The Golden Age ”of the Roman Empire (II century BC.

The Golden Age of the Roman Empire (96-192 CE)

At this time, the ideological principles that determined the relationship between power and society were fundamentally changing. At the turn of the I-II centuries. in the environment of the Greco-Roman intellectual elite, values \u200b\u200bare being reassessed with respect to the principle as a system of sole power: the philosophical opposition, with its criticism of autocracy and related abuses, has been replaced by a theoretical justification of the monarchy as the best form of government, headed by a virtuous prince, which is guided in its activities interests of citizens and considerations of higher justice. This theory was embodied in four speeches “On Tsarist Power” by Dion Chrysostom and in “Panegyric” by Pliny the Younger (100).

Traian was in many respects consistent with the image of the ideal princeps created by Greek and Roman intellectuals. He was an outstanding statesman: a rational politician, a capable commander and experienced administrator, a modest, simple and accessible person, alien to power lust, money-grubbing and passion for pleasure. In his politics, Traian focused mainly on the Senate, the army and the provincial nobility. The emperor conducted a constructive dialogue with the senate, putting his legislative activity under the control of his administration.

In recognition of his appreciation, the Senate awarded Trayan the title of "best emperor" (princeps optimus). In 100, Pliny the Younger addressed the emperor with the words: “We love you as much as you deserve it, and we love you not out of love for you, but out of love for ourselves.”

The army was an obedient and effective tool for irin-chain policy. Trayan devoted considerable attention to the life of the provinces, strictly controlling the activities of the governors. Many noble provincials under him were included in the Senate 1. This meant that the provinces finally ceased to be objects of robbery of the imperial authorities and became organic components of the Roman power. Traian was in regular correspondence with the governors of the provinces, trying to keep the entire Roman Empire in sight.

11a against the backdrop of the economic recovery of the provinces, the decline of the Italian economy was all the more noticeable. To provide effective assistance to the poorer rural population, the first Antonins created the so-called alimentary system: the state allocated a monetary fund from which loans were issued at 5% per annum for investment in the economy. The interest received went to the payment of benefits to orphans and children of the poor (in Rome alone, benefits were received by 5 thousand children of poor citizens). In addition, the state paid for their education in primary school. The alimentary system contributed not only to the revival of Italian agriculture, but also to the preparation of human reserves for the Roman army.

The stabilization of the domestic political and economic situation of the empire created the prerequisites for an active foreign policy. Traian brought the number of legions to 30. During the military campaigns 101-103 and 105-107. a huge Roman army led by the emperor himself conquered the strong Dacian kingdom of Decebal . Decebalus, defeated on the battlefield, committed suicide, the Romans captured the capital of the Dacians, the city of Sarmisegetusu, Dacia became a Roman province (107). The conquest of Dacia with its fertile soils, gold mines and natural reserves of salt was the most important foreign policy action of Trajan from both an economic and a military-strategic point of view. Huge booty allowed the emperor to make generous payments and giveaways to the Praetorians, the army and the plebs, to arrange grandiose spectacles in Rome for 123 days, to persecute and fight gladiators, as well as to launch active construction: magnificent Baths of Trajan, a new water supply system and a magnificent forum of Trajan from 40 were erected -m column topped with a statue of the emperor.

In 106, the Romans conquered the Nabatean kingdom and turned it into the province of Arabia. Then Trajan began to prepare for war with Parthia: the emperor wanted to oust the Parthians from Mesopotamia and subjugate Armenia. Having set off on a campaign in the autumn of 113, Trayan the next year occupied Armenia and turned it into a province. In the years 115-116. he defeated the troops of the Parthian king Vologuez III (105-147 gg.),captured its capital Kteziphon and conquered all of Mesopotamia up to the coast of the Persian Gulf. On the Parthian throne, Trajan put his protege Partam-spatha (116 g.).However, the lengthy communications, the discontent of the local population with the Roman occupation and the serious unrest in the eastern provinces forced Trajan to withdraw the legions for the Euphrates. Huge material costs were in vain: the newly conquered lands in the East could not be kept. On the way to Italy, in Cilicia, the 64-year-old Traian fell ill and died in August 117. Like his predecessor, he was deified. Despite the failure eastern expedition 114-117 The Romans preserved a good memory of Trajan: since then it has become customary in Rome to wish the new emperor “to be happier than Augustus and better than Trajan”.

