Holy Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.[4] The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus. The 500-year-old Roman Republic, which preceded it, had been weakened by several civil wars.[nb 2] Several events are commonly proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator (44 BC), the victory of Octavian at the Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to Octavian the honorific Augustus (16 January 27 BC).[nb 3]

The Latin term Imperium Romanum (Roman Empire), probably the best-known Latin expression where the word imperium denotes a territory, indicates the part of the world under Roman rule. Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic, but reached its zenith under Emperor Trajan. At this territorial peak, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5,900,000 km² (2,300,000 sq mi) of land surface. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, Roman influence upon the language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and government of nations around the world lasts to this day.

In the late 3rd century AD, Diocletian established the practice of dividing authority between two emperors, one in the western part of the empire and one in the east, in order to better administer the vast territory. For the next century this practice continued, with occasional periods in which one emperor assumed complete control. However, after the death of Theodosius in 395, no single emperor would ever again hold genuine supremacy over a united Roman Empire.[5] The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 as Romulus Augustus was forced to abdicate by Odoacer.[6] The Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire endured until 1453 with the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks led by Mehmed II.[7] Therefore, it is difficult to give an exact date when the Roman Empire ceased to exist.

Contents [hide] 1 Government 1.1 Emperor 1.2 Senate 1.3 Senators and Equestrians 1.3.1 Senatorial Order 1.3.2 Equestrian Order 2 Military 2.1 Legions 2.2 Auxillia 2.3 Navy 3 Provinces 3.1 Imperial provinces 3.2 Senatorial provinces 4 Religion 4.1 Imperial cult 4.2 Absorption of foreign cults 4.3 Persecuted religions 4.3.1 Druids 4.3.2 Judaism 4.3.3 Christianity 5 Languages 6 Culture 6.1 Clothing, dining, and the arts 6.2 Education 7 Economy 8 History 8.1 Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) 8.2 Tiberius to Alexander Severus (14–235) 8.3 Crisis of the Third Century and the later emperors (235–395) 8.4 Decline of the Western Roman Empire (395–476) 8.5 Eastern Roman Empire (476–1453) 9 Military history 9.1 Principate (27 BC–AD 235) 9.2 Barracks and Illyrian emperors (235-284) and Dominate (284–395) 9.3 Collapse of the Western Empire (395–476) 10 Legacy 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 External links

Government Main articles: Roman Emperor, Roman Senate, Praetorian Guard, Sacramentum, and Donativum

Emperor The powers of an emperor, (his imperium) existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his "tribunician powers" (potestas tribunicia) and his "proconsular powers" (imperium proconsulare).[8] 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.[9] The proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or Proconsuls, under the old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. 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.[10] The emperor also had the authority to carry out a range of duties that had been performed by the censors, including the power to control senate membership.[11] 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.[10] 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.[12]

Realistically, the main support of an emperor's power and authority was the military. Being paid by the imperial treasury, the legionaries also swore an annual military oath of loyalty towards him, called the Sacramentum.[13] The death of an emperor led to a crucial period of uncertainty and crisis. In theory the senate was entitled to choose the new emperor, but most emperors choose 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.

Senate

The Curia Julia in the Roman Forum, the seat of the Senate.While the Roman assemblies continued to meet after the founding of the empire, their powers were all transferred to the Roman Senate, and so senatorial decrees (senatus consulta) acquired the full force of law.[14]

In theory, the emperor and the senate were two co-equal branches of government, but the actual authority of the senate was negligible and it was largely a vehicle through which the emperor disguised his autocratic powers under a cloak of republicanism. Still prestigious and respected, the Senate was largely a glorified rubber stamp institution which had been stripped of most of its powers, and was largely at the emperor's mercy.

Many emperors showed a certain degree of respect towards this ancient institution, while others were notorious for ridiculing it. During senate meetings, the emperor sat between the two consuls, [15] and usually acted as the presiding officer. Higher ranking senators spoke before lower ranking senators, although the emperor could speak at any time.[15] By the third century, the senate had been reduced to a glorified municipal body.

Senators and Equestrians Main articles: Equestrian order and Cursus honorum No emperor could rule the empire without the Senatorial Order and the Equestrian Order. 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.

These two classes were hereditary and mostly closed to outsiders. Very successful and favoured individuals could enter, but this was a rare occurrence. The careers of the young aristocrats was influenced by their family connections and the favour 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 favour and trust.

Senatorial Order The son of a senator was expected to follow the Cursus honorum, a career ladder, and the more prestigious positions were restricted to senators only. A senator also had to be wealthy; one of the basic requirements was the wealth of 12,000 gold Aurei [16] (about 100 kg of gold), a figure which would later be raised with the passing of centuries.

Equestrian Order Below the Senatorial Order was the Equestrian Order. 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 Aegyptus, were even forbidden to the members of the Senatorial Order and available only to equestrians.

Military

The Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117-38) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 ADMain articles: Military of ancient Rome, Roman army, and Roman Navy

Legions During and after the civil war, Octavian reduced the huge number of the legions (over 60 [17]) to a much more manageable and affordable size (28 [18]). Several legions, particularly those with doubtful loyalties, were simply disbanded. Other legions were amalgamated, a fact suggested by the title Gemina (Twin [19]). In AD 9 Germanic tribes wiped out three full legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. This disastrous event reduced the number of the legions to 25. The total of the legions would later be increased again and for the next 300 years always be a little above or below 30 [20]. Augustus also created the Praetorian Guard: nine cohorts ostensibly to maintain the public peace which were garrisoned in Italy. Better paid than the legionaries, the Praetorians also served less time; instead of serving the standard 25 years of the legionaries, they retired after 16 years of service [21].

Auxillia While the Auxillia (Latin: auxilia = supports) are not as famous as the legionaries, they were of major importance. 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 25 years of service were rewarded with Roman citizenship, also extended to their sons. According to Tacitus [22] there were roughly as many auxiliaries as there were legionaries. Since at this time there were 25 legions of around 5,000 men each, the auxilia thus amounted to around 125,000 men, implying approximately 250 auxiliary regiments [23].

Navy The Roman Navy (Latin: Classis, lit. "fleet") not only aided in the supply and transport of the legions, but also helped in the protection of the frontiers in the rivers Rhine and Danube. 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 Sea, 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 [24].

Provinces Main articles: Roman province, Senatorial province, Imperial province, and Grain supply to the city of Rome In the old days of the Republic the governorships of the provinces were traditionally [25] awarded to members of the Senatorial Order. Augustus' reforms changed this policy.

Imperial provinces Augustus created [26] the Imperial provinces. 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 Aegyptus (modern 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 Aegyptus 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.

Senatorial provinces The old traditional policy continued largely unchanged in the Senatorial provinces. 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 [25] during Augustus' reign. Another trend was to create new provinces, mostly by dividing older ones, or by expanding the empire.

Religion Main articles: Religion in ancient Rome, Imperial cult (ancient Rome), and Persecution of religion in ancient Rome As the empire expanded, and came to include people from a variety of cultures, the worship of an ever increasing number of deities was tolerated and accepted. The imperial government, and the Romans in general, tended to be very tolerant towards most religions and cults, as long as they observed and included sacrifices to the divine emperors as a declaration of loyalty to the empire. This could easily be accepted by other faiths as Roman liturgy and ceremonies were frequently tailored to fit local culture and identity. An individual could attend to both the Roman Gods representing his Roman identity and his own personal faith, which was considered part of his personal identity. However those religions that were intolerant of other religions or preached civil disobedience were not tolerated, and on occasion even actively persecuted.

Imperial cult In an effort to enhance loyalty, the inhabitants of the empire were called to participate in the Imperial cult and revere the emperors and certain members of the imperial family as gods. The importance of the Imperial cult slowly grew, reaching its peak during the Crisis of the Third Century. Especially in the eastern half of the empire imperial cults grew very popular, and the cult complex became one of the focal points of life in the Roman cities. 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.

The seriousness of this belief is unclear. 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 not transformed into a god, but into a pumpkin. In fact, bitter sarcasm was already effected at Claudius' funeral in 54 [27].

Absorption of foreign cults Since Roman religion did not have a core belief that excluded other religions several foreign gods and cults became popular.

The worship of Cybele was the earliest, introduced from around BC 200. Isis and Osiris were introduced from Egypt a century later. Bacchus and Sol Invictus were quite important and Mithras became very popular with the military. Several of these were Mystery cults. In the first century BC Julius Caesar granted Jews the freedom to worship in Rome as a reward for their help in Alexandria.

Persecuted religions

Druids Druids were seen as essentially non-Roman: a prescript of Augustus forbade Roman citizens to practice "druidical" rites. Pliny reports [28] that under Tiberius the druids were suppressed—along with diviners and physicians—by a decree of the Senate, and Claudius forbade their rites completely in AD 54 [29].

Judaism While Judaism was largely accepted, it was on occasion subject to (mostly) local persecution.

Until the rebellion in Judea in AD 66, Jews were generally protected. To get around Roman laws banning secret societies and to allow their freedom of worship, Julius Caesar declared Synagogues were colleges. Tiberius [30] forbade Judaism in Rome but they quickly returned to their former protected status. Claudius expelled Jews from the city however the passage of Suetonius is ambiguous: "Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus he [Claudius] expelled them from the city" [29]. Chrestus has been identified as another form of Christus; the disturbances may have been related to the arrival of the first Christians, and that the Roman authorities, failing to distinguish between the Jews and the early Christians, simply decided to expel them all.

Christianity Christianity was born out of Judaism following the death of Jesus of Nazareth and emerged in Judea in 29 AD. The religion spread, establishing major bases in Antioch, particularly by St. Peter, then Alexandria. Saul of Tarsus, later known as St. Paul, was a persecutor of early Christians. He began preaching tours after his conversion in Damascus, as early as 37 A.D.[31] Paul, known as "Apostle to the Gentiles", publicly addressed and acknowledged non-Jewish persons as members of the Christian faith. His letters highlight differences between Judaism and the newly-founded Christianity. The Romans themselves for the first two centuries largely believed Christianity was just a Jewish sect rather than a separate religion. They saw Christianity's intolerance as a threat to religious peace and due to their secrecy some Christian rituals were mistaken as cannibalism, others as incest.

Suetonius mentions passingly that: "[during Nero's reign] Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief" [32] but he doesn't explain for what they were punished. Tacitus reports that after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 some in the population held Nero responsible [33] and that to diffuse blame, he targeted and blamed the Christians [33].

Persecution of Christians would be a recurring theme in the Empire for the next two centuries. Eusebius and Lactantius document the last great persecution of the Christians under Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century at the urging of Galerius. This was the most vicious persecution of Christians in the Empire's history.

As the 4th century progressed, Christianity had become so widespread that it became officially tolerated, then promoted (Constantine I), and in 380 established as the Empire's official religion (Theodosius I). By the 5th century Christianity had become the Empire's predominant religion rapidly changing the Empire's identity even as the Western provinces collapsed.[34] This would lead to the persecution of the traditional polytheistic religions that had previously characterized most of the Empire.

Languages Main articles: Latin, Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin, Greek language, Koine Greek, Phoenician language, Aramaic language, Syriac language, Coptic language, and Celtic languages The language of Rome before its expansion was Latin, and this became the Empire's official language. By the time of the imperial period Latin began evolving into into two languages: the 'high' written Classical Latin and the 'low' spoken Vulgar Latin. While Classical Latin remained relatively stable, even through the Middle Ages, Vulgar Latin as with any spoken language was fluid and evolving. Vulgar Latin became the lingua franca in the western provinces later evolving into the modern Romance languages: Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, etc. Greek and Classical Latin were considered the languages of literature, scholarship, and education.

