The reign of Diocletian and Maximian came for a brief period between 284 C.E. and 324 C.E. after the murder of Commodus. Civil wars broke through out the Roman Empire as various military factions fought for power. Diocletian restored order by dividing the empire into four sections. This was known as the tetrarchy. Diocletian assumed control over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Maximian was Diocletian’s counterpart as well. Diocletian took care of matters in the eastern regions of the empire, while Maximian similarly took charge of the western regions, thereby cutting in half the administrative work required to oversee an empire as large as Rome’s. The four tetrarchs based themselves not at Rome but in other cities closer to the frontiers, mainly intended as headquarters for the defense of the …show more content…
In terms of regional jurisdiction, there was no precise division between the four tetrarchs, and this period did not see the Roman state actually split up into four distinct sub-empires. Each emperor had his zone of influence within the Roman Empire, but this influence mainly applied to the theater of war.
When, in 305, the 20-year term of Diocletian and Maximian ended, both abdicated. Their Caesares, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus, were both raised to the rank of Augustus, and two new Caesares were appointed: Maximinus (Caesar to Galerius) and Flavius Valerius Severus (Caesar to Constantius). These four formed the second tetrarchy. However, the system broke down very quickly thereafter. When Constantius died in 306, Galerius promoted Severus to Augustus while Constantine, Constantius’ son, was proclaimed Augustus by his father’s troops. At the same time, Maxentius, the son of Maximian, who also resented being left out of the new arrangements, defeated Severus before forcing him to abdicate and then arranging his murder in 307. Maxentius and Maximian both then declared themselves Augusti. By
However, Rome entered into a long series of decline beginning with the death of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180. Meanwhile Marcus Aurelius instead of accommodate another successor he made a crucial mistake of naming his son Commodus as an emperor. Confronting this time of problems Rome desired a good and devoted leader. As a substitute of the carefree that Commodus was. The Roman Empire fell in AD 476 to Barbarians invaders as a result of the fall of Rome. This period of time became known as the “crisis of the third century.” At that time the empire was surrounded by economic, military, and politic problems.
Caesar’s death brought turmoil to into Rome. Augustus was determined to avenge his adopted father’s death and vied with two of his chief rivals for power, Mark Antony and Lepidus. After some minor conflicts and disputes, both military and political, Augustus realized the importance and significance of making peace with his rivals. Through these small skirmishes, Antony was driven across the Alps, while Augustus was made senator and then consul. Soon after, Augustus and Antony were joined by Antony’s ally. They met and formed the Second Triumvirate to rule the Roman domains. Their alliance was sealed by a huge proscription in which 300 senators and 200 knights were killed. These were the Triumvir’s enemies.
In the year of our Lord 156 Marcus Antoninus Verus was made emperor together with his brother Aurelius Commodus. He was the fourteenth after Augustus. In their time, while a holy man called Eleutherius was bishop of the church at Rome, Lucius, a king of Britain, sent him a letter praying him that he might be made a
The Julio-Claudian Dynasty began in 27 B.C and ended in 68 A.D, introducing the very first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. These five emperors ruled the Roman Empire in the 1st century second half until the Julio-Claudian Dynasty ended when the last of the successors of Augustus, Nero, took his own life. Each emperor contributed to the expansion of Roman Empire during the Julio-Dynasty whether it was, commissioning or being honored with a monument, or painting, sculptures, and mosaic artworks. During the growth of the Roman Empire, many leaders had their own goals for the city whether it was beneficial to the empire or harmful. But how did the Roman Empire, Julio-Claudian Dynasty, come about and how and
Augustus was the basis for the time of the Principate period, which is a period where the rulers of the new found monarchy attempted to incorporate aspects of the Roman Republic within the powerful empire. Augustus tried his best to maintain conservative forms of government. Augustus’s sole ambition was to remove the hatred and chaos that had resulted from the civil wars. Thankful for Augustus working to restore power back to the Roman senate in his new reforms, the grateful Senate granted him the name Augustus meaning sacred. January, 27 BC, Octavian humbly resigned his powers within Rome, However Augustus received them back from the Senate shortly after. Augustus’s military genius marked the start of a dynasty which saw an extensive expansion of the Roman
The end of the third and final Punic War in 146 BCE, marked Rome’s successful conquest of the Mediterranean world. Although Rome’s victory expanded the Roman Empire, the victory most certainly came at a cost. The postwar political and social landscape was filled with chaos that required government response to solve. The Gracchi Reforms resulted directly from the unrest of the common people and weakening roman military power, the rise of Julius Caesar correlated with aftermath of Gracchi reforms and distrust with government, and the second triumvirate was a temporary solution to the unrest after Caesars’ assassination. These three revisions to Roman government structure also contributed to cause the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of
During the last century of the Roman republic, the system of government was drastically changed and eventually fell apart, not only because of Marius and his military reforms, but also because of the dictatorship and proscriptions of Sulla, seven consulships of Marius, political alliances of the first and second triumvirates and the growing corruption and ineptitude of the senate.
