The beginning of the Roman Empire. How long did the Roman Empire last? Periodization of history

The history of the Roman Empire lasted 16 centuries and consists of several stages of development. Ambition, conquest, and the unsurpassed power of technology are the foundation of the Roman Empire. Rome's colossal construction projects - stadiums, palaces, roads, aqueducts - united three continents and gave strength to the most advanced civilization in the world.

This documentary will tell you about how the Roman Empire, powerful and great in the history of mankind, was created. What sacrifices were made in order to gather peoples into one power. And how the stability of such complex systems as empires was maintained.

→ History of the Roman Empire.

II. Decline of the Empire - Why Rome died ?

Edward Gibbon, author of the famous work "The History of the Destruction and Fall of Rome", considered such a question stupid. He wrote: - The fall of Rome was a natural and inevitable consequence of excessive greatness. Prosperity turned into a source of decline; the cause of the disintegration was aggravated by the extent of the conquest, and as soon as time or chance removed the artificial supports, the enormous structure yielded to the pressure of its weight. The story of the collapse is simple and obvious, and instead of asking why the Roman Empire collapsed, we should wonder how it survived so long.

These words were written in the 70s of the 18th century. But debate about the reasons for the death of Rome continues to this day. Europeans and people from Europe argue. The Chinese, Iranians, and Indians are not noticeable in the debate - they had their own empires and their own disasters. But for the peoples physically or spiritually connected with Rome, from the Americans to the Russians, the death of the great empire is still not an empty phrase. The Roman state constituted a self-sufficient world of European civilization, and the collapse of the world is an exciting topic. Explanations for the reasons for the death of Rome appeared long before Gibbon and continue to appear to this day. The corruption of Rome had been a concern for centuries before its fall. Actually, it was the main subject of concern for all worthy Roman emperors, starting with Octavian - Augustus - the first and greatest of them.

Chapter I. PRINCIPLE: ZENIT OF ROME (I - II centuries AD)

1. History's dotted line: emperors and events

2. Great and civilized empire

3. Roman cities

4. Spiritual life

5. Social psychology

6. Conservatism of the Early Empire

7. Search for God

8. Conclusion

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1. History's dotted line: emperors and events

The thousand-year history of Rome interests us because of its decline. What is most important here is the beginning of the end, the beginning and development of the disease of an outwardly powerful state, and not the last century of desperate struggle for survival, which was partially crowned with success - only the Western Roman Empire perished - Rome, in fact, and the eastern half with its capital in Constantinople survived and turned into Byzantium existed for another 1000 years. Therefore, it makes sense to turn to the times of greatest prosperity and greatness of Rome. Such a time was the first two hundred years of the Roman Empire, known as the Principate or Early Empire. The previous Roman Republic degenerated into a military dictatorship, beginning with the entry of Sulla's army into Rome (83 BC). Roman citizens experienced mass terror - proscriptions, civil wars, the assassination of the great dictator - Gaius Julius Caesar, the death of several losing claimants.

Calm (and the beginning of the empire) came with the victory of the grandson of Caesar's sister Octavian, who took the ancestral and family surname of his grandfather - Julius Caesar and received the name Augustus from the Senate. During his 45 years of reign (31 BC - 14 AD), Augustus ensured the calm of the state, tormented by a 20-year civil war, streamlined the monetary system, limited the robbery and arbitrariness of provincial governors, equalized the rights of the inhabitants of Italy, created a relatively honest bureaucracy, strengthened the borders, reduced the army, settling 300 thousand veterans in new cities, many of which are thriving today (Merida and Zaragoza in Spain, Turin in Italy, Nimes and Avignon in France).

Augustus laid the foundations of the Principate. Formally, he restored the republican constitution, honored the Senate and was one of the members of the magistrate. In fact, he determined the composition of the Senate and the Magistrate. As a proconsul, Augustus ruled the border provinces, where the army was stationed. According to republican tradition, the legionnaires proclaimed him emperor, leader. Year after year he was elected consul, military tribune, and great pontiff (priest). Having concentrated in his hands the forms of power known in the republic, Augustus asserted that he was not a dictator, but a princeps - the first citizen of the republic. He wrote in his old age: three times the Senate and people of Rome offered me to rule alone, without colleagues, .... but I would not accept a position incompatible with the customs of my ancestors.

Successfully managing a huge state, Augustus delved into all matters. He was especially concerned about the improvement of public morality, a return to former values, to a simple way of life and a strong family. Augustus also organized a youth movement, where young Romans received military training and learned horse riding. Such was the ruler, against whom during his 45 years in power there was only one conspiracy. After the death of Agustus (14 AD), power smoothly passed to his adopted son, Tiberius. Then the abnormal Caligula (37 - 41 AD) ruled, killed by the conspirators. His uncle, the worker Claudius (41 - 54), became emperor. Claudius was poisoned by mushrooms by his wife Agrippina and her son, Nero, who ruled from 54 to 68, became emperor. The reign of Nero, famous for his crimes and wastefulness, ended with the revolt of the army and the suicide of the tyrant. With Nero, the Julian dynasty ended and the name Caesar from a family surname turned into an imperial title that reached the twentieth century, like Kaiser and Tsar.

Over the course of a year, four contenders competed for power over the empire. Vespasian won (69). The reign of Vespasian (69 - 79), his son Titus (79 - 81) and another son, Domitian (81 - 96), killed by conspirators, is known as the reign of the Flavian dynasty. What follows are the “five good emperors,” as Edward Gibbon put it. With the exception of the first, Nerva, they became emperors by adoption. The elderly Nerva, elected by the Senate, did not rule for long (96 - 98), but avoided civil war and initiated adoptions. Nerva chose the idol of legionnaires Trajan as his adopted son. Under Trajan (98 - 117), the Roman Empire reached the zenith of its power. Never, neither before nor after, has it been so extensive. Trajan defeated the Parthians, the only state capable of fighting Rome on equal terms. Armenia, modern Azerbaijan with access to the Caspian Sea, and Mesopotamia with access to the Persian Gulf went to Rome. In the north, Trajan conquered Dacia - now Romania and gained access to the richest metal deposits. The legions reached the Carpathians. As an emperor, Trojan was no less popular than Augustus. The system of state support for Italian peasants he introduced, with the transfer of repayable debt for alimony to poor children, lasted more than 200 years.

Trojan was replaced by the intelligent and energetic Hadrian (117 - 138). Then Anthony Pius ruled (138 - 161), who had no special ambitions. His goal was calm within the country and at the borders. The emperor achieved these goals. During the 22-year period of Pius's reign, there were no records of fateful events, which is not at all a bad thing. The last of the five “good” emperors, Marcus Aurelius (161 - 180), is known as a Stoic philosopher. He really had to be stoic. Literally from the first days of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, misfortunes rained down on the empire. The barbarians broke through Roman fortifications in Britain and Germany. They were repulsed. Then a difficult war with the Parthians began. It was necessary to transfer legions from the Danube border to the Parthian front, which the local barbarians were quick to take advantage of. It was difficult to recapture them. Then came plague, crop failure, earthquakes and famine. At least a quarter of the empire's population died. During these difficult years, Marcus Aurelius did everything he could - he was in the most dangerous places, worked tirelessly, and resolved countless issues regarding the management of the empire. In his notes, he writes that he devoted his life to serving the state and the people.

This handsome emperor made a fatal mistake. He abandoned the practice of adoption and made his son Commodus his heir. The insanely cruel, wasteful and depraved Commodus ruled for 12 years (180 - 192). When he was finally killed, a period of coups and civil war began. The winner was Septimius Severus, a good commander and administrator. The rule of the North (193 - 211) was favorable to Rome. But by increasing military pay and encouraging the influence of lawyers in the administration, the North laid the foundations for the militarization and bureaucratization so noticeable in the late empire.

The North was succeeded by his sons - Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) and Geta. Soon Caracalla killed Geta with his own hands. Having become the sole ruler, Caracalla (212 - 217) continued the tradition of his father, increasing the pay of the soldiers. His most famous reform extended Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. On one of his trips, the emperor was killed by a conspirator.

The new emperor, the organizer of the murder of Caracalla, Macrinus (217 -218), himself fell victim to the conspiracy. The widow of Septimius Severus, the Syrian Julia Domna, enthroned a relative, the 14-year-old priest of the Syrian god Elagabalus, to the throne. The short, but eccentric even for Rome, reign of the young emperor (218 - 222), nicknamed Elagabalus, ended with his murder (222) and another relative of Julia, 12-year-old Alexander Severus, obedient to his mother in everything, became emperor. Alexander clearly did not correspond to the harsh times that had come - the onslaught of the Persians and the attacks of the Germans. Irritated soldiers killed the emperor along with his mother (235). Thus ended the Severan dynasty.

For the next half century, from 235 to 284, the empire was on the verge of complete collapse. During this time, 18 more or less “legitimate” emperors were replaced, not counting co-rulers and “usurpers”, the number of which is not precisely known. Almost all “legitimate” emperors and pretenders died violent deaths. The leapfrog of the emperors had external reasons: enemies attacked from all sides, defeated the Roman armies, and even broke through into Italy. Decentralization arose - after all, it is easier to defend provinces locally than from the center. Some successful governors and generals wanted independence, others wanted power over the empire. All new applicants found death in pursuit of the imperial purple.

The devastation of the Roman state led to the loss of the achievements of the principate, including a prosperous city life, the safety of citizens, active trade between the provinces, and the invincibility of the Roman army. Added to this were recurring epidemics, which significantly reduced the population of the empire, the depreciation of money and a decrease in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bland used. It seemed that the catastrophe should have ended, but this did not happen and the Roman Empire existed for more than 200 years in the West and, like Byzantium, for 1300 years in the East.

2. Great and civilized empire

It is known that Rome emerged as a prosperous superpower during the reign of Augustus (31 BC - 14 AD). Less clear is the end of prosperity. Most often it is attributed to the death of the last “good” emperor - Marcus Aurelius (180) or is pushed back in time until the death of Septimius Severus (211). In my opinion, things were already going badly under Marcus Aurelius, when the empire was attacked by the Germans and Parthians and a terrible plague epidemic broke out (165). The range is small - the heyday of the empire lasted from 196 to 211 years - and 200 years can be taken as an average estimate for the duration of the heyday of Rome.

It is legitimate to ask to what extent the prosperity of the empire was accompanied by good and bad rulers? Contemporaries who left records consider the reign of Tiberius (23 years), Calligula (4 years), Nero (last 9 years), the civil war of 68 - 69 (less than a year) and the reign of Domitian (15 years) to be bad times. It is significant that the records were left by supporters of the Senate, that is, the metropolitan aristocracy, which did not always express the interests of the state. Even Tiberius' enemies recognized his outstanding administrative abilities. The same is known about Domitian. Cruel to the capital's elite, he promoted the development of the economy (maintained a high exchange rate, built roads, reconstructed Rome) and improved the management of the Roman provinces. On the other hand, some “good” emperors, at best, can be considered “no”, that is, they did not influence the life of the empire. Thus, we can assume that from 31 BC. to 165 AD the reign harmful to the state lasted 14 years (Calligula, late Nero and the civil war) or 7% of the duration of the heyday, and in the remaining years the emperors coped with their tasks or, at least, did not cause damage.