The heiress of the childless Trayan was his cousin and adoptive son, 41-year-old Publius Eli Adrian (117-138). He became a worthy successor to the “best princeps”: an intelligent and educated man, a brilliant administrator and an experienced military, energetic and far-sighted politician, the new emperor was at the height of his understanding of the tasks before him. In particular, realizing the futility of the conquest policy in the East and the complete depletion of state resources, Adrian concluded a peace treaty with Parthia on the terms of restoration status quo (the border was fixed at the Euphrates) and began the construction of a powerful defensive line on the eastern borders of the empire. Thanks to the measures taken, peace with Parthia remained for 44 years. As the emperor’s biographer wrote, “under Adrian there were no major military campaigns at all; wars also ended almost without noise. He was very beloved by the warriors for his exceptional concern for the army and for the fact that he was very generous to them. He was always on friendly terms with the Parthians, because he removed the king whom Trajan had given them. He allowed the Armenians to have his king, while under Trajan they had a Roman legate. From the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, he did not demand the tribute that Trajan imposed on them. "He had loyal friends in Albanians and Iberians, since he generously endowed their kings, although they refused to come to visit him.”

Having completed business in the East, Adrian set about similarly arranging the borders of the empire in Europe and Africa. Grandiose work on the erection of border fortifications, called limes. The Roman limes was a system of small fortresses, forts and field camps, between which a ditch was dug and a shaft was poured, fortified with a wall or a palisade (there was a road behind them for the rapid transfer of troops). The large-scale construction of defensive fortifications on the border meant the empire finally abandoned the policy of territorial expansion and the transition to strategic defense at all borders. Adrian cared about maintaining the army in a state of constant combat readiness. He authorized the replenishment of the legions at the expense of not having Roman or Latin citizenship of the provincials, since the number of volunteers from among Roman citizens was continuously reduced. Thus, the basis was created for the barbarization of the Roman military machine, which over time entailed serious socio-political consequences.

Adrian implemented a series of measures aimed at strengthening the imperial system of government. He reorganized the Princeps Council, which included senior officials, department heads and major lawyers. The number of departments themselves that received state status increased: instead of freedmen, they were now led by horsemen. From now on, all managers had each their own state rank, and consisted of salaries (i.e. became officials). Similarly, provincial governance was organized. The emperor exercised constant control over the activities of governors. From time to time, curators visited the provinces with inspections ( curatores) from Rome. In 118, Adrian forgave arrears for 16 years for a total of 980 million sisters. He established a state post office and liquidated the buy-out system, developed an alimentary system (in particular, the emperor increased the amount of children's allowances) and took a number of effective measures to revive Italian agriculture. Finally, he streamlined the legal proceedings: by his order in 130, the lawyer Publius Salvius Julian 1 developed the so-called Eternal Edict on the basis of praetor edicts (Edictum peipetuum),published on behalf of Adrian himself. Since then, judicial law-making has become the exclusive domain of the emperor.

Adrian often traveled and built a lot (especially in Greece). A passionate admirer of Greek culture, an intellectual and an esthete, he became famous for his love of art and sophisticated taste, leaving a magnificent architectural ensemble of a villa in Tibu re (modern Tivoli) with an area of \u200b\u200babout 300 hectares, a grandiose temple of Venus and Roma, the famous Roman Pantheon and others facilities. Adrian has done a lot for the development of urban life. One of the few outbursts of socio-political tension in his rule was the uprising in Judea led by Simon Bar-Kokhba 1 (132-135 gg.).Towards the end of his life, suffering from a serious illness, Adrian executed several senators without trial, thereby incurring universal hatred.

