Final

r. 69-79
General in Syria putting down Jewish revolt
Supported by Syrian governor and legions of the East including Egypt
Support from Otho’s recently defeated troops
Defeats Vitellius’ (Emperor before him) troops and advances on Rome
With early victories most of Vitellus’ legions defect
Inherits bad financial status of empire from Nero’s spending and civil wars

r. 81-96
Adversarial relationship with the Senate
Historians in/near his time didn’t like him. Modern historians think he was at least capable.
He was paranoid and insecure: lots of executions of perceived threats, eventually members of his own household assassinate him, they immediately declare a new emperor of a different line
Military problems in provinces
Increases pay of soldiers

Emperor after Domitian
r. 96-98
Older man of senatorial pedigree but not of particular means, prestige, or position to exert control
Memory of Domitian damned: his official acts annulled, statues destroyed, name erased from monuments, people he exiled were recalled
Unpopular with Praetorian guard: insists prosecution of assassins, they bully Nerva
One of the 5 good emperors

Was governor of upper Germany
r. 98-117
First non-italic born emperor
Adopted by Nerva
Begins Dacian Wars (101-106) to avenge Domitian’s defeat. Successful.
Popular because after Dacian Wars he gave a lot of money to the soldiers and the people
One of the 5 good emperors
Rome reached its Territorial Zenith under his reign

r. 117-138
One of the 5 good emperors
Non-Roman
Hadrians wall→ display of power?
Bar Kochba Revolt (132-136 AD): Hadrian tried to build Roman temple on top of Jewish temple, Jews revolted, many were killed and Hadrian renamed the city
Adopted by Trajan

Adopted by Hadrian
One of the five good emperors
r. 138-161
Reign is notable for peaceful state of the empire
Left a large surplus in the treasury and made sure drinking water was very available

r. 161-177
He studied under orator Marcus Cornelius Fronto and exchanged letters continuously, published journals
Wrote “Meditations”
Roman soldiers brought back a plague from the East that decimated up to a fifth of the population
His son Commodus was made emperor after he died 180 CE
Advocate of Stoicism

r. 180-190
Son of Marcus Aurelius
Claimed to be reincarnate of Romulus
Loved to compete in arena events.
Multiple attempts on his life throughout his reign made him become mentally unstable.
Renamed the city of Rome and the months of the year after himself.
Didn’t really attend to the leadership duties as emperor and just enjoyed the luxuries that came with the title.
Eventually assassinated by his lover Marcia and 2 other people on his kill list after they found it, but their poisoning attempt did not work so they had a warrior named Narcissus choke Commodus out.

r. 193-211
supported by his 3 legions was named Emperor. He depicted himself as the avenger of Pertinax
he declared himself the adopted son of Marcus Aurelius, claimed descent from Nerva and named his son Caracalla co-emperor
197 AD he marched east to Mesopotamia.

r. 211-217
Son of Septimius Severus
Killed his brother Geta although they were originally set up to co-rule
Was in a lot of wars: german tribes 212/13, parthians 216/17, not a lot of administration
edict of 212 (roman citizenship to all inhabitants, changed the way that social structures functioned)

r. 222-235; end of Severan dynasty
Placed political decision-making authority with his mother
Death marked beginning of third century crisis

Year of the 6 Emperors (238 CE)
Common born so the senate disliked him
Portrayed as ignorant peasant
Campaigns were financed via currency debasement and increased taxes
Senate appoints Gordian I and II as co-emperors but both die in civil war
Senate appoints Maximus and Balbinus
Praetorians select Gordian III
Soldiers mutiny→ Thrax dies
Army accepts Gordian III
Maximus and Balbinus are killed
Senate attempts to restore value of currency

d. 272 AD
King of the Sassanid Empire
Wanted rebirth of Persian Empire
Deprived Rome of its resources while filling their own treasuries

d. 275
Reunited the Empire
Very successful in battles, good general
Tried to reform debased currency but was unsuccessful
Murdered by a group of officers

d. 267/68
Founder king of Palmyra
Vassal of Rome→ still on Rome's side after Valerian was defeated
Led troops against the Persians and was successful
Married to Zenobia

d. 274~
Takes advantage of Claudius’ death to expand control
Takes over most of Asia Minor/Egypt
Peace treaty w/ Persians
Assumes imperial titles
Aurelian sends forces to reconquer eastern provinces→ siege of Palmyra
Zenobia is captured and killed→ paraded around Rome

Emperor of Gallic splinter state
After the defeat of Valerian, Gaul revolts and declared Posthumus Emperor (259)
He is successful in re-establishing borders and driving out the Franks and Alemanni.
He put most of his importance on defending Gallic provinces rather than expanding the his empire

d. 316
First emperor to abdicate
Low born but rose through the ranks via the military
Stabilized the empire and put an end to the 3rd century crisis
Appointed maximian as co-emperor→ Diocletian ruled the Eastern empire and Maximian ruled the west
Also appointed Galerius and Constantius as junior emperors or Caesars thus created the Tetrarchy
Each person ruled a quarter of the empire
System fell apart when he died

d. 337
First emperor to declare Christianity as the official religion of Rome
rescinded edicts against christians and restores their property
Held the council of Nicea, which was one of the first councils to figure out the canon of Christianity
Chi-ro vision→ converted→ fought for jesus
Reunified rome
Protected wealthy aristocrats
Moved the capital to constantinople now modern day Istanbul