So, the Roman empire was well governed for almost 200 years, although, with the exception of Augustus, the emperors had little influence on the organization of the state, but rather decided on foreign policy issues, primarily military ones, and from the internal ones they were engaged in the construction of cities and roads and maintaining the monetary exchange rate. In foreign policy, the emperors successfully coped with private tasks, but failed to achieve two important geopolitical goals: 1. Conquest of Germany and 2. Subjugation of Iran (Parthians, Persians). Instead, the conquest of Britain, of dubious strategic value, and Dacia, rich in minerals but vulnerable to invasion, was undertaken. The dispersion of forces and the lack of long-term political will, that is, continuity of foreign policy, prevented Rome from subjugating Germany along the Elbe River and romanizing the warlike Germanic peoples. Iran was hampered by Rome's inability to find cultural and spiritual contacts with the Parthian and later Persian nobility. In this respect, the Romans were immeasurably inferior to the Hellenes, who were capable of conquering the East not only with weapons, but with culture.

Gibbon called Rome at its height "a great and civilized empire." What was the Roman Empire like then? Firstly, it was truly a huge empire, located in the most suitable place for the development of civilization. From west to east, from the Atlantic coast of Spain to the shores of Colchis, the empire stretched 4,500 kilometers, which is the same as from Bryansk to Irkutsk. The greatest length from north to south, from Hadrian's Wall in Scotland to the border of the Sahara, was 2,600 kilometers, that is, no less than from Moscow to Tehran. The population of the empire in the 2nd century AD. was about 70 million. Almost the entire territory of this huge country was located in the zone most favorable for agriculture. The prevailing climate was a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and warm, rainy winters, or the mild, humid climate of Gaul, southern Britain and northern Spain. Only in the mountains and plateaus of central Spain and Asia Minor was the climate more severe.

In the Mediterranean, the most important cultivated plant was olive trees, providing the population with excellent oil and salted olives. In those days, the Mediterranean was much more favorable for agriculture; The forests had not yet been cleared and there was more rainfall. Therefore, North Africa became the breadbasket of the empire, supplying bread to the insatiable Rome. Agriculture was supplemented by fishing - the sea was at hand. In Gaul and Britain, the mild climate contributed not only to agriculture, but also to the breeding of cows and pigs. The production of local cheeses flourished. The rivers of Gaul, Roman Germany and Britain abounded in fish. Viticulture and winemaking were developed throughout almost the entire empire, with the exception of Britain. Agriculture was the basis of the wealth of the Roman state. Ownership of land was valued above all else, and a rich person, first of all, sought to buy more land. Industry was less important. Handicrafts predominated, although large manufactories producing ceramics, building materials, and fabrics were known. Mining acquired a large scale. More than 40,000 people worked in the silver mines around New Carthage in Spain.

Gibbon considered the Roman Empire I - III centuries. the most prosperous period in the history of civilization until the 18th century. Perhaps he was exaggerating - there were centuries of prosperity in China during the Han dynasty and peaceful Buddhist India during the time of Ashoka. But for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin, Gaul, and the Balkans, the early Roman Empire turned out to be a two-hundred-year respite in an endless series of wars, violence, mass enslavement and famine. The Principate brought civil peace to the vast territory - pax Romana. Italy and Asia Minor, devastated by civil wars, flourished and the newly annexed territories began to rise. Unlike the Republic, the emperors encouraged the development of the provinces, where the population increased, cities grew and the level of civilization reached the Roman level. Agriculture developed especially successfully. New lands were developed, new crops were introduced. The methods of Roman agronomy and animal husbandry were widely used. In Gaul they began to plow with a heavy wheeled plow. Mowers and reapers on wheels appeared. From the 1st to the 3rd centuries, the role of slaves in agriculture gradually decreased. Increasingly, land was leased to free people.

Using the theoretical developments of Greek scientists, the Romans achieved remarkable success in applied hydraulics, road construction and architecture. Water supply was especially impressive in hydraulics. The Romans built many kilometers of water pipelines, including aqueducts with multi-level wiring, reminiscent of highway intersections. When laying a water pipeline through a gorge, a bridge was built, or the principle of a siphon was used, according to which the water in the pipe should return to its original level. To do this, they built a system of pipes that descended steeply along one slope of the gorge and climbed up the other. Rome's water supply in the 1st century was not inferior to the cities of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. A resident of the capital of the empire accounted for about 67 liters per day (in Russia - 60 liters per day). The pumping of water from mines was mastered and advanced water mills were created. The most famous is the giant mill in Barbigal, near Arles, consisting of an aqueduct descending from the mountain, in which 16 two-meter mill wheels spun, connected to the millstones of flour mills built along the aqueduct. The mill ground 250 - 300 kg of flour per day.

Much has been written about Roman roads: the empire was covered with a network of stone roads that served strategic and trade purposes. Straight, carefully planned, built to last, roads can still be used today where they have not been destroyed. No less famous are the grandiose amphitheaters built in many cities of the empire (not only the Colosseum in Rome), public baths, the three-level shopping center of Trajan's Forum, Hadrian's Pantheon with a huge dome - until the end of the 19th century - the largest dome in the world. The greatest achievement of the Romans was the introduction of concrete into construction. High-quality types of concrete were created and its properties as a building material were mastered. The design features of Roman concrete vaults, arches and domes have still not lost their significance.

The empire contributed to the flourishing of trade. Low customs tariffs, a stable exchange rate, excellent roads, comfortable harbors, security on land and at sea (piracy was almost eradicated) created the conditions for the delivery of goods on a scale unprecedented in the ancient world. Maritime trade was of particular importance. Overland transportation using draft animals was used more for local trade. The empire was self-sufficient and trade on the domestic market predominated. However, active foreign trade was carried out with Northern Europe (amber, furs, slaves), the Black Sea region (grain), Arabia and India (spices, exotic goods), China (silk). The import of luxury goods, especially silk, was not covered by the export of Roman goods. Silk from China was paid for in gold. The leakage of gold led to a shortage of it in the empire. Here they see one of the reasons for the “damage to money,” that is, the addition of cheaper metals to gold coins.

Security within the empire facilitated not only trade, but also travel in search of work, new residence, visits to shrines and various interesting places. Tourist trips to the historical cities of Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and, to Egypt with a trip along the Nile and inspection of the pyramids, temples, and the “singing” statue of Memnon have become popular. The names of hundreds of Roman tourists are inscribed on the stones of Egyptian monuments. They traveled outside the empire exclusively on trade matters. Even India did not attract attention, despite the annual voyages of ships from the Red Sea port to the Malabar coast of South India, where there was a Roman trading post at Crangonora with two cohorts of legionary guards.

The empire had a fast and reliable state postal service. She provided communication between the government and provincial governors, military leaders, and officials. Postal stations were located along the main roads, where couriers carrying mail changed horses. The average speed of movement was 80 km per day, but in urgent cases it reached 270 km in 24 hours. Mail was delivered at such a speed in Europe only at the end of the 19th century. Private correspondence took longer - letters were delivered by merchants and servants.

3. Roman cities

Roman Empire 1st - 2nd centuries AD was a civilization of cities. Some cities were huge, primarily Rome with a population of one and a half million and Alexandria and Antioch with a population of half a million, but small cities with populations ranging from 10 to 50 thousand inhabitants predominated. There were thousands of such cities, built of the same type, with a rectangular layout. In the center there is a forum and public buildings: an amphitheater for gladiator fights and baiting of animals, less often, a theater, baths, a market, temples, sanctuaries. Further along were the mansions and gardens of the rich and the multi-storey houses-insulas of ordinary townspeople. The cities were surrounded by walls with gates, roads approached them and a water supply system was laid out. The acquisition of city status by the village took place by order of the emperor, often in his presence. The cities were granted self-government, and the townspeople were given Roman citizenship and land in the rural areas of the city. Most cities were subordinate to the provincial governor. Some cities, having received Italian law, were directly subordinate to the emperor and did not pay land taxes.

Cities were governed by city senators or decurions from wealthy citizens. A monetary contribution was paid for the right to become a decurion. City magistrates were recruited from the decurions. The magistrates were in charge of the court, taxes, recruiting, checking property qualifications, urban management, construction, and public games. The master's degree was obtained on the recommendation of the decurions, less often - the governor and even the emperor. Holding a position required integrity and donations to the city. Pursuing a magistracy was considered an honor for a citizen.

The municipal government system operated successfully for more than 200 years. City taxes and charity provided an influx of funds for the needs and decoration of cities. The polis morality of the ancient city encouraged local patriotism and the honesty of the magistrates. Distribution of food and small amounts of money was practiced for poor townspeople. It is significant that the Roman city represented a fairly open society, constantly replenished by including freedmen and migrants from other places among the citizens. Entry into the decurion class was possible for wealthy people of different origins. In all cities there were colleges that united people by profession or interests. Social life took place in the colleges, in which “little people” took part.

Literacy was widespread. All cities had public and private primary schools, where children studied Latin, learned to read and write, and received basic knowledge of arithmetic and geometry. They were taught music and forced to memorize entire passages from the works of Latin and Greek authors. As Lucian wrote, - ...then they learn the sayings of the wise men and stories of ancient exploits and useful thoughts, expressed in poetic meters, so that they remember them better. Primary education was completed at the age of 12-13. It was received not only by city dwellers, but also by some peasants living in large villages. The next level was the highest rhetorical (oratory) schools, where the sons of the rich and noble studied. They were in provincial capitals, although the most famous were in Rome and Athens. In rhetoric schools they studied the Greek language, Latin and Greek literature, and oratory. They graduated from rhetoric school by the age of 15-16. Some continued their education with famous philosophers, rhetoricians, and doctors.

Special education gave the right to engage in the “liberal arts” - professions worthy of a free person. Representatives of the “liberal arts” were rhetoricians, grammarians, doctors, mathematicians, artists, and sculptors. They were exempted from city and state duties and guaranteed the right to paid teaching. Simple school teachers who taught only the Latin language and literacy were considered artisans and had no privileges. The presence of individuals in the "liberal arts" in provincial cities ensured a standard of health care and culture throughout the empire.

Villages that did not receive city status had no autonomy. But the example of the cities contributed to the development of local patriotism, charity and public life in the villages. Often in large villages, as in cities, there were boards authorized by the authorities. An important difference between city and village was the right of cities to send delegations to the emperor with congratulations and petitions. Usually this happened on the proposal of the provincial governor, but sometimes delegations were sent against his will. Such direct contact between cities and the emperor limited the arbitrariness of the governors. It is characteristic that, with the exception of recently subjugated regions (Judea, Britain), in the vast country during two hundred years of the Principate there were practically no popular uprisings against the empire.

