essay on the roman empire

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World history

Course: world history > unit 2.

Rise of Julius Caesar
Caesar, Cleopatra and the Ides of March
Ides of March spark a civil war
Augustus and the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

Roman empire
State building: Roman empire
Ancient Rome

The Roman Empire began in 27 BCE when Augustus became the sole ruler of Rome.
Augustus and his successors tried to maintain the imagery and language of the Roman Republic to justify and preserve their personal power.
Beginning with Augustus, emperors built far more monumental structures, which transformed the city of Rome.

Augustus and the empire

Imperial institutions, infrastructure, monumental building, foreign policy, want to join the conversation.

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Ancient Rome

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 22, 2023 | Original: October 14, 2009

Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.

After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity; by contrast, the Roman Empire’s decline and fall by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of human civilization.

Origins of Rome

As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river’s banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him.

A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. There are seven legendary kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud (534-510 B.C.). While they were referred to as “Rex,” or “King” in Latin, all the kings after Romulus were elected by the senate.

Did you know? Four decades after Constantine made Christianity Rome's official religion, Emperor Julian—known as the Apostate—tried to revive the pagan cults and temples of the past, but the process was reversed after his death, and Julian was the last pagan emperor of Rome.

Rome’s era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king’s son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica , or “property of the people.”

Rome was built on seven hills, known as “the seven hills of Rome”—Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill.

The Early Republic

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets–known as the Twelve Tables–and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum . These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

Military Expansion

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa.

The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149–146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province.

Rome’s military conquests led directly to its cultural growth as a society, as the Romans benefited greatly from contact with such advanced cultures as the Greeks. The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C., with translations of Greek classics into Latin; Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek art, philosophy and religion.

Internal Struggles in the Late Republic

Rome’s complex political institutions began to crumble under the weight of the growing empire, ushering in an era of internal turmoil and violence. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (in 133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C., respectively) ended in the reformers’ deaths at the hands of their opponents.

Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul (for the first of six terms) in 107 B.C., was the first of a series of warlords who would dominate Rome during the late republic. By 91 B.C., Marius was struggling against attacks by his opponents, including his fellow general Sulla, who emerged as military dictator around 82 B.C. After Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful military campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same period, Marcus Tullius Cicero , elected consul in 63 B.C., famously defeated the conspiracy of the patrician Cataline and won a reputation as one of Rome’s greatest orators.

Julius Caesar’s Rise

When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus (who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics: Gaius Julius Caesar . After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

After Pompey’s wife Julia (Caesar’s daughter) died in 54 B.C. and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar’s military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey’s, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar’s invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

From Caesar to Augustus

Less than a year later, Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) by a group of his enemies (led by the republican nobles Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius). Consul Mark Antony and Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir, Octavian, joined forces to crush Brutus and Cassius and divided power in Rome with ex-consul Lepidus in what was known as the Second Triumvirate. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B.C. and the triumvirate soon dissolved. In 31 B.C., Octavian triumped over the forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (also rumored to be the onetime lover of Julius Caesar) in the Battle of Actium. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

By 29 B.C., Octavian was the sole leader of Rome and all its provinces. To avoid meeting Caesar’s fate, he made sure to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently restoring the political institutions of the Roman republic while in reality retaining all real power for himself. In 27 B.C., Octavian assumed the title of Augustus , becoming the first emperor of Rome.

Age of the Roman Emperors

Augustus’ rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana –two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.

Augustus’ dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army’s conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide.

Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero’s death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people’s devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii .

The reign of Nerva (96-98), who was selected by the Senate to succeed Domitian, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors–Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius–took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Trajan (98-117) expanded Rome’s borders to the greatest extent in history with victories over the kingdoms of Dacia (now northwestern Romania) and Parthia. His successor Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire’s frontiers (famously building Hadrian's Wall in present-day England) and continued his predecessor’s work of establishing internal stability and instituting administrative reforms.

Under Antoninus Pius (138-161), Rome continued in peace and prosperity, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–180) was dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna), he broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his 19-year-old son Commodus as his successor.

Decline and Disintegration

The decadence and incompetence of Commodus (180-192) brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of his own ministers sparked another period of civil war , from which Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea.

The reign of Diocletian (284-305) temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four), sharing his title of Augustus (emperor) with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen successors of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in the west.

The stability of this system suffered greatly after Diocletian and Maximian retired from office. Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in 324. He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople . At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome’s official religion.

Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire–later known as the Byzantine Empire –would remain largely intact for centuries to come. An entirely different story played out in the west, where the empire was wracked by internal conflict as well as threats from abroad–particularly from the Germanic tribes now established within the empire’s frontiers like the Vandals (their sack of Rome originated the phrase “vandalism”)–and was steadily losing money due to constant warfare.

Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar’s troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete.

Roman Architecture

Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in 312 B.C., enabled the rise of cities by transporting water to urban areas, improving public health and sanitation. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct.

Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure.

Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire—which was over 1.7 million square miles at the pinnacle of its power—to stay connected. They included such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50,000 miles of road were built by 200 B.C. and several are still in use today.

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Rome’s Transition from Republic to Empire

Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire after power shifted away from a representative democracy to a centralized imperial authority, with the emperor holding the most power.

Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, World History

The Roman Forum Arch of San Severus

Though the Roman Republic stood for several centuries, tensions within the government began to tear it apart. Civil wars started between groups with different loyalties, which brought about the transformation of the republic into an empire.

Photograph by Peter Phipp/Travelshots.com

The Roman Republic was founded in 509 B.C.E. after the last Etruscan king that ruled Rome was overthrown . Rome’s next government served as a representative democracy in the form of a republic. Initially, Rome’s wealthiest families, the patricians , held power and only they could hold political or religious offices. Everyone else was considered plebeian , and no member of this group could hold office. Over a period of nearly 200 years, however, the plebeians fought for and gained power within the government. At the heart of the Roman Republic was the Senate. The Senate advised on matters pertaining to rules governing the city and population. In the republic, members of the patrician class served as advisers to the other governing bodies of the republic. Although the Senate did not formally make laws, the prestige of its members gave the Senate great influence over Rome’s law-making bodies. The Senate lasted as a sole governing body for the republic for only a brief time, lasting from the republic’s founding in 509 B.C.E. until 494 B.C.E., when a strike orchestrated by the plebeians resulted in the establishment of the Concilium Plebis , or the Councilof the Plebs. This gave the plebeians a voice in the government. As a result, new legislative, or law-making, bodies of the Roman Republic were formed. Called assemblies, these legislative bodies shared power in the following ways:

Comitia Centuriata — This body decided about war, passed laws, elected magistrates ( consuls , praetors, and censors ), considered appeals of capital convictions, and conducted foreign relations.
Concilium Plebis — This body elected its own officials and formulated decrees for observance by the plebeian class; in 287 B.C.E., it gained the power to make all decrees binding for the entire Roman community.
Comitia Tributa — The tribal assemblies, open to all citizens (who only could be free, adult males), elected minor officials, approved legislative decisions often on local matters, and could wield judicial powers but could only levy fines rather than administer punishment.

Leading the republic were two consuls who were elected by legislative assemblies. They served for one year, presided over the Roman Senate, and commanded the Roman military . Though their power was somewhat limited by the establishment of other magistrate positions, the consuls were effectively the heads of state. The republic stood strong for several centuries. However, as Rome’s power and territory expanded, internal conflicts began to emerge as citizens and families struggled for power. For example, in the 1st century B.C.E., the famous Roman orator Marcus Cicero uncovered a plot by a Roman senator, Lucius Catiline, to overthrow the Roman government. Some citizens, such as the Gracchus brothers, attempted to institute government reforms and social reforms to help the poor. Ultimately, factions emerged (loyal to either the patrician or plebeian classes or to a specific military general), hostilities erupted, and a series of civil wars plagued the republic. During these civil wars, a prominent general and statesmen named Julius Caesar began gaining significant power. He commanded the loyalty of the soldiers in his army and enjoyed access to substantial wealth after conquering the province of Gaul . The Senate, fearful of Caesar’s power, demanded he give up command of his army and return to Rome as a citizen. Caesar refused, instead marching his army south directly into Rome. As a result, another civil war erupted between Caesar and his chief political rival, Pompey. Caesar emerged victorious and was named dictator for life. Previously, the title dictator was given to an appointed, and temporary, leader in times of military emergency. Other leaders within the republic feared Caesar would become a tyrant with this new title. To prevent this, a group of senators conspired and assassinated him. In response to Caesar’s death, his nephew and heir Augustus defeated the conspirators. He then established himself as the first Roman emperor . The Roman Empire dramatically shifted power away from representative democracy to centralized imperial authority, with the emperor holding the most power. For example, under Augustus’s reign, emperors gained the ability to introduce and veto laws, as well as command the army. Furthermore, the emperor wielded significant authority over those who served in lower-level executive positions. No citizen could hold office without the emperor’s consent. As a result of this redistribution of power, the popular assemblies that functioned during the republican period became less important and lost power. While the assembly became virtually ceremonial , the Senate survived. Primarily, the Senate survived during the early period of the empire as a legitimizer of an emperor’s rule. The powers given to the emperor still came from the Senate. Since the Senate was composed of Rome’s elite and intellectual citizens, they impacted public opinion. With this power, the Senate could declare an emperor to be an enemy of the state, or following an emperor’s removal or death, the Senate could officially wipe the record of his reign from official history. At the time of Augustus’s reign, the Roman Empire had solidified control over the Italian peninsula , established North African colonies following its victory over Carthage during the Punic Wars and controlled large swaths of territory in Spain and Gaul. Under the emperors, Roman territory expanded farther, dominating most of the European continent, including Britain and major areas of modern-day Eastern Europe. This expansion, while bringing to Rome great wealth, power, and prestige, ultimately helped bring about its downfall. Even with the Roman road system contributing to the mobility of the military and trade, the cost of maintaining the vast empire weighed heavily on Rome’s treasury and its political administration. Added to this burden were increasing raids and attacks by foreign tribes and communities. Emperors attempted to solve these problems through internal reforms. For example, the emperor Diocletian split control of the Roman Empire into two halves, a western and an eastern portion. Diocletian believed the territories throughout the empire would be easier to control and support if they were overseen by two administrations. Future emperors attempted similar reforms, but ultimately internal conflict between the eastern and western halves, external pressure by foreign tribes, and the ongoing depletion of Rome’s wealth and infrastructure finally rendered the empire vulnerable to collapse . In C.E 476, the last of the western Roman emperors, Romulus Augustulus, was dethroned. Nevertheless, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, identified in history as the Byzantine Empire, would last another thousand years until falling to the Ottoman Turks in C.E. 1453.

