Essay On The Fall Of The Roman Empire

1. Historians have debated for centuries the factors which led to the collapse of the Roman Empire.
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3. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a book of history written by the English historian Edward Gibbon, which traces the trajectory of Western.
4. Is America going to follow in the footsteps of the Roman Empire, which famously collapsed? Many people believe the similarities are glaring - and troubling.
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Ancient History in depth: Christianity and the Roman Empire. Government Essay Questions here.

Roman Empire - Crystalinks. Roman Empire Life and Times in Ancient Rome. The Roman Empire emerged from the Roman Republic when Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar transformed it from a republic into a monarchy. Rome reached its zenith in the 2nd century, then fortunes slowly declined with many revivals and restorations along the way. The reasons for the decline of the Empire are still debated today, and are multiple. It was the successor state to the Roman Republic, and constituted the final period of classical antiquity.

During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Rome reached heights of art, culture, and commerce never seen before. Three hundred years later, the whole thing had collapsed. Be More Knowledgeable. Search The Roman Empire Site : Roman Empire

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire is a BBC One docudrama series, with each episode looking at a different key turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.

Includes biographies of emperors, timelines, interactive maps, and sections on the society and the military.

Several events are commonly proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator (4. BC), and the Battle of Actium (2 September 3. Essay Revise For Free. Essay Thesis Statement Practice'>Essay Thesis Statement Practice.

BC), though the Roman Senate's granting to Octavian the honorific Augustus is most common (1. January 2. 7 BC). Though Roman expansion was mostly accomplished under the republic, it continued under the emperors.

Notably, parts of northern Europe were conquered in the 1st century AD, while Roman dominion in Europe, Africa and especially Asia was strengthened during this time. Numerous uprisings were successfully put down, notably those in Britain and Judea, though the latter uprising triggered the suicide of the unpopular Emperor Nero and a brief civil war. In the view of Dio Cassius, a contemporary observer, the accession of the Emperor Commodus in 1. Police Brutality Essay Examples. AD marked the descent .

A succession of unsuccessful emperors followed, and then a period of civil wars and social unrest during the Crisis of the Third Century. Disorder began again soon after his reign, but order was resorted by Constantine, who was the first emperor to convert to Christianity and who established the new capital of the eastern empire, Constantinople. During the following decades the empire was often divided along an East/West (Constantinople/Rome) axis. Theodosius I was the last emperor to rule over east and west, and died in 3.

AD after making Christianity the official religion of the empire. The crumbling Western Roman Empire ended in 4. Romulus Augustus was forced to abdicate to the Germanic warlord Odoacer. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern world. In theory, the tribunician powers (which were similar to those of the Plebeian Tribunes under the old republic) made the Emperor's person and office sacrosanct, and gave the Emperor authority over Rome's civil government, including the power to preside over and to control the Senate. He was also given powers that, under the Republic, had been reserved for the Senate and the assemblies, including the right to declare war, to ratify treaties, and to negotiate with foreign leaders.

In addition, the emperor controlled the religious institutions, since, as emperor, he was always Pontifex Maximus and a member of each of the four major priesthoods. While these distinctions were clearly defined during the early Empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical. Being paid by the imperial treasury, the legionaries also swore an annual military oath of loyalty towards him, called the Sacramentum.

In theory the Senate was entitled to choose the new emperor, but most emperors chose their own successors, usually a close family member. The new emperor had to seek a swift acknowledgement of his new status and authority in order to stabilize the political landscape. No emperor could hope to survive, much less to reign, without the allegiance and loyalty of the Praetorian Guard and of the legions. To secure their loyalty, several emperors paid the donativum, a monetary reward. Most of the more important posts and offices of the government were reserved for the members of these two aristocratic orders. It was from among their ranks that the provincial governors, legion commanders, and similar officials were chosen. Very successful and favored individuals could enter, but this was a rare occurrence.

The career of a young aristocrat was influenced by his family connections and the favor of patrons. As important as ability, knowledge, skill, or competence, patronage was considered vital for a successful career and the highest posts and offices required the Emperor's favor and trust. A senator also had to be wealthy; one of the basic requirements was the wealth of 1. The requirements and posts reserved for this class, while perhaps not so prestigious, were still very important. Some of the more vital posts, like the governorship of Egypt (Latin Aegyptus), were even forbidden to the members of the Senatorial order and available only to equestrians. Several legions, particularly those with doubtful loyalties, were simply disbanded. Why Engineering College Essays.