In July 138, the 62-year-old emperor died and was buried in a huge round mausoleum (now the castle of the Holy Angel in Rome). Adrian, like Nerve and Trajan, was childless. On the throne, he was replaced by a 52-year-old adopted by him Antoninus Pius (138-161)who gave the name of the whole dynasty. He obtained from the Senate the deification of the late Adrian 1, for which he received an agnomen Pius ("Pious"). The biographer Antonina Pius wrote of him this way: “He stood out for his appearance, was famous for his good manners, was distinguished by noble mercy, had a calm facial expression, had extraordinary talents, brilliant eloquence, and knew literature well; was sober; took care that the fields were handled well; was soft, generous, did not encroach on someone else's; with all this, he had a good sense of proportion and the absence of any vanity. He was very merciful by nature and during his reign did not commit a single cruel act. "

Having inherited a state from his adoptive father in a state of prosperity and stability, Antoninus Pius continued the policy of his predecessor and succeeded in this. During the reign of the noble and humane princeps, the Romans for a long time forgot what arbitrariness and abuse of power are. It was a rare period for the empire of relative prosperity and prosperity. In relation to plebs, the policy of "bread and circuses" continued. The emperor issued a number of decrees that regulated the relations of slaves and their masters: in particular, from now on, the lord was responsible for the murder of the slave or his ill-treatment; the law provided for slaves the opportunity to do business, have a family and enter into business relations with the gentlemen. Adhering to peaceful politics, Antoninus Pius was nevertheless forced to fight a lot: his legates defeated the British and Moors, Germans and Dacians, suppressed unrest in the provinces and repelled the raids of the barbarians. The meek and virtuous emperor died in March 161 at the 75th year of his life, transferring power to the co-rulers adopted by him, 40-year-old Marcus Aurelius (161-180)and 30 year old Lucius Veru (16-169 gg.).The latter led a wild life and did not participate in the administration of the empire.

A refined intellectual, a well-educated admirer of Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius went down in history as a philosopher on the throne. After him, the Greek philosophical work, “To Yourself,” was written. In this essay, Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Always jealously take care that the work that you are currently occupied with is performed in a manner worthy of a Roman and a husband, with full and sincere cordiality, with love for people, with freedom and justice; and also to remove all other ideas from oneself. You will succeed if you perform each business as the last in your life, free from all recklessness, from disregard for the conditions of reason caused by passions, from hypocrisy and dissatisfaction with your fate. You see how few requirements are fulfilled that anyone can live a blissful and divine life. And the gods themselves will not require anything else from those who fulfill these requirements. The time of human life is a moment; its essence is an eternal current; sensation is vague; the structure of the whole body is perishable; the soul is unstable; fate is mysterious; glory - unreliable. In a word, everything related to the body, like a stream, related to the soul, is like a dream and smoke. Life is a struggle and wandering in a foreign land; posthumous glory - oblivion. "

Marcus Aurelius was a man of duty, moral and modest; Above all, he put the interests of the state and fully recognized his responsibility for the fate of the empire. Under him, the quantitative and qualitative growth of the imperial bureaucracy continued. The emperor himself was actively involved in legal proceedings. His relationship with the senatorial and horseman estates was ideal. Marcus Aurelius introduced many noble provincials to the Senate, especially of eastern and African descent. The emperor-philosopher, like his predecessors, appeased the plebs of the capital with spectacles and bread distributions, preserved the nutritional system and, on the whole, rather successfully ensured domestic political stability. The legates of Marcus Aurelius easily suppressed the uprisings in Britain and Egypt, and when in 175 the best commander of the empire, Guy Avidius Cassius, rebelled in the East, the emperor responded to this event with the characteristic phrase: “We don’t live so bad that he could to win. " Cassius was soon killed by his own soldiers, and the rebellion ceased. During the 19 years of rule against Marcus Aurelius, not a single conspiracy was organized.

