Unit 6: Rome
Reading Two: The Roman Empire (A.D. 14–180 )
Height of the Roman Empire. Emperors like Hadrian saw to it that conquest stopped at Rome’s natural borders, like
the Sahara and Arabian desert in the south, and the Rhone and Danube Rivers along the frontier with Germania
The Pax Romana
Despite all manner of troubles in the capital, the two centuries from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius
would be a time of prosperity and peace in the Western world. It was an age identified by the term Pax
Romana, or "Roman peace," a time when no military force on earth could equal the power of Rome. The
"barbarians" were out there, of course—in particular the Germans, who had come to be known as
Goths—but they did not dare break through the frontiers of the empire itself.
Thus Roman strength ensured the peace, and the grandeur of the Roman Empire spread throughout
Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. It was a time of massive building projects, including the
construction of aqueducts that remain today as an impressive reminder of Roman achievements. Across
the wide expanse of the empire, the Romans built temples, bridges, and triumphal arches, the latter to
mark victories in battle, of which there were many. Roman artists improved greatly on the example
provided to them by the Greeks and brought realism to a high point.
Science also flourished in the work of the astronomer Ptolemy (A.D. 100s) and the physician Galen
(GAY-lehn; A.D. 129–c. 199) Neither man was a "Roman" in the strictest sense of the word: Ptolemy
lived in Alexandria, and Galen lived in Asia Minor. But the name of Rome had long since come to refer
to an entire world, not merely to a city.
Perhaps nothing says more about the stability of Rome in this era than its roads. Rome established a
highway network so impressive that it can only be compared to the American interstate system of today.
These roads were not mere paths: most were 12 or more feet wide, built of stone, clay, and gravel three
feet deep. Drainage ditches lined either side, and there were stone markers showing the distance to and
from Rome—hence the famous saying, "All roads lead to Rome." During the years of the Pax Romana, it
was possible to start out from Scotland and travel by Roman roads all the way to Rome itself; or if one
wished, into Greece and even across to Asia Minor and thence all the way to southern Egypt. The roads
were generally safe, protected from bandits—always a problem in ancient times—because outlaws feared
the wrath of the empire.
These examples
of Roman
technology are
impressive in
their own right.
But what makes
them more
impressive is how
the technology
was spread
throughout the
Empire. This
aqueduct is built
in Spain, the bath
is in Bath
England, the
road is located in
Tunis Africa and
the Colloseum
like arena is from
Croatia
The Emperors of Pax Romana
The Romans took a great risk abolishing their democracy for the rule of one
man. That first Emperor, Augustus turned out to be the right decision. His
reforms set Rome back on a path of growth, peace and prosperity. First he
reformed the government. He knew that Romans were not completely ready to
accept the rule of just one man, so he kept the Senate intact. Although all their
decision had to go through Augustus, (so that in fact they had very little real
power), they felt as though they were still necessary and a system of checks and
balances still remained. But, probably more significantly, he selected and chose
the people to administer the daily business of the government. He chose people
because of their talent rather than their birth or who they knew. Thus competent
citizens and even former slaves began to effectively carry out the work of the
Augustus
government. He gave provincial governors long terms so they could learn how to
do their job and paid them good salaries to discourage corruption.
Then Augustus set about reforming the military. First Augustus made every soldier swear loyalty to
him, not their general. To keep that loyalty, soldiers were now paid by Augustus himself. Now generals
could no longer build up their own private armies. And to ensure that no general could march an army
against Augustus or Rome, he created a special legion of the most elite soldiers whose job was to protect
the Emperor and the city of Rome. This elite legion was called the Praetorian Guard.
Augustus was not interested in conquering new territory. Instead, he wanted to give the people of
Rome a break from war. To do this however, he did conquer a few lands so that Rome would be easier to
defend. So he rounded the empire to its natural frontiers like the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the
Rhine and Danube rivers in Germany.
Instead, Augustus turned his attention on bettering the lives of people in Rome. New buildings and
shrines were built. Strict laws on public behavior were enforced. He created a fire department and police
force to keep people protected. As well as hosting hundreds of gladiatorial games for the peoples
amusements, he also built Rome’s first library. Augustus’ rule lasted for 41 years, the longest of any
Roman Emperor.
The Julio-Claudian Emperors are so named because they were all related in some way to Julius Caesar. Tiberius was competent, but
tried to retire and left the empire in corrupt hands. Caligula started out with promise, but disease may have been responsible for his
ultimate insanity. Claudius was made Emperor because he was the first family member the Praetorian guard found after
assassinating Caligula. They found him hiding behind a large potted plant. He never wanted to be emperor and the people never
liked him, despite being one of the more competent emperors. He was poisoned to death by his second wife so that her son Nero
could be named Emperor. Nero never wanted to be Emperor though – he wanted to be a poet. He had his mother drowned in the sea.
Tiberius (r. A.D. 14–37), stepson of Augustus, was an able ruler in his early days, but he came to
place too much reliance on a corrupt administrator. He was followed by Caligula (kuh-LIG-yoo-luh; r.