4. Spiritual life

We will talk about the analysis of the most general trends, since it seems impossible to consider in a small section the spiritual life of a developed civilization, or rather, several civilizations (Roman, Greek, Aramaic, Egyptian, Celtic - at least) for 200 years. If we start by assessing the attitude of the inhabitants of the empire to their place in society, then the most general formulation will be the following: the inhabitants of the empire were subjects of the emperor and citizens at their place of residence. The first means that all layers of society (except for Roman senators) were removed from influencing decisions at the state level and did not bear personal responsibilities to protect the country. They were required to be loyal to the emperor and pay taxes. The second, that is, citizenship by place of residence, was determined by urban autonomy, within which citizens exercised self-government.

The cult of the emperor bore religious features. Statues of the ruling emperors were erected in all cities; after death, the emperors were deified. Birthdays of the emperor and members of his family were considered public holidays. They celebrated the victories of the imperial arms, sometimes dubious ones. The holidays lasted several days and were accompanied by processions, spectacles and gladiatorial fights. In provincial cities they were organized by the city magistrate and decurions, and the priests of the city performed prayers and sacrifices. There were boards of volunteers who honored the victories and health of the emperor. Emperors' profiles were minted on coins. Archaeologists have found ceramic gingerbread molds with images of emperors. Citizens of the empire paid veneration for emperors and taxes for security, freedom of travel and trade, and the standards of Roman culture.

Speaking about culture, it is important to remember that according to language and traditions, the empire was always divided into Latin and Greek parts - West and East. The western half included Italy and the provinces where Roman colonists gradually merged with Romanized local peoples - Celts, Iberians, Illyrians, Dacians in Europe, Berbers and Carthaginians in North Africa. Here, with a noticeable influence of the indigenous inhabitants, the culture was Roman - the Latin language, the Roman way of life, Roman holidays and rituals. The East of the Empire was different - the region of ancient civilizations where Greek language and culture predominated. Latin was present as the language of the bureaucracy, the army and the Roman colonists, but not as the main language. The elite was bilingual or trilingual - fluent in Greek and Latin and, often, some local language. Greek was spoken in Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor. In Syria and Palestine, the main language was Aramaic, although many of the townspeople spoke Greek. In Egypt, peasants and residents of small towns spoke Coptic (ancient Egyptian), and in large cities they spoke Greek.

It is characteristic that there was no national separatism in the Roman Empire. After initial struggles and uprisings brutally suppressed by Rome, the conquered peoples became firmly part of the empire and remained loyal to it. The exception was the Jews; they rebelled against Rome many times, for which they paid with expulsion from Palestine. In other cases, national unrest took place in border areas that had not yet been developed - the uprising of Boudicca in Britain, the war with Civilis and the defeat of the Romans by Arminius in Germany, and the raids of nomads in Mauritania. The undoubted achievement of the empire was the national and religious tolerance of the majority of rulers and the population. There was no racism in Rome, which, however, can be explained by the absence of deep racial differences - the vast majority of the population belonged to the Caucasian race. By becoming citizens, the inhabitants of the empire gained access to administrative and military positions. The equalization of the rights of provincials was ongoing and by the end of the Principate, people of non-Roman (and non-Italian) blood could become emperor and even senators.

The harmony of nations in Roman society should not be exaggerated. Italian ancestors were highly rated, not to mention belonging to ancient Roman families. Upstarts from the provinces sought out Roman blood in themselves. In Rome, there were stereotypes of attitudes towards the peoples of the empire. So the Greeks were considered smart and capable, but cunning and unmanly. Jews were not liked and were considered sorcerers, although Roman anti-Semitism could not be compared with the Judeophobia of the Greeks, who carried out pogroms in Alexandria. The Syrians had a reputation as greedy traders, the Gauls and northerners as bullies and drunkards. The worst treatment was given to the native Egyptians, who were considered hysterical, angry and fanatical. Juvenal described the fellahs as degenerates of the human race.

According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded in the 8th century BC by the brothers Remus and Romulus, foundlings suckled by a she-wolf. Romulus subsequently became its first king. At first, the inhabitants of the city were called Latins. At an early stage, the state was ruled by people from the Etruscan tribe - the most developed nationality on the peninsula at that time. Around the 5th century BC. the last ruler of this dynasty dies, and Rome becomes a Republic.

Roman Republic

The Republic was headed by two consuls, and the Senate was the constituent council, which made all important decisions by voting.

By the 5th century BC. Rome became the largest city in the Apennines. In subsequent centuries, he captured many small settlements nearby, and by the 3rd century BC. e. The Republic practically owned the Italian peninsula. In the 1st century BC. e. senators, generals and tribunes alternately fought for power. The great commander Julius Caesar started another civil war. Supporters helped him defeat his enemies and ascend to the throne.

Many were suspicious of the new ruler, and in 44 BC. e. the dictator was killed. However, he managed to lay the foundations, thanks to which, over the next 500 years, Rome developed and significantly expanded its territories. There were still centuries left until the end.

End of the Republic

The assassination of Julius Caesar led to the fall of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire. Let's take a quick look at empires from start to finish.

In 27 BC. Octavian Augustus sits on the throne and becomes the first emperor. He took control of the army and the appointment of new senators, and created powerful fortifications along the borders that stretched along the Danube River and reached Great Britain.

Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54) succeeded each other without incident. However, Nero's tyranny (54-68) led to the commander of the Spanish legions, Galba, rebelling against him. When the rebel broke into Rome, he was supported by the Senate. Nero left the city in disgrace and killed himself with a knife.

The “year of the four emperors” followed, as during this period the generals Galba, Otto, and Vitellius fought for power. The struggle ended when Vespasian (69-79), commander of the legions, assumed firm power. Then Titus (79-81) and Domitian (81-96) ruled.

We can say that the beginning and end of the Roman Empire were just a sequence of events and dates. In fact, it only continued the Republic, and after the fall of Byzantium, the last stronghold of the Romans, the time came for new states and kingdoms.

Peace and prosperity

After the death of Domitian, the Senate elects Nerva as his successor. From this moment begins one of the happiest periods for Rome, which lasted from 96 to 180. The time called the reign of the “five good emperors” - Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antony Pius and Marcus Aurelius, when the empire was a strong and prosperous power.

The economy of Rome was booming. Large farms were created in rural areas and roads leading to all parts of the state were built.

After the death of Marcus Aurelius and the accession of his weak son Commodus (180-192) to the throne, a long and gradual decline began that led to the end of the Roman Empire.

Important conquests

Between 264 and 146 BC. Rome was at war with Carthage. These wars led to Rome conquering almost all of Spain and North Africa. In 146 BC. Carthage fell and was destroyed.

Although the main goal of Augustus's empire was to maintain neutrality rather than conquer, several changes occurred during his reign. In 44 AD Britain and several other small regions join Rome.

Achievements of science and engineering

Rome is famous for building roads that facilitated trade and stretched all the way to the Silk Road. In addition, they allowed armed forces to quickly reach remote areas.

Aqueducts were invented to supply water to cities. Water from fresh sources or storage facilities was directed along the aqueduct with a slight decrease in level to ensure constant pressure. Once the aqueduct reached the city, lead pipes led to fountains, public spaces, and even wealthy homes.

Baths usually consisted of separate rooms for cold, warm and hot bathing. Water and floors were heated using special underground stoves. Caring for them was difficult and dangerous work performed by slaves. As the popularity of bath complexes grew, they began to include saunas and gyms.

Despite all the achievements and developed culture, a slow decline began, which led to the end of the Roman Empire.

Beginning of decline

At the end of the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire collapsed after almost 500 years of existence, but it was succeeded by Byzantium, which ruled in the east for almost a thousand years. The decline of this great state actually marked the end of the Ancient World and the onset of a new stage in the development of mankind - the Middle Ages.

Periodization of the history of the Roman Empire

The periodization of the history of the Roman Empire varies depending on the approach. Thus, when considering the state-legal structure, two main stages are usually distinguished:

Having thus determined his attitude towards the Senate, Octavian resigned his title as commander-in-chief for life and only at the insistence of the Senate again accepted this power for a period of 10 years, after which it was extended for the same period. With proconsular power, he gradually united the power of other republican magistrates - tribunic power (from AD), the power of the censor (praefectura morum) and the chief pontiff. His power thus had a dual character: it consisted of a republican magistracy in relation to the Romans and a military imperium in relation to the provinces. Octavian was, so to speak, president of the Senate and emperor in one person. Both of these elements merged in the honorary title of Augustus - “revered” - which was assigned to him by the Senate in the city. This title also contains a religious connotation.

However, in this regard, Augustus showed great moderation. He allowed the sixth month to be named after him, but did not want to allow his deification in Rome, content with only the designation divi filius (“son of the divine Julius”). Only outside Rome did he allow temples to be built in honor of him, and then only in conjunction with Rome (Roma et Augustus), and to establish a special priestly college - the Augustals. The power of Augustus differs so significantly from the power of subsequent emperors that it is designated in history by a special term - the principate. The nature of the principate as a dualistic power appears especially clearly when considering Augustus’s relationship with the Senate. Gaius Julius Caesar showed patronizing arrogance and some disdain towards the Senate. Augustus not only restored the Senate and helped many individual senators lead a lifestyle befitting their high position - he directly shared power with the Senate. All provinces were divided into senatorial and imperial. The first category included all the finally pacified regions - their rulers, with the rank of proconsuls, were still appointed by lot in the Senate and remained under its control, but had only civil power and did not have troops at their disposal. The provinces in which troops were stationed and where war could be fought were left under the direct authority of Augustus and the legates appointed by him, with the rank of propraetors.

In accordance with this, the financial administration of the empire was also divided: the aerarium (treasury) remained under the authority of the Senate, but along with it, the imperial treasury (fiscus) arose, into which revenues from the imperial provinces went. Augustus’s attitude towards the national assembly was simpler. The comitia formally exist under Augustus, but their electoral power passes to the emperor, legally - half, in fact - entirely. The judicial power of the comitia belongs to the judicial institutions or to the emperor, as the representative of the tribunate, and their legislative activity belongs to the Senate. The extent to which the comitia lost their importance under Augustus can be seen from the fact that they quietly disappeared under his successor, leaving a trace only in the theory of popular supremacy as the basis of imperial power - a theory that survived the Roman and Byzantine empires and passed, along with Roman law, to to the Middle Ages.

Augustus's domestic policy was conservative-national in nature. Caesar gave the provincials wide access to Rome. Augustus took care to admit only completely benign elements into citizenship and into the Senate. For Caesar, and especially for Mark Antony, granting citizenship rights was a source of income. But Augustus, in his own words, was rather ready to allow “the treasury to suffer damage rather than lower the honor of Roman citizenship,” and according to this, he even took away from many the right of Roman citizenship that had been previously granted to them. This policy gave rise to new legislative measures for the manumission of slaves, which had previously been left entirely at the discretion of the master. “Complete freedom” (magna et justa libertas), with which the right of citizenship was still associated, according to Augustan law could be granted only under certain conditions and under the control of a special commission of senators and equestrians. If these conditions were not met, liberation was given only by the Latin right of citizenship, and slaves, subjected to disgraceful punishments, fell only into the category of provincial subjects.