At the same time, the peace-loving and humane emperor had to wage heavy wars that threatened the empire with major troubles. In the years 161-165. with varying success there was a war with the Parthianswho invaded Armenia and Syria. Having forced out the Parthians, the Roman legions occupied a significant part of Mesopotamia, but could not gain a foothold in it and were forced to retreat. Nevertheless, in 166, Roman diplomats managed to conclude a profitable peace treaty with Parthia, according to which Northern Mesopotamia became part of the empire, and Armenia entered the sphere of Roman influence.

In 167, taking advantage of the difficult situation of Rome in connection with the Parthian war, the plague epidemic and crop failures in Italy, the German Quad and Marcomannian tribes belonging to the Confederation of the Swedes, as well as the Sarmatians, broke through the Rhine-Danube border and invaded Northern Italy (First Marcomannian War, 167-175).To save Italy, the Senate, as during the war with Hannibal, took extraordinary measures: even robbers, slaves and gladiators were mobilized in the army, and Marcus Aurelius himself sold out part of the imperial property in order to raise funds for equipping the troops. In 169, the Romans ousted barbarians from Italy. Subsequently, the Roman legions cleared the Danube provinces of the enemy and crossed the Danube 1. In 175, a peace was concluded in which Germanic and Sarmatian tribes fell under the Roman protectorate. However, the barbarians soon resumed their raids. In 177, Marcus Aurelius was forced to start the Second Marcomannian War (177-180). The onslaught of the barbarians was able to repel, the situation on the border stabilized. In March 180, at the 59th year of his life, Marcus Aurelius died of the plague in Vindobona (modern Vienna). In Rome, in honor of the emperor, a column was erected topped with his statue.

The successor of Marcus Aurelius was his 18-year-old son Commodus (ISO-192), the last representative of the Antonin dynasty. He was a rude, cruel and voluptuous despot. After the death of his father, Commodus entered into a peace treaty with the Quads and Marcomannians, after which he immediately left for Rome, where he entrusted the government with his greedy slander and indulged in wild revelry, drunkenness and debauchery. Having executed his wife, he started a harem. Notable for his extraordinary physical strength and strong physique, the emperor proclaimed himself “Invincible Roman Hercules”, appeared in public in the skin of a lion and with a club on his shoulder, personally participated in the persecution of wild animals, personally killing lions and elephants, and appeared in the amphitheater arena as a gladiator. Having become completely distraught, Commodus renamed all the months of the calendar in his honor, and even Rome called it “the city of Commodus” (190). His biographer wrote about Commodus: “Drinking until dawn and squandering the means of the Roman Empire, he roamed in the evenings in taverns and houses of debauchery. To manage the provinces, he sent either accomplices of his shameful adventures, or people recommended by these accomplices. He became so hateful to the Senate that he himself, in turn, began to cruelly rampant death to this great estate and from a despicable turned into a terrible one. ”

1. What period is called the golden age of the Roman Empire? What emperors are associated with the power of the empire?

The golden age of the Roman Empire is associated with the rule of five good emperors from the Antonin dynasty, who ruled from 96 to 180. They successively succeeded each other without dynastic crises, while all five actively participated in the administration of the empire personally solving the problems that arose. Means:

Mark Koksey Nerva (96-98 gg.):

Mark Ulpiy Trajan (98-117):

Publius Elius Adrian (117-138):

Antoninus Pius (138-161):

Marcus Aurelius (161-180 gg.).

2. Indicate the economic and political causes of 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 led to a crisis in agriculture.

Emperor Septimius Severus changed the army control system. Before him, the commanders (legates) of the legions were politicians for whom this post was just a brief episode in his career. The soldiers did not consider them theirs. The North introduced the practice of appointing legions of legions from lower-level commanders. Soon there were people who had spent their whole lives in the army, whom the soldiers trusted and who began to receive top command posts, that is, political weight. It was these people who became the so-called soldier emperors, civil wars between which tormented the Roman Empire for several decades.

After the good emperors came the rule of several bad ones at the turn of the 2nd-3rd centuries. Some of the emperors succeeding each other did not at all manage the empire, but only surprised the people with their eccentricities and cruelties.