A.D. 37–41), who suffered a serious illness and went insane as a result. Caligula was so cruel and violent
that his military officers finally murdered him. Afterward the senate considered restoring the republic to
prevent another madman from taking power. However, the military overruled the senate and chose
Claudius (KLAW-dee-uhs; r. A.D. 41–54). Claudius's stammer and his absentminded behavior, as well as
his interest in scholarly pursuits, made him an object of ridicule; but under Claudius, Rome prospered. It
added southern Britain to its conquests in A.D. 47.
The next emperor, Nero, also had interests beyond his job as ruler: Nero (r. A.D. 54–68) saw himself
as an artist, a performer, and a charioteer. As with Claudius, his pursuits did not win him many admirers,
but for years he was guided by his tutor Seneca (SEHN-eh-kuh; c. 3 B.C.–c. A.D. 65), who virtually ran
the empire. A Stoic philosopher, Seneca was also a dramatist of note, but he committed suicide after he
was accused of conspiracy against the empire. As for Nero, his reputation suffered further when he was
blamed for a fire that swept Rome in A.D. 64. To clear his name, he in turn blamed the members of a tiny
religious sect then gaining a foothold in Rome: the Christians. Nero himself committed suicide after
revolts against the empire broke out in a variety of places, including Palestine.
Vespasian (vehs-PAY-zhee-uhn; r. A.D. 69–79) began restoring order to the empire. In A.D. 70 his
son Titus (TIE-tuhs) captured the city of Jerusalem and destroyed its temple. Titus was practically a
partner in his father's reign, then served as emperor himself from A.D. 79 to 81, during which time a
volcano destroyed the city of Pompeii (pahm-PAY). Titus was followed by his brother, the tyrant
Domitian (doh-MISH-uhn; r. A.D. 81–96), who quarreled with the senate and demanded that he be
addressed as "God."
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius were collectively known as “The Five Good Emperors”. Since
each Emperor appointed their best general as their successor, the Empire enjoyed the smooth transition of competent emperors
for almost 90 years.
After the brief reign of another emperor came a series of
five able rulers. In fact, this period of time has been
described as, "the period of the history of the world during
which the condition of the human race was most happy and
prosperous." Second of these "five good" emperors was
Trajan (TRAY-juhn; r. A.D. 99–117), who added several
provinces, including Mesopotamia, to the empire. By 116,
the empire reached its greatest extent, stretching from the
borders of Scotland to the mouth of Tigris and Euphrates
rivers.
The emperor Hadrian (HAY-dree-uhn; r. A.D. 117–
138) gave the first evidence that Rome had grown too big
for its own good. He gave up the recently acquired
province of Mesopotamia. He built a large stone border,
Hadrian's Wall, between Roman Britain and Scotland. His
reign also saw the construction of the Pantheon, a huge
An artistic rendering of Hadrian’s Wall on
temple to the gods covered by an open dome.
the modern day border of Scotland.
Hadrian was followed by a minor emperor, and then
by one of the greatest rulers in Roman history, Marcus
Aurelius (oh-REEL-ee-uhs; r. 161–180), who is also famed as a Stoic philosopher. Certainly the events of
Marcus's time must have influenced the brave approach to life that he recommended in his writings. Not
only did soldiers fighting in Asia bring back the plague, but Rome was subjected to invasions from
several German tribes. Marcus became the first of many emperors to allow barbarians to settle inside
Roman borders as a means of protecting the frontier from other barbarians.
Many of Europe’s major cities today began as Roman military camps; like Barcelona Spain on the left and London England on
the right.
The Decline of the Empire (A.D. 180–337)
When Marcus died, a golden age died with him. Historians mark this point as the beginning of the
fall of Rome. The fall of Rome was anything but sudden. It was long with times where things seemed to
improve and get better. Neither did it all fall apart everywhere. Whereas life on the western side of
empire was about to go through a violent collapse, life in the east would experience a reawakening of
culture and success. Some historians argue that Rome never truly fell, but merely underwent a long
process of change. Rome would look very different by 500 A.D., but many parts of its culture can still be
seen today.
Just as Rome’s fall did not happen instantly, it also had many reasons for its demise. Although
Augustus’ attempts to reform the government with an all-powerful leader worked for a time, it became
corrupted and led to many political problems. Likewise, Rome’s increased wealth and expansion created
more conflict and separation between its social classes. This led to a variety of social, economic and
religious problems that left Rome unable and unwilling to deal with its other problems. Rome was left to
weak, and too unmotivated to deal with its greatest threat – the barbarian invasions.
Social Issues.
As the Roman Empire grew and expanded, this caused more and more tension between Rome’s social
classes. As more wealth poured into Rome, it was going exclusively into the pockets of the wealthiest
classes, who then used the money to buy more slaves and created fewer and fewer opportunities for the
middle class. The gap between rich and poor, always wide, began to widen further. The middle class all
but died out. Over time, slavery actually began to decline, but not for a good reason. Wealthy Roman
landowners no longer purchased, housed, and fed slaves, when poor free citizens were so desperate for
work that they were actually cheaper.
What developed was two extremes: honestiores, who were the very rich and powerful, most of whom
had lavish homes both in the city and countryside, and humiliores, who lived in crowded slum dwellings
that often collapsed or caught fire. Each had their own set of problems.
