Background

Historians generally divide the history of the Roman state into three large periods. The city of Rome was built along the River Tiber in modern-day Italy. It was a favorable location, surrounded by hills that could be defended and farmland nearby.

The first period began around 753 BCE when Rome became an independent kingdom. Rome’s early records were destroyed, so most of what we know comes from oral tradition. Rome’s second period began around 509 BCE. The kingdom became a republic that had some democratic features.

Rome entered its third period in 27 BCE, when Caesar Augustus (Octavian) became Rome’s first emperor. The Roman Republic was replaced by the Roman Empire. Rome had actually been an empire long before it became the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic had controlled many cultures and peoples all around the Mediterranean Sea for centuries.

Formation

Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, was a nephew and adopted son of former Roman dictator Julius Caesar. When he took power in 27 BCE, he kept many of the titles and traditions of the Roman Republic. However, he ruled the Roman Empire with total control. He enacted a set of reforms that changed Roman politics. He began a two-century age of peace and stability known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace).

Beginning with Augustus, the Roman emperors seized more power over the political life of 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 linked to the gods.

Administration: Human resources

The Roman Empire expanded through wars during the first century after Augustus. Military service was an important way for men to gain political power and wealth. The wars brought many enslaved people into the empire. Wealthy Romans used enslaved people to farm lucrative crops like olives. Enslaved people could be freed or purchase their own freedom. People freed in this way gained limited rights, and their children were born Roman citizens.

The Roman Empire under Augustus ruled about 45 million people, though only 4 million were citizens. At its peak, Rome was the largest city in the world, with a population of about 1 million. The empire controlled 2 million square miles of territory. This many people and this much land required sophisticated administration and technology. 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 adopted religious beliefs from the outer edges of the empire.

Early Christians were persecuted 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 larger trade networks. Silks and other luxuries from East Asia passed through numerous trade networks on the way to Rome. Archaeologists have found many Roman coins in India, where many of these goods traveled through. The Romans also brought in spices from around the Indian Ocean.

The large trade networks created some problems for Rome. One was that the demand for silk was so high that a lot of wealth was being traded for it. Another problem was that foreign goods brought in new germs to Rome that led to several devastating plagues.

Women in society

Public life for women was dictated by men in Rome’s patriarchal society. Augustus passed laws that punished women who did not get married and have children. Women in the Roman Empire lacked full legal rights. They were technically citizens, but they could not vote or hold political office. Women were required to have a male relative represent them in legal matters.

Many women in the empire still were able to use political power, such as those who ran the estates of dead husbands. 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, east and west, since 284. The eastern half was centered in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey), which was founded in 324 by Emperor Constantine. The city was a better location than Rome, since it was closer to Rome’s wealthiest provinces.

While the western empire crumbled in 476, the eastern empire expanded its power and lasted another 1,000 years. Some historians call it the “Byzantine Empire,” but the people called themselves Romans and believed themselves to be part of the Roman Empire. For centuries after the so-called “fall of Rome,” these Romans continued to be the most powerful state in the Mediterranean world.