Reference
- Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the largest in the ancient world and at its height controlled the land around the Mediterranean and most of continental Europe, with the exception of modern-day Germany, Denmark, and Russia. The incipient Roman Empire led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the accession of Octavian (better known by his posthumous title Augustus Caesar).
The Punic Wars
The first lands occupied by the Romans were in the Italian peninsula. From the days of the creation of the Roman Republic with the expulsion of the Tarquin dynasty in 510 BCE, the Romans had started attacking and ruling lands held by rival cities in central Italy. Rome's being sacked by the Gauls in 390 BCE significantly weakened it in the eyes of many. It rebuilt its military strength, and its defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War (264–241 BCE) led to Rome gaining a foothold in Sicily. From 241 until 218 BCE the Romans conquered Sardinia, Corcyra (modern-day Corfu), and Lombardy (northeastern Italy). During the Second Punic War, when Hannibal invaded the Italian peninsula in 218 BCE, the Romans were able to stop his attack on Rome, but their hold over the Italian peninsula was tenuous. Hannibal exploited this by forming alliances with the Gauls in northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul) and also with predominantly Greek cities in the south, such as Capua and Tarentum.
When Hannibal was recalled to North Africa to defend Carthage and defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, the Romans expanded their landholdings, taking many areas that had sheltered Hannibal during his 15 years in the Italian peninsula. The defeat of Hannibal also gave them the confidence to attack and conquer other lands, initially parts of Spain, and then attack Syria in 191 BCE.
This came about over tensions between Rome and the Seleucid Empire, with Rome declaring war in 192 BCE and attacking in the following year. Ptolemy V of Egypt allied himself with Rome against his neighbor. A Roman fleet commanded by Gaius Livius destroyed the Seleucid navy off the coast of Greece in 191 BCE and again in the following year at Eurymedon where Hannibal was helping the Seleucids in his first (and last) naval battle. At the same time a large Roman army advanced into Asia Minor and in December 190 BCE, at the Battle of Magnesia, destroyed the Syrians. In an agreement signed at Apameax, the Romans returned most of the land they had taken, only retaining the islands of Cephalonia and Zacynthus (modern-day Zante)...
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Perspectives
Augustus and the Creation of the Roman Empire
Offering multiple viewpoints of the rise, achievements, and legacy of Caesar Augustus and his empire, Augustus and the Creation of the Roman Empire encourages the examination of such subjects as the military in war and peacetime, the social and cultural context of political change, the reform of administration, and the personality of the emperor himself.
Perpetua's Journey
Perpetua's Journey is a graphic history set in Roman Africa in 203 CE that examines issues of power, gender, and religion in the ancient world through the story of the Christian martyr Perpetua.The Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis, better known as The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, is the first known prose narrative written by a woman. It is also the first known piece of writing we have from a Christian woman. It is the story of a young mother, Vibia Perpetua, who livedin Roman Africa and, at the age of twenty-two, chose to proclaim publically her Christian faith. She died as a result of her actions. She did not die alone; she was part of a group of Christians martyrs, including several slaves, who were placed in prison and then sentenced to die on March 7 in theyear 203 CE. Perpetua's diary contains Perpetua's account of the events in the days leading up to her martyrdom.Perpetua's Journey is a graphic history that occupies a space between the many works designed primarily for specialists and advanced scholars who already know a great deal about Perpetua and the history of the Roman Empire, and more popular projects about the lives of saints. Perpetua's Journey isunique because it contains both a graphic portion and historical and social commentary on the Passio. Because the events recorded in the Passio take place during a time period in which we possess information about the history of the Roman Empire and everyday peoples' lives, the graphic part of thiswork strives for an authentic and realistic portrayal of events that happened to the persons in the diary.
The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples
The names of early Germanic warrior tribes and leaders resound in songs and legends; the real story of the part they played in reshaping the ancient world is no less gripping. Herwig Wolfram's panoramic history spans the great migrations of the Germanic peoples and the rise and fall of their kingdoms between the third and eighth centuries, as they invaded, settled in, and ultimately transformed the Roman Empire. As Germanic military kings and their fighting bands created kingdoms, and won political and military recognition from imperial governments through alternating confrontation and accommodation, the "tribes" lost their shared culture and social structure, and became sharply differentiated. They acquired their own regions and their own histories, which blended with the history of the empire. In Wolfram's words, "the Germanic peoples neither destroyed the Roman world nor restored it; instead, they made a home for themselves within it." This story is far from the "decline and fall" interpretation that held sway until recent decades. Wolfram's narrative, based on his sweeping grasp of documentary and archaeological evidence, brings new clarity to a poorly understood period of Western history.
Ruling the Later Roman Empire
In his book, Christopher Kelly paints a remarkable picture of running a superstate. He portrays a complex system of government openly regulated by networks of personal influence and the payment of money. Focusing on the Roman Empire after Constantine's conversion to Christianity, Kelly illuminates a period of increasingly centralized rule through an ever more extensive and intrusive bureaucracy. The book opens with a view of its times through the eyes of a high-ranking official in sixth-century Constantinople, John Lydus. His On the Magistracies of the Roman State, the only memoir of its kind to come down to us, gives an impassioned and revealing account of his career and the system in which he worked. Kelly draws a wealth of insight from this singular memoir and goes on to trace the operation of power and influence, exposing how these might be successfully deployed or skillfully diverted by those wishing either to avoid government regulation or to subvert it for their own ends. emperors, and local power brokers, winners and losers, mapping their experiences, their conflicting loyalties, their successes, and their failures.