Rome’s wealthiest citizens began to remove themselves
from the cities and built large estates in the country. Here,
they could ignore the problems going on in the rest of the
empire. In these lavish estates, the wealthy became infamous
for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and
drank until they became ill. Special rooms called,
vomitoriums, were installed just off the dining room where
guests could “relieve” themselves and then return for more
gluttony. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their
homes through lead pipes. This caused lead poisoning and led
to high levels of insanity. The wealthy death rate was
surprisingly very high.
Meanwhile, Rome’s poor and unemployed crowded into
the cities. They lived in small smelly rooms in apartment
houses with six or more stories called islands. Each island covered an entire block. At one time there were
44,000 apartment houses within the city walls of Rome. First-floor apartments were not occupied by the
poor since these living quarters rented for about $100 a year. The more shaky wooden stairs a family had
to climb, the cheaper the rent became. The upper apartments that the poor rented for $40 a year were hot,
dirty, crowed, and dangerous. Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the
crime-infested streets. Because of this, cities began to decay. To keep the people from revolting, the
government provided them with free food. At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more
than 100,000 people in Rome alone. These people were not only a burden but also had little to do but
cause trouble and contribute to an ever increasing crime rate.
There were many public health and environmental problems. The continuous interaction of people at
the Colosseum, surrounded by blood and death, caused disease to spread. Those who lived on the streets
in continuous contact allowed for an uninterrupted strain of disease. Alcohol use increased, adding to the
incompetency of the general public. As political freedom declined, sexual freedom increased, which
actually lead to a decline in the population. Even during Pax Romana there were 32,000 prostitutes in
Rome. Not only did family life begin to fall apart, but the practice of killing of unwanted children, spread.
One area that rich and poor had in
common was their desire for ever increasing
levels of violent entertainment to deal with their
boredom. The rich because they had so much
money they didn’t know what to do with it, and
poor because they had no money and nothing to
do. To keep them both happy the government
provided them with a never ending supply of
deadly entertainments, both at race tracks like the
Circus Maximus and gladiator games at places
like the Colloseum. 45,000 spectators would
crowd into the Colloseum almost on a daily basis
to watch increasingly cruel "sporting" events, as
Christians, slaves, or prisoners were put in the
ring unarmed against wild animals. Rome
actually caused the extinction of some African animals to satisfy the crowds demand for watching
animals fight to the death. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience.
One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked
with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on.
Economic Issues
The Emperor’s Hadrian and Aurelius realized that the Roman Empire had reached the maximum that
could be defended and governed. The policies they set in place ended Rome’s conquest and expansion
and instead focused on protecting and defending its current borders. But since Rome’s economy had
always been based on taking wealth from its conquered neighbors this new policy had a devastating
impact on the economy. With no new conquests, there was no new wealth.
Rome had also always imported more goods than it exported. It was not a producer – it was a taker.
Many ships sailed into the harbors of Rome fully loaded, but most of them left empty. Once the Romans
stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased. Yet much gold was
being spent by the Romans to pay for luxury items. What little gold left in Rome was being traded out of
the Empire to pay for products made outside of the Empire. This meant that there was less gold to use in
coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable. This results in a
situation called inflation. To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on the goods they
sold. If you have a lot of coins, this isn’t as much a problem, but if you are poor and have only a limited
amount of coins, you find that more and more of them disappear just to buy a loaf of bread. Many people
stopped using coins and began to barter to get what they needed. Eventually, salaries had to be paid in
food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.
As Rome’s economy collapsed, so did its technology. During the last 400 years of the empire, the
scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organization of
public services. They built marvelous roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They established the first system of
medicine for the benefit of the poor. But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor,
they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently. They
could not provide enough goods for their growing population. They were no longer conquering other
civilizations and adapting their technology.
Maintaining an army to defend the border of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain
on the government. Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public
housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the
Empire. The empire had to begin hiring soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or worse from
foreign counties. Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive. The emperors were forced to
raise taxes frequently which in turn led again to increased inflation.
Political Issues
In the face of all these social and economic problems, what Rome needed was a strong ruler.
Unfortunately, corruption made that the exception rather than the norm for the next 250 years. One of the
most difficult problems was choosing a new emperor. The Romans never created an effective system to
determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old
emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard, and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard gained
complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became more
influential, perpetuating the cycle.
Aurelius first broke the trend of appointing his most competent general as
his replacement, and instead appointed his son Commodus (KAHM-uh-duhs;
r. A.D. 180–192) as Emperor. Although the beginning of his reign started
out promising, over time he became more and more unstable. He was one of
the first emperors to demand to be treated as a living god. He also demanded
that people recognize him as the reincarnated Hercules. Over time he
developed an obsession with gladiators and would dress as a gladiator during
state functions. This would be similar to our president attending official
functions dressed in full football uniform. When he insisted on being
allowed to participate in a gladiatorial match, his guards put an end to the
embarrassment and had him strangled to death in his own bathtub by a
professional wrestler.
