The Roman Empire (ancient Rome) left an imperishable mark in all European lands, where its victorious legions just stepped. The stone ligature of Roman architecture has survived to this day: the walls that protected the citizens, along which the troops moved, aqueducts that brought fresh water to the townspeople, and bridges thrown over the stormy rivers. As if all this was not enough, the legionaries erected more and more structures - even as the borders of the empire began to recede. In the era of Hadrian, when Rome was much more concerned with the consolidation of lands than with new conquests, the unclaimed combat prowess of the soldiers, for a long time cut off from home and family, was wisely directed into another creative channel. In a sense, the entire European owes its birth to the Roman builders who introduced many innovations both in Rome itself and beyond. The most important achievements of urban planning aimed at the public good were sewers and water pipes, which created healthy living conditions and contributed to the increase in population and the growth of cities themselves. But all this would have been impossible if the Romans had not invented concrete and did not begin to use the arch as the main architectural element. It was these two innovations that were spread by the Roman army throughout the empire.

Since the stone arches could withstand a huge weight and they could be built very high - sometimes two or three tiers - the engineers who worked in the provinces easily overcame any rivers and gorges and reached the farthest edges, leaving behind strong bridges and powerful water pipes (aqueducts). Like many other structures built with the help of Roman troops, the bridge in the Spanish city of Segovia, through which the water supply runs, is gigantic: 27.5 meters high and about 823 meters long. The unusually tall and slender pillars made of roughly hewn and unattached granite boulders, and 128 graceful arches leave an impression not only of unprecedented power, but also of imperial self-confidence. It is a miracle of engineering, built about 100 tons and. e., has steadfastly stood the test of time: until recently, the bridge served as the water supply system of Segovia.

How it all began?

Early settlements on the site of the future city of Rome emerged on the Apennine Peninsula, in the valley of the Tiber River, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. According to legend, the Romans descended from Trojan refugees who founded the city of Alba Longu in Italy. Rome itself, according to legend, was founded by Romulus, the grandson of King Alba Longa, in 753 BC. e. As in the Greek city-states, in the early period of the history of Rome it was ruled by kings who enjoyed virtually the same power as the Greeks. Under the tyrant king Tarquinius Gordom, a popular uprising took place, during which the royal power was destroyed and Rome turned into an aristocratic republic. Its population was clearly divided into two groups - the privileged patrician class and the plebeian class, which had much less rights. A member of the oldest Roman family was considered a patrician, only the senate (the main government body) was elected from the patricians. A significant part of its early history is the struggle of the plebeians to expand their rights and turn members of their class into full-fledged Roman citizens.

Ancient Rome differed from the Greek city-states, since it was in completely different geographical conditions - a single Apennine peninsula with vast plains. Therefore, from the earliest period of its history, its citizens were forced to compete and fight with the neighboring Italic tribes. The conquered peoples obeyed this great empire either as allies, or simply included in the republic, and the conquered population did not receive the rights of Roman citizens, often turning into slaves. The most powerful opponents of Rome in the IV century. BC e. there were Etruscans and Samnites, as well as individual Greek colonies in southern Italy (Greater Greece). And yet, despite the fact that the Romans were often at odds with the Greek colonists, the more developed Hellenic culture had a noticeable impact on the culture of the Romans. It got to the point that the ancient Roman deities began to be identified with their Greek counterparts: Jupiter with Zeus, Mars with Ares, Venus with Aphrodite, etc.

Wars of the Roman Empire

The most tense moment in the confrontation between the Romans and the South Italians and Greeks was the war of 280-272. BC BC, when Pyrrhus, the king of the state of Epirus in the Balkans, intervened in the course of hostilities. In the end, Pyrrhus and his allies were defeated, and by 265 BC. e. The Roman Republic united all of Central and Southern Italy under its rule.

Continuing the wars with the Greek colonists, the Romans clashed in Sicily with the Carthaginian (Punic) state. In 265 BC. e. the so-called Punic Wars began, which lasted until 146 BC. e., almost 120 years. In the beginning, the Romans led fighting against the Greek colonies in the east of Sicily, primarily against the largest of them - the city of Syracuse. Then the seizure of the Carthaginian lands in the east of the island began, which led to the fact that the Carthaginians, who had a strong fleet, attacked the Romans. After the first defeats, the Romans managed to create their own fleet and defeat the Carthaginian ships in the battle of the Aegates Islands. A peace was signed, according to which in 241 BC. e. all of Sicily, which was considered the breadbasket of the Western Mediterranean, became the property of the Roman Republic.