Although Latin remained the official and most widely spoken language through to the fall of Rome and for some centuries after in the East, the Greek language was the lingua franca in the Eastern Provinces.[35] With the exception of Carthage, the Romans generally did not attempt to supplant local cultures and languages. It is to their credit that they generally left established customs in place and only gradually supplemented with the typical Roman-style improvements.[36] Greek was already widely spoken in many cities in the east, and as such, the Romans were quite content to retain it as an administrative language there rather than impede bureaucratic efficiency. Hence, two official secretaries served in the Roman Imperial court, one charged with correspondence in Latin and the other with correspondence in Greek for the East.[37] Thus in the Eastern Province, as with all provinces, original languages were retained.[38][39] Moreover, the process of hellenisation continued more extensively during the Roman period, for the Romans perpetuated "Hellenistic" culture,[40][41][nb 4] but with all the trappings of Roman improvements.[42][43] This further spreading of "Hellenistic" culture (and therefore language) was largely due to the extensive infrastructure (in the form of entertainment, health, and education amenities, and extensive transportation networks, etc.) put in place by the Romans and their tolerance of, and inclusion of, other cultures, a characteristic which set them apart from the xenophobic nature of the Greeks preceding them.[36]

Since the Roman annexation of Greece in 146 BC the Greek language gradually obtained a unique place in the Roman world, owing initially to the large number of Greek slaves in Roman households.[36] In Rome itself Greek became the second language of the educated elite.[36][44] It became the common language in early the Church (as its major centers in the early Christian period were in the East), and the language of scholarship and the arts.

However, due to the presence of other widely spoken languages in the densely populated east, such as Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Aramaic and Phoenician (which was also extensively spoken in North Africa), Greek never took as strong a hold beyond Asia Minor (some urban enclaves notwithstanding) as Latin eventually did in the west. This is partly evident in the extent to which the derivative languages are spoken today. Like Latin, the language gained a dual nature with the literary language, an Attic Greek variant, existing alongside spoken language, Koine Greek, which evolved into Medieval or Byzantine Greek (Romaic).[45]

By the 4th century AD Greek no longer held such dominance over Latin in the Church, Arts and Sciences as it had previously, resulting to a great extent from the growth of the western provinces (reflected, for example, in the publication in the early 5th century AD of the Vulgate Bible, the first officially accepted Latin Bible; before this only Greek translations were accepted). As the Western Empire declined, the number of people who spoke both Greek and Latin declined as well, contributing greatly to the future East–West / Orthodox–Catholic cultural divide in Europe. Important as both languages were, today the descendants of Latin are widely spoken in many parts of the world, while the Greek dialects are limited mostly to Greece, Cyprus, and small enclaves in Turkey and southern Italy. To some degree this can be attributed to the fact that the western provinces fell mainly to "Latinised" Christian tribes whereas the eastern provinces fell to Muslim Arabs and Turks for whom Greek held less cultural significance.

Culture

Roman clad in a togaMain articles: Culture of ancient Rome and Social class in ancient Rome Life in the Roman Empire revolved around the city of Rome, and its famed seven hills. The city also had several theatres.[46] gymnasiums, and many taverns, baths and brothels. Throughout the territory under Rome's control, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to country villas, and in the capital city of Rome, to the residences on the elegant Palatine Hill, from which the word "palace" is derived. The vast majority of the population lived in the city centre, packed into apartment blocks.

Most Roman towns and cities had a forum and temples, as did the city of Rome itself. Aqueducts were built to bring water to urban centres[47] and wine and oil were imported from abroad. Landlords generally resided in cities and their estates were left in the care of farm managers. To stimulate a higher labour productivity, many landlords freed a large numbers of slaves. By the time of Augustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Roman young (sometimes even the girls). Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic landscape gardening on the Palatine or in the villas.

Many aspects of Roman culture were taken from the Greeks.[48] In architecture and sculpture, the difference between Greek models and Roman paintings are apparent. The chief Roman contributions to architecture were the arch and the dome.

The centre of the early social structure was the family,[49] which was not only marked by blood relations but also by the legally constructed relation of patria potestas.[50] The Pater familias was the absolute head of the family; he was the master over his wife, his children, the wives of his sons, the nephews, the slaves and the freedmen, disposing of them and of their goods at will, even putting them to death.[51] Originally, only patrician aristocracy enjoyed the privilege of forming familial clans, or gens, as legal entities; later, in the wake of political struggles and warfare, clients were also enlisted. Thus, such plebian gentes were the first formed, imitating their patrician counterparts.[52]

Slavery and slaves were part of the social order; there were slave markets where they could be bought and sold. Many slaves were freed by the masters for services rendered; some slaves could save money to buy their freedom. Generally mutilation and murder of slaves was prohibited by legislation. It is estimated that over 25% of the Roman population was enslaved.[53][54]

The city of Rome had a place called the Campus Martius ("Field of Mars"), which was a sort of drill ground for Roman soldiers. Later, the Campus became Rome’s track and field playground. In the campus, the youth assembled to play and exercise, which included jumping, wrestling, boxing and racing. Riding, throwing, and swimming were also preferred physical activities. In the countryside, pastime also included fishing and hunting. Board games played in Rome included Dice (Tesserae or Tali), Roman Chess (Latrunculi), Roman Checkers (Calculi), Tic-tac-toe (Terni Lapilli), and Ludus duodecim scriptorum and Tabula, predecessors of backgammon.[55] There were several other activities to keep people engaged like chariot races, musical and theatrical performances,

Clothing, dining, and the arts Main articles: Roman cuisine, Latin literature, Roman art, Roman music, and Roman architecture The cloth and the dress distinguished one class of people from the other class. The tunic worn by plebeians (common people) like shepherds and slaves was made from coarse and dark material, whereas the tunic worn by patricians was of linen or white wool.[56] A magistrate would wear the tunic augusticlavi; senators wore a tunic with broad stripes, called tunica laticlavi. Military tunics were shorter than the ones worn by civilians. Boys, up until the festival of Liberalia, wore the toga praetexta, which was a toga with a crimson or purple border. The toga virilis, (or toga pura) was worn by men over the age of 16 to signify their citizenship in Rome. The toga picta was worn by triumphant generals and had embroidery of their skill on the battlefield. The toga pulla was worn when in mourning. Even footwear indicated a person’s social status. Patricians wore red and orange sandals, senators had brown footwear, consuls had white shoes, and soldiers wore heavy boots. Men typically wore a toga, and women a stola. The woman's stola looked different than a toga, and was usually brightly coloured. The Romans also invented socks for those soldiers required to fight on the northern frontiers, sometimes worn in sandals.[57]

Romans had simple food habits. Staple food was simple, generally consumed at around 11 o’clock, and consisted of bread, salad, cheese, fruits, nuts, and cold meat left over from the dinner the night before. The Roman poet, Horace mentions another Roman favourite, the olive, in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance."[58] The family ate together, sitting on stools around a table. Fingers were used to eat solid foods and spoons were used for soups. Wine was considered a staple drink,[59] consumed at all meals and occasions by all classes and was quite cheap. Many types of drinks involving grapes and honey were consumed as well. Drinking on an empty stomach was regarded as boorish and a sure sign for alcoholism, whose debilitating physical and psychological effects were known to the Romans. An accurate accusation of being an alcoholic was an effective way to discredit political rivals.

Roman literature was from its very inception influenced heavily by Greek authors. Some of the earliest works we possess are of historical epics telling the early military history of Rome. As the empire expanded, authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy. Virgil represents the pinnacle of Roman epic poetry. His Aeneid tells the story of flight of Aeneas from Troy and his settlement of the city that would become Rome. Lucretius, in his On the Nature of Things, attempted to explicate science in an epic poem. The genre of satire was common in Rome, and satires were written by, among others, Juvenal[60] and Persius. Many Roman homes were decorated with landscapes by Greek artists. Portrait sculpture[61] during the period utilized youthful and classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism. Advancements were also made in relief sculptures, often depicting Roman victories.

Detail of a mosaic found in Pompeii. The figure on the left is playing the double aulos, double-reed pipes; the figure in the middle, cymbalum, small, bronze cymbals; and on the right, the tympanum, a tambourine-like drum.Music was a major part of everyday life. The word itself derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses".[62] Many private and public events were accompanied by music, ranging from nightly dining to military parades and manoeuvres. In a discussion of any ancient music, however, non-specialists and even many musicians have to be reminded that much of what makes our modern music familiar to us is the result of developments only within the last 1,000 years; thus, our ideas of melody, scales, harmony, and even the instruments we use would not be familiar to Romans who made and listened to music many centuries earlier.

Over time, Roman architecture was modified as their urban requirements changed, and the civil engineering and building construction technology became developed and refined. The Roman concrete has remained a riddle, and even after more than 2,000 years some Roman structures still stand magnificently.[63] The architectural style of the capital city was emulated by other urban centres under Roman control and influence.

Education Main article: Roman school Following various military conquests in the Greek East, Romans adapted a number of Greek educational precepts to their own fledgling system.[64] Home was often the learning centre, where children were taught Roman law, customs, and physical training to prepare the boys to grow as Roman citizens and for eventual recruitment into the army. Conforming to discipline was a point of great emphasis. Girls generally received instruction[65] from their mothers in the art of spinning, weaving ,and sewing.

Education began at the age of around six, and in the next six to seven years, boys and girls were expected to learn the basics of reading, writing and counting. By the age of twelve, they would be learning Latin, Greek, grammar and literature, followed by training for public speaking. Oratory was an art to be practised and learnt, and good orators commanded respect. To become an effective orator was one of the objectives of education and learning. In some cases, services of gifted slaves were utilized for imparting education.[65]

Economy Main articles: Roman currency and Roman provincial coins The imperial government was, as all governments, interested in the issue and control of the currency in circulation. To mint coins was a political act: the image of the ruling emperor appeared on most issues, and coins were a means of showing his image throughout the empire. Also featured were predecessors, empresses, other family members, and heirs apparent. By issuing coins with the image of an heir his legitimacy and future succession was proclaimed and reinforced. Political messages and imperial propaganda such as proclamations of victory and acknowledgements of loyalty also appeared in certain issues.

Legally only the emperor and the Senate had the authority to mint coins inside the empire [66]. However the authority of the Senate was mainly in name only. In general, the imperial government issued gold and silver coins while the Senate issued bronze coins marked by the legend "SC", short for Senatus Consulto "by decree of the Senate". However, bronze coinage could be struck without this legend. Some Greek cities were allowed to mint [67] bronze and certain silver coins, which today are known as Greek Imperials (also Roman Colonials or Roman Provincials). The imperial mints were under the control of a chief financial minister, and the provincial mints were under the control of the imperial provincial procurators. The Senatorial mints were governed by officials of the Senatorial treasury.

History Main articles: History of the Roman Empire, Roman Emperor, and List of Roman Emperors

Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) Further information: Praetorian Guard, Roman triumph, Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, Arminius, and Publius Quinctilius Varus

The Battle of Actium, by Lorenzo A. Castro, 1672.The Battle of Actium resulted in the defeat and subsequent suicides of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian, now sole ruler of Rome, began a full-scale reformation of military, fiscal and political matters. The powers that he secured for himself were identical in form, if not in name, to those that his predecessor Julius Caesar had secured years earlier as Roman Dictator. In 36 BC, he was given the power of a Plebeian Tribune, which gave him veto power over the senate, the ability to control the principle legislative assembly (the Plebeian Council), and made his person and office sacrosanct. Up until 32 BC, his status as a Triumvir gave him the powers of an autocrat, but when he deposed Mark Antony that year, he resigned from the Triumvirate, and was then given powers identical to those that he had given up. In 29 BC, Octavian was given the authority of a Roman Censor, and thus the power to appoint new senators.[68]

The senate granted Octavian a unique grade of Proconsular imperium, which gave him authority over all Proconsuls (military governors).[69] The unruly provinces at the borders, where the vast majority of the legions were stationed, were under the control of Augustus. These provinces were classified as imperial provinces. The peaceful senatorial provinces were under the control of the Senate. The Roman legions, which had reached an unprecedented number (around 50) because of the civil wars, were reduced to 28. Augustus also created nine special cohorts, ostensibly to maintain the peace in Italy, keeping at least three of them stationed at Rome. These cohorts became known as the Praetorian Guard. In 27 BC, Octavian transferred control of the state back to the Senate and the People of Rome.[68] The Senate refused the offer, which, in effect, functioned as a popular ratification of his position within the state. Octavian was also granted the title of "Augustus" by the senate,[70] and took the title of Princeps, or "first citizen".[69]

As the adopted heir of Caesar, Augustus preferred to be called by this name. Caesar was a component of his family name. Julio-Claudian rule lasted for almost a century (from Julius Caesar in the mid-1st century BC to the emperor Nero in the mid-1st century AD). By the time of the Flavian Dynasty, and the reign of Vespasian, and that of his two sons, Titus and Domitian, the term Caesar had evolved, almost de facto, from a family name into a formal title.

