History of Rome 753 B.C. - 476 A.D.

                                 

The legendary date of the foundation of Rome, 753 B.C., does not represent the earliest period of settlement on the site of Rome, where earlier Bronze Age traces have been found. But from at least the eight century on there were several Iron Age settlements on the hills and in the Forum, near the Tiber ford and a salt trade-route. By c. 600 these groups of huts had united to form a single city. The sixth century was a period of considerable structural development, with the emergence of some of Rome’s earliest institutions, and the drainage of marshes and building of temples, under the influence of the Etruscans from the north. Until the expulsion of Tarquinius Superbus in 510 B.C., Rome had been ruled by kings, later arranged in a neat series, with precise dates (and deeds) assigned to the earliest ones are likely to be badly awry. The kings had been advised by a senate, or council of elders (nobles), and it was this institution that took over the control of the city and its territory from the foundation of the Republic in 509, with the annual pair of chief magistrates, the later consuls, chosen from their number. The next centuries (to 264 B.C.) were dominated by internal conflicts between by internal conflicts between the noble patricians and the humbler plebeians, of which the codification of law in the Twelve Tables (451-450) was a major landmark, and by the establishment of Rome’s supremacy over her neighbors in Italy, in which her central position gave her a great advantage.  Rome early became the leading city in Latium, and, with the Latin League to support her, was drown into conflict with peoples further afield, such as the Aequi and Volsci. Meanwhile the Gauls swept down Italy and sacked all but the Capitol of Rome (390 B.C.), but Rome recovered from this disaster as from so many others throughout her history. New involvements and alliances drew her into Etruria, Samnium, and southern Italy, with its Greek cities, one of which summoned its ally Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in northern Greece, to its aid (280 B.C.). He won two “Pyrrhic” victories, but was later defeated and returned to Greece (275). There was no deliberate policy of conquest, but Rome’s genius for organization and discipline, and her superior manpower, expressed in her superb citizen army and in wise diplomacy, had gradually made her mistress of a confederacy extending to all Italy. The elimination of the Etruscans and the arrival of Romans in south Italy brought Rome into conflict with the chief power in the west Mediterranean, the Phoenician colony Carthage. The First Punic War broke out in 264 B.C., and by the end of it (241) Rome had built herself a navy and won Sicily, soon followed by Corsica and Sardinia (238). The Cathaginians turned to the exploitation of Spain, and it was from there that Hannibal set out, at the beginning of the Second Punic War (218-201), on his famous march to Italy, bringing elephants over the Alps. He destroyed two legions at lake Trasimene (217), and inflicted a terrible defeat at Cannae (216), but Rome’s Italian allies remained loyal, and Hannibal was eventually forced to leave Italy (203), and met defeat in Africa at the hands of Scipio Africanus at the battle of Zama (202). Meanwhile Rome had also won Spain from Carthage (206). She had also, earlier, become embroiled in the Hellenistic East, where her main antagonists were Hannibal’s ally Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus III (ruling principally in Syria and Asia Minor). After the First Macedonian War (214-205 B.C.) and the Second (200-196), which ended in Flamininus’ victory at Cynoscephalae, Rome withdrew from Greece, but further disorders, including a Third Macedonian War (172-168/7), led eventually to the annexation of Macedonia and Greece (Achaea) as provinces (destruction of Corinth by Mummius in 146). The Romans had also become involved in Asia Minor, where the ruler of Pergamum bequeathed his kingdom to Rome in 133 B.C., and it became the province of Asia. Carthage had also been destroyed in the same years as Corinth, after the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.). The pacification of Spain was partially achieved with the destruction of  Numantia in 133 by Scipio Aemilianus, and southern Gaul became the province of Gallia Narbonensis (121 B.C.).

The next century (from 133) saw the collapse of the Republic and its replacement by a form of monarchy. The republican constitution, created for a city-state, was unsuitable for the government of a large Empire and the control of increasingly permanent armed forces, and there were a number of other problems, such as unrest among the Italian of allies, and the need to return large numbers of landless unemployed from the towns to the countryside, from which they had been ejected by the growth of large estates and cattle-raising. Selfish and short-sighted policies by a hard core of reactionary nobles, the optimates, circumvented attempts at solution and aggravated the problems. In 133 Tiberius Gracchus, and in 123-122 his brother Gaius Gracchus attempted to pass agrarian reforms, the latter also wishing to give the allies citizenship, but both were bitterly opposed by the optimates and met their death in riots. Marius, hero of the war against Jugurtha (112-105) and of the invasions of the German Cimbri and Teutones (114-101), was the next to take up popularis causes. He had won his victories with the aid of an army which he had reformed, and which was no longer composed only of citizens of property but partly of landless men, who looked to their victorious leader rather than the State for reward in the shape of land on discharge. This set a pattern, and, when in 91-87 B.C. the Social War, caused entirely by the optimates‘ refusal to share the benefits of Roman citizenship with their Italian allies (socii), was fought (and won by Rome, though the allies got their citizenship), several commanders emerged from it, each at the head of a loyal and experienced army: principally Sulla, Cinna, Marius, and Pompey’s father Pompeius Strabo. For the next 50 years these and their successors, especially Pompey and Caesar, Antony and Octavian, used their armies in furtherance of their political aims, causing a spate of civil wars that were only ended by Octavian Augustus, the final victor, who was able to re-establish ordered government for a war-weary Roman world.

