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Rome (disambiguation)

Rome (disambiguation)

Rome is the capital city of Italy, and formerly the seat of the Roman Empire. Rome may also refer to:
- Ancient Rome
- The Holy See
- The Roman Catholic Church
- New Rome (Constantinople)
- Third Rome (Moscow)
- Rome (TV series), a television historical drama
- Rome: Total War, a computer game
- Rome Laboratory (formerly Rome Air Development Center, RADC), an R&D lab of the US Air Force
- Jim Rome, An American sports radio talk show host Places in the United States:
- Rome, Georgia
- Rome, Illinois
- Rome, Iowa
- Rome, Maine
- Rome, New York
- Rome, Ohio
- New Rome, Ohio
- Rome Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
- Rome Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania
- Rome, Adams County, Wisconsin
- Rome, Jefferson County, Wisconsin
- The fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin on the TV show Picket Fences

See Also


- Rüm

Rome

Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital of Italy and of its Latium region. It is located on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, near the Mediterranean Sea, at . The Vatican City, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope. Rome is the largest city and comune in Italy; the comune or municipality is one of the largest in Europe with an area of 1290 square kilometers. Within the city limits, the population is 2,823,807 (2004); almost 4 million live in the general area of Rome as represented by the province of Rome. The current mayor of Rome is Walter Veltroni. With a GDP of €75 billion (higher than New Zealand's and equivalent to Singapore's — all three have roughly the same population of around 4 million), in the year 2001 the comune of Rome produced 6.5% of Italy's total GDP, the highest rate among all of Italy's cities. The city's history extends nearly 2,800 years, during which time it has been the seat of ancient Rome (the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, Roman Empire), and later the Papal States, Kingdom of Italy and Italian Republic.

History

Demographics

Throughout its long history Rome has been a centre of learning, trade and commerce. The native Italian population have shared their city throughout the ages with migrants from across Europe and the wider world. In ancient times a large proportion of the population were foreign merchants, slaves, officials and their descendants who came from across the wide empire which bore the city's name. Today the population is very diverse with immigrants thought to make up as much as 20% of the population of the city.

Economy

Today Rome has a dynamic and diverse economy concentrating on innovation, technologies, communications and the service sector. They produce 6.5% of the national GDP (more than any other city in the Italy) and continues to grow at a higher rate than those in the rest of the country. Tourism is inevitably one of Rome's chief industries. The city is also a centre for banking, publishing, insurance, fashion, high-tech industries, housing, cinema (particularly at the famous Cinecittà studios, dubbed the "Hollywood on the Tiber"), and the aerospace industries. Many international headquarters, government ministries, conference centres, sports venues and museums are located in Rome's principal business districts: the E.U.R. (Esposizione Universale Roma); the Torrino (further south from the E.U.R.); the Magliana; the Parco de' Medici-Laurentina and the so-called Tiburtina-valley along the ancient Via Tiburtina.

Transportation

Esposizione Universale Roma district.]] Esposizione Universale Roma) from the park around the artificial lake. Rome, EUR district.]] Rome has an intercontinental airport named Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport - FCO, but more commonly known as Fiumicino, which also is Italy's chief airport, and the Giovan-Battista Pastine international airport (commonly referred to as Ciampino Airport), a joint civilian and military airport southeast of the city-center, along the Via Appia, which handles mainly charter flights and regional European flights including some low-cost airlines. A third airport, called Aeroporto dell'Urbe, is located in the north of the city along the ancient Via Salaria and handles mainly helicopters and private flights. A fourth airport, called Aeroporto di Centocelle, in the eastern part of Rome between the Via Prenestina and the Via Casilina, has been abandoned for some years now, but is currently being redeveloped as one of the largest public parks in Rome. A subway system operates in Rome called the "Metropolitana" or Rome Metro which was opened in 1955. There are 2 lines (A & B), a third (C) and a new branch of the B-line (B1) are under construction, while a fourth line (D) has been planned. The frequent archaeological findings delay underground work. Today's (2005) total length is 38 km. The two existing lines, A & B, only intersect at one point, Termini Station, the main train station in Rome (which also is the largest train station in Europe, underneath and around which exists now a lively shopping center known as the "Forum Termini" with more than 100 shops of various types). Other stations includes: Tiburtina (second-largest, which is currently being redeveloped and enlarged to become the main high-speed train hub in the city), Ostiense, Trastevere, Tuscolana, S. Pietro, Casilina, Torricola. The Rome Metro is part of an extensive transport network made of a tramway network, several suburban and urban lines in and around the city of Rome, plus an "express line" to Fiumicino Airport. Whereas most FS-Regionale lines (Regional State Railways) do provide mostly a suburban service with more than 20 stations scattered throughout the city, the Roma-Lido (starting at Ostiense station), the Roma-Pantano (starting nearby Termini) and the Roma-Nord (starting at Flaminio station) lines offer a metro-like service. Rome also has a comprehensive bus system. The web site (translated in english) of the [http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?lng=2 public transportation company (ATAC)] allows a route to be calculated using the buses and subways. [http://www.atac.roma.it/biglietti/index.asp?COD=320&LNG=2 Metrebus integrated fare system] allows holders of tickets and integrated passes to travel on all companies vehicles, within the validity time of the ticket purchased. Chronic congestion caused by cars during the 1970s and 1980s led to the banning of unauthorized traffic from the central part of city during workdays from 6.00 a.m to 6 p.m. (this area is officially called Zona a Traffico Limitato, Z.T.L. in short). Heavy traffic due to night-life crowds during week-ends led in recent years to the creation of other Z.T.L.s in the Trastevere and S. Lorenzo districts during the night, and to the experimentation of a new night Z.T.L. also in the city center (plans to create a night Z.T.L. in the Testaccio district as well are underway). In recent years, parking-spaces along the streets in wide areas of the city have been converted to pay-parkings, as new underground parkings spread throughout the city. In spite of all these measures, traffic remains an unsolved problem, as in the rest of the world's cities.

