Modern
Monarchy (1861–1945)
Italy

Italy in World War I (1914–1918)
Fascism and Colonial
Empire

Empire (1918–1945)
Italy

Italy in World War II (1940–1945)
Social
Republic

Republic (1943–1945)
Republic

Republic (1945–present)
Years of Lead (1970s–1980s)
By topic
List of historic states
Citizenship
Currency
Economy
Fashion
Genetic
Military
Music
Postage
Railway
Timeline
Italy

Italy portal
v
t
e
Interest in studying, and even idealizing, ancient
Rome

Rome became
prevalent during the Italian Renaissance, and continues until the
present day. Charles Montesquieu wrote a work Reflections on the
Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Romans. The first major
work was The History of the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire by
Edward Gibbon, which encompassed the period from the end of the 2nd
century to the fall of the
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire in 1453.[248] Like
Montesquieu, Gibbon paid tribute to the virtue of Roman citizens.
Barthold Georg Niebuhr

Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a founder of the examination of ancient
Roman history and wrote The Roman History, tracing the period until
the First Punic war. Niebuhr tried to determine the way the Roman
tradition evolved. According to him, Romans, like other people, had an
historical ethos preserved mainly in the noble families.
During the Napoleonic period a work titled The History of Romans by
Victor Duruy
_(14764888105).jpg/440px-History_of_Rome_and_the_Roman_people,_from_its_origin_to_the_establishment_of_the_Christian_empire_(1884)_(14764888105).jpg)
Victor Duruy appeared. It highlighted the Caesarean period popular at
the time. History of Rome,
Roman constitutional law

Roman constitutional law and Corpus
Inscriptionum Latinarum, all by Theodor Mommsen,[249] became very
important milestones. Later the work Greatness and Decline of
Rome

Rome by
Guglielmo Ferrero

Guglielmo Ferrero was published. The Russian work Очерки по
истории римского землевладения,
преимущественно в эпоху Империи (The
Outlines on Roman Landownership History, Mainly During the Empire) by
Ivan Grevs contained information on the economy of Pomponius Atticus,
one of the largest landowners at the end of the Republic.
Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) – The History of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire
John Bagnall Bury

John Bagnall Bury (1861–1927) – History of the Later Roman Empire
Michael Grant (1914–2004) – The Roman World[250]
Barbara Levick (born 1932) – Claudius[251]
Barthold Georg Niebuhr

Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776–1831)
Michael Rostovtzeff

Michael Rostovtzeff (1870–1952)
Howard Hayes Scullard (1903–1983) – The History of the Roman
World[252]
Ronald Syme (1903–1989) – The Roman Revolution[253]
Adrian Goldsworthy

Adrian Goldsworthy (born 1969) – Caesar: The Life of a Colossus and
How
Rome

Rome fell[254]
See also
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome portal
Ancient

Ancient Roman architecture
Daqin, the Chinese name for the Roman Empire, see Sino-Roman relations
Outline of classical studies
Outline of ancient Rome
Constitution of the Roman Republic
History of Rome
Timeline of Roman history
Legacy of the Roman Empire
Regions in Greco-Roman antiquity
Roman agriculture
List of ancient Romans
List of Roman Emperors
Roman culture
Notes
^ "ancient
Rome

Rome Facts, Maps, & History". Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
^ "
Ancient

Ancient Rome".
Ancient

Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved
2017-09-05.
^ There are several different estimates for the population of the
Roman Empire.
Scheidel (2006, p. 2) estimates 60.
Goldsmith (1984, p. 263) estimates 55.
Beloch (1886, p. 507) estimates 54.
Maddison (2006, p. 51, 120) estimates 48.
Roman Empire

Roman Empire Population estimates 65 (while mentioning several other
estimates between 55 and 120).
McLynn, Frank (2011). Marcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor.
Random House. p. 3. ISBN 9781446449332. [T]he most likely
estimate for the reign of
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius is somewhere between seventy
and eighty million.
McEvedy and Jones (1978).
an average of figures from different sources as listed at the US
Census Bureau's Historical Estimates of World Population Archived 13
October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
Kremer, Michael (1993). "Population Growth and Technological Change:
One Million B.C. to 1990" in The Quarterly Journal of Economics
108(3): 681–716.
^ * Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires:
Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D". Social Science
History. Duke University Press. 3 (3/4): 125. doi:10.2307/1170959.
JSTOR 1170959.
Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006).
"East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of
world-systems research. 12 (2): 222. ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 16
September 2016.
^ Furet, François; Ozouf, Mona, eds. (1989). A Critical Dictionary of
the French Revolution. Harvard University Press. p. 793.
ISBN 0674177282.
^ Luckham, Robin; White, Gordon (1996). Democratization in the South:
The Jagged Wave. Manchester University Press. p. 11.
ISBN 0719049423.
^ Sellers, Mortimer N. (1994). American Republicanism: Roman Ideology
in the
United States

United States Constitution. NYU Press. p. 90.
ISBN 0814780059.
^ Ferrero, Guglielmo (1909). The Greatness and Decline of Rome, Volume
2. Translated by Zimmern, Sir Alfred Eckhard; Chaytor, Henry John. G.
P. Putnam's Sons. p. 215.
^ Hadfield, Andrew Hadfield (2005). Shakespeare and Republicanism.
Cambridge University Press. p. 68. ISBN 0521816076.
^ Gray, Christopher B (1999). The Philosophy of Law: An Encyclopedia,
Volume 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 741.
ISBN 0815313446.
^ "Byzantine Empire".
Ancient

Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved
2017-09-05.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 3.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Cavazzi, F. "The Founding of Rome". Illustrated History of the Roman
Empire. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
^ a b c d Livius,
Titus

Titus (Livy) (1998). The Rise of Rome, Books 1–5.
Translated by Luce, T.J. Oxford: Oxford World's Classics.
pp. 8–11. ISBN 0-19-282296-9.
^ a b Durant, Will; Durant, Ariel (1944). The Story of Civilization
– Volume III: Caesar and Christ. United States: Simon and Schuster,
Inc. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-1567310238.
^ Roggen, Hesse, Haastrup, Omnibus I, H. Aschehoug & Co 1996
^ Myths and Legends- Rome, the Wolf, and Mars. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
^ Mellor, Ronald and McGee Marni, The
Ancient

Ancient Roman World p. 15 (Cited
15 March 2009)
^ Matyszak, Philip (2003). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London:
Thames & Hudson. p. 19. ISBN 0-500-05121-6.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 129. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome and the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire by Michael Kerrigan. Dorling
Kindersley, London: 2001. ISBN 0-7894-8153-7. page 12.
^ Langley, Andrew and Souza, de Philip, "The Roman Times", Candle Wick
Press, Massachusetts
^ Matyszak, Philip (2003). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London:
Thames & Hudson. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-500-05121-6.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 41–42.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Hooker, Richard (June 6, 1999). "Rome: The Roman Republic".
Washington State University. Archived from the original on May 14,
2011. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
^ Magistratus by George Long, M.A. Appearing on pages 723–724 of A
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities by William Smith, D.C.L.,
LL.D. Published by John Murray, London, 1875. Website written 8
December 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
^ Livius,
Titus

Titus (Livy) (1998). "Book II". The Rise of Rome, Books
1–5. Translated by Luce, T.J. Oxford: Oxford World's Classics.
ISBN 0-19-282296-9.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 39.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ These are literally Roman "libra," from which the pound is derived.
^ [1] Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Camillus, XXIX, 2.
^ a b c Haywood, Richard (1971). The
Ancient

