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Pax Romana.mp4
In 27 BCE, the Roman Empire was established. An empire is formed when the government of one region conquers and controls many other regions. Look at the map of the Roman Empire.
The love story that built an empire
When Augustus first came to power, Roman territory was divided into two regions. Augustus ruled the city of Rome and the western region, and his co-ruler, Mark Antony, ruled the region in the east.
Mark Antony was married to Augustus's sister, Octavia. But while living in Egypt, Mark Antony fell in love with and married the Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra. Mark Antony gave Cleopatra most of the eastern Roman territory as a gift. Augustus saw this as a betrayal of Rome and began a war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Augustus ultimately won the war and was chosen as emperor of the entire Roman Empire in 27 BCE.
Augustus is often considered the first emperor of a period that historians call the Pax Romana, which means "Roman peace" in Latin. The Pax Romana was a time of peace and success for the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 BCE to 180 CE. Most of the emperors during this time worked to expand the empire and tried to make everyday life better for people who lived in the empire.
Were all of the emperors during the Pax Romana good?
No! In fact, some of the emperors that ruled during the Pax Romana were unfair and even cruel. The Roman emperors Caligula and Nero are considered to be two of the empire's cruelest emperors.
Ancient sources claim that both Nero and Caligula often tortured and killed people for fun. Nero is also blamed for starting a huge fire in the city of Rome, killing hundreds of people, just so he had room to build a new palace.
The emperors during the Pax Romana used the Roman military to conquer new territory and protect the Roman Empire. Look at the map of Roman territory.
To protect the Roman Empire's new territory, Roman emperors ordered the military to build forts across the empire. Most of the forts were built in Northern Europe and Southwest Asia, where the Roman Empire needed the most protection from invading groups. Because soldiers kept the empire safe, merchants could travel all over the empire to trade without.
Increasing your wealth in the Roman army
The main purpose for strengthening the Roman army and building forts along the Roman Empire's borders was to protect the empire from invasions.
But the army also served social purposes. During the Pax Romana, serving in the army was one way that people could change their social class. If a soldier was promoted high enough in the army, then he and his children could earn more money and a higher rank in Roman society.
During the Pax Romana, the Roman Empire eventually grew to cover around 2 million square miles! Before modern inventions such as telephones and cars, it took a long time to send messages or travel hundreds of miles across the empire. This distance also made the Roman Empire hard to control. But Roman emperors came up with successful ways to govern their people all across the large empire.
During the Pax Romana, the Roman economy was thriving. The empire's wealth and resources were being used by many different people throughout the empire. But historians sometimes disagree about what the Roman economy was based on and how goods were produced and exchanged.
In the past, many historians only used sources written by wealthy Romans. But many modern historians now use archaeological evidence, such as the objects and buildings people leave behind, to understand the Roman economy. Read the information about evidence from these different sources.
Aila: a Roman port city on the Red Sea
The Roman city of Aila (EYE-la) was one of the cities that archaeologists excavated, or dug up, to discover information about the Roman economy during the Pax Romana. Aila was located on the Red Sea coast, in present-day Jordan, and was an important trading city that connected many land and sea routes. Archaeologists discovered thousands of pieces of broken pottery from amphoras. An amphora is a special type of jar that was used to ship goods over long distances.
The peace and economic success during the Pax Romana was possible because the Roman government developed ways to support trade and make life easier for Romans living all over the empire.
Did everyone in the Roman Empire speak Latin?
No! Latin was the native language for most people who lived on the Italian Peninsula, but people elsewhere had different native languages. When Latin became the official language of the empire, most people who worked for the government and some wealthy and educated people learned to speak it. But most people continued to use their native language.
In the eastern provinces of the empire, wealthy and educated people preferred to speak Greek. The Greeks had ruled that region before the Romans, and some people continued to practice some parts of Greek culture. That is why the Christian Bible was originally written in Greek, even though it was written in the Roman Empire!
Though the Pax Romana was a period of peace and success for many people in the Roman Empire, it was not always good for the societies that the empire conquered. The Roman military conquered new regions through violence and war. So, many people living in conquered territories did not like the Roman Empire.
The passage below is adapted from writings by an ancient historian. It describes how the conquered people of Britain, in present-day England, felt about the Romans.
The Romans are the robbers of the world. If a people are rich, the Romans think they are worth robbing, if they are poor, the Romans think they are worth enslaving; and not the East and not the West can satisfy their greed. More than any other people, the Romans want to conquer both the rich and the poor. The Romans rob, kill, and steal, and call it "government." When they destroy everything, they call it "peace."