Over the course of several decades, civil wars broke the economic ties between the provinces, making commodity farms unprofitable, large latifundia flourished before, most households became subsistence, an economically united empire with subsistence farming was no longer needed.

For decades, the legions have been engaged in war with each other, and not with external enemies. During this time, the wild tribes on the borders of the empire were accustomed to successful campaigns in the empire, which brought rich prey, explored the routes of such campaigns and were not going to refuse.

- During the civil wars, all parties used to use barbarians as mercenaries, after the end of the civil wars this practice was continued. As a result, the Roman army consisted predominantly not of the Romans, but of barbarians, and at all levels, including top command posts.

An endless series of disasters that seemed to people led to a spiritual crisis in the empire, as a result of which new cults gained popularity, the main of which were Mithraism and Christianity.

As a result of civil wars, as was said above, subsistence farming prevailed in the Roman Empire. In subsistence farming, unlike commodity farming, the use of slaves ceased to be effective, their share in society was declining. Instead, the number of colonies increased - dependent people working on the land of the owner for part of the harvest (the serfdom class later developed from this institute). During the crisis, all citizens of the empire became Roman citizens. Because of this, citizenship has ceased to be a privilege, as before, it has ceased to bear additional rights, only duties in the form of taxes remain. And after the deification of the ruler, the citizens finally turned into subjects.

3. Think: what were the goals of the administrative reforms of Diocletian and Constantine?

Diocletian and Constantine deified the power of the emperors, hoping to prevent further commanders from speaking out (they could not achieve this goal). In addition, the new administrative division of the empire into smaller provinces and the transfer of many officials from cash to subsistence allowance (which was easier to deliver to the centers of smaller provinces) responded to the changing economic conditions, the actual transition of the empire to subsistence farming.

4. Fill in the table. What factors, in your opinion, 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 of the times of good emperors, perhaps, could have withstood the onslaught of the Great Migration of Nations, 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 causes; their combination led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

5. What expressed the spiritual crisis of Roman society? Why did the Christian church become a close-knit organization that has become an influential political and economic force?

The spiritual crisis was reflected in the growing popularity of numerous non-traditional cults for Roman society. And it’s not only about Christianity and Mithraism, Oriental cults of the most different kinds flourished in large numbers.

In the conditions of a long crisis, confidence in the future was not for all sectors of society. Christianity gave this confidence regarding not this world, but the future. Because of this, many representatives of privileged sections of society became Christians. They brought many elements of the Roman civil structure to the Christian church, which made church life more streamlined and gave it a structure. The persecution of Christians that began activated this structure and rallied the Christian church, which tried to resist the persecution. Given that this church brought together many people from the upper strata of society, it possessed their capital and political influence, becoming a powerful force in the state.

6. Create a detailed response plan on the theme “The Fall of the Western Roman Empire”.

1. Strengthening the onslaught of peoples from the flow of the Great Migration to the borders of the Roman Empire.

2. Permission to the Visigoths to settle in Roman territory.

3. The revolt 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. Settlement of new barbarian tribes in Roman territory and their revolt.

6. Periodic uprisings of the Roman generals (over time, more often from among the barbarians), their attempts to usurp the throne.

7. The fight against the invasion of the Huns.

8. Reign in the Western Roman Empire, often replaced by weak, often juvenile emperors.

9. Coup Odoacra, the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Hypermarket of Knowledge \u003e\u003e History \u003e\u003e History Grade 10 \u003e\u003e History: Sunset of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire Sunset

The turmoil that swept Asia did not pass by Europe. The greatest empire of the world, the Roman Empire, whose memory for centuries influenced the life of European peoples, from its heyday quickly tended to decline. He marked the onset of a new historical era - the Middle Ages.

