Download The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire:
Geography, Communication, and Culture
Lecture 33
Fundamental characteristics
of the Roman Empire
- Limitations imposed by its geography
- Linguistic and ethnic diversity
- Rule by one emperor, backed by highly mobile army
- Relative homogeneity of its urban and elite culture
- Religious pluralism (with limits)
Key sources for today’s lecture
-Res Gestae (“Things Done” by Emperor Augustus)
- Other inscriptions and graffiti
- monuments, sculpture, mosaics, and other art
Note the distinction bet ween Senatorial and imperial
provinces on this map. Which provinces did Augustus
maintain under direct imperial control and why? The areas
shown in yellow were ruled by client kings.
ROMAN EMPIRE AT THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS
The geographic boundaries of
the Roman Empire remained
relatively stable -- with a
few notable additions -- for
more than three hundred
years after the reign of the
emperor Augustus.
Note also on this map the
distribution of cities. The
small cluster of cities north of
the Danube were built in the
Roman province of Dacia.
It was possible to travel from one end of the Roman Empire
to the other speaking Latin or Greek the whole way. But
outside the urban centers, a wide range of local languages
continued to be spoken (and, in a few cases, written).
Augustus,
founder of the
Principate
(The Roman Empire)
- from Latin princeps
(first man)
At the top of the social pyramid
stood the emperor. The long
reign of Octavian/Augustus (23
B.C.-14 C.E.) firmly established
the principle that the empire
was to be ruled by a single man.
This period of Roman history is
sometimes referred to as the
Principate, after the Latin word
“princeps,” the name that
Augustus chose for himself.
The Roman Empire is divided into dynasties, in which
reigning emperors named their successors.
Augustus honored as pharaoh in Egypt
In the eastern portions of the empire, the emperor was frequently depicted as god, sometimes in
Greco-Roman style as with previous Hellenistic kings, but in Egypt in more traditional form as
the new pharaoh. Under Roman control, the ancient priestly lines were deprived of their power,
but the temples remained open for worship of the traditional Egyptian gods.
POWER
BEHIND
THE THRONE
The Praetorian
Guard
In Rome, the authority of
the emperor was bolstered
and protected by the
Praetorian Guard, a core of
elite troops stationed on
the edge of the city.
Augustus established the
guard of ca. 4500 (or
possibly 9000) troops in
27 B.C., setting their pay
at three times that of
normal legionaries. More
than once, however, the
Guard inter vened to
become king-makers,
naming their own emperors
The Roman army was concentrated along the empire’s
northern and eastern frontiers. The squares on this
map mark the location of legionary bases.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ROMAN ARMY
TRAJAN’S
COLUMN
ERECTED IN
116 C.E. TO
CELEBRATE
CONQUEST
OF DACIA
(ROMANIA)
Modern scholars have
reconstructed many
aspects of the daily life of
Roman soldiers, thanks to
the numerous documents
created by the army and
its veterans, as well as
archaeological and art
historical sources,
especially the Column of
Trajan in Rome.
The Roman army was wellequipped, well trained, highly
disciplined, and merciless in its
pursuit of its foes. Many scenes on
the Column of Trajan show the
death, capture, or surrender of the
Dacian tribes.
Roman troops create a
tortoise-shell formation
with their shields to
protect themselves as
they attack a Dacian
fortress. The opening
scene of the movie
Gladiator convincingly
evokes Roman battle
tactics against
Germanic foes on the
empire’s Rhine frontier.
Historical re-enactment of Roman
military history is nearly as
popular in England as Civil War reenactment is in modern America.
As in ancient Egypt and Assyria, the official art of
the Roman Empire frequently depicted scenes of
complete conquest and the merciless punishment of
the defeated. Here, Roman soldiers prepare to execute
a Dacian man, while young Dacian women are hauled
away to be sold as slaves. Other plaques from the
column show the decapitation of Dacian warriors.
When not
fighting, soldiers
were put to work
as builders under
the direction of
some of the
empire’s most
skilled and
experienced
engineers.
Hadrian’s wall in northern England is an impressive
example of the fortifications erected by Roman
soldiers to mark the boundaries of the empire.
Vindolanda, a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall
The Roman fort at Vindolanda has yielded valuable insights into the daily life of soldiers and
civilians along Hadrian’s Wall. For more information, see the official website (http://
www.vindolanda.com/) or any of the recent documentaries about the fort.
A literate and wellorganized bureaucracy
oversaw the supply of the
Roman army with all of its
necessities delivered,
wherever possible, by river
or sea, which was much
faster and less expensive
than overland transport.
MEDITERRANEAN TRADE
The Romans called the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum, “Our Sea.” Under the Empire, the
capital was regularly supplied with grain imported from distant Alexandria. Here, a rare
fresco of a Roman grain ship.
Trade blossomed under the
Roman Empire, with extensive
sea-borne exchange of
commodities such as grain,
olive oil, wine, and textiles.
Roman Road
England
The extensive Roman road system
facilitated the movement of troops
and trade throughout the empire.
Segments of these ancient roads
have sur vived intact in many parts
of Europe and the Middle East.
Roman Road
Italy
THE OTHER WAY TO TRAVEL AND SHIP GOODS
The cities of the Roman Empire shared
numerous features of Greco-Roman urban
amenities, including baths, theaters (or, in
the West, amphitheaters), and libraries of
Greek and Latin literature.
CITIES: EPICENTERS OF
GRECO-ROMAN CULTURE
THE
BASICS
There were no real
public schools in the
Roman Empire, but
wealthy families
(and some cities)
hired tutors to
educate the youth.
The curriculum was
heavily literary in
orientation. In the
West, lessons began
with Virgil (here
depicted in a mosaic
from North Africa);
in the Greek East,
the educational
canon began and
ended with Homer
and Classical
Athenian writers.
Greek culture and
literature was
admired all over
the Roman world.
Here, in a fresco
from Pompeii, the
ancient story of
Europa and the
bull, which we last
encountered in our
lectures on the
origins of Minoan
civilization;
according to the
story, Zeus
disguised as a bull
carried Europa
from Phoenicia to
the island of Crete.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
All over the
Roman Empire,
local donors
poured money
into the
construction of
new monuments
in honors of their
cities and
themselves. The
city of Bosra in
southern Syria
boasts the world’s
best preserved
Roman theater.
Roman Theater at Bosra (Syria)
Mimes and other performers entertained crowds
with a combination of music, dancing, and parody.
Wealthy homeowners frequently hired artists to
depict theatrical scenes in their homes. Here, a
stunning mosaic from the city of Antioch.
Throughout the empire, many cities also
paid for the construction of aqueducts,
which exponentially increased the
amount of water available for muchadmired urban amenities, such as
fountains, baths, and sewage systems.
AQUEDUCT (PONT DU GARD, FRANCE)
The ancient Roman baths in Bath, England.
More often, the remains of ancient
Roman baths look more like this.
The open shafts in the flooring
allowed the circulation of steam to
heat the room. Roman baths
required thousands of pounds of
firewood and large staffs of slaves
or other laborers to keep the heat on!
The public toilets (for men) at
Ephesus. Romans would probably
have found modern expectations for
bathroom privacy very strange.
The Roman aqueduct at Segovia in
Spain. As you might imagine, very
precise engineering was required to
keep the water flowing into the
cities.