Difference between revisions 25482 and 25507 on enwiki

''I moved this debate with Dr. Kemp, who is mischaracterizing me so consistently I can only question her sincerity. -- Ed''

:No need to question, Ed.  I'm entirely sincere in everything I've said. It is not a mischaracterization, because I've only stated the impressions I have based on what you've said.  Oh -- and I didn't actually call you the representative of good -- merely pointed out that you seemed to have given yourself this role.  You must have been confused.  [[user:J Hofmann Kemp|J Hofmann Kemp]]

::It seems confusion is our mutual enemy. If we agree on this at least, perhaps it can give us something to build on. --Ed

Hi, Ed! -- Welcome back.  I notice you are again starting articles on which you cannot be neutral, and I have to ask, WHY????  By the way, I went to school in California when the schools were ranked highest in the country.  They were well funded, and fairly liberal.  My sex education classes ranged from basic anatomy (you're going to get your period, girls) to encouraging a healthy attitude towards accepting our bodies and sexuality.  Birth control was discussed, but the teachers always claimed that abstinence was the best method of birth control and that sex was not a substitute for liking yourself.  Byt the time I was a senior in high school, we also discussed STDs and, the day before Senior Prom, my biology teacher brought in some ex-students who worked at planned parenthood, who demonstrated how to put on a condom without breaking it.  Some people surreptitiously palmed a couple of condoms for later, but most of us just laughed and filed the info away for future reference.  At no time were we pushed to "accept immoral practices".  We were, however, taught that some people, for whatever reason, were gay, and that, even if we found it an immoral practice, we lived in a country where it was legal to be gay, and it was wrong to attack people (verbally or physically) because of it.  I'm sure sex ed has changed -- i'll have to ask my daughter.  But really...could you please not write articles if you know in advance you can't be neutral? [[user:J Hofmann Kemp|J Hofmann Kemp]]

:In the battle between good and evil, the mere failure to condemn evil is the precise equivalent of accepting it. Education which promotes a "non-judgmental attitude" toward something thus pushes students to accept it. I refuse to be neutral: I oppose evil. However, I have agreed to '''write''' from an [[NPOV]] when contributing to the wikipedia. I will still call a spade a spade, but in cases where many others want to call it a diamond I will try to indicate a '''source''' for its identification as a spade. Fair enough? --Ed Poor

::You oppose ''what you consider to be evil'' and many other people consider to be good. And that's just fine, but advocacy like that does not belong into an encyclopedia. [[user:AxelBoldt|AxelBoldt]]

:::If you think that way, perhaps you are evil. Beware. --your friend, Ed Poor

::::If you think that way, perhaps you also believe that encyclopedias are evil.  Conundrum.  [[user:Olof|Olof]]

::::No, Olof, I don't think encyclopedias are evil. Assembling human knowledge is a worthy goal. However, forcing children to accept immorality is evil. Calling this force "non-judgmental" does not make it good. --Ed Poor

:::::QED [[user:Olof|Olof]]

Ed, I hardly think that believing in free will and that man was granted the ability to reason and make choices can be construed as evil.  As usual, you are oversimplifying the argument and condemning others who disagree.  Whether or not you like it, not even all Christians believe the same thing (or at least not all to the same degree) when it comes to sexual mores. Your "traditional" does not make it the only viewpoint, and is certainly not the only moral one, nor does it represent the views of all religions and cultures.  It's insulting and arrogant for you to claim that you are somehow the representative of good vs. evil, and those of us who wish for a balanced article that includes information with which you don't agree represent some corrupting force. [[user:J Hofmann Kemp|J Hofmann Kemp]]

:You sound a bit confused. That's natural, because evil's best weapon is confusion. Let me give you a bit of guidance.
*''Well, that's one of the most patronizing and offensive statements yet.  I'm not at all confused, Ed.  Nor do I accept your implication that I am somehow confused because I am under the influence of evil.  How dare you reduce a debate on the presentation of information in a neutral, inclusive, and objective style to Ed = good, people who think Ed can't be objective = confused or under some evil influence?''

#I agree with you that believing in free will and that man was granted the ability to reason and make choices can not be construed as evil. You seem to think I believe otherwise, although you don't say way.

*''I think you believe otherwise because you have consistently negated arguments of people who discuss using reason to make moral decisions, absent a membership in a social group that follows what you so blithely (and incorrectly) call traditional morality.  If this is not what you mean, perhaps you should write more clearly.''

#If there is indeed, as you seem to suggest, an argument which should not be simplified, please delineate its complexity in the article. I will be happy to read your contribution.
*''Ed, one of my objections is that almost all of your contributions start out as this one has.  To wit: Ed places a very non-NPOV  stub on the site; immediately, many people jump in to try to add to and neutralize the content; Ed takes offense and sparks major debate over morality; Ed answers objections on NPOV, etc., with something like, "please delineate its complexity in the article. I will be happy to read your contribution" -- implying that you have some type of editorial rights that the rest of us don't.''  
*''Have you not realized that: 1)'''you are not the arbiter of what goes into an article''', and 2)'''you are abusing the time and efforts of others by working in this fashion'''?'' Understand that I call abuse because you depend upon people who care about the quality of the content on the site to jump in and contribute to subjects they may not have wanted to write on, but feel obligated because they care about the project.  It's really inconsiderate and (based on my own experience and the inferences I've drawn from that experience) manipulative of you.  Your methods force others to do the bulk of the work while you take advantage of the evangelical opportunities that always arise from the debate on "traditional" morality -- traditional in quotes because I know right-wing, Rush limbaugh Republicans who would disagree with you -- not to mention tons of other people who are very moral.''

#I condemn no one, except those who deliberately choose evil. Axel implied that I shouldn't oppose evil. If he's really saying that, I repeat that he should beware: refusing to oppose evil lets it triumph (as Edmund Burke or someone said).
*''As above -- you imply that those of us who argue with you about the characteristics of morality are somehow of lesser mental capacity, moral worth, and/or influenced by evil -- it's offensive and likely untrue.''

::Don't put words in my mouth. I said that you are welcome to oppose ''what you consider evil'' and advocate for ''what you consider good'', just like I do, '''but not on Wikipedia'''. This is not a space to advocate viewpoints. Do it on your website, on Usenet, write letters to the editor, whatever. Your goal in contributing to Wikipedia, quite obviously, is not to create a good encyclopedia, but to sneak in your point of view. By doing that, you suck time out of the rest of us. [[user:AxelBoldt|AxelBoldt]]

#I agree that the traditional viewpoint is not the only one. If there's another one you'd like to see in the articl, please add it. Perhaps you could even describe variations within the traditional viewpoint. 