The Golden Age of Rome

At the beginning of the ll century, reached the peak of its power. Under the emperor Troyan (reigned 98-117), the empire recognized the power of the empire Dacia, Arabia, Armenia, Mesopotamia. Under Adrian (reigned 117 - 138), special attention was paid to the axis of strengthening the borders of the empire, improving the management of its vast possessions. Legal norms gained significant development: Roman law subsequently became a role model in medieval Europe.

The division of labor between the provinces developed rapidly inside the empire. North African lands were its granaries. Crafts flourished in Gaul. She supplied ceramics, glass, metal products, linens, cloth, Italy and Spain, and produced wine, oil, and metals to the empire's markets. Gold was mined in Dacia. The eastern provinces became a transit point of trade with Asian countries, including China. The Great Silk Road took shape, along which goods from China through the Pamirs, Ferghana Valley, Parthia and Armenia were delivered to Rome. New centers of craft and commerce arose.

The riches flowing to Rome allowed the emperors to turn the life of the Roman plebs into a complete amusement. Almost half of the days in the year were considered festive. In the "Eternal City" theatrical performances, fights of gladiators, fights with wild animals were constantly going on. Amusements were organized for the inhabitants of the provinces.

The emperors relied on the local nobility, which gained access to the Senate. Schools were opened in Gaul, Spain, and many other provinces, where they taught Latin, Greek, and taught rhetoric. Latin names gained popularity, the highest strata of the population were distinguished by the knowledge of Roman poets (Ovudua, 43 BC - 18 BC, Virgil, 70-19 BC; Horace, 65 BC - 8 BC e.), the satirical works of Juvenal (60-127), Lucanus (90-120), ridiculed ignorance and vanity.

The Romans were well aware of the ideas of Greek philosophers. However, the views of the Stoics, linking peace of mind with ethical standards and serving the public interest, were most popular among them. In Rome, the supporters of stoicism were Seneca (4 BC - 65 AD). Epictus (5-140), author of many philosophical works, the last emperor of the Golden Age, Marcus Aurelius (reigned in 1bl-180).

The crisis of the Roman Empire

Towards the end of the 2nd century, due to climate change, agricultural conditions in the Roman Empire began to deteriorate. Desert offensive undermined North African economies. Frequent cooling has caused a drop in productivity in Italy, Gaul, Spain. Famine began, and plague broke out in many provinces. The uprisings of the peasants, to which the slaves joined, caused the decline of the economy and trade. Tax revenues decreased, and it became difficult to recruit troops and pay them salaries.

Discontent in the army led to a series of military coups. The empire plunged into the abyss of civil war (193-1973). The political crisis lasted almost a century. The authorities alternated with the so-called “soldier-emperors, immigrants from the Apmean environment. None of them controlled completely all Roman possessions.

In an effort to secure support in the army, the “soldier” emperors allocated land to veteran legionnaires, including through the confiscation of large landowners (Saltus) who had fallen into decay. In conditions of climate change, undermining trade relations, they lost their effectiveness, their products could not be sold, even the maintenance of slaves did not pay for the axis. Landowners considered it most advantageous for them to allocate small plots of land (pecculia) to slaves. For using them, the slave had to give the owner of the land part of the harvest (about a third) and work for him up to two weeks a year. Part of the land surrendered in rent free citizens (colonies) under the same conditions. Over time, the position of slaves and colonies ceased to differ significantly.

Surpluses remaining after settlement with the landowner and not used for personal consumption, slaves and columns were not sold, but exchanged for products artisans , commodity-money relations were gradually supplanted by physical exchange.

Slaves and columns did not pay taxes, the land owner took upon himself all payments with the authorities. Small landowners, forced to pay taxes on their own, defenseless against the arbitrariness of officials, quickly went bankrupt. Thus, entire settlements took the patronage of large landowners, their inhabitants voluntarily switched to the position of colonies.

The trading cities were deserted and declined. The main economic unit was the large estates, under which small centers of craft and trade appeared, serving the surrounding villages and colonies.