Christianizing the Roman Empire
How did the early Christian church manage to win its dominant place in the Roman world? In his newest book, an eminent historian of ancient Rome examines this question from a secular--rather than an ecclesiastical--viewpoint. MacMullen's provocative conclusion is that mass conversions to Christianity were based more on the appeal of miracle or the opportunity for worldly advantages than simply on a "rising tide of Christian piety." "Provocative to the Christian religious scholar and the nonreligious historian alike. . . . MacMullen's style is lucid, and the story of a period with its own innate interest is narrated with compelling feeling. . . . It is an important book, and highly recommended for the general reader of history as well as the Christian who wonders how the 'Jesus movement' came, by Constantine's time, to be the church we know--Choice "Written in a fresh and vigorous style, . . . this book] offers an admirable survey of some major aspects of the history of the early Christian church]."--Robert M. Grant, New York Times Book Review "Gently provocative. . . . MacMullen has written an instructive and enjoyable book on a great theme."--Henry Chadwick, Times Literary Supplement "A carefully argued and well-written study."--Jackson P. Hershbell, Library Journal
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Plutarch wrote in his Life of Numa `If a boundary is respected it is a restraint on the use of force; and if it is not respected then it is proof of an abuse of power'. Whittaker's study examines both the ideological significance and practical meaning - in terms of military, economic and social function - of the Roman imperial frontiers; he argues that the success of these frontiers as permeable border zones both encouraged their later destruction and permitted a level of imperial reinvigoration by the barbarian migrations.
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire provides a concise, readable history of the rise of Rome's imperial spirit after the collapse of the Republic. The author depicts the expansion of the early Roman Empire as it gained dominance over a massive area where armies and officials left the indelible imprint of law. He exposes the natures of a succession of emperors, revealing their actions in Rome and abroad. Included with the details of the military and political expansion are the tremendous accomplishments that brought about modern civilization: the creation of law, and the great advancements in artisanship and engineering as the first roads, bridges, and aqueducts were built, giving rise to the "Classical" era in architecture, literature, and the Romance languages.
Tiberius and Caligula
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Augustus may have been a tremendous emperor, but he failed in one key area: choosing a successor. After an almost comical series of events, he secured a male heir (a son of his wife's by a previous marriage) to take the throne. Witness the debacle of Roman leadership under Tiberius and then Caligula.
Roman Art and Architecture
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowTwo of the great legacies of the Roman Empire are its art and architecture. You will reflect on the Etruscan and Greek influences on Roman portraits and sculptures, see how Augustus used art as propaganda, and learn about some of the many architectural and engineering innovations - including the Pantheon and the aqueducts.
Dawn of the Roman Empire
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowYour course opens by setting the stage for Rome's transition from a Republic to an Empire. Octavian, overlooking the Ionian Sea after the ferocious Battle of Actium, has just secured victory in a civil war against Mark Antony. He will soon achieve what Julius Caesar could not: one-man rule over Rome. Delve into this major turning point in world history.
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- Antony, Mark(born c. 83—died August, 30 bc) Roman general. After military service (57–54), he joined the staff of his relative Julius Caesar. He helped Caesar drive Pompey from Italy in 49 and in 44 was made co-consul...
- Britain, RomanThe oldest name of the island known to us is Albion; the earliest form of the present name, Prettania, was used by the Greeks. The Latin Britannia was in use by the 1st cent. bc. It has no direct Celtic origin and is probably a Latin abstraction from an earlier form...
- Caesar, (Gaius) Julius 100-44BCRoman general and statesman. A great military commander and brilliant politician, he defeated formidable rivals to become dictator of Rome...
- Domitian(Titus Flavius Domitianus)(dōmĭsh'Әn), A.D. 51–A.D. 96, Roman emperor (A.D. 81–A.D. 96), son of Vespasian. Although intended as the heir to his older brother, Titus, he was given no important posts...
- Nero(Nero Claudius Caesar)(nēr'ō), A.D. 37–A.D. 68, Roman emperor (A.D. 54–A.D. 68). He was originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and was the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul in A.D. 32) and of Agrippina the Younger, who was the great-granddaughter of Augustus...
- Roman Republic and EmpireAncient state that once ruled the Western world. It centred on the city of Rome from the founding of the republic (509 bc) through the establishment of the empire (27 bc) to the final eclipse of the empire in the west (5th century ad)...
Augustus, the First Emperor
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowMeet the man who became Rome's first emperor: Octavian, who took the title of Augustus, was relatively short and sickly, but clever and astute. His great political innovation--taking the title Augustus, gaining control of the military, and ruling Rome without inspiring his own assassination--is one of history's most astonishing feats.