In 88 B.C. Sulla captured Rome and outlawed his enemies, in 87 Cinna and Marius did the same. Sulla returned from the East in 83 and marched on Rome again, establishing himself as dictator and passing reactionary laws meant to stabilize the republican regime. His new constitution did not long outlast his retirement in 79. The mid-first century B.C. was dominated by Pompey, Crassus and Caesar, who were eventually driven to co-operate (First Triumvirate, 60 B.C) in order to get their often just demands met by the senate. Pompey had held major commands in the East, against pirates and Mithridates (67-62), and Caesar spent the year 58-50 conquering Gaul to the Rhine and Channel. Cicerom who as consul in 63 had put down a minor conspiracy led by Catiline, tried to get an alliance of all right-minded elements of the State , but was politically ineffectual in the face of increasing violence, with the rival gangs led by Clodius and Milo dominating the popular assemblies. Meanwhile Crassus, who in 73-71 had put down Spartacus’ slave revolt, secured himself a command against Parthia, but died in the humiliating defeat at Carrhae in 53 B.C. With his removal, the rivalry between Caesar and Pompey increased, and Pompey, like Cicero, was pressed into unwilling support of the optimate cause. In 49 B.C. Caesar crossed the Rubicon from his province into Italy, and open civil war began, with Pompey defeated at Pharsalus in 48, and Cato dying at Utica in Africa in 46, symbolizing the collapse of senatorial resistance and the republican cause. As dictator (49-44 B.C.) Caesar promoted important reforms, one of which was the introduction of the Julian calendar (45 B.C.). But the republican idealist conspirators led by Cassius and Brutus prevented Caesar from devising a new constitution by assassinating him on the Ides of March (15^th), 44 B.C., and plunged the Empire into further civil wars The Caesarians Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi (42 B.C.), but rapidly fell out with each other, and the Second Triumvirate (with Lepidus) ended in the elimination of Antony (supported by Cleopatra) by Octavian in the Actium Campaign (31 B.C.). Antony’s suicide in Egypt in 30 B.C. left Octavian master of the Roman world at the age of 32.

A wide-ranging program of reform, carried out during his reign of over 40 years, brought stabilization and reconstruction on all fronts. Augustus, as he became in 27 B.C., was not a king or a dictator, but “first citizen” (princeps). He held all the reins of power himself, but honored the Senate and left it some functions, using the services of individual senators as governors and army commanders in a reformed army and provincial administration. The equestrian class was also brought into the government, to an increasing extent. The frontiers of the Empire began to be defined, with a lot of new territory being taken in, and by the end of his reign, after the failure of the experiment of including Germany to the Elbe, were in approximately the form they were to maintain for the rest of the Roman period. An emperor-cult was established as a focus of loyalty. The problem of who should succeed to his commanding position became acute for Augustus after the deaths of Marcellus and Gaius and Lucius Caesar, but was solved by recourse to his stepson, Tiberius, who acceded in A.D. 14 on Augustus’ death. Tiberius’ relations with the Senate were not good; his reign was marred by a series of treason trials and by the sinister power of his praetorian prefect Sejanus. The basically autocratic nature of the principate stood revealed by the end of his reign, and was emphasized by the ephemeral one of Gaius Caligula (AD 37-41). Under Claudius (A.D. 41-54) the imperial civil service was built up, and several provinces were added (Britain in A.D. 43). Nero’s reign (A.D. 54-68) began well but ended in disorder, and was followed by civil war in the Year of the Four Emperors (A.D. 69), in which the armies concentrated in certain provinces used their power to create and impose emperors. Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) emerged victorious and established the Flavian dynasty, devoted to solid and unglamorous ideals of hard work and good government. His second son Domitian (A.D. 81-96), however, degenerated into a tyrant whose reign ended in a bloodbath and his own assassination. The aged Nerva (A.D. 96-98) adopted the army commander Trajan (A.D. 97-117), who as emperor took the boundaries of the Empire to their farthest extent by his conquest of Dacia on the north bank of the Danube; his Parthian campaign was less successful. This “best emperor” ( optimus princeps) set the pattern of public order, good relations with the Senate, sound administration, and reward for the talented individual, that was to endure throughout the “Age of the Antonines”, comprising much of the second century. This was the time when the Empire reached its peak of unity, peace, and prosperity, under the emperors Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) and Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161) - the heyday of the pax romana, with its benefits of stability, public order, good roads, beautiful public buildings, and beneficent government. The reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), however,  saw the first terrible plague, as new strains of bacteria travelled along the trade-routes from China to populations with no immunity, and also the renewal of the barbarian incursions, as tribes moved westwards from the steppes of Russia, building up a pressure on the Rhine and Danube frontiers which was to cause great devastation in the third century, and the eventual collapse of the western Empire. Marcus’ son Commodus (A.D. 177-192) unwisely made peace with the Germanic tribesmen whom his father was fighting at his death, and his corrupt rule ended in his murder.

