The Imperial cult of ancient Rome provided emperors and part of their families with the esteemed jurisdiction of the Roman State. The structure of the Imperial cult was defined in the time of the Principate of Augustus, and was swiftly rooted right through the Empire and its districts. Augustus' corrections reconstructed Rome's Republican classification of government, to a monarchy. The princeps (known as Emperor, in future) was supposed to harmonise the affection of the Roman military to preserve peace, security and good fortune during a culturally varied commonwealth. A late emperor regarded deserving of the honour could be voted a godhead by the Senate. The Imperial cult was interwoven with that of Rome's recognised celestial beings, whose …show more content…
He was very selfish and dedicated much of his time, power and money to projects for his own pleasure and luxury. He also began the construction of the two aqueducts in Rome: the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. Emperor Caligula was assassinated in early AD 41; this was a result of conspiracy by many of the senate, the court and the guard-ship. We see his cruelty proven in the little information we have from the time of Ancient Rome where, supposedly, when hearing that his daughter, Julia, had mauled another child by ridding them of their eyes, Caligula simply replied with “There is no question as to who her father is then”. Although the authenticity of this information is questionable, we are able to take, from this, that he was very much aware of his behavioural …show more content…
He won an array of civil wars against Emperor Maxentius and Emperor Licnius, after his father’s death and by 324 AD, was the one and only rulers of both the east and west. When he became emperor he decided on using his influence over finance, social authority and the military to give strength to the empire. Because of this, the government was rehabilitated; military and civil authority became disjointed. Constantine was the first Emperor to covert to Christianity He also became the reason that the rest of the Roman Empire was able to also convert to Christianity as he decreed tolerance for it throughout the
His actions were due to his NPD and the disease he contracted. Although the things he did were strange, it is typical of people with NPD to perform cruel actions like Caligula did. Do remember that many accounts written by ancient writers may be incorrect due to the amount of gossip going around at the time.
If one were to make his way through the history of the world, he or she would learn about the many forms of government, and how they came to be. In the case of Rome, many historians would note it as having a period where it was a republic, and a period where it was an empire. When examined in detail, though, the Roman Republic fails to mirror a true republic. While it had republican qualities, it was ultimately set up to give the common people a false sense of security and power in the Roman government. The ancient city of Rome was never a true republic because its traits do not emulate the definition of a republic or the republics of other ancient societies, and because of its biased political system.
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.
The Roman Empire began as a small colony, in the city of Rome, and eventually, became one of the largest empires that the world has ever known before its ultimate demise. Because of the vast size of their territory, and the number of cultures they consumed throughout their existence, the Romans were heavily influenced by the Greeks and other Hellenistic civilizations. Two different groups of professors argue this point. Professors Matthews, Platt, and Noble argue this influence is reflected by Roman music, philosophy, literature, architecture, art, culture/government, and technology and science; and Professor Weber argues this is reflected in the areas of government/law, the influence and effects of conquests, culture, religion, architecture and art, and philosophy. Both parties make compelling arguments as to why the Romans were heirs to Greek and Hellenistic civilization however, it will be demonstrated that Matthews et al. provide a more thorough argument than Weber.
The notorious Caligula ruled the Roman Empire from 37 AD until 41 AD as a tyrant who in due time became a villain. Although Caligula was an intelligent and amusing young man he also had a cruel and darker side that would in modern times, leave people to question his mental stability. His weird and unusual actions would reinforce this idea, such as him wanting and having his counterparts look up to him and worship him as a god because he considered himself a divine one. He would force both men and women to have sex with him and would commit incest with his sisters. Although incest was acceptable in that time, it is an action that is highly frowned upon in modern day. One considerable reason for the madness behind Caligula’s reign could be due to a disease called megalomania. German pacifist Ludwig Quidde made this term known and described it as “the point of regarding oneself as divine; disregard for all limits of law and all the rights of other individuals; brutal cruelty without purpose or reason” (qtd. in Winterling 2). However this would not have bothered Caligula. He enjoyed having food that was covered in gold leaf and drinking from vinegar that had dissolved pearls inside of it. He also thought enough to want to hold a ceremony to crown his horse and make him apart of his consul. Caligula indulged in the excitement and torture of execution. The victims of these senseless crimes were often Roman senators. He even removed two from his office because they forgot his birthday. Although he was in the position of high authority, author of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Caligula, Suetonius stated a clear explanation for his behavior that “he was insane” (qtd. in Winterling 7).