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Theater and amphitheater in the roman world.

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Laura S. Klar Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2006

Spectacle was an integral part of life in the Roman world. Some forms of spectacle—triumphal processions, aristocratic funerals, and public banquets, for example—took as their backdrop the city itself. Others were held in purpose-built spectator buildings: theaters for plays and other scenic entertainment, amphitheaters for gladiatorial combats and wild beast shows, stadia for athletic competitions , and circuses for chariot races ( 59.11.14 ). As a whole, this pervasive culture of spectacle served both as a vehicle for self-advertisement by the sociopolitical elite and as a means of reinforcing the shared values and institutions of the entire community.

Theater in the Roman World According to the ancient historian Livy, the earliest theatrical activity at Rome took the form of dances with musical accompaniment, introduced to the city by the Etruscans in 364 B.C. The literary record also indicates that Atellanae, a form of native Italic farce (much like the phlyakes [ 24.97.104 ] of southern Italy), were performed at Rome by a relatively early date. In 240 B.C. , full-length, scripted plays were introduced to Rome by the playwright Livius Andronicus, a native of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy. The earliest Latin plays to have survived intact are the comedies of Plautus (active ca. 205–184 B.C. ), which were principally adaptations of Greek New Comedy . Latin tragedy also flourished during the second century B.C. While some examples of the genre treated stories from Greek myth, others were concerned with famous episodes from Roman history . After the second century B.C. , the composition of both tragedy and comedy declined precipitously at Rome. During the imperial period , the most popular forms of theatrical entertainment were mime (ribald comic productions with sensational plots and sexual innuendo) and pantomime (performances by solo dancers with choral accompaniment, usually re-creating tragic myths).

The principal occasions for dramatic spectacles in the Roman world were yearly religious festivals, or ludi , organized by elected magistrates and funded from the state treasury. Temple dedications, military triumphs, and aristocratic funerals also provided opportunities for scenic performances. Until 55 B.C. , there was no permanent theater in the city of Rome, and plays were staged in temporary, wooden structures, intended to stand for a few weeks at most. The ancient sources concur that the delay in constructing a permanent theater was due to active senatorial opposition, although the possible reasons for this resistance (concern for Roman morality, fear of popular sedition, competition among the elite) remain a subject of debate. Literary accounts of temporary theaters indicate that they could be quite elaborate. The best documented is a theater erected by the magistrate M. Aemilius Scaurus in 58 B.C. , which Pliny reports to have had a stage-building comprised of three stories of columns and ornamented with 3,000 bronze statues.

