History 107 Lecture 25

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History 107Lecture 25

• The Success, Decline, and Fall of Rome

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Romes Pax Romana Emperors

• From the time of Augustus to that of Trajan (d.
  117 C.E.), the Roman Empire continued to expand
  under the leadership of emperors who ruled as
  limited dictators.
• Only in Germany, the home of especially fierce
  tribes, were there major military setbacks.
• A few poor rulers, such as Nero (d. 68), showed
  the dark side of the Augustan system of
  autocratic rule.
• The height of the Augustan system came between 96
  and 180 C.E. under the so-called Five Good
  Emperors Nerva (96-98), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian
  (117-138), Antonius Pius (136-171), and Marcus
  Aurelius (161-180).

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Roman Trade during the First Century
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Tacitus considers Germany

• During Roman Expansion, a First Century C.E.
  Roman historian named Tacitus (c. 55-117)
  considered Germany and its peoples the
  barbarians on the frontier
• Tacitus was a conservative Roman who pined for
  the golden days of a senatorial republic that he
  never knew (thus his work is also a satire on
  Rome)
• In Germania (c. 98 A.D.), Tacitus considered the
  following questions
• What were German barbarians on the frontier
  like?
• What stereotypes did the Romans have about them?
  
• Why were they so difficult to defeat?
• What virtues did German society have that Roman
  society did not?

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Roman Art flourishes during the Empire
Sculpture of Marcellus, time of Christ
Neptune mosaic, 300s A.D.
Fighter sculpture (bronze), 1st century A.D.
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Roman Building Techniques Show Progress
Romans used clay bricks for walls, columns, and
arches (above photo Pompeii). House walls
sometimes had clay pipes for water and waste.
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Roman Architectural Triumphs The Pantheon (2nd
century A.D.)
The Pantheon (118-128) now called S. Maria della
Rotonda
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The Decline of Rome

• During the crisis of the third century (180-284
  C.E.), Rome had weaker rulers and began a gradual
  decline accelerated by civil war
• Rome was built on military power, expansion,
  foreign wealth, tributeall in decline after
  the 3rd century
• Romes main achievement was political
  enfranchisement (Stacey, p. 202)
• The question is perhaps not Why did Rome fall?
  but How did it last so long?

Roman Coliseum (2002)
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The Decline of Rome

• Between 235 and 284 there were 26 emperors and a
  long period of civil war. Civil war brought
  chaos, economic decline, more taxation, and
  invaders
• In 251, the Goths invaded and killed the emperor
  Decius
• In 260, the Persians captured Emperor Valerian
  he was killed, stuffed, and put on display
• Many withdrew from Roman life following Platonist
  philosophy
• These later Platonists or neo-Platonists
  emphasized withdrawal from the world,
  contemplation, subjugation of the body, mystic
  reunion with God (the logos)

Bust of Emperor Valerian (d. 260) on Roman coin
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Emperor Diocletian (284-305 A.D.)

• One good emperor was Diocletian, who reformed the
  political system a little
• Diocletian divided the Empire between west and
  east, put a person in charge of each part, and
  managed the succession problem by appointing
  Caesars to govern and be in line to take over
• He ruled from Nicomedia in modern-day Turkey, and
  followed Eastern traditions (Persia) of being a
  distant Lord, wearing very royal robes and
  allowing only a few to see him

Bust of Diocletian, Rome
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Emperor Diocletian (284-305 C.E.)

• Diocletian reorganized the currency and taxation
  systems, putting the Roman Empire on a better
  financial footing
• However, Rome still declined, and dividing the
  empire between east and west created some
  division
• In 305, Diocletian retired to raise cabbagesan
  unprecedented move for a late Roman emperor
• Civil war broke out as competing generals fought
  to take over

Roman coin date 284-305 A.D. Inscription IMP
DIOCLETIANUS AUG. Translation Emperor
Diocletian Augustus
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Emperor Constantine (312-337 C.E.)

• Constantine emerged victorious and ruled from 312
  to 337 in the West. From 324-337 he ruled also
  in the East, and reunified the empire
• Very self-assured, Constantine built a grandiose
  new capital (330 A.D.) in modern-day Istanbul,
  naming it Constantinople
• The new capital shifts weight of the empire from
  West to East
• Empire now benefits from exchange of goods
  between Europe and Asia
• New capital is very defensible
• Constantine also announced that he had become
  Christian, and sought to change the structure of
  Roman religious life by making Christianity the
  preferred religion in Rome

Giant bust of Constantine, Rome
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Emperor Constantine (312-337 C.E.)

• Constantine called the Council of Nicea (325) to
  settle religious disputes about the Trinity and
  set Christian doctrine (orthodoxy)
• The Council condemned Arianism (the idea that
  Jesus was human and not fully God)
• Constantines mother, Helena, located religious
  sites in Palestine
• Constantine was baptized on his death bed (337
  A.D.)
• Constantine made succession hereditary again,
  although this would bedevil Rome in the future
• Later rulers completed what Constantine began and
  make Christianity the official religion

The Arch of Constantine in Rome, 315
A.D. Inscription "Constantine overcame his
enemies by divine inspiration"
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Explaining the Decline of Rome (1)

• What were the main reasons for decline in the
  Roman Empire?
• Internal political problemsthe system did not do
  well when emperors were hereditary. Either a
  poorly equipped family member took over, or a
  struggle ensued when succession was not clear.
• Although Rome extended citizenship to many, most
  of Romes citizens did not participate in
  government in any real way. There was little
  loyalty to Rome in a political sense.
• Civil wars were a major disruption and added to
  internal weakness

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Explaining the Decline of Rome (2)

• Foreign invasions (Germans, Persians) followed
  civil wars and exacerbated internal problems
• Epidemics in 165 A.D. and 251 A.D. killed up to
  1/3 of the Empire, and this depopulation led to
  weakness and decline.
• Slavery was also an internal problem, because
  Rome depended on slaves, and slaves came from
  conquered peoples. (Current slaves were worked
  too hard to reproduce in sufficient numbers.)
• Rome was stagnant in non-military technology,
  partially due to the reliance on slaves for labor
• In the past, a few historians argued that
  Christianity weakened Rome and led to its
  decline, but this is not a popular theory now

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The Sack and Fall of Rome

• Rome sacked in 410 by a chieftain named Alaric
  and the Goths. (Alaric was actually an Arian
  Christian.)
• City of Rome successfully invaded for the first
  time in 800 years
• After a period of economic decline, war, and
  divided government, Rome "falls" to additional
  barbarian invaders (Germanic tribes) in 476
• In Italy, a tribe known as the Ostrogoths ruled
  cities and took over governmental posts
• We will continue to study these Germans in Italy
  and elsewhere. The barbarians were so
  impressed with Roman Civilization that they tried
  to copy it for many centuries