Western Civilization I
Notes from 2/21 and 2/26

With Caesar's conquest of Gaul (50 B.C.E.) and the long reign of his successor, Augustus (27 B.C.E. - 14 C.E.), Rome began a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity.  By 117 C.E., it had extended its reach through Britain in the north, and to the Persian Gulf in the Middle East.  But with growth came turmoil, exacerbated by problems of imperial succession, barbarian invasion and corrupt rulers.  In this class, we discussed the history of the Empire, from the glory days of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) to its eventual division and decline.

I.  The Reign of Augustus (Octavian)

During the long period he served as "Princeps" ("first citizen"), Augustus (formerly called Octavian) consolidated his personal power and laid the foundation for a Roman emperorship.

He professionalized the Roman legions, providing cash pensions to soldiers who served 20 or more years. This helped solve the problem first seen during the Gracchi, and, more importantly, it ensured that the army was loyal to the state. He created an elite corps, the Praetorian Guard, which served as a local police force and would later be influential in the succession of future emperors.

He enacted "family values" legislation, in order to increase the Roman population after the long period of civil unrest. Fathers of 3 or more children were given special privileges; and penalties were imposed on couple who did not have children. Laws against adultery were enhanced; women were given the right to divorce adulterous husbands. There were also decrees against infanticide and abortion.

In terms of religion, Augustus assumed the title "Pontifex Maximus" or high priest, and he attempted to revive the old Roman religion as a device to promote political stability. Julius Caesar was deified, starting the tradition of a "cult of the emperor."

Locally, a dole (grain distribution) to the poor was initiated, as were municipal services such as a fire department and other public works.

Most important, Augustus presided over the start of a long period of relative peace, known as the Pax Romana, which allowed for the exportation of Greco-Roman culture and the development of distinctly Roman traditions.

II.  The Julio-Claudian and Flavian Dynasties (14 - 96 C.E.)

By the time of his death in C.E. 14, Augustus had put Rome on a surer footing. But he had not produced a male heir, thus beginning the problem of imperial succession that would arise time and again in the Roman Empire. His wife Livia had persuaded him to adopt her son by a prior marriage, Tiberius. So in 14, after Augustus' death, the Senate recognized Tiberius as ruler, thus starting a dynasty known as the Julio-Claudian (Julio after Caesar's family; Claudian after Livia's patrician clan).

The next several generations witnessed a string of corrupt, despotic and incompetent emperors, beginning with Tiberius, most of whom would die at the hands of assassins.   These include Caligula (r. 37-41), who ordered himself deified in his lifetime, and appointed his horse to a consulship; Claudius (r. 41-54), who was poisoned by his wives; and Nero (r. 54-68), who murdered his mother, aunt and two wives.  It is perhaps a testament to the reforms undertaken by Augustus that the Empire survived such disastrous reigns; certainly the continued period of Roman prosperity was in spite of his immediate successors rather than because of them.  All of this points to a critical problem in the history of the Roman Empire, and of western civilization up to the 20th century: succession.  Once the Romans had accepted Tiberius as Augustus' successor, they clearly abandoned the pretense of republic and replaced it with a system of rule based on hereditary succession.  But heredity is not the best way for a society to choose rulers, and crises will ensue throughout the centuries whenever a king or emperor dies without a clear heir.

By the reign of the Emperor Domitian (81-96), the Senate had seen enough.   Domitian was assassinated, and the Senate chose one of their elder statesmen, a Senator named Nerva to assume the emperorship.

III.  "The Five Good Emperors" (96 - 180 C.E.)

Nerva's elevation commenced the reigns of the so-called five "Good Emperor's:" Nerva (96-98); Trajan (98-117); Hadrian (117-138); Antoninus Pius (138-161); and Marcus Aurelius (161-180). Curiously, none of the first 4 emperors produced a son, so each successor was chosen out of the ablest Senators by his predecessor. During these 90+ years, the Empire reached the height of its power. Trajan extended Roman control as far as the Persian Gulf; although his successor, Hadrian, abandoned this extreme eastern position, he is perhaps most famous for the erection of Hadrian's wall across Britain, to mark off the Roman Empire and keep the Celtic tribes to the north out.

Hadrian might have sensed a growing problem for the Empire -- incursions from so-called barbarian peoples, sometimes hostile to the Empire, from the north and east. Although the Empire was at the height of its prosperity during this period, the need to defend its extensive frontier from such barbarian invasions (all along the Danube and Rhine rivers) would become an increasing drain on resources.

Marcus Aurelius died in 180, and unlike his predecessors did in fact have a male son, Commodus (r. 180-192).  Commodus was incompetent and autocratic. He reduced the respect in which the imperial office was held, and his assassination (in 192) brought the return of civil war.

Next week, we will discuss the centuries of decline (192-393 C.E.) that followed Commodus' assassination.