The first permanent theater in the city of Rome was the Theater of Pompey, dedicated in 55 B.C. by Julius Caesar’s rival, Pompey the Great. The theater, of which only the foundations are preserved, was an enormous structure, rising to approximately 45 meters and capable of holding up to 20,000 spectators. At the rear of the stage-building was a large, colonnaded portico, which housed artworks and gardens. Constructed in the wake of Pompey’s spectacular military campaigns of the 60s B.C. , the theater functioned in large part as a victory monument. The cavea (seating area) was crowned by a temple to Venus Victrix, Pompey’s patron deity, and the theater was decorated with statues of the goddess Victory and personifications of the nations that Pompey had subdued in battle.

Pompey’s dedication effectively canonized the form of the Roman theater, providing a prototype that would be replicated across the empire for nearly three centuries. This new building type differed in striking ways from the traditional Greek theater . The latter consisted of two separate structures: a horseshoe-shaped seating area and a freestanding stage-building. The Roman theater, in contrast, was a fully enclosed edifice, unroofed but often covered with awnings on performance days. The seating area in the Greek theater was supported against a natural hillside, whereas the Roman theater was carried at least in part on concrete vaults, which provided access from the exterior of the building to the cavea. In the Hellenistic world , the stage-building was a relatively low structure, ornamented with painted panels but rarely with large-scale sculpture. The Roman theater, on the other hand, was characterized by a tall, wide scaenae frons (stage-front) with multiple stories, articulated by freestanding columns and lavishly ornamented with statues of gods and heroes and portraits of the imperial family and local luminaries.

The architectural differences between the Roman theater and its Greek predecessor are not satisfactorily explained by functional factors such as optics, acoustics, or staging needs. Rather, Rome’s adaptation of the Greek theater seems to have been driven largely by social and political forces. The columnar scaenae frons , for example, may have developed to house statuary looted from Greece and Asia Minor by Roman generals and exhibited at triumphal games as evidence of their military prowess. The architecture of the Roman theater also signals Roman concern for social control and hierarchical display. In contrast to the Greek world, where seating in the theater was largely open, Roman audiences were rigorously segregated on the basis of class, gender, nationality, profession, and marital status. This is reflected in both the enclosed form of the Roman theater, which restricted access to the building, and the system of vaulted substructures, which facilitated the routing of spectators to the appropriate sector of seating.

Amphitheater in the Roman World In contrast to the Roman theater, which evolved from Greek models, the amphitheater had no architectural precedent in the Greek world. Likewise, the spectacles that took place in the amphitheater—gladiatorial combats and venationes (wild beast shows)—were Italic, not Greek, in origin. The earliest secure evidence for gladiatorial contests comes from the painted decoration of a fourth-century B.C. tomb at Paestum in southern Italy. Several ancient authors record that gladiatorial combat was introduced to Rome in 264 B.C. , on the occasion of munera (funeral games) in honor of an elite citizen named D. Iunius Brutus Pera. By the mid-first century B.C. , gladiatorial contests were staged not only at funerals, but also at state-sponsored festivals ( ludi ). Throughout the imperial period, they remained an important route to popular favor for emperors and provincial leaders. In 325 A.D. , Constantine (26.229) , the first Christian emperor, prohibited gladiatorial combat on the grounds that it was too bloodthirsty for peacetime. Literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence indicates, however, that gladiatorial games continued at least until the mid-fifth century A.D.

As in the case of theatrical entertainment, the earliest venues for gladiatorial games at Rome were temporary, wooden structures. As early as 218 B.C. , according to Livy, gladiatorial contests were staged in the elongated, open space of the Roman Forum, with wooden stands for spectators. These temporary structures probably provided the prototype for the monumental amphitheater, a building type characterized by an elliptical seating area enclosing a flat performance space. The first securely datable, stone amphitheater is the one at Pompeii, constructed in 80–70 B.C. Like most early amphitheaters, the Pompeian example has an austere, functional appearance, with the seats partially supported on earthen embankments.

The earliest stone amphitheater at Rome was constructed in 29 B.C. by T. Statilius Taurus, one of the most trusted generals of the emperor Augustus . This building burned down during the great fire of 64 A.D. and was replaced by the Colosseum (59.570.426) , dedicated by the emperor Titus in 80 A.D. and still one of Rome’s most prominent landmarks . Unlike earlier amphitheaters, the Colosseum featured elaborate basement amenities , including animal cages and mechanical elevators, as well as a complex system of vaulted, concrete substructures. The facade consisted of three stories of superimposed arcades flanked by engaged columns of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. Representations of the building on ancient coins indicate that colossal statues of gods and heroes stood in the upper arcades. The inclusion of Greek columnar orders and copies of Greek statues may reflect a desire to promote the amphitheater, a uniquely Roman building type, to the same level in the architectural hierarchy as the theater, with its venerable Greek precedents.