*''As above, buddy.  You started the article -- it's '''your responsibility''' to do your best to present other viewpoints as well.  Otherwise, you're not really a contributer -- just a gadfly who doesn't respect the time of other Wikipedians.''

#If there are other opinions about what is "moral", please describe these, too, and say who advances these opinions.
*''As above -- and don't be disingenuous -- it's insulting.''

#I am not the world's leading advocate of goodness, but that should be no bar to contributing ideas about goodness vs. evil to the wikipedia. You do it, yourself.
*Perhaps on talk pages, but my article writing is  based in a career of scholarship, which demands objectivity.''
#Your biggest mistake, would be to think that I don't want a balanced article. Is this what you really think? Come on, now, what would make you think I opposed balance and NPOV? I have no objection whatsoever to "including information with which I don't agree" -- it must merely be labeled correctly as to who believes it, in accordance with [[NPOV]] policy.
*''Ed, what I believe about you is that you are deliberately creating situations like this to make yourself feel important and perhaps even more comfortable with your own moral choices.  Moreover, I believe that you are trying to use these pages to evangelize others on the truth as seen by the [[Unification church]], but in a fairly subtle way.  I believe that you don't have the ability to write a fair and balanced article, but would like to think of yourself as some kind of arbiter of what information belongs in that article -- thereby boosting your own importance in your own little world.  I believe that you are so wrapped up in your little control games that you do not feel obliged to treat the rest of us as colleagues -- in short, the traditional virtue of charity and the Christian tradition of the Golden Rule seem to be absent from your wikipedia life.  Those are some of the nicer things I believe about you, Ed.''
*The straight (but not narrow), happily married, Christian, environmentalist, Feminist, Mrs. Dr. [[user:J Hofmann Kemp|J Hofmann Kemp]]

I hoped I had cleared up any false impression Dr. Kemp may have formed of me, but plainly I have failed. Nevertheless, i still would like us cooperate to make the Wikipedia comprehensive, accurate, and neutral (in the [[NPOV]] sense). -- Ed
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{{dablink|The Roman Empire is not the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Empire (843-1806)]].}}[[Image:Europa60AD.jpeg|thumb|300px|right|Roman Empire between AD [[60]] and [[400]] with major cities. During this time only [[Dacia]] and [[Mesopotamia]] were added to the Empire but were lost before [[300]].]]The '''Roman Empire''' is the term conventionally used to describe the [[Rome|Roman]] state in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of [[Caesar Augustus]].  Although Rome possessed a collection of tribute-states for centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, the pre-Augustan state is conventionally described as the [[Roman Republic]].  The difference between the '''Roman Empire''' and the '''Roman Republic''' lies primarily in the governing bodies and their relationship to each other.

For many years historians made a distinction between the [[Principate]], the period from Augustus until the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], and the [[Dominate]], the period from [[Diocletian]] until the end of the Empire in the West. According to this theory, during the Principate (from the [[Latin]] word ''princeps'', meaning "the first", the only title Augustus would permit himself) the realities of dictatorship were concealed behind Republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word ''dominus'', meaning "Master") imperial power showed its naked face, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. We now know that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the [[Byzantine]] period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.[[Image:Roman Empire Map.png|thumb|left|300px|The provinces of the Roman Empire.]]Over the course of its history the Roman Empire controlled all of the [[Hellenes|Hellenized]] states that bordered the [[Mediterranean]] Sea, as well as the [[Celtic]] regions of [[Western Europe]]. The administration of the Roman Empire eventually evolved into separate Eastern and Western halves, more or less following this cultural division. They are respectively known as the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] and the [[Western Roman Empire]]. By the time that [[Odoacer]] took power of the West in [[476]] the Western half was clearly evolving in new directions, with the Church absorbing much of the administrative and charitable roles previously filled by the secular government. The Eastern half of the Empire, centered around [[Constantinople]], the city of [[Constantine the Great]], remained the heartland of the Roman state until [[1453]] when the [[Byzantine Empire]] fell to the [[Ottoman Turks]].

The Roman Empire's influence on government, law, and monumental architecture, as well as many other aspects of Western life remains inescapable. Roman titles of power were adopted by successor states and other entities with imperial pretensions, including the [[Frankish]] kingdom, the [[Holy Roman Empire]], the [[History of Bulgaria|first and second Bulgarian empires]](see [[List of Bulgarian monarchs]]), the [[History of Russia|Russian/Kiev]] dynasties (see [[tsar|czars]]), and the [[German Empire]] (see [[Kaiser]]). See [[Roman culture]]
==Age of [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]] (31BC-14AD)==
===Political Developments===
[[Image:Roman Empire.png|thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Empire in <font color="red">[[133 BC]]</font>, in <font color="orange">[[44 BC]]</font>, in <font color="yellow">[[14]] AD</font>, and in <font color="green">[[117]] AD</font>.]]

As a matter of convenience, the Roman Empire is held to have begun with the constitutional settlement following the [[Battle of Actium]] in [[31 BC]]. In fact the Republican institutions at Rome had been destroyed over the preceding [[century]] and Rome had been effectively under one-man rule since the time of [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]].

The reign of [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]] marks an important turning point, though. By the time of [[Actium]], there was no one left alive who could recall functional Republican institutions or a time when there was no [[civil war]] in Rome. Forty-five years later, at Augustus's death, there would have been few living who could recall a time before Augustus himself. The average Roman had a [[life expectancy]] of only forty years. The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus allowed a generation to live and die knowing no other form of rule, or indeed no other ruler. This was critically important to creating a mindset that would allow hereditary monarchy to exist in a Rome that had killed [[Julius Caesar]] for his regal pretensions. Whether or not the people of Rome welcomed one-man rule, in the Age of Augustus, it was all they knew, and so it would remain for many centuries. During his reign [[Roman commerce|trade links]] developed with regions as far as India and China.