Ancient World. United States:
David McKay Company, Inc. pp. 350–358.
^
Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus of Epirus (2) and
Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus of Epirus (3) by Jona Lendering.
Livius.org. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
^ AncientRome.ru. "THE DATABASE OF ANCIENT ART." Retrieved 25 August
2016.
^ AncientRome.ru. "Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus." Retrieved 25
August 2016.
^ [2] Cassius Dio, Roman History, XI, XLIII.
^ New historical atlas and general history By Robert Henlopen
Labberton. Page 35.
^ Hugh Chisholm (1911). The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of
Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Encyclopædia
Britannica Company. pp. 652–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ a b c Haywood, Richard (1971). The
Ancient

Ancient World. United States:
David McKay Company, Inc. pp. 376–393.
^ Rome: The
Punic Wars

Punic Wars by Richard Hooker. Washington State University.
Written 6 June 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^ Bury, John Bagnell (1889). History of the Later Roman Empire.
London, New York: MacMillan and Co.
^ Rome: The Conquest of the
Hellenistic

Hellenistic Empires Archived 1 May 2011 at
the Wayback Machine. by Richard Hooker. Washington State University.
Written 6 June 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. pp. 136–137. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ Fall of the Roman Republic, 133–27 BC. Purdue University.
Retrieved 24 March 2007.
^ a b Eques (Knight) by Jona Lendering. Livius.org. Retrieved 24 March
2007.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 38.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Tuma, Elias H. (1965). Twenty-six Centuries of Agrarian Reform: A
Comparative Analysis. University of California Press.
p. 34.
^ a b c William Harrison De Puy (1893). The Encyclopædia britannica:
a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature ; the R.S.
Peale reprint, with new maps and original American articles. Werner
Co. pp. 760–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Henry George Liddell (1855). A history of Rome, to the establishment
of the empire. pp. 305–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^
Plutarch

Plutarch Parallel Lives, Life of Caesar, I,2
^ Scullard, Howard Hayes (1982). From the
Gracchi

Gracchi to
Nero

Nero (5th ed.).
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-02527-3. Chapters VI-VIII.
^
Julius Caesar
.jpg/440px-César_(13667960455).jpg)
Julius Caesar (100BC – 44BC). [3]. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
^ [4] Plutarch, Life of Caesar. Retrieved 1 October 2011
^
Augustus

Augustus (31 BC – 14 AD) by Garrett G. Fagan. De Imperatoribus
Romanis. Written 5 July 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
^ Coins of the Emperor
Augustus

Augustus Archived 25 May 2009 at the Wayback
Machine.; examples are a coin of 38 BC inscribed "Divi Iuli
filius", and another of 31 BC bearing the inscription "Divi
filius" (Auguste vu par lui-même et par les autres by Juliette Reid
Archived 19 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.).
^ [5] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XV.
^ [6] Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Antony, II, 1.
^
Ancient

Ancient Library Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine..
Retrieved 9 September 2011
^ [7] Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Antony, LXXI, 3–5.
^
Augustus

Augustus (63 BC. – AD14) from bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
^ Langley, Andrew and Souza, de Philip:"The Roman Times" pg.14, Candle
Wick Press, 1996
^ The
Julio-Claudian

Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 BC −68 AD). by the Department of
Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Written October
2000. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
^ James Orr (1915). The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.
Howard-Severance Company. pp. 2598–. Retrieved 31 May
2012.
^ Charles Phineas Sherman (1917).
Roman law

Roman law in the modern world. The
Boston book company. pp. 50–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ [8] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXVII, 3.
^ Werner Eck, The Age of Augustus
^ [9] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XVIII, 2.
^ Hugh Chisholm (1910). Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of
Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Encyclopædia
Britannica Company. pp. 912–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ [10] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXI, 1.
^ [11] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXI.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 140. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ [12] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, LXIII.
^ [13] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVII, 12.
^ a b c John Charles Tarver (1902). Tiberius, the tyrant. A.
Constable. pp. 342–428. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Johann Jakob Herzog; John Henry
Augustus

Augustus Bomberger (1858). The
Protestant Theological and Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia: Being a
Condensed Translation of Herzog's Real Encyclopedia. Lindsay &
Blakiston. pp. 99–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ The Chautauquan. M. Bailey. 1881. pp. 445–. Retrieved 31 May
2012.
^ [14] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Caligula, LV, 3.
^ Compendium (1858). A compendium of universal history.
Ancient

Ancient and
modern, by the author of 'Two thousand questions on the Old and New
Testaments'. pp. 109–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Sir William Smith (1890). Abaeus-Dysponteus. J. Murray.
pp. 776–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ [15] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Claudius, XVII.
^
Claudius

Claudius By Barbara Levick. Page 77.
^ [16] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero, XVI.
^ [17] Tacitus, Annales, XXXVIII.
^
Nero

Nero (54–68 AD) by Herbert W. Benario. De Imperatoribus Romanis.
Written 10 November 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
^ Suetonius
^ O'Connell, Robert (1989). Of Arms and Men: A History of War,
Weapons, and Aggression. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 81.
ISBN 0-19-505359-1.
^ Kreis, Stephen. "
Augustus

Augustus Caesar and the Pax Romana". The History
Guide. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
^ [18] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, I.
^ [19] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, IX.
^ [20] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVI.
^ [21] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Titus, VII, 3.
^ [22] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVII, 6.
^ [23] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Domitian, X.
^ [24] from roman-empire.net –
Titus

Titus Flavius Domitianus. Retrieved
29 October 2011.
^
Five Good Emperors

Five Good Emperors from UNRV History. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
^ [25] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 1.
^ [26] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 6.
^ [27] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 14.
^ [28] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 13.
^ Ferdinand Gregorovius (1898). The Emperor Hadrian: A Picture of the
Graeco-Roman World in His Time. Macmillan. pp. 16–. Retrieved
31 May 2012.
^ [29] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 17–30.
^ a b Scarre, Chris (September 1995). The Penguin Historical Atlas of
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051329-9.
^ [30] Historia Augusta, Life of Hadrian.
^ [31] Historia Augusta, Life of Antoninus Pius, V, 4.
^ [32] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVII.
^ Past pandemics that ravaged Europe by Verity Murphy. BBC News. 7
November 2005.
^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter I". In Bury, J.B. The History of the
Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau and
Co.
^ [33] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXII, 36, 4.
^ Cary, Max (1967). A History of
Rome

Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine
(Second ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 704.
^ [34] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXV, 13.
^ [35] Machiavelli, Il Principe, XIX (in Italian).
^ [36] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVI, 7.
^ [37] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVI, 9–12.
^ [38] Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVIII, 22–23.
^ [39] Historia Augusta, The Life of Caracalla, VI.
^ [40] Historia Augusta, The Life of Alexander Severus, LIX.
^ Skip Knox, E.L. "
Crisis of the Third Century

Crisis of the Third Century (235–285)". History
of Western Civilization. Boise State University. Archived from the
original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
^ a b Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter X". In Bury, J.B. The History of
the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau
and Co.
^ [41] Historia Augusta, The Lives of the Thirty Pretenders, III et
XXX.
^ [42] Historia Augusta, The Life of Aurelian, XXXII.
^ [43] Historia Augusta, The Life of Claudius, I.
^ [44] Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, VII.
^
Joannes

Joannes Zonaras, Epitome: From
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian to the death of Galerius.
^
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian (284–305 AD) by Ralph W. Mathisen. De Imperatoribus
Romanis. Written 17 March 1997. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
^ Ward-Perkins, John Bryan (1994). Roman Imperial Architecture. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-05292-3.
^ [45] Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, X-XVI.
^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter XX". In Bury, J.B. The History of
the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau
and Co.
^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter XVII". In Bury, J.B. The History of
the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau
and Co.
^
Constantine I