Education

Z.T.L. Rome continues to be the major education and research center of Italy, with many major universities that offer degrees in all fields. Among the prestigious educational establishments in Rome is the University of Rome La Sapienza (founded 1303), which is Europe’s biggest university with almost 150,000 students. The city is also home to three other public universities: Università degli studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, more commonly called Roma 2, University of Roma Tre and the Istituto Universitario di Scienze Motorie. Undisputed as the greatest repository of western art of the last 3,000 years of human history, Rome is home to many foreign academic institutions, as well, such as The American Academy, The British School, The French Institute, The German Archaeological Institute, The Swedish Institute, and The Finnish Institute, The Japan Foundation. Several private universities are as well located in Rome, as:
- LUISS University (Libera università internazionale degli studi sociali), probably the most prestigious private university in Rome;
- Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore, a renowned university in Italy;
- John Cabot University, a private American University;
- LUMSA University (Libera Universita Maria SS. Assunta);
- University of Malta, an International University;
- Libera Università di Roma "Leonardo da Vinci";
- Libera Università Degli Studi "S. Pio V";
- UPTER University;
- I.S.S.A.S. University. Still located in Rome are the Accademia di Santa Cecilia - the world's oldest academy of music (founded 1584), St. John's University's Rome campus which is located at the Pontificio Oratorio San Pietro, several academies of fine arts, colleges of the church, medical and Health research instituts.

Monuments and sights


- See Wikipedia's category "Monuments and sights of Rome"

Houses of worship

Churches

Rome is home to over 900 churches.

Basilicas

Patriarchal basilicas

- San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John in Lateran)
- San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's)
- San Paolo fuori le Mura (St. Paul outside the Walls)
- Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major)
- San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls)
Other basilicas

- Sant'Agnese fuori le mura (St. Agnes outside the Walls)
- Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
- Santi Apostoli (Holy Apostles)
- San Bernardo alle Terme
- San Clemente (St. Clement)
- Santi Cosma e Damiano (SS. Cosmas and Damian)
- Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
- San Lorenzo in Lucina
- San Marco (St. Mark)
- Santa Maria degli Angeli
- Santa Maria in Aracoeli
- Santa Maria sopra Minerva
- San Martino ai Monti
- San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains)
- Santa Prassede (St. Praxedis)
- San Saba
- Santa Sabina
- San Sebastiano fuori le mura
- Santi Quattro Coronati
- Santa Maria in Trastevere

Other important churches

The following do not yet have Wikipedia articles, but are important nonetheless:
- San Giorgio al Velabro;
- San Giovanni dei Fiorentini;
- San Lorenzo in Miranda (temple of Antoninus and Faustina)
- Santi Marcellino e Pietro;
- Santa Maria della Pace;
- Santa Maria dei Monti;
- Santo Stefano Rotondo;

Non-Christian places of worship


- Great Synagogue of Rome
- Great Mosque of Rome and Islamic Cultural Center Image:Sicht vom petersdom roma.jpg|View over Rome from St. Peter's Basilica. Image:RomeSinagogue.jpg|Rome's main Synagogue in the old Jewish Ghetto district, on the banks of the Tiber river.

Administrative subdivision of Rome

The Administrative subdivision of Rome consists in the division of the large territory of Rome into 19 Districts.

Province of Rome

Rome is the capital of a province, with an area of 5,352 sq. km, and a total population of 3,700,424 (2001) in 120 comuni. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the town of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by firmly rural landscape, just as towns elsewhere thruout Italy.

Markets and shopping areas

Porta Portese

Street market on Sunday mornings, from very early to around 1pm, on the left bank of the Tiber, between Porto Portese and Stazione Trastevere, centred on Via Portuense. The wares are mainly clothes, both old and new. The second-hand clothing stalls are by far the more popular, with the clothes sorted by type (leathers and furs, jeans, coats, children’s clothes, etc) and piled on large tables with everything at the same (low) price. Tables start at 50c, and range up to 20 euro for high-quality leather and fur.

Campo de' Fiori

Campo de' Fiori is one of the oldest markets in Rome, where food and flowers are most frequently found. Though the name literally means "field of flowers," there are no fields in sight; it's in the middle of downtown Rome, off of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The market is open every morning of the week except Sunday. Campo de' Fiori, surrounded by many bars and restaurants, is also a popular destination at night for locals and foreigners alike.

