The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The period begins with the reign of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

(), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginning of

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. Despite the end of the "Roman imperial period", the Roman Empire continued to exist under the rule of the Roman emperors into Late Antiquity and beyond, except in the

Western Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, over which the Romans' political and military control was lost in the course of the 5th-century

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

Periodization

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

, the "imperial period" is by convention taken to last from 27 BCE to CE 284. In

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, on the other hand, the term is usually taken to cover the period of c. CE 1 to 375 (the latter being a conventional date for the onset of the

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

). This follows (1955), who used a periodization of "early imperial period" () B1 to B2 and "late imperial period" () C1 to C3, reflecting the history of Roman pottery imports to Magna Germania and other parts of Barbaricum (Eggers A corresponds to La Tène D). In the chronology of Eggers (1955): The term "Roman imperial period" has been used as opposed to "late antiquity", i.e. implying the "early" and "middle" imperial period of the late 1st century BC to the 3rd century CE. The "Roman imperial period" in this sense would end with the reforms under Diocletian and the beginning of the

Christianization of the Roman Empire The growth of early Christianity from its obscure origin AD 40, with fewer than 1,000 followers, to being the majority religion of the entire Roman Empire by AD 400, has been examined through a wide variety of Historiography, historiogra ...

. The period is roughly equivalent in span to the "

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

", the early period of Roman imperial rule from Augustus to

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

(r. 284–305), succeeded by the "

Dominate The Dominate is a periodisation of the Roman Empire during late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was p ...

References

{{reflist Archaeology in Europe Iron Age Europe Imperial period de:Römische Kaiserzeit

Periodization

See also

References