Augustus' final goal was to figure out a method to ensure an orderly succession. In 6 BC Augustus granted tribunician powers to his stepson Tiberius,[71] and before long Augustus realized that he had no choice but to recognize Tiberius as his heir. In 13 AD, the point was settled beyond question. A law was passed which linked Augustus' powers over the provinces to those of Tiberius,[72] so that now Tiberius' legal powers were equivalent to, and independent from, those of Augustus.[72] Within a year, Augustus was dead.

Tiberius to Alexander Severus (14–235) Augustus was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the gens Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the gens Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the gens Claudia, through Tiberius's brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from gens Julia, either through Julia the Elder, Augustus's daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus's sister Octavia Minor (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian Dynasty".

Vespasian commissioned the Colosseum in Rome.The early years of Tiberius's reign were peaceful and relatively benign. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterised by paranoia and slander. He began a series of treason trials and executions, which continued until his death in 37. The logical successor to the hated Tiberius was his grandnephew, Gaius (better known as "Caligula" or "little boots"). Caligula started out well, but quickly became insane. In 41 Caligula was assassinated, and for two days following his assassination, the senate debated the merits of restoring the republic.[73] Due to the demands of the army, however, Claudius was ultimately declared emperor. Claudius was neither paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor insane like his nephew Caligula, and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability. In his own family life he was less successful, as he married his niece, who may very well have poisoned him in 54. Nero, who succeeded Claudius, focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. Nero, though, is remembered as a tyrant, and committed suicide in 68.

The forced suicide of Nero was followed by a brief period of civil war, known as the "Year of the Four Emperors". Augustus had established a standing army, where individual soldiers served under the same military governors over an extended period of time. The consequence was that the soldiers in the provinces developed a degree of loyalty to their commanders, which they did not have for the emperor. Thus the empire was, in a sense, a union of inchoate principalities, which could have disintegrated at any time.[74] Between June 68 and December 69, Rome witnessed the successive rise and fall of Galba, Otho and Vitellius until the final accession of Vespasian, first ruler of the Flavian dynasty. These events showed that any successful general could legitimately claim a right to the throne.[75]

Vespasian, though a successful emperor, continued the weakening of the Senate which had been going on since the reign of Tiberius. Through this sound fiscal policy, he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury, and began construction on the Colosseum. Titus, Vespasian's successor, quickly proved his merit, although his short reign was marked by disaster, including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished Colesseum, but died in 81. He was succeeded by his brother, Domitian, who had exceedingly poor relations with the senate. Domitian, ultimately, was a tyrant with the character which always makes tyranny repulsive,[76] and this derived in part from the fact that he had no son, and thus was constantly in danger of being overthrown.[76] In September of 96, he was murdered.

The Roman Empire at its greatest extent in 117 AD.The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the successions were peaceful and the Empire was prosperous. Each emperor of this period was adopted by his predecessor. The last 2 of the "Five Good Emperors" and Commodus are also called Antonines. After his accession, Nerva, who succeeded Domitian, set a new tone: he restored much confiscated property and involved the Roman Senate in his rule. In 112, Trajan marched on Armenia and annexed it to the Roman Empire. Then he turned south into Parthia, taking several cities before declaring Mesopotamia a new province of the empire, and lamenting that he was too old to follow in the steps of Alexander the Great. During his rule, the Roman Empire was to its largest extent, and would never again advance so far to the east. Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts, but he had to defend the vast territories that Trajan had acquired. Antoninus Pius's reign was comparatively peaceful. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Germanic tribes launched many raids along the northern border. The period of the "Five Good Emperors" also commonly described as the Pax Romana, or "Roman Peace" was brought to an end by the reign of Commodus. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius, breaking the scheme of adoptive successors that had turned out so well. Commodus became paranoid and slipped into insanity before being murdered in 192.

The Severan Dynasty, which lasted from 193 until 235, included several increasingly troubled reigns. A generally successful ruler, Septimius Severus, the first of the dynasty, cultivated the army's support and substituted equestrian officers for senators in key administrative positions. His son, Caracalla, extended full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Increasingly unstable and autocratic, Caracalla was assassinated by Macrinus, who succeeded him, before being assassinated and succeeded by Elagabalus. Alexander Severus, the last of the dynasty, was increasing unable to control the army, and was assassinated in 235.

Crisis of the Third Century and the later emperors (235–395) Main articles: Crisis of the Third Century, Diocletian, and Tetrarchy The Crisis of the Third Century is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284. During this time, 25 emperors reigned, and the empire experienced extreme military, political, and economic crises. This period ended with the accession of Diocletian, who reigned from 284 until 305, and who solved many of the acute problems experienced during this crisis. However, the core problems would remain and cause the eventual destruction of the western empire. Diocletian saw the vast empire as ungovernable, and therefore split the empire in half and created two equal emperors to rule under the title of Augustus. In doing so, he effectively created what would become the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. In 293 authority was further divided, as each Augustus took a junior Emperor called a Caesar to provide a line of succession. This constituted what is now known as the Tetrarchy ("rule of four"). The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity.

The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus, the first of the Constantinian dynasty, in 306. Constantius's troops immediately proclaimed his son Constantine the Great as Augustus. A series of civil wars broke, which ended with the entire empire being united under Constantine, who legalised Christianity definitively in 313 through the Edict of Milan. In 361, after decades of further civil war, Julian became emperor. His edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan temples, and, more problematically for the Christian Church, the recalling of previously exiled Christian bishops. Julian eventually resumed the war against Shapur II of Persia, although he received a mortal wound in battle and died in 363. His officers then elected Jovian emperor. Jovian is remembered for ceding terrorities won from the Persians, dating back to Trajan, and for restoring the privileges of Christianity, before dying in 364.

The Tetrarchs, a porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of St Mark's, VeniceUpon Jovian's death, Valentinian I, the first of the Valentinian dynasty, was elected Augustus, and chose his brother Valens to serve as his co-emperor. In 365, Procopius managed to bribe two legions, who then proclaimed him Augustus. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated, although in 367, eight-year-old Gratian was proclaimed emperor by the other two. In 375 Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against a Germanic tribe, but died shortly thereafter. Succession did not go as planned. Gratian was then a 16-year-old and arguably ready to act as Emperor, but the troops proclaimed his infant half-brother emperor under the title Valentinian II, and Gratian acquiesced.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. One tribe fled their former lands and sought refuge in the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens let them settle on the southern bank of the Danube in 376, but they soon revolted against their Roman hosts. Valens personally led a campaign against them in 378. However this campaign proved disastrous for the Romans. The two armies approached each other near Adrianople, but Valens was apparently overconfident of the numerical superiority of his own forces over the enemy. Valens, eager to have all of the glory for himself, rushed into battle, and on 9 August 378, the Battle of Adrianople resulted in a crushing defeat for the Romans, and the death of Valens. Contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus estimated that two thirds of the Roman army were lost in the battle. The battle had far-reaching consequences, as veteran soldiers and valuable administrators were among the heavy casualties, which left the Empire with the problem of finding suitable leadership. Gratian was now effectively responsible for the whole of the Empire. He sought however a replacement Augustus for the Eastern Roman Empire, and in 379 choose Theodosius I.

Theodosius, the founder of the Theodosian dynasty, proclaimed his five year old son Arcadius an Augustus in 383 in an attempt to secure succession. Hispanic Celt general Magnus Maximus, stationed in Roman Britain, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 383 and rebelled against Gratian when he invaded Gaul. Gratian fled, but was assassinated. Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, at the time only twelve years old, as the senior Augustus. Maximus soon entered negotiations with Valentinian II and Theodosius, attempting to gain their official recognition, although Negotiations were unfruitful. Theodosius campaigned west in 388 and was victorious against Maximus, who was then captured and executed. In 392 Valentinian II was murdered, and shortly thereafter Arbogast arranged for the appointment of Eugenius as emperor. However, the eastern emperor Theodosius I refused to recognise Eugenius as emperor and invaded the West, defeating and killing Arbogast and Eugenius. He thus reunited the entire Roman Empire under his rule. Theodosius was the last Emperor who ruled over the whole Empire. As emperor, he made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. After his death in 395, he gave the two halves of the Empire to his two sons Arcadius and Honorius. The Roman state would continue to have two different emperors with different seats of power throughout the 5th century, though the Eastern Romans considered themselves Roman in full. The two halves were nominally, culturally and historically, if not politically, the same state.

Decline of the Western Roman Empire (395–476) Main articles: Decline of the Roman Empire and Migration Period

Barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire, showing the Battle of Adrianople.After 395, the emperors in the Western Roman Empire were usually figureheads, while the actual rulers were military strongmen. The year 476 is generally accepted as the formal end of the Western Roman Empire. That year, Orestes refused the request of Germanic mercenaries in his service for lands in Italy. The dissatisfied mercenaries, led by Odoacer, revolted, and deposed the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus. This event has traditionally been considered the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer quickly conquered the remaining provinces of Italy, and then sent the Imperial Regalia back to the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. Zeno soon received two deputations. One was from Odoacer, requesting that his control of Italy be formally recognised by the Empire, in which case he would acknowledge Zeno's supremacy. The other deputation was from Nepos, the emperor before Romulus Augustus, asking for support to regain the throne. Zeno granted Odoacer's request. Upon Nepos's death in 480, Zeno claimed Dalmatia for the East. Odoacer attacked Dalmatia, and the ensuing war ended with Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, conquering Italy.

The Empire became gradually less Romanised and increasingly Germanic in nature: although the Empire buckled under Visigothic assault, the overthrow of the last Emperor Romulus Augustus was carried out by federated Germanic troops from within the Roman army rather than by foreign troops. In this sense had Odoacer not renounced the title of Emperor and named himself "King of Italy" instead, the Empire might have continued in name. Its identity, however, was no longer Roman – it was increasingly populated and governed by Germanic peoples long before 476. The Roman people were by the fifth century "bereft of their military ethos"[77] and the Roman army itself a mere supplement to federated troops of Goths, Huns, Franks and others fighting on their behalf. Many theories have been advanced in explanation of the decline of the Roman Empire, and many dates given for its fall, from the onset of its decline in the third century[78] to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.[79] Militarily, however, the Empire finally fell after first being overrun by various non-Roman peoples and then having its heart in Italy seized by Germanic troops in a revolt. The historicity and exact dates are uncertain, and some historians do not consider that the Empire fell at this point. Disagreement persists since the decline of the Empire had been a long and gradual process rather than a single event.

