Roman Empire: summary, emperors, division and fall

O Roman Empire it is considered the greatest civilization in western history. It lasted five centuries: it began in 27 a. Ç. and ended in 476 d. Ç.

It stretched from the River Rhine to Egypt, to Great Britain and Asia Minor. Thus, it established a connection with Europe, Asia and Africa.

Summary about the Roman Empire

In the political system of empire, political power was concentrated in the figure of the emperor. The Roman Empire began with Octavian Augustus and ended with Constantine XI. The Senate served to support the emperor's political power.

The empire succeeded to Roman Republic. With the new system, Rome, which was a city-state, was ruled by the emperor.

It was at its inception that the empire gained most of the power. Until 117 d. C., at least 6 million square kilometers were under the rule of the Roman Empire.

Under the rule of the Roman Empire were 6 million inhabitants. Rome, at this stage, was inhabited by 1 million inhabitants.

Among the keys to the success of the empire was the army, which was professional and acted like a legion. Under the command of astute generals, Rome expanded its power to the Mediterranean.

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Characteristics of the Roman Empire

Essentially commercial;
It enslaved the conquered peoples;
Control of the provinces was done by Rome;
Polytheist;
The ruler held office for life;
Territorial extension was obtained by conquests or military coups.

Octavian Augustus was the first Roman emperor

Roman Emperors

The emperors that most marked the Roman Empire were:

Octavian Augustus – first emperor of Rome. It was responsible for adding many territories to the empire.
Claudius – his main achievement was to conquer part of Great Britain.
Nero - considered eccentric and crazy. He murdered his mother and sister and sentenced large numbers of Christians to death.
Titus – was known for having destroyed the temple of King Solomon.
Trajan – was considered a great conqueror. It was under his rule that the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent.
Hadrian – He ordered the construction of a wall named after him, Hadrian's Wall, in the north of Great Britain. The aim was to contain the barbarians.
Diocletian – divided the empire into two parts: east and west.
Constantine – forbade the persecution of Christians. He united the empire again and chose Byzantium as its capital. He renamed the city Constantinople.
Romulus Augustus – last emperor of Rome.
Constantine XI – was the last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. He died defending the city against attack by the Turks.

Learn more about the biography of some Roman Emperors.

roman dynasties

Julius-Claudian Dynasty
Dynasty of Flavios
Antonine Dynasty
Severus Dynasty

Rise of the Roman Empire

One of the stories about the founding of Rome is the famous legend of the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who lived in 753 a. Ç.

According to historians, Rome emerged from a group of shepherds who lived on the banks of the Tigris River. This is the geographical region that corresponds to Italy today.

During the VI century; a. C., Rome was under the direction of the Etruscans, of Greek origins. Freedom was achieved gradually, when it became a city-state where the form of power exercised was the monarchy.

With the constant disagreements between the kings, the Romans tried the republic, between 509 a. Ç. and 30 a. Ç. At this time, Rome began to exercise strong colonial, political and military power.

Triumvirates

Rome's government was further strengthened by a management strategy that has gone down in history as triumvirates.

The triumvirate is the management formed by three members. The formation of the first of them in Rome took place in 59 a. Ç. and it featured Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Marco Crassus.

At one point, the three went to war and Caesar defeated them. Julius Caesar became Rome's first individual ruler.

The second triumvirate was formed by Octávio, Lépido and Marco Antônio, also ended with a civil war in 31 a. Ç. Octavius won and came to rule Rome.

It is at this point that the Roman Empire appears, in 27 a. Ç. and that goes to 476 d. Ç. It is also considered the phase of greatest prosperity and expansion of the empire, in the so-called Julius-Claudian dynasty.

division of the roman empire

The Roman Empire was divided in 284 d. Ç. as a way to better manage power. The division consisted of:

Western Roman Empire, with Rome as its capital;
Eastern Roman Empire, with Byzantium as its capital.

eastern roman empire

the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, lasted until 1453, when it was taken by the Turks. Byzantium, the capital, was also known as Constantinople.

During the sixth century, Emperor Justinian (527-565) tried to reorder the Roman Empire and opened battle fronts by conquering North Africa, the Italian Peninsula and the Iberian Peninsula.

Muslims, however, ended up occupying North Africa, the Middle East and the Iberian Peninsula in the 7th and 8th centuries.

fall of the roman empire

The main causes of the decline of the Roman Empire were:

Difficulty in administration: the empire was too big and there were complications to control management and the corruption that plagued it;
Barbarian invasions: the army needed to protect the empire from the attacks of Goths (Visigoths and Ostrogoths), Huns and Germans (such as the Franks, Angles, Saxons, Vandals, Britons and Burgundians);
High taxes: the state had a high cost to maintain the construction of bridges, aqueducts, stadiums and public baths. This factor significantly increased taxes levied on the population;
Religion: the expansion of Christianity, which did not admit other gods, is among the justifications for the crisis in the empire;
Slave shortage: the reduction in battles for conquest of new territories undermined the slave renewal system

Holy Roman Empire

Once the "barbarian peoples" were installed and Christianized, medieval society began to dream of the restoration of the old Western Roman Empire.

This idea is undertaken by the Germanic princes and nobles who conquer a large territory and were always crowned or consecrated by the Pope.

Thus, an attempt is made to return to the splendor of ancient Rome by founding the Holy Roman Empire.

The name was "Sacro" for being supported by the pontiff, "Empire" for the great territorial extension. Already the "Roman" was due to the fact that they received the title of kings of Italy and "Germanic", because most of their territory was in that region.

Officially, the Holy Roman Empire will only end in 1806 with the Napoleonic Wars.

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