In addition to gladiatorial contests, the amphitheater provided the venue for venationes, spectacles involving the slaughter of animals by trained hunters called venatores or bestiarii. Venationes were expensive to mount and hence served to advertise the wealth and generosity of the officials who sponsored them. The inclusion of exotic species (lions, panthers, rhinoceri, elephants, etc.) also demonstrated the vast reach of Roman dominion. A third type of spectacle that took place in the amphitheater was the public execution. Condemned criminals were slain by crucifixion, cremation, or attack by wild beasts, and were sometimes forced to reenact gruesome myths.

Klar, Laura S. “Theater and Amphitheater in the Roman World.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tham/hd_tham.htm (October 2006)

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Essay: The Roman Empire

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The Roman Empire was without a doubt the most powerful governing body in the Mediterranean ever. Why did Rome fall? There was not any single cause to the fall of Rome. It was many things occurring in succession to each other. After the Punic wars with Carthage, Rome acquired many new lands that it did not have before. During peace times it was easy to govern these areas but during war times it proved difficult. The government had to pay soldiers to patrol the frontiers of the empire; it could no longer rely on the loot to serve as the pay for the soldiers. This took a significant amount of money out of the Roman treasury. Some emperors wanted to save money and made the army too small to have control over such a large empire. The economy of Rome was also suffering. Rome was importing goods from its colonies but wasn’t exporting nearly as much. This created an imbalance of trade. The colonies were creating their own finished goods and no longer relied on Rome for them. New coins were then made out of lead and gold to devalue the currency. Merchants now charged more money because these new coins were not worth as much as the old ones. This created inflation, this problem plagued the empire until its fall. The problem of succession also contributed to the fall of Rome. There was never a set system of succession. After the death of an emperor, generals competed with each other for power. Once someone gained power they didnât rule for long; someone often assassinated them. This weakened the authority of Rome; corruption was common and law was almost non-existent. Diocletian tried to make reforms to make the empire as strong as it was before. He realized that the empire was too large for one person to govern, he split the empire in half and took control of eastern part himself. He then appointed a co-emperor to rule in the west. He also reorganized the problems in the civil service and made them responsible directly to the emperor. He increased the size of the army and trained them better. To improve the economic health of the empire, Diocletian set limits on prices and wages to slow down inflation. To give some stability in agriculture and manufacturing, he ordered people to stay in their jobs. There was no room for promotion. Diocletian died in 305 A.D. In 324 A.D. Constantine took over as emperor. He reunited the east and west under his own rule. He also built a new capital at Byzantium, on the Bosporus. He named this city Constantinople. Constantine wanted a new capital that would be a Christian city, not a pagan one. He continued the policies of Diocletian. People saw no need to work hard with no chance of getting ahead. These reforms only slowed down the process of collapse. After Constantineâs death in 337 A.D., the empire was again divided. To the north of the Rhine and Danube rivers, lived a group of people known as the German tribes. They were herders and farmers who had migrated from Scandinavia. As their population grew, they began to look for new land. They decided that moving into the Roman Empire was a good idea. The Roman army was spread thin and could barely cope with the Germans. In the fourth century, the Huns, a nomadic people from central Asia, began attacking the German tribes. Thus the tribes looked for protection from the Huns in the Empire. They received permission from the Emperor to live in the Empire. A couple of years later the Romans sent an army to defeat the Germans and failed to defeat them. This proved that Rome was not invincible. The Germans continued to sack the west; they invaded Italy and sacked Rome. Rome bought peace by giving the Germans most of Gaul and Spain. The Huns then marched into Rome and they were soundly defeated by Rome and its German allies. The west of the Empire became a mess with no one in any real control. In the east, Constantinople continued to be the capitol city. Its rulers called themselves Roman emperors and its people were Roman citizens subject to Roman law. True, the western portion of the Empire was crumbling, but all through the fifth and sixth centuries the people of the east could say without a doubt that the Roman Empire had not fallen. There was no certain official date when Rome was considered to fall. Many historians though, believe it was in 476 A.D. A small German chief, Odoacer captured Rome and proclaimed himself king. The city of Rome was finally overthrown. Despite this, the people who lived throughout the Empire considered themselves Roman citizens and followed Roman laws. In the East Rome was still strong. Even today we have adopted many of the Roman ways of life. Rome influenced every civilization after and in a sense we are all Roman citizens. The great Empire of Rome, the greatest power to ever rule the Mediterranean had fallen. It was unthinkable. Their faults in politics, economics and other things contributed to their fall. There was no one single cause; it was many things happening at once, which caused the fall of Rome. The leaders of today should look at Romeâs mistakes and be sure not to make the same ones again.

