The ill-fated reign of Komod, the son of Marcus Aurelius, lasted for twelve years. It seemed that the new emperor had collected in himself all the vices of the most unlucky Roman rulers - Caligula, Nero, Domitian. And the end for Commodus was as inglorious as that of his predecessors: on December 31, 192, the tyrant was killed by the conspirators.
Rome was home to great jurists, and Roman law is perhaps the Romans' greatest tribute to civilization.
From 192 to 197 the period of anarchy lasted. Then the Senate appointed one of its most influential members, the brave commander Helvius Pertinac, as emperor, but as soon as he tried to restore some order at court, the Praetorians removed him from the road; the emperor was assassinated on March 28, 193.
After the death of Pertinac, the Praetorians offered the Roman throne to Didius Julianus, which caused a mutiny in the army: legions located in different areas of the empire proclaimed at least three emperors at the same time. Septimius Severus, originally from Paninonia, was the first to arrive in Rome, killed Didius Julian, dispersed the Praetorian Guard and, after long civil wars, remained the only emperor in 197. After the death of Septimius Severus, his two sons claimed power: Caracalla and Geta. Having killed his brother, Caracalla proclaimed himself emperor. Six years later, during a military campaign against the Parthians, Caracalla became the victim of a conspiracy organized by Macrinus, who, in turn, was Emperor of Rome for only a few months.
From this time on, the Severan dynasty reigned again on the Roman throne; Heliogabalus ruled for four years, until 222, and Alexander Severus ruled for thirteen years, until 235. The army, incited by the commander Maximian, rebelled against the power of the latter, after which a period of military anarchy began, which lasted several decades. In the middle of the century, 18 emperors replaced each other on the Roman throne with dizzying speed, whose actions did not amount to the glory of Rome.
The decline in the military power of the Romans was due to the fact that the Roman army consisted mainly of mercenaries who were only interested in money and trophies.
One thing was obvious - the vast Roman Empire was experiencing a severe crisis; On the borders, the barbarians asserted themselves more and more boldly, and in Rome itself there were neither reliable defenders nor an organized, well-controlled army against them. Maximian, who plunged the empire into political, military and social chaos with the murder of the last North, three years later ingloriously ended his imperial reign: in 238 he was killed by his own soldiers in his own house near Aquileia.
The only rulers worthy of mention among the so-called soldier emperors are Claudius II and Aurelian. Both capable and influential commanders, they supported each other and ruled for a total of seven years. The first of them defeated the army of the Goths on the Danube near Naissus, and Aurelian, nicknamed “the restorer of the empire,” again conquered several separated provinces of Gaul, but could not keep Dacia, which was captured by the Goths, within the borders of the empire.
During the prolonged anarchy, many Roman provinces, left without protection or assistance, were conquered by invaders. For example, in the east of the empire, the independent state of Palmyra was formed, ruled by the new Cleopatra - Zenobia. Aurelian began a military campaign against Asia Minor, which he himself led in 272. After several bloody battles, the army of Zenobia and her allies took refuge behind the fortress wall of Palmyra, a city located in the very center of the desert between the Euphrates and Celesyria. Only in the late autumn of 272 did Palmyra fall and Aurelian could return to Rome, taking with him the captive Zenobia.
Diocletian, in search of a means of saving the Roman Empire, divided it into four parts, with four capitals and four emperors.
The severe crisis of the third century was overcome in 284 with the coming to power of Diocletian. It seemed that an inevitable catastrophe had been avoided, but by that time the empire had fallen into such decline that there was hardly any hope of saving it.
Diocletian, an Illyrian by origin, was well versed in foreign policy, was an energetic and decisive commander, the concept of “citizens” did not exist for him, for him everyone was a subject. He completely changed the structure of the empire, giving rise to the tetrarchy, which involved the division of the entire state into four parts, each of which was ruled by Augustus, who, in turn, was assisted by Caesar. Upon the death of August, Caesar became his heir. Diocletian believed that this kind of system was supposed to guarantee great calm and reliability in the appointment of senior leaders of the state.
Over the twenty years of his reign, the emperor was more than once convinced of the shortcomings of his reform.
Envy, rivalry, ambition, and various difficulties in managing such a huge empire led to the fact that Diocletian, disillusioned with his capabilities, was forced to retire to his estate in the north of Spalata in 305.
It was the last glimmer of glory, the last glimmer of ancient greatness. The empire was slowly dying. The final blow was dealt by the Eruli of Odoacer, who overthrew the last Roman emperor, Romulus, nicknamed Augustulus, in 476.