Changes in the economic life of the Roman Empire helped to stabilize the political situation. Colons became a source of replenishment of the army - the main pillar of imperial power. At Diocletians (reigned in 284-305), who was the son of a freedman from Dalmatia and distinguished himself in the suppression of uprisings in Africa and Gaul, the empire's power over its possessions was completely restored. The entire population of the Roman Empire, except slaves, received the rights of its citizens. Thus, the privileged position of the inhabitants of Italy was canceled, the power of the senaga was undermined. Administrative reform divided the empire into four parts - Gaul, Italy, Illyria and the East.

Diocletian took control of the East, where economic life, trade, and large cities did not decline as much as in Western provinces. The residence of the emperor was the city of Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Under the successor of Diocletian, Constantine l (reigned in 306-337), the Greek city of Byzantium, renamed Constantinople, turned into the capital of the empire.

Christianity in the Roman Empire

The Roman authorities showed tolerance in matters of faith. The Romans themselves believed in the existence of gods, personifying the forces of nature and patronizing certain activities. The oldest of the gods was Jupiter, the god of the seas - Neptune, war - Mars, trade - Mercury, etc.

In the conquered countries, the Romans usually did not force the local population to accept their faith, put up with the fact that it adheres to its own religious views. However, an exception was made regarding Christianity. It was considered as a religion hostile to Rome. Many Roman emperors persecuted the first Christians, they were poisoned by lions in the arenas of the Coliseum to amuse the plebs, the persecution continued for two and a half centuries.

The reasons for this intolerance were that Christians who professed faith in one God rejected all other religious views as pagan. The increase in the number of Christians led to the loss of influence and income of the priests of the numerous temples of the Roman Empire and its possessions. Christians did not recognize the divinity of emperors, which the priests proclaimed to be like gods. Many of the Christians, preaching non-violence, refused to serve in the army. Their ideas about the equality of all people before God were perceived as a challenge to the orders of the slave empire, where slaves were considered lower creatures.

Despite persecution, the number of Christians, especially during the crisis that gripped the Roman Empire in the ll century, increased. Persecution forced Christians to create a strong, well-organized, united church, able to withstand the authorities. The dissemination of Christian ideas of humility and non-violence began to be seen among the nobility as a means of keeping slaves and columns in obedience. Under the new conditions, many wealthy Romans became adherents of Christianity.

In 313, a compromise was reached between Emperor Constantine and Christians. They recognized the divinity of the imperial empire of power (but not the personality of the emperor), agreed not to evade military service. Constantine gave them freedom of religion, freed from the obligation to perform the pagan ritual worship of the emperor as a living god. The Christian church received the right to accept inheritances and gifts, was exempted from taxes. The church court has been equated with the state. The emperor began to generously give Christians and by the end of his life he was baptized.

This step provided support to Konstantin. christian and their church, which was quickly turning into an influential political and economic force. In less than a century, about 1/10 of all the lands of the empire passed to it.

The change in the position of the Christian church was accompanied by the emergence of competition between its hierarchs for a dominant position. Widespread interpretations of Christianity, differing from generally accepted. Thus, the Alexandrian presbyter Arius believed that Christ, created by God the Father, is not equal and not consubstantial to Him, as most bishops believed.

In 325, the Ecumenical Council was convened in Nicaea (a collection of all Christian clergy). It adopted the Creed - a summary of the essence of Christian teaching, established uniform rules for the performance of rituals. Evasions of the approved canons, primarily Arianism, were condemned as heresies incompatible with belonging to the Christian church.

The last attempt to attack Christianity was made under the emperor Julian (reigned 361-363), who, believing that internal strife weakened Christians, tried to revive old beliefs, restore pagan temples that had fallen into disrepair. This attempt was unsuccessful. After the death of Julian in the war with the Persians, emperors resolutely supported Christianity.

Under Emperor Theodosius (reigned 379–395) all religions were banned except Christianity. Proponents of various heretical (not approved by the Councils) directions began to be persecuted. The lands left by pagan temples were confiscated, most of them

The fall of the Western Roman Empire

In the IV century, the onslaught of the tribal unions of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe on the possessions of the Western Roman Empire intensified.