Augustus made sure that the number of citizens was known, and renewed the census, which had almost fallen into disuse. In the city, there were 4,063,000 citizens capable of bearing arms, and 19 years later - 4,163,000. Augustus retained the deep-rooted custom of supporting impoverished citizens at state expense and sending citizens to colonies. But the subject of his special concerns was Rome itself - its improvement and decoration. He also wanted to revive the spiritual strength of the people, a strong family life and simplicity of morals. He restored temples that had fallen into disrepair and issued laws to put a limit to loose morals, to encourage marriage and the raising of children (Leges Juliae and Papia Poppeae, 9 AD). Special tax privileges were given to those who had three sons (jus trium liberorum).

Under him, a sharp turn took place in the fate of the provinces: from the estates of Rome they became parts of the state body (membra partesque imperii). The proconsuls, who were previously sent to the province for feeding (i.e., administration), are now assigned a certain salary and their period of stay in the province is extended. Previously, the provinces were only the subject of extortions in favor of Rome. Now, on the contrary, they are given subsidies from Rome. Augustus rebuilds provincial cities, pays off their debts, and comes to their aid in times of disaster. The state administration is still in its infancy - the emperor has little means to collect information about the situation in the provinces and therefore considers it necessary to personally become acquainted with the state of affairs. Augustus visited all the provinces except Africa and Sardinia, and spent many years traveling around them. He arranged a postal service for the needs of the administration - a column was placed in the center of the empire (at the Forum), from which distances were calculated along the numerous roads leading from Rome to the outskirts.

The Republic did not know a standing army - the soldiers swore allegiance to the commander who called them under the banner for a year, and later - “until the end of the campaign.” From Augustus the power of the commander-in-chief becomes lifelong, the army becomes permanent. Military service is determined at 20 years, after which the “veteran” receives the right to honorable leave and to be provided with money or land. Troops not needed within the state are stationed along the borders. In Rome there is a selected detachment of 6,000 people, recruited from Roman citizens (praetorians), 3,000 praetorians are located in Italy. The remaining troops are stationed along the borders. Of the huge number of legions formed during the civil wars, Augustus retained 25 (3 died during the defeat of Varus). Of these, there were 8 legions in upper and lower Germany (regions on the left bank of the Rhine), 6 in the Danube regions, 4 in Syria, 2 in Egypt and Africa, and 3 in Spain. Each legion consisted of 5,000 soldiers. A military dictatorship, no longer fitting within the framework of republican institutions and not limited to the provinces, is established in Rome - in front of it the Senate loses its governmental significance and the people's assembly completely disappears. The place of comitia is taken by legions - they serve as an instrument of power, but they are always ready to be a source of power for those whom they favor.

