Augustus Caesar: The Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. The Roman Empire started when Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of Rome. Although Julius Caesar is mistaken for being the first emperor it is wrong, he never held the title as emperor, he was more like a dictator. Augustus ruled the empire form 31 BCE until 14 CE before he died he said “I found Rome a city of clay but left it a city of marble”. After Augustus died Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero were the emperors. These first five rulers of the empire are referred to as the Julio-Claudian Dynasty from the two family names they descended from. Although Caligula has become notorious for his depravity and apparent insanity, his early rule …show more content…
He also continued the building projects of his brother and improved the economy of the empire, he was assassinated in 96 CE. Nerva ruled next and was part of The Five Good Emperors along with Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. With their leadership the Roman empire was stronger, more stable, and expanded in size and scope. The Imperial Crisis was constant civil war and various military leaders fought for control of the empire. The crisis was social unrest, economic instability, and the dissolution of the empire which broke up into three different religions. The empire was reunited by Diocletian who broke into it to half in 285 CE, creating The Eastern Empire and The Western Empire. Since the cause of the crisis was lack of clarity in succussion, Diocletian said that successors must be chosen by individuals rule. Two of the successors were Maxentius and Constantine. After Diocletian's death Maxentius and Constantine plunged the empire into another civil war. IN 312 CE Constantine defeated Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge and became ruler of both Eastern and Western empires. He believed that Jesus Christ was responsible for his victory so he made a series of laws like the Edict of Milan which mandated religious tolerance throughout the empire and specifically the tolerance of the religion known as Christianity. He stabilized the empire, …show more content…
Constantius II died later and named his cousin Julian new emperor. Julian ruled for two years, and tried to return Rome to her former glory through a series of reforms he aimed at increasing efficiency in the government. Julian rejected Christianity and blamed the faith for the decline in the empire. Julian removed Christians from government positions. His death ended the Dynasty Constantine begun. From 376-382 CE Rome fought a lot of battles against invading Goths, known as today as Gothic wars. The roman emperor Valens was defeated, this was marked as the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The military could no longer safe guard the borders the government could not collect taxes in the provinces. The arrival of the Visigoths in the empire has also been another reason for the decline. The Eastern Roman Empire ended on September 4 476 CE, when emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed by the Germanic King Odoacer. The Eastern Roman Empire was the Byzantine Empire until 1453 CE. The Western Roman Empire would become reinvented later as The Holy Roman Empire, but that construct was far removed from the Roman Empire of antiquity and was an empire in name only. The inventions which we generated in the Roman Empire altered the lives of the ancient people and continue to be used in cultures around the world today. Roads and buildings, indoor plumbing, aqueducts, and fast-drying cement were even invented or improved by the Romans.