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The Fall of Rome: How, When, and Why Did It Happen?

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When Did Rome Fall?

How did rome fall, why did rome fall, christianity, barbarians and vandals.

Decadence and Decay of Rome's Control

Lead Poisoning

Additional references.

M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota
B.A., Latin, University of Minnesota

The phrase " the Fall of Rome " suggests that some cataclysmic event ended the Roman Empire, which stretched from the British Isles to Egypt and Iraq. But in the end, there was no straining at the gates, no barbarian horde that dispatched the Roman Empire in one fell swoop.

Instead, the Roman Empire fell slowly as a result of challenges from within and without, changing over the course of hundreds of years until its form was unrecognizable. Because of the long process, different historians have placed an end date at many different points on a continuum. Perhaps the Fall of Rome is best understood as a compilation of various maladies that altered a large swath of human habitation over many hundreds of years.

In his masterwork, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, historian Edward Gibbon selected 476 CE, a date most often mentioned by historians. That date was when Odoacer, the Germanic king of the Torcilingi, deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor to rule the western part of the Roman Empire. The eastern half became the Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Constantinople (modern Istanbul).

But the city of Rome continued to exist. Some see the rise of Christianity as putting an end to the Romans; those who disagree with that find the rise of Islam a more fitting bookend to the end of the empire—but that would put the Fall of Rome at Constantinople in 1453! In the end, the arrival of Odoacer was but one of many barbarian incursions into the empire. Certainly, the people who lived through the takeover would probably be surprised by the importance we place on determining an exact event and time.

Just as the Fall of Rome was not caused by a single event, the way Rome fell was also complex. In fact, during the period of imperial decline, the empire actually expanded. That influx of conquered peoples and lands changed the structure of the Roman government. Emperors moved the capital away from the city of Rome, too. The schism of east and west created not just an eastern capital first in Nicomedia and then Constantinople, but also a move in the west from Rome to Milan.

Rome started out as a small, hilly settlement by the Tiber River in the middle of the Italian boot, surrounded by more powerful neighbors. By the time Rome became an empire, the territory covered by the term "Rome" looked completely different. It reached its greatest extent in the second century CE. Some of the arguments about the Fall of Rome focus on the geographic diversity and the territorial expanse that Roman emperors and their legions had to control.

This is easily the most argued question about the fall of Rome. The Roman Empire lasted over a thousand years and represented a sophisticated and adaptive civilization. Some historians maintain that it was the split into an eastern and western empire governed by separate emperors caused Rome to fall.

Most classicists believe that a combination of factors including Christianity, decadence, the metal lead in the water supply, monetary trouble, and military problems caused the Fall of Rome. Imperial incompetence and chance could be added to the list. And still, others question the assumption behind the question and maintain that the Roman empire didn't fall so much as adapt to changing circumstances.

When the Roman Empire started, there was no such religion as Christianity. In the 1st century CE, Pontius Pilate, the governor of the province of Judaea, executed their founder, Jesus, for treason. It took his followers a few centuries to gain enough clout to be able to win over imperial support. This began in the early 4th century with Emperor Constantine , who was actively involved in Christian policy-making.

When Constantine established a state-level religious tolerance in the Roman Empire, he took on the title of Pontiff. Although he was not necessarily a Christian himself (he wasn't baptized until he was on his deathbed), he gave Christians privileges and oversaw major Christian religious disputes. He may not have understood how the pagan cults, including those of the emperors, were at odds with the new monotheistic religion, but they were, and in time the old Roman religions lost out.

Over time, Christian church leaders became increasingly influential, eroding the emperors' powers. For example, when Bishop Ambrose (340–397 CE) threatened to withhold the sacraments, Emperor Theodosius did the penance the Bishop assigned him. Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion in 390 CE. Since Roman civic and religious life were deeply connected—priestesses controlled the fortune of Rome, prophetic books told leaders what they needed to do to win wars, and emperors were deified—Christian religious beliefs and allegiances conflicted with the working of empire.

The barbarians, which is a term that covers a varied and changing group of outsiders, were embraced by Rome, who used them as suppliers of tax revenue and bodies for the military, even promoting them to positions of power. But Rome also lost territory and revenue to them, especially in northern Africa, which Rome lost to the Vandals at the time of St. Augustine in the early 5th century CE.