Carthaginian dissatisfaction with the results First Punic War, as well as the gradual penetration of the Romans into the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, which was owned by Carthage, led to a second military clash between the powers. In 219 BC. e. Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca captured the Spanish city of Sagunt, an ally of the Romans, then passed through southern Gaul and, having overcome the Alps, invaded the territory of the Roman Republic proper. Hannibal supported some of the Italic tribes, dissatisfied with the rule of Rome. In 216 BC. e. in Apulia, in a bloody battle at Cannes, Hannibal surrounded and almost completely destroyed the Roman army, commanded by Gaius Terentius Varro and Aemilius Paul. However, Hannibal could not take the heavily fortified city and was eventually forced to leave the Apennine Peninsula.

The war was moved to northern Africa, where Carthage and other Punian settlements were located. In 202 BC. e. the Roman general Scipio defeated Hannibal's army at the town of Zama, south of Carthage, after which a peace was signed on terms dictated by the Romans. The Carthaginians were deprived of all their possessions outside Africa, they were obliged to transfer all warships and war elephants to the Romans. After winning the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic became the most powerful state in the Western Mediterranean. Third Punic War, which took place from 149 to 146 BC e., was reduced to finishing off an already defeated enemy. In the spring of 14b BC. e. Carthage was taken and destroyed, and its inhabitants.

The defensive walls of the Roman Empire

The relief from Trajan's Column depicts a scene (see left) from the Dacian Wars; legionnaires (they are without helmets) are building a camp out of rectangular pieces of turf. When Roman soldiers found themselves in enemy lands, the construction of such fortifications was common.

"Fear gave birth to beauty, and ancient Rome was miraculously transformed, changing the old - peaceful - policy and began to hastily erect towers, so that soon all seven of its hills sparkled with the armor of a continuous wall" - this is how one Roman wrote about the powerful fortifications built around Rome in 275 to protect against the Goths. Following the example of the capital, large cities throughout the Roman Empire, many of which have long "stepped over" the boundaries of the former walls, hastened to strengthen their defensive lines.

Building the city walls was an extremely laborious job. Usually two deep ditches were dug around the settlement, and between them a high earthen rampart was piled up. It served as a sort of interlayer between two concentric walls. External the wall went into the ground by 9 m, so that the enemy could not make a tunnel, and at the top was equipped with a wide road for the sentinels. Inner wall rose a few more meters to make it more difficult to shell the city. Such fortifications were almost indestructible: their thickness reached 6 m, and the boulders were fitted together with metal brackets - for greater strength.

When the walls were completed, the gates could be erected. Over the opening in the wall, a temporary wooden arch - formwork. Above it, skilled masons, moving from both sides to the middle, laid wedge-shaped slabs, forming a bend in the arch. When the last - the castle, or key - stone was inserted, the formwork was removed, and next to the first arch they began to build the second. And so on until the entire passage to the city was under a semicircular roof - the Korobov vault.

The guard posts on the gates, guarding the peace of the city, were often real small fortresses: there were military barracks, stocks of weapons and food. In Germany, the so-called (see below) is perfectly preserved. Instead of windows, there were loopholes on its lower slopes, and round towers towered on both sides - so that it would be more convenient to fire at the enemy. During the siege, a powerful lattice was lowered onto the gate.

The wall, built in the 3rd century around Rome (19 km long, 3.5 m thick and 18 m high), consisted of 381 towers and 18 gates with drooping bars. The wall was constantly renovated and strengthened, so that it served the City until the 19th century, that is, until the improvement of artillery. Two-thirds of this wall still stands today.

The majestic Porta Nigra (that is, the Black Gate), towering 30 meters in height, personifies the power of imperial Rome. The fortified gate is flanked by two towers, one of which is significantly damaged. Once the gate served as the entrance to the city walls of the 2nd century AD. e. in Augusta Trevrorum (later Trier), the northern capital of the empire.

Aqueducts of the Roman Empire. Imperial City Life Road

The famous three-tiered aqueduct in Southern France (see above), across the Gard and its low-lying valley - the so-called Garda Bridge - is as beautiful as it is functional. This structure, which stretches for 244 m in length, daily supplies from a distance of 48 km about 22 tons of water to the city of Nemaus (now Nîmes). The Garda Bridge is still one of the finest works of Roman engineering.