Symbols and trivia

Rome is commonly identified by several proper symbols, including the Colosseum, the she-wolf (Lupa capitolina), the imperial eagle, and the symbols of Christianity. The famous acronym SPQR recalls the ancient age and the unity between Roman Senate and Roman people. Rome is called "L'Urbe" (The City), "Caput mundi" (head of the world), "Città Eterna" (eternal city), and "Limen Apostolorum" (the threshold of the apostles). The town's colors are golden yellow and red (garnet): they stand, respectively, for christian and imperial dignities. Rome has two holidays of its own: April 21 (the founding of Rome), and June 29 (the feast of its patron saints, Peter and Paul). Other locally important dates are December 8 (the Immaculate Conception) and January 6 (Epiphany). The Grande Raccordo Anulare (commonly shortened "Il GRA" or "Il Raccordo"), which is more than 80 km long, once encircled the city. Rome has since grown past this round motorway, with new districts well beyond it. Some proverbs about the Eternal City:
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
- All roads lead to Rome.
- Rome wasn't built in a day. During its long history, Rome has always had a scarcity of native inhabitants, so by tradition a "true" Roman is one whose family has lived in Rome for no less than 7 generations: this is the original "Romano de Roma" (in Romanesco, the local dialect of Italian). For the autonomistic party Lega Nord, Rome is the symbol of the allegedly parasytical Italian central government, crystalized in their slogan Roma ladrona ("Thief Rome"). Image:Roma01.jpg|Senatus PopulusQue Romanus. Great Seal of Rome's municipality Image:polizia-roma.gif|Seal of Rome's City Police, with the seal and the she-wolf.

Events

Roma Europa Festival, September Annual appointment for modern art and theatre, music and dance, with artists from of all Europe. Festival Romics, October Comics and Cartoon Festival: exhibitions, cartoon film showings of designers and publishing companies. Roma Jazz Festival, October Festival of jazz music since of 1876. Italian and international artists. Roman Summers, from June to September Various events from music to theater, literary meetings and cinema. Events that take place in the most characteristic places in Rome that attract the participation of thousands of artists from all over the world.

Cultural Events

White Night

Series of events at venues throughout Rome on September: concerts, special outdoor performances, churches and monuments open to the public during, museums open all night with free entrance, shops open all nights. ([http://www.lanottebianca.it/index.asp?lang=en&destinazione=cosa_])

External links


- [http://www.comune.roma.it/cultura/ Official Site of the City of Rome]
- [http://www.romasotterranea.it/ Roma Sotterranea/Subterranean Rome]
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/home.html Bill Thayer's Gazetteer of Rome]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Arc/5319/eng.htm Andrea Pollett's Virtual Roma]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/9259/roma_ant.htm Roma Antica e Roma Moderna], in Italian
- [http://www.forbeginners.info/rome/ Rome for Beginners]
- [http://www.alberghi-a.roma.it/info.htm Informations and useful numbers about Rome]

Ancient Rome


- [http://www.romeartlover.it/Rome.htm Rome in the footsteps of an XVIIIth Century traveller]
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/ Encyclopædia Romana, by James Grout]
- [http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/page4.html La maquette de Rome]
- [http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/introduction.html "Forum Romanum", a ThinkQuest site]
- [http://www.vroma.org/~forum/ "Forum Romanum" Project at VRoma]

Christian Rome


- See Wikipedia's category "Churches of Rome"

Galleries


- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov:81/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=15316 Satellite image of Rome] at NASA's Earth Observatory
- [http://myweb.lmu.edu/fjust/Rome.htm Ancient Rome, Images and Pictures]
- [http://map.cs.telespazio.it/fontane/index.html Fontanelle di Roma], including the aqueducts
- [http://www.compart-multimedia.com/virtuale/us/roma/movie.htm A virtual travel of Rome] pictures and virtual reality movies
- [http://www.rome.info/pictures/ Free Rome Pictures]
- [http://sabin.ro/gallery/album412 Rome Photo Gallery]
- [http://digilander.libero.it/fotogian/roma.html Photos of Rome]
- [http://www.photoroma.com/ PhotoRoma]
- [http://www2.siba.fi/~kkoskim/rooma/pages/MAIN.HTM Vedute di Roma]
- [http://www.secretrome.com Pictures of Rome]
- [http://rome.arounder.com/fullscreen.html Arounder.Com] (QTVR panoramas)

Maps


- [http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/maps/italy/lazio.gif Rome and environs (Lazio)]
- [http://www.statravel.co.uk/images/off/short_breaks/map/map_rom.gif downtown Rome]
- [http://www.walkingrome.com/links/Pianta-di-Roma-Web.jpg downtown Rome (WalkingRome)]
- [http://www.activitaly.it/infobase/index.php?lang=en Interactive map (Activitaly)]
- [http://www.duke.edu/~rkl7/Images/Rome%20City%20map.jpg Map of Ancient Rome]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rome&spn=0.039455,0.126549&t=k&hl=en Google Maps satellite images of Rome]

Travel guides


- Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Holy cities Category:Roman sites of the Lazio
- Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:World Heritage Sites in Italy Category:Christianity als:Rom ko:로마 ja:ローマ simple:Rome