Commodus’ replacement, Pertinax, only ruled for 67 days before he
was
assassinated by his own soldiers for refusing to pay them bribe
Commodus, dressed as Hercules
money. His successor Didius Julianus did not make the same mistake.
He promised the Praetorian Guard 25,000 sesteres to make him Emperor. Septimus Severus (SEP-timuhs seh-VEER-uhs; r. A.D. 192–211), Rome’s first African Emperor, did manage to restore order for
the next 20 years and was one of the last Roman emperors to die of natural causes. His son Caracalla
became the next Emperor after he ordered his guard to stab his brother and co-emperor to death – in front
of their mother! He later claimed it was self-defense. When he was mocked for this on a trip to
Alexandria, he invited all of the cities wealthiest families invited to the local arena for a “celebration”.
When they had entered, he ordered the gates barred and ordered his army to slaughter them. Then they
went out into the rest of the city. In all, over 20,000 people were put to death. He was assassinated soon
after.
During the next forty-nine years, no fewer than twenty emperors reigned, many of them promoted to
their positions by the army. Emperors who inspired the disfavor of the military or the senate had a way of
winding up dead, and they would simply be replaced. For a time, a rival dynasty of emperors ruled Gaul,
and plenty of other would-be rulers contended for power. Zenobia of Palmyra led a revolt in Syria, as did
other leaders in other parts of the empire. The emperor, Valerian (vuh-LEER-eeun; r. A.D. 253–260), was
captured in battle by the Persians. The Persian Emperor used him as a step stool to mount his horse.
When he tired of this, he had him skinned alive and hung his skin in his palace.
Gallienus, Valerian's son and co-ruler, began a period of slow recovery in the empire as a whole. He
built up the military on the borders and prevented senators from holding command positions in the army.
Aurelian (oh-REEL-ee-uhn; r. A.D. 270–275) crushed the revolts in Syria and Gaul, but like other Roman
emperors, he proved ineffective against the most serious threat to Rome's power: the barbarian tribes. His
building of a wall around Rome, which had never had one in all its years, was a sign of the empire's
increasingly defensive posture.
Diocletian and Constantine
After a half century of disorder, the emperor Diocletian (die-oh-KLEEshun) was able, at least temporarily, to restore peace and stability. Diocletian
and his successors would make drastic changes in the administration of the
empire in an effort to prevent its dissolution. However, his reforms would
later prove to be as responsible for the ultimate fall of Rome as it did to help it
survive.
Diocletian, who ruled from 284 A.D. to 305 A.D., came to power with the
backing of the eastern army. Although, he ruled the entire empire, Diocletian
appointed one of his friends, Maximian, to supervise the western part. Both
Diocletian and Maximian formally took the title of Augustus, and each
appointed a second-in-command with the title of Caesar. The rule of the four
together constituted what is termed the tetrarchy. This was also the beginning
of the split between the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire.
Diocletian remained in the east and began the task of restoring order. To combat the threat of German
tribes in the west and Persians in the east, Diocletian had special border troops stationed permanently on
the frontiers. For the first time in years Rome’s frontiers were stabilized.
Diocletian divided the empire into 120 provinces, each run by an administrator of his choosing.
These provinces were gathered into groups often controlled by another official, the vicarius (vi KARE-eeus). The vicarii reported to the headquarters of the Augustus or Caesar ruling his area of the empire.
Diocletian also sent spies to watch over the administrators. To pay for all this, new taxes were passed, the
burden of which fell most heavily on small farmers and business people.
Diocletian
Diocletian’s reforms
included splitting the
empire into two sections.
Each section was ruled
by its own co-emperor,
and his chosen successor
– called his Caesar.
Although the idea of corulers would come and
go over the next century,
the split between the
empires would become
permanent. Constantine
made a new capital in
the East at the former
city of Byzantium, giving
the eastern empire the
name of “The Byzantine
Empire”
Diocletian’s programs did bring order to the empire. However, on his retirement
in 305 A.D., the rule of the tetrarchy broke down and the struggle to succeed
Diocletian led to civil war. Constantine, the son of one of the Caesars, emerged the
winner in 324 A.D. Constantine kept many of Diocletian’s reforms. In 330 A.D.,
when Constantine made Constantinople, meaning the city of Constantine, his eastern
capital, the declining fortunes of Rome and the western half of the empire were
underscored. By creating a new capital in the east, Constantine all but sent the
message that the Empire in the west was dead. No one cared about the old, decaying
city of Rome anymore. Rome in the west was being abandoned, while Rome in the
east was being reborn as something new.
Constantinople was to eclipse Rome in splendor and importance, and would
become the center of the thriving eastern empire. But it was difficult to say how
Constantine
Roman it was. Because Constantinople was in Greece, it became fashionable to
speak in Greek, and Latin was replaced. Clothing and art styles also took on a more eastern influence.
But, perhaps most importantly of all, Constantinople adopted a new religion and coliseums were replaced
with churches.
Religion Issues
When faced with social problems, most societies turn to
religions to help unify people around a common set of morals.
