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Roman Empire
What were the tensions that accompanied Romes transformation from city-state to world power?
Romes legacy
The ideal of the world state, an ideal that was taken over by the medieval Church The Church claimed a spiritual authority as great as the secular authority it replaced How did they achieve success? Talent for practical affairs (aqueducts) Not notable political theorists, but they organized a stable federation Conservative to the core: gravitas The great body of Roman law is one of their greatest contribution to Western civilization
Aquaduct
Odyssey
Roman emperors
The civil conflict ended in the establishment of a powerful executive The Senate retained an impressive share of the power in the Republic, but the new development led to autocracy Augustus, after the murder of his uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BC., controlled the western half of the empire by 31 B.C. Battle with Mark Anthony, ruler of the eastern half of the empire Augustuss victory united the empire under one authority and ushered in an age of peace and reconstruction
Roman emperors
The successors of Augustus ruled the ancient world for the next 200 years with only occasional disturbances Nero who abused his immense power was overthrown A.D. 96-180 Five good emperors: Longest period of peace that has ever been enjoyed by the inhabitants of an area that included Britain, France, southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa Yet the literature of the second century reflects a spiritual emptiness described in Petroniuss Satyricon: the new rich can think only in terms of money and material possessions
Religion
New religions were imported from the East that made their appeal to citizens of the world: to all nations and classes Worship of the Egyptian goddess Isis Hebrew prophet Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem, risen from the dead Christianity, persecuted and working underground, finally triumphed and became the official religion of the Roman world The Church in Rome, by converting the new inhabitants, made possible the preservation of much of that Latin and Greek literature that was to serve as a basis for the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Ovids Metamorphoses
This picture depicts the moment when the statue of Galatea created by Pygmalion comes to life
Metamorphoses
Io and Jove
Io and Jove