Other legions were amalgamated, a fact suggested by the title Gemina (Twin). This disastrous event reduced the number of the legions to 2. The total of the legions would later be increased again and for the next 3. Better paid than the legionaries, the Praetorians also served less time; instead of serving the standard 2.

Unlike the legionaries, the auxilia were recruited from among the non- citizens. Organized in smaller units of roughly cohort strength, they were paid less than the legionaries, and after 2. Roman citizenship, also extended to their sons. According to Tacitus there were roughly as many auxiliaries as there were legionaries.

Since at this time there were 2. Another of its duties was the protection of the very important maritime trade routes against the threat of pirates. Therefore it patrolled the whole of the Mediterranean, parts of the North Atlantic (coasts of Hispania, Gaul, and Britannia), and had also a naval presence in the Black Sea. Nevertheless the army was considered the senior and more prestigious branch. In the old days of the Republic the governorships of the provinces were traditionally awarded to members of the Senatorial Order. Augustus' reforms changed this policy. Most, but not all, of the Imperial provinces were relatively recent conquests and located at the borders.

Thereby the overwhelming majority of legions, which were stationed at the frontiers, were under direct Imperial control. Very important was the Imperial province of Egypt, the major breadbasket of the Empire, whose grain supply was vital to feed the masses in Rome. It was considered the personal fiefdom of the Emperor, and Senators were forbidden to even visit this province. The governor of Egypt and the commanders of any legion stationed there were not from the Senatorial Order, but were chosen by the Emperor from among the members of the lower Equestrian Order. Due to their location, away from the borders, and to the fact that they were under longer Roman sovereignty and control, these provinces were largely peaceful and stable.

Only a single legion was based in a Senatorial province: Legio III Augusta, stationed in the Senatorial province of Africa (modern northern Algeria). The status of a province was subject to change; it could change from Senatorial towards Imperial, or vice- versa. This happened several times during Augustus' reign.

Another trend was to create new provinces, mostly by dividing older ones, or by expanding the Empire. The Imperial government, and the Romans in general, tended to be very tolerant towards most religions and cults, so long as they did not cause trouble. This could easily be accepted by other faiths as Roman liturgy and ceremonies were frequently tailored to fit local culture and identity. Since the Romans practiced polytheism they were also able to easily assimilate the gods of the peoples the Empire conquered. An individual could attend to both the Roman gods representing his Roman identity and his own personal religion, which was considered part of his personal identity. Expository Essay Topics Elementary. There were periodic persecutions of various religions at various points in time, most notably that of Christians.

Few emperors claimed to be Gods while living, with the few exceptions being emperors who were widely regarded at the time to be insane (such as Caligula). Doing so in the early Empire would have risked revealing the shallowness of what the Emperor Augustus called the . Since the tool was mostly one the Emperor used to control his subjects, its usefulness would have been greatest in the chaotic later Empire, when the emperors were often Christians and unwilling to participate in the practice. This practice can be misunderstood, however, since . This could be seen during the years of the Roman Republic with religio- political practices such as the disbanding of a Senate session if it was believed the gods disapproved of the session or wished a particular vote. Deification was one of the many honors a dead emperor was entitled to, as the Romans (more than modern societies) placed great prestige on honors and national recognitions. Especially in the eastern half of the Empire, imperial cults grew very popular.

As such it was one of the major agents of romanization. The central elements of the cult complex were next to a temple; a theatre or amphitheatre for gladiator displays and other games and a public bath complex.

Sometimes the imperial cult was added to the cults of an existing temple or celebrated in a special hall in the bath complex. Some Romans ridiculed the notion that a Roman emperor was to be considered a living god, or would even make fun of the deification of an emperor after his death. Seneca the Younger parodied the notion of apotheosis in his only known satire The Pumpkinification of Claudius, in which the clumsy and ill- spoken Claudius is transformed not into a god, but a pumpkin or gourd.

An element of mockery was present even at Claudius's funeral, and Vespasian's purported last words translate to: ! I think I'm becoming a god!