Within the Ancient world, political leaders manipulated the balance between religion and politics to further their own power. In particular, Gaius Octavius (63 BC – 14 AD) later known as Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus, exploited the ‘imperial cult’ as a political tool within the Roman Empire. Termed by modern historians, the imperial cult was a combination of local religious cults where people worshipped the emperor as a deity who received divine honours exceeding all other living entities. By directly allowing the imperial cult in the Roman provinces, this achieved much required unity and stability throughout the Empire. Consequently, this enabled Augustus to indirectly incorporate the cult into Rome’s ritualistic polytheism practices.
Constantine I February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E. ), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E. ), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine”. Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity was alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
The history of the ancient roman civilization to the fall of the Roman empire covers a period of over 1,200 years. The Roman civilization had humble beginnings as a small territory near the Tiber River but grew to expand areas of 2,500,000 square miles at its peak. Since Rome still exists today, one could argue that it never fell and that it only adapted to or became so immersed into the culture and politics of the regions it conquered that they became one. Nevertheless, if the demise of the roman civilization is measured by territory size, than the beginning of the end started with the split of the empire into two territories, the eastern and western empires. Ironically, Julius Caesar once said "Divide et impera" which is Latin for "Divide and Conquer", which sets the frame work for how the division of the empire lead to the end of the Roman Civilization.
The Roman Republic is highly praised for the innovation, influence and expansion that it had on the rest of the world. In a period of expansion there was also a setting of constitutional precedent for the future late Republic and Roman Empire. The Roman Republic can also be viewed from the perspective of internal balances of power. That being said, although the Roman Republic as not a full democracy, as stated by Polybius, it did provide some political power to the people. Constitutionally, the Roman people played a large role in politics, but said power was limited through checks of the Senate and Consul, an most positions of power were very concentrated in the hands of Patricians and aristocrats, who can be seen as upper citizens in Rome.
The development of a nation is similar to the development of a child; they both go through various stages of development before they have a firm grasp of what they are supposed to do. Much like a child, a nation goes through its infancy with a naïve point of view, usually enacting laws that suit the ruling class (wealthy) and when they eventually develop into adolescence they use their past experiences to adapt to the needs of the majority. The Roman Republic is a prime example of this analogy, throughout the 5th century towards the 1st century B.C.E; the Roman Republic was forced to change its constitution and laws in order to properly rule their newly acquired land and accommodate the Latin people who joined Rome as a result of its expansion.
There are many drastic changes that happen throughout the course of civilizations’ histories. This can be proven through the civilization of Rome. Although Rome was one of the longest civilizations that had lasted, it had its many ups and downs. Beginning as a republic, it moved around a great amount, figuring out who Rome was in the long run. Rome has a vast history that dealt with a republic, an empire, and many, many conflicts.
The Roman Republic began in 509 B.C.E. with the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy. In 27 B.C.E the Roman Empire began with Octavian Caesar becoming the emperor, this ended almost 500 years of republican self-government. There is much debate over why Rome became so powerful so quickly. Many think it had to do with Rome’s military strength. Others think that it was because Rome knew of and controlled most of the trade routes. Still others believed it had to do with the technology that was advanced during the Roman Republic. All of these factors played significant roles, but which one played the most important role?
Constantine’s conversion made him more tolerant of Christianity in Rome, allowing the Church to spread to other parts of his empire and to preach in public society. Constantine is praised as the emperor who made Christianity no longer anti-Roman. Had Constantine not converted and reformed Rome, the Church would have never been able to gain as much of a foothold in Rome and the West. His conversion ended the widespread persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and greatly increased Christian power and influence in Rome. Additionally, his conversion contributed Roman law to the Catholic Heritage of the West, forming a basis of Western thought on law and justice. The time frame significant to Constantine and the Church stretches back to as early as Nero’s persecution in AD 64 all the way to after the death of Constantine in ca. AD 400, when paganism in Rome finally fell.
The narcissistic side of Caligula comes out when he proclaims himself a god to the roman people, in his eye no one else is worth more than himself. He had no empathy for others when they died, and he would kill anyone with no guilt. He used his authority to bend the laws of Rome to murder. He would also indulge himself in wild orgies all the time. This all was made possible by his ability to hide his feelings from those around him and use his social abilities to make the roman people think that he is on their side
With the decline and fall of the western empire, the classical age of Rome came to a close as disease, warfare and corruption conspired to bring about the downfall of an ailing empire that had once conquered the known world. Where once enlightened despots had ruled a debauched and unwieldy polity, now barbarians stood over the ruins of a once thriving metropolis. In its absence a new world would arise with new values and ideals. Turning their back on a pagan past the Christian children of these wild men from the north would spawn the greatest houses of future European nobility, and when they looked back for a legacy, they would not see their ancestors as pillagers picking at the bones of a defiled Rome, but instead as its trusted guardians, partnering with the Church to carry her legacy through the “Dark Ages”.