Civil war followed, with the main armies again putting up contenders for the throne: Clodius Albinus in Britain, Pescennius Niger in Syria, and Septimius Severus on the Danube. It was Severus (A.D. 193-211) who succeeded in eliminating his rivals and founding a new dynasty. By now the military basis of the emperor’s power was becoming more apparent. Severus’ son Caracalla (A.D. 211-217) is chiefly remembered for his Constitutio Antoniniana, the measure extending Roman citizenship throughout the Empire (212). He was assassinated by his praetorian prefect Macrinus (A.D. 217-218), the first of several prefects to usurp the throne during the third century. Offspring of the Syrian family of Severu’s empress Julia Domna then continued the Severan dynasty: first Elagabalus (A.D. 218-222), who proved highly unsuitable owing to his depravity and extravagant devotion to Syrian cults, and was discarded in favor of his cousin Severus Alexander (A.D. 222-235), an amenable boy whose reign, controlled by his mother, was notable for co-operation with the Senate. His murder in 235 inaugurated half a century of near anarchy, with a succession of short lived emperors, numerous usurpers, invasions on all the frontiers of the Empire, plagues, parts of the Empire splitting off (notably a “Gallic Empire”, including Britain and Spain, under Postumus, Tetricus, etc. (260-274), and in the east the Palmyrenian empire under Zenobia (266-273), and administrative chaos including rampant inflation. The emperor Decius (A.D. 249-251) attempted to unify the Empire by means of a general order to sacrifice and a persecution of Christian who failed to do so; the first Empire-wide Christian persecution (previous ones had been local and sporadic). His successor Valerian (A.D. 253-260) also persecuted for a time, but was captured by the Persians. The sole reign of his son and associate Gallienus marks the nadir of the third century anarchy, but he prepared the way for recovery by military reforms, and his Illyrian soldier-emperor successors Claudius Gothicus (A.D. 268-270), Aurelian (A.D. 270-275), and Probus (A.D. 276-282) restored the military situation and re-established the unified Empire. In 284 Diocletian became emperor, and this man of administrative genius, in a 20-year reign (A.D. 284-305), carried out a thorough reorganization of the military and civil administration of the Empire, now made fit for an Empire under siege, and set up a new system of government, the Tetrarchy or Rule of Four, with two emperors proper, the Augusti, and two Caesars under them; only the senior Augustus - Diocletian himself- could legislate, thus the unity of the Empire was preserved. He strove for religious unity through a general persecution of the Christians, the Great Persecution. In 305 he and the other Augustus, Maximian, abdicated, and their Caesars Galerius and Costantinus I became the new Augusti, with new Caesars appointed. But Costantinus died in 306, his son Constantine (The Great) entered the foursome of rulers, and in the next seven years the tetrarchic system collapsed owing to the ambitions of Constantine and others. In 312 at the battle of the Milvian Bridge Constantine conquered Maxentius and became emperor of the West, and in 313 another tetrarch, Linicius, defeated Maximin Daia and became emperor of the East. In 324 Constantine eliminated Licinius to become sole emperor, and in 330 inaugurated his new capital, Costantinople. A Christian since winning at the Milvian Bridge under the Christian God’s patronage, Constantine made it a Christian city, and his excellent strategic choice enabled this almost impregnable capital to continue until 1453 as the bastion of east Rome and of Christianity. A great reformer like Diocletian, Constantine continued his work of re-laying the foundations of the Empire after the near collapse of the third century. His three surviving sons Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans ruled in partnership after his death (A.D. 337). In the West Costans eliminated Constantine II in 340, and fell victim to the usurper MAgnentius in 350. By 353 Costantius II was sole ruler, and in 354 he executed Gallus, whom he had created Caesar in 351. He made Julian Caesar in 355 and sent him to govern Gaul and Britan. Julian usurped in 360, but armed conflict was avoided when Constantius died in 361. The last pagan Roman emperor, Julian died in Persia after a brief reign (A.D. 363-364), on whose death the brothers Valentinian I (A.D. 364-375) and Valens (A.D. 364-378) ruled West and East respectively. Valentinian