Constantine I (306 – 337 AD) by Hans A. Pohlsander. De
Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 8 January 2004. Retrieved 20 March
2007.
^ Honorius (395–423 AD) by Ralph W. Mathisen. De Imperatoribus
Romanis. Written 2 June 1999. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 155. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter XXVI". In Bury, J.B. The History of
the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau
and Co.
^ Lapham, Lewis (1997). The End of the World. New York: Thomas Dunne
Books. ISBN 0-312-25264-1. pages 47–50.
^ [46] Bury, J.B.: History of the Later Roman Empire, 8, §2.
^ [47] Bury, J.B.: History of the Later Roman Empire, 6, §4.
^ [48] Bury, J.B.: History of the Later Roman Empire, 6, §3.
^ [49] Bury, J.B.: History of the Later Roman Empire, 9.
^ "The Germanic Invasions of Western Europe". University of Calgary.
August 1996. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved
March 22, 2007.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 157. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ "Roman Emperors – DIR Romulus Augustulus".
www.roman-emperors.org.
^
Romulus Augustulus

Romulus Augustulus (475–476 AD)--Two Views by Ralph W. Mathisen
and Geoffrey S. Nathan. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 26 August
1997. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^ Durant, Will; Durant, Ariel (1944).
The Story of Civilization

The Story of Civilization –
Volume III: Caesar and Christ. United States: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
p. 670. ISBN 978-1567310238.
^ Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages, 1996. p. 8
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 347. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ a b c Hooker, Richard (June 6, 1999). "The Byzantine Empire".
Washington State University. Archived from the original on February
24, 1999. Retrieved April 8, 2007.
^ Bray, R.S. (2004). Armies of Pestilence. Cambridge: James Clarke
& Co. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-227-17240-7.
^ Kreutz, Barbara M. (1996). Before the Normans: Southern
Italy

Italy in the
Ninth and Tenth Centuries. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1587-8.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 349. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^
Basil II

Basil II (AD 976–1025) by Catherine Holmes. De Imperatoribus
Romanis. Written 1 April 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). "Chapter LXI". In Bury, J.B. The History of
the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (Online version). Fred de Fau
and Co.
^ Mehmet II by Korkut Ozgen. Theottomans.org. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 149. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ Abstract of The population of ancient Rome. by Glenn R. Storey.
HighBeam Research. Written 1 December 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
^ The Population of
Rome

Rome by Whitney J. Oates. Originally published in
Classical Philology. Vol. 29, No. 2 (April 1934), pp 101–116.
Retrieved 22 April 2007.
^ N.Morley, Metropolis and Hinterland (Cambridge, 1996) 174-83
^ Gawande, Atul (2014). Being Mortal. London: Profile Books.
p. 32. ISBN 9781846685828. access-date= requires
url= (help)
^ Frank Frost Abbott, Society and Politics in
Ancient

Ancient Rome,
BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, p. 41
^ See "Masterpieces. Desiderius' Cross". Fondazione Brescia Musei.
Retrieved 2 October 2016.
^ For a description of scholarly research on the Brescia Medallion,
see Daniel Thomas Howells (2015). "A Catalogue of the Late Antique
Gold Glass in the British Museum (PDF)." London: the British Museum
(Arts and Humanities Research Council), p. 7. Accessed 2 October 2016.
"Other important contributions to scholarship included the publication
of an extensive summary of gold glass scholarship under the entry
‘Fonds de coupes’ in Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq’s
comprehensive Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie
in 1923. Leclercq updated Vopel’s catalogue, recording 512 gold
glasses considered to be genuine, and developed a typological series
consisting of eleven iconographic subjects: biblical subjects; Christ
and the saints; various legends; inscriptions; pagan deities; secular
subjects; male portraits; female portraits; portraits of couples and
families; animals; and Jewish symbols. In a 1926 article devoted to
the brushed technique gold glass known as the Brescia medallion (Pl.
1), Fernand de Mély challenged the deeply ingrained opinion of
Garrucci and Vopel that all examples of brushed technique gold glass
were in fact forgeries. The following year, de Mély’s hypothesis
was supported and further elaborated upon in two articles by different
scholars. A case for the Brescia medallion’s authenticity was argued
for, not on the basis of its iconographic and orthographic similarity
with pieces from
Rome

Rome (a key reason for Garrucci’s dismissal), but
instead for its close similarity to the Fayoum mummy portraits from
Egypt. Indeed, this comparison was given further credence by Walter
Crum’s assertion that the Greek inscription on the medallion was
written in the Alexandrian dialect of Egypt. De Mély noted that the
medallion and its inscription had been reported as early as 1725, far
too early for the idiosyncrasies of Graeco-Egyptian word endings to
have been understood by forgers."
"Comparing the iconography of the Brescia medallion with other more
closely dated objects from Egypt, Hayford Peirce then proposed that
brushed technique medallions were produced in the early 3rd century,
whilst de Mély himself advocated a more general 3rd-century date.
With the authenticity of the medallion more firmly established, Joseph
Breck was prepared to propose a late 3rd to early 4th century date for
all of the brushed technique cobalt blue-backed portrait medallions,
some of which also had Greek inscriptions in the Alexandrian dialect.
Although considered genuine by the majority of scholars by this point,
the unequivocal authenticity of these glasses was not fully
established until 1941 when Gerhart Ladner discovered and published a
photograph of one such medallion still in situ, where it remains to
this day, impressed into the plaster sealing in an individual loculus
in the Catacomb of Panfilo in
Rome

Rome (Pl. 2). Shortly after in 1942,
Morey used the phrase ‘brushed technique’ to categorize this gold
glass type, the iconography being produced through a series of small
incisions undertaken with a gem cutter’s precision and lending
themselves to a chiaroscuro-like effect similar to that of a fine
steel engraving simulating brush strokes."
^ Joseph Breck (1927). "The Ficoroni Medallion and Some Other Gilded
Glasses in the Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Art Bulletin. 9 (4):
352–356. doi:10.2307/3046553. JSTOR 3046553.
^ Vickers, Michael, "The Wilshere Collection of Early Christian and
Jewish Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford," Miscellanea a
Emilio Marin Sexagenario Dicata, Kacic, 41–43 (2009–2011),
pp. 605–614, PDF, p. 611.
^ Beckwith, John, Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Penguin History
of Art (now Yale), 2nd edn. 1979, ISBN 0140560335, p. 25.
^ Boardman, John ed., The Oxford History of Classical Art, 1993, OUP,
ISBN 0198143869, pp 338–340.
^ Grig, Lucy, "Portraits, Pontiffs and the Christianization of
Fourth-Century Rome", Papers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 72,
(2004), pp. 203–230, JSTOR 40311081, p. 207
^ Jás Elsner (2007). "The Changing Nature of Roman Art and the Art
Historical Problem of Style," in Eva R. Hoffman (ed), Late Antique and
Medieval Art of the Medieval World, 11–18. Oxford, Malden &
Carlton: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-2071-5, p. 17,
Figure 1.3 on p. 18.
^ a b c Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History
(Third ed.). Wadsworth. p. 146. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ a b Casson, Lionel (1998). Everyday Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Baltimore:
The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 10–11.
ISBN 0-8018-5992-1.
^
Family

Family Values in
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome by Richard Saller. The University of
Chicago Library Digital Collections: Fathom Archive. Written 2001.
Visited 14 April 2007.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 339.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 340.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Rawson, Beryl (1987-01-01). The
Family

Family in
Ancient

Ancient Rome: New
Perspectives. Cornell University Press. pp. 2 of introduction.
ISBN 0801494605.
^ LifepacHistory&Geography, Grade6 Unit 3, page 28.z
^ a b Lecture 13: A Brief Social History of the
Roman Empire

Roman Empire by Steven
Kreis. Written 11 October 2006. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
^ a b c d e f g h Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life
in
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 211.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ a b Werner, Paul (1978). Life in
Rome