Eastern Roman Empire (476–1453) Main article: Byzantine Empire As the Western Roman Empire declined during the 5th century, the richer Eastern Roman Empire would be relieved of much destruction, and in the mid 6th century the Eastern Roman Empire (known also as the Byzantine Empire) under the emperor Justinian I reconquered Italy and parts of Illyria from the Ostrogoths, North Africa from the Vandals, and southern Hispania from the Visigoths. The reconquest of southern Hispania was somewhat ephemeral, but North Africa served the Byzantines for another century, parts of Italy for another 5 centuries, and parts Illyria even longer.

Of the many accepted dates for the end of the classical Roman state, the latest is 610. This is when the Emperor Heraclius made sweeping reforms, forever changing the face of the empire. Greek was readopted as the language of government and Latin influence waned. By 610, the Eastern Roman Empire had come under definite Greek influence, and could be considered to have become what many modern historians now call the Byzantine Empire; however, the Empire was never called thus by its inhabitants, who used terms such as Romania, Basileia Romaion or Pragmata Romaion, meaning "Land of the Romans", "Kingdom of the Romans", and who still saw themselves as Romans, and their state as the rightful successor to the ancient empire of Rome. The sack of Constantinople at the hands of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 is sometimes used to date the end of Eastern Roman Empire: the destruction of Constantinople and most of its ancient treasures, total discontinuity of leadership, and the division of its lands into rival states with a Catholic-controlled "Emperor" in Constantinople itself was a blow from which the Empire never fully recovered. Nevertheless, the Byzantines continued to call themselves Romans until their fall to Ottoman Turks in 1453. That year the eastern part of the Roman Empire was ultimately ended by the Fall of Constantinople. Even though Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, declared himself the Emperor of the Roman Empire (Caesar of Rome / Kayser-i Rum) in 1453, Constantine XI is usually considered the last Roman Emperor. The Greek ethnic self-descriptive name "Rhomios" (Roman) survives to this day.

Military history Main article: Campaign history of the Roman military

Principate (27 BC–AD 235) [show]v • d • eRoman conquest of Britain

Medway – Caer Caradoc – Mons Graupius

[show]v • d • eBoudica's Uprising

Camulodunum - Massacre of the Ninth Legion - Verulamium - Londinium - Watling Street

[show]v • d • eRoman-Germanic Wars

Cimbrian War Noreia - Arausio - Aquae Sextiae - Vercellae Attempted conquest of Germania Lupia River - Teutoburg Forest - Weser River Marcomannic Wars Roman-Alamannic Wars Mediolanum - Lake Benacus - Placentia - Fano - Pavia - Lingones - Vindonissa - Durocortorum - Argentoratum - Solicinium Gothic War Ad Salices - Adrianople Roman-Visigothic Wars Pollentia - Verona - Rome - Narbonne

[show]v • d • eDacian Wars

1st Tapae – 2nd Tapae – Adamclisi – Sarmisegetusa

[show]v • d • eArmenian War of 58–63

Volandum - Artaxata - 1st Tigranocerta - 2nd Tigranocerta - Rhandeia

Between the reigns of the emperors Augustus and Trajan, the Roman Empire achieved great territorial gains in both the East and the West. In the West, following several defeats in 16 BC,[80] Roman armies pushed north and east out of Gaul to subdue much of Germania. Despite the loss of a large army almost to the man in Varus' famous defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9,[81][82][83] Rome recovered and continued its expansion up to and beyond the borders of the known world. The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD,[84] forcing their way inland,[85] and building two military bases to protect against rebellion and incursions from the north, from which Roman troops built and manned Hadrian's Wall.[86] Emperor Claudius ordered the suspension of further attacks across the Rhine,[87] setting what was to become the permanent limit of the Empire's expansion in this direction.[88] Further east, Trajan turned his attention to Dacia.[89][90][91] Following an uncertain number of battles, Trajan marched into Dacia,[92] besieged the Dacian capital and razed it to the ground.[93] With Dacia quelled, Trajan subsequently invaded the Parthian empire to the east, his conquests taking the Roman Empire to its greatest extent.

[show]v • d • eYear of the Four Emperors

'Forum Julii' – Placentia – Locus Castrorum – 1st Bedriacum – 2nd Bedriacum – Castra Vetera – Augusta Treverorum

In 69 AD, Marcus Salvius Otho had the Emperor Galba murdered[94][95] and claimed the throne for himself,[96][97] but Vitellius had also claimed the throne.[98][99] Otho left Rome, and met Vitellius at the First Battle of Bedriacum,[100] after which the Othonian troops fled back to their camp,[101] and the next day surrendered to the Vitellian forces.[102] Meanwhile, the forces stationed in the Middle East provinces of Judaea and Syria had acclaimed Vespasian as emperor.[100] Vespasians' and Vitellius' armies met in the Second Battle of Bedriacum,[100][103] after which the Vitellian troops were driven back into their camp.[104] Vespasian, having successfully ended the civil war, was declared emperor.

[show]v • d • eJewish–Roman wars

First War – Kitos War – Bar Kokhba revolt - War against Gallus - Revolt against Heraclius

[show]v • d • eFirst Jewish–Roman War

1st Jerusalem - Beth-Horon - Siege of Gamla - 2nd Jerusalem - Siege of Masada

The first Jewish-Roman War, sometimes called The Great Revolt, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province against the Roman Empire.[105] Earlier Jewish successes against Rome only attracted greater attention from Emperor Nero, who appointed general Vespasian to crush the rebellion. By the year 68, Jewish resistance in the North had been crushed.[106][107] In 115, revolt broke out again in the province, leading to the second Jewish-Roman war known as the Kitos War, and again in 132 in what is known as Bar Kokhba's revolt. Both were brutally crushed.

[show]v • d • eRoman-Parthian Wars

Carrhae – War of 40–33 BC – War over Armenia – Trajan's Parthian campaign – Ctesiphon (165) – Ctesiphon (198) – Nisibis

Due in large part to their employment of powerful heavy cavalry and mobile horse-archers, the Parthian Empire was the most formidable enemy of the Roman Empire in the east. Trajan had campaigned against the Parthians and briefly captured their capital, putting a puppet ruler on the throne, but the territories were abandoned. A revitalised Parthian Empire renewed its assault in 161, and defeated two Roman armies. General Gaius Avidius Cassius was sent in 162 to counter the resurgent Parthia. The Parthian city of Seleucia on the Tigris was destroyed, and the Parthians made peace but were forced to cede western Mesopotamia to the Romans.[108] In 197, Emperor Septimius Severus waged a brief and successful war against the Parthian Empire, during which time the Parthian capital was sacked, and the northern half of Mesopotamia was restored to Rome. Emperor Caracalla marched on Parthia in 217 from Edessa to begin a war against them, but he was assassinated while on the march.[109] In 224, the Parthian Empire was crushed not by the Romans but by the rebellious Persian vassal king Ardashir, who revolted, leading to the establishment of Sassanid Empire of Persia, which replaced Parthia as Rome's major rival in the East.

Barracks and Illyrian emperors (235-284) and Dominate (284–395) [show]v • d • eRome against the Alamanni

Mediolanum - Lake Benacus – Placentia – Fano – Pavia – Lingones – Vindonissa – Autun – Durocortorum – Brumath – Senonae – Argentorate – Solicinium – Argentovaria

[show]v • d • eGothic Migration

Byzantium - Pannonia - Naissus - Fanum Fortunae - Ticinum - Battle of the Willows - Adrianople

[show]v • d • eFrankish Migration

Tarragona - Scheldt - Salii - Chamavi

[show]v • d • eEarly Vandal Migration

Lower Danube - Middle Danube

Although the exact historicity is unclear, some mix of Germanic peoples, Celts, and tribes of mixed Celto-Germanic ethnicity were settled in the lands of Germania from the first century onwards. The essential problem of large tribal groups on the frontier remained much the same as the situation Rome faced in earlier centuries, the third century saw a marked increase in the overall threat.[110][111] The assembled warbands of the Alamanni frequently crossed the border, attacking Germania Superior such that they were almost continually engaged in conflicts with the Roman Empire. However, their first major assault deep into Roman territory didn't come until 268. In that year the Romans were forced to denude much of their German frontier of troops in response to a massive invasion by another new Germanic tribal confederacy, the Goths, from the east. The pressure of tribal groups pushing into the Empire was the end result of a chain of migrations with its roots far to the east.[112] The Alamanni seized the opportunity to launch a major invasion of Gaul and northern Italy. However, the Visigoths were defeated in battle that summer and then routed in the Battle of Naissus.[113] The Goths remained a major threat to the Empire but directed their attacks away from Italy itself for several years after their defeat.

Area settled by the Alamanni, and sites of Roman-Alamannic battles, 3rd to 6th centuryThe Alamanni on the other hand resumed their drive towards Italy almost immediately. They defeated Aurelian at the Battle of Placentia in 271 but were beaten back for a short time, only to reemerge fifty years later. In 378 the Goths inflicted a crushing defeat on the Eastern Empire at the Battle of Adrianople.[114][115] At the same time, Franks raided through the North Sea and the English Channel,[116] Vandals pressed across the Rhine, Iuthungi against the Danube, Iazyges, Carpi and Taifali harassed Dacia, and Gepids joined the Goths and Heruli in attacks round the Black Sea.[117] At the start of the fifth century AD, the pressure on Rome's western borders was growing intense.

[show]v • d • eCrisis of the Third Century

Cyzicus - Nicaea - Issus - Lugdunum - Antioch - Carthage - Naissus - Mainz - Augustodunum Haeduorum - Immae - Emesa - Chalons - Margus

[show]v • d • eBattles of Constantine I

Turin – Verona – Milvian Bridge – Cibalae – Mardia – Adrianople – Hellespont – Chrysopolis

A military that was often willing to support its commander over its emperor meant that commanders could establish sole control of the army they were responsible for and usurp the imperial throne. The so-called Crisis of the Third Century describes the turmoil of murder, usurpation and in-fighting that is traditionally seen as developing with the murder of the Emperor Alexander Severus in 235.[118] Emperor Septimius Severus was forced to deal with two rivals for the throne: Pescennius Niger and then Clodius Albinus. Severus' successor Caracalla passed uninterrupted for a while until he was murdered by Macrinus,[119] who proclaimed himsef emperor in his place. The troops of Elagabalus declared him to be emperor instead, and the two met in battle at the Battle of Antioch in 218 AD, in which Macrinus was defeated.[120] However, Elagabalus was murdered shortly afterwards[120] and Alexander Severus was proclaimed emperor who, after a short reign, was murdered in turn.[120] His murderers raised in his place Maximinus Thrax. However, just as he had been raised by the army, Maximinus was also brought down by them and was murdered[121] when it appeared to his forces as though he would not be able to best the senatorial candidate for the throne, Gordian III.

Gordian III's fate is not certain, although he may have been murdered by his own successor, Philip the Arab, who ruled for only a few years before the army again raised a general to proclaimed emperor, this time Decius, who defeated Philip in the Battle of Verona to seize the throne.[122] Gallienus, emperor from 260 AD to 268 AD, saw a remarkable array of usurpers. Diocletian, a usurper himself, defeated Carinus to become emperor. Some small measure of stability again returned at this point, with the empire split into a Tetrarchy of two greater and two lesser emperors, a system that staved off civil wars for a short time until 312 AD. In that year, relations between the tetrarchy collapsed for good. From 314 AD onwards, Constantine the Great defeated Licinius in a series of battles. Constantine then turned to Maxentius, beating him in the Battle of Verona and the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

[show]v • d • eRoman-Sassanid Wars

Resaena - Misikhe - Barbalissos - Antiochia - Edessa – Singara - Amida - Pirisabora - Ctesiphon - Samarra

After overthrowing the Parthian confederacy,[123][124] the Sassanid Empire that arose from its remains pursued a more aggressive expansionist policy than their predecessors[125][126] and continued to make war against Rome. In 230, the first Sassanid emperor attacked Roman territory,[126] and in 243, Emperor Gordian III's army defeated the Sassanids at the Battle of Resaena.[127] In 253 the Sassanids under Shapur I penetrated deeply into Roman territory, defeating a Roman force at the Battle of Barbalissos[128] and conquering and plundering Antiochia.[123][128] In 260 at the Battle of Edessa the Sassanids defeated the Roman army[129] and captured the Roman Emperor Valerian.[123][126] There was a lasting peace between Rome and the Sassanid Empire between 297 and 337 following a treaty between Narseh and Emperor Diocletian. However, just before the death of Constantine I in 337, Shapur II broke the peace and began a twenty-six year conflict, attempting with little success to conquer Roman fortresses in the region. Emperor Julian met Shapur in 363 in the Battle of Ctesiphon outside the walls of the Persian capital. The Romans were victorious but were unable to take the city and were forced to retreat. There were several future wars, although all brief and small-scale.