Augustus's reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire:
*Creating a hereditary office, which we refer to as [[Emperor]] of Rome.
*Fixing the payscale. Duration of Roman military service marked the final step in the evolution of the [[Roman Army]] from a [[citizen army]] to a professional one.
*Creating the [[Praetorian Guard]], which would make and unmake emperors for centuries.
*Expansion to the [[natural borders]] of the Empire. The borders reached upon Augustus's death remained the limits of Empire, with minimal exceptions, for the next four hundred years.
*Creating a [[civil service]] outside of the [[Roman Senate|Senatorial structure]], leading to a continuous weakening of Senatorial authority.
*The ''[[lex Julia]]'' of [[18 BC]] and the ''[[lex Papia Poppaea]]'' of AD [[9]], which rewarded childbearing and penalized [[celibacy]].
*Promulgation of the cult of the Deified Julius Caesar throughout the Empire, and the encouragement of a quasi-godlike status for himself in his own lifetime in the Hellenist East. This tradition lasted until the time of [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], who was made both a Roman god and "the Thirteenth [[Apostle]]" upon his death.

===Cultural developments=== ''Main article: [[Roman culture]]''

The Augustan period saw a tremendous outpouring of cultural achievement in the areas of poetry, history, sculpture and architecture.
===Sources=== The Age of Augustus is paradoxically far more poorly documented than the Late Republican period that preceded it. While [[Livy]] wrote his magisterial history during Augustus's reign and his work covered all of Roman history through [[9 BC]], only [[epitome]]s survive of his coverage of the Late Republican and Augustan periods.  Our important primary sources for this period include the:
*[[Res Gestae Divi Augusti]], Augustus's highly partisan [[autobiography]],
*''Historiae Romanae'' by [[Velleius Paterculus]], a disorganized work which remains the best [[annal]] of the Augustan period, and
*''Controversiae'' and ''Suasoriae'' of [[Seneca the Elder]].

Though primary accounts of this period are few, works of poetry, legislation and engineering from this period provide important insights into Roman life. Archeology, including [[maritime archeology]], [[aerial surveys]], [[epigraphic]] inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan [[Roman currency|coinage]], has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions.

Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include [[Tacitus]], [[Dio Cassius]], [[Plutarch]] and [[Suetonius]]. [[Josephus]]'s ''[[Jewish Antiquities]]'' is the important source for [[Judea]] in this period, which became a [[Roman province|province]] during Augustus's reign.

==[[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]: Augustus' heirs== Augustus's strategy of intermarriage between the [[Julii]] and [[Claudii]] resulted in a combination of family and political relationships known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
===[[Tiberius]] (14AD-37AD)=== The early years of Tiberius' reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched the treasury. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In [[19]], he was blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular [[Germanicus]]. In 23 his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself.  He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard, [[Aelius Sejanus]]. Tiberius himself retired to live at his villa on the island of [[Capri]] in 26, leaving Sejanus in charge. Sejanus carried on the persecutions with relish.  He also began to consolidate his own power; in [[31]] he was named co-consul with Tiberius and married Livilla, the emperor's niece. At this point he was hoist by his own [[petard]]; the Emperor's paranoia, which he had so ably exploited for his own gain, was turned against him. Sejanus was put to death, along with many of his cronies, the same year. The persecutions continued apace until Tiberius's death in [[37]].

===[[Caligula]] (37AD-41AD)=== At the time of Tiberius's death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius's own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus's son Gaius (better known as Caligula). Caligula started out well, by putting an end to the persecutions and burning his uncle's records. Unfortunately, he quickly lapsed into illness. The Caligula that emerged in late [[37]] may have suffered from [[epilepsy]], and was more probably insane. He ordered his soldiers to invade [[Britain]], but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on [[incest]]uous relations with his sisters. He had ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at [[Jerusalem]], which would have undoubtedly led to revolt had he not been dissuaded. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard [[Cassius Chaerea]]. The only member left of the imperial family to take charge was another nephew of Tiberius's, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, better known as the emperor [[Claudius]].
===[[Claudius]] (41AD-54AD)=== Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither [[paranoid]] like his uncle Tiberius, nor [[insane]] like his nephew [[Caligula]], and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability. He improved the [[bureaucracy]] and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the [[Roman invasion of Britain|conquest  and colonization of Britain]] (in [[43]]), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. In Italy, he constructed a winter port at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather.

On the home front, Claudius was less successful. His wife [[Messalina]] [[cuckold]]ed him; when he found out, he had her executed and married his niece, [[Agrippina the younger]]. She, along with several of his freedmen, held an inordinate amount of power over him, and very probably killed him in [[54]]. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 16-year-old Lucius Domitius, or, as he was known by this time, [[Nero]].
===[[Nero]] (54AD-69AD)=== Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]. However, as he grew older, his desire for power increased; he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in [[Roman Britain|Britain]], [[Armenia]], [[Parthia]], and [[Judaea]]. Nero's inability to manage the rebellions and his basic incompetence became evident quickly and in [[68]], even the Imperial guard renounced him. Nero is best remembered for playing his [[fiddle]] while the city of Rome burned, though this story is apocryphal, as the fiddle had yet to be invented. Nero committed suicide, and the year [[69]] (known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]) was a year of civil war, with the emperors [[Galba]], [[Otho]], [[Vitellius]], and [[Vespasian]] ruling in quick succession.  By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome.

==[[Flavian Dynasty]]==
===[[Vespasian]] (69AD-79AD)=== Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of [[Galba]]; however, on his death, Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. After the suicide of [[Otho]], Vespasian was able to hijack Rome's winter grain supply, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius. On December 20, 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops, and the next day, Vespasian was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate.

Vespasian was quite the [[autocracy|autocrat]], and gave much less credence to the Senate than his Julio-Claudian predecessors. This was typified by his dating his accession to power from [[July 1]], when his troops proclaimed him emperor, instead of [[December 21]], when the Senate confirmed his appointment. He would, in later years, expel dissident senators.

Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. By increasing tax rates dramatically (sometimes as much as doubling them) he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury and embark on public works projects. It was he who first commissioned the [[Roman Colosseum]]; he also built a [[forum]] whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace.

Vespasian was also an effective emperor for the provinces. His generals quelled rebellions in [[Syria]] and [[Germany]]. In fact, in Germany he was able to expand the frontiers of the empire, and a great deal more of [[Britain]] was brought under Roman rule. He also extended Roman citizenship to the inhabitants of [[Spain]].