Everyone knows that the Middle Ages grew through the ruins of Ancient Rome. The decline of the Roman Empire preceded and, to a certain extent, prepared the way for the rise of the kingdoms and cultures that made up the medieval system. However, despite these obvious facts, we know very little about the lives of the people and ideas that dominated in those years when Europe was already losing its Roman features, but had not yet acquired its medieval ones. We don't know what it was like to watch the decline of an empire, we don't even know if the people of that era understood that they were living in a period of its decline. However, we are sure that none of them could have predicted or foreseen what the world would become in a few centuries.
Nevertheless, people were well aware that Rome was going through tragic times, and the main opposing forces were in plain sight. People understood that the Roman Empire of the 4th and 5th centuries was no longer the same empire in which the great Anthony and Augustine lived, that it had lost many of its possessions, and economic ties between various provinces were interrupted. The empire was threatened by barbarians, who ultimately destroyed it. The territory of the Roman Empire during its heyday extended from the shores of the North Sea to the northern edges of the Sahara and from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Central Asian steppes. It included most of the possessions of the former Hellenic, Iranian and Phoenician empires, and it ruled or controlled vast masses of people and many states outside its Gallic and North African borders. In the 4th century, the territory of Rome shrank and continued to shrink steadily.
In previous centuries, powerful interregional trade flows flowed within Roman borders, along the routes that connected Roman provinces to each other. However, from around the 3rd century, the economic unity of the empire began to break down, and by the 5th century, most of the flows of this interregional trade ceased to exist - the provinces and regions were left to their own devices and had to rely only on their own resources. And with the impoverishment of the provinces and the decline in trade, the population, wealth and political power of the large cities in them decreased.
However, until the very last days of its existence, the empire tried to protect its borders from barbarian invasion. The barbarian conquests, like all other conquests, threatened the empire not only with death and destruction, the very way of life of the barbarians denied Roman civilization - what it used to be and what - alas! - gradually ceased to be.
Contemporaries observed, or should have observed, an acute conflict between Roman and barbarian values, not at all in the material sphere. Roman civilization was primarily a civilization of reason. She drew on the centuries-old tradition of thought and intellectual achievement that constituted the heritage of Greece, to which she, in turn, made a major contribution. The Roman world was a world of schools and libraries, writers and builders. The barbarian world was a world in which the mind was in an infantile state, and this state dragged on for many centuries. Germanic sagas glorifying battles existed and have come down to us only in the form of legends created at a later time. There were several crude laws that regulated the personal relationships of people - all this can hardly be called civilization in the sense in which the Romans understood it. King Chilperic tried to compose poetry in the style of Sedulius, but had no idea about long and short feet, and they were lame, and Charlemagne himself, when he went to bed, put a slate board under his pillow so that at night he could practice the art of writing, which he loved so much. and didn’t master it. What did they have in common with Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius and that great Julian who was called the Apostate? From these examples alone one can understand what an impassable gulf separated Germany and Rome. Thus, the Romans and barbarians were not only military opponents, but also led completely different lifestyles - civilized and barbarian. We do not have the opportunity here to discuss in detail the question of why, in the process of their collision, civilization died and barbarism won. However, it is very important to remember that while the empire tried to protect its borders from the barbarian hordes, it gradually opened them to barbarian settlers.
The peaceful penetration of the barbarians, which changed the entire character of the society they conquered, would not have been possible if the society had not been stricken with disease. This disease could be clearly seen by the 3rd century. It manifested itself in those endless civil wars that various provinces and armies waged among themselves. It manifested itself in the great inflationary crisis that began around 268, and in the exorbitant taxes that ruined small property owners, leaving the wealth of the rich intact. It manifested itself in the gradual reduction of trade based on free exchange, and its replacement by more primitive barter, as each province sought to become self-sufficient. It manifested itself in the decline of agriculture, in which the unemployed population of the cities was pacified by the distribution of bread and circuses. The life of the poor was very, very different from the life of the arrogant senatorial families and large farmers who lived in luxurious villas and city houses. It manifested itself in the emergence of mystical beliefs, which arose from the ruins of philosophy, and superstitions (especially astrology), which arose from the ruins of reason. One religion especially rose to prominence, which in its sacred books addressed the victims of social injustice with words of consolation, but, although it could give hope to an individual, it was not capable of breathing new strength into a civilization broken in battle or inspiring it to fight (and I didn’t strive for this). By its very nature, this religion was impartial and suitable for everyone - be it a barbarian, a poor Roman or a rich Roman, be it a man in power or a man below the poverty line.