Augustus closed the third concentric circle of Roman rule in the south. Egypt, pressed by Syria, held on to Rome and thereby avoided annexation by Syria, and then maintained independence thanks to its queen Cleopatra, who managed to charm Caesar and Mark Antony. The aged queen failed to achieve the same in relation to the cold-blooded Augustus, and Egypt became a Roman province. Likewise, in the western part of North Africa, Roman rule was finally established under Augustus, who conquered Mauritania (Morocco) and gave it to the Numidian king Yuba, and annexed Numidia to the province of Africa. Roman pickets protected culturally occupied areas from desert nomads along the entire line from Morocco to Cyrenaica on the borders of Egypt. Julio-Claudian dynasty: heirs of Augustus (14-69) The shortcomings of the state system created by Augustus were revealed immediately after his death. He left unresolved the conflict of interests and rights between his adopted son Tiberius and his own grandson, a worthless youth, imprisoned on the island by him. Tiberius (14-37), based on his merits, intelligence and experience, had the right to first place in the state. He did not want to be a despot: rejecting the title of master (dominus), with which flatterers addressed him, he said that he was a master only for slaves, for provincials - emperor, for citizens - citizen. The provinces found in him, as his haters themselves admitted, a caring and efficient ruler - it was not without reason that he told his proconsuls that the good shepherd shears the sheep, but does not skin them. But in Rome the Senate stood before him, full of republican traditions and memories of past greatness, and relations between the emperor and the Senate were soon spoiled by flatterers and informers. Accidents and tragic entanglements in the family of Tiberius embittered the emperor, and then began the bloody drama of political trials, the “unholy war (impia bella) in the Senate,” so passionately and artistically depicted in the immortal work of Tacitus, who branded the monstrous old man with shame on the island of Capri. In place of Tiberius, whose last minutes are unknown to us exactly, the son of his nephew, the popular and mourned by all Germanicus, was proclaimed - Caligula (37-41), a rather handsome young man, but soon mad with power and reaching delusions of grandeur and frenzied cruelty. The sword of the praetorian tribune put an end to the life of this madman, who intended to place his statue in the Jerusalem temple to be worshiped with Jehovah. The Senate breathed freely and dreamed of a republic, but the Praetorians gave it a new emperor in the person of Claudius (41 - 54), the brother of Germanicus. Claudius was practically a toy in the hands of his two wives - Messalina and Agrippina - who covered the Roman woman of that time with shame. His image, however, is distorted by political satire, and under Claudius (not without his participation) both the external and internal development of the empire continued. Claudius was born in Lyon and therefore especially took the interests of Gaul and the Gauls to heart: in the Senate he personally defended the petition of the inhabitants of northern Gaul, who asked to make honorary positions in Rome available to them. Claudius converted the kingdom of Cotys into the province of Thrace in 46, and made Mauretania a Roman province. Under him, the military occupation of Britain took place, which was finally conquered by Agricola. Intrigues, and perhaps even crimes, of Agrippina opened the way to power for her son, Nero (54 - 68). And in this case, as almost always in the first two centuries of the empire, the principle of heredity brought harm to it. There was a complete discrepancy between the personal character and tastes of the young Nero and his position in the state. As a result of Nero's life, a military rebellion broke out; the emperor committed suicide, and in the subsequent year of the civil war, three emperors were replaced and died - Galba, Otho, Vitellius. Flavian Dynasty (69-96) Power finally went to the commander-in-chief in the war against the rebel Jews, Vespasian. In the person of Vespasian (70 - 79), the empire received the organizer it needed after internal unrest and uprisings. He suppressed the Batavian uprising, settled relations with the Senate and put the state economy in order, being himself an example of ancient Roman simplicity of morals. In the person of his son, Titus (79 - 81), the destroyer of Jerusalem, the imperial power surrounded itself with an aura of philanthropy, and Vespasian's youngest son, Domitian (81 - 96), again served as confirmation that the principle of heredity did not bring happiness to Rome. Domitian imitated Tiberius, fought on the Rhine and Danube, although not always successfully, was at enmity with the Senate and died as a result of a conspiracy. Five Good Emperors - Antonines (96-180) Roman Empire under Trajan The consequence of this conspiracy was the calling to power not of a general, but of a man from among the Senate, Nerva (96 - 98), who, having adopted Ulpius Trajan (98 - 117), gave Rome one of its best emperors. Trajan was from Spain; his rise is a significant sign of the social process taking place in the empire. After the rule of two patrician families, the Julius and the Claudii, the plebeian Galba appears on the Roman throne, then the emperors from the municipalities of Italy and, finally, a provincial from Spain. Trajan reveals a series of emperors who made the second century the best era of the empire: all of them - Hadrian (117-138), Antoninus Pius (138-161), Marcus Aurelius (161-180) - were of provincial origin (Spanish, except Antoninus, who was from southern Gaul); they all owe their rise to the adoption of their predecessor. Trajan became famous as a commander, and the empire reached its greatest extent under him. Trajan expanded the borders of the empire to the north, where Dacia was conquered and colonized, from the Carpathians to the Dniester, and to the east, where four provinces were formed: Armenia (minor - the upper reaches of the Euphrates). Mesopotamia (lower Euphrates), Assyria (Tigris region) and Arabia (southeast of Palestine). This was done not so much for conquest purposes, but in order to push barbarian tribes and desert nomads away from the empire, which threatened it with constant invasion. This is evident from the careful care with which Trajan and his successor Hadrian, to strengthen the borders, poured huge ramparts, with stone bastions and towers, the remains of which have survived to this day - in the north. England, in Moldavia (Trajan's Val), limes (Pfahlgraben) from the Rhine (in northern Nassau) through the Main and southern Germany to the Danube. The peace-loving Adrian took up reforms in the administration and in the field of law. Like Augustus, Hadrian spent many years visiting the provinces; he did not disdain to take on the position of archon in Athens and personally drew up a project for city government for them. Moving with the times, he was more enlightened than Augustus, and stood at the level of contemporary education, which then reached its apogee. Just as Hadrian, with his financial reforms, earned the nickname “enricher of the world,” so his successor Antoninus was nicknamed “the father of the human race” for his care of provinces subject to disasters. The highest place in the ranks of the Caesars is occupied by Marcus Aurelius, nicknamed the philosopher; we can judge him by more than just epithets - we know his thoughts and plans in his own presentation. How great was the progress of political thought that took place in the best people of R. since the fall of the republic, this is most clearly evidenced by his significant words, “I carried in my soul the image of a free state in which everything is governed on the basis of laws that are equal for all and equal for all everyone's rights." But even this philosopher on the throne had to experience for himself that the power of the Roman emperor was a personal military dictatorship; He was to spend many years in a defensive war on the Danube, where he died. After four emperors who reigned in adulthood, the throne again went, by right of inheritance, to a young man, and again to an unworthy one. Having left control of the state to his favorites, Commodus (180-193), like Nero, craved laurels not on the battlefield, but in the circus and amphitheater: but his tastes were not artistic, like Nero’s, but gladiatorial. He died at the hands of the conspirators. Severan Dynasty (193-235) Neither the protege of the conspirators, Prefect Pertinax, nor the senator Didius Julian, who bought the purple from the Praetorians for enormous money, retained power; The Illyrian legions became jealous of their comrades and proclaimed their commander, Septimius Severus, emperor. Septimius was from Leptis in Africa; in his pronunciation one could hear the African, just as in the speech of Adrian - the Spaniard. His rise marks the success of Roman culture in Africa. The traditions of the Punians were still alive here, strangely merging with the Roman ones. If the finely educated Hadrian restored the tomb of Epaminondas, then Septimius, as legend says, built the mausoleum of Hannibal. But the Punic now fought for Rome. The neighbors of Rome again felt the heavy hand of the victorious emperor; Roman eagles circled the borders from Babylon on the Euphrates and Ctesiphon on the Tigris to York in the far north, where Septimius died in 211. Septimius Severus, protege of the legions, was the first soldier on the throne of the Caesars. The brute energy that he brought with him from his African homeland degenerated into savagery in his son Caracalla, who seized autocracy by murdering his brother. Caracalla showed his African sympathies even more clearly by placing statues of Hannibal everywhere. Rome owes him, however, its magnificent baths (The Baths of Caracalla). Like his father, he tirelessly defended Roman lands on two fronts - on the Rhine and on the Euphrates. His unbridled behavior sparked a conspiracy among the military around him, of which he fell victim. Issues of law were of such importance in Rome at that time that it was to the soldier Caracalla that Rome owed one of its greatest civil feats - granting all provincials the right of Roman citizenship. That this was not just a fiscal measure is clear from the benefits granted to the Egyptians. Since the conquest of Cleopatra's kingdom by Augustus, this country has been in a particularly disenfranchised position. Septimius Severus returned self-government to Alexandria, and Caracalla not only granted Alexandrians the right to hold public office in Rome, but also introduced an Egyptian to the Senate for the first time. The rise of the Punes to the throne of the Caesars entailed the calling to power of their fellow tribesmen from Syria. The sister of Caracalla's widow, Mesa, succeeded in removing Caracalla's murderer from the throne and replacing him with her grandson, known in history by the Semitic name Elagabalus Heliogabalus: this was the name of the Syrian sun deity. His accession represents a strange episode in the history of Roman emperors: it was the establishment of an eastern theocracy in Rome. But a priest could not be imagined at the head of the Roman legions, and Heliogabalus was soon replaced by his cousin, Alexander Severus. The accession of the Sassanids in place of the Parthian kings and the resulting religious and national renewal of the Persian east forced the young emperor to spend many years on campaigns; but how important the religious element was for him is evidenced by his deity (Lararium), which contained images of all the gods who were worshiped within the empire, including Christ. Alexander Sever died near Mainz as a victim of soldier's self-will. Crisis of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century (235-284) Then an event occurred that showed to what extent the process of assimilation of Roman and provincial elements was rapidly taking place in the troops, the most vital element of the then Rome, and how close the hour of barbarian domination over Rome was. The legions proclaimed Emperor Maximin, the son of a Goth and an Alan, who was a shepherd and owed his rapid military career to his heroic physique and courage. This premature triumph of northern barbarism caused a reaction in Africa, where the proconsul Gordian was proclaimed emperor. After bloody clashes, power remained in the hands of the young man, the grandson of Gordian. While he was successfully repelling the Persians in the east, he was overthrown by another barbarian in Roman military service - Philip the Arab, the son of a robber sheikh in the Syro-Arabian desert. This Semite was destined to magnificently celebrate the millennium of Rome in 248, but he did not reign for long: his legate, Decius, was forced by soldiers to take power from him. Decius was of Roman origin, but his family had long been exiled to Pannonia, where he was born. Under Decius, two new enemies discovered their strength, undermining the Roman Empire - the Goths, who invaded Thrace from across the Danube, and Christianity. Decius directed his energy against them, but his death in the battle with the Goths the very next year (251) saved the Christians from his cruel edicts. Power was seized by his comrade, Valerian, who accepted his son Gallienus as co-ruler: Valerian died in captivity of the Persians, and Gallienus held out until 268. The Roman Empire was already so shaken that entire regions were separated from it under the autonomous control of local commanders-in-chief (for example, Gaul and the kingdom of Palmyra in the East). The main stronghold of Rome at this time were generals of Illyrian origin: where the danger from the Goths forced the defenders of Rome to rally, the most capable commanders and administrators were elected one after another, at a meeting of commanders: Claudius II, Aurelian, Probus and Carus. Aurelian conquered Gaul and the kingdom of Zenobia and restored the former borders of the empire; He also surrounded Rome with a new wall, which had long since grown out of the framework of the walls of Servius Tullius and became an open, defenseless city. All these proteges of the legions soon died at the hands of indignant soldiers: Probus, for example, because, caring for the welfare of his native province, he forced the soldiers to plant vineyards on the Rhine and Danube. Tetrarchy and dominance (285-324) Finally, by decision of the officers in Chalcedon, in 285, Diocletian was enthroned, worthily completing the series of pagan emperors of Rome. Diocletian's transformations completely changed the character and forms of the Roman Empire: they summed up the previous historical process and laid the foundation for a new political order. Diocletian consigns the Augustan Principate to the archives of history and creates a Roman-Byzantine autocracy. This Dalmatian, having put on the crown of the eastern kings, finally dethroned royal Rome. Within the chronological framework of the history of the emperors outlined above, the greatest historical revolution of a cultural nature gradually took place: the provinces conquered Rome. In the state sphere, this is expressed by the disappearance of dualism in the person of the sovereign, who, in the organization of Augustus, was a princeps for the Romans, and an emperor for the provincials. This dualism is gradually being lost, and the military power of the emperor absorbs the civil republican magistracy of the principate. While the tradition of Rome was still alive, the idea of ​​the principate persisted; but when, at the end of the third century, the imperial power fell to an African, the military element in the power of the emperor completely supplanted the Roman heritage. At the same time, the frequent intrusion into public life of the Roman legions, which invested their commanders with imperial power, humiliated this power, made it accessible to every ambitious person and deprived it of strength and duration. The vastness of the empire and the simultaneous wars along its entire border did not allow the emperor to concentrate all military forces under his direct command; legions at the other end of the empire could freely proclaim their favorite emperor in order to receive the usual “grant” of money from him. This prompted Diocletian to reorganize imperial power on the basis of collegiality and hierarchy. Diocletian's reforms Tetrarchy The emperor, in the rank of Augustus, received a companion in another Augustus, who ruled the other half of the empire; under each of these Augustus there was a Caesar, who was the co-ruler and governor of his Augustus. This decentralization of imperial power gave it the opportunity to directly manifest itself in four points of the empire, and the hierarchical system in the relations between the Caesars and Augusti united their interests and gave a legal outlet to the ambitions of the commanders-in-chief. Diocletian, as the elder Augustus, chose Nicomedia in Asia Minor as his residence, the second Augustus (Maximinian Marcus Aurelius Valerius) - Milan. Rome not only ceased to be the center of imperial power, but this center moved away from it and was moved to the east; Rome did not even retain second place in the empire and had to cede it to the city of the Insubrians it had once defeated - Milan. The new government moved away from Rome not only topographically: it became even more alien to it in spirit. The title of master (dominus), which had previously been used by slaves in relation to their masters, became the official title of the emperor; the words sacer and saciatissimus - most sacred - became the official epithets of his power; genuflection replaced military honor: the golden robe studded with precious stones and the white diadem of the emperor indicated that the character of the new government was more strongly influenced by the influence of neighboring Persia than by the tradition of the Roman Principate. Senate The disappearance of state dualism associated with the concept of the principate was also accompanied by a change in the position and character of the Senate. The Principate, as the lifelong presidency of the Senate, although it represented a certain contrast to the Senate, was at the same time maintained by the Senate. Meanwhile, the Roman Senate gradually ceased to be what it had been before. He was once a corporation serving the aristocracy of the city of Rome and always resented the tide of elements alien to him; once Senator Appius Claudius swore to stab the first Latin who dared to enter the Senate; under Caesar, Cicero and his friends made jokes at the senators from Gaul, and when at the beginning of the 3rd century the Egyptian Keraunos entered the Roman Senate (history has preserved his name), there was no one in Rome to be indignant. It couldn't be any other way. The richest