Collapse of the Western Empire (395–476)

Europe in 476, from Muir's Historical Atlas (1911).[show]v • d • eFall of the Western Roman Empire

Mediolanum - Pollentia - Verona - Moguntiacum - Treviri - Rome - Narbonne - Chalons - Aquileia - Ravenna

After the death of Theodosius I in 395, the Visigoths renounced their treaty with the Empire and invaded northern Italy under their new king Alaric, but were repeatedly repulsed by the Western commander-in-chief Stilicho. However, the limes on the Rhine had been depleted of Roman troops, and in early 407 Vandals, Alans, and Suevi invaded Gaul en masse and, meeting little resistance, proceeded to cross the Pyrenees, entering Spain in 409. Stilicho became a victim of court intrigues in Ravenna (where the imperial court resided since 402) and was executed for high treason in 408. After his death, the government became increasingly ineffective in dealing with the barbarians, and in 410 Rome was sacked by the Visigoths. Under Alaric's successors, the Goths then settled in Gaul (412-418) as foederati and for a while were successfully employed against the Vandals, Alans, and Suevi in Spain. Meanwhile, in the turmoil of the preceding years, Roman Britain had been abandoned.

After Honorius' death in 423, the Eastern empire installed the weak Valentinian III as Western Emperor in Ravenna. After a violent struggle with several rivals, Aetius rose to the rank of magister militum. Aetius was able to stabilize the empire's military situation somewhat, relying heavily on his Hunnic allies. With their help he defeated the Burgundians, who had occupied part of southern Gaul after 407, and settled them as Roman allies in the Savoy (433). Later that century, as Roman power faded away, the Burgundians extended their rule to the Rhone valley.

Meanwhile, pressure from the Visigoths and a rebellion by the governor of Africa, Bonifacius, had induced the Vandals under their king Gaiseric to cross over from Spain in 429. After capturing Carthage, they established an independent state with a powerful navy (439), which was officially recognised by the Empire in 442. The Vandal fleet from then on formed a constant danger to Roman seafare and the coasts and islands of the Western and Central Mediterranean.

In 444, the Huns, who had been employed as Roman allies by Aetius, were united under their king Attila, who invaded Gaul and was only stopped with great effort by a combined Roman-Germanic force led by Aetius in the Battle of Chalons (451). The next year, Attila invaded Italy and proceeded to march upon Rome, but he halted his campaign and died a year later in 453.

Aetius was murdered by Valentinian in 454, who was then himself murdered by the dead general's supporters a year later. With the end of the Theodosian dynasty, a new period of dynastic struggle ensued. The Vandals took advantage of the unrest, sailed up to Rome, and plundered the city in 455. As the barbarians settled in the former provinces, nominally as allies but de facto operating as independent polities, the territory of the Western Empire was effectively reduced to Italy and parts of Gaul. From 455 onward, several emperors were installed in the West by the government of Constantinople, but their authority only reached as far as the barbarian commanders of the army and their troops (Ricimer (456-472), Gundobad (473-475)) allowed it to. In 475, Orestes, a former secretary of Attila, drove Emperor Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and proclaimed his own son Romulus Augustus as emperor.

In 476, Orestes refused to grant Odoacer and the Heruli federated status, prompting the latter to kill him, depose his son and send the imperial insignia to Constantinople, installing himself as king over Italy. Although isolated pockets of Roman rule continued even after 476, the city of Rome itself was under the rule of the barbarians, and the control of Rome over the West had effectively ended.

Legacy The American magazine National Geographic described the legacy of the Roman Empire in The World According to Rome:

The enduring Roman influence is reflected pervasively in contemporary language, literature, legal codes, government, architecture, engineering, medicine, sports, arts, etc. Much of it is so deeply inbedded that we barely notice our debt to ancient Rome. Consider language, for example. Fewer and fewer people today claim to know Latin - and yet, go back to the first sentence in this paragraph. If we removed all the words drawn directly from Latin, that sentence would read; "The."[130][nb 5]

Several states claimed to be the Roman Empire's successors after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire, an attempt to resurrect the Empire in the West, was established in 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Frankish King Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalised for some decades. After the fall of Constantinople, the Russian Tsardom, as inheritor of the Byzantine Empire's Orthodox Christian tradition, counted itself the third Rome (with Constantinople having been the second). And when the Ottomans, who based their state on the Byzantine model, took Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II established his capital there and claimed to sit on the throne of the Roman Empire, and he even went so far as to launch an invasion of Italy with the purpose of "re-uniting the Empire", although Papal and Neapolitan armies stopped his march on Rome at Otranto in 1480. Constantinople was not officially renamed Istanbul until 28 March 1930.

Excluding these states claiming its heritage, if the traditional date for the founding of Rome is accepted as fact, the Roman state can be said to have lasted in some form from 753 BC to the fall in 1461 of the Empire of Trebizond (a successor state and fragment of the Byzantine Empire which escaped conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2,214 years. The Roman impact on Western and Eastern civilisations lives on. In time most of the Roman achievements were duplicated by later civilisations. For example, the technology for cement was rediscovered 1755–1759 by John Smeaton.

The Empire contributed many things to the world, such as a calendar with leap years, the institutions of Christianity and aspects of modern neo-classicistic and Byzantine architecture. The extensive system of roads that was constructed by the Roman Army lasts to this day. Because of this network of roads, the time necessary to travel between destinations in Europe did not decrease until the 19th century, when steam power was invented. Even modern astrology comes to us directly from the Romans.

The Roman Empire also contributed its form of government, which influences various constitutions including those of most European countries and many former European colonies. In the United States, for example, the framers of the Constitution remarked, in creating the Presidency, that they wanted to inaugurate an "Augustan Age". The modern world also inherited legal thinking from Roman law, fully codified in Late Antiquity. Governing a vast territory, the Romans developed the science of public administration to an extent never before conceived or necessary, creating an extensive civil service and formalised methods of tax collection.

While in the West the term Roman acquired a new meaning in connection with the church and the Pope of Rome the Greek form Romaioi remained attached to the Greek-speaking Christian population of the Eastern Roman Empire and is still used by Greeks in addition to their common appellation).[131]

The Roman Empire's territorial legacy of controlling the Italian peninsula would serve as an influence to Italian nationalism and the unification (Risorgimento) of Italy in 1861.

See also Classical Antiquity Roman Republic History of the Roman Empire Decline of the Roman Empire Migration Period Western Roman Empire Byzantine Empire Legacy of the Roman Empire

Notes footnotes ^ Since classical and modern concepts of state do not overlap, other possibilities include Res publica Romana, Imperium Romanorum and Romania. Res publica, as a term denoting the Roman "commonwealth" in general, can refer to both the Republican and the Imperial era, while Imperium Romanum (or, sometimes, Romanorum) is used to refer to the territorial extent of Roman authority. Populus Romanus, "the Roman people", is often used for the Roman state dealing with other nations. The term Romania, initially a colloquial term for the empire's territory as well as the collectivity of its inhabitants, appears in Greek and Latin sources from the fourth century onward and was eventually carried over to Byzantium. (See Wolff, R.L. "Romania: The Latin Empire of Constantinople". In: Speculum, 23 (1948), pp. 1-34 (pp. 2-3).) ^ During the struggles of the Late Republic hundreds of senators were killed or died, and the Roman Senate had been refilled with supporters of the First Triumvirate and later those of the Second Triumvirate. ^ Octavian/Augustus officially proclaimed that he had saved the Roman Republic and carefully disguised his power under republican forms; consuls continued to be elected, tribunes of the plebeians continued to offer legislation, and senators still debated in the Roman Curia. However, it was Octavian, and every effective emperor thereafter, who influenced everything and controlled the final decisions, and in final analysis, had the legions to back him up, if it ever became necessary. ^ This is somewhat simplistic as the Romans did not simply adopt/copy Greek or other cultures. See, for example, 'Freeman, C. "The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World" (New York: Penguin, 1999)' for a more detailed description of how the Romans interacted with Greek (and other) cultures. ^ The final statement is not entirely accurate (in terms of the linguistic etymology): many words with Latin roots, such as engineering and sports, were borrowed from French[1][2] and were thus derived indirectly, while the main verb and the preposition in the first sentence are native English forms. However, the point pertaining to the pervading influence is valid. citations ^ a b c d Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". Social Science History 3 (3/4): 125. doi:10.2307/1170959. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0145-5532%281979%293%3A3%2F4%3C115%3ASADOEG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H. ^ John D. Durand, Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation, 1977, pp. 253-296. ^ "Roman Empire -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". www.britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/507739/Roman-Empire. Retrieved on 2008-07-09. ^ "Roman Empire," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008 ^ Chester G. Starr, A History of the Ancient World, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1974. pp. 670-678. ^ Isaac Asimov. Asimov's Chronology of the World. Harper Collins, 1989. p. 110. ^ Asimov, p. 198. ^ Abbott, 342 ^ Abbott, 357 ^ a b Abbott, 345 ^ Abbott, 354 ^ Abbott, 341 ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (2003). "The Life of a Roman Soldier". The Complete Roman Army. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. p. 80. ISBN 0-500-05124-0. ^ Abbott, 385 ^ a b Abbott, 383 ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Augustus paragraph 41 ^ The complete Roman army by Adrian Goldsworthy, 2003 chapter The Army of the Principate, p.50; ISBN 0-500-05124-0 ^ The complete Roman army by Adrian Goldsworthy, 2003 chapter The Army of the Principate, p.50; ISBN 0-500-05124-0 ^ The complete Roman army by Adrian Goldsworthy, 2003 chapter The Army of the Principate, p.50; ISBN 0-500-05124-0 ^ The complete Roman army by Adrian Goldsworthy, 2005 chapter The Army of the Principate, p.183; ISBN 0-500-05124-0 ^ Rome and her enemies published by Osprey, 2005 part 3 Early Empire 27BC - AD 235, chapter 9 The Romans, section Remuneration, p.183; ISBN 978-1-84603-336-0 ^ Tacitus Annales IV.5 ^ Goldsworthy (2003) 51 ^ The complete Roman army by Adrian Goldsworthy 2003, chapter After Service, p.114; ISBN 0-500-05124-0 ^ a b Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Augusts paragraph 47 ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Augustus paragraph 47 ^ Tacitus, Ann. XII, 69. ^ Pliny's Natural History xxx.4. ^ a b Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius paragraph 25 ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius paragraph 36 ^ Prat, F. (1911). St. Paul. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 11, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero paragraph 16 ^ a b Tacitus, Annals XV.44 ^ Ekelund, Robert Burton; Hébert, Robert F.: The Marketplace of Christianity, pg. 60, The MIT Press, Nov. 2006, ISBN 978-0-262-05082-1 ^ Fergus Millar, A Greek Roman Empire: Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408-450). Sather Classical Lectures, Vol. 64. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Pp. 279. ISBN 0-520-24703-5; Warren Treadgold "A Concise History of Byzantium" (New York: St Martin's Press, 2001); Warren Treadgold "A History of the Byzantine State and Society" (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997) ^ a b c d Freeman (1999), pp.389-433 ^ Lee I. Levine Jerusalem see page 154 ^ http://www.unrv.com/provinces/judaea.php ^ Social and Economic Conditions of the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century by Paul Vinogradoff, 1911, Cambridge Medieval History, Volume One, pp. 542-567 ^ Lee I. Levine Jerusalem p. 154 ^ Andrew Sherratt (Ed.) "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Archeology" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), pp. 242-243. ISBN 0-521-22989-8 ^ http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/jdtabor/overview-roman-world.html; http://www.jstor.org/pss/3155063; http://www.scriptureinhistory.org.au/Articles/Syria%20article.htm ^ Andrew Sherratt (Ed.) "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Archeology" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), pp. 240-244. ISBN 0-521-22989-8 ^ McDonnell/MacDonnell, Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic[unreliable source?] ^ Greek Language, Encyclopedia Britannica ^ Jones, Mark Wilson Principles of Roman Architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. ^ Kevin Greene, “Technological Innovation and Economic Progress in the Ancient World: M.I. Finley Re-Considered”, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 53, No. 1. (Feb., 2000), pp. 29-59 (39) ^ Scott, 404 ^ Abbott, 1 ^ Abbott, 2 ^ Abbott, 6 ^ Social History of Rome By Géza Alföldy, David Braund, 1985 ^ "Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. ^ "Slavery in Ancient Rome". Kentucky Educational Television. http://www.dl.ket.org/latinlit/mores/slaves/. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. ^ Austin, Roland G. "Roman Board Games. I", Greece & Rome 4:10, October 1934. pp. 24-34. ^ Pliny the Elder's Natural History, book 12 pp. 38 ^ "Romans' crimes of fashion revealed". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3181443.stm. Retrieved on 2008-06-19. ^ "Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea levesque malvae." Horace, Odes 1.31.15, ca 30 BC ^ Phillips pg 46-56 ^ Lucilius – the acknowledged originator of Roman Satire in the form practiced by Juvenal - experimented with other meters before settling on dactylic hexameter. ^ Toynbee, J. M. C. (December 1971). "Roman Art". The Classical Review 21 (3): 439–442. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-840X%28197112%292%3A21%3A3%3C439%3ARA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. ^ "Mousike, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus". http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2368891. ^ W. L. MacDonald, The Architecture of the Roman Empire, rev. ed. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1982, fig. 131B; Lechtman and Hobbs "Roman Concrete and the Roman Architectural Revolution" ^ The Legacy of Roman Education (in the Forum), Nanette R. Pacal, The Classical Journal, Vol. 79, No. 4. (Apr. – May, 1984) ^ a b Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996 ^ [3] ^ [4] ^ a b Abbott, 267 ^ a b Abbott, 269 ^ Abbott, 268 ^ Abbott, 272 ^ a b Abbott, 273 ^ Abbott, 293 ^ Abbott, 296 ^ Abbott, 298 ^ a b Abbott, 312 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 285 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 361 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 231 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 244 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 245 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 159 ^ Clunn, In Quest of the Lost Legions, p. xv ^ Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples, p. 4 ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 5 ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 10 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 269 ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 38 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 322 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 213 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 215 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 222 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 223 ^ Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch. 41 ^ Plutarch, Lives, Galba ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 51 ^ Lane Fox, The Classical World, p. 542 ^ Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch. 57 ^ Plutarch, Lives, Otho ^ a b c Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 52 ^ Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch. 44 ^ Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch. 49 ^ Tactitus, The Histories, Book 3, ch. 18 ^ Tactitus, The Histories, Book 3, ch. 25 ^ Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 294 ^ Santosuosso, Storming the Heavens, p. 146 ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 3 ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 273 ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 279 ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 146 ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 282 ^ Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 624 ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 285 ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, Historiae, book 31. ^ Jordanes, The Origins and Deeds of the Goths, 138. ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 284 ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 149 ^ Grant, The History of Rome, p. 280 ^ Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 129 ^ a b c Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 130 ^ Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 131 ^ Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 135 ^ a b c Grant, The History of Rome, p. 283 ^ Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 128 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 234 ^ a b c Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, p. 151 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 235 ^ a b Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 236 ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 237 ^ Reid (1997), p. 54. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica,History of Europe, The Romans, 2008, O.Ed.