For the Romans, famous for their achievements in engineering, the subject of special pride was aqueducts... They brought about 250 million gallons of fresh water to ancient Rome every day. In 97 A.D. e. Sextus Julius Frontinus, the superintendent of the water supply system of Rome, rhetorically asked: "Who dares to compare our water pipes with idle pyramids or some worthless - albeit famous - creations of the Greeks - these great structures, without which human life is unthinkable?" Towards the end of its greatness, the city acquired eleven aqueducts, along which water ran from the southern and eastern hills. Engineering turned into real art: it seemed that graceful arches easily jumped over obstacles, moreover, decorating the landscape. The Romans quickly "shared" their achievements with the rest of the Roman Empire, and you can still see the remnants of numerous aqueducts in France, Spain, Greece, North Africa and Asia Minor.

To provide water to provincial cities, whose population had already depleted local reserves, and to build baths and fountains there, Roman engineers laid canals to rivers and springs, often tens of miles away. Flowing down at a slight slope (Vitruvius recommended minimum slope 1: 200), precious moisture ran through the stone pipes that ran through countryside (and were mostly hidden away into underground tunnelsor ditches that repeated the outlines of the landscape) and eventually reached the boundaries of the city. There, water was safely supplied to public reservoirs. When rivers or gorges crossed the path of the pipeline, the builders threw arches across them, allowing them to maintain the same gentle slope and maintain a continuous flow of water.

To keep the angle of water falling constant, surveyors again resorted to thunder and chorobat, as well as to a diopter, which measured horizontal angles. Again, the main burden of the work fell on the shoulders of the troops. In the middle of the 2nd century A.D. one military engineer was asked to understand the difficulties encountered in the construction of an aqueduct in Saldy (in present-day Algeria). Two groups of workers began to dig a tunnel in the hill, moving towards each other from opposite sides. The engineer soon realized what was the matter. "I measured both tunnels," he later wrote, "and found that the sum of their lengths exceeds the width of the hill." The tunnels just didn't meet. He found a way out by drilling a well between the tunnels and connecting them, so that the water began to flow as it should. The city honored the engineer with a monument.

Internal situation of the Roman Empire

The further strengthening of the external power of the Roman Republic was simultaneously accompanied by a deep internal crisis. Such a large territory could no longer be governed in the old way, that is, with the organization of power characteristic of the city-state. In the ranks of the Roman military leaders, generals came forward, claiming to have full power, like the ancient Greek tyrants or the Hellenic rulers in the Middle East. The first of these rulers was Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who captured in 82 BC. e. Rome and became an absolute dictator. Sulla's enemies were mercilessly killed according to the lists (proscriptions) prepared by the dictator himself. In 79 BC. e. Sulla voluntarily relinquished power, but this could no longer return him to his former government. A long period has begun civil wars in the Roman Republic.

External situation of the Roman Empire

Meanwhile, the stable development of the empire was threatened not only by external enemies and ambitious politicians who fought for power. Periodically, slave uprisings broke out on the territory of the republic. The largest such rebellion was a performance led by the Thracian Spartacus, which lasted almost three years (from 73 to 71 BC). The rebels were defeated only by the combined efforts of the three most skillful commanders of Rome at that time - Mark Licinius Crassus, Mark Licinius Lucullus and Gnaeus Pompey.

Later, Pompeii, famous for his victories in the East over the Armenians and the Pontic king Mithridates VI, fought for supreme power in the republic with another famous military leader - Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar from 58 to 49 BC e. managed to seize the territories of the northern neighbors of the Roman Republic - the Gauls and even carried out the first invasion of the British Isles. In 49 BC. e. Caesar entered Rome, where he was declared a dictator - a military ruler with unlimited rights. In 46 BC. e. at the Battle of Pharsalus (Greece), he defeated Pompey, his main rival. And in 45 BC. e. in Spain, under Munda, he crushed the last obvious political opponents - the sons of Pompey, Gnaeus the Younger and Sextus. At the same time, Caesar managed to enter into an alliance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, effectively subjugating her vast country to power.

However, in 44 BC. e. Guy Julius Caesar was killed by a group of Republican conspirators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Guy Cassius Longinus. Civil wars in the republic continued. Now their main participants were Caesar's closest associates - Mark Antony and Guy Octavian. First, they together destroyed the killers of Caesar, and only later entered into a fight with each other. Antony was supported by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra during this last phase of the civil wars in Rome. However, in 31 BC. e. at the Battle of Cape Aktium, the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated by the ships of Octavian. The Queen of Egypt and her ally committed suicide, and Octavian, finally to the Roman Republic, became the unrestricted ruler of a giant power that united almost the entire Mediterranean under his rule.

Octavian, in 27 BC e. who took the name Augustus "blessed", is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, although this title itself at that time meant only the supreme commander, who won a significant victory. No one officially abolished the Roman Republic, and Augustus preferred to be called the princeps, that is, the first among the senators. And yet, under the successors of Octavian, the republic began to acquire more and more the features of a monarchy, closer in its organization to the eastern despotic states.