The most striking manifestation of the decline of Roman society was the decrease in the number of Roman citizens. The empire became depleted of people long before the period of peace and prosperity that lasted from the time of Augustus to Marcus Aurelius ended. Didn’t Augustus invite a poor man from Fiesole, who had eight children, thirty-six grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren, to Rome to organize a holiday in his honor in the Capitol, which all the citizens of Rome knew about? Did not Tacitus, famous for his attention to human nature, describe the noble savages (but also refer to his fellow citizens), note that among the Germans it was considered a disgrace to limit the number of children in a family? The long life of the Augustan law, aimed at increasing the birth rate, is a very important fact. This law did not lead to its rise, but the very fact that it was included in the code of laws and was systematically revised and supplemented over the course of three centuries shows that it was considered absolutely necessary. Of course, the death rate in those days was much higher than in our time, and the death rate from epidemics and civil wars since the time of Marcus Aurelius has been exceptionally high. And it is also well known that in the Roman Empire there were a lot of single people, and the number of children in families was steadily decreasing. The authors of that time lament the fact that many spouses do not want to have children at all, and those who do have them are limited to one or two. Silius exclaimed: “The human harvest turned out to be very poor.” He was poor in all classes of society, but this was most pronounced among the highest strata of society - the most educated, the most civilized, whose children grew up to become leaders of the state. The Roman Empire could have repeated the terrible words spoken much later by Swift, which he said, realizing that he was going crazy: “I will wither like a tree, from top to root.”
This begs the question - why did civilization lose its reproductive ability? Was it because, as Polybius believed, that people preferred to have fun rather than raise children, or wanted to raise them in comfort? However, the decline in birth rates was observed primarily among the rich, not the poor, while the rich could give their children the best. Or maybe people were seized with fear and they lost faith in the future and civilization and did not want their children to come into this dark world, shaken by constant wars? We don't know this. But we clearly see the connection between the decline in population and other troubles of the empire - the high cost of maintaining the bureaucracy (and the lower the population density, the more people had to pay taxes to maintain officials), abandoned fields, the decreasing number of legions, which were not enough even for border protection.
To compensate for the lack of population, the Roman rulers found nothing better than to pour fresh blood of barbarians into it. It all started with small injections, but ended with the fact that the blood that flowed in the veins of the inhabitants of the empire became not Roman, but barbaric. The Germans settled on the lands of Rome to guard its borders and sow wheat. At first they were part of the auxiliary troops, but soon entire legions began to consist of Germans. Gradually, the barbarians occupied all leading positions in the state. The army almost completely became barbaric. The Roman author Moss cites in his work an amazing document - a complaint from an Egyptian mother who demands that her son be returned home, since, according to her, he went with the barbarians, in other words, became a soldier of the Roman legion! The legions became barbarians, and they in turn made their emperors barbarians. For them, the emperor was no longer the personification of divine power, but was only a simple leader, the Fuhrer, and they raised him to their shield. Along with the barbarization of the army, there was also a barbarization of the civilian way of life. In 397, Honorius was forced to issue a decree according to which it was forbidden to wear Germanic clothing within the Roman Empire. After all, the emperors, who themselves had become half-barbarians, could count on the fact that only barbarians would be able to protect them from the onslaught of other barbarians!
Such was the picture of the general decline of civilization of the period in which the Romans lived in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries. What was it like to live in the era of the collapse of civilization under the onslaught of barbarism? Did people understand what was happening? Did the Dark Ages cast their shadow over Europe even before they arrived? It so happens that we can answer these questions in some detail by focusing our attention on one part of the empire - the famous, highly civilized province of Gaul. We can identify signs of decline in three directions, since the Gallo-Roman writers who lived in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries left us an account of the life and morals of their era. We know about the 4th century from the works of Ausonius, about the fifth - from the works of Sidonius Apollinaris, and about the sixth - from the works of Gregory of Tours and Fortunatus, an Italian who lived in Poitiers. They describe life in Auvergne and Bordelais in the deepening twilight. So, IV, V and VI centuries - we are leaving, we are leaving, we are gone!
1. What period is called the golden age of the Roman Empire? The power of the empire is associated with the activities of which emperors?
The Golden Age of the Roman Empire is associated with the reign of five good emperors from the Antonine dynasty, who ruled from 96 to 180. They successively succeeded each other without dynastic crises, while all five actively participated in the management of the empire, personally solving problems that arose. This means:
Mark Koktsey Nerva (96-98):
Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98-117):
Publius Aelius Hadrian (117-138):
Antoninus Pius (138-161):
Marcus Aurelius (161-180).
2. Indicate the economic and political reasons for the crisis of the Roman Empire. How did the economic structure and social structure of Roman society and the rights of its citizens change?
Causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire.
The fall in average annual temperatures has led to a crisis in agriculture.