At the same time the Vandals took over the Roman territory in Africa, Rome lost Spain to the Sueves, Alans, and Visigoths . The loss of Spain meant Rome lost revenue along with the territory and administrative control, a perfect example of the interconnected causes leading to Rome's fall. That revenue was needed to support Rome's army and Rome needed its army to keep what territory it still maintained.

Decadence and Decay of Rome's Control

There is no doubt that decay—the loss of Roman control over the military and populace—affected the ability of the Roman Empire to keep its borders intact. Early issues included the crises of the Republic in the first century BCE under the emperors Sulla and Marius as well as that of the Gracchi brothers in the second century CE. But by the fourth century, the Roman Empire had simply become too big to control easily.

The decay of the army, according to the 5th-century Roman historian Vegetius , came from within the army itself. The army grew weak from a lack of wars and stopped wearing their protective armor. This made them vulnerable to enemy weapons and provided the temptation to flee from battle. Security may have led to the cessation of the rigorous drills. Vegetius said the leaders became incompetent and rewards were unfairly distributed.

In addition, as time went on, Roman citizens, including soldiers and their families living outside of Italy, identified with Rome less and less compared to their Italian counterparts. They preferred to live as natives, even if this meant poverty, which, in turn, meant they turned to those who could help—Germans, brigands, Christians, and Vandals.

Some scholars have suggested that the Romans suffered from lead poisoning. Apparently, there was lead in Roman drinking water, leached in from water pipes used in the vast Roman water control system; lead glazes on containers that came in contact with food and beverages; and food preparation techniques that could have contributed to heavy metal poisoning. The lead was also used in cosmetics, even though it was also known in Roman times as a deadly poison and used in contraception.

Economic factors are also often cited as a major cause of the fall of Rome. Some of the major factors described are inflation, over-taxation, and feudalism. Other lesser economic issues included the wholesale hoarding of bullion by Roman citizens, the widespread looting of the Roman treasury by barbarians, and a massive trade deficit with the eastern regions of the empire. Together these issues combined to escalate financial stress during the empire's last days.

Baynes, Norman H. “The Decline of the Roman Power in Western Europe. Some Modern Explanations.” The Journal of Roman Studies , vol. 33, no. 1-2, Nov. 1943, pp. 29–35.
Dorjahn, Alfred P., and Lester K. Born. “Vegetius on the Decay of the Roman Army.” The Classical Journal , vol. 30, no. 3, Dec. 1934, pp. 148–158.
Phillips, Charles Robert. “Old Wine in Old Lead Bottles: Nriagu on the Fall of Rome.” The Classical World , vol. 78, no. 1, Sept. 1984, pp. 29–33.

Gibbon, Edward. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Strahan & Cadell, 1776.

Ott, Justin. "The Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire." Iowa State University Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations . Iowa State University, 2009.

Damen, Mark. "The Fall of Rome: Facts and Fictions." A Guide to Writing in History and Classics. Utah State University.

Delile, Hugo, et al. “ Lead in Ancient Rome's City Waters. ” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , vol. 111, no. 18, 6 May 2014, pp. 6594–6599., doi:10.1073/pnas.1400097111

Reasons for the Fall of Rome
The End of the Roman Empire
Economic Reasons for the Fall of Rome
Greek Language in the Byzantine Empire
Impact of the Huns on Europe
The Great Roman Emperor Theodosius I
Periods of History in Ancient Rome
Timelines and Chronologies of Roman Emperors
Biography of Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantine
A Brief History of Rome
Istanbul Was Once Constantinople
A Short Timeline of the Fall of the Roman Empire
Timeline of the Period of the Dominate
Roman Timeline
Introduction to Byzantine Architecture
The Hun-Driven Barbarian Invaders of the Roman Empire

149 Roman Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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What Caused The Fall Of The Roman Empire
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The Pantheon, the Largest Un-Reinforced Concrete Dome in the World From the Roman Empire Era
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The Relationship Between Christians And The Roman Empire
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Home — Essay Samples — History — Ancient Rome — The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of The Roman Empire

Categories: Ancient Rome

About this sample

Words: 732 |

Published: Dec 5, 2018

Words: 732 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited

Fall of the Roman Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rome.info/history/empire/fall/
Gibbon, E. (n.d.). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. 2).
Wasson, D. (2014). Diocletian. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/
Theodosius I. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodosius-I-Roman-emperor
Cameron, A. (2013). The Last Pagans of Rome. Oxford University Press.
Ward-Perkins, B. (2006). The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization. Oxford University Press.
Heather, P. (2006). The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History. Pan Books.
Goldsworthy, A. (2009). How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower. Yale University Press.
Bury, J. B. (2011). History of the Later Roman Empire : From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. Dover Publications.
Ward, J. (2018). Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar. St. Martin's Griffin.

