Background

Historians generally divide the history of the Roman state into three periods. The city of Rome itself was built at a favorable location in modern-day Italy. It was on the River Tiber and surrounded by hills that could be defended. It became an independent kingdom around 753 BCE. This first period lasted until around 509 BCE, when it became a republic. It had a senate and some democratic features.

In 27 BCE, Rome entered its third period. Caesar Augustus (Gaius Octavius) became Rome’s first emperor. The Roman Republic was officially replaced by the Roman Empire. In many ways, Rome had been an empire even when it was still the Roman Republic. It had controlled a large area with many cultures and peoples for centuries.

Formation

Augustus was the adopted son of former Roman dictator Julius Caesar. He kept many of the titles and traditions of the Roman Republic. However, he ruled the Roman Empire with total control and made many changes to Roman politics. Augustus and the emperors who followed oversaw about 200 years of peace. This age is called the Pax Romana (Roman Peace).

The emperors seized more power over the empire and its military. The figure of the emperor became central to Roman political life. His image was minted on coins and he was thought to be related to the gods.

Administration: Human resources

The Roman Empire fought many wars to expand the empire. Men could gain political power and wealth through military service. The wars brought many enslaved people into the empire. They were forced to work on plantations for wealthy Romans. Enslaved people could be freed or purchase their own freedom. They gained limited rights and their children were born Roman citizens.

The Roman Empire controlled 2 million square miles of land. It ruled about 45 million people, though only 4 million were citizens. The empire required advanced technology to rule over this much territory. The Romans built hundreds of miles of roads to connect the empire.

Religion and culture: Beliefs that travel

The Romans generally did not force their religion on the people they conquered. Some Romans even took on religious beliefs from other parts of the empire.

Early Christians faced oppression in the empire because they did not honor the emperor. This changed in 313 CE, when Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity. By 380, Christianity was the empire’s state religion.

Trade networks: Silk and more silk

People in Rome used their wealth to buy luxuries from far away. This created a need for large trade networks. Chinese silk was especially popular in Rome. The silk often traveled through India on its way to Rome. Archaeologists have found many Roman coins used to pay for the silk in India. The Romans also enjoyed spices from around the Indian Ocean.

These trade networks also carried diseases. Several plagues traveled along these trade routes.

Women in society

Rome was a patriarchal society, meaning that men controlled public life. Augustus passed laws encouraging women to marry and have children. Women in the Roman Empire lacked full legal rights. They could not vote or hold political office.

Many women in the empire still were able to use political power. Wealthy women often acted as advisors to their sons and husbands. Women of lower classes entered public life through work.

Decline and fall: Sort of

The Roman Empire is often said to have fallen in 476, following the invasion of Germanic tribes. This is not really true.

The Roman Empire had been divided into two halves. The half that fell was the Western Roman Empire, which was still based in Rome. There was also an Eastern Roman Empire. It was based in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey), which was founded in 324 by Emperor Constantine.

Constantinople was in a better location than Rome because it was closer to the empire’s wealthiest provinces. The Eastern Roman Empire grew more powerful and expanded. It lasted another 1,000 years. Some historians now call it the “Byzantine Empire,” but the people still called themselves Romans and believed themselves to be part of the Roman Empire. These Romans continued to be the most powerful state in the Mediterranean world long after the “fall of Rome.”