Rome in
Ancient

Ancient Times. Geneva:
Editions
Minerva

Minerva S.A. p. 31.
^ Duiker, William; Spielvogel, Jackson (2001). World History (Third
ed.). Wadsworth. p. 143. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
^ a b c Roman Education.
Latin

Latin ExCET Preparation. Texas Classical
Association. Written by Ginny Lindzey, September 1998. Retrieved 27
March 2007.
^ Matyszak, Philip (2003). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London:
Thames & Hudson. pp. 16–42. ISBN 0-500-05121-6.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 46.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Sabin, Philip; van Wees, Hans; Whitby, Michael, eds. (2007). The
Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare. Cambridge University
Press. p. 231. ISBN 0521782740.
^ Heseltine, John (2005). Roads to Rome. J. Paul Getty Museum.
p. 11. ISBN 0711225524.
^ Temin, Peter (2001). "A Market Economy in the Early Roman Empire".
Abstract Archives. Economy History Services. Archived from the
original on June 15, 2010.
^ a b c d e Keegan, John (1993). A History of Warfare. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 263–264. ISBN 0-394-58801-0.
^ a b c Potter, David (2004). "The Roman Army and Navy". In Flower,
Harriet I. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge,
U.K.: Cambridge University Press. pp. 67–70.
ISBN 0-521-00390-3.
^ For a discussion of hoplite tactics and their sociocultural setting,
see Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in
Classical Greece, Alfred A. Knopf (New York 1989)
ISBN 0-394-57188-6.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (1996). The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 33.
ISBN 0-19-815057-1.
^ Jo-Ann Shelton, ed., As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social
History, Oxford University Press (New York
1998)ISBN 0-19-508974-X, pp. 245–249.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (2003). The Complete Roman Army. London: Thames
and Hudson, Ltd. pp. 22–24, 37–38.
ISBN 0-500-05124-0.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (2008). Caesar: Life of a Colossus. U.K.: Yale
University Press. pp. 384, 410–411, 425–427.
ISBN 0300126891. Another important factor discussed by
Goldsworthy was absence of legionaries on detached duty.
^ Between 343BC and 241BC, the
Roman army

Roman army fought every year except for
five. Oakley, Stephen P. (2004). "The Early Republic". In Flower,
Harriet I. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge,
U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p. 27.
ISBN 0-521-00390-3.
^ P. A. Brunt, "Army and Land in the Roman Republic," in The Fall of
the
Roman Republic

Roman Republic and Related Essays, Oxford University Press (Oxford
1988) ISBN 0-19-814849-6, p. 253; William V. Harris, War and
Imperialism in Republican
Rome

Rome 327–70 BC, Oxford University
Press (Oxford 1979) ISBN 0-19-814866-6, p. 44.
^ Keegan, John (1993). A History of Warfare. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf. pp. 273–274. ISBN 0-394-58801-0.
^ Brunt, pp. 259–265; Potter, pp. 80–83.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (2008). Caesar: Life of a Colossus. U.K.: Yale
University Press. p. 391. ISBN 0300126891.
^ Karl Christ, The Romans, University of California Press (Berkeley,
1984)ISBN 0-520-04566-1, pp. 74–76.
^ Mackay, Christopher S. (2004).
Ancient

Ancient Rome: A Military and
Political History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
pp. 249–250. ISBN 0-521-80918-5. Mackay points out
that the number of legions (not necessarily the number of legionaries)
grew to 30 by 125AD and 33 during the Severan period (200–235AD).
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (1996). The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 36–37.
ISBN 0-19-815057-1.
^ a b Elton, Hugh (1996). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350-425. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. pp. 89–96.
ISBN 0-19-815241-8.
^ a b Brennan, Correy T. (2004). "Power and Process Under the
Republican 'Constitution'". In Flower, Harriet I. The Cambridge
Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University
Press. pp. 66–68. ISBN 0-521-00390-3.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (1996). The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 121–125.
ISBN 0-19-815057-1.
^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (1996). The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 124.
ISBN 0-19-815057-1.
^ Mackay, Christopher S. (2004).
Ancient

Ancient Rome: A Military and
Political History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
pp. 245–252. ISBN 0-521-80918-5.
^ Mackay, Christopher S. (2004).
Ancient

Ancient Rome: A Military and
Political History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
pp. 295–296. ISBN 0-521-80918-5. . Also chapters
23–24.
^ a b This paragraph is based upon Potter, pp. 76–78.
^ Elton, Hugh (1996). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350-425. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. pp. 99–101.
ISBN 0-19-815241-8.
^
Latin

Latin Online: Series Introduction by Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan
Slocum. Linguistics Research Center. The University of Texas at
Austin. Written 15 February 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
^ Calvert, J. B. (August 8, 1999). "The
Latin

Latin Alphabet". University of
Denver. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April
1, 2007.
^ Classical
Latin

Latin Supplement. page 2. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 203.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Matyszak, Philip (2003). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London:
Thames & Hudson. p. 24. ISBN 0-500-05121-6.
^
Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon (1787). The history of the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire. printed for J. J. Tourneisen. pp. 91–. Retrieved
31 May 2012.
^ The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge.
Encyclopedia Americana Corporation. 1919. pp. 644–. Retrieved
31 May 2012.
^ Willis, Roy (2000). World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide.
Victoria: Ken Fin Books. pp. 166–168.
ISBN 1-86458-089-5.
^ willis
^
Theodosius I
_obverse.jpg/440px-Nummus_of_Theodosius_I_(YORYM_2001_12133)_obverse.jpg)
Theodosius I (379–395 AD) by David Woods. De Imperatoribus
Romanis. Written 2 February 1999. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
^ a b c d Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 350–352.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Roman Painting from Timeline of Art History. Department of Greek and
Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Written 2004–10.
Retrieved 22 April 2007.
^ a b c Donald Jay Grout; Claude V. Palisca (June 1988). A history of
western music. Norton. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 89.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 349–350.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1998). Handbook to Life in Ancient
Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 300.
ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
^ Grant, Michael (2005). Cities of Vesuvius:
Pompeii

Pompeii and Herculaneum.
London: Phoenix Press. pp. 130–134.
ISBN 1-898800-45-6.
^ Civitello, Linda (2011-03-29). Cuisine and Culture: A History of
Food and People. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470403716.
^ a b c Casson, Lionel (1998). Everyday Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 98–108.
ISBN 0-8018-5992-1.
^ a b "Daily Life: Entertainment".
SPQR

SPQR Online. 1998. Archived from
the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2007.
^ Circus Maximus. Encyclopedia Romana. University of Chicago.
Retrieved 19 April 2007.
^ John Humphrey, Roman circuses: arenas for chariot racing, University
of California Press, 1986, p. 216.
^ a b Astore, William. "Bread and Circuses in
Rome

Rome and America".
Retrieved August 11, 2017.
^ Annual Editions: Western Civilization. 1 (12 ed.).
McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. 2002. p. 68. ... where compassion was
regarded as a moral defect ...
^ Jackson, Michael Anthony (2004). Look Back to Get Ahead: Life
Lessons from History's Heroes. Arcade Publishing. p. 174.
Gladatorial games were popular because the Romans actually believed
that compassion was a vice and a weakness
^ Harvey, Brian K., ed. (2016). Daily Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome: A
Sourcebook. Hackett Publishing Company. pp. 21–28.
^ Langlands, Rebecca (2006). Sexual Morality in
Ancient

Ancient Rome.
Cambridge University Press. pp. 3–20.
^ Mathew Dillon and Lynda Garland.
Ancient

Ancient Rome: From the Early
Republic

Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar. Taylor & Francis,
2005. p. 382. ISBN 9780415224598.
^
Ancient