The empire reached its highest foreign policy power under the Emperor Trajan, who in 117 AD. e. conquered part of the lands of the most powerful enemy of Rome in the east - the Parthian Empire. However, after the death of Trajan, the Parthians managed to return the captured territories and soon went on the offensive. Already under Trajan's successor, Emperor Hadrian, the empire was forced to switch to defensive tactics, building powerful defensive ramparts on its borders.

The Parthians weren't the only ones who troubled the Roman Empire; the raids of barbarian tribes from the north and east became more and more frequent, in the battles with which the Roman army often suffered sensitive defeats. Later, the Roman emperors even allowed certain groups of barbarians to settle on the territory of the empire, provided that they would guard the borders from other hostile tribes.

In 284, the Roman emperor Diocletian made an important reform that finally transformed the former Roman republic into an imperial state. From now on, even the emperor began to be called differently - "dominus" ("lord"), and a complex ritual borrowed from the eastern rulers was introduced at the court. Simultaneously, the empire was divided into two parts - Eastern and Western, at the head of each of which was a special ruler who received title of August. He was assisted by a deputy called Caesar. After a while, Augustus had to transfer power to Caesar, and he himself had to retire. This more flexible system, along with improved provincial governance, meant that this great state continued for another 200 years.

In the IV century. Christianity became the dominant religion in the empire, which also contributed to the consolidation of the internal unity of the state. Since 394, Christianity is already the only permitted religion in the empire. However, if the Eastern Roman Empire remained a fairly strong state, the Western one weakened under the blows of the barbarians. Several times (410 and 455) barbarian tribes captured and ruined Rome, and in 476 the leader of the German mercenaries Odoacer overthrew the last western emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself the ruler of Italy.

And although the Eastern Roman Empire survived as a single country, and in 553 even annexed the entire territory of Italy, it was still a completely different state. It is no coincidence that historians prefer to call him and consider his fate separately from history of ancient Rome.

The Roman Empire has a rich history, in addition, a long and full of events. If we consider chronology, then before the empire there was a republic. The signs of the Roman Empire were the autocratic system in government, that is, the unlimited power of the emperor. The empire possessed huge territories in Europe, as well as the entire Mediterranean coast.

The history of this large-scale state is divided into the following time periods:

• Ancient Rome (from 753 BC)
• Roman Empire, Western and Eastern Roman Empires
• Eastern Roman Empire (existed for about a thousand years).

However, some historians last period do not allocate. That is, it is believed that the Roman Empire did not become in 476 AD.

The structure of the state could not quickly switch from a republic to an empire. Therefore, in the history of the Roman Empire, there was a period called the principate. It implies a combination of features of both forms of government. This stage lasted from the first century BC to the third century AD. But already in the "dominate" (from the end of the third to the middle of the fifth) the monarchy "swallowed" the republic.

The collapse of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern.

This event took place on January 17, 395 AD. Theodosius I the Great died, but managed to divide the empire between Arkady (eldest son) and Honorius (younger). The first received the Eastern part (Byzantium), and the second - the Western.

Prerequisites for the collapse:

• Decline of the country
• Degradation of the ruling and military layers
• Civil strife, barbarian raids
• The end of the external expansion of borders (that is, the flow of gold, labor and other goods has ceased)
• Defeat from the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes
• Degradation of the population, the motto "live for your pleasure"
• Demographic crisis
• The collapse of religion (the predominance of paganism over Christianity) and culture

Western Roman Empire.

It existed from the end of the fourth to the end of the fifth century AD. Since Honorius came to power at the age of eleven, he could not cope alone. Therefore, the commander-in-chief Stilicho essentially became the ruler. At the beginning of the fifth century, he excellently defended Italy from the barbarians. But in 410 Stilicho was executed, and no one could save the Apennines from the Western Goths. Even earlier, in 406-409, Spain and Gaul were defeated. After a series of events, the lands partially returned to Honorius.

From 425 to 455, the Western Roman Empire passed to Valentinian III. During these years, there were fierce attacks by the vandals and the Huns. Despite the resistance of the Roman state, it lost part of the territory.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

This is a significant event in world history. The cause of its "death" was the invasion of barbarian tribes (for the most part - Germanic) as part of the worldwide migration of peoples.

It all started with the Western Goths in Italy in 401, in 404 the situation was aggravated by the Eastern Goths and Vandals, the Burgundians. Then the Huns came. Each of the tribes created their own kingdoms on the territory of the Western Roman Empire. And in the 460s, when only Italy remained from the state, Odoacer (he led a detachment of hired barbarian soldiers in the Roman army) captured it too. Thus, on September 4, 476, the Western Roman Empire came to an end.