Emperor Septimius Severus changed the system of army control. Before him, the commanders (legates) of the legions were politicians, for whom this position was just a short episode in their career. The soldiers did not consider them theirs. The North introduced the practice of appointing legates of legions from lower-ranking commanders. Soon, people appeared who had spent their entire lives in the army, whom the soldiers trusted and who began to receive top command positions, that is, political weight. It was these people who became the so-called soldier emperors, civil wars between whom tormented the Roman Empire for several decades.
After the good emperors came the reign of several bad ones at the turn of the 2nd-3rd centuries. Some of the emperors who succeeded each other at that time were not at all involved in governing the empire, but only surprised the people with their eccentricities and cruelties.
The civil wars that lasted for several decades disrupted economic ties between the provinces, making commercial farms, large latifundias that had previously flourished, unprofitable, most farms became subsistence, and an economically unified empire with a subsistence economy was no longer needed.
For several decades the legions were engaged in war with each other, and not with external enemies. During this time, the wild tribes on the borders of the empire became accustomed to successful campaigns into the empire, which brought rich booty, they explored the routes of such campaigns and were not going to refuse.
– During civil wars, all sides were accustomed to using barbarians as mercenaries; after the end of the civil wars, this practice was continued. As a result, the Roman army no longer consisted primarily of Romans, but of barbarians, and at all levels, including senior command positions.
What seemed to people like an endless series of disasters led to a spiritual crisis in the empire, as a result of which new cults gained popularity, the main ones being Mithraism and Christianity.
As a result of civil wars, as mentioned above, subsistence farming prevailed in the Roman Empire. In a subsistence economy, as opposed to a commodity economy, the use of slaves ceased to be effective, and their share in society decreased. Instead, the number of colones increased - dependent people who worked on the owner’s land for part of the harvest (from this institution the serf class later developed). During the crisis, all inhabitants of the empire became Roman citizens. Because of this, citizenship has ceased to be a privilege, as before, it no longer carries additional rights, only responsibilities in the form of taxes remain. And after the deification of the ruler, the citizens finally turned into subjects.
3. Think: what goals were pursued by the administrative reforms of Diocletian and Constantine?
Diocletian and Constantine deified the power of the emperors, hoping to thereby prevent further actions by military commanders (they were unable to achieve this goal). In addition, the new administrative division of the empire into smaller provinces and the transfer of many officials from cash to natural allowance (which was easier to deliver to the centers of smaller provinces) responded to the changed economic conditions, the actual transition of the empire to a subsistence economy.
4. Fill out the table. What factors do you think played a decisive role in the decline of Rome?
As can be seen from the table, there were more internal reasons for the fall of the Western Roman Empire, they played a big role. Rome during the time of good emperors might have been able to withstand the onslaught of the Great Migration; the state, weakened by the crisis, could not cope with this task. On the other hand, it was the barbaric onslaught that led to the aggravation of the crisis and did not give time to overcome it. Therefore, it is truly impossible to separate internal and external reasons; their combination led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
5. How was the spiritual crisis of Roman society expressed? Why did the Christian church develop into a cohesive organization that became an influential political and economic force?
The spiritual crisis was expressed in the growing popularity of numerous cults that were non-traditional for Roman society. And we’re not just talking about Christianity and Mithraism; Eastern cults of all kinds flourished in large numbers.
In conditions of a long crisis, all segments of society lacked confidence in the future. Christianity gave this confidence regarding, if not this world, but the future. Because of this, many representatives of the privileged strata of society became Christians. They introduced many elements of the Roman civil order into the Christian Church, which made church life more orderly and gave it structure. The outbreak of persecution of Christians activated this structure and rallied the Christian church, which tried to resist the persecution. Considering that this church united many people from the upper strata of society, it had their capital and political influence, becoming a powerful force in the state.
6. Make a detailed plan for your answer on the topic “The Fall of the Western Roman Empire.”
1. Strengthening the pressure of peoples from the flow of the Great Migration on the borders of the Roman Empire.
2. Allowing the Visigoths to settle on Roman territory.
3. The uprising of the Visigoths in 378 and their successful actions against the Roman troops.
4. The final division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern after the death of Theodosius the Great in 395.
5. The settlement of new barbarian tribes on Roman territory and their uprisings.
6. Periodic uprisings of Roman generals (over time, increasingly from among the barbarians), their attempts to usurp the throne.