Ancient Roman laws protected against a person corrupting slaves to
obtain secrets about the master's arts. Zeidman, Bob (2011). The
Software IP Detective's Handbook: : Measurement, Comparison, and
Infringement Detection (1st ed.). Prentice Hall. p. 103.
ISBN 0137035330.
^ Nelson, Winter, Thomas (1979-01-01). "ROMAN CONCRETE: THE ASCENT,
SUMMIT, AND DECLINE OF AN ART".
^ "Roman road system". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
^ Keegan, John (1993). A History of Warfare. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf. p. 303. ISBN 0-394-58801-0.
^ Peck, Harry Thurston, ed. (1963). "Aquae Ductus". Harper's
Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities. New York: Cooper
Square Publishers, Inc. pp. 104–106. access-date=
requires url= (help)
^ Murray, Alexander Stuart; Mitchell, John Malcolm (1911). "Aqueduct".
In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.).
pp. 240–244. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^ Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply by A.T. Hodge (1992)
^ Grout, James. "Lead Poisoning and Rome". University of Chicago.
Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July
2011.
^ "
Ancient

Ancient Rome".
Smarthistory

Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved 16 April
2013.
^ Jacob Dorsey Forrest (1906). The development of western
civilization: a study in ethical, economic and political evolution.
The
University of Chicago

University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ William Cunningham (1900). An Essay on Western Civilization in Its
Economic Aspects: Mediaeval and modern times. University Press.
Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Andrew Fleming West, Value of the classics. 1917. Page 185
^ Kuno Fischer (1887). History of modern philosophy. C. Scribner's
Sons. pp. 85–. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Michael Burger (1 April 2008). The Shaping of Western Civilization:
From Antiquity To the Enlightenment. University of Toronto Press.
pp. 203–. ISBN 978-1-55111-432-3. Retrieved 31 May
2012.
^ [50] Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Marius, XI, 5–7.
^ The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 12
vols.
^ Liukkonen, Petri. "Theodor Mommsen". Books and Writers
(kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland:
Kuusankoski

Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from
the original on 24 August 2014.
^ see excerpt and text search
^ Levick, Barbara (10 September 1993). "Claudius". Yale University
Press – via Amazon.
^ see online edition
^ Syme, Ronald (22 August 2002). "The Roman Revolution". Oxford
University Press – via Amazon.
^ "Dr Adrian Goldsworthy, the historian and author".
Adriangoldsworthy.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
References
Adkins, Lesley; Roy Adkins (1998). Handbook to Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
Cary, M. (1967). A History of
Rome

Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine
(2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press.
Casson, Lionel (1998). Everyday Life in
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Baltimore: The
Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5992-1.
Dio, Cassius. "Dio's Rome, Volume V., Books 61–76 (AD 54–211)".
Retrieved 17 December 2006.
Duiker, William; Jackson Spielvogel (2001). World History (Third ed.).
Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-57168-9.
Durant, Will (1944). The Story of Civilization, Volume III: Caesar and
Christ. Simon and Schuster, Inc.
Elton, Hugh (1996). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350-425. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-815241-8.
Flower (editor), Harriet I. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to the
Roman Republic. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-00390-3. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list
(link)
Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2008). Caesar: Life of a Colossus. Yale
University Press
Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (1996). The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-815057-1.
Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2003). The Complete Roman Army. London:
Thames and Hudson, Ltd. ISBN 0-500-05124-0.
Grant, Michael (2005). Cities of Vesuvius:
Pompeii

Pompeii and Herculaneum.
London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1-898800-45-6.
Haywood, Richard (1971). The
Ancient

Ancient World. David McKay Company,
Inc.
Keegan, John (1993). A History of Warfare. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
ISBN 0-394-58801-0.
Livy. The Rise of Rome, Books 1–5, translated from
Latin

Latin by T.J.
Luce, 1998. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-282296-9.
Mackay, Christopher S. (2004).
Ancient

Ancient Rome: A Military and Political
History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-80918-5.
Matyszak, Philip (2003). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London:
Thames & Hudson, Ltd. ISBN 0-500-05121-6.
O'Connell, Robert (1989). Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons,
and Aggression. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-505359-1.
Scarre, Chris (September 1995). The Penguin Historical Atlas of
Ancient

Ancient Rome. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051329-9.
Scullard, H. H. (1982). From the
Gracchi

Gracchi to Nero. (5th edition).
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-02527-3.
Ward-Perkins, John Bryan (1994). Roman Imperial Architecture. Yale
University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-05292-3.
Werner, Paul (1978). Life in
Rome

Rome in
Ancient

Ancient Times. translated by
David Macrae. Geneva: Editions
Minerva

Minerva S.A.
Willis, Roy (2000). World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide.
Collingwood, Victoria: Ken Fin Books. ISBN 1-86458-089-5.
Library resources about
Ancient

Ancient Rome
Online books
Resources in your library
Resources in other libraries
Further reading
Coarelli, Filippo.
Rome

Rome and environs: An archaeological guide.
Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2007.
Cornell, Tim J. The beginnings of Rome:
Italy

Italy and
Rome

Rome from the Bronze
Age to the
Punic Wars

Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC). London: Routledge, 1995.
Coulston, J. C, and Hazel Dodge, editors.
Ancient

Ancient Rome: The
archaeology of the eternal city. Oxford: Oxford University School of
Archaeology, 2000.
Forsythe, Gary. A critical history of early Rome. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2005.
Fox, Matthew. Roman historical myths: The regal period in Augustan
literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Gabba, Emilio. Dionysius and the history of Archaic Rome. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1991.
Holloway, R. Ross. The archaeology of early
Rome

Rome and Latium. London:
Routledge, 1994.
Keaveney, Arthur.
Rome

Rome and the unification of Italy. 2nd edition.
Bristol: Bristol Phoenix, 2005.
Kraus, Christina Shuttleworth, and A. J. Woodman.
Latin

Latin historians.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Mitchell, Richard E. Patricians and plebeians: The origin of the Roman
state. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990.
Potter, T. W. Roman Italy. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1987.
Raaflaub, Kurt A., editors. Social struggles in Archaic Rome: New
perspectives on the conflict of the orders. 2nd edition. Oxford:
Blackwell, 2004.
Rosenstein, Nathan S., and Robert Morstein-Marx, editors. A companion
to the Roman Republic. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
Scheidel, Walter, Richard P Saller, and Ian Morris. The Cambridge
Economic History of the Greco-Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2007.
Smith, Christopher J. Early
Rome

Rome and Latium: Economy and society
c.1000–500 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Stewart, Roberta. Public office in early Rome: Ritual procedure and
political practice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998.
Woolf, Greg. Rome: An Empire's Story. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2012.
Wyke, Maria. Projecting the Past:
Ancient

Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History.
New York: Routledge, 1997.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ancient

Ancient Rome.
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome resources for students from the Courtenay Middle School
Library.
History of ancient
Rome

Rome OpenCourseWare from the University of Notre
Dame providing free resources including lectures, discussion
questions, assignments, and exams.
Gallery of the
Ancient

Ancient Art:
Ancient

Ancient Rome
Lacus Curtius
Livius.Org
United Nations of Roma Victrix (UNRV) History
Water and Wastewater Systems in Imperial Rome
Roman DNA project
v
t
e
Ancient