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The Origins of the Dark Ages: Causes and Contexts

This essay about the causes of the Dark Ages discusses several factors that led to this historical period following the decline of the Roman Empire. It explains how the empire’s fall created a power vacuum that led to invasions by various groups, disrupting trade and cultural development. The breakdown of economic networks contributed to widespread economic decline, while political fragmentation fostered the rise of feudalism, emphasizing local governance over broader imperial ambitions. Additionally, the essay highlights the role of the Roman Catholic Church in preserving certain aspects of Roman culture, albeit with a focus on religious matters. It also considers the impact of climatic changes on agricultural productivity, further destabilizing the period. The essay argues that the Dark Ages were not merely a time of regression but a complex era of transformation that set the stage for the Renaissance.

How it works

The term “Dark Ages” typically evokes images of a Europe lost in the shadows of chaos and decline following the fall of the Roman Empire. However, to truly grasp the complexities that plunged medieval Europe into a period often characterized by cultural and economic regression, we must explore a variety of factors that interplayed to shape this era.

Firstly, the decline of the Roman Empire is undeniably central to the onset of the Dark Ages. The empire, stretching across vast expanses of Europe, was an epicenter of administrative efficiency, military prowess, and cultural development.

As it began to crumble in the 5th century due to internal strife and external pressures, its once-unified structure gave way to fragmentation. The weakening of centralized power did not merely lead to administrative disarray but also made former Roman territories vulnerable to invasions.

The invasions by various barbarian groups, such as the Vandals, Goths, and later the Vikings, further destabilized the continent. These groups were often portrayed as ruthless savages in historical texts, but recent scholarship suggests they had complex societies with their own cultures. Nevertheless, their incursions disrupted local economies and trade networks, which were crucial for the sustenance of cities and the maintenance of educational and cultural institutions. As trade routes collapsed and cities declined, technological and scholarly advancements stalled, and literacy rates plummeted, contributing to what many perceive as a cultural regression.

Economic decline was another significant contributor. The stability of the Roman economy was heavily reliant on its vast network of trade and commerce that connected diverse regions across the Mediterranean and beyond. With the empire’s fall, these networks disintegrated, leading to economic isolation of communities. This isolation not only impeded economic growth but also curtailed the spread of ideas and innovations, which are essential for cultural and scientific advancement.

Moreover, the political fragmentation that followed Rome’s collapse led to the rise of feudalism. This new social structure was characterized by a rigid hierarchical system where land was exchanged for loyalty and military service. While feudalism helped maintain local order, it also promoted a localized economic and political outlook rather than the broad, unifying vision of the Roman Empire. This shift significantly altered the social landscape of Europe, emphasizing survival and local governance over expansive, empire-wide policies that spurred large-scale cultural and economic achievements.

The church also played a pivotal role during this time. As the Roman administrative structure disintegrated, the Roman Catholic Church emerged as a powerful unifying force across disparate post-Roman kingdoms. The church preserved much of the Roman cultural heritage, including administrative practices and literary works. However, the church’s focus was primarily on religious and spiritual affairs. While it did promote literacy and learning through monasteries and scriptoria, these efforts were largely geared towards religious study rather than secular or scientific inquiry.

Climatic changes, often overlooked in discussions of the Dark Ages, also contributed to these transformations. The period was marked by significant climatic deteriorations, including the colder weather of the Little Ice Age, which began around the 5th century. These changes affected agricultural productivity, compounding economic difficulties and leading to food shortages, which in turn exacerbated social and political instability.

In conclusion, the Dark Ages were not solely a time of cultural and intellectual decay, but rather a complex epoch characterized by significant transformations and adjustments to new realities. The decline of the Roman Empire set the stage, but it was the combination of invasions, economic downturns, political changes, and climatic challenges that collectively engineered the medieval landscape of Europe. Understanding these factors provides a more nuanced view of this pivotal period in history, reminding us that the so-called “Dark Ages” were perhaps not entirely dark, but a period of transition and transformation leading to the eventual resurgence known as the Renaissance.

This exploration into the causes of the Dark Ages highlights the intricate web of historical forces at play, challenging the simplistic narrative of decline and instead presenting a period rich with the seeds of future growth.

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