Another example of his monarchical tendencies was his insistence that his sons [[Titus]] and [[Domitian]] would succeed him; the imperial power was not seen as hereditary at this point. Titus, who had some military successes early in Vespasian's reign, was seen as the heir presumptive to the throne; Domitian was seen as somewhat less disciplined and responsible. Titus joined his father in the offices of [[censor]] and consul and helped him reorganize the senatorial rolls. Upon Vespasian's death in [[79]], Titus was immediately confirmed as Emperor.

===[[Titus]] (79AD-81AD)=== Titus' short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, [[Vesuvius]] erupted in [[Pompeii]], and in 80, a fire decimated much of Rome. His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100 [[gladiator]]s and lasted 100 days. However, it was during Domitian's reign that the Colosseum was completed. Titus died in [[81]], at the age of 41; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor.

===[[Domitian]] (81AD-96AD)=== Domitian did not live up to the good name left for the family by his father and elder brother.  While his offenses may have been exaggerated by hostile later generations, it is clear that he did not like to share power. It had become accepted by Domitian's time that the emperor would simultaneously hold many of the magistracies established during [[Roman Republic|Republican]] times (for instance the [[censor]]ship and the [[tribune|tribunate]]), but it was still customary for other politicians to have those powers as well. Domitian wanted to claim authority for himself alone, causing him to alienate the Senate as well as the people.
==[[Nervan-Antonian dynasty]]==
==="[[Five Good Emperors]]" (96AD-180AD)=== [[Image:Roman_empire.png|frame|right|Roman empire at its maximal extent (AD 117)]]The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the successions were peaceful though not [[dynasty|dynastic]], and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors were [[Nerva]], [[Trajan]], [[Hadrian]], [[Antoninus Pius]], and [[Marcus Aurelius]]. 

Under Trajan, the Empire's borders briefly achieved their maximum extension with provinces created in [[Mesopotamia]].
===[[Commodus]] (180AD-192AD)=== The period of the "five good emperors" was brought to an end by the reign of Commodus from 180 to 192. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius. He was co-emperor with his father from 177. When he became sole emperor upon the death of his father in 180, it was at first seen as a hopeful sign by the people of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, as generous and magnanimous as his father was, Commodus turned out to be just the opposite. 

Commodus is often thought to have been insane, and he was certainly given to excess. He began his reign by making an unfavorable peace treaty with the [[Marcomanni]], who had been at war with Marcus Aurelius. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatoral combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a [[gladiator]]. In 190, a part of the city of Rome burned, and Commodus took the opportunity to "re-found" the city of Rome in his own honor, as Colonia Commodiana. The months of the calendar were all renamed in his honor, and the senate was renamed as the Commodian Fortunate Senate. The army became known as the Commodian Army.  Commodus was strangled in his sleep in 192, a day before he planned to march into the Senate dressed as a gladiator to take office as a consul. Upon his death, the Senate passed ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' on him and restored the proper name to the city of Rome and its institutions. The popular movies ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' ([[1964]]) and ''[[Gladiator (2000 movie)|Gladiator]]'' ([[2000]]) were loosely based on the career of the emperor Commodus, although they should not be taken as an accurate historical depictions of his life.
==[[Severan dynasty]] (193AD-235AD)== The Severan dynasty includes the increasingly troubled reigns of [[Septimius Severus]] (193-211), [[Caracalla]] (211-217), [[Macrinus]] (217-218), [[Elagabalus]] (218-222), and [[Alexander Severus]] (222-235). The founder of the dynasty, Lucius Septimius Severus, belonged to a leading native family of [[Leptis Magna]] in [[Africa]] who allied himself with a prominent Syrian family by his marriage to [[Julia Domna]]. Their provincial background and cosmopolitan alliance, eventually giving rise to imperial rulers of Syrian background, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, testifies to the broad political franchise and economic development of the Roman empire that had been achieved under the [[Antonines]]. A generally successful ruler, Septimius Severus cultivated the [[Roman army|army's]] support with substantial remuneration in return for total loyalty to the emperor and substituted equestrian officers for senators in key administrative positions. In this way, he successfully broadened the power base of the imperial administration throughout the empire. Abolishing the regular standing jury courts of [[Roman Republic|Republican]] times, Septimius Severus was likewise able to transfer additional power to the executive branch of the government, of which he was decidedly the chief representative.

Septimius Severus' son, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - nicknamed [[Caracalla]] - removed all legal and political distinction between Italians and provincials, enacting the ''[[Constitutio Antoniniana]]'' in [[212]] which extended full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Caracalla was also responsible for erecting the famous [[Baths of Caracalla]] in [[Rome]], their design serving as an architectural model for many subsequent monumental public buildings. Increasingly unstable and autocractic, Caracalla was assassinated by the [[Praetorian Guard|praetorian prefect]] [[Macrinus]] in [[217]], who succeeded him briefly as the first emperor not of senatorial rank. The imperial court, however, was dominated by formidable women who arranged the succession of [[Elagabalus]] in [[218]], and [[Alexander Severus]], the last of the dynasty, in [[222]]. In the last phase of the Severan principate, the power of the Senate was somewhat revived and a number of fiscal reforms were enacted. Despite early successes against the [[Sassanian Empire]] in the East, Alexander Severus' increasing inability to control the army led eventually to its mutiny and his assassination in [[235]]. The death of Alexander Severus ushered in a subsequent period of soldier-emperors and almost a half-century of civil war and strife.

==[[Crisis of the 3rd Century]] (235AD-275AD)== The Crisis of the [[3rd century|3rd Century]] is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between [[235]] and [[275]]. During this period, Rome was ruled by more than 35 individuals, most of them prominent generals who assumed Imperial power over all or part of the empire, only to lose it by defeat in battle, murder, or death. After 35 years of this, the Empire was on the verge of death, and only the military skill of [[Aurelian]], one of Rome's greatest emperors, restored the empire to its natural boundaries.

==[[Tetrarchy]] (285-324 AD)== [[Image:The-Tetrarchs.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''The Tetrarchs'', a [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] [[sculpture]] sacked from a [[Byzantine]] palace in [[1204]], Treasury of [[Mark the Evangelist|St Mark's]], [[Venice]]]]The transition from a single united empire to the later divided Western and Eastern empires was a gradual transformation. In [[July]], [[285]], [[Diocletian]] defeated rival Emperor [[Carinus]] and briefly became sole emperor of the Roman Empire..