Ancient
Rome

Rome topics
Outline
Timeline
Epochs
Foundation
Kingdom
overthrow
Republic
Empire
Pax Romana
Principate
Dominate
Western Empire
fall
historiography of the fall
Byzantine Empire
decline
fall
Constitution
History
Kingdom
Republic
Empire
Late Empire
Senate
Legislative assemblies
Curiate
Centuriate
Tribal
Plebeian
Executive magistrates
SPQR
Government
Curia
Forum
Cursus honorum
Collegiality
Emperor
Legatus
Dux
Officium
Prefect
Vicarius
Vigintisexviri
Lictor
Magister militum
Imperator
Princeps senatus
Pontifex Maximus
Augustus
Caesar
Tetrarch
Optimates
Populares
Province
Magistrates
Ordinary
Consul
Censor
Praetor
Tribune
Tribune

Tribune of the Plebs
Military tribune
Quaestor
Aedile
Promagistrate
Governor
Extraordinary
Rex
Interrex
Dictator
Magister Equitum
Decemviri
Consular Tribune
Triumvir
Law
Twelve Tables
Mos maiorum
Citizenship
Auctoritas
Imperium
Status
Litigation
Military
Borders
Establishment
Structure
Campaigns
Political control
Strategy
Engineering
Frontiers and fortifications
castra
Technology
Army
Legion
Infantry tactics
Personal equipment
Siege engines
Navy
Auxiliaries
Decorations and punishments
Hippika gymnasia
Economy
Agriculture
Deforestation
Commerce
Finance
Currency
Republican currency
Imperial currency
Technology
Abacus
Numerals
Civil engineering
Military engineering
Military technology
Aqueducts
Bridges
Circus
Concrete
Domes
Forum
Metallurgy
Roads
Sanitation
Thermae
Culture
Architecture
Art
Bathing
Calendar
Clothing
Cosmetics
Cuisine
Hairstyles
Education
Literature
Music
Mythology
Religion
Romanization
Sexuality
Theatre
Wine
Society
Patricians
Plebs
Conflict of the Orders
Secessio plebis
Equites
Gens
Tribes
Naming conventions
Demography
Women
Marriage
Adoption
Slavery
Bagaudae
Latin
History
Alphabet
Versions
Old
Classical
Vulgar
Late
Medieval
Renaissance
New
Contemporary
Ecclesiastical
Romance languages
Writers
Latin
Ammianus Marcellinus
Appian
Appuleius
Asconius Pedianus
Augustine
Aurelius Victor
Ausonius
Boëthius
Caesar
Catullus
Cassiodorus
Censorinus
Cicero
Claudian
Columella
Ennius
Eutropius
Fabius Pictor
Festus
Florus
Frontinus
Fulgentius
Gellius
Horace
Jerome
Juvenal
Livy
Lucan
Lucretius
Macrobius
Marcus Aurelius
Martial
Orosius
Ovid
Petronius
Phaedrus
Plautus
Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Younger
Priscian
Propertius
Quintilian
Quintus Curtius Rufus
Sallust
Seneca the Elder
Seneca the Younger
Servius
Sidonius Apollinaris
Statius
Suetonius
Symmachus
Tacitus
Terence
Tertullian
Tibullus
Valerius Antias
Valerius Maximus
Varro
Velleius Paterculus
Verrius Flaccus
Virgil
Vitruvius
Greek
Arrian
Cassius Dio
Diodorus Siculus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dioscorides
Eusebius of Caesaria
Galen
Herodian
Josephus
Pausanias
Philostratus
Phlegon of Tralles
Photius
Plutarch
Polybius
Porphyrius
Procopius
Strabo
Zonaras
Zosimus
Major cities
Alexandria
Antioch
Aquileia
Berytus
Bononia
Carthage
Constantinopolis
Eboracum
Leptis Magna
Londinium
Lutetia
Mediolanum
Pompeii
Ravenna
Roma
Smyrna
Vindobona
Volubilis
Lists and other
topics
Cities and towns
Climate
Consuls
Distinguished women
Emperors
Generals
Gentes
Geographers
Institutions
Laws
Legacy
Legions
Nomina
Tribunes
Wars and battles
Fiction
Films
v
t
e
Italy articles
History
Chronology
Prehistory
Italic peoples
Ancient

Ancient Italian peoples
Pre-Nuragic Sardinia
Nuragic peoples
Etruscan Civilization
Nuragic Civilization
Phoenician / Carthaginian colonies
Magna Graecia
Ancient

Ancient Rome
Kingdom
Republic
Empire
Middle Ages
Italy

Italy under Odoacer
Ostrogoths
Byzantine Italy
Lombards
Regnum Italiae
Sardinian Judgedoms
Arabs
Normans
Guelphs and Ghibellines
Italian city-states
Maritime republics
Renaissance
Italian Wars
Early Modern period
Unification
Revolutions of 1820
Revolutions of 1830
Revolutions of 1848
Sicilian revolution of 1848
First War of Independence
Crimean War
Second War of Independence
Expedition of the Thousand
Third War of Independence
Capture of Rome
Monarchy and the World Wars
Kingdom of Italy
Colonial Empire
World War I
Fascist Italy
World War II
Resistance
Civil War
Republic
Economic Boom
Years of Lead
Years of Mud
Mani pulite
By topic
Citizenship
Currency
Economy
Fashion
Flags
Genetic
Historic states
Military
Music
Postal
Railways
Geography
Peninsula
Northern
Northwest
Northeast
Central
Southern
South
Insular
Climate
Fauna
Flora
Mountains
Prealps
Alps
Apennines
Volcanology
Volcanoes
Beaches
Canals
Caves
Earthquakes
Islands
Lakes
National parks
Rivers
Valleys
Politics
Constitution
Elections
Referendums
Foreign relations
Missions
Judiciary
Law enforcement
Military
Parliament
Chamber of Deputies
Senate
Political parties
President
Prime Minister
Council of Ministers
Regions
Provinces
Metropolitan cities
Comune
Municipalities
Cities
Economy
Economic history
Milan
Naples
Rome
Turin
Regions by GDP
Automotive industry
Banking
Central Bank
Companies
Energy
Government debt
Science and technology
Stock exchange
Taxation
Telecommunications
Internet
Tourism
Trade unions
Transportation
Welfare
Society
Abortion
Adoption
Billionaires
Capital punishment
Corruption
Crime
Demographics
Education
Secondary
Higher
Universities
Emigration
Fathers' rights movement
Feminism
Gambling
Health
Healthcare
Immigration
LGBT rights
Nobility
Prostitution
Racism
Religion
Smoking
Social class
Terrorism
Women
Culture
Duecento
Trecento
Quattrocento
Cinquecento
Seicento
Settecento
Architecture
Art
Castles
Cinema
Cuisine
Beer
Wine
Decorations
Design
Fashion
Festivals
Folklore
Italian language
Regional Italian
Italian literature
Italophilia
Italophobia
Languages
Media
Newspapers
Radio
TV
Monuments
Music
Classical
Folk
Opera
Popular
Mythology
National symbols
Anthem
Emblem
Flag
Regions
National monument
Personification
People
Philosophy
Public holidays
Festa della Repubblica
Sculpture
Sport
Traditions
World Heritage Sites
Italy

Italy portal
Category
Commons
News
Quotes
Travel
WikiProject
v
t
e
Roman Constitution
Ancient

Ancient Rome
History
Constitution
Senate
Assemblies
Curiate
Century
Tribal
Plebeian
Magistrates
Roman Kingdom
History
Constitution
Senate
Assemblies
Magistrates
Roman Republic
History
Constitution (reforms of
Sulla

Sulla • reforms of Caesar • reforms of
Augustus)
Senate
Assemblies
Magistrates
Roman Empire
History
(post Diocletian)
Constitution
(post Diocletian)
Senate
Assemblies
Magistrates
Miscellaneous
Sulla's Constitutional Reforms
Caesar's Constitutional Reforms
Conflict of the Orders
Roman law
v
t
e
Ancient