of the provincials began to move to Rome long ago, buying up palaces, gardens and estates of the impoverished Roman aristocracy. Already under Augustus, the price of real estate in Italy, as a result, rose significantly. This new aristocracy began to fill the Senate. The time came when the Senate began to be called “the beauty of all provinces,” “the color of the whole world,” “the color of the human race.” From an institution that under Tiberius constituted a counterweight to imperial power, the Senate became imperial. This aristocratic institution finally underwent a transformation in a bureaucratic spirit - it broke up into classes and ranks, marked by ranks (illiustres, spectabiles, clarissimi, etc.). Finally, it split into two - the Roman and Constantinople Senate: but this division was no longer significant for the empire, since the state significance of the Senate passed to another institution - the council of the sovereign or consistory. Administration Even more characteristic of the Roman Empire than the history of the Senate is the process that took place in the field of administration. Under the influence of imperial power, a new type of state is being created here, replacing the city power - city government, which was Republican Rome. This goal is achieved by bureaucratizing management, replacing the magistrate with an official. The magistrate was a citizen invested with power for a certain period and carrying out his duties as an honorary position. He had a well-known staff of bailiffs, scribes (apparitores) and servants. These were people he invited or even just his slaves and freedmen. Such magistrates are gradually being replaced in the empire by people who are in the constant service of the emperor, receiving a certain salary from him and going through a certain career, in a hierarchical order. The beginning of the coup dates back to the time of Augustus, who appointed salaries to the proconsuls and propraetors. In particular, Adrian did a lot to develop and improve the administration in the empire; under him, the bureaucratization of the court of the emperor, who previously ruled his provinces through freedmen, took place; Hadrian raised his courtiers to the level of state dignitaries. The number of servants of the sovereign is gradually growing: accordingly, the number of their ranks is increasing and a hierarchical system of management is developing, finally reaching the completeness and complexity that it represents in the “State Calendar of Ranks and Titles of the Empire” - Notitia dignitatum. As the bureaucratic apparatus develops, the entire appearance of the country changes: it becomes more monotonous, smoother. At the beginning of the empire, all the provinces, in relation to government, differ sharply from Italy and present great diversity among themselves; the same diversity is noticed within each province; it includes autonomous, privileged and subject cities, sometimes vassal kingdoms or semi-wild tribes that have preserved their primitive system. Little by little, these differences are blurred and under Diocletian, a radical revolution is partly revealed, partly a radical revolution is carried out, similar to that which was accomplished by the French Revolution of 1789, which replaced the provinces, with their historical, national and topographical individuality, with monotonous administrative units - departments. Transforming the administration of the Roman Empire, Diocletian divides it into 12 dioceses under the control of individual vicars, that is, the emperor's governors; Each diocese is divided into smaller provinces than before (ranging from 4 to 12, for a total of 101), under the control of officials of different names - correctores, consulares, praesides, etc. d. As a result of this bureaucratization, the former dualism between Italy and the provinces disappears; Italy itself is divided into administrative units, and from Roman land (ager romanus) becomes a simple province. Only Rome still remains outside this administrative network, which is very significant for its future fate. The bureaucratization of power is also closely related to its centralization. This centralization is especially interesting to observe in the field of legal proceedings. In a republican administration, the praetor independently creates the court; he is not subject to appeal and, using the right to issue an edict, he himself establishes the norms that he intends to adhere to in court. At the end of the historical process we are considering, an appeal is established from the praetor's court to the emperor, who distributes complaints, according to the nature of the cases, among his prefects. Thus the imperial power actually takes over the judicial power; but it also appropriates to itself the very creativity of law that the court applies to life. After the abolition of the comitia, legislative power passed to the Senate, but next to it the emperor issued his orders; over time, he arrogated to himself the power to make laws; Only the form of publishing them through a rescript from the emperor to the Senate has been preserved from antiquity. In this establishment of monarchical absolutism, in this strengthening of centralization and bureaucracy, one cannot help but see the triumph of the provinces over Rome and, at the same time, the creative power of the Roman spirit in the field of public administration. Right The same triumph of the conquered and the same creativity of the R. spirit can be noted in the field of law. In ancient Rome, law had a strictly national character: it was the exclusive property of some “quirites,” that is, Roman citizens, and therefore was called quirite. Nonresidents were tried in Rome by the praetor “for foreigners” (peregrinus); the same system was then applied to the provincials, of whom the Roman praetor became the supreme judge. The praetors thus became the creators of a new law - the law not of the Roman people, but of peoples in general (jus gentium). In creating this law, Roman jurists discovered the general principles of law, the same for all peoples, and began to study them and be guided by them. At the same time, under the influence of the Greek philosophical schools, especially the Stoic one, they rose to the consciousness of natural law (jus naturale), emanating from reason, from that “higher law”, which, in the words of Cicero, arose “before the dawn of time, before the existence of any or the written law or constitution of any state.” Praetorial law became the bearer of the principles of reason and justice (aequitas), as opposed to the literal interpretation and routine of Quirite law. The city praetor (urbanus) could not remain outside the influence of praetorian law, which became synonymous with natural law and natural reason. Obliged to “come to the aid of civil law, supplement it and correct it for the sake of public benefit,” he began to imbue himself with the principles of the law of peoples, and, finally, the law of provincial praetors - jus honorarium - became “the living voice of Roman law.” This was the time of its heyday, the era of the great jurists of the 2nd and 3rd centuries Gaius, Papinian, Paul, Ulpian and Modestinus, which lasted until Alexander Severus and gave Roman law that strength, depth and subtlety of thought that prompted peoples to see in it “written reason” , and the great mathematician and lawyer, Leibniz - compare it with mathematics. Roman ideals Just as the “strict” law (jus strictum) of the Romans, under the influence of the law of peoples, is imbued with the idea of ​​universal reason and justice, in the Roman Empire the meaning of Rome and the idea of ​​Roman dominion are inspired. Obeying the wild instinct of the people, greedy for land and booty, the Romans of the Republic did not need to justify their conquests. Livy also finds it completely natural for a people descended from Mars to conquer other nations, and invites the latter to obediently demolish Roman power. But already under Augustus, Virgil, reminding his fellow citizens that their purpose is to rule over peoples (tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento), gives this rule a moral purpose - to establish peace and spare the conquered (parcere subjectis). The idea of ​​the Roman peace (pax romana) henceforth became the motto of Roman rule. It is exalted by Pliny, glorified by Plutarch, calling Rome “an anchor that forever sheltered in the harbor a world long overwhelmed and wandering without a helmsman.” Comparing the power of Rome to cement, the Greek moralist sees the significance of Rome in the fact that it organized a pan-human society amidst the fierce struggle of people and nations. This same idea of ​​the Roman world was given official expression by Emperor Trajan in the inscription on the temple he erected on the Euphrates, when the border of the empire was again pushed back to this river. But the importance of Rome soon rose even higher. Bringing peace among the peoples, Rome called them to civil order and the benefits of civilization, giving them wide scope and without violating their individuality. He ruled, according to the poet, “not only with weapons, but with laws.” Moreover, he gradually called on all peoples to participate in power. The highest praise of the Romans and a worthy assessment of their best emperor lies in the wonderful words with which the Greek orator, Aristides, addressed Marcus Aurelius and his comrade Verus: “With you, everything is open to everyone. Anyone who is worthy of a master's degree or public trust ceases to be considered a foreigner. The name of the Roman ceased to belong to one city, but became the property of the human race. You have established the management of the world as if it were one family.” It is not surprising, therefore, that in the Roman Empire the idea of ​​Rome as a common fatherland appeared early. It is remarkable that this idea was brought to Rome by immigrants from Spain, which gave Rome its best emperors. Already Seneca, Nero’s tutor and during his childhood the ruler of the empire, exclaims: “Rome is, as it were, our common fatherland.” This expression was then adopted, in a more positive sense, by Roman jurists. “Rome is our common fatherland”: this, by the way, is the basis for the statement that someone expelled from one city cannot live in Rome, since “R. - the fatherland of all." It is clear why R.'s fear of dominion began to give way among the provincials to love for Rome and some kind of worship before it. It is impossible to read without emotion the poem of the Greek woman poet Erinna (the only one that has come down to us from her), in which she greets “Roma, daughter of Ares,” and promises her eternity - or a farewell to Rome to the Gaul Rutilius, who kissed on his knees, with tears before our eyes, “sacred stones” of R., for the fact that he “created a single fatherland for many peoples”, for the fact that “Roman power became a blessing for those conquered against their will”, for the fact that “Rome turned the world into a harmonious community (urbem fecisti quod prius orbis erat) and not only ruled, but, more importantly, was worthy of rule.” Much more significant than this gratitude of the provincials who bless Rome for the fact that it, in the words of the poet Prudentius, “threw the vanquished into fraternal fetters,” is another feeling caused by the consciousness that Rome has become a common fatherland. Since then, as Am. Thierry, “a small community on the banks of the Tiber has grown into a universal community,” since the idea of ​​Rome expands and is inspired and Roman patriotism takes on a moral and cultural character, love for Rome becomes love for the human race and the ideal that binds it. Already the poet Lucan, Seneca’s nephew, gives this feeling a strong expression, speaking of “sacred love for the world” (sacer orbis amor) and glorifying “the citizen convinced that he was born into the world not for himself, but for all this world.” . This common consciousness of a cultural connection between all Roman citizens gives rise in the 3rd century to the concept of romanitas, as opposed to barbarism. The task of Romulus’s comrades, who took away their neighbors, the Sabines, their wives and fields, thus turns into a peaceful universal task. In the field of ideals and principles proclaimed by poets, philosophers and lawyers, Rome reaches its highest development and becomes a model for subsequent generations and peoples. He owed this to the interaction of Rome and the provinces; but it was precisely in this process of interaction that the germs of the fall lay. It was prepared from two sides: by transforming itself into the provinces, Rome lost its creative, constructive power, ceased to be a spiritual cement connecting disparate parts; the provinces were too different from each other culturally; the process of assimilation and equalization of rights raised to the surface and often brought to the fore national or social elements that were not yet cultural or were much lower than the general level. Cultural transformation Two institutions in particular acted harmfully in this direction: slavery and the army. Slavery produced freedmen, the most corrupt part of ancient society, who combined the vices of “slave” and “master” and were devoid of any principles and traditions; and since these were capable and necessary people for the former master, they played a fatal role everywhere, especially at the court of the emperors. The army accepted representatives of physical strength and brute energy and brought them quickly - especially during unrest and soldier uprisings to the pinnacle of power, accustoming society to violence and admiration for force, and the rulers to disdain the law. Another danger threatened from the political side: the evolution of the Roman Empire consisted in the creation of a single coherent state from regions of heterogeneous structure, united by Rome with weapons. This goal was achieved by the development of a special government body - the world's first bureaucracy, which kept multiplying and specializing. But, with the increasingly military nature of power, with the increasing predominance of uncultured elements, with the developing desire for unification and equalization, the initiative of the ancient centers and centers of culture began to weaken. This historical process reveals a time when the dominion of Rome had already lost the character of the crude exploitation of the republican era, but had not yet assumed the dead forms of the later empire. The second century is generally recognized as the best era of the Roman Empire, and this is usually attributed to the personal merits of the emperors who reigned then; but it is not just this accident that should explain the significance of the era of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, but the balance established then between opposing elements and aspirations - between Rome and the provinces, between the republican tradition of freedom and the monarchical order. It was a time that can be characterized by the beautiful words of Tacitus, who praises Nerva for “being able to connect things before ( olim) incompatible ( dissociabiles) - principle and freedom." In the 3rd century. this has become impossible. Amid the anarchy caused by the willfulness of the legions, bureaucratic management developed, the crown of which was the Diocletian system, with its desire to regulate everything, define the duties of everyone and chain him to his place: the farmer - to his “block”, the curial - to his curia, the artisan - to his workshop, just as the edict of Diocletian specified a price for every product. It was then that the colonat arose, this transition from ancient slavery to medieval serfdom; the former division of people into political categories - Roman citizens, allies and provincials - was replaced by a division into social classes. At the same time, the end of the ancient world came, which was held together by two concepts - an independent community ( polis) and citizen. The polis is replaced by a municipality; honorary position ( honos) turns into conscription ( munus); the senator of the local curia or curial becomes a serf of the city, obliged to answer with his property for the lack of taxes until ruin; along with the concept of polis The citizen, who previously could have been a magistrate, a warrior, or a priest, disappears, but now becomes either an official, or a soldier, or a clergyman ( clericus). Meanwhile, the most important revolution in terms of its consequences took place in the Roman Empire - unification on religious grounds (see The Birth of Christianity in the Roman Empire). This revolution was already being prepared on the basis of paganism by uniting the gods into a common pantheon or even through monotheistic ideas; but this unification finally took place on the basis of Christianity. The unification in Christianity went far beyond the boundaries of the political unification familiar to the ancient world: on the one hand, Christianity united the Roman citizen with the slave, on the other hand, the Roman with the barbarian. In view of this, the question naturally arose whether Christianity was the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. The rationalist Gibbon in the century before last resolved this question in an unconditionally affirmative sense. True, Christians, persecuted by pagan emperors, were averse to the empire; It is also true that after its triumph, persecuting the pagans and splitting into hostile sects, Christianity separated the population of the empire and, calling people from the worldly kingdom to God, distracted them from civil and political interests. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that, having become the religion of the Roman state, Christianity introduced new vitality into it and was the guarantee of spiritual unity, which decaying paganism could not provide. This is proven by the very history of Emperor Constantine, who decorated the shields of his soldiers with the monogram of Christ and thereby accomplished a great historical revolution, which Christian tradition so beautifully symbolized in the vision of the cross with the words: “By this victory.” Constantine I Diocletian's artificial tetrarchy did not last long; The Caesars did not have the patience to wait peacefully for their rise in Augusta. Even during the lifetime of Diocletian, who retired in 305, a war broke out between rivals. Proclaimed Caesar by the British legions in 312, Constantine defeated his rival, the last protege of the Roman Praetorians, Caesar Maxentius, under the walls of Rome. This defeat of Rome opened the way to the triumph of Christianity, with which the further success of the winner was associated. Constantine not only gave Christians freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, but also recognition of their church by government authorities. When victory is