Rome’s official religion did little to provide direction and hope
to its people. In fact, it’s hard to say that they had an “official”
religion at all. Since the Romans had originally just adopted the
Greek polytheistic gods, they tended to just incorporate most
other gods of people that they conquered. With a few
exceptions, like the Celtic Druids who were all but wiped out,
cultures that were added to the Empire were allowed to bring
The cult of Isis is mostly a mystery. But
followers believed that like Isis, certain
“power words” would give
practitioners power over life and death.
their particular religious beliefs in as well. This led to a wide variety of different cults and religions being
practiced throughout the empire. Not only did this make it difficult to unite people in a common
direction, some of them participated in highly questionable moral practices. The Greek, Cult of
Dionysus, for example, encouraged its followers to escape from the miseries of life by consuming large
volumes of wine and dancing around a bonfire until they saw visions of their god.
The only thing that all Romans were required to practice was the Cult of the Emperor. The official
religion of Rome stated that the Emperor was a god. Although many emperors practiced this in death
only, meaning they didn’t really expect people to consider them a god until after they died, other
emperors fully expected people to treat them as a god on earth. Unfortunately, some of these same
emperors were also horrible role models when it came to moral behavior. Emperors who openly
participated in murder, sexual deviance, and extreme gluttony did little to provide guidance and direction.
Jews and the Roman Empire
Among the peoples in the empire were the Jews. By 63 B.C., the Romans had conquered Palestine,
where most Jews of the time lived, and made it into the province of Judea. As with other citizens of the
empire, the Romans tolerated the Jews’ religion. They even excused the Jews from worshiping Roman
gods. They knew that to do so would violate the Jewish faith, which was based on belief in one God.
Among the Jews themselves, however, religious ferment was creating deep divisions. During the
Hellenistic age, many Jews absorbed Greek customs and ideas. Now, having been conquered by the
Romans, Jewish leaders feared for more weakening of their culture. Jewish reformers began to call for a
return to strict obedience to Jewish laws and traditions. An especially radical group, called the Zealots,
even called on Jews to revolt against Rome and reestablish an independent Israel. Some Jews believed
that a messiah, or savior sent by God, would soon appear to lead the Jewish people to freedom.
In A.D. 66, discontent did finally flare into rebellion. Roman forces crushed the rebels, captured
Jerusalem, and destroyed the Jewish temple. When revolts broke out again in the next century, Roman
armies leveled Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews were killed in the fighting. Faced with the destruction that
resulted from the rebellions, growing numbers of Jews decided to leave Judea, where they survived in
scattered communities around the Mediterranean.
The Birth of Christianity
Before that rebellion, however, the Jewish religion
saw the creation of a new sect, or group, of Judaism
which would over time become its own major religion.
This newest of cults spread slowly throughout the
empire. Many blamed it for the final destruction of
Rome because it so radically changed the morals and
values of what was considered to be traditional Roman
culture. But, more people saw it as the final savior of
Rome. Today, it is the major world religion of
Christianity, and is one of the most significant
contributions remaining from the Roman Empire.
Its founder was a Jew named Jesus. What little we
know about the life of Jesus comes from the Gospels.
These accounts were attributed by early Christians to
four followers of Jesus. Jesus was born about 4 B.C. in
Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. According to the Gospels, an
Jesus’ performance of miracles, like healing the
angel had told Jesus’ mother, Mary that she would give
sick, attracted a following in the province of
birth to the messiah. “He will be great,” said the angel,
Judea
“and will be called the Son of the Most High God.”
Growing up, Jesus worshiped God and followed Jewish law. As a young man, he worked as a
carpenter. At the age of 30, the Gospels relate, he began preaching to villagers near the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus’ teachings were firmly rooted in Jewish tradition. Jesus believed in one God and accepted the Ten
Commandments. He preached strict obedience to the laws of Moses and defended the teachings of the
Jewish prophets. Large crowds gathered to hear him especia1ly when word spread that he performed
miracles of healing.
At the same time, Jesus preached new beliefs. After three years, Jesus and his disciples, or loyal
followers, went to Jerusalem to spread his message there. According to his followers, he called himself
the Son of God and declared that he was the messiah whose appearance Jews had long predicted. His
mission, he proclaimed, was to bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who would believe in
him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summed up his ethical message, which echoed Jewish ideas of
mercy and sympathy for the poor and helpless: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. . . .
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy... . Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called the children of God.”. Jesus rejected the principle of “an eye for an eye.” Instead, he preached
forgiveness. “Love your enemies,” he told his followers. “If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the
other one, too.”
Some Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem. Others, however, regarded him as a dangerous
troublemaker. Jewish priests, in particular, felt that he was challenging their leadership. To the Roman
authorities, Jesus was a revolutionary who might lead the Jews in a rebellion against Roman rule. Jesus
was betrayed by one of his disciples, the Gospels state. Arrested by the Romans, he was tried and
condemned to be crucified. In crucifixion, a Roman method of execution, a person was nailed to a cross
and left to die. Jesus’ disciples were thrown into confusion. But then rumors spread through Jerusalem
that Jesus was not dead at all. His disciples, the Gospels say, saw and talked with Jesus, who had risen
from the dead. He commanded them to spread his teachings. Then he ascended into heaven.