Ancient Roman religion and mythology
Deities
Apollo
Bellona
Bona Dea
Castor and Pollux
Ceres
Cupid
Diana
Dīs Pater
Egeria
Fauna
Faunus
Flora
Genius
Hercules
Janus
Juno
Jupiter
Lares
Liber
Libertas
Lucina
Mars
Mercury
Minerva
Orcus
Neptune
Penates
Pluto
Pomona
Priapus
Proserpina
Quirinus
Saturn
Silvanus
Sol
Venus
Vesta
Vulcan
Abstract deities
Abundantia
Aequitas
Concordia
Fides
Fortuna
Pietas
Roma
Salus
Securitas
Spes
Victoria
Terra
Legendary figures
Aeneas
Rhea Silvia
Romulus and Remus
Numa Pompilius
Tullus Hostilius
Servius

Servius Tullius
Ancus Marcius
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Texts
Virgil
Aeneid
Ovid
Metamorphoses
Fasti
Propertius
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Varro
Concepts and practices
Religion in ancient Rome
Festivals
Interpretatio graeca
Imperial cult
Temples
See also
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
Greek mythology
Myth and ritual
Classical mythology
Conversion to Christianity
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
v
t
e
Ancient

Ancient Greek and Roman wars
Ancient

Ancient Greece
Trojan War
First Messenian War
Second Messenian War
Lelantine War
Greek–
Punic Wars

Punic Wars (Sicilian Wars)
Greco-Persian Wars
Aeginetan War
Wars of the Delian League
Samian War
Peloponnesian War
Corinthian War
First / Second / Third Sacred War
Social War (357–355 BC)
Rise of Macedon
Wars of Alexander the Great
Wars of the Diadochi
Lamian War
Chremonidean War
Cleomenean War
Social War (220–217 BC)
Cretan War
Aetolian War
War against Nabis
Maccabean Revolt
Roman Republic
Roman–
Latin

Latin wars (First
Latin

Latin War (Battle of Lake
Regillus)
Second
Latin

Latin War)
Samnite Wars
Pyrrhic War
Punic Wars (First
Second
Third)
Macedonian Wars (Illyrian
First Macedonian
Second Macedonian
Seleucid
Third Macedonian
Fourth Macedonian)
Jugurthine War
Cimbrian War
Roman Servile Wars (First
Second
Third)
Social War (90–88 BC)
Sulla's civil wars (First
Second)
Mithridatic Wars (First
Second
Third)
Gallic Wars
Julius Caesar's civil war
Augustus' rise to power (Battle of Mutina
Liberators' civil war
Sicilian revolt
Perusine War (Fulvia's civil war)
Final War of the Roman Republic)
Roman Empire
Germanic Wars (Marcomannic
Alemannic
Gothic
Visigothic)
Conquest of Britain
Wars of Boudica
Armenian War
Four Emperors
Jewish wars
Domitian's Dacian War
Trajan's Dacian Wars
Parthian Wars
Wars against Persia
Third-century civil wars
Decline and fall of the Western Empire
Military history
v
t
e
Roman and Byzantine emperors
Principate
27 BC – 235 AD
Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
Galba
Otho
Vitellius
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian
Nerva
Trajan
Hadrian
Antoninus Pius
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
Commodus
Pertinax
Didius Julianus
(Pescennius Niger)
(Clodius Albinus)
Septimius Severus
Caracalla

Caracalla with Geta
Macrinus

Macrinus with Diadumenian
Elagabalus
Severus Alexander
Crisis
235–284
Maximinus Thrax
Gordian I

Gordian I and Gordian II
Pupienus

Pupienus and Balbinus
Gordian III
Philip the Arab

Philip the Arab with Philip II
Decius
.jpg/440px-Emperor_Traianus_Decius_(Mary_Harrsch).jpg)
Decius with Herennius Etruscus
Hostilian
Trebonianus Gallus

Trebonianus Gallus with Volusianus
Aemilianus
Valerian
Gallienus

Gallienus with
Saloninus and Valerian II
Claudius

Claudius Gothicus
Quintillus
Aurelian
Tacitus
Florian
Probus
Carus
Carinus

Carinus and Numerian
Gallic Emperors:
Postumus
(Laelianus)
Marius
Victorinus
(Domitianus II)
Tetricus I
.jpg/350px-Aureus_Tetricus_(obverse).jpg)
Tetricus I with
Tetricus II
.jpg)
Tetricus II as Caesar
Dominate
284–395
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian (whole empire)
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian (East) and
Maximian
.jpg/440px-MSR_-_Tête_de_l'empreur_Maximien_Hercule_-_Inv_34_b_(cropped).jpg)
Maximian (West)
Diocletian
_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg/440px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Diocleziano_(284-305_d.C.)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg)
Diocletian (East) and
Maximian
.jpg/440px-MSR_-_Tête_de_l'empreur_Maximien_Hercule_-_Inv_34_b_(cropped).jpg)
Maximian (West) with
Galerius

Galerius (East) and
Constantius Chlorus

Constantius Chlorus (West) as Caesares
Galerius

Galerius (East) and
Constantius Chlorus

Constantius Chlorus (West) with Severus (West) and
Maximinus II (East) as Caesares
Galerius

Galerius (East) and Severus (West) with
Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (West)
and
Maximinus II (East) as Caesares
Galerius

Galerius (East) and
Maxentius

Maxentius (West) with
Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (West)
and
Maximinus II (East) as Caesares
Galerius

Galerius (East) and
Licinius

Licinius I (West) with Constantine the Great
(West) and
Maximinus II (East) as Caesares
Maxentius

Maxentius (alone)
Licinius

Licinius I (West) and
Maximinus II (East) with Constantine the Great
(Self-proclaimed Augustus) and Valerius Valens
Licinius

Licinius I (East) and
Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (West) with
Licinius

Licinius II,
Constantine II, and
Crispus

Crispus as Caesares
(Martinian)
Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (whole empire) with son
Crispus

Crispus as Caesar
Constantine II
Constans

Constans I
Magnentius
,_300-302.JPG/440px-Impero,_magnezio,_multiplo_d'oro_(treviri),_300-302.JPG)
Magnentius with
Decentius as Caesar
Constantius II
.jpg/440px-Bust_of_Constantius_II_(Mary_Harrsch).jpg)
Constantius II with Vetranio
Julian
Jovian
Valentinian the Great
Valens
Gratian
Valentinian II
Magnus Maximus
_A_king,_possibly_Magnus_Maximus,_holding_a_sceptre.jpg/440px-Llanbeblig_Hours_(f._3r.)_A_king,_possibly_Magnus_Maximus,_holding_a_sceptre.jpg)
Magnus Maximus with Victor
Theodosius the Great
(Eugenius)
Western Empire
395–480
Honorius
Constantine III with son
Constans

Constans II)
Constantius III
Joannes
Valentinian III
Petronius

Petronius Maximus with Palladius
Avitus
Majorian
Libius Severus
Anthemius
Olybrius
Glycerius
Julius Nepos
Romulus Augustulus
Eastern/
Byzantine Empire
395–1204
Arcadius
Theodosius II
Pulcheria
Marcian
Leo I the Thracian
Leo II
Zeno (first reign)
Basiliscus

Basiliscus with son Marcus as co-emperor
Zeno (second reign)
Anastasius I Dicorus
Justin I
Justinian the Great
Justin II
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius II Constantine
Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor
Phocas
Heraclius
Constantine III
Heraklonas
Constans

Constans II
Constantine IV

Constantine IV with brothers
Heraclius

Heraclius and
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius and then Justinian
II as co-emperors
Justinian II