strengthened the Rhine and Danube defences; Valens had to face the rebellion of Procopius in 365-366, and died fighting the Visigoths in the terrible disaster of Adrianople (378), from which the Roman army never recovered. Valentinian’s sons Gratian (A.D. 375-383) and Valentinian II (A.D. 375-392) took over in the West, the latter still a boy, while Theodosius (A.D. 379-395) founded a new dynasty in the East. There were two usurpers in the West during these years: Magnus Maximus (A.D. 383-388), murderer of Gratian, and Eugenius (and his patron Arbogast: A.D. 392-394). On his death Theodosius left his young sons Arcadius (A.D. 395-408) and Honorius (A.D. 395-423) in charge of East and West respectively, Honorius under the tutelage of the commander-in-chief Stilicho, who beat off several invasions and dominated affairs till his execution (408). The western Empire now began to break up: the central government lost control of Britain from 407; in 406 Vandals and others crossed the Rhine, and went on into Spain (409) and later Africa (429); the Visigoths moved west some years after Adrianople, sacked Rome (410), and from 418 established a federate kingdom in south west Gaul. A succession of powerful quasi regent -relatives or officials- held sway at both eastern and western courts, not only under Arcadius and Honorius, but under equally youthful successors Theodosius II(East A.D. 408-450) and Valentinian III (West A.D. 425-255). In the West this was generally the commander-in-chief: Constantius III followed Stilicho, and even became emperor briefly (421), marrying Galla Placidia. In the East the powers behind the throne were usually civil officials or ladies of the imperial house: Rufinus (A.D. 392-395 praetorian prefect), the chamberlain Eutropius (exiled 399), the Empress Eudoxia (died 404), Anthemius (prefect A.D. 405-415) and then Pulcheria the sister of Theodosius II and her rival, his wife Eudocia. When Valentinian III was installed as western emperor by the eastern government (425), his mother Galla Placidia and the commander-in-chief Aetius, who had close relations with the Huns, ruled in his name, the latter until his assassination by Valentinian himself in 454. Attile and his Huns across the Danube were the dominant threat in these years: in the 440s they invaded the Balkans, but were kept in periodic check by the payments of subsidies; then in 451 they invaded Gaul, where Aetius fought them with some success, and the next year in Italy, where Pope Leo persuaded them to retreat from Rome; Attila’s death in 453 removed the threat. The Vandal Geiseric from Africa sacked Rome in 455. With the end of the House of Theodosius (455), the links between East and West began to weaken. In the East the commander-in-chief Aspar proceeded to create emperors, first Marcian (A.D. 450-457), then Leo (A.D. 457-474). In the West there was a succession of short-lived emperors, several of them created by the commander-in-chief Ricimer, who deposed Avitus (456) and held the main power for the next 16 years. Majoran, his first appointee as emperor, proved too active for Ricimer’s liking, and was executed (461) on his return from a disastrous joint East-West expedition against the Vandals in North Africa, the granary region which it was vital for the survival of the western Empire to recover. Ricimer also disposed of his emperor Anthemius, nominee of the eastern emperor, in a civil war (472). On the death of Ricimer later that year, three more ephemeral emperors followed each other, the last, a youth aptly named Romulus and given the nickname Augustulus (little Augustus) in derision, being the son of the commander-in-chief Orestes. By now there were not only Vandals in Africa and Visigoth in Spain and parts of Gaul, but Burgundians and Franks settled in the rest of Gaul, Alamanni in Raetia, and Ostrogoths in Noricum and Pannonia; Brittany and Britain were now independent, and Dalmatia had been so since the death of Aetius (454) under Marcellinus and his successor. In 476 Romulus was deposed by a Germanic chief named Odoacer, who nominated no more emperors, but himself ruled instead as king of Italy: the western Empire was defunct. The east survived; and thus we have the paradox that the Greek East, which Rome had subjugated, survived as the Byzantine Empire, while the Roman West, economically less stable and with her society now largely reduced to feudal lords and serfs with no middle classes, disintegrated into the barbarian kingdoms of the early Middle Ages.

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