7. The fight against the invasion of the Huns.
8. The rule in the Western Roman Empire was often replaced by weak, often juvenile emperors.
9. Odoacer's coup, the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Emperor Trajan (gg.) “I want to be the kind of emperor that I would want for myself if I were a subject”
Trajan's Column was erected by Emperor Trajan in Rome. The architect was the Greek Apollodorus from Damascus. The 38 m high marble structure consists of a cubic plinth, a column base and its trunk with a Roman Doric capital. At first, Trajan's Column was topped with a bronze eagle, later with a statue of Trajan, and with a statue of the Apostle Peter. Particularly remarkable are the spiral reliefs covering the trunk of Trajan's Column (total length 200 m, height 1 m), depicting Trajan's war with the Dacians. The reliefs of Trajan's Column, made with great skill, are a valuable source of information on the history of life and military equipment of the Romans and Dacians; they depict about 2,500 people. Source: "Architectural Dictionary"
Triumphal Arch of Titus Triumphal arches, a magnificent architectural invention of the ancient Romans, were customarily erected in honor of military victories. One of the most famous is the Triumphal Arch of Emperor Titus, which was erected in honor of his capture of Jerusalem in 70. The Arc de Triomphe of Titus was opened after the death of the emperor in 81. It is a powerful monolith, cut through in the center by an arched span. In ancient times, the arch was crowned by a quadriga of horses with a statue of the emperor in a chariot. The structure is based on an arched structure - the main invention of the Romans in architecture, along with dome structures, which became possible thanks to the invention of concrete. The upper part of the arch is a massive attic, inside of which there is an urn with the ashes of the emperor, and on the facade there is an inscription: “The Senate and the Roman people built the descendant of Vespasian Flavius to the divine Titus Augustus.”
Pantheon – The Pantheon in Rome, a temple dedicated to all the gods, an outstanding monument of ancient Roman architecture. Built around 125 n. e. on the site of the temple of the same name built by Agrippa. P. is a rotunda covered with a huge hemispherical coffered dome (over 43 m in diameter), which has a hole in the center (about 9 m in diameter), through which the interior is illuminated; depth). Remarkable for the clear majesty and integrity of the image, P. had a huge influence on the architecture of his and subsequent times. In the Middle Ages, P., which was repeatedly subjected to partial alterations, was turned into a church; now a national mausoleum, where outstanding figures of Italian art are buried (Raphael, B. Peruzzi). Raphael
Crisis of the Empire Mark's son, Commodus (pp), was a cruel tyrant and died at the hands of a sent athlete. Septimius Severus became famous as a commander in campaigns against the Parthians. He reached Babylon and formed a new province - Mesopotamia. The Emperor died during a campaign in Britain.Britain
"Thirty Tyrants" Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (pp.) became the new emperor. The young emperor was distinguished by commitment and conscientiousness, but wars began on the borders. the emperor had to go to Moguntia to organize defense. Here the mutinous army killed him along with his mother. The Roman state fell into increasing anarchy. The emperors, one after another, met their inevitable death, disorganization came to the army, robbery and a decline in prosperity developed. Power became a toy in the hands of ambitious military elders. Pogroms took place in the provinces, new impostors appeared, so these times were called the era of the “thirty tyrants.” Emperors Claudius () and Aurelian (pp.) defended Italy from the German attack, but Dacia had already fallen away from Rome.
Monarchy of Diocletian. After many years of anarchy, the Roman state finally received a new strong ruler in the person of Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian (pp.) Diocletian immediately set about reforming the structure of the state. Diocletian decided to finally consolidate the Caesar's power in Rome and give it the form of absolute rule. To protect the state from shocks when the throne changes, Diocletian introduced a system of co-government of four owners. Diocletian carried out a new administrative division of the state. He divided Italy and all other regions into small provinces, so that together their number reached 90. In 305, Diocletian abdicated the throne
Constantine I Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantine, Constantine I, Constantine the Great () Roman emperor. After the death of his father, in 306, he was proclaimed Augustus by the army; after defeating Maxentius in 312 at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and over Licinius in 323, he became the only sovereign ruler of the Roman state, made Christianity the dominant religion, and in 330 moved the capital of the state to Byzantium (Constantinople), organized a new government structure. Constantine is revered by a number of Christian churches as a saint in the ranks of Equal to the Apostles (Holy King Constantine Equal to the Apostles). Roman emperor father 306 Augustus Maxentius 312 Battle of the Milvian Bridge 323 Roman state Christianity 330 capital of Byzantium ConstantinopleChristian churches rank of Equal to the Apostles
Migration of Peoples The dynasty of Constantine the Great died out on Julian. The biggest event was the beginning of the migration of peoples. In the half of the 4th century. according to Chr. The Mongolian people, the Huns, appeared in Europe. For unknown reasons, they went west and settled above the Volga. In 375, the Huns traveled from the Volga to the west and slaughtered the tribes living in Eastern and Central Europe. The offensive of the wild, cruel horde caused an extraordinary commotion among all peoples, and a mass exodus to the west began. This was the beginning of the “Great Migration of Peoples.” Great Migration of Peoples Now that the forces of Rome had weakened, it was difficult to detain the Germanic tribes. With the consent of Valene, the Goths crossed the Danube to Roman territory. But the free Germans did not know how to submit to the harsh Roman discipline. Valene tried to delay the advance of the barbarians, but his forces were small, and he fell in the battle of Adrianople in August 378. Theodosius took up the task of subjugating the state. Before his death in 395, he divided the state between his two sons
The Fall of the Western Roman Empire During the reign of Vacentinian III (pp), Gaul was attacked by the formidable Hun king Atilla. The barbarians gained Rome unopposed in 455 and plundered it for two weeks so wildly that the term "vandalism" became a proverb. In the midst of such timelessness, the Western Roman state finally fell into disrepair. The Germans already made up the majority of the army and behaved in Italy as in their own land. There were no longer any real Romans who wanted and knew how to defend their homeland. The end of the cisarship came unnoticed.