Roman Empire

:For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation) The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine Empire. Roman Empire is also used as translation of the expression Imperium Romanum, probably the best known Latin expression where the word "imperium" is used in the meaning of a territory, the "Roman Empire", as that part of the world where Rome ruled. The expansion of this Roman territory beyond the borders of the initial city-state of Rome had started long before the state organisation turned into an Empire. One of the first historians to describe this expansion of the Roman territory was the Greek Polybius, writing in the Epoch of the Roman Republic. In the centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, Rome had already accumulated a collection of tribute-states beyond the Italian Peninsula, including former Mediterranean competitors Syracuse and Carthage. In the late Republic Augustus (then still "Octavian") added Egypt definitively to the Imperium Romanum. The remainder of this article treats the Roman Empire as Imperial state (see Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic for development of the territory in earlier times). Augustus' reforms turning the Roman state into an Empire survived mostly unchanged until the Diocletian reform at end of the 3rd century, which turned the empire into a tetrarchy. While the political form given by Diocletian was short-lived, it led to the division of the Empire into two halves. This allowed Roman rule to continue for two more centuries over the whole empire, although divided into the Eastern and the Western Roman Empire. The end of the Western Empire is traditionally set in 476, when Odovacar deposed the last Emperor and sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople; henceforth he nominally ruled as dux on behalf of Constantinople. After another millennium, in 1453, the Eastern Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. From Augustus to the Fall of the Western Empire Rome dominated the region of Western Eurasia, comprising over half its population. The Roman Empire's influence on government, law, military, and monumental architecture, as well as many other aspects of Western life remains inescapable. The Greeks adopted the Roman name in the Middle Ages and were known as Romans, a trend that survives until today in Greece, a result of their cultural position (see Names of the Greeks). Roman titles of power were adopted by successor states and other entities with imperial pretensions, including the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the first and second Bulgarian empires, the Russian/Kiev dynasties, and the German Empire. See also Roman culture.

Historians' viewpoints on the evolution of Imperial Rome

Because the empire of Rome lasted for such a long period of time (31 BC–1453), there are certain alternative names used by historians to distinguish various semantic periods or eras. Such names include Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire, which are used interchangeably throughout this article to mean the same as Roman Empire (or the Western or Eastern part thereof). 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 "first citizen", 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. More recently historians established 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.

Age of Augustus (31 BC–AD 14)

Political developments

Latin 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 in continuous crisis with periods of dictatorial rule since Sulla. The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus greatly changed the view toward hereditary monarchy. Rome–the city that had not too long before assassinated its leader, Julius Caesar, when his ambitions seemed to threaten the republic–now placidly accepted one man rule. Augustus' reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire:
- Creation of an hereditary office, which we refer to as Emperor of Rome.
- Fixation of 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.
- Creation of the Praetorian Guard, which would make and unmake emperors for centuries.
- Expansion to the natural borders of the Empire. The borders reached upon Augustus' death remained the limits of Empire, with minimal exceptions, for the next four hundred years.
- Development of trade links with regions as far as India and China.
- Creation of a civil service outside of the Senatorial structure, leading to a continuous weakening of Senatorial authority.
- Enactment of 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. This tradition of deifying the Emperor upon his death lasted until the time of 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. At the same time, a tremendous outpouring of energy in founding colonies and municipia, unrivalled in Rome before or after, succeeded in Romanizing extensive territories in the East, in Africa, in Hispania and Gaul, beyond those areas that were traditionally within the Roman sphere of influence.

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' reign and his work covered all of Roman history through 9 BC, only epitomes 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' highly partisan autobiography,
- Historiae Romanae by Velleius Paterculus, a disorganized work which remains the best annals 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 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' Jewish Antiquities is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a province during Augustus' reign.

Julio-Claudian dynasty: Augustus' heirs

Augustus, leaving no sons, was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the gens Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the gens Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the gens Claudia, through Tiberius' brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from gens Julia, either through Julia Caesaris, Augustus' daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus' sister Octavia (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian".

Tiberius (14–37)

The early years of Tiberius' reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched her treasury. However, Tiberius' reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In 19, he was popularly 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 administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish. Sejanus 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 until Tiberius' death in 37.

Caligula (37–41)

At the time of Tiberius' death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius' own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus' 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 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 incestuous 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', Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, better known as the emperor Claudius.

Claudius (41–54)

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 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 cuckolded 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 (54–69)

Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus 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 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 by the rumour that he played the lyre and sang during the Great Fire of Rome, and hence "fiddled while Rome burned" (though the fiddle had yet to be invented). Nero is also remembered for his immense rebuilding of Rome following the fires. 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

The Flavians, although a relatively short lived dynasty, helped restore stability in an empire on its knees. Although there are criticism of all three, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, it was through the reforms and good rule of the three that helped create a stable empire that would last well into the 3rd Century. However, their backgrounds as a military dynasty led to further irrelevancy of the senate, and the move from princeps, or first citizen, to imperator, or emperor, was finalized during their reign.

Vespasian (69–79)