At first, Christianity remained a sect, or small group, within Judaism. The disciples who spread
Jesus’ message are known as the Apostles, from the Greek word meaning “a person sent forth.” Some
preached among the Jews of Judea. Others traveled to the communities of the Jewish diaspora, including
Rome. Slowly, a few Jews accepted the teaching that Jesus was the messiah, or the Christ, from the Greek
for “the anointed one.” These people became the first Christians.
The Growth of Christianity
It was the apostle Paul, a Jew from Asia Minor, who began the
wider spread of the new faith. Paul had never seen Jesus. In fact, he
had been among those who persecuted Jesus’ followers. Then one
day, Paul had a vision in which Jesus spoke to him. Immediately
converting to the new faith, Paul made an important decision. He
would spread Jesus’ teachings beyond Jewish communities to
gentiles, or non-Jews. With this decision, Christianity was now
open to people who were not the “Chosen People”. Thus, they
could no longer consider themselves to be part of the Jewish faith.
Thus, they went from being a branch of Judaism, to its own
religion. However, at this point, its followers were so small and
unknown that Rome considered them to be no more than just
another of many mysterious eastern cults.
Paul’s missionary work set Christianity on the road to becoming
a world religion. A tireless traveler, Paul set up churches from
Mesopotamia to Rome. In long letters to the Christian communities, he explained and expanded Christian
teachings. For example, he emphasized the idea that Jesus had sacrificed his life out of love for
humankind. Paul promised that those who believed Jesus was the son of God and followed his teachings
would achieve salvation, or eternal life.
These beliefs put them into direct conflict with the Empire. Rome’s tolerant attitude toward religion
did not extend to Christianity. Roman officials suspected Christians of disloyalty to Rome because they
refused to make sacrifices to the emperor or to honor the Roman gods. When Christians met in secret to
avoid persecution, rumors spread that they were engaged in evil practices. The practice of Baptism was
reported as Christians drowning babies. The Eucharist, where Christians consume the body and blood of
Jesus, was believed to be a practice of cannibalism. But mostly, Romans just did not trust the pacifist
message of the Christians. The belief of “turn the other cheek” was just too strange of a concept for
Romans who preferred a preemptive kick in the groin if you even thought your enemy might slap you in
the cheek.
Not all Emperors sought to destroy Christianity. When times were good, Christians were treated with
tolerance. However, in times of trouble, persecution increased. Roman rulers like Nero used Christians as
scape goats, blaming them for a fire that destroyed large
portions of the city (Even though in fact he probably had
the fire started to make way for a new imperial palace).
Over the centuries, thousands of Christians became
martyrs, people who suffer or die for their beliefs.
Among them was Paul, who was killed during the reign
of Nero. Most gladiator game days began with
Christians being fed to wild beasts or burned alive for
the crowd’s entertainment. It also sent the message that
this was one religion you did not want to be a part of.
Rome’s plan to eliminate Christianity backfired.
Despite the attacks, Christianity continued to spread.
The reasons were many. Jesus had welcomed all people,
especially the humble, poor, and oppressed. They found
comfort in his message of love and of a better life
beyond the grave. The risk of burning at the stake was a small price to pay to end an otherwise miserable
existence in return for the promise of an eternal paradise.
Christianity also attracted the educated members of Roman society. As they did their work,
Christian missionaries like Paul added ideas from Plato, the Stoics, and other Greek thinkers to Jesus’
message. Educated Romans, in particular, were attracted to a religion that incorporated the discipline and
moderation of Greek philosophy. Women also had reasons to find this new religion. Many welcomed its
promise that in the Church “there is neither Jew nor Greek . . . neither slave nor free. . . neither male nor
female.” In early Christian communities, women served as teachers and administrators. Even when they
were later barred from any official role in the Church, they still worked to win converts and supported
Christian communities across the Roman world.
The persecution of the Christians in the arena’s had the
Constantine claimed that his
exact opposite impact than what the Emperors planned. Instead of
victory at Milvan Bridge was due
resisting or crying out in pain, many Christian martyrs met their end
to Divine intervention. Judea
in silent prayer. Observing the willingness of Christians to die for
their religion, Romans were impressed by the strength of their
belief. Instead of turning Romans away from the religion, they
wanted to know more about what gave its followers such strength.
As the empire grew older, and its problems more severe, more
and more people turned away from the old beliefs and converted to
Christianity. The emperor Diocletian, made an attempt to unite the
people of Rome in 303 A.D. by declaring that all Romans must
practice one religion. And that one religion would be the old, state
religion where he was the god. Thus began the last and greatest of
the persecutions where it is estimated over 20,000 Christians were
crucified. But it did not work.
In 312 A.D., Diocletian’s successor, Constantine also attempted to unite the people of Rome
behind him. But instead of fighting the Christians, he joined them. After a great victory in which he
claimed to have seen a great cross in the sky with the words “In this sign you shall be victorious”, he
converted to Christianity. It probably didn’t hurt that his wife and mother were already Christians. Thus
Constantine became the first Christian Emperor. One year later he issued the Edict of Milan, which
granted religious freedom to all. Although Constantine did not make Christianity the official religion of
Rome,( that would not happen until the emperor Theodosius in 379 AD), he would go on to have a
significant impact on the shaping of Christianity as an official religion.