References Frank Frost Abbott (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN 0-543-92749-0. John Bagnell Bury, A History of the Roman Empire from its Foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius, 1913, ISBN 978-1-4367-3416-5 Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Cassell, 1998, ISBN 0-304-34912-7 J. A. Crook, Law and Life of Rome, 90 BC–AD 212, 1967, ISBN 0-8014-9273-4 Donald R. Dudley, The Civilization of Rome, 2nd ed., 1985, ISBN 0-452-01016-0 Arther Ferrill, The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation, Thames and Hudson, 1988, ISBN 0-500-27495-9 Freeman, Charles (1999). The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-670-88515-0. Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1776–1788 Adrian Goldsworthy, The Punic Wars, Cassell & Co, 2000, ISBN 0-304-35284-5 Adrian Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire, Weidenfield and Nicholson, 2003, ISBN 0-297-84666-3 Adrian Goldsworthy, The Complete Roman Army, Thames and Hudson, 2003, ISBN 0-500-05124-0 Michael Grant, The History of Rome, Faber and Faber, 1993, ISBN 0-571-11461-X Tom Holland, Rubicon, Little Brown, 2003, ISBN 0-316-86130-8 Andrew Lintott, Imperium Romanum: Politics and administration, 1993, ISBN 0-415-09375-9 Edward Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-2158-4 Reid, T.R. (1997). "The World According to Rome". National Geographic 192 (2): 54-83. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/. Antonio Santosuosso, Storming the Heavens: Soldiers, Emperors and Civilians in the Roman Empire, Westview Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8133-3523-X

External links Find more about Roman Empire on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from WikiversityRoman battlefield unearthed deep inside Germany 

BBC Romans for Children Classics Unveiled Complete map of the Roman Empire in year 100 Detailed history of the Roman Empire Historical Atlas (Swedish) Roman Numismatic Gallery The Celts and Romans The Roman Empire The Roman Empire in the First Century from PBS The Roman Empire System Timeline of the Roman Empire and its split on WikiTimeScale. UNRV Roman History Worlds of Late Antiquity website: links, bibliographies: Augustine, Boethius, Cassiodorus etc.

Holy Roman Empire Heiliges Römisches Reich Sacrum Romanum Imperium
962–1806
Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor Coat of arms of Maximilian II
The extent of the Holy Roman Empire around 1600, superimposed over modern European state borders.
Capital	No de jure capital (de facto capitals varied over time)
Common languages	Latin, Germanic, Romance and Slavic dialects
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Government	Elective monarchy
Emperor
Legislature	Reichstag
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Otto I crowned     Emperor of Italy	2 February, 962 AD 962
• Conrad II assumes     crown of Burgundy	1034
• Peace of Augsburg	1555
• Peace of Westphalia	24 October 1648
• Disestablished	1806
Preceded by Succeeded by East Francia Old Swiss Confederacy Dutch Republic Confederation of the Rhine File:Flag of the Confederation of the Rhine.svg Austrian Empire First French Empire Kingdom of Prussia United States of Belgium

The Holy Roman Empire (HRE; German: Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR), Template:Lang-la) was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first Holy Roman Emperor was Otto I in 962 AD. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. It was officially known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation, Template:Lang-la) from the 16th century onwards.

The Empire's territorial extent varied over its history, but at its peak it encompassed the Kingdom of Germany, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Burgundy; territories embracing present-day Germany (except Southern Schleswig), Austria (except Burgenland), Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovenia (except Prekmurje), as well as significant parts of modern France (mainly Artois, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Savoie and Lorraine), Italy (mainly Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and South Tyrol), and present-day Poland (mainly Silesia, Pomerania, and Neumark). For much of its history the Empire consisted of hundreds of smaller sub-units, principalities, duchies, counties, Free Imperial Cities, as well as other domains. Despite its name, for much of its history the Empire did not include Rome within its borders.

Institutions

From the High Middle Ages onwards, the Empire was stamped by an uneasy coexistence of the Empire with the struggle of the princes of the local territories to take power away from it. To a greater extent than in other medieval kingdoms such as France and England, the Emperors were unable to gain much control over the lands that they formally owned. Instead, to secure their own position from the threat of deposition, Emperors were forced to grant more and more autonomy to local rulers, both nobles and bishops. This process began in the 11th century with the Investiture Controversy and was more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several Emperors attempted to reverse this steady dissemination of their authority, but were thwarted both by the papacy and by the princes of the Empire.

King of the Romans

Main article: King of the Romans

The crown of the Holy Roman Empire (2nd half of the 10th century), now held in the Vienna Schatzkammer

A prospective Emperor had first to be elected King of the Romans ('Rex romanorum' / 'römischer König'). German kings had been elected since time immemorial: in the 9th century by the leaders of the five most important tribes: (the Salian Franks of Lorraine, the Ripuarian Franks of Franconia, and the Saxons, Bavarians, and Swabians); later by the main dukes and bishops of the kingdom; finally only by the so-called Kurfürsten (electing dukes, electors). This electoral college was formally established in 1356 by the King of Bohemia Charles IV, through a decree known as the Golden Bull. Initially, there were seven electors: the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier. During the Thirty Years' War, the Duke of Bavaria was given the right to vote as the eighth elector. A candidate for election would be expected to offer concessions of land or money to the electors in order to secure their vote.

In many cases, this took several years while the King was held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy, or was in quarrel with the Pope himself. Later Emperors dispensed with the papal coronation altogether, being content with the styling Emperor-Elect: the last Emperor to be crowned by the Pope was Charles V in 1530.

The Emperor had to be a man of good character over 18 years. All four of his grandparents were expected to be of noble blood. No law required him to be a Catholic, though imperial law assumed that he was. He did not need to be a German (Alfonso X of Castile was not). By the 17th century candidates generally possessed estates within the Empire, such as Louis XIV of France.

At no time could the Emperor simply issue decrees and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders: after the late 15th century, the Reichstag established itself as the legislative body of the Empire, a complicated assembly that convened irregularly at the request of the Emperor at varying locations. Only after 1663 would the Reichstag become a permanent assembly.

Imperial estates

An entity was considered Reichsstand (imperial estate) if, according to feudal law, it had no authority above it except the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They included:

• Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the King of Bohemia (an elector), were not allowed to become King within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in the Kingdom of Great Britain, where the ruler was also the Prince-elector of Hanover from 1714 until the dissolution of the Empire.
• Feudal territories led by a clerical dignitary, who was then considered a prince of the church. In the common case of a Prince-Bishop, this temporal territory (called a prince-bishopric) frequently overlapped his—often larger—ecclesiastical diocese (bishopric), giving the bishop both worldly and clerical powers. Examples include the three prince-archbishoprics: Cologne, Trier, and Mainz.
• Imperial Free Cities

The number of territories was amazingly large, rising to approximately 300 at the time of the Peace of Westphalia. Many of these comprised no more than a few square miles, so the Empire is aptly described as a "patchwork carpet" (Flickenteppich) by many (see Kleinstaaterei). For a list of Reichsstände in 1792, see List of Reichstag participants (1792).