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 in Egypt, 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. At the age of 60 and battle hardened he was hardly a charismatic emperor, but he turned out to be an excellent ruler none the less. Although Vespasian was considered quite the autocrat by the senate, he mostly continued the weakening of that body that had been going since the reign of Tiberius. 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. Another example was his assumption of the censorship in 73, giving him power over who exactly made up the senate. He used that power to expel dissident senators. At the same time, he increased the number of senators from 200, at that low level due to the actions of Nero and the year of crisis that followed, to 1000, most of the new senators coming not from Rome but from Italy and the urban centers within the western provinces. Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. To do this, he not only increased taxes, but created new forms of taxation. Also, through his power as censor he was able to carefully examine the fiscal status of every city and province, many paying taxes based upon information and structures more than a century old. Through this sound fiscal policy, 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. In addition, he alloted sizable subsidies to the arts, creating a chair of rhetoric at Rome. Vespasian was also an effective emperor for the provinces in his decades of office, having posts all across the empire, both east and west. In the west he gave considerable favoritism to Spain in which he granted Latin rights to over three hundred towns and cities, promoting a new era of urbanization throughout the western (i.e. formerly barbarian) provinces. Through the additions he made to the Senate he allowed greater influence of the provinces in the Senate, helping to promote unity in the empire. He also extended the borders of the empire on every front, most of which was done to help strengthen the frontier defenses, one of Vespasian's main goals. The crisis of 69 had wrought havoc on the army. One of the most marked problems had been the support lent by provincial legions to men who supposedly represented the best will of their province. This was mostly caused by the placement of native auxiliary units in the areas they were recruited in, a practice Vespasian stopped. He mixed auxiliary units with men from other areas of the empire or moved the units away from where they were recruited to help stop this. Also, to further reduce the chances of another military coup he broke up the legions, and instead of placing them in singular concentrations broke them up along the border. Perhaps the most important military reform he undertook was the extension of legion recruitment from exclusively Italy to Gaul and Spain, in line with the Romanization of those areas.

Titus (79–81)

Titus, the eldest son of Vespasian, had been groomed to rule. He had served as an effective general under his father, helping to secure the east and eventually taking over the command of Roman armies in Syria and Palestine, quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. Throughout his father's reign he had been tailored for rule, sharing the consul for several years with his father and receiving the best tutelage. Although there was some trepidation when he took office due to his known dealings with some of the less respectable elements of Roman society, he quickly proved his merit, even recalling many exiled by his father as a show of good faith. However, his 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 gladiators and lasted 100 days. Titus died in 81, at the age of 41 of what is presumed to be illness; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor, although these claims have little merit. Whatever the case, he was greatly mourned and missed.

Domitian (81–96)

The Flavians all had rather poor relations with the senate due to their more autocratic style, however Domitian was the only one who truly created significant problems. His continuous control as consul and censor throughout his rule, the former his father sharing in much the same way of his Julio-Claudian forerunners, the latter having difficulty even obtaining, were unheard of. In addition, he often appeared in full military regalia as an imperator, an affront to the idea of what the Principate-era emperor's power was based upon, the emperor as the princeps. His reputation in the Senate aside, he kept the people of Rome happy through various measures, including donations to every resident of Rome, wild spectacles in the newly finished Colosseum, and continuing the public works projects of his father and brother. He also apparently had the good fiscal sense of his father, because although he spent lavishly his successors came to power with a well endowed treasury. However, during the end of his reign Domitian became extremely paranoid which probably had its initial roots in the treatment he received by his father: although given significant responsibility, he was never trusted with anything important without supervision. This flowered into the severe and perhaps pathological repercussions following the short lived rebellion in 89 of Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. Domitian's paranoia led to a large number of arrests, executions, and seizure of property (which might help explain his ability to spend so lavishly). Eventually it got to the point where even his closest advisers and family members lived in fear, leading them to his murder in 96 orchestrated by his enemies in the Senate, Stephanus (the steward of the deceased Julia Flavia), members of the Pretorian Guard and empress Domitia Longina.

The Adoptive Emperors

"Five Good Emperors" (96–180)

180 The next century came to be known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not dynastic and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of the period were Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), each being adopted by his predecessor as his successor during the latter's lifetime. While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, many argue the real reason for the lasting success of the adoptive scheme of succession lay more with the fact that none of them had a natural heir. Under Trajan, the Empire's borders briefly achieved their maximum extension with provinces created in Mesopotamia in 117. From 166, Roman embassies to China, first sent under the reign of Antonius Pius and probably traveling on the southern sea route, are recorded in Chinese historical sources such as the Later Han History.

Commodus (180–192)

192 world map, indicating "Sinae" (China) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Trapobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (South-East Asian peninsula).]] 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, making him the first direct successor in a century, breaking the scheme of adoptive successors that had turned out so well. 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 gladiatorial 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) 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 (193–235)

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 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 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 autocratic, Caracalla was assassinated by the 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 (235–284)

The Crisis of the 3rd Century is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284. 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 nearly 50 years of external invasion, internal civil wars and economic collapse, the Empire was on the verge of ending. A series of tough soldier-emperors saved the empire, but in the process fundamentally changed the Roman Empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity.

Tetrarchy (285–324)

324 sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of 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 saw that the vast Roman Empire was ungovernable by a single emperor in the face of internal pressures and military threats on two fronts. He therefore split the Empire in half along a north-west axis just east of Italy, and created two equal Emperors to rule under the title of Augustus. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long time friend Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half. In 293 authority was further divided as each Augustus took a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession; Galerius became the junior emperor of Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus the junior emperor of Maximian. This constituted what is called the Tetrarchy (in Greek: the leadership of four) by modern scholars. The system allowed the peaceful succession of the Augusti as the Caesar in each half rose up to replace the Augustus and proclaimed a new Caesar. On May 1, 305 Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favor of their Caesars. 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 proclaimed his son Constantine 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 five rulers: four Augusti (Galerius, Constantine, Severus and Maxentius) and a Caesar (Maximinus). The year 307 saw the return of Maximian to the role of Augustus alongside his son Maxentius creating a total of six rulers of the Empire. 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 under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by Rufius Volusianus and Zenas. Alexander was executed in 311. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of Carnuntum with the participation of Diocletian, Maximian and Galerius. 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 was still not recognized, his rule remained illegitimate.
- 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; Constantine followed suit shortly after. 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 legitimate Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius) and one illegitimate one (Maxentius). 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. 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 lasted ten years 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 (324–395)