Eastern Roman Empire.

Its other name is Byzantine. This part of the Roman Empire was more fortunate than the western one. The system was also autocratic, the emperor ruled. It is believed that the years of her "life" are 395 to 1453. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In the fourth century, Byzantium goes over to feudal relations. Under Justinian I (in the middle of the sixth century), the empire managed to regain vast territories. Then the vastness of the state began to decrease slowly but surely. The merit of this is in the raids of the tribes (Slavs, Goths, Lombards).

In the thirteenth century, Constantinople was haunted by the "crusaders" who "liberated" Jerusalem from the followers of Islam.

Gradually, Byzantium lost its strength in the economic sphere. A sharp lag behind other states also contributed to its weakening.

In the fourteenth century, the Turks attacked the Balkans. After the capture of Serbia and Bulgaria, they conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Holy Roman Empire.

This is a special association of some European countries from the end of the first millennium to almost the end of the second (962-1806). The acceptance of the papacy made it "sacred." In general, its full name is the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.

The Germans considered themselves to be a strong nation. They were seized by the idea of \u200b\u200bfounding an empire. Otto I was its creator in 962. The dominant position in this alliance of states was occupied by Germany. In addition to it, it included Italy and Bohemia, Burgundy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In 1134, only Burgundy and Italy remained, of course, Germany remained dominant. A year later, the Czech kingdom joined the union.

Otto's plan was to revive and reanimate the Roman Empire. Only the new empire was fundamentally different from the ancient one. First, there were signs of decentralized power, not strict monarchical. But the emperor ruled all the same. He was, however, chosen by the college, not the lineage. The title could be awarded only after the coronation by the Pope. Secondly, the actions of the emperor were always limited to the layer of the German aristocracy. The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were very numerous. Each of them left an imprint of their activities in history.

As a result of Napoleon's wars, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist. Its head, Franz II, simply refused the power given to him.

History of the Roman Empire. Documentary

And, in fact, let's talk about the date, which is usually considered the end of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans themselves did not even notice this event. Subsequently, it will be so often. Great things are seen at a distance. Historians have declared this date the end of antiquity, the end of the Western Roman Empire. For the Romans themselves, this was an ordinary event. Remember this date. Year 476.

The last Roman emperor is a boy. His name was Romulus Augustulus. Another irony of fate. Romulus - as the founder of Rome, Augustus - as the founder of the Roman Empire (Augustus Octavian, only "Augustulus" means the diminutive of "Augustus", Augustus is like "little Augustus"). Romulus Augustulus. His name combines the names of the founder of the city and the founder of the empire.

So, he was overthrown from the throne by the leader of the barbaric mercenaries Odoacer. Then Odoacer will be overthrown by Theodoric, the founder of the Visigothic kingdom. And Odoacer did not declare himself emperor, as he could. Well, what is an emperor? The emperor is nothing. And Odoacer did something else: he sent the signs of imperial power, imperial dignity to the Eastern Roman empire, to Constantinople with the words: "as one god in heaven, so one emperor on earth." And so the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist.

The East, I repeat, has remained and will exist for another 1000 years, will become a bridge connecting Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the West, the Dark Ages, barbarian kingdoms, a long cultural decline are coming. In general, a completely new era begins. Nobody even noticed this fall of the Western Roman Empire. And, in general, antiquity is over. What's left?

What's left? Remained magic, mythology. The idea of \u200b\u200ban empire remained. Then, in the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation will be created. Sounds funny, right? Charlemagne will proclaim himself Roman emperor, although he is a franc. Then there will be the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. How is it - the Roman Empire of the German nation? The Empire can only be Roman. The very concept, the archetype of the empire, goes back there. Moscow is the "third Rome". Again, see: "Third Rome." That is, Rome became a symbol of empire, a symbol of power, a symbol of power.

Remained Latin. A wonderful language, very expressive, dry, laconic. Classical Latin of Cicero, the language of learned theologians, the language of cultural communication in Western Europe. Now lawyers speak it, pharmacists write their prescriptions. Latin will link European culture.

Remained Christianity. The Pope is the head of Christendom. A single universal religion that originated in the Roman Empire.

Well, more bridges, arches, aqueducts, sculptures. By the way, Greek copies will reach us only in the Roman version, only in the Roman version.

