Cornelius Sulla, who served from BC. While Rome continued to be governed as a Republic for another 50 years, the shift to Imperialism began to materialize in 60 BC when Julius Caesar rose to power. Octavian assumed the title of Augustus and thus became the first emperor of Rome. During this period, Rome saw several decades of peace, prosperity, and expansion.
During his rule he instaured the Tetrarchy, a form of government that divided the power. Diocletian designated the general Maximian to take charge of the western regions of the Empire, while the emperor governed over the eastern regions. Years later, he would appoint two Caesars. After the abdication of Diocletian in , a series of conflicts took place until , when Constantine became the sole emperor of the West.
He was to be the last emperor of the unified empire. He instituted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire. The capital of the Empire is moved to the ancient city of Byzantium , which is reconstructed.
In Mortal Republic , prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged freedom for autocracy. Historians are cautious when trying to apply lessons from one unique culture to another, and the differences between the modern United States and Rome are immense.
Rome was an Iron-Age city-state with a government-sponsored religion that at times made decisions by looking at the entrails of sheep. Romans had a rigid class system, relied on slave labor and had a tolerance for everyday violence that is genuinely horrifying. Then again, other aspects of the Roman Republic feel rather familiar. Those similarities make comparisons worthwhile, even if the togas, gladiator battles and appetite for dormice seem completely foreign. Cullen Murphy, whose book Are We Rome?
Rome, during the Republic and Empire, had increasing and evolving responsibilities around the Mediterranean which its government constantly struggled to manage. Those challenges forced changes throughout the economy and society, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. In general terms, he sees many of the same struggles in recent U.
Those types of social and economic changes also rattled the Roman Republic, leading to the moment in B. Instead, politicians had to build political brands that appealed to the masses, leading to something akin to modern American campaigning with big promises and populist language aimed at the poor and middle class.
There are some things we should clarify however, before we get started. Before the Empire, the Roman Republic existed, governing the land for years. The Republic, first situated in Rome expanded out to the rest of Italy and then to North Africa and the Mediterranean. With the overwhelming difference between the rich and the poor, a new practice took place where the army was paid with gold. This resulted in soldiers no longer fighting for the republic, but rather for their generals.
Julius Caesar, a military leader, took this opportunity and seized control, becoming dictator of Rome that dismantled the government.
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