395 The beginning of the Roman Empire as a Christian empire lies in 313, with the Edict of Milan. The edict was signed under the reigns of Constantine I and Licinius. The edict established tolerance for Christianity throughout the Empire, but did not yet make it the official state religion. After the Edict was proclaimed, however, the Christian Church rapidly became extremely influential amongst the ruling classes of the Empire, and the Bishops were established in positions of power and influence. Christianity became the single official religion of Rome under Theodosius I (r. 379–395). The emperor had a considerable degree of control over the church. While Christianity flourished, the Empire by no means became uniformly Christian; paganism remained significant. Theodosius massacred Thessalonica for rebelling against his new Christian policies condemning homosexuality, which was a common practice in both ancient Greece and Greece under Roman rule. Upon his return to Rome the Bishop Ambrose refused to let Theodosius enter the church until he made a public repentance. Theodosius did so, 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 (395–476)

476.]] 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 by 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 villas 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 Liuvigild 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 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.

From Roman to Byzantine in the East

Under Constantine (330–337) and his sons (337–361)

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 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 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 & Jovian (361–364)

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 brothers-in-law Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II. He instead placed similar restrictions and unofficial persecution of Christianity. His edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan temples and the reinstitution of alienated temple properties, and, more problematically for the Christian Church, the recalling of previously exiled Christian bishops. 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 reputedly believed he was the reincarnation of Alexander the Great. 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. 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 emperor. 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 (364–392)

The role of choosing a new Augustus fell again to army officers. On February 28, 364, Pannonian officer Valentinian I was elected Augustus in Nicaea, Bithynia. However, the army had been left leaderless twice in less than a year, and the officers demanded Valentinian to choose a co-ruler. On March 28 Valentinian chose his own younger brother Valens and the two new Augusti parted the Empire in the pattern established by Diocletian: Valentinian would administer the Western Roman Empire, while Valens took control over the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens' election would soon be disputed. Procopius, a Cilician maternal cousin of Julian, had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but was never designated as such. He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian. In 365, while Valentinian was at Paris and then at Reims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni, Procopius managed to bribe two legions assigned to Constantinople and take control of the Eastern Roman capital. He was proclaimed Augustus on September 28 and soon extended his control to both Thrace and Bithynia. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated. Valens had him executed on May 27, 366. On August 4 367, a 3rd Augustus was proclaimed by the other two. His father Valentini

Holy See

The term Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, lit. "holy seat") refers in its original sense to the episcopal see of Rome, of which the Pope is the diocesan bishop (technically, the ordinary). Currently, Benedict XVI is the ordinary of the Holy See. In the sense more widely used today, as defined in canon law, the Holy See refers to the Pope, the Roman Curia, and associated institutions, in effect, the government of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy See is also called the "Apostolic See", although this name properly refers to any see founded by the Apostles and especially to the three original patriarchal sees of Rome (St. Peter and Paul), Alexandria (St. Mark) and Antioch (St. Peter). Later Constantinople, allegedly founded by St. Andrew, and Jerusalem, restored after its period as a pagan city, were also numbered among the patriarchal sees. The five sees were ranked in descending order of precedence: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem. Aside from Rome, the archiepiscopal See of Mainz, which was also of electoral and primatial rank, is the only other see referred to as the "Holy See," although this usage is rather less common.

The Holy See and Vatican City

Although the Holy See is closely associated with the Vatican City, the independent territory over which the Holy See is sovereign, the two entities are separate and distinct. Since medieval times the Holy See has been recognized as a legal personality under international law. After the Italian takeover of the Papal States in 1870, there was some uncertainty among jurists as to whether the Holy See, without territorial sovereignty, could continue to act as an independent personality in international matters. The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran treaties in 1929 to "insure the absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to guarantee to it an indisputable sovereignty in international affairs" (quotes from the treaty). Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Holy See's former Secretary for Relations with States, said that the Vatican City is a "miniscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the minimum territory". [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_doc_20020422_tauran_en.html] The Holy See is the entity which maintains diplomatic relations with states, and which participates in international organizations. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See rather than to the Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that establishes diplomatic agreements ("Concordats") with other sovereign states.

Organization of the Holy See

The Pope governs the Church through the Roman Curia. The Roman Curia consists of the Secretariat of State, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, 11 Pontifical Councils, and a complex of offices that administer church affairs at the highest level. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The current incumbent, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, is the Holy See's equivalent of a prime minister. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, Secretary of the Section for Relations With States of the Secretariat of State acts as the Holy See's foreign minister. Sodano and Lajolo served in their respective roles under Pope John Paul II and were then reappointed to those same roles by Pope Benedict XVI. Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees church doctrine; the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the appointment of bishops worldwide; the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees all missionary activities; and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which deals with international peace and social issues. Three tribunals are responsible for judicial power. The Apostolic Penitentiary deals with matters of conscience; the Sacra Rota is responsible for appeals, including annulments of marriage; and the Apostolic Signatura is the final court of appeal. The Prefecture for Economic Affairs coordinates the finances of the Holy See departments and supervises the administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, an investment fund dating back to the Lateran Pacts. A committee of 15 cardinals, chaired by the Secretary of State, has final oversight authority over all financial matters of the Holy See, including those of the Institute for Works of Religion, the Vatican bank. Because the Holy See comprises more than simply the Pontificate, it does not dissolve upon the death or resignation of the reigning Pope; in contrast, the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia (such as the prefects of congregations) cease to hold office immediately upon the Pope's death. During a sede vacante—that is, the interregnum occurring between the Pope's death and the election of his successor—the government of the Holy See (and therefore of the Roman Catholic Church) falls to the College of Cardinals. The Cardinal Camerlengo administers the temporalities (i.e., properties and finances) of the Holy See during this period. Canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period. The head of the Apostolic Penitentiary (normally a cardinal, called the Major Penitentiary) also remains in office during the period of Sede vacante.

