In the beginning of the 8th century B.C, ancient Rome (2)

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Introduction

In the beginning of the 8th century B.C, ancient Rome developed from a minute town located in central Italy’s River Tiber; and grew into an empire that covered the Mediterranean islands, Northern Africa, most part of Western Asia, Britain and also continental Europe. The Roman legacy is clearly visualized through the widespread dominance and use of romance languages such as Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian. They are all derived from Latin which is the emergence of Christianity as a paramount world religion and also is the current western alphabet. Latin is also used as a calendar and after four hundred and fifty years of republican rule, Rome ripened into an empire during the rise of Julius Caesar and fell into ruins in the 1st century B.C. The reign of Augustus which was long and triumphant brought about the golden age of prosperity and stability. However, during the decline of the empire by the 5th century AD, it was regarded as one of the most unprecedented implosions in the realization of man-made civilization.

Augustus together with other roman emperors ruled over the imperial Roman Empire from 27 BCE until the 5th century but still managing the Western Roman Empire as well as the eastern Roman Empire until the mid 15th century. These emperors would acclaim a variety of titles such as Imperator and Caesar though it was their militarily command that allowed them to retain their seat to the eternal and prestigious throne. Before the birth of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BCE, there had already been other existent empires such as the Macedonian, Persian, Babylonian, and also the Assyrian. These empires contained competent leaders like Alexander the Great, Darius, Xerxes and also Cyrus. History ascertains that these men of honor were known as Kings and the term emperor was never utilized. On the contrary, the roman empire lacked a king but had an emperor and in order for one discover the difference between these two titles he or she would require to search on both the Roman Republic and the Empire that were established over a millennium ago.

The Origin of Rome

The great City of Rome was founded by the twin sons of Mars, who was the god of war, namely; Romulus and Remus. They were left to drown in a basket in the river Tiber by king who lived nearby Alba Longa but were fortunately rescued by a she-wolf and they lived to defeat the present king and discover their own city in 753 B.C along the banks of that river. Romulus killed his brother in order to become the first King of Rome which is in fact named after him .A lineage of Etrsucan; Latin and Sabine kings were his successors though they were all non-hereditary. In 509 B.C the era of the Roman monarch came to an end through the ousting of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus; whom was their seventh King. He was considered as tyrannical and cruel by ancient historians compared to his fellow predecessors who were benevolent in their actions.

Republic to Imperialism

Rome was a republic that was governed by a long history of democratic policies before it became an empire. The city state was administered by an assembly of magistrates, the senate or even tribunes and consuls who were guided with terms of office limitation immediately after overthrowing Etruscans and their King. Once Rome conquered the Italian Peninsula, they were able to acquire vast amounts of land using combative military operations in places like Greece, Spain, and Macedonia and also in North Africa. Moreover they acquired land in various islands of the Mediterranean but unfortunately the large size of the republic began to wear out its leadership structure. Leaders who were defined as both good and bad notoriously ascended through the military and political ranks to gain power. Some of them included Julius Caesar, Pompey, Gaius, and Sulla. The former would be described as a dictator for life by some historians because a variety of economic, political and social forces were unmanageable by the leadership of the Roman Republic thus change was certainly unavoidable. When Julius Caesar was assassinated by the senate members on the Ides of March, a political and military battle erupted between Octavian, Lepidus and Mark Antony with Octavian remaining as the last man standing.

The first Roman Emperor

Octavian was the victorious general and would often listen to the cries of his soldiers since he boldly defeated Mark Antony. His title would be acclaimed by successors automatically irrespective of their inexperience in military operations, immediately upon ascension to the throne. Octavian adopted the child of Julius Caesar after the two decades of civil war and returned back to Rome as a hero. People celebrated because they anticipated the return of stability back into their republic. Octavian would always shy away from honors and power but would eventually be known as Augustus meaning revered or sacred. He assumed authority that was even beyond the boundaries of the senate though they inadvertently complied with his wishes. Some historian’s claim that Augustus was a tyrant who silently ran away with the liberty of Rome or a statesman who generously shared power with the consent of people plus the senate. He would set the stage for all his successors as an emperor beginning with Tiberius; his maligned stepson, the corrupt Nero and Caligula, the incompetence and cruelty of Domitian as well as the final emperor known as Romulus Augustalus.