Yes, the ideal of a citizen will remain. After many centuries, subsequent generations will be guided by the ideals of Roman virtue. For example, the entire French Revolution takes place under the sign of Rome. French revolutionaries at the end of the 18th century play at Brutus, Cassiev, Katonov, and dress up in Roman togas. One of the leaders of the French Revolution will even take the name Gracchus Babeuf in honor of the Gracchus brothers. The French will introduce a senate and prefectures. That is, Rome is the ideal of citizenship, the ideal of absolute dedication, service to the fatherland, valor, military valor, administrative success, republican virtues.

There will remain Roman law, detailed, detailed, dividing into private law, civil law, its various branches.

What will remain is a wonderful oratory, a huge political experience.

Remains of fragments of a great and ancient civilization, which will pass to us. Greek civilization will pass to us through the Romans. This tradition will never be interrupted. Let us recall the Renaissance, when in the XV - XVI centuries Italians will suddenly discover classical Latin, discover Roman political theory in the person of Machiavelli, discover their origins. Dante, the great Italian poet, in his poem " The Divine Comedy"Will bring out Virgil, the great poet of Rome, who will be his guide through hell.

It is forever, like everything real, like everything great, although the greatness of Rome is very specific, very peculiar, very limited. Rome will, of course, become a myth in a sense. And the myth is immortal. A myth is, in a sense, a known reality, more real than what we consider to be reality.

And all this varied Roman heritage will pass into subsequent eras, and will largely shape the world of subsequent centuries. Including the world in which you and I live.

In 454, Emperor Valentinian III executed his brilliant but wayward commander Aetius, and a year later he was also killed. The next twenty years turned out to be a period of political chaos: no less than eight emperors were enthroned and deposed - either at the initiative of the Roman senate aristocracy, or at the instigation of the eastern emperor. On August 23, 476, German troops in Italy (which now constituted the main part of the Roman army) elected their commander Odoacer as king and deposed the last Western emperor Romulus Augustulus (Augustulus's government refused to allocate a third of the land to the soldiers - that is how much the Roman "allies" in Gaul received) ...

This event marked the end of the Roman Empire in the West. Formally, the entire territory of the empire was now ruled by the eastern emperor Zeno. In fact, Odoacer, hated by the Roman aristocracy and not recognized by Constantinople, became the independent ruler of Italy.

Ostrogoths in Italy

Zeno did not have the opportunity to conquer Italy, but he still took revenge on Odoacer. The Ostrogoths, defeated and enslaved by the Huns, in the end, like the Visigoths, moved to the Balkan provinces of the empire. In 488, Zeno convinced their leader, Theodoric, to march from Moesia (present-day Serbia) to Italy. It was a clever move on the part of the emperor: whoever won in Italy, the Eastern Empire was at least getting rid of the last tribe of barbarians still in its provinces.

By 493, the Ostrogoths occupied Italy, Odoacer was dead (he was killed, according to stories, by Theodoric himself). Formally, Theodoric, as governor of the emperor, received the title of patrician, but in reality he remained as independent as the other leaders of the barbarians.

Roman Empire in the East: Justinian

The departure of the Ostrogoths to Italy freed the eastern part of the Roman Empire from the last tribe of barbarians who invaded its territory in the 5th century. In the next, VI century. Greco-Roman civilization once again demonstrated its vitality, and the military and administrative organization of the empire proved remarkable flexibility and ability to respond effectively to the demands of the situation. The great cities of the empire - Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea and Jerusalem - did not lose their power. The merchants of these cities continued to equip ships throughout the Mediterranean and down the Red Sea to East Africa, Ceylon and beyond.

The Byzantine (that is, Roman) gold coin - solidus (on which the image of the emperor was minted) - circulated throughout the civilized world, from Ireland to China. Caravans crossed the vast Asian mainland along a route equipped with numerous inns. One of these caravans smuggled silkworms out of China, and soon its own silk production flourished in Cyprus and other parts of the empire. For the wealthy townspeople, life remained much the same as it had been for centuries. Young people received both classical and religious education at academies and universities. Christianity, which has been under the protection and patronage of the state for three centuries, has shown its wealth in hundreds of churches, decorated with luxurious lamps, sculptures and mosaics.

However, Constantinople, the capital of the empire, became the largest and richest city. Remembering the fate that befell Rome in 410, the emperors surrounded Constantinople with a system of defensive walls with towers that defended it both from land and sea. These walls successfully withstood all attacks until 1204, when the crusaders treacherously broke into the city and captured it. As before in Rome, so now in Constantinople, the emperors had to pursue a certain policy in relation to the inhabitants of the huge capital. As before, "bread and circuses" meant a public demonstration of the authorities' interest in supporting the poorest masses. The fans at the hippodrome (a huge stadium for horse races, chariot races and wild animals) were divided into "green" and "blue". However, these were not just supporters of different teams, but also peculiar parties that differed in political and religious views and were usually at odds. In 532, they united during anti-government riots and terrorized the city for several days. Justinian's advisers urged him to go into hiding. However, Justinian's wife, Theodora, convinced him to put things in order, and the professional soldiers of the commander Belisarius mercilessly dealt with the rioters.