External links


- [http://www.vatican.va/ The Holy See Website]
- [http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/primacy.htm Primacy of the Apostolic See]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vt.html CIA World Factbook on Holy See]
- [http://www.St-Takla.org Holy See of St. Mark] (Coptic) Category:Canon law Category:The Papacy

New Rome

::This article is about the concept of New Rome in Western Civilization; for the dissolved village in Ohio, see New Rome, Ohio New Rome is a term that can be applied to a city or a country. It can be used to express connection with or discontinuity from the "old" Rome, depending upon context. New Rome has been a cultural, historical, and theological concept within much of Western culture (as far east as Russia) for centuries if not millennia. The term "New Rome" can be used as insult and as praise. Its oldest use may be in reference to Constantinople, since Nova Roma or Νέα Ρώμη was an alternate name for the city. This particular New Rome served as the capital of the Roman Empire from the 4th century until the fall of the Western empire and for nearly a millennium afterwards for the Empire as it survived in the east. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon gave New Rome and its Patriarch equal ecclesiastical status with Old Rome.

New Rome in the "East"

Byzantium

As Nova Roma, Byzantine writers contrasted their city from the "old" Rome by pointing out how Byzantium (Constantinople) had always been a Christian city, while Old Rome had pagan roots. Polemical writings after the Great Schism even claimed that Old Rome was too stained by the blood of martyrs to lead Christianity. To the present day, the Patriarch of Constantinople includes "of Constantinople, New Rome" in his full title.

Moscow as the "Third Rome"

Within decades after the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453, some were nominating Moscow as the "Third Rome", or new "New Rome". Stirrings of this sentiment began during the reign of Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow who had married Sophia Paleologue. Sophia was a niece of Constantine XI, the last Eastern Roman Emperor and Ivan could claim to be the heir of the fallen Eastern Roman Empire. It is noteworhty, that before Ivan III, Stefan Dušan, king of Serbia, and Ivan Alexander, king of Bulgaria, both related to the Byzantine dynasty, facing the decline of the Byzantine empire in the XIV century, made similar claims. Bulgarian manuscripts advanced the idea that Turnovo, the capital of the Bulgarian empire, was the new Constantinople. These plans were never realized as the Ottomans defeated Serbs at Kosovo Polje in 1389, and put an end to the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396 with the occupation of the Despotate of Vidin. However, the rhethorics developed to this respect earlier in Turnovo was imported to Moscow by Cyprian, a clergyman of Bulgarian origin, who became Metropolitan of Moscow in 1381. The idea crystallized with a panegyric letter composed by the Russian monk Philoteus (Filofey) in 1510 to their son Grand Duke Vasili III , which proclaimed, "Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will not be a fourth. No one will replace your Christian Tsardom!" It should be noted that, contrary to the common misconception, Filofey explicitly identifies Third Rome with Russia (the country) rather than with Moscow (the city). Since Roman princesses had married Tsars of Moscow, and, since Russia had become, with the fall of Byzantium, the most powerful Orthodox Christian state, the Tsars were thought of as succeeding the Byzantine Emperor as the rightful ruler of the (Christian) world. The word "tsar," like kaiser, is derived from the word "caesar". Grand Duke Ivan IV was proclaimed the first Russian Tsar on January 16, 1547. On November 2, 1721 Peter I restyled himself as "Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia". The new title was supposed to reflect both the traditional claims of his predecessors and his success in establishing Imperial Russia as a new European power. This "Muscovite Third Romism" persisted into the October Revolution, beginning of the Bolshevik era in the Soviet Union. At the time Nikolai Berdyaev wrote, "Instead of the Third Rome in Russia, the Third International was achieved and many of the features of the Third Rome pass over to the Third International." Some scholars have seen Muscovite Third Romism as the Russian equivalent of the United States' Manifest Destiny, and other concepts used to rationalize imperialism.

New Rome in the "West"

On the other hand, for countries that underwent the Protestant Reformation, "New Rome" became a pejorative description, applied to nations or cities that earned a reputation for rapacity, immorality, or other social or political faults. This may have its roots in virulently anti-Roman propaganda against "papists" and the city of Rome, home of the Pope and heart of the Roman Catholic Church, which drew the ire of many a Reformation author. In the present day, "New Rome" is used in this form mostly to refer to "political immorality", casting any large and powerful country into the role of an oppressive and expansionistic empire. "Babylon" is often used in a similar sense.