Justinian II (first reign)
Leontios
Tiberios III
Justinian II

Justinian II (second reign) with son
Tiberius
.jpg/440px-Tiberius,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115606671).jpg)
Tiberius as co-emperor
Philippikos
Anastasios II
Theodosius III
Leo III the Isaurian
Constantine V
Artabasdos
Leo IV the Khazar
Constantine VI
Irene
Nikephoros I
Staurakios
Michael I Rangabe
,_coronation.jpg/440px-Michael_I_(Roman_emperor),_coronation.jpg)
Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor
Leo V the Armenian

Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor
Michael II

Michael II the Amorian
Theophilos
Michael III
Basil I

Basil I the Macedonian
Leo VI the Wise
Alexander
Constantine VII

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Romanos I Lekapenos

Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as
junior co-emperors
Romanos II
Nikephoros II Phokas
John I Tzimiskes
Basil II
Constantine VIII
Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros
Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian
Michael V Kalaphates
Zoë (second reign) with Theodora
Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos
Constantine IX Monomachos

Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor)
Theodora
Michael VI Bringas
Isaac I Komnenos
Constantine X Doukas
Romanos IV Diogenes
Michael VII Doukas

Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son
Constantine
Nikephoros III Botaneiates
Alexios I Komnenos
John II Komnenos

John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor
Manuel I Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos
Isaac II Angelos
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios IV Angelos
Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate)
Alexios V Doukas
Empire

Empire of Nicaea
1204–1261
Constantine Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris
John III Doukas Vatatzes
Theodore II Laskaris
John IV Laskaris
Eastern/
Byzantine Empire
1261–1453
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
.jpg)
Andronikos II Palaiologos with
Michael IX Palaiologos

Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John VI Kantakouzenos

John VI Kantakouzenos with
John V Palaiologos

John V Palaiologos and Matthew
Kantakouzenos as co-emperors
John V Palaiologos
Andronikos IV Palaiologos
John VII Palaiologos
Andronikos V Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos
John VIII Palaiologos
Constantine XI Palaiologos
Italics indicates a co-emperor, while underlining indicates an
usurper.
v
t
e
Former states of the Italian Peninsula, Savoy, Corsica, Sardinia,
Sicily

Sicily and Malta
Etruscan
civilization
Lega dei popoli
Etruscan dodecapolis
Ancient
Rome
Roman Kingdom

Roman Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC)
Roman Republic

Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC)
Roman Italy
Sicilia (241 BC–476 AD)
Corsica and Sardinia

Corsica and Sardinia (238 BC–455 AD)
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (27 BC–395 AD)
Praetorian prefecture of
Italy

Italy (337 AD–584 AD)
Western
Roman Empire

Roman Empire (285 AD–476 AD)
Medieval
and
Early Modern
states
Early
Italian
Kingdom
(476-774)
Odoacer's rule (476–493)
Ostrogothic rule (493–553)
Vandal rule (435–534)
Lombard rule (568–774)
Duchy of Benevento
Duchy of Friuli
Duchy of Ivrea
Duchy of Spoleto
Duchy of Tridentum
Holy Roman
Kingdom of Italy
(774/962–1806),
Papal States
and other
independent
states
March of Ancona
Duchy of Aosta
Patria del Friuli

Patria del Friuli (Patriarchate of Aquileia)
Bishopric of Bressanone
Duchy of Castro
Commune of Rome
Marquisate of Ceva
Republic

Republic of Cospaia
Duchy of Ferrara
Marquisate of Finale
City of Fiume and its District
Republic

Republic of Florence
Duchy of Florence
March of Friuli
Republic

Republic of Genoa
Republic

Republic of Noli
County of Gorizia
Princely
County of Gorizia
.svg/500px-County_of_Gorizia_locator_map_(1250).svg.png)
County of Gorizia and Gradisca
County of Guastalla
Duchy of Guastalla
March of Istria
Duchy of Ivrea
Republic

Republic of Lucca
Margravate of Mantua
Duchy of Mantua
Duchy of Massa and Carrara
Duchy of Merania
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Mirandola
Duchy of Modena and Reggio
March of Montferrat
Duchy of Montferrat
County of Nizza
Duchy of Parma
Principality of Piedmont
Principality of Piombino
Republic

Republic of Pisa
Duchy of Reggio
Marquisate of Saluzzo
County of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
Republic

Republic of Siena
Duchy of Spoleto
Terra Sancti Benedicti
Bishopric of Trento
March of Turin
March of Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
County of Tirolo
Duchy of Urbino
March of Verona
Imperial Free City of Trieste
Byzantine
Empire
(584-751)
Exarchate of
Ravenna

Ravenna (584–751)
Duchy of
Rome

Rome (533–751)
Duchy of Perugia

Duchy of Perugia (554–752)
Duchy of the Pentapolis

Duchy of the Pentapolis (554–752)
Exarchate of Africa

Exarchate of Africa (585–698)
Republic

Republic of Venice
(697–1797)
Dogado
Stato da Màr
Domini di Terraferma
Southern Italy
(774–1139)
Byzantine
Duchy of Amalfi
Duchy of Gaeta
Catepanate of Italy
Longobardia
Theme of Lucania
Duchy of Naples
Theme of
Sicily

Sicily and Byzantine Sicily
Duchy of Sorrento
Arab
Emirate of Bari
Emirate of Sicily
Lombard
Principality of Benevento
Principality of Salerno
Principality of Capua
Norman
County of Apulia and Calabria
County of Aversa
County of Sicily
Principality of Taranto
Sardinia and Corsica
(9th century–1420)
Giudicati
Agugliastra
Arborea
Cagliari
Gallura
Logudoro
Kingdom of Sardinia
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Kingdom_of_Sardinia_(1848).svg.png)
Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica
Corsican
Republic

Republic (1755–1769)
Kingdom of Sicily
(1130–1816) and
Kingdom of Naples
(1282–1816)
State of the Presidi
Duke of San Donato
Duchy of Sora
Principality of Taranto
Neapolitan
Republic

Republic (1647–1648)
Malta under the Order
Gozo
Malta Protectorate
Crown Colony of Malta
French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic eras
(1792–1815)
Republics
Alba
Ancona
Bergamo
Bologna
Brescia
Cisalpinia
Cispadania
Crema
Italy
Liguria
Lucca
Parthenopea
Piedmont
Rome
Subalpinia
Tiberinia
Transpadania
Monarchies
Benevento
Etruria
Guastalla
Italy
Lucca and Piombino
Massa and Carrara
Naples
Pontecorvo
Tuscany
Elba
Corsica
Post-Napoleonic
states
Duchy of Genoa (1815–1848)
Duchy of Lucca

Duchy of Lucca (1815–1847)
Duchy of Massa and Carrara

Duchy of Massa and Carrara (1814–1829)
Duchy of Modena and Reggio

Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1814–1859)
Duchy of Parma

Duchy of Parma (1814–1859)
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
.svg/250px-Flag_of_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Tuscany_(1840).svg.png)
Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1815–1859)
Italian United Provinces

Italian United Provinces (1831)
Provisional Government of Milan (1848)
Republic

Republic of San Marco (1848–1849)
Roman Republic

Roman Republic (1849)
United Provinces of Central
Italy

Italy (1859–1860)
Kingdom of Sardinia
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Kingdom_of_Sardinia_(1848).svg.png)
Kingdom of Sardinia (1814–1860)
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
.svg/250px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilies_(1816).svg.png)
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816–1861)
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1866)
Papal States
.svg/250px-Flag_of_the_Papal_States_(1825-1870).svg.png)
Papal States (1814–1870)
Post-unification
Kingdom of
Italy

Italy (1861–1946)
Italian
Empire

Empire (1869–1946)
Free State of Fiume

Free State of Fiume (1920–1924)
Italian Social
Republic

Republic (1943–1945)
Free Territory of Trieste

Free Territory of Trieste (1947-1954)
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 244992873
LCCN: n79039816
GND: 40767