Reichstag

Main article: Reichstag (institution)

The Reichstag, correctly: Reichsversammlung, was the legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire and superior to the emperor himself (see: Johann Georg Estor). It was divided into three distinct classes:

• The Council of Electors, which included the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
• The Council of Princes, which included both laypersons and clerics.
  • The Secular Bench: Princes (those with the title of Prince, Grand Duke, Duke, Count Palatine, Margrave, or Landgrave) held individual votes; some held more than one vote on the basis of ruling several territories. Also, the Council included Counts or Grafs, who were grouped into four Colleges: Wetterau, Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. Each College could cast one vote as a whole.
  • The Ecclesiastical Bench: Bishops, certain Abbots, and the two Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order and the Order of St John had individual votes. Certain other Abbots were grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College held one collective vote.
• The Council of Imperial Cities, which included representatives from Imperial Cities grouped into two Colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. Each College had one collective vote. The Council of Imperial Cities was not fully equal to the others; it could not vote on several matters such as the admission of new territories. The representation of the Free Cities at the Reichstag had become common since the late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, their participation was formally acknowledged only as late as in 1648 with the peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War.

Imperial courts

The Empire also had two courts: the Reichshofrat (also known in English as the Aulic Council) at the court of the King/Emperor (that is, later in Vienna), and the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), established with the Imperial Reform of 1495.

Imperial circles

As part of the Reichsreform, six Imperial Circles were established in 1500 and extended to ten in 1512. These were regional groupings of most (though not all) of the various states of the Empire for the purposes of defence, imperial taxation, supervising of coining, peace keeping functions and public security. Each circle had its own Kreistag ("Circle Diet").

History

From the East Franks to the Investiture Controversy

The Imperial crown was initially disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia (France) and Eastern Francia (Germany), with first the western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize. However, after the death of Charles the Fat in 888 the empire broke asunder, never to be restored. According to Regino of Prüm, each part of the realm elected a "kinglet" from its own "bowels". After the death of Charles the Fat those who were crowned Emperors by the Pope controlled only territories in Italy. The last of such Emperors was Berengar I of Italy who died in 924.

The leaders of Alemannia, Bavaria, Francia and Saxonia elected Conrad I of the Franks, not a Carolingian, as their leader in 911. His successor, Henry (Heinrich) I the Fowler (r. 919–936), a Saxon elected at the Reichstag of Fritzlar in 919, achieved the acceptance of a separate Eastern Empire by the West Frankish (still ruled by the Carolingians) in 921, calling himself Rex Francorum Orientalum (King of the East Franks). He founded the Ottonian dynasty.

Henry designated his son Otto, who was elected King in Aachen in 936, to be his successor. A marriage alliance with the widowed queen of Italy gave Otto control over that nation as well. His later crowning as Emperor Otto I (later called "the Great") in 962 would mark an important step, since from then on the Eastern-Frankish realm– and not the West-Frankish kingdom that was the other remainder of the Frankish kingdoms–would have the blessing of the Pope. Otto had gained much of his power earlier, when, in 955, the Magyars were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld.

The Holy Roman Empire around the year 1000

File:HRR 10Jh.png

The Empire in 1000

In contemporary and later writings, this crowning would also be referred to as translatio imperii, the transfer of the Empire from the Romans to a new Empire. The German Emperors thus thought of themselves as being in direct succession of those of the Roman Empire; this is why they initially called themselves Augustus. Still, they did not call themselves "Roman" Emperors at first, probably in order not to provoke conflict with the Roman Emperor who still existed in Constantinople. The term imperator Romanorum only became common under Conrad II (later than his crowning in 1027, thus in the early-middle 11th century) after the Great Schism.

At this time, the eastern kingdom was not "German" but a "confederation" of the old Germanic tribes of the Bavarians, Alemanns, Franks and Saxons. The Empire as a political union probably only survived because of the strong personal influence of King Henry the Saxon and his son, Otto. Although formally elected by the leaders of the Germanic tribes, they were actually able to designate their successors.

This changed after Henry II died in 1024 without any children. Conrad II, first of the Salian Dynasty, was then elected king in 1024 only after some debate. How exactly the king was chosen thus seems to be a complicated conglomeration of personal influence, tribal quarrels, inheritance, and acclamation by those leaders that would eventually become the collegiate of Electors.

Already at this time the dualism between the "territories", then those of the old tribes rooted in the Frankish lands, and the King/Emperor, became apparent. Each king preferred to spend most time in his own homelands; the Saxons, for example, spent much time in palatinates around the Harz mountains, among them Goslar. This practice had only changed under Otto III (king 983, Emperor 996–1002), who began to utilize bishoprics all over the Empire as temporary seats of government. Also, his successors, Henry II, Conrad II, and Henry III, apparently managed to appoint the dukes of the territories. It is thus no coincidence that at this time, the terminology changes and the first occurrences of a regnum Teutonicum (German Kingdom) are found.

The Empire in 1097

The glory of the Empire almost collapsed in the Investiture Controversy, in which Pope Gregory VII declared a ban on King Henry IV (king 1056, Emperor 1084–1106). Although this was taken back after the 1077 Walk to Canossa, the ban had wide-reaching consequences. Meanwhile, the German dukes had elected a second king, Rudolf of Swabia, whom Henry IV could only defeat after a three-year war in 1080. The mythical roots of the Empire were permanently damaged; the German king was humiliated. Most importantly though, the church was clearly an independent player in the political system of the Empire, not subject to imperial authority.

Under the Hohenstaufen

Conrad III came to the throne in 1138, being the first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which was to restore the glory of the Empire, albeit under the new conditions of the 1122 Concordat of Worms. It was Frederick I "Barbarossa" (king 1152, Emperor 1155–1190) who first called the Empire "holy", with which he intended to address mainly law and legislation.

Adhemar de Monetel carries the Holy Lance

Also, under Barbarossa, the idea of the "Romanness" of the Empire culminated again, which seemed to be an attempt to justify the Emperor's power independently of the (now strengthened) Pope. An imperial assembly at the fields of Roncaglia in 1158 explicitly reclaimed imperial rights at the advice of quattuor doctores of the emerging judicial facility of the University of Bologna, citing phrases such as princeps legibus solutus ("the emperor princeps is not bound by law") from the Digestae of the Corpus Juris Civilis. That the Roman laws were created for an entirely different system and didn't fit the structure of the Empire was obviously secondary; the point here was that the court of the Emperor made an attempt to establish a legal constitution.

Imperial rights had been referred to as regalia since the Investiture Controversy, but were enumerated for the first time at Roncaglia as well. This comprehensive list included public roads, tariffs, coining, collecting punitive fees, and the investiture, the seating and unseating of office holders. These rights were now explicitly rooted in Roman Law, a far-reaching constitutional act; north of the Alps, the system was also now connected to feudal law, a change most visible in the withdrawal of the feuds of Henry the Lion in 1180 which led to his public banning. Barbarossa thus managed for a time to more closely bind the stubborn Germanic dukes to the Empire as a whole.

Another important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the establishment of a new peace (Landfrieden) for all of the Empire, an attempt to (on the one hand) abolish private vendettas not only between the many local dukes, but on the other hand a means to tie the Emperor's subordinates to a legal system of jurisdiction and public prosecution of criminal acts– a predecessor concept of "rule of law", in modern terms, that was, at this time, not yet universally accepted.

In order to solve the problem that the emperor was (after the Investiture Controversy) no longer as able to use the church as a mechanism to maintain power, the Staufer increasingly lent land to ministerialia, formerly non-free service men, which Frederick hoped would be more reliable than local dukes. Initially used mainly for war services, this new class of people would form the basis for the later knights, another basis of imperial power.

Another new concept of the time was the systematic foundation of new cities, both by the emperor and the local dukes. These were partly caused by the explosion in population, but also to concentrate economic power at strategic locations, while formerly cities only existed in the shape of either old Roman foundations or older bishoprics. Cities that were founded in the 12th century include Freiburg, possibly the economic model for many later cities, and Munich.

The later reign of the last Staufer Emperor, Frederick II, was in many ways different from that of earlier Emperors. Still a child, he first reigned in Sicily, while in Germany, Barbarossa's second son Philip of Swabia and Henry the Lion's son Otto IV competed with him for the title of King of the Germans. After finally having been crowned emperor in 1220, he risked conflict with the pope when he claimed power over Rome; astonishingly to many, he managed to claim Jerusalem in a crusade in 1228 while still under the pope's ban.

While Frederick brought the mythical idea of the Empire to a last high point, he was also the one to initiate the major steps that led to its disintegration. On the one hand, he concentrated on establishing an innovative state in Sicily, with public services, finances, and other reforms. On the other hand, Frederick was the emperor who granted major powers to the German dukes in the form of two far-reaching privileges that would never be reclaimed by the central power. In the 1220 Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis, Frederick gave up a number of regalia in favour of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining, and fortification. The 1232 Statutum in favorem principum mostly extended these privileges to the other (non-clerical) territories (Frederick II was forced to give those privileges by a rebellion of his son, Henry). Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they were now granted globally, and once and for all, to allow the German dukes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick wanted to concentrate on his homelands in Italy. The 1232 document marked the first time that the German dukes were called domini terræ, owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology as well.

The Teutonic Knights were invited to Prussia by Duke Konrad of Masovia to Christianize the Prussians in 1226. The monastic state of the Teutonic Order (German: Deutschordensstaat) and its later German successor states of Prussia never formally belonged to the Holy Roman Empire during its existence.

During the long stays of the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138–1254) in Italy, the German princes became stronger and facilitated a successful, peaceful eastward settlement of lands previously sparsely inhabited by West Slavs or uninhabited, by German farmers, traders and others. The gradual germanization of these lands was a complex phenomenon which should not be interpreted in terms of 19th century nationalism's bias. By the eastward settlement the empire's influence increased to eventually include Pomerania and Silesia - also due to intermarriage of the local, still mostly Slavic, rulers with German spouses.

Rise of the territories after the Staufen

Flag of the Holy Roman Empire 1200–1350

After the death of Frederick II in 1250, none of the dynasties worthy of producing the king proved able to do so, and the leading dukes elected several competing kings. The time from 1246 (beginning with the election of Heinrich Raspe and William of Holland) to 1273, when Rudolph I of Habsburg was elected king, is commonly referred to as the Interregnum. During the Interregnum, much of what was left of imperial authority was lost, as the princes were given time to consolidate their holdings and become even more independent rulers.

The Prince-electors

In 1257, there occurred a double election which produced a situation that guaranteed a long interregnum. William of Holland had fallen the previous year, and Conrad of Swabia had died three years earlier. First, three electors (Palatinate, Cologne and Mainz) (being mostly of the Guelph persuasion) cast their votes for Richard of Cornwall who became the successor of William of Holland as king. After a delay, a fourth elector, Bohemia, joined this choice. However, a couple of months later, Bohemia and the three other electors Trier, Brandenburg and Saxony voted for Alfonso X of Castile, this being based on Ghibelline party. The realm now had two kings. Was the King of Bohemia entitled to change his vote, or was the election complete when four electors had chosen a king? Were the four electors together entitled to depose Richard a couple of months later, if his election had been valid?

Holy Roman Empire from 1273–1378, and its principal royal dynasties

The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of electors, the Kurfürsten, whose composition and procedures were set forth in the Golden Bull of 1356. This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between Kaiser und Reich, emperor and realm, which were no longer considered identical. This is also revealed in the way the post-Staufen kings attempted to sustain their power. Earlier, the Empire's strength (and finances) greatly relied on the Empire's own lands, the so-called Reichsgut, which always belonged to the respective king (and included many Imperial Cities). After the 13th century, its relevance faded (even though some parts of it did remain until the Empire's end in 1806). Instead, the Reichsgut was increasingly pawned to local dukes, sometimes to raise money for the Empire but, more frequently, to reward faithful duty or as an attempt to civilize stubborn dukes. The direct governance of the Reichsgut no longer matched the needs of either the king or the dukes.

Instead, the kings, beginning with Rudolph I of Habsburg, increasingly relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support their power. In contrast with the Reichsgut, which was mostly scattered and difficult to administer, these territories were comparably compact and thus easier to control. In 1282, Rudolph I thus lent Austria and Styria to his own sons.