Sack of Rome by the barbarians Sack of Rome by the Visigoths (August 24-26, 410) Rome was besieged and captured by the Visigoths under the leadership of King Alaric. The sack of the city lasted 2 days. The sack of Rome by the Visigoths of Alaric The sack of Rome by the Vandals (June 216, 455) the Vandals, under the leadership of King Geiseric, entered the city on ships along the Tiber and plundered Rome for two weeks. The sack of Rome by the Vandals of the Vandals of Geiseric
So, the empire reached its natural limits at the peak of its power in the 1st century. In a nutshell, the profitability of wars had exhausted itself and the complex social organism of the Roman Empire began to take it within the country to maintain its existence.
I will focus on the economy, as this is the source of energy for the state. In addition, at the same time we will have to familiarize ourselves with the history of the empire in the third century in order to understand the logic that guided the decisions of the emperors.
Empire Peak
The graph shows indicators of the level of the economy of the Roman Empire. The more shipwrecks there are, the more active people are in sailing and trading by sea. The level of lead pollution shows the level of performance of the mining and industrial sectors. And in order to measure the growth of the Roman economy using this indicator, the researchers went... to Greenland. To do this, we had to drill cores in the ice. The center of metal mining was in Spain at that time, which we will talk about below, and Greenland was 4000 km away from it. But the atmosphere polluted by the Romans in Spain is a dynamic system with constant circulations of air masses. And therefore lead was carried north along with the atmospheric circulation, where it settled along with precipitation, accumulating in ice. His concentration was measured.
The number of animal bones is understandable; it shows the level of livestock. And together they show the state of the economy.
Clear symptoms of the crisis were observed long before it became general, during the most prosperous times in the history of the Roman Empire. Even behind the external splendor of the Antoninov’s “golden age,” deep problems were hidden.
The first signs of understanding of the disastrous situation appeared generally at the end of the republic:
"The budget must be balanced, the treasury must be filled, the national debt must be
reduced, bureaucratic arrogance pacified, and foreign aid
territories is limited while Rome has not yet gone bankrupt. People must
learn to work and not rely on government assistance."
Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC
So here it is. These words of Cicero have not lost their relevance today, for modern governments. Cicero focused on social aspects. But much larger and more fundamental problems were problems that were an integral part of the ancient socio-economic formation, based on the exploitation of slave labor and the plunder of surrounding countries in changed conditions.
Actually, the reason for this was the drying up of cash flows and slave labor that fueled the economy of the empire, as described in the previous post. The mismatch between supply and demand led to higher prices for slaves. If in the second and first centuries BC slaves cost from 400 to 500 denarii, then in the second century they cost 600 - 700 BC it was more profitable to buy a slave on the market than to raise him on his own farm.
The blood of the slave-trophy economy stopped flowing to Rome, ceasing to fill its economy. This was compounded by increased external pressure. Sasanian Empire, Germans and other barbarians.
Live fast, die young
Power began to become very unstable. The first sign was the murder of Commodus, after which the civil war of 193-197 broke out. Whoever had popularity among the troops, which, as a rule, was provided by money, controlled the country. An excellent example of the imperial mentality of that time is the advice given by Emperor Septimius Severus, who, by the way, won power after the death of Commodus, the advice given to his sons - Caracalla and Gita. He said, "Live in harmony, enrich the army and ignore everyone else." Actually, as they say now, a security official came to power. He relied exclusively on the army, and the regime of government under him turned into a military-bureaucratic monarchy.
Interestingly, Diocletian and his predecessors, starting with the Severians, that is, those who ruled in the worst times, caring only about themselves and the army, demanded that their subjects call the time of their reign the “golden age.”