The history of Ancient Rome begins with the emergence of the city and traditionally dates back to 753 BC.

The site where the settlement was founded had a favorable landscape. A nearby ford made it easy to cross the nearby Tiber. The Palatine and neighboring hills provided natural defensive fortifications for the surrounding wide, fertile plain.

Over time, thanks to trade, Rome began to grow and strengthen. A convenient shipping route near the city ensured a constant flow of goods in both directions.

Rome's interaction with the Greek colonies provided the ancient Romans with the opportunity to take Hellenic culture as a model to build their own. From the Greeks they adopted literacy, architecture and religion - the Roman divine pantheon is almost identical to the Greek. The Romans also took a lot from the Etruscans. Etruria, located north of Rome, also had an advantageous position for trade, and the ancient Romans learned trading skills directly from the Etruscan example.

Royal period (mid-8th century - 510 BC)

The royal period was characterized by a monarchical form of government. Since there is practically no written evidence of that era, very little is known about this period. Ancient historians based their works on oral histories and legends, since many documents were destroyed by the Gauls during the sack of Rome (after the Battle of Allia in the 4th century BC). Therefore, it is likely that there will be a serious distortion of events that actually occurred.

The traditional version of Roman history, as told by Livy, Plutarch and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, tells of seven kings who ruled Rome in the first centuries after its founding. The total chronology of their reign is 243 years, that is, an average of almost 35 years each. The kings, with the exception of Romulus, who founded the city, were elected by the people of Rome for life, and none of them used military force to win or retain the throne. The main distinctive sign of the king was a purple toga.

The king was vested with the highest military, executive and judicial powers, officially granted to him by the comitia curiata (an assembly of patricians of the 30 curiae) after the passing of the Lex curiata de imperio (special law) at the beginning of each reign.

Early Republic (509-287 BC)

Between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. Rome rapidly grew from an ordinary trading city into a thriving metropolis. In 509 BC. The seventh king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown by his rival for power, Lucius Junius Brutus, who reformed the system of government and became the founder of the Roman Republic.

Rome originally owed its prosperity to trade, but war made it a powerful force in the ancient world. Rivalry with North African Carthage united the powers of Rome and helped increase the latter's wealth and prestige. The cities were constant trading competitors in the Western Mediterranean, and after Carthage was defeated in the Third Punic War, Rome gained almost absolute dominance in the region.

The plebes were outraged by the rule of the patricians: the latter, thanks to their dominance over the courts, interpreted customs in their own interests, allowing the rich and noble to be harsh in relation to their dependent debtors. However, unlike some Greek city-states, the plebeians of Rome did not call for land redistribution, attack the patricians, or try to seize power. Instead, a kind of “strike”—secessio plebis—was declared. In effect, the plebeians temporarily “seceded” from the state under the leadership of their elected leaders (tribunes) and refused to pay taxes or fight in the army.

Twelve tables

Things remained in this state for several years before the patricians decided to make some concessions, agreeing to put the laws in writing. A commission composed of plebeians and patricians duly prepared the Twelve Tables of Laws, which were exhibited in the city forum (around 450 BC). These Twelve Tables formulated a rather harsh set of laws, but the Romans of all classes were aware of their justice, thanks to which it was possible to defuse social tensions in society. The laws of the Twelve Tables formed the basis of all subsequent Roman law, perhaps the greatest contribution to history made by the Romans.

Middle Republic (287-133 BC)

The influx of booty and tribute from conquest led to the emergence of a class of extremely wealthy Romans - senators, who fought as generals and governors, and businessmen - the equites (or equestrians), who levied taxes in the new provinces and supplied the army. Each new victory led to an influx of more and more slaves: during the last two centuries BC. the Mediterranean slave trade became a huge business, with Rome and Italy being the main destination markets.

Most slaves had to work on the land of senators and other rich people, who began to develop and improve their estates using new techniques. Ordinary farmers could not compete with these then modern holdings. More and more small farmers lost their lands to the ruin of their rich neighbors. The gap between classes widened as more and more farmers left their land and headed to Rome, where they joined the ranks of the growing class of landless and rootless people.

The juxtaposition of great wealth and mass poverty in Rome itself poisoned the political climate—Roman politics was dominated by warring factions. These were not modern political parties representing completely different ideologies, but rather ideas around which different factions grouped. Supporters of the idea of ​​land redistribution, who had a minority in the Senate, advocated the division and distribution of land resources among the landless poor. Those who supported the opposite idea, representing the majority, wanted to preserve intact the interests of the “best people”, that is, themselves.

Late Republic (133-27 BC)

In the 2nd century BC. Two Roman tribunes, the Gracchi brothers, tried to carry out land and a number of political reforms. Despite the fact that the brothers were killed defending their position, thanks to their efforts, legislative reform was carried out, and rampant corruption in the Senate became less obvious.

Army reform

The decline in the number of small property owners in the Italian countryside had profound consequences on Roman politics. It was farmers who were the traditional basis of the Roman army, buying their own weapons and equipment. This system of recruiting had long become problematic as Rome's armies spent long years abroad on military campaigns. The absence of men in the home undermined the small family's ability to maintain their farm. Thanks to Rome's expanding overseas military expansion and the decrease in the number of small landowners, recruitment into the army from this class became more and more difficult.

In 112 BC year, the Romans faced a new enemy - the tribes of the Cimbri and Teutons, who decided to move to another area. Tribes invaded territories that the Romans had occupied a couple of decades earlier. The Roman armies directed against the barbarians were destroyed, culminating in the greatest defeat at the Battle of Arausio (105 BC) in which, according to some sources, about 80 thousand Roman soldiers were killed. Fortunately for the Romans, the barbarians did not invade Italy at that time, but continued on their way through modern France and Spain.

The defeat at Arausio caused shock and panic in Rome. The commander Gaius Mari carries out military reform, requiring landless citizens to undergo compulsory military service. The structure of the army itself was also reformed.

The recruitment of landless Romans, as well as the improvement of conditions of service in the Roman legions, had an extremely important result. This closely linked the interests of the soldiers and their generals, which was explained by the commanders’ guarantee that each legionnaire would receive a land plot upon completion of his service. Land was the only commodity in the pre-industrial world that provided economic security to a family.

The commanders, in turn, could count on the personal loyalty of their legionnaires. The Roman legions of that time became more and more like private armies. Considering that the generals were also leading politicians in the Senate, the situation became even more complicated. Opponents of the commanders tried to block the latter’s efforts to distribute land in favor of their people, which led to quite predictable results - the commanders and soldiers became even closer together. It is not surprising that in some cases, generals at the head of their armies tried to achieve their goals through unconstitutional means.

First triumvirate

By the time the first triumvirate was created, the Roman Republic had reached its peak. Rival politicians in the Senate Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, together with the young commander Gaius Julius Caesar, created a triple alliance to achieve their own goals. The rivalry for power and ambition of all three helped keep each other in check, ensuring Rome's prosperity.

The richest citizen of Rome, Crassus was corrupt to such an extent that he forced wealthy fellow citizens to pay him for security. If the citizen paid, everything was in order, but if no money was received, the obstinate’s property was set on fire and Crassus charged a fee for his people to put out the fire. And although the motives for the emergence of these fire brigades can hardly be called noble, Crassus in fact created the first fire brigade, which in the future served the city well more than once.

Pompey and Caesar are famous commanders, thanks to whose conquests Rome significantly increased its wealth and expanded its sphere of influence. Envying the leadership talents of his comrades, Crassus organized a military campaign in Parthia.

In September '54 BC. Caesar's daughter Julia, who was Pompey's wife, died giving birth to a girl, who also died a few days later. This news created factional divisions and unrest in Rome, as many felt that the death of Julia and the child ended the family ties between Caesar and Pompey.

Crassus' campaign against Parthia was disastrous. Shortly after the death of Julia, Crassus died in the battle of Carrhae (in May 53 BC). While Crassus was alive, there was some parity in the relationship between Pompey and Caesar, but after his death, friction between the two commanders resulted in civil war. Pompey tried to get rid of his rival by legal means and ordered him to appear in Rome for the trial of the Senate, which deprived Caesar of all powers. Instead of arriving in the city and humbly appearing before the Senate, in January 49 BC. e. Caesar, returning from Gaul, crossed the Rubicon with his army and entered Rome.

He did not accept any accusations, but concentrated all his efforts on eliminating Pompey. The opponents met in Greece in 48 BC, where Caesar's numerically inferior army defeated Pompey's superior forces at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey himself fled to Egypt, hoping to find refuge there, but was deceived and killed. The news of Caesar's victory spread quickly - many of Pompey's former friends and allies quickly went over to the side of the winner, believing that he was supported by the gods.

Rise of the Roman Empire (27 BC)

After defeating Pompey, Julius Caesar became the most powerful man in Rome. The Senate declared him a dictator, and this actually marked the beginning of the decline of the Republic. Caesar was extremely popular among the people, and for good reason: his efforts to create a strong and stable government increased the prosperity of the city of Rome.

Many changes were carried out, the most significant of which was the reform of the calendar. A police force was created and officials were appointed to carry out land reforms, and changes were made to tax laws.

Caesar's plans included the construction of an unprecedented temple dedicated to the god Mars, a huge theater and a library based on the prototype of the Alexandrian one. He ordered the restoration of Corinth and Carthage, wanted to turn Ostia into a large port and dig a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Caesar was going to conquer the Dacians and Parthians, as well as avenge the defeat at Carrhae.

However, Caesar's achievements led to his death as a result of a conspiracy in 44 BC. A group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius feared that Caesar was becoming too powerful and could eventually simply abolish the Senate.

After the death of the dictator, his relative and comrade-in-arms Mark Antony joined forces with Caesar's nephew and heir Gaius Octavius ​​Furinus and his friend Mark Aemilius Lepidus. Their combined army defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius in the two battles of Philippi in 42 BC. Both of the dictator's killers committed suicide; soldiers and officers, except those who took a direct part in the conspiracy against Caesar, received forgiveness and an offer to join the army of the winners.

Octavius, Antony and Lepidus formed the second triumvirate of Rome. However, the members of this triumvirate turned out to be too ambitious. Lepidus was given control of Spain and Africa, which effectively neutralized him from political claims in Rome. It was decided that Octavius ​​would rule the Roman dominions in the west, and Antony in the east.

However, Antony's love affair with the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, destroyed the fragile balance that Octavius ​​sought to maintain and led to war. The armies of Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the Battle of Cape Actium in 31 BC. e., after which the lovers later committed suicide.

Octavius ​​remained the only ruler of Rome. In 27 BC. e. he receives emergency powers from the Senate, the name of Octavian Augustus and becomes the first emperor of Rome. It is at this moment that the history of ancient Rome ends and the history of the Roman Empire begins.

Reign of Augustus (31 BC-14 AD)

Now Emperor Octavian Augustus carried out a military reform, retaining 28 legions out of 60, thanks to which he came to power. The rest were demobilized and settled in the colonies. Thus, 150 thousand were created. regular army. The length of service was set at sixteen years and later increased to twenty.

The active legions were stationed far from Rome and from each other - the proximity of the border directed the energy of the military outward, towards external enemies. At the same time, being far from each other, ambitious commanders did not have the opportunity to unite into a force capable of threatening the throne. Such caution of Augustus immediately after the civil war was quite understandable and characterized him as a far-sighted politician.

All provinces were divided into senatorial and imperial. In their domains, senators had civil power, but did not have military powers - the troops were only under the control of the emperor and were stationed in the regions under his control.

The republican structure of Rome became more and more a formality every year. The Senate, comitia and some other state institutions gradually lost their political significance, leaving real power in the hands of the emperor. However, formally he continued to consult with the Senate, which often voiced the emperor’s decisions as a result of its debates. This form of monarchy with republican features received the conventional name “principate.”

Augustus was one of the most talented, energetic and skillful administrators the world has ever known. The enormous work of reorganizing every branch of his vast empire created a prosperous new Roman world.

Following in the footsteps of Caesar, he earned genuine popularity by organizing games and spectacles for the people, constructing new buildings, roads and other measures for the common good. The emperor himself claimed that he restored 82 temples in one year.