It is difficult to say what role the conversion of Rome to Christianity played in its downfall. Some
believe that Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend
against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the
empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining
civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era. Furthermore, since it is still with
us today, one could argue it is one aspect of the Roman Empire that never did die out, but still lives on.
The Final Fall (A.D. 337–476)
The ultimate cause of the fall of Rome, at least western Rome, was due to the violent and hostile
migrations of the Germanic people. But, keep in mind that the Germanic people would have never been
able to invade Rome, if Rome was not already weak from its own social, economic and political
problems. In short, the Germans succeeded because the Romans no longer had the funds or desire to
resist.
The Germans were not new to the Romans.
The Romans had been dealing with the
Germans since the days of Augustus and
Caesar’s newly acquired lands in Gaul first
bordered up against the Germans. In 9 A.D.,
Augustus sent his general, Varus, to subjugate a
tribe of Germans only to have 3 legions
ambushed and slaughtered in the Teutoburg
Forest. After that incident the Romans
determined that the German tribes were not to
be conquered and admitted into the empire, but
instead shunned and kept out at all costs.
Frankly, the Germans scared the Romans. Thus
the Romans shunned them, called them
barbarians and considered them animals that
needed to be kept out of house. In reality
though, the Germanic culture contained many
elements that we would recognize today.
Nearly 20,000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered in an
ambush in the thick forests of Teutoburg.
Germanic Culture
The Germanic peoples had no written language, therefore most of what we know about them comes
to us from Roman accounts. Because the Germans were so different then the Romans, much of what the
Romans said about them was very biased. First, the Germans were physically different. They were much
larger than the Mediterranean Romans. Whereas Romans kept their hair neat and trim, Germans saw long
hair and beards as a sign of masculinity. Romans lived in stone, orderly cities. Because Germania was
heavily forested, the Germans tended to live in small isolated villages of wooden structures. Romans
heated their homes with fires kept burning day and night with slave
labor. Germans used their animals to keep their homes warm.
Romans drank wine. Germans drank beer – lots of it! All day
drinking bouts were a common entertainment in the long dark winters
of the north.
Some aspects of German culture we would recognize as more
civilized than the Romans. For instance, the Germans highly valued
family. German men and women monogamous, meaning they were
faithful to each other in marriage. In Rome it was common for
patricians to not only have a wife, but many other loves as well.
German ties between parents and child were very strong, unlike in
Rome where a Roman father might go years without seeing his
children or would have them sent off to be raised by other families.
German society had few social classes. Guests were treated with great
hospitality and it was against the law to turn away a person in need. Although they did have slaves, these
slaves were defeated enemies who were for the most part respected and valued. They were given the jobs
of farming as punishment for having been defeated in battle.
In many ways, German society was more democratic than Roman society. The basic unit in
German society was the family. A group of families formed a clan. Larger groups organized themselves
into tribes, governed by a chieftain and a tribal council called a Witan. The chieftain was elected by the
Witan. All the adult males, except slaves, belonged to the council, which discussed tribal policies. To
show their agreement with the chieftain, the German warriors clashed their shields. German law was
considered to come from the people. A chieftain could not change a law without the permission of the
people. If a person broke a law they were tried by a judge and a jury of their peers – much like we do
today.
But most of all, the Germans were a warrior society. German males were warriors and they prized
the values of courage and loyalty. Each German military leader was followed into battle by his own band
of warriors who were linked to him by a personal pledge of loyalty. The Romans called this warrior band
a comitatus (kah rnuh-TAH---tuss) The leader of the comitatus saw that his warriors were provided with
food, weapons, and shelter and that they received a share of the land and wealth gained in battle. In
return, each member of the comitatus pledged to fight to the death alongside his leader. It was considered
a disgrace to survive a battle in which the leader of the comitatus died.
The Germanic Invasions
The Romans considered the Germans to be uncivilized. The Germans, in contrast, were very much
attracted to Roman culture, land and wealth. Their hopes to live peacefully within the borders of the
Roman Empire throughout the 1st and 2nd century A.D. were shunned as the Roman army went to great
lengths to keep the Germans behind the Danube and Rhone river. Roman generals did, however, develop
a respect and admiration for the fighting abilities of the German warriors.
In the third century, as the Roman army began to suffer from a lack of soldiers and money to pay
them, the Romans developed a new strategy with regards to the German warriors. Limited numbers of
friendlier tribes were allowed to settle in the empire in exchange for military service. The Romans
figured that the best way to fight a German, was with other Germans. And, they were cheaper since they
didn’t have to pay them. As the empire further declined, the Romans were forced to recruit more and
more German warriors. By the end of the fourth century the bulk of the Roman troops in western Europe
were Germanic, and it was their duty to protect the frontiers against other Germanic invaders.