Infinite Power

Structures such as the Senate existed in name only under the old Republic era and in a kingdom, the king was answerable to a parliament like in England and an Estate General in France. These assemblies managed the financial affair of the kingdom but in Rome the Emperor had absolute power over funds thus he could spend and collect whatever he desired. For example, the Emperor Nero who was always requesting for funds would stir up controversial information, seize property of a senator who is unaware of the oblivion ahead of him and murder him. The senate would never have authority to endorse the emperor’s wishes after the reign of Augustus because the latter and his successors would accord them respect though the real power remained in the emperors hands. To maintain his personal safety, the emperor heavily relied on the Praetorian Guard who after a number of years wielded power unimaginable even by Emperor Augustus.

Augustus slowly assumed leadership of the empire through the consent of the senate although he disliked the title of the Emperor; he opted for Princeps which meant first citizen. He was initially a provincial governor and consul and as supreme emperor he would hold command for over 26 legions. He was bestowed upon certain life powers by the senate like tribune of the plebs and overall authority over the provincial governors, and also ability to call upon the senate to enact laws. He was able to veto the actions of some magistrates through his powers and because he wanted to mange those around him, he would also manage the imperial patronage, thus ensuring that nobody would run the office without his knowledge or permission. Augustus interfered with the empires religion by resurrecting ancient religious events, rebuilding decayed temples and finally he assumed the title of Chief Priest to ascertain his word as law.

Augustus remained a popular figure among the people because he participated in a variety of rebuilding projects as well as frequent supply of grain that he presided over despite having an immense amount of power. Historian Suetonius wrote in his book of The Twelve Caesars, that the emperor had drastically advanced the morphology of the city. He claims he found Rome built in sun-dried bricks but once he left it was covered in clothed marble. Roman citizens believed they entered a golden age because the successors of Augustus continued to reconstruct arenas, aqueducts temple and also the city.

The Sovereign Empires

From 31 BCE to 14 CE, Augustus oversaw maintenance and control of the empire and just like a King approaching his deathbed he named Tiberius as his successor. All those who followed Augustus would use his name as a title. Although the naming of the successor is also a way in which the emperor becomes a king, in most kingdoms succession was mainly preferred to be the bloodline continuation. The current Queen of England; Queen Elizabeth, hails from the House of Windsor and can affiliate her lineage through the Plantagenet’s, Tudors, Hanoverians and even the Stuarts. On the contrary, Rome’s last emperor was not closely related to his incumbent successor or even Augustus himself. There were only a few emperors who were blood related like Domitian and Titus sons of Vespasian ,Marcus Aurelius was the father of Commodus while others were adopted like; Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Nerva, Tiberius, Nero and Nerva. Vespasian, Macrinus, Vitellius, Otho and Galba obtained the throne via murder or conquest and Didius Julianus even decide to buy the throne. Emperors like Maximinius and Macrinus surprisingly never travelled to Rome although there were times Like the Year of the Five Emperors whereby the throne would have a variety of claimants.

When an individual claimed the throne, the power manifested via that post remained constant and was never altered. The Praetorian Guard was at the helm of this power to ensure it was followed to the latter. The emperor would place his life in the hands of the guard because authority of the empire would fall into his hands. The Praetorian Guard would sometimes choose the emperor during bleak time. Caligula died at the hands of the Praetorian Guard and Claudius was discovered hiding behind a curtain, they took him to the senate committee who proclaimed him as emperor but not in a unanimous decision. They eventually realized the depravity and ineptness of Elagabalus and decided to murder him together with his mother and declared the new emperor as Alexander Severus.