Augustus was not a talented commander, but he had the common sense to admit it. And therefore, in military affairs, he relied on his faithful friend Agrippa, who had a military vocation. The most important achievement was the conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. e. Then in 20 BC. managed to return the banners and prisoners captured by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrha in 53 BC. Also during the reign of Augustus, the Danube became the border of the empire in eastern Europe, after the conquest of the Alpine tribes and the occupation of the Balkans.

Julio-Claudian Dynasty (14-69 AD)

Since Augustus and his wife Livia had no sons together, his stepson from his first marriage, Tiberius, became the emperor's heir. In Augustus's will he was the sole heir, and after the death of the emperor in 14 AD. the succession of power passed peacefully.

Tiberius

As under Augustus, the empire as a whole enjoyed peace and prosperity. Tiberius did not seek to conquer new territories, but continued to strengthen the power of Rome over the entire vast empire.

Distinguished by his stinginess, the new emperor practically stopped funding the construction of temples, roads and other structures. Nevertheless, the consequences of natural disasters or fires were eliminated using funds from the state treasury, and in such situations Tiberius was not greedy. The main result of Tiberius's reign was the strengthening of imperial power, since the principate of the reign of Augustus still existed in Tiberius's empire.

Caligula

After the death of Tiberius in 37. power passed to Caligula, who was the son of the nephew of the deceased emperor. The beginning of his reign was very promising, since the young heir was popular among the people and generous. Caligula celebrated his rise to power with a large-scale amnesty. However, an incomprehensible illness that happened to the emperor a few months later turned the man on whom Rome pinned its bright hopes into a crazy monster, making his name a household name. In the fifth year of his mad reign, in 41 AD, Caligula was killed by one of his Praetorian officers.

Claudius

Caligula was succeeded by his uncle Claudius, who was fifty years old when he came to power. Throughout his reign the empire prospered and there were virtually no complaints from the provinces. But the main achievement of Claudius's reign was the organized conquest of the south of England.

Nero

He succeeded Claudia in 54. AD his stepson Nero, distinguished by his outstanding cruelty, despotism and viciousness. On a whim, the emperor burned half the city in 64 and then tried to regain popularity among the people by lighting up its gardens with a public display of burning Christians. As a result of the Praetorian uprising in 68, Nero committed suicide, and with his death the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended.

Flavian Dynasty (69-96)

For a year after Nero's death, the struggle for the throne continued, resulting in a civil war. And only the coming to power of the new Flavian dynasty in the person of Emperor Vespasian put an end to the civil strife.

During the 9 years of his reign, the uprisings that broke out in the provinces were suppressed, and the state economy was restored.

After Vespasian's death, his own son became the heir - this was the first time that power in Rome passed from father to son. The reign was short, and the younger brother Domitian, who replaced him after his death, was not distinguished by any special virtues and died as a result of a conspiracy.

Antonina (90-180)

After his death, the Senate proclaimed Nerva emperor, who ruled for only two years, but gave Rome one of the best rulers - the outstanding commander Ulpius Trajan. Under him, the Roman Empire reached its maximum size. Expanding the borders of the empire, Trajan wanted to move the nomadic barbarian tribes as far as possible from Rome. Three subsequent emperors - Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius - acted for the benefit of Rome and made the 2nd century AD. the best era of the empire.

Severan Dynasty (193-235)

The son of Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, did not have the virtues of his father and his predecessors, but he had many vices. As a result of a conspiracy, he was strangled in 192, and the empire again entered a period of interregnum.

In 193, a new Severan dynasty came to power. During the reign of Carcalla, the second emperor of this dynasty, the inhabitants of all provinces received the right to Roman citizenship. All the emperors of the dynasty (except for the founder Septimius Severus) died a violent death.

Crisis of the 3rd century

From 235 By 284, the empire was experiencing a crisis of state power, which resulted in a period of instability, economic decline and the temporary loss of some territories. From 235 to 268g. 29 emperors claimed the throne, of whom only one died a natural death. Only with the proclamation of Emperor Diocletian in 284 did the period of upheaval end.

Diocletian and the Tetrarchy

It was under Diocletian that the principate finally ceased to exist, giving way to the dominant - the unlimited power of the emperor. During his reign, a number of reforms were carried out, in particular the formal division of the empire, first into two and then into four regions, each of which was ruled by its own “tetrarch”. Although the tetrarchy lasted only until 313, it was the original idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe division into west and east that led to the future division into two independent empires.

Constantine I and the decline of the empire

By 324, Constantine became the sole ruler of the empire, under whom Christianity acquired the status of a state religion. The capital is transferred from Rome to Constantinople, built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium. After his death, the process of decline of the empire becomes irreversible - civil strife and the invasion of barbarians gradually led to the decline of the once most powerful empire in the world. Theodosius I can be considered the last autocratic ruler of the Roman world, but he remained so for only about a year. In 395 power passes to his sons. The division into Western and Eastern empires becomes final.

The reconstruction shows what part of the great Ancient Rome looked like.

The model of Ancient Rome shows the island of Tiberina, the Circus of Massimo and the Theater of Marcellus.

Thermae (that is, baths) of Caracalla, which once consisted of huge halls, including gymnastics and massage rooms, porticoes, fountains, gardens, and a library. There were pools with cool, warm and hot water.

A section of an ancient city road that has survived to this day. The road leads to the Arch of Titus.

Modern European civilization began and grew around the Mediterranean Sea. It is enough to look at a map or a globe to understand that this place is unique. The Mediterranean Sea is quite easy to navigate: its shores are very winding, there are many islands, especially in the eastern part, and they are located close to each other. And ships plied the Mediterranean Sea back in the days when the speed of sailing depended on the amount of bread and beer eaten and drunk by the rowers, and the sail was considered a fashionable novelty.

The inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast recognized each other early. Enterprising merchants and pirates (usually these were the same people) introduced the surrounding barbarians to the ingenious inventions of the Egyptians and Babylonians. These include complex rituals of veneration of mysterious gods, the technique of making metal weapons and beautiful pottery, and the amazing art of recording human speech.

Two and a half thousand years ago, the most developed people in the Mediterranean were the Greeks. They knew how to make very beautiful things, their merchants traded along the entire coast, and their warriors were considered almost invincible. From Spain to Arabia, many people spoke the Greek dialect Koine ("common"). Poems, plays and learned treatises, letters to friends and reports to kings were written on it. Among a variety of peoples, townspeople went to gymnasiums, they watched theatrical performances in Greek, held running and wrestling competitions based on Greek models, and the palaces and temples of even minor kings and gods were decorated with Greek statues.

But the Greeks did not create an empire. They did not strive to create it, just as, for example, ants do not strive to combine their cozy homes into one super anthill. The Greeks were accustomed to living in small communities - poleis. They felt like one people, but first of all they remained Athenians, Spartans, Ephesians, Phocians, etc. The newcomers could live in someone else's polis for several generations, but never became its citizens.

Rome is another matter. The Romans were excellent organizers. They fought courageously, did not get discouraged by failures, and also knew how to negotiate.

Initially, people from different tribes settled on the Roman hills, however, they quickly found a common language and became respected patricians. With later settlers - plebeians- The patricians did not want to share power for a long time, but in the end they came to an agreement with them. By the time Rome began its large-scale conquests, patricians and plebeians had already merged into a single Roman people.

Gradually, its neighbors were drawn into the composition of this people - Italians. However, the largest source of replenishment of the Roman nation were foreign slaves.

In Greece, slaves were freed only in exceptional cases; in Rome this was rather the rule. Having received freedom, the former slave became freedman- a free person, although not independent, dependent on the former owner. Power over free people, from the Roman point of view, was much more honorable than power over slaves. Later, this view was inherited by the peoples who settled on the ruins of the Roman Empire. “In my country, government officials pride themselves on being servants of the public; to be its owner would be considered a disgrace,” said the famous English politician Winston Churchill in the 20th century.

It was also profitable to free slaves: for liberation, the master could set such a ransom that he would buy several slaves with the money received. In addition, Roman senators, who were not allowed by custom to earn money through “low” occupations, bought merchant ships and shares in companies through freedmen.

As for the former slaves, their grandchildren no longer bore the mark of slave origin and were equal to the freeborn.

What's the lesson here?

Only a big people can prove themselves. Thanks to the fact that the Romans did not hiss at the newcomers and did not shout “all sorts of people are here,” the Roman people remained numerous enough for several centuries to not only subjugate huge densely populated territories, but also keep them in obedience. If the Romans had been prone to disunity, like the Greeks, there would have been no trace of the Roman Empire. This means that there would not have been such a Europe as we see today, and in general the whole history would have gone differently.

And yet, every coin has two sides.

The new citizens adopted Roman customs. But they themselves influenced the indigenous Romans, who gradually dissolved among numerous strangers. The descendants of the freed slaves no longer wanted to risk their lives defending the Roman Empire. This ultimately led to her death.

True, this happened several centuries later. By that time, the Romans had left such a bright mark on history that it was no longer possible to erase it. (476 is considered to be the end date of the existence of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern, called Byzantium, existed for another thousand years.)

Figures and facts

The Roman Empire, according to various estimates, built from 1500 to 1800 cities. For comparison: at the beginning of the twentieth century there were about 700 of them throughout the Russian Empire. Almost all the major cities of Europe were founded by the Romans: Paris, London, Budapest, Vienna, Belgrade, Sofia, Milan, Turin, Bern...

14 aqueducts ranging from 15 to 80 kilometers long supplied water to the population of Ancient Rome. From them, water flowed to fountains, swimming pools, public baths and toilets, and even to individual houses of wealthy citizens. It was a real plumbing. In Europe, similar structures appeared more than 1000 years later.

The total length of the roads of the Roman Empire was, according to various estimates, from 250 to 300 thousand kilometers - this is seven and a half equators of the Earth! Of these, only 14 thousand kilometers ran through Italy itself, and the rest - in the provinces. Apart from dirt roads, 90 thousand kilometers were real highways - with hard surfaces, tunnels and bridges.

The famous Roman sewer - Cloaca Maxima - was built in the 7th-6th centuries BC and existed for 1000 years. Its dimensions were so large that workers could move by boat through the underground sewer channels.

Details for the curious

Roads of the Roman Empire

The Roman road is a complex engineering structure. First, they dug a trench 1 m deep and drove oak piles into the bottom (especially if the soil was damp). The edges of the trench were reinforced with stone slabs and inside it a “layer cake” was created from large stone, smaller stone, sand, stone again, lime, and tile powder. The actual road surface - stone slabs - was placed on top of such a road cushion. Don't forget: everything was done by hand!

Along the edges of Roman roads there were stone mileposts. There were even road signs - tall stone columns indicating the distance to the nearest settlement and to Rome. And in Rome itself, the zero kilometer with a memorial sign was laid. There was a postal system on all highways. The speed of delivery of urgent messages was 150 km per day! Chernobyl was planted along the roads so that travelers could put its leaves in their sandals if their feet were sore.

For the Romans, nothing was impossible. They built roads on mountain passes and in the desert. In Northern Germany, ancient builders managed to lay cobblestone roads three meters wide even through swamps. To this day, tens of kilometers of Roman roads have been preserved there, along which a truck can drive without risk. And during the empire, these were military roads that could withstand heavy military equipment - siege weapons.