Conflict between the Romans and Germans finally came to a head at the end of 4th century,
surprisingly due to a change in weather conditions in China. A period of cooling temperatures caused
large droughts and a change in the way of life of a group of nomadic herders in Northern China. To
survive, they tried to escape into the Han Dynasty but were turned back by the Great Wall. These people,
who would come to be known as the Huns, had no choice but to turn west. Crossing the mighty
Himalayas and the vast steppes of Russia, they emerged into the fertile wooded world of Eastern Europe
in 372 A.D. These skilled fighters, mounted on horseback, quickly conquered the East Germans, or
Ostrogoths (OS-truh-goths). Then they settled temporarily in what is now Hungary, raiding southward
and westward.
The Hun advance spread terror among
other Germanic tribes. People in the west had
never seen people with Asiatic features, let
alone Asians who were rarely seen off
horseback. Many Germans thought they
were in fact a breed of centaur, half man –
half horse. If the Germans were considered
uncivilized, then the Huns were considered
absolute savages. Huns marked the scene of
raids and battles by impaling the heads of
their victims on spears, or just by stacking
hundreds of skulls into large mounds. What
was truly terrifying about the Huns is that they
seemed to have no desire to ever stop fighting.
They had no desire to settle down and become
farmers. In fact, Hun cuisine consisted of
placing a large slab of raw meat between their
horses back and their saddle. As they rode
around all day, the meat would “cook” in the
horse sweat. The great Hun horde had no
real leadership or government but was merely
a vast mob that wanted to raid villages, steal
and kill, and then move on to do it again.
The Hun invasion of Germania did not
directly harm the Romans. What it did was
send the Germans fleeing into Rome. The
German respect for the Roman army was
nothing compared to their fear of the Huns.
Especially considering that most of the Roman
army now consisted of fellow Germans.
Rome however had little sympathy for the
Germans. One nation of Germans who were
allowed to enter Rome as refugees, were the
Visigoths, or the West Goths. Because of their
previous good relations with the Romans, they
were allowed to settle in camps in northern
Greece. The Roman officials who were
supposed to help care for the refugees instead
Alaric enters Rome
used the opportunity to take advantage of them. Beef that was supposed to feed the Visigoths was sold
instead and replaced with dog meat. Then the officials would force the Visigoths to trade their children
for the dog meat. The children were then sold in to slavery. The Visigoths revolted. The emperor,
Valens, tried to subdue the Germans, but was soundly defeated at the battle of Adrianople in 378 AD.
The Visigoths fought as people who had nothing to lose, whereas the Romans were mostly made up of
Germanic soldiers who had little loyalty to an empire who were abusing their own people.
For many, Adrianople marked a turning point for the Roman Empire. The army could no longer be
counted on to keep them safe. Things were only going to get worse. In the winter of 406, the Rhone
River froze for the first time in Roman history. With no natural barrier between them and the empire,
German tribes began to pour into the west taking lands by force that the Romans would not let them have
out of mercy. In 410 A.D., Rome itself was attacked and plundered by the leader of the Visigoths.
Alaric had at one time been an officer in the Roman army. But when he was overlooked for a promotion,
he returned to his own people, vowing to get even with the Romans. Although his sacking of Rome only
lasted one week, the message was clear. The Roman army and government could no longer save the
west. The people were on their own.
The Visigoths continued westward, they settled in southern France and Spain. Another German
tribe, the Vandals, swept through France and Spain, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to conquer Roman
North Africa. The destruction they left behind was so great that the word vandal has come to mean
someone who thoughtlessly destroys property. Another Germanic tribe, the Burgundians took over
eastern Gaul, while northern Gaul fell to the Franks. From the bordering lands of modern Germany
and Denmark, Jutes, Angles, and Saxons sailed to Britain. Meanwhile, Italy was overrun by Ostrogoths.
In 451 A.D. the Huns returned. And this time they headed for Rome
itself, under the leadership of Attila. Although his name really meant “Little
Daddy”, he was more commonly referred to in Rome as “the scourge of
God”. Faced by a common danger, the Romans and Germans formed an
alliance and defeated the invaders at the battle of Châlons (sha-LON). With
westward movement prevented,
Attila retreated to Italy where he sacked a number of Italian cities. Then he
marched on Rome. Mysteriously, he never attacked the city itself. The
Romans claimed they were saved by the head of the Christian Church, Pope
Leo I, who asked Attilla to leave in God’s name. And he miraculously did.
It is also believed that Attilla’s army was suffering from an outbreak of
plague and he had no choice but to retreat. Attila died shortly
afterward,(from a nose bleed on his wedding night) and the Huns were
driven back toward Asia.
We won’t ever really know what
Attila looked like, but the
Romans envisioned that he had
horns.
With the Hun menace
ended, the Germanic tribes
were free to move against
the Western Roman
Empire. The Vandals
sailed from North Africa,
raided Italy, and sacked
Rome in 455 A.D. Italy
was plunged into chaos.
For the next twenty years a
series of weak emperors
followed in rapid
succession, none reigning
more than a few years.
These emperors were only
figureheads for the real
power lay with the
barbarian generals and
their armies. In 475 A.D.
one of these generals
placed his young son,
Romulus, on the throne.
The following year the
young emperor was deposed by an Ostrogoth general, Odoacer (oe-doe-AY-sur), and the line of Roman
emperors in the West came to an end. This event, which occurred in 476 A.D., is commonly said to mark
the fall of the Western Roman Empire.