The Third Rome in Rome

Terza Roma (Third Rome) is also a name for the Benito Mussolini plan to expand Rome towards Ostia and the sea. The Eur neighbourhood was the first step in that direction. Roma Tre is also the name of the Third University of Rome.

In Fiction

In the 1959 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Michael Miller, Jr., first published in 1959, the residence of the post-nuclear holocaust Pope is called New Rome. In the sequel Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, New Rome was revealed to have been founded on the site of St. Louis, Missouri. Nova Roma is the name of a fictional country of the Marvel Universe, first appearing in New Mutants #8 (October, 1983). The comic book was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Bob McLeod. This colony of the Roman Republic was reportedly founded shortly after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. The colony is hidden in modern Brazil. The psychic vampire Selene was the de facto ruler of the city for centuries. Her alleged descedant Magma would leave the city to join the New Mutants, (briefly) the X-Men and the New Hellions.

Reference


- Dmytryshyn, Basil (transl). 1991. Medieval Russia: A Source Book, 850-1700. 259-261. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Fort Worth, Texas.
- [http://web.archive.org/web/20040624114143/http://www.fascismoeliberta.net/kf/Discorso31dicembre1925.htm Discorso pronunciato in Campidoglio per l'insediamento del primo Governatore di Roma il 31 dicembre 1925], Internet Archive copy of a page with a Mussolini speech.

See also


- Byzantism
- New Jerusalem
- Translatio imperii Category:Byzantine Empire Category:Moscow

Rome (TV series)

Rome is a critically acclaimed historical drama, produced for television by HBO and the BBC. The show's first season originally ran on HBO between August 28th and November 20th, 2005. It is currently being broadcast on BBC Two in the UK. For the status of Rome on other networks see Broadcasting. HBO has announced plans to produce a second season for release in early 2007. [http://www.hbo.com/rome/news/]

Series overview

The series is a historical drama depicting the period of history surrounding the violent transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; a change driven by the class struggle between Patrician and Plebeian (in Latin the patricii and the plebeii), the decay of political institutions, and the actions of ambitious men. While showing the lives of the rich, powerful, and "historically significant", the show's perspective is centered around the lives, fortunes, families, and acquaintances of two Roman soldiers: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, the only two "regular soldiers" mentioned in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico. The first season depicts Julius Caesar's rise to absolute dictatorship over Rome, and his subsequent fall, between the end of his Gallic Wars (52 BC or 701 ab urbe condita) and his assassination on March 15, 44 BC (the infamous Ides of March). Against the backdrop of these cataclysmic events, we are also shown the young Octavian, growing up as the young man who is destined to become the first Emperor of Rome: Caesar Augustus. While unsubstantied by an official press release, Bruno Heller remarked in an interview that he would prefer the second season to concern the power struggle between Octavian and Mark Antony following Caesar's assassination. [http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/10059]

Series history

Mark Antony (left) and Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus (right), seen in the episode Pharsalus.]] In 2002, HBO and the BBC agreed to co-produce a new series based on the events of the "Roman Revolution": Rome. Towards that end, the two networks committed a $100 million USD budget to the production of twelve 1-hour episodes, with HBO contributing $85 million USD, and the BBC contributing an additional $15 million USD. Between March 2004 and May 2005, Rome was filmed in the Italian countryside, on six sound stages at Rome's legendary Cinecitta Studios, and in a collection of massive sets in Cinecitta Studios' back lots: 5 acres of outdoor sets which comprised an elaborate "period reconstruction" of sections of ancient Rome. It was a massive undertaking, with an international crew of 350, and more than 50 local Italian interns. The series was launched in the United States on August 24, 2005, at Wadsworth Theater in Hollywood. HBO broadcast the series pilot (The Stolen Eagle) four days later on August 28. The first episode attracted more than 8.9 million viewers over eleven broadcasts, and achieved a 9.1 household rating for Sunday primetime (See: Nielsen Ratings). Since then, BBC2 has premiered Rome in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2005, and further episodes are currently in circulation. On September 13 2005, after the broadcast of only three episodes, HBO announced plans to produce a second season of Rome in 2006 for release in March 2007 [http://www.hbo.com/rome/news/]. Bruno Heller, one of the series creators, has also alluded to the possibility of a third season based solely on the span of history that he would like to portray in the series[http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/10059]. However, recent interview comments by HBO chairman, Chris Albrecht, have raised possible doubts about the return of the series [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/arts/television/17hbo.html?8hpib], due to the series' high production costs, and concerns that an 18-month delay between seasons may cause Romes current audience to lose interest.

Production credits


- †Michael Apted's contract for the second season was confirmed shortly after HBO's release of An Owl in a Thornbush

Characters and cast

See also: minor characters of Rome, character appearances in Rome Additional, episode specific, or very minor characters may be listed on the specific episode page.

Episodes

Specials

Season 1 (2005)

† Note: Episodes #1–3 were re-edited into 2 episodes for their BBC broadcast. See The BBC editing controversy.

Season 2 (2007)

While no details have yet been released, HBO has announced plans for a second season. Principal photography shooting is scheduled to begin in 2006, and the second season is slated to air in 2007.

The BBC editing controversy

Some scenes in episodes of the series have been edited for airing on the BBC in order to remove some of the stronger language which is deemed unacceptable for prime-time viewing on terrestrial British television (specifically the use of the word "cunt"). This has been criticised by many, who point to the fact that other HBO programs such as The Sopranos and