Considered the last Pagan emperor
r. 361-363 AD (~20 months)
Had the largest Roman army ever to head a campaign against Persia.
Well-liked
Rejected christianity (wanted to bring Rome back to what he considered to be its former glory and thought he could do this by bringing back Paganism)

d. 375
Defended the western borders against Germanic invasion
Brother valens as co-emperor
Founded Valentinian dynasty→ sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeded him
Sincere christian
Refused to persecute pagans and arians
Reintroduced separate ruling of east and west

d. 395
Named emperor at 7 years old
Signed bad treaties with the Huns to prevent them sacking Constantiople
Longest reigning emperor
Increased divisions within christianity
Emptied Rome's coffers→ spent too much (Huns)
Family succeeds him

d. 373
Christian Theologian
Opposed Arianism (that publicly rejected the Nicene Creed which was a foundational Christian doctrine that all three major branches of christianity agreed on).
Exiled 5 times

d. 565
Last Roman emperor
Conflict with Sassanids
Conquest of Vandals
Tries to retake italian peninsula
First bubonic plague outbreak
Hagia sophia
Paganism outlawed

d. 408
Military commander in roman army
Blamed for fall of western roman empire bc failure to stop germanic tribes with his troops

No filter, no fear no matter who it was
Used Valentinian II as a figurehead which ended up helping him gain immense power. Eventually had that boi sleepin with the fishes
Late 4th century
Frankish General
First “barbarian” general to nominate successfully an emperor, Eugenius, who he continued to use as a figurehead.
The Battle of Frigidus was what ultimately led to his downfall
Hired mercenaries who ended up being bribed by Theodosius I
Natural phenomena in the Julian Alps ended up almost blowing Arbogast and his remaining troops off the mountain

First king of the Visigoths
He was the commander of Gothic troops for the Roman army but left the army after the death of Theodosius I and became leader of the Visigoths.
Sacked Rome in 410

warlord for the huns in 443
focuses on the balkans, demands more tribute money (which rome doesn’t really have)
turns back towards europe in 450
setbacks and plague stop hun advance, he dies under unclear circumstances in 454

King of the Vandals c. 428-77
Sent the vandals from germany into north africa
Captured carthage in 439, which expanded influence into Sicily & the mediterranean
Recognized as independent kingdom by Valentinian III in 442
455 sacks rome after Valintinan III is assassinated

d. 526
unites Ostrogoths and threatens Zeno and Constantinople in 483
Invaded Italy in 488 and makes a conquest of the entire peninsula and Sicily by 493

period of time from Augustus to Diocletian; emperor not a monarch but is princep, first among equals; Senate is pretend important (rubber stamp); Rome grows to largest geographical size and commands greatest political, social, military power

Women who maintained religious office in Rome; needed to remain virgins during term of service until 35(ish) years of age; frequently scapegoated because the women were messing around.

Breakaway empire of Third Century Crisis; reconquered by Aurelian; indicative of increasing provincial breakaways

Breakaway of Third Century Crisis; reconquered by Aurelian; indicative of increasing provincial breakaways

where the Roman Empire almost collapsed and ended with ascension of Diocletian: begins with currency debasing leading to legion problems; average reign time 1.8 years; 235-285 CE; Rome as a seat of government no longer means much and political power is moving east

Created a fixed rate system of prices for goods and services
Failed miserably
Shows the attempts at reversing currency debasement

Period of empire from Diocletian to fall; no longer pretending Senate matters; emperor as absolute monarch

rule of four; Augustus and Caesar pair (one in East and West); began because empire too large to govern for one person / pair at the end of the 3rd century (to solve 3rd Century Crisis); exacerbates the divide between the eastern and western halves of the empire

composed of chariot track & racing, large-scale gambling; facet of Roman entertainment; Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.”

Written by Theodosius II
Chronicles starting with Constantine, ends with Theodosius II
Codify the Roman laws under the Christian empire

military conference held on November 11, 308 in the city of Carnuntum
Done to decide Augustus of the West
Demotes Constantine from Augustus to Caesar - Constantine does not take demotion and continues to print on cains as Augustus
Attempts to solve the tetrarchy crisis of four claimants to Augustus and one to Caesar but fails

Took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius in 312
Constantine saw the christian cross in the sky and decided to paint it on his warriors' shields.
This brought about the edict of Milan which stopped the persecution of Christians.
Constantine decided to later convert to christianity on his deathbed

Diocletian sanctioned mass crucifixions against Christians; 3rd century crisis is height of instability in Roman Empire to date and Diocltian needs someone to blame for upsetting the Gods and offsetting the crisis; solution = Christians

Took place in 325 in Nicaea
Called by Constantine to fix Christian doctrine
Counteracted Arian heresy

issued by Constantine and Licinius in 313 AD. Called for religious tolerance of Christians and an end to persecution of Christians around the Roman empire.
Turning point for the Christian religion and helped paved the way for it to be later named the official language of the empire.