Caracalla's concept of state priorities can be studied based on his phrase, “No one should have money except me, and I should have it to give to my soldiers.” Caracalla increased soldiers' pay by 50% by doubling inheritance taxes. The principle “free people do not pay taxes” was abolished. When the income from the taxes of the citizens of Rome became insufficient to cover the expenses of the emperor, in 212 he decided to give citizenship to all people living in the Empire without exception. But that didn’t save him either. Caracalla was killed. Whereas Roman citizenship had previously been a privilege, it now simply meant an expansion of the tax base. Previously, to receive all the benefits that citizenship provided, you had to serve in the army. After this step, the majority of people simply lost their incentive to serve.
The army was still staffed by volunteers, but in the late Roman army service became forced. Conscripts often cut off their thumb so that they would not be able to hold a spear or sword. Those who were nevertheless drafted into the army were branded as slaves, so that they could be recognized if they deserted. But all this awaited the empire a little later.
Rim Island
By the third century, uprisings of slaves and coloni, which had previously been very rare, became increasingly frequent and widespread. The situation was complicated by the liberation movement of the peoples conquered by Rome. The situation was aggravated by epidemics. The large-scale smallpox epidemic of 165-180, the so-called Antonine Plague, took about 7-10% of the population of the empire and perhaps 13-15% of the population of cities and the army. After it, the Plague of Cyprian began to rage from 250 and 270. It caused massive labor shortages in agriculture and the military. This was also a blow to the Roman colossus.
Rome began to move from wars of conquest to defensive ones. The army of conquest and economic robbery turned into a regular army of border guards. The pressure on the borders has objectively intensified. War on many fronts at the same time, with limited resources, is a sure path to destruction, as Germany demonstrated twice in the 20th century. The Romans understood this too. After an unsuccessful war in the east, Emperor Alexander Severus immediately headed west. The Germans crossed the Rhine and invaded Gaul. It was necessary to transfer troops from the east and prepare for a new military campaign. Alexander tried to bribe the German leaders. But this act looked like cowardice in the eyes of his legionnaires.
Herodian wrote "in their opinion, Alexander did not show an honorable intention to continue the war and preferred an easy life, at a time when he should have gone and punished the Germans for their previous impudence".
The troops chose a new leader, and Severus was killed. After that, things started to turn... so much so that the previous civil war seemed like a small brawl.
The struggle for power sharply intensified. And from 235 to 284 there were 26 emperors, of whom only one died a natural death. That is, on average at this time the emperor ruled for 1.9 years. The 238th is generally known as the year of the six emperors. This time of almost constant civil war and anarchy was called the era of “soldier emperors.”
Roman emperors tried to buy the loyalty of their soldiers by increasing wages. But to cover additional costs, they also reduced the silver content of minted denarii, exacerbating the already difficult financial situation in the country.
Correlation between the size of soldiers' salaries and the silver content in the denarius.
Caracalla's father, Septimius Severus, reduced the amount of silver in the denarius to sixty percent, and Caracalla himself decided to reduce the amount of silver in the coin to fifty percent. In general, the topic of containing precious metals in the currency, which give it value, is interesting in itself and shows well how things were going for the empire. We'll talk about it below.
The first signs of collapse - separatist states in the Roman Empire
External enemies exploited Rome's weaknesses as its legions fought each other and neglected their responsibilities to prevent external invasions. The Germans and Goths threatened the northern border of the empire. The Sassanid Empire posed a serious threat in the East. The provinces became victims of frequent raids. In the midst of this crisis, separatist states emerged in Gaul and Palmyra, which seriously challenged the unity of the empire. Moreover, the queen of Palmyra, Zenobia, thought to subjugate Rome. The situation was so serious.
The end is at hand
Positive feedback began to work. The crisis began to destroy trade relations within the state, undermining the economy, which aggravated the crisis both directly and through the fact that the state received fewer taxes and became weaker militarily. Inflation also hit trade intensely. The road networks were not updated, and banditry began. This is how barter begins, self-sufficiency, in general, things more characteristic of the Middle Ages, where antiquity itself was immersed. Self-sufficient households appeared, closed in on themselves. The people living in them remembered less and less about the central authority of Rome and were increasingly hostile to its tax collectors.
The organization is simplified due to the loss of specialization, which is possible only with a large number of participants, which increases productivity. Specialization, in turn, collapses with the collapse of connections between elements of the system.
A social organism is similar to a biological one. It is beneficial for individual cells to be together and form a single large organism when there are benefits in terms of more efficient food production and protection. If the connections within the body collapse, then there is no reason for individual cells to remain there. They do not gain benefits and begin to rely only on themselves. Large cities, as hubs of trade, began to decline.