Diocletian felt that the system of Roman imperial government was unsustainable in the face of internal pressures and military threats on two fronts. He gave [[Maximian]] the title of [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], which was the traditional manner by which an emperor ([[Augustus]]) designated his successor. However Diocletian made Maximian an Augustus as well. Imperial power was therefore divided between two people. Diocletian's sphere of influence was the East, Maximian's the West.

In [[293]] authority was further divided when each Augustus took a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters; Diocletian was assisted by [[Galerius]] and Maximian by [[Constantius Chlorus]]. This constituted what was called in [[Latin]] a [[quadrumvirate]] and in [[Greek language | Greek]] a [[Tetrarchy]]; the leadership of four. The system allowed the peaceful succession of the Augusti. On [[May 1]], [[305]] Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favor of their Caesars ; apparently choosing [[retirement]] to death in office. Galerius named the two new Caesars: his nephew [[Maximinus]] for himself and [[Flavius Valerius Severus]] for Constantius.

The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus on [[July 25]], [[306]]. Constantius' troops in [[Eboracum]] immediately ploclaimed his son [[Constantine the Great]] an Augustus. In August, 306, Galerius promoted Severus to the position of Augustus. A revolt in [[Rome]] supported another claimant to the same title: [[Maxentius]], son of Maximian, who was proclaimed Augustus on [[October 28]], 306. His election was supported by the [[Praetorian Guard]]. This left the Empire with four Augusti (Galerius, Constantine, Severus and Maxentius) and a sole Caesar (Maximinus).

The year [[307]] saw the return of Maximian to the role of Augustus alongside his son. Galerius and Severus campaigned against them in Italy. Severus was killed under command of Maxentius on [[September 16]], [[307]]. The two Augusti of Italy also managed to ally themselves with Constantine by having Constantine marry [[Fausta]], the daughter of Maximian and sister of Maxentius. The end of 307 saw the Empire with four Augusti (Maximian, Galerius, Constantine and Maxentius) and a sole Caesar (Maximinus).

The five were briefly joined by another Augustus in [[308]], [[Domitius Alexander]], [[vicarius]] of the [[Roman province]] of [[Africa (province)|Africa]] under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by [[Rufus Volusianus]] and [[Zenas]]. Alexander ended his life in captivity in [[309]]. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of [[Carnuntum]] with the participation of all four Augusti and the Caesar. The final decisions were taken on [[November 11]], 308:
*Galerius remained Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire.
*Maximinus remained Caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire.
*Maximian was forced to abdicate.
*Maxentius received official recognition as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire.
*Constantine received official recognition but was demoted to Caesar of the Western Roman Empire.
*[[Licinius]] replaced Maximian as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire.

Problems however continued. Maximinus demanded to be promoted to Augustus. He proclaimed himself to be one on [[May 1]], [[310]]. Maximian similarly proclaimed himself an Augustus for a third and final time. He was killed by his son-in-law Constantine in [[July]], 310. The end of the year again found the Empire with four Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Maxentius and Licinius) and a sole Caesar (Constantine).

Galerius died in [[May]] [[311]] leaving Maximinus sole ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. Meanwhile Maxentius declared a war on Constantine under the pretext of avenging his executed father. He was among the casualties of the [[Battle of Milvian Bridge]] on [[October 28]], [[312]]. Constantine was promoted to Augustus.

This left the Empire in the hands of the three remaining Augusti, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius. Licinius allied himself with Constantine, cementing the alliance by marriage to his younger half-sister Constantia in [[March]] [[313]] and joining open conflict with Maximinus. In August [[313]] Maximinus met his death at [[Tarsus in Cilicia]]. The two remaining Augusti divided the Empire again in the pattern established by Diocletian, Constantine becoming Augustus of the Western Roman Empire and Licinius Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire.

This division continued until 324. A final war between the last two remaining Augusti ended with the deposition of Licinius and the elevation of Constantine to sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. Deciding that the empire needed a new capital, Constantine chose the site of [[Byzantium]] for the new city. He refounded it as [[Nova Roma]], but it was popularly called [[Constantinople]]: Constantine's City.

==Christian Empire (324AD-395AD)== The beginning of the Roman Empire as a Christian empire lies in [[313]] AD, with the [[Edict of Milan]]. The edict was signed under the reign of [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine I]]. The edict made Christianity one of the official religions of Rome. 

Christianity became the single official religion of Rome under [[Theodosius]] (r. [[379]]-[[395]] AD). Initially the emperor had control over the church. During Theodosius' reign he randomly slaughtered a village. Upon his return to Rome the Bishop [[Ambrose]] refused to  let Theodosius enter the church until he made a public repentance. Theodosius did and from then on the church's powers grew. Eventually the church would gain enough power that it would outlast the empire in the west.

==Late Antiquity in the West (395AD-476AD)== In popular history, the year 476 is generally accepted as the end of the Western Roman Empire. In that year, [[Odoacer]] disposed of his puppet [[Romulus Augustus]] (475-476), and for the first time did not bother to induct a successor, choosing instead to rule as a representative of the Eastern Emperor (although [[Julius Nepos]], the emperor deposed by Romulus Augustulus, continued to rule [[Illyricum]] until his death in 480, at which point Odoacer annexed the remainder of the Western Empire to his Italian kingdom). The last Emperor who ruled from Rome, however, had been [[Theodosius]], who removed the seat of power to Mediolanum ([[Milan]]). [[Edward Gibbon]], in writing ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' knew not to end his narrative at 476. The great corpse continued to twitch, into the 6th century.

On the other hand, in 409, with the Emperor of the West fled from Milan to Ravenna and all the provinces wavering in loyalties, the Goth [[Alaric I]], in charge at Rome, came to terms with the senate, and with their consent set up a rival emperor and invested the prefect of the city, a Greek named Priscus Attalus, with the diadem and the purple robe. In the following year when the Goths rampaged in the City, local power was in the hands of the Bishop of Rome. The transfer of power to Christian pope and military ''dux'' had been effected: the Western Empire was effectively dead, though no contemporary knew it. 

The next seven decades played out as aftermath. [[Theodoric the Great]] as King of the Goths, couched his legitimacy in diplomatic terms as being the representative of the Emperor of the East. Consuls were appointed regularly through his reign:  a formula for the consular appointment is provided in Cassiodorus' Book VI. The post of consul was last filled in the west under Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the [[Gothic War]] in Italy, which was meant as the reconquest of a lost province for the Emperor of the East and a re-establishment of the continuity of power, actually caused more damage and cut more ties of continuity with the Antique world than the attempts of Theodoric and his minister [[Cassiodorus]] to meld Roman and Gothic culture within a Roman form.