Fought between Constantius II against the usurper Magnentius
Catastrophic loss of life; one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history
Sharp decrease in manpower forces Rome to hire out more mercenary legionnaires

410 and 476 - know both
410 culmination of Alaric invading Rome and just kind of being paid off to go away; Roman general knocking down Rome; more symbolic than anything - Rome hasn’t been touched in several centuries
455 (actually 476); perpetrated by the Vandals; Vandals pissed that Rome did not actually follow through with their commitments and always put them on the front line instead of Roman soldiers

a core and periphery to any nation; ex: Rome is the core with natural resources being imported to the core from the periphery; individual places can afford to specialize because they can get other resources from imports; core dominates periphery through military, industrial, agricultural means

(roughly 27 BC- 180 AD)
Period of socio-political tranquility, economic prosperity, administrative efficiency, cultural renown, unification of diverse people under a single ideology and dominion WITHIN the empire
Imposition of humanitas (as an opposition to barbarism.)
Literally Roman peace
Height of internal peace

Over the years, money was handled worse and worse, so the currency was worth less and less
They made their coins with less silver over the years, making it pretty much like an American penny
They were running out of quarries that could help them keep silver coming in

In north africa over a dispute on the purity of priests
Doesn’t end till the invasion of the Islamic Umayyads
Donatism in NA lasts for hundreds of years

Arian believed that jesus was not consubstantial with god
Argument is that because God the Father begot God the Son, there was a time before God the Son

Council of Nicaea 325, later the Council of Constantinople in 381 to make sure the Creed was up to date regarding heresies about the incarnation and the Holy Spirit
Official profession of Christianity
Creed serves as a summary of core tenets of the faith

Issues not actually outside, but inside. It was not really a surprise, but at the same time no one ever thought that Rome itself could be pretty much burnt to the ground
The “barbarians” were the scapegoat for the shit Roman governance

Christian sect that originated in Asia Minor and Syria
condemned and exiled by The Council of Ephesus

Jealousy, (both power and wealth)
Germanic invasion
Corruption
Climate change (crops)

Disrupts pax domini (peace of the gods)
Schisms and heresy in Church that Constantine and other emperors will have to deal with
Pagan persecution and anger

Pax Romana
pre-Civil War Roman Republic

Tetrarchy
Currency debasing
Political factionalism

Roman Civil Wars
Assassination of Caesar
Tetrarchy
Constantine legalizing Christianity
Third Century Crisis
455 sack of Rome by the Vandals
Fall of Superbus (last king) & creation of the Senate
Rape of Lucretia (begins downfall of Roman kings)

Yes, wealthy Romans who can benefit from extracting resources from peripheries / industry
27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E.
Internal, not external, peace

Pax Romana: Peace of Rome
- No wars (no infighting)
- Too many border wars for infighting
- Golden age of roman imperialism, peace and order
Five good emperors
- Nerva (96-98)
- Trajan (98-117)
- Hadrian (117-138)
- Antoninus Pius (138-161)
- Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
Prosperity of Rome
- Period of economic stability
- Apply dependency theory; the ability of Rome to make others dependent on their resources makes Rome incredibly wealthy

(235-285 BC) Period of general anarchy following the murder of Severus Alexander (the last of the Severan dynasty)
Marked by frequent turnover of leader
- Usurpers, pretenders, assassinations
Border threats and conflicts on frontiers
Financial unrest and upheaval (money was debased and had no significance)
Political and economic turmoil
Rise of regionalism and fragmentation of centralized authority
- Tetrarchy to combat problems of regionalism plaguing the 3rd c. crisis
-- Emperors could not show commitment to multiple regions at the same time, opening themselves up to criticism and revolt in provinces where they weren’t
-- Splitting the empire in half under 2 emperors allowed one emperor in each major region
-- Established a clear and permanent solution to succession, supposedly granting continuity

Before this occurrence, it’s important to know about the visigoths and ostrogoths. The Ostrogoths were displaced by the Huns in the 4th c. The Visigoth territory was invaded by the Huns in the late 4th c. CE. The Visigoths, however, decide to petition Rome so they can settle across the Danube and are given permission to do so by Valens. Later they made a treaty with Theodosius so now parts of the Roman army serve under Visigothic leaders as allies-federates.
“Barbarian hordes” coming to Rome bring about uncivilized and unruly conflict that makes society turn into order vs chaos. The military at this time is already mostly Germanic and is already employing the Huns as mercenaries (searching and linking with people not considered Roman).
Lack of authority in the title of Western Roman Emperor
Loss of provinces creates economic instability in Rome; famine leads to starvation