Due to climate change, the lands previously occupied by them could no longer feed the increased population. Whole tribes moved south, settling in the countryside of the Roman provinces, in particular in Gaul.

Another reason for the invasion of peoples on the territory of the empire was the advance of the Gunns, who, moving from the east, to the middle of the 4th century reached the North Black Sea. They crowded the tribes of Sarmatians and Yutes living between the Dniester and the Danube. From the north, the Slavic tribes attacked the Goths. The Goths, in turn, were sent to Central Europe and to the south, to the territory of the Roman Empire.

The authorities of the empire, especially during periods of interregnum, the intensification of the struggle for power, did not impede the development of Roman possessions by the "barbarians", especially since they were no longer foreign to the empire. Many Germanic tribes adopted Christianity, their squads were in the service of the Roman military leaders.

The Betgotgotes (the Western Goths fleeing the Huns were allowed to settle south of the Danube. The replenishment of the empire gave rise to hopes for an increase in the amount of taxes collected, new recruits to the army.

The Roman authorities, however, did not take into account that the "barbarians" who were accustomed to independently solve their problems would not dutifully bear the requisitions of officials. The Bolsheviks revolted, slaves and columns joined them. And in 378, they defeated the Roman army at Adrianople. With great difficulty, the troops of Theodosius were able to temporarily subdue Becotgotes.

After the death of Theodosius in 395, the Roman Empire fell apart. The military leaders of the western part of the empire refused to recognize the power of Constantinople, which turned into the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). Again revolted. Emptying Greece and Illyria, they began to raid Italy. In 410g. King of the Visigoths Alarux (Z70-410) captured and plundered Rome. The capital of the Western Roman Empire was moved to Pavenna, to the north of Italy.

At the same time, the Germanic tribes of Vandals, Alans and Suevs broke into Gaul and Spain. In 429, having taken possession of the fleet, they invaded North Africa, where they founded their state.

The empire was hit hard by the Huns, whose lands stretched from the Caucasus to modern Hungary. Their leader Attila (4Z4-45Z) in 436 launched an attack on Europe. Gunn troops invaded the Balkan Peninsula, ravaged more than 70 cities, forced the Eastern Roman Empire to pay tribute. Having passed the German lands, the Huns began to devastate Gaul. This forced the East, the Franks, the Burgundians to temporarily unite with the Romans and oppose Atgila, who was defeated in 451 in Gaul, Retreating, the Gunns plundered Northern Italy. After the death of Attila, the union of the Hynn tribes broke up, and under the onslaught of the Goths, they migrated to the Northern Black Sea region.

In the Western Roman Empire, the struggle for power began again: in 21 years, nine emperors were replaced. During the civil strife, Rome was taken and sacked by vandal troops. In 476, the leader of the German mercenaries Odoacer (4Z1-49Z) was overthrown by the last emperor Romulus Avgycta and, with the approval of the senate, was proclaimed king (king) of Italy.

The Eastern Roman Empire recognized the legitimacy of the power of Odoacra, who was given the title of patrician.

With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the migration of peoples did not end; they continued until the VIII century. Dozens of kingdoms arose on the territory of the former empire, but the halo of its greatness influenced their politics for a long time. Many royal dynasties of Europe counted their history from the time of the empire, considering themselves the legitimate successors to its power.

Questions and Tasks

1. What period is called the golden age of the Roman Empire? What emperors are associated with the power of the empire?
2. Indicate the economic and political causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire. What changes have occurred in the economic structure of Rome? List the features of the colonate and indicate its differences from slavery.
3. Think about it. what goals the administrative forms of Diocletian and Constantine pursued.
4. Fill in the table:

	Reasons for the decline of Rome
Domestic
External

What factors, in your opinion, played a decisive role in the decline of Rome?
5. What expressed the spiritual crisis of Roman society? Why did the Christian church become a close-knit organization that has become an influential political and economic force?
6. Draw up a detailed plan on the theme "The fall of the Western Roman Empire."