In essence, the "fall" of the Roman Empire to a contemporary depended a great deal on where they were and their status in the world. On the great [[villa]]s of the Italian Campagna, the seasons rolled on without a hitch. The local overseer may have been representing an Ostrogoth, then a Lombard duke, then a Christian bishop, but the rhythm of life and the horizons of the imagined world remained the same. Even in the decayed cities of Italy ''consuls'' were still elected. In Auvergne, at Clermont, the Gallo-Roman poet and diplomat [[Sidonius Apollinaris]], bishop of Clermont, realized that the local "fall of Rome" came in 475, with the fall of the city to the Visigoth [[Euric]]. In the north of Gaul the Franks could not be taken for Roman, but in Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king [[Leovigild]] considered himself the heir of Rome. In Alexandria, dreams of a "Christian Empire" with genuine continuity were shattered when a rampaging mob of Christians were encouraged to sack and destroy the [[Serapeum]] in 392. [[Hispania Baetica]] was still essentially Roman when the Moors came in 711, but in the northwest, the invasion of the [[Suevi]] broke the last frail links with Roman culture in 409. In Aquitania and Provence, cities like [[Arles]] were not abandoned, but Roman culture in Britain collapsed in waves of violence after the last legions evacuated: the final legionary probably left Britain in 409. In Athens the end came for some in 529, when the Emperor Justinian closed the [[Academy|Neoplatonic Academy]] and its remaining members fled east for protection under the rule of Sassanid king [[Khosrau I]]; for other Greeks it had come long before, in 396, when Christian monks led [[Alaric I]] to vandalize the site of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].

Finally to footnote, the Romans didn't share ''all'' their knowledge. An example is [[cement]]. (See [[Bridge]]''': History.''') After the "fall" of Rome the technology for cement was "lost."
==From Roman to Byzantine in the East==
===Under [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]] (330AD-337AD) and his sons (337AD-361AD)=== Constantinople would serve as the capital of Constantine the Great from [[May 11]], [[330]] to his death on [[May 22]], [[337]]. The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons.The [[Western Roman Empire]] was divided among the eldest son [[Constantine II (emperor) | Constantine II]] and the youngest son [[Constans]]. The Eastern Roman Empire along with Constantinople were the share of middle son [[Constantius II]].

Constantine II was killed in conflict with his youngest brother in [[340]]. Constans was himself killed in conflict with army proclaimed Augustus [[Magnentius]] on [[January 18]], [[350]]. Magnentius was at first opposed in the city of Rome by self-proclaimed Augustus [[Nepotianus]], a paternal first cousin of Constans. Nepotianus was killed alongside his mother [[Eutropia]]. His other first cousin Constantia convinced [[Vetriano]] to proclaim himself Caesar in opposition to Magnentius. Vetriano served a brief term from [[March 1]] to [[December 25]], 350. He was then forced to abdicate by the legitimate Augustus Constantius. The [[List of Roman usurpers|usurper]] Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire till [[353]] while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and [[suicide]] left Constantius as sole Emperor.

Constantius rule would however be opposed again in [[360]]. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law [[Julian]] as his Caesar of the Western Roman Empire in [[355]]. During the following five years, Julian had a series of victories against invading [[Germanic tribes]], including the [[Alamanni]]. This allowed him to secure the [[Rhine]] frontier. His victorious [[Gallic]] troops thus ceased campaigning. Constantius send orders for the troops to be transferred to the east as reinforcements for his own currently unsuccessful campaign against [[Shapur II of Persia]]. This order led the Gallic troops to an [[insurrection]]. They proclaimed their commanding officer Julian to be an Augustus. Both Augusti were not ready to lead their troops to another [[Roman Civil War]]. Constantius' timely demise on [[November 3]], [[361]] prevented this war from ever occurring.

===Under [[Julian]] (361AD-363AD) & [[Jovian]] (363AD-364AD)=== Julian would serve as the sole Emperor for two years. He had received his [[baptism]] as a [[Christian]] years before. But apparently no longer considered himself one. His reign would see the ending of restriction and persecution of [[paganism]] introduced by his uncle and father-in-law Constantine the Great and his cousins and brother-in-laws Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II. He instead placed similar restrictions and unofficial persecution of [[Christianism]]. His [[edict]] of [[tolerance]] in [[362]] ordered the reopening of [[pagan]] [[Temple (Roman)|temples]], the reinstitution of alienated temple properties. And more problematic for the [[Christian Church]], the recalling of previously [[exile]]d Christian [[bishop]]s. Returning [[Orthodox]] and [[Arian]] bishops resumed their conflicts thus further weakening the Church as a whole.

Julian himself was not a traditional pagan. His personal beliefs were largely influenced by [[Neoplatonism]] and [[Theurgy]]. He produced works of [[philosophy]] arguing his beliefs. His brief renaissance of paganism would however end with his death. Julian eventually resumed the war against Shapur II of Persia. He received a mortal wound in battle and died on [[June 26]], [[363]]. An ironic fate for someone who reportedly believed himself a [[reincarnation]] of [[Alexander the Great]]. He was considered a [[hero]] by pagan sources of his time and a [[villain]] by Christian ones. Later historians have treated him as a controversial figure.

Julian died childless and with no designated successor. The officers of his army elected the rather obscure officer [[Jovian]] as an Augustus. He is remembered for signing an unfavorable [[peace treaty]] with [[Persia]] and restoring the privileges of Christianity. He is considered a Christian himself though little is known of his beliefs. Jovian himself died on [[February 17]], [[364]].
===[[Valentinian Dynasty]] (364AD-392AD)=== The role of choosing a new Augustus fell again to army officers. On [[February 28]], [[364]], [[Pannonia]]n officer [[Valentinian I]] was elected Augustus in [[Nicaea]], [[Bithynia]]. The army however had twice been left leaderless in less than a year. The officers demanded for Valentinian to choose a co-ruler. On [[March 28]], 364, Valentinian chose his own younger brother [[Valens]]. The two new Augusti would part the Empire in the pattern established by Diocletian. Valentinian would administer the Western Roman Empire while Valens received the Eastern Roman Empire.