Diocletian and Constantine had policies that were similar yet different in many ways. Diocletian ruled from 284-305 A.D. During his time as emperor, he divided the empire into four prefectures. This also separated the Roman Empire into east and west. The west was known as the Western Roman Empire and the east was known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Diocletian did not allow Christians in his empire and therefore persecuted them.
In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus.
Augustus would be followed by the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which reigned over the beginnings of Imperial Rome. The succession of Augustus demonstrated the diffi...
Octavian enabled the long, nonviolent time of the Pax Romana, (Latin for Roman peace) by changing Rome from a frail, collapsing republican government to a powerful empire. He is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian was born on September 23, 63 BC, and died in 14 AD. Born with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar via his will, and then was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. This happened in 44 BC when his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Additionally, he received the name “Augustus” a term meaning “the revered one” from the Roman Senate in 27 BC. Because of the various names he had, it is common to call him Octavius while referring to the events that between 63 and 44 BC, Octavian when referring to events between 44 and 27 BC, and Augustus when referring to events after 27 BC. Octavian is arguably the single most important figure in Roman history. Ever since he was a young boy, he was destined to become the next great leader. For example, Octavian along with his friend Marcus Agrippa went to visit the Sibyl of Cumae (oracle). When the Sibyl saw him, she bowed at his feet and said that he would be the next great leader. He did not believe her at the time, but just a few years later Julius Caesar would be dead and he would have power. Over the course of his long and spectacular career as “Principate,” he put an end to the collapse of the Republic, and established a system that would stand in the Roman government for three centuries.
As the story goes, Rome was founding in 753 B.C. by two brothers Remus and Romulus who were raised by wolves. The two brothers started fighting over the leadership of the land. Eventually Romulus killed Remus and took control own his own. The city was only a small settlement at that time. As the civilization grew, the Etruscans took over. The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C. By this time Rome had become a city. As the empire came to its peak it included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring places during the Roman Republic, but made wider conquests and made a strong political power for these lands. In 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman leader who ruled the Roman Republic as a dictator was assassinated. Rome descended into more than ten years of civil war. After years of civil war, Caesar's heir Gaius Octavius (also known as Octavian) defeated his last rivals. In 27 B.C. the Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning the exalted or holy one. In this way Augustus established the monarchy that became known as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, which lasted nearly 500 years, did not exist anymore. The emperor Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14 and ruled with great power. He had reestabl...
Vespasian emerged as Emperor after the Year of the Four Emperors, and he brought the princeps and the Empire back to stability. His son and successor, Titus, took power in 79 c.e. and reigne...
After marching to Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched to Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civil War ensued.... ...
The Roman Empire split into two different empires, the eastern or Byzantium and the western. The two empires mirrored each other politically, but not religiously. The Greeks never allowed themselves to split territory into two different powers, although some Greek city-states had dual kings, but never on a national level.