The Fall of Roman Empire

The end of Roman Republic marked the start of the Roman Empire under the rule of

Octavian - the grandnephew of Julius Caesar. He tried to bring the reforms that Caesar wanted to

bring and was successful in various areas. He accumulated all the political offices and filled the

higher positions and the Senate with his supporters. The turmoil during the end of republic

demanded peace in Rome. Due to this people did not care what he did but their only desire was

peace and stability. Octavian was officially made the emperor after his speech in the Senate.

After that he was called “Caesar Augustus” which meant the first emperor. Augustus had made

the laying foundations to the empire. He created an imperial structure in which the old republican

institutes remained intact but they did not posses imperium rather were subordinate to the

emperor. He also made various reforms in the army. He created a single, permanent and

professional army which was under the command of the emperor. He also dismantled all the

private armies. The appointment of Praetorian Guards as a personal bodyguard of the emperor

was also a big reform of Augustus. The guards were involved in political developments and will

also have the power to install or depose the emperor. The socio-economic developments of

Augustus include the division of Rome into 14 districts, choosing of the civil servants based on

their talents and the system of giving decent salaries to the workers. The policy of Augustus was

initially expansionist but later on he thought that the empire was big enough to govern and then

the policy changed to defensive.

The foundation Augustus laid was strong enough but there was a problem of succession

which caused some problems in the empire. The Julio-Claudian emperors succeeded Augustus.

Tiberius (14-37 AD) was the a good administrator and general. He tried to involve the senate in
the government. He was bitter and moody. He tortured and executed a lot of people. Caligula

(37-41 AD), the great-grandson of Augustus succeeded Tiberius. He murdered many people and

showed tyrannic behaviour. He even appointed his horse as a consul. He was killed by a

praetorian guard. The guards then appointed Claudius (41-54 AD). Claudius was a good

administrator, intelligent and competent but had certain neurological disorder. He used to

stumble while walking. He was followed by Nero (54-68 AD). Nero was violent and insane in

nature. He was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Within this time period there were

various civil wars. Also, the jews had started uprising in the same time. The Jews were

suppressed using forces. During August of 79, Mt. Vesuvius erupted and covered the cities of

Pompeii and Herculaneum with ash. These various turmoils ended in 96. Although, there were

various conflicts the system was intact as it was good.

Then came a period of economic prosperity and political stability. This was known as Pax

Romana - the time of Roman Peace. The time period of the ‘Five Good Emperors’ is considered

the height of the empire. In 96 AD, the senate elected Nerva as the emperor. He came up with a

solution (although it was temporary) to the problem of succession. He introduced the system of

adopting someone who was capable of being a good political and military leader. He adopts

Trajan who becomes the emperor in 98 AD. He becomes emperor without any incident. He then

adopts Hadrian as his heir to the throne. He is followed by Antoninus Pius who is followed by

Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius designates his own son Commodus as the emperor who was

very miserable and was killed. The period of Five Good Emperors was the period where the

power of emperor continued to expand. These emperors are also recognized for their contribution

in building structures.