The emperor’s lifestyle is unfortunately perceived to be that of dictating laws, directing military operations and attending lavish ceremonies. However, as he often resides on the throne, he would be fearful and paranoid of his close colleagues because they may betray and overthrow him. Out of the first twelve emperors that ruled Rome from Augustus to Nerva, four of them would die out of natural cause though there are two which are highly questionable, another four would be assassinated while two others would die via suicide attempts and the other were murdered via suffocation or poison. Some historians denoted that supreme power came along with supreme risk. An emperor would rarely die due to natural causes or throw in the towel because there were high probabilities of being overthrown.

Despite the destructive reigns of Caligula Elagabalus, Commodus and Nero, autocratic power of the emperor would still prevail. The empire would luckily witness the fortitude in men like Marcus Aurelius, Constantine and Trajan; some colonies would be lost and others would be gained, while the empire would sometimes contact and expand but conclusively despite the bad and good times the survival of the empire would continue and remain as the most important thing.

Emperor Loyalty

The people of Rome held a special place of gratitude in their minds and hearts for the Emperor regardless of whether they were living or dead. Deification or apotheosis for the imperial leader would follow suit his adoration though this imperial cult was uncommon to Rome because it was practiced by Alexander the great who perceived himself as the son of Zeus and not the son of Philip II. During the reign of Emperor Augustus, he was treated with veneration and praise; and even temples and altars were built to honor him across the empire-Athens, Lyons and Pergamum, though none were erected in Rome. He might have also perceived himself as the son of a god he never allowed himself to be referred. The senate deified him when he died and also many others that followed him like Alexander Severus, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian and also Antonius Pius. The emperor would often initiate the deification of his predecessor, though some emperors like Commodus, Nero, Caligula, Tiberius and Elagabalus were viewed as extremely odious to receive such an honor. Nero and Caligula considered themselves to be gods during the lifetime periods while Commodus believed he was the reborn version of Hercules.

Empire Division

Diocletian ascended into power in 284 CE after periods of ineffectual emperors because the roman peace had already died for over a century. The empire was on the verge of collapse because it was being attacked from all sides. Diocletian realized that empires’ size was biggest flaw and decided to create the rule of four or the tetarchy. He divided the kingdom into two parts on with its capital as Nicomedia and the other one was at Rome. The former would later be moved to Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine. Augustus had already initiated a principate but he was eventually replaced by the dominate, though he ensured the borders were strengthened, developed a stabilized economy and created a more efficient system of bureaucracy. As the eastern empire progressed, the west unfortunately declined and in 476 CE the city of Rome eventually fell into ruin and the supreme emperor submitted to his enemies. Odoacer was the conqueror of the city and refused to be given the title Emperor.

Conclusion

In the late 5th century, the Western Roman Empire collapsed and Romulus Augustulus is frequently cogitated as the West supreme emperor since his compelled resignation in 476, however an individual known as Julius Nepos claimed the title of the throne until his demise in 480.Concurrenlty in the east, emperors maintained their rule from Constantinople and they referred to themselves as Emperor of the Romans. In 1453 during in fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, Constantine XI Palaiologos remained the ultimate emperor in Constantinople.

When the Turkish conquest experienced cultural rupture several historians from the west perceive Constantine XI as the conclusive and important suitor for the roman emperor title. However, when the Ottoman Empire ended in 1922, ottoman rulers were referred to as Caser of Rome from 1453.in the empire of Trebizond, there existed a byzantine group that was acclaimed to the Roman Emperor and they stayed there until the conquest of the Ottomans ended in 1461.German rulers revived the title of Roman Emperor in the West for Holy Roman Emperors in 800 and was utilized until 1806.

Most of the people in the Roman Empire were comfortably kept tae se with the lifestyle they were provided because as long as Emperors provided entertainment and grain for bread they lived in a satisfied manner. Eternal statutes were erected in honor of their emperors such as; the column of Trajan, Arch of Constantine, Baths of Nero and Caracalla. Rome never had a constitutional office or parliamentary gatherings the emperor was the law and also the supreme leader who offered stability for the people.

References

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