Valens' election would soon be disputed. [[Procopius (usurper)|Procopius]], a [[Cilicia]]n maternal cousin of Julian, had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but never designated as one. He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian. He resurfaced in [[365]]. He managed to [[bribe]] two [[legions]] assigned to Constantinople and then to take control of the Eastern Roman capital. He was proclaimed Augustus on [[September 28]], [[365]]. Procopius soon extended his control to both [[Thrace]] and Bithynia. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperorss continued until the capture and execution of Procopius on [[May 27]], [[366]].

On [[August 4]], [[367]], a 3rd Augustus was proclaimed. The 8 year-old [[Gratian]] was chosen as a nominal co-ruler by his father Valentinian and uncle Valens. This was obviously a way to secure succession.

In April [[375]] Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against the [[Quadi]], a Germaning tribe which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience to an [[embassy]] from the Quadi at [[Brigetio]] on the [[Danube]] (near [[Komárom]], [[Hungary]]), Valentinian suffered a burst [[blood vessel]] in the [[skull]] while [[Anger|angrily]] yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on [[November 17]], 375.

Succession did not go as planned. Gratian was then a sixteen-year-old and arguably ready to act as Emperor. However the troops in Pannonia declared his infant half-brother emperor under the title [[Valentinian II]].

Gratian acquiesced in their choice and administrated the Gallic part of the Western Roman Empire. Italy, [[Illyria]] and Africa were officially administrated by his brother and his step-mother [[Justina]]. However the real authority still rested with Gratianus.

===[[Battle of Adrianople]] (378AD)=== Meanwhile the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. The [[East Germanic tribe]] known as the [[Goths]] were forced to flee their former lands following an invasion by the [[Huns]]. Their leaders [[Alavinus]] and [[Fritigern]] led them to seek refuge from the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens indeed let them settle as [[foederati]] on the southern bank of the Danube in [[376]]. However the newcomers faced problems from allegedly [[Political corruption | corrupted]] provincial commanders and a series of hardships. Their dissatisfaction led them to revolt against their Roman hosts.

For the following two years conflicts continued. Valens personally led a campaign against them in [[378]]. Gratian provided his uncle with reinforcements from the Western Roman army. However this campaign prooved disastrous for the Romans. The two armies approached each other near [[Adrianople]]. Valens was apparently overconfident of his numerical superiority of his own forces over the Goths. His officers adviced him to wait for the promised arrival of Gratian himself with further reinforcements. But Valens instead rushed to battle. On [[August 9]], [[378]], the [[Battle of Adrianople]] resulted in the crushing defeat of the Romans and the death of Valens. Contemporary historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] estimated that two thirds of the Roman army were lost in the battle. The last third managed to retreat.

The battle had far reaching consequences. [[Veteran]] [[soldier]]s and valuable administrators were among the heavy casualties. There were few available replacements at the time. Leaving the Empire with problems of finding suitable [[leadership]]. The Roman army would also start facing recruiting problems. In the following century much of the Roman army would consist of Germanic mercenaries.

For the moment however there was another concern. The death of Valens left Gratian and Valentinian II as the sole two Augusti. Gratian was now effectively responsible for the whole of the Empire. He sought however, a replacement Augustus for the Eastern Roman Empire. His choice was [[Theodosius I]], son of formerly distinguished general [[Count Theodosius]]. The elder Theodosius had been executed in early 375. for unclear reasons. The younger one was named Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire on [[January 19]], [[379]]. His appointment would proove a deciding moment in the division of the Empire.
===Disturbed peace in the West (383AD)=== For several years Gratian governed the Western Roman Empire with energy and success. But gradually sank into indolence. He is considered to have become a [[figurehead]] while [[Franks|Frankish]] general [[Merobaudes]] and bishop [[Ambrose]] of [[Milan]] jointly acted as the [[power behind the throne]]. Gratian lost favour with factions of the [[Roman Senate]] by prohibiting traditional paganism at Rome and relinquishing his title and faction of [[Pontifex Maximus]]. The senior Augustus also became unpopular to his own Roman troops due to his close association with so-called [[barbarian]]s. He reportedly recruited [[Alans]] to his personal service and adopted the guise of a [[Scythia]]n [[warrior]] for public appearances.

Meanwhile Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius were joined by a fourth Augustus. Theodosius proclaimed his oldest son [[Arcadius]] to be an Augustus in [[January]], [[383]] in an obvious attempt to secure succession. The boy was still five or six years old and held no actual authority. Nevertheless it was recognized as a co-ruler by all three Augusti. 

However the increasing unpopularity of Gratian would cause them problems later that same year. [[Spanish people | Spanish]] [[Celt]] general [[Magnus Maximus]] assigned to [[Roman Britain]] led a rebellion against Gratian. His troops proclaimed Maximus an Augustus in [[383]] and joined him in invading [[Gaul]]. Gratian fled from [[Lutetia]] ([[Paris]]) to [[Lugdunum]] ([[Lyon]]). He was assassinated there on [[August 25]], [[383]] at the age of twenty-five years old.

Maximus now had to face the senior Augustus Valentinian II, actually only twelve year old. For the following few years the [[Alps]] would serve as the borders between the respective territories of the two rival Western Roman Emperors. Maximus controlled Britain, Gaul, [[Hispania]] and Africa. He chose Augusta Treverorum ([[Trier]]) as his capital.

Maximus soon entered negotiations with Valentinian II and Theodosius, attempting to gain their official regognition. By [[384]], negotiations were unfruitful. Maximus pressed the matter by attempting to settle succession as only a legitimate Emperor could. By proclaiming his own infant son [[Flavius Victor]] an [[Augustus]]. The end of the year find the Empire having five Augusti (Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Magnus Maximus and Flavius Victor) with relations between them yet to be determined.

In [[385]] Theodosius was left a widower following the sudden death of Augusta [[Flacilla]]. He was remarried to Galla, sister of Valentinian II. The marriage securing closer relations between the two legitimate Augusti.

In [[386]] Maximus and Victor finally received official recognition by Theodosius but not Valentinian. In [[387]], Maximus apparently deciding to rid himself of his Italian rival. He crossed the Alps into the valley of the [[Po]] and threatened [[Milan]]. Valentinian and his mother fled to [[Thessaloniki]] from where they seeked the support of Theodosius. Theodosius indeed campaigned west in [[388]] and was victorious against Maximus. Maximus himself was captured and executed in [[Aquileia]] on [[July 28]], [[388]]. [[Magister militum]] [[Arbogastes]] was sent to Trier with orders to also kill Flavius Victor.