These riots were the last internal crisis during the reign of Justinian. Then he ruled the empire as effectively as his predecessors, and even more autocratic, thanks in large part to the advice of Empress Theodora. Justinian completely controlled the imperial bureaucracy and imposed taxes at his own discretion. As the supreme legislator and judge, he initiated the drafting of the code of imperial laws, the famous Corpus juris civilis (Code of Civil Law). In the first of its three parts, Codex Justinianus (Code of Justinian), all the decrees of the emperors from the time of Hadrian (117-138) to 533 were collected. Later edicts were introduced under the name novel lae (New laws). It was this last part of the "corps" that contained the rationale for the absolute power of the emperor. The second part, Digests, or Pandects, in 50 books, included excerpts from the writings and judgments of Roman lawyers related to civil and criminal law. The third part, Institutions, was an abridged version of the first two parts, that is, a kind of textbook of law. Probably no text of a secular nature has had such a wide and lasting influence in Europe as Corpus juris civilis ... In the subsequent period of the history of the Eastern Empire, it served as a comprehensive and rationally structured system of legislation and the study of law. But the Code played a much more important role in the West, becoming the basis of canonical and ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. Since the XII century. Justinian's legislation gradually began to dominate secular courts and law schools, and eventually almost superseded customary law in most European countries. Thanks to Roman law, Justinian's autocracy served as the intellectual foundation for the absolutism of Western monarchies in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Even in countries such as England, where customary local law has been preserved, the development of a systematic and rationally structured jurisprudence, the science of law and the philosophy of law, would probably be impossible without a historical model - Corpus juris civilis .

A visible expression of the greatness of the emperor and the Christian church (which was actually headed by the emperor) was the rebuilding of the temple of St. Sophia (the Wisdom of God), which burned down during the riots of 532. Justinian invited the best architects, mathematicians and craftsmen from all over the empire to the capital, who erected and the magnificent temple of Christendom. Even now, its huge, flat dome dominates the panorama of Istanbul (the current name of Constantinople). Justinian's court historian Procopius of Caesarea left us with a description of the stunning interiors of the temple, made in the characteristic rhetorical style of the time; it allows us to understand the specifics of the Byzantine religiosity of the 6th century.

An unusually large amount of sunlight penetrates it, which, moreover, is reflected from the marble walls. Indeed, one could say that he is not so much illuminated by the sun from outside as shining from within - his altar bathes in such an abundance of light ... His entire ceiling is entirely trimmed with pure gold - which makes his beauty majestic. However, most of all, the light is reflected from the stone surfaces, competing with the glitter of gold ... Who has enough words to adequately describe the galleries of the female side and the colonnades of side chapels that surround the temple? Who can describe the beauty of the columns and colored stones that adorn it? You can imagine that you are in the middle of a meadow, teeming with the most beautiful flowers: some of them are amazingly purple, others are green, others burn crimson, others are dazzling white, and others, like the artist's palette, sparkle with the most different colors... And when a person enters this temple to offer prayer, he immediately realizes that not by human strength and not by human skill, but by the care of God, this creation was born so beautiful. And then his spirit rushes to God and rises, feeling that He cannot be far away, but must willingly dwell in the dwelling that He Himself has chosen 24.

Majestic splendor, softened by beauty, light and divine love - such was the legacy of the emperor, who considered himself the deputy of God on earth. This largely explains the long existence of the Roman Empire in the East.

106 A.D.

We are now entering the Christian era and can henceforth not mention the "before" and "after" the Nativity of Christ, as we have done so far, in order to avoid confusion.

In 106 the emperor Trajan conquered Dacia. This country roughly corresponds to modern Romania. It was located north of the Danube - the border of the empire - and included the Carpathian mountains.

The bas-reliefs of Trajan's Column in Rome depict the main episodes of this victorious campaign.

New province of Dacia will be partially colonized by immigrants from all parts of the empire, they will take Latin as the language of communication, and it will give rise romanian - the only Latin-based language in the eastern half of the empire. And this despite the fact that Greek culture prevailed here.

Critical date

Why did we choose this date?

In the first century AD, the emperors continued the aggressive policy of the Republic, though not on such a scale as before.