Adapted from Tacitus, Life of Agricola, ca. 98 CE
Was everything peaceful during the Pax Romana?
Definitely not! The Roman Empire was created by conquering foreign territory. This was only possible through violent wars. Most conquered people didn't want to be conquered and ruled by the Roman Empire. As a result, people conquered by the Roman Empire often started violent rebellions against it.
Roman leaders called the period the Pax Romana partly to convince people that the Roman Empire was good and peaceful, even if it wasn't. The leaders did not want anyone to take their power away.
Even though the Roman Empire was wealthy and successful during the Pax Romana, daily life was still difficult for many people. The people who lived in the Roman Empire did not all have the same rights and privileges. Look at the social pyramid that shows four different groups of people.
Gladiators
Another group of people that lived in the Roman Empire were gladiators. Gladiators were people who were given armor and forced to fight each other or wild animals for the entertainment of others. Gladiators were usually enslaved people or people who were being punished for committing a crime. So, many people thought that it was okay for them to get hurt or even die fighting. For over 600 years, people went to the arena to watch highly trained gladiators engage in bloody combat.
During the Pax Romana, religions from eastern territories in the Roman Empire started to become popular. Romans called them mystery religions because people often had to participate in secret rituals to become followers. Many Romans wanted to join a mystery religion. Look at the chart that compares mystery religions to the traditional Roman religion.
Mysterious behavior
One of the most well-known mystery religions was based on the worship of the Roman god, Bacchus (BAK-uhs). Bacchus was originally a Greek god named Dionysus (die-uh-NIE-suhs), who had been worshipped in Greece since about 1500 BCE!
The followers of this mystery religion often took part in rituals that made them act strange and unpredictable. To an outsider, these rituals would have looked like an out-of-control party that was disruptive to nearby people. So, when this religion started gaining popularity in Rome, many Romans were worried.
Roman rulers usually allowed the people who lived in the Roman Empire to follow their own religious beliefs. But there were some cases when people were treated cruelly because of their religious beliefs. Read the statements about Roman rulers' attitudes toward religion.
Roman rulers allowed people to follow their own religions, but they also expected everyone to worship the traditional Roman gods. They believed this worship was necessary because the Roman gods protected the empire.
Roman rulers respected religious beliefs that were ancient, or had been around for hundreds of years. So, if a religious belief was ancient, Roman rulers allowed people to practice that religion, even if they didn't worship the traditional Roman gods.
Below are three different religions that were practiced in the Roman Empire during the period of the Pax Romana.
Select the religion that would have made the Roman rulers most upset.
Judaism: Judaism was an ancient religion and had been practiced for hundreds of years. The religion's followers only worshipped one god and were not supposed to worship traditional Roman gods.
Mystery religions: Mystery religions were new to the Roman Empire. But most people who practiced mystery religions also worshipped the traditional Roman gods.
Christianity: Christianity was a new religion that grew out of Judaism. Christians worshipped their own god and were not supposed to worship traditional Roman gods.
What other religions were popular during the Pax Romana?
Some of the wealthiest people in Rome were also feeling unsatisfied with traditional Roman religion. These people were often interested in Greek philosophy. Greek philosophy was similar to most religious traditions at the time because it focused on trying to understand the world. But it was different from religious traditions because it didn't focus on the actions of a god or gods.
At the time of the Roman Empire, most Jewish people lived in a region of the Roman Empire called Judea. Though the Romans typically respected the religious beliefs of Jewish people, the two groups had many political disagreements. Look at the timeline that describes some of the events that occurred between Jewish people in Judea and the Roman Empire.
In 63 BCE, the area of Judea was conquered by the Roman Empire. At first Judea was ruled by Jewish leaders. It wasn't until 4 BCE that Judea was ruled directly by Roman leaders. Over a 250-year period, the Jewish people living in Judea revolted against the Roman Empire two different times. As a consequence of the first revolt, the Roman military destroyed the temple, a holy site in Judaism. After the last revolt, the Jewish people were forced to leave Jerusalem.
What ended the Pax Romana?
From 96 to 180 CE, the Roman Empire was ruled by a series of leaders known as the "Five Good Emperors." The first four of these emperors did not have sons. So, they chose the most qualified man to rule the empire after they died.
But the fifth good emperor did have a son named Commodus. Commodus became emperor but didn't have the experience needed to rule. Also, he was violent and cruel to his people. Many historians believe that Commodus's rule caused the period of the Pax Romana to end.
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