Actually, in these conditions of the circulation of emperors, a person who would create such an administrative system, which is designed to oppress everyone and everything, so that no one would rock the boat, could gain a stable foothold. So that the system itself would prevent the usurpation of power.
Energetic, tough soldier-emperors who did not give a damn about the fate of the empire began to come to power. The so-called Illyrian military junta. They received their common name from their place of origin - the Romanized province of Illyria. They restored the army to its former strength and effectiveness, but they were focused only on the needs and interests of the military. The unity of the empire was restored in 274 by Aurelian.
Here it is important to say about this moment: having transformed from a polis democracy into an empire, the functions of people were divided. If earlier everyone was equal - all free peasant warriors - then later society was divided into specialists - peasants and warriors. Because as the territory grew, the duration of trips and stays outside the house also increased proportionally. Who will be cultivating the land at this time?
Power in society began to be distributed asymmetrically. In accordance with this, the ruler, in order to sustainably retain power in his hands, in conditions of limited funds, also needed to carry out restructuring and asymmetrical cash flows in society. Indeed, the protest of specially trained, disciplined people with weapons is in itself a powerful force for the demolition of power, plus it ceases to control the situation in the country.
At the beginning of their history, the troops largely provided themselves with equipment, ultimately being almost entirely financed by the state. Soldiers in the early Republican army were unpaid. And the financial burden of the army at that time was minimal. During the expansion of the republic and later the early empire, Roman troops acted as the country's income earners by conquering countries. However, after Rome stopped expanding, this source of income dried up. And by the end of the 3rd century, Rome “stopped winning.” The army became a burden that was constantly growing.
Growth of Roman dominions
If you look at the territories conquered by Rome and move forward 200 years (top pictures), you can see how quickly its territory is growing. But then it becomes clear how the expansion stops and the last two images with an interval of 220 years are practically indistinguishable.
If you look closely, on the map of 140 you can see a purple bump over Greece, which is no longer on the map of 360. It would seem, so what’s wrong with that? But Rome in the east grabbed lands and compensated for the loss. But no. The purple tubercle is Dacia, the loss of which he did not compensate for and which we will talk about below. So here it is. As I said in a previous post, Rome reached natural boundaries. And if you look at the chart below, showing a list of Roman battles, you can see how Rome's military activity changed throughout history.
Victories and defeats of RomeAs you can see, after a stormy three centuries of victories, their number is falling. But here we need to clarify. In the fourth century BC. The republic was just gaining momentum. So many defeats in the third century B.C. are explained by the fact that Rome met its equal Carthage in mortal combat. And the brilliant commander Hannibal inflicted a series of crushing defeats on Rome. Almost half of the victories of the first century BC. provided by the genius of Julius Caesar. In the third century, half of the victories fell on Aurelian. And these were not conquests, but the reconquest of territories lost in the turmoil. In the fifth century, 2 victories were achieved by the united Roman-Visigothic and Roman-British armies. That is, they seem to count towards the Romans, but they were no longer playing the main roles.
Against the backdrop of a cessation of income from conquests, the army is constantly growing.
Growth of the Roman army
As I mentioned in a previous post, in the East Rome faced armies that were based on cavalry. This required Rome to increase the number of its cavalry, which was much more expensive to maintain than infantry.
Why is it so important to know what size the army was? The fact is that most of the money from taxes and rent payments received by the imperial government was spent on the military: in 150 this amounted to approximately 70-80% of the imperial budget. Imagine that a modern state has increased spending on the most expensive budget item by a third, not to mention 50%. You'll see how it breaks down and goes bankrupt. Rome had to. They forced wars with the Sassanids, Germans and other barbarians.
A little accounting. Even less - gold and silver
The structure of the expenditure part of the Roman budget looked like this:
Military expenses - 70%
Civil service - judiciary, police, government agencies - 10%
Social expenses - 5%
Economic infrastructure - 5%
Other, mainly expenses for foreign affairs - 10%
To support the growing army in the face of dwindling revenues, the government began to increasingly tax the people. Both the number of taxes and their magnitude increased.
In the century after the death of Augustus, the central administration was stable and government expenses were covered by growing prosperity. After this, government expenses (soldiers' salaries and an increase in the bureaucracy as a result of the increase in the number of provinces) increased sharply and began to exceed income. The imperial power could cover the increased costs only by coinage and increased taxes. Both strategies were put into action, and both undermined the prosperity and stability of the empire.
An unpleasant surprise was the shortage of the material from which the coins were minted and which ensured their value.
Vernadsky wrote: “Probably the most important gold developments in the Roman era were the deposits of the Iberian Peninsula. Grandiose developments in southern Portugal and Spain were described by Pliny