Augustus conquered Egypt, completed the conquest of Spain and conquered the rebellious population of the Alps, making the Danube the border of the empire.

To protect Gaul from barbarian invasions, he was going to conquer Germany, the area between the Rhine and the Elbe. At first, he succeeds thanks to the defeat of his sons-in-law Drusus and Tiberius.

However, in 9 A.D. the Germans revolted under the leadership of Arminius (Hermann) and destroyed the legions of the legate Var in the Teutoburg forest. This disaster, which greatly agitated Augustus (they say that he cried, repeating: "Var, give me back my legions"), forced him, like his heirs, to refuse to move the border along the Rhine. For more than two centuries, the Rhine and Danube (linked upstream between Mainz and Rotisbon by a fortified wall) formed the border of the empire in continental Europe. In 43 AD, Emperor Claudius annexed Britain (modern England), which became a Roman province.

The conquest of Dacia in 106 was the last major territorial acquisition of the Roman emperors. After that date, the borders remained unchanged for over a century.

Roman world

The first two centuries of the empire, corresponding to approximately the first two centuries of our era, were the period inner peace and prosperity.

Limes - systems of border fortifications, along which legions stood, - ensured security, which made it possible to develop trade relations and the economy.

New cities are being built and developed along the lines of Rome: they have an autonomous administration with a Senate and elected magistrates. But in reality, as in Rome, power belongs to the rich, not without certain responsibilities on their part. So, they have to build water conduits, public buildings: temples, baths, circuses or theaters at their own expense, and also pay for circus performances.

This roman world cannot be idealized, brutally exploited provinces often rise up. We saw this in Judea. But these uprisings are constantly suppressed by the Roman army.

As long as wealth and slaves flock to Rome through conquests or forays at the frontiers, a certain economic and social balance is maintained.

When the conquests ended and attacks by "barbarians" (those who lived outside the empire's borders) on Roman lands an economic and social crisis is rolling in.

The "middle class" supplies fewer and fewer civilian soldiers, so the Roman army is more and more replenished with mercenaries, they are often barbarian immigrants who receive Roman citizenship or land at the end of their service life.

After the reign of Augustus, the imperial power becomes a stake in the struggle between located on various borders (on the Rhine, Danube and in the East) and rival armies, too often called to march on Rome in order to elevate their commander to the throne. Due to these internal unrest borders are often left defenseless and attacked by barbarians.

3rd century crisis

Difficulties begin during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), the emperor-philosopher, who in his "Thoughts" expounds a humanistic philosophy. The peace-loving emperor is forced to spend most of his time repelling attacks on the state's borders.

After his death, attacks from outside and internal unrest become more frequent.

In the III century. a period called The later empire.

The edict of the emperor Caracalla (212), according to which all free inhabitants of the empire receive Roman citizenship, becomes the starting point in the evolution of the gradual merging of the "provincials" and the Romans.

Between 224 and 228 the Parthian Empire fell under the blows of the Sassanids, the founders of the new dynasty of the Persian Empire. This state will become a dangerous enemy for the Romans - Emperor Valerian in 260 will be captured by the Persians and will die in captivity.

At the same time, due to internal rebellions and political instability (from 235 to 284, i.e. for 49 years, 22 emperors were replaced) barbarians first penetrate the empire.

In 238 g. goths, Germanic tribe, first crossed the Danube and invaded the Roman provinces of Moesia and Thrace. From 254 to 259 another Germanic tribe, alemanni, penetrates into Gaul, then into Italy and reaches the gates of Milan. Previously open, Roman cities build defensive walls, including Rome, where the emperor Aurelian begins in 271 the construction of a fortress wall, the first after the one that was once in the Rome of the kings.

The economic crisis manifests itself in a crisis of money circulation: due to a shortage of silver emperors minted low-standard coins, in which the content of the noble metal is sharply reduced. As the value of that kind of money falls, there is price inflation.

Diocletian (284–305) tries to save the empire by reorganizing it. Considering that one person cannot provide the defense of all borders, he divides the empire into four parts: two emperors appear in Milan and Nicomedia and two of their assistants - "Caesars", they are deputies and heirs of the emperors.

End of the roman empire

In 326 the emperor Konstantin moves to Byzantium - a Greek city that controls the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. He gives this city his name by christening Constantinople (the city of Constantine), and makes it a "second Rome".

In 395 the Roman Empire was finally divided into Western Roman Empire, which will disappear in 476 under the blows of the barbarians, and Eastern Roman Empire, which will last another thousand years (until the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453). However, the latter will very soon become a country of Greek culture, and they will begin to call it the Byzantine Empire.