With Henry VII, the House of Luxembourg entered the stage. In 1312, he was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Frederick II. After him all kings and emperors relied on the lands of their own family (Hausmacht): Louis IV of Wittelsbach (king 1314, emperor 1328–1347) relied on his lands in Bavaria; Charles IV of Luxembourg, the grandson of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia. Interestingly, it was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a benefit in his own lands as well.

The 13th century also saw a general structural change in how land was administered. Instead of personal duties, money increasingly became the common means to represent economic value in agriculture. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute for their lands. The concept of "property" more and more replaced more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: Whoever owned the land had jurisdiction, from which other powers derived. It is important to note, however, that jurisdiction at this time did not include legislation, which virtually did not exist until well into the 15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional customs or rules described as customary.

It is during this time that the territories began to transform themselves into predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly among the various lands and was most advanced in those territories that were most identical to the lands of the old Germanic tribes, e.g. Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered territories that were founded through imperial privileges.

Imperial Reform

Map of the Empire showing division into Circles in 1512

The "constitution" of the Empire was still largely unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Although some procedures and institutions had been fixed, for example by the Golden Bull of 1356, the rules of how the king, the electors, and the other dukes should cooperate in the Empire much depended on the personality of the respective king. It therefore proved somewhat fatal that Sigismund of Luxemburg (king 1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick III of Habsburg (king 1440, emperor 1452–1493) neglected the old core lands of the empire and mostly resided in their own lands. Without the presence of the king, the old institution of the Hoftag, the assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated. The Reichstag as a legislative organ of the Empire did not exist yet. Even worse, dukes often went into feuds against each other that, more often than not, escalated into local wars.

At the same time, the church was in crisis too. The conflict between several competing popes was only resolved at the Council of Constance (1414–1418); after 1419, much energy was spent on fighting the heresy of the Hussites. The medieval idea of a unified Corpus christianum, of which the papacy and the Empire were the leading institutions, began to decline.

With these drastic changes, much discussion emerged in the 15th century about the Empire itself. Rules from the past no longer adequately described the structure of the time, and a reinforcement of earlier Landfrieden was urgently called for. During this time, the concept of "reform" emerged, in the original sense of the Latin verb re-formare, to regain an earlier shape that had been lost.

When Frederick III needed the dukes to finance war against Hungary in 1486 and at the same time had his son, later Maximilian I elected king, he was presented with the dukes' united demand to participate in an Imperial Court. For the first time, the assembly of the electors and other dukes was now called Reichstag (to be joined by the Imperial Free Cities later). While Frederick refused, his more conciliatory son finally convened the Reichstag at Worms in 1495, after his father's death in 1493. Here, the king and the dukes agreed on four bills, commonly referred to as the Reichsreform (Imperial Reform): a set of legal acts to give the disintegrating Empire back some structure. Among others, this act produced the Imperial Circle Estates and the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court); structures that would — to a degree — persist until the end of the Empire in 1806.

However, it took a few more decades until the new regulation was universally accepted and the new court began to actually function; only in 1512 would the Imperial Circles be finalized. The King also made sure that his own court, the Reichshofrat, continued to function in parallel to the Reichskammergericht. It is interesting to note that in this year, the Empire also received its new title, the Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation ("Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation").

Crisis after Reformation

In 1517, Martin Luther initiated what would later be known as the Reformation. At this time, many local dukes saw it as a chance to oppose the hegemony of Emperor Charles V. The empire then became fatally divided along religious lines, with the North, the East, and many of the major cities—Strasbourg, Frankfurt and Nuremberg—becoming Protestant while the southern and western regions largely remained Catholic.

Carta itineraria europae (by Waldseemüller, 1520 dedicated to Emperor Charles V.)

From 1515 to 1523, the Habsburg government in the Netherlands also had to contend with the Frisian peasant rebellion, led first by Pier Gerlofs Donia and then by his nephew Wijerd Jelckama. The rebels were initially successful, but after a series of defeats, the remaining leaders were taken and decapitated in 1523. This was a blow for the Holy Roman Empire since many major cities were sacked and as many as 132 ships disappeared (once even 28 in a single battle).

Meanwhile, religious conflicts were waged in various parts of Europe for a century, though in German regions there was relative quiet from the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 until the Defenestration of Prague in 1618. When Bohemians rebelled against the emperor, the immediate result was the series of conflicts known as the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated the Empire. Foreign powers, including France and Sweden, intervened in the conflict and strengthened those fighting Imperial power, but they also seized considerable chunks of territory for themselves. The long conflict bled the Empire to such a degree that it would never recover its former strength.

At the Battle of Vienna (1683), the army of the Holy Roman Empire led by Polish King John Sobieski decisively defeated a large Turkish army, ending the western colonial Ottoman advance and leading to the eventual dismemberment of the Ottoman empire in Europe. The HRE army was half Polish/Lithuanian Commonwealth forces, mostly cavalry, and half Holy Roman Empire forces (German/Austrian), mostly infantry. The cavalry charge was the largest in the history of warfare. If the Holy League had not acted to stop the Turks in Vienna, much of Europe might be Muslim today.

The long decline

The Empire after the Peace of Westphalia, 1648

The Empire in 1705, map "L’Empire d’Allemagne" from Nicolas de Fer

The actual end of the empire came in several steps. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, gave the territories almost complete sovereignty. The Swiss Confederation, which had already established quasi-independence in 1499, as well as the Northern Netherlands, left the empire. Although its constituent states still had some restrictions — in particular, they could not form alliances against the Emperor — the Empire from this point was a powerless entity, existing in name only. The Habsburg Emperors instead focused on consolidating their own estates in Austria and elsewhere.

By the rise of Louis XIV, the Habsburgs were dependent on the position as Archdukes of Austria to counter the rise of Prussia, some of whose territories lay inside the Empire. Throughout the 18th century, the Habsburgs were embroiled in various European conflicts, such as the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession. The German dualism between Austria and Prussia dominated the empire's history after 1740. From 1792 onwards, revolutionary France was at war with various parts of the Empire intermittently. The Empire was formally dissolved on 6 August 1806 when the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (from 1804, Emperor Francis I of Austria) abdicated, following a military defeat by the French under Napoleon (see Treaty of Pressburg). Napoleon reorganized much of the empire into the Confederation of the Rhine, a French satellite. Francis' House of Habsburg-Lorraine survived the demise of the Empire, continuing to reign as Emperors of Austria and Kings of Hungary until the Habsburg empire's final dissolution in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. Meanwhile, the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine was replaced by the German Confederation and the North German Confederation in succession, until the German-speaking territories outside of Austria were united under Prussian leadership in 1871, as the German Empire, the predecessor-state of modern Germany.

Analysis

It has been said that modern history of Germany was primarily predetermined by three factors: the Reich, the Reformation, and the later dualism between Austria and Prussia. Many attempts have been made to explain why the Reich never managed to gain a strong centralized power over its territories, as opposed to neighbouring France. Some reasons include:

• The Empire had been a very federal body from the beginning: again, as opposed to France, which had mostly been part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdom, the Germanic tribes later comprising the German nation (Saxons, Thuringians, Franks, Bavarians, Alamanni or Swabians) were much more independent and reluctant to cede power to a central authority. All attempts to make the kingdom hereditary failed; instead, the king was always elected. Later, every candidate for the king had to make promises to his electorate, the so-called Wahlkapitulationen (election capitulations), thus granting the territories more and more power over the centuries.
• Because of its religious connotations, the Empire as an institution was severely damaged by the contest between the Pope and the German Kings over their respective coronations as Emperor. It was never entirely clear under which conditions the pope would crown the emperor and especially whether the worldly power of the emperor was dependent on the clerical power of the pope. Much debate occurred over this, especially during the 11th century, eventually leading to the Investiture Controversy and the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
• Whether the feudal system of the Empire, where the King formally was the top of the so-called "feudal pyramid", was a cause of or a symptom of the Empire's weakness is unclear. In any case, military obedience, which– according to Germanic tradition– was closely tied to the giving of land to tributaries, was always a problem: when the Empire had to go to war, decisions were slow and brittle.
• Until the sixteenth century, the economic interests of the south and west diverged from those of the north where the Hanseatic League operated. The Hanseatic League was far more closely allied to Scandinavia and the Baltic than the rest of Germany.
• German historiography nowadays often views the Holy Roman Empire as a well balanced system of organizing a multitude of (effectively independent) states under a complex system of legal regulations. Smaller estates like the Lordships or the Imperial Free cities survived for centuries as independent entities, although they had no effective military strength. The supreme courts, the Reichshofrat and the Reichskammergericht helped to settle conflicts, or at least prevent verbal arguments from spilling over into actual conflicts.
• The multitude of different territories with different languages (German, French, Italian, Czech, Slovene etc.), religious denominations and different forms of government led to a great variety of cultural diversification, which can be felt even in present day Germany with regional cultures, patterns of behaviour and dialects changing sometimes within the range of kilometres.

After the Empire

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars a new German union, the German Confederation, was established in 1815. It lasted until 1866 when Prussia founded the North German Confederation, which in 1871 became a part of the German Empire.

See also

Institutions

• Holy Roman Emperor
• List of Holy Roman Emperors
• King of the Romans
• List of Italian monarchs
• List of Frankish kings
• List of German monarchs
• Reichstag (institution)
• Imperial Circle

History

• History of Germany
• History of Austria
• History of Belgium
• History of Liechtenstein
• History of the Netherlands
• History of Switzerland
• History of the Czech lands
• History of Italy
• History of Poland
• History of Slovenia
• History of France
• Concordat of Worms
• First Council of the Lateran

Component states

• List of states in the Holy Roman Empire
• Habsburg Monarchy
• Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
• Kingdom of Germany
• Kingdom of Burgundy
• Kingdom of Bohemia
• Margraviate of Brandenburg (Brandenburg-Prussia)
• Electorate of Bavaria
• Electorate of Saxony
• Electorate of Hanover
• Electoral Palatinate
• Papal States
• Burgundy
• Silesia
• Pomerania

Other

• Legacy of the Roman Empire
• Translatio imperii
• Carolingian Empire
• Western Roman Empire
• Studia Generalia
• German mysticism
• Pact of Steel
• Christendom
• Crusades
• Byzantine Empire
• Caliphate

References

• Heinz Angermeier, Das Alte Reich in der deutschen Geschichte. Studien über Kontinuitäten und Zäsuren, München 1991
• Karl Otmar Freiherr von Aretin, Das Alte Reich 1648–1806. 4 vols. Stuttgart, 1993–2000
• Peter Claus Hartmann, Kulturgeschichte des Heiligen Römischen Reiches 1648 bis 1806. Wien, 2001
• Georg Schmidt, Geschichte des Alten Reiches. München, 1999
• James Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire. ISBN 0-333-03609-3
• Jonathan W. Zophy (ed.), The Holy Roman Empire: A Dictionary Handbook. Greenwood Press, 1980
• Deutsche Reichstagsakten
• George Donaldson, Germany: A Complete History. Gotham Books, New York 1985

External links

• The constitutional structure of the Reich
• Das Heilige Reich (German Museum of History, Berlin)
• List of Wars of the Holy Roman Empire
• Deutschland beim Tode Kaiser Karls IV. 1378 (Germany at the death of emperor Charles IV.) taken from "Meyers Kleines Konversationslexikon in sechs Bänden. Bd. 2. Leipzig u. Wien : Bibliogr. Institut 1908", map inserted after page 342
• Books and articles on the Reich
• The Holy Roman Empire

Maps

• The Holy Roman Empire, 1138–1254
• The Holy Roman Empire c. 1500
• The Holy Roman Empire in 1648
• The Holy Roman Empire in 1789 (interactive map)

Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA [[zh:神圣罗