Maximus was a firm believer of the [[Nicene Creed]] and introduced state persecution on charges of [[heresy]]. The first victim of such an execution was reportedly [[Priscillian]]. Maximus found himself however in conflict with [[Pope Siricius]] who argued that the Augustus had no authority over church matters. He was however an Emperor with popular support. His reputation apparently survived in [[Romano-British]] tradition and gained him a place in the [[Mabinogion]], compiled about a millenium after his death.

Valentinian was restored in 388 by Theodosius, through whose influence he was converted to Orthodox Catholicism. Theodosius continued supporting Valentinian and protecting him from a variety of usurpations.

===[[Theodosian Dynasty]] (392AD-395AD)=== In 392 Valentinian was murdered in [[Vienne]]. Theodosius succeeded him, ruling the entire Roman Empire.

Theodosius had two sons and a daughter, Pulcheria, from his first wife, [[Aelia Flacilla]]. His daughter and wife died in 385. By his second wife, Galla, he had a daughter, [[Galla Placidia]], the mother of [[Valentinian III]], who would be Emperor of the West.

After his death in 395 he gave the two halves of the Empire to his two sons Arcadius and Honorius; Arcadius became ruler in the East, with his capital in Constantinople, and Honorius became ruler in the west, with his capital in Milan. Though the Roman state would continue to have two emperors, the Eastern Romans considered themselves Roman in full. Latin was used in official writings as much as, if not more than, Greek. The two halves were nominally, culturally and historically, if not politically, the same state.

===Later Eastern Empire (AD [[476]]-[[1461]])=== The west would continue to decline during the 5th century. However, the richer east would be spared much of the destruction. The last western emperor, [[Romulus Augustus]], was desposed in [[476]] by [[Odoacer]], the half [[Hunnish]], half [[Scirian]] [[chieftain]] of the [[German]]ic [[Heruli]]. The Eastern Empire counter-attacked in the 6th century under the eastern emperor [[Justinian]], taking much of the west back. These gains were lost during subsequent reigns. Of the many accepted dates for the end of the Roman state, the latest is [[610]]. This is when the Emperor [[Heraclius]] made sweeping reforms, forever changing the face of the empire. Greek was readopted as the language of government and Latin influence waned. By [[610]], the Classical Roman Empire had evolved into the [[Middle Age]] [[Byzantine Empire]] although it was never called this (rather it was called Romania or Basileia Romaion) and the Byzantines continued to consider themselves Roman until their fall in the 15th century.

Several states claiming to be the Roman Empire's successor arose, before as well as after the fall of Constantinople to the [[Ottoman Turk]]s in [[1453]].  The [[Holy Roman Empire]], an attempt to resurrect the Empire in the West, was established in [[800]] when [[Pope]] [[Leo III]] crowned [[Charlemagne]] as [[Roman Emperor]] on [[Christmas Day]], though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalised for some decades.  After the fall of Constantinople, the [[Russian Empire]], as inheritor of the Byzantine Empire's [[Orthodox Christian]] tradition, counted itself as the third Rome (with Constantinople being the second).  And when the Ottomans, who based their state around the Byzantine model, took Constantinople and renamed it [[Istanbul]], [[Sultan]] [[Mehmed II]] established his capital there and assumed the title "[[Roman Emperor]]". 

But excluding these states claiming their heritage, the Romans lasted, from the founding of Rome in 753 BC, to the fall in [[1461]] of the [[Empire of Trebizond]] (a successor state and fragment of the Byzantine Empire, which escaped destuction by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. Their impact on Western and Eastern civilizations lives on. In time most of the Roman achievements have been duplicated by later civilistations. For example, the technology for [[cement]] was rediscovered [1755-1759] by [[John Smeaton]].

==See also==
===General===
*[[List of Ancient Rome-related topics]]
*[[List of Roman Emperors]]
*[[Five good emperors]]
*[[Byzantine Empire]] 
*[[Byzantine Emperors]]
*[[Gallic Empire]]
*[[Pax romana]]
*[[Roman commerce]]
*[[Roman culture]]
*[[Roman currency]]
*[[Roman Emperor]]
*[[Roman law]]
*[[Roman military history]]
*[[Roman place names]] 
*[[Roman province|Roman provinces]]
*[[Roman roads]]
*[[Roman technology]]
===Ancient Historians of the Empire===
'''In Latin'''
*[[Livy]] - history is of [[Roman Republic]], but wrote during [[Augustus]]' reign
*[[Suetonius]]
*[[Gaius Cornelius Tacitus|Tacitus]]
*[[Ammianus Marcellinus]]
'''In Greek'''
*[[Eusebius of Caesarea]]
*[[Sozomen]]
===Latin Literature of the Empire===
*[[Apuleius]]
*[[Augustine of Hippo]]
*[[Horace]]
*[[Juvenal]]
*[[Ovid]]
*[[Petronius Arbiter|Petronius]]
*[[Virgil]]
==External links==
* Grout, James, "[http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/encyclopaedia_romana/index.html ''Encyclopaedia Romana'']"
*[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/wola.html J. O'Donnell, Worlds of Late Antiquity website:] links, bibliographies: [[Austine]], [[Boethius]], [[Cassiodorus]] etc.
* [http://www.simaqianstudio.com History Forum Simaqianstudio]
* [http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Life.html Roman Life Expectancy]

==References==
===18th & 19th century history===
* [[Edward Gibbon]], ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', ([[1776]]-[[1788]])
===Modern histories of the Roman Empire===
* [[J. B. Bury]], ''A History of the Roman Empire from its Foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius'', 1913
* [[J. A. Crook]], ''Law and Life of Rome, 90 BC-AD 212'', 1967
* [[S. Dixon]], ''The Roman Family'', 1992
* [[Donald R. Dudley]], ''The Civilization of Rome'', 2nd ed., 1985
* [[A.H.M. Jones]], ''The Later Roman Empire, 284-602'', 1964
* [[A. Lintott]], ''Imperium Romanum: Politics and administration'', 1993
* [[R. Macmullen]], ''Roman Social Relations, 50 BC to AD 284'', 1974
* [[M.I. Rostovtzeff]], ''Economic History of the Roman Empire'' 2nd ed., 1957
* [[R. Syme]], ''The Roman Revolution'', 1939
* [[C. Wells]], ''The Roman Empire'', 2nd ed., 1992

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