law carried its principles of justice and equity to the remotest regions. The spread of the Latin language provided the western half of the empire with a speech as universal there as Greek was in the East. Trade and travel united the provinces with one another and with Rome. The worship of the Cæsars dimmed the luster of all local worships and kept constantly THE AMPHITHEATER AT ARLES The amphitheater at Arles in southern France was used during the Middle Ages as a fortress, then as a prison, and finally became the resort of criminals and paupers. The illustration shows it before the removal of the buildings, about 1830 A.D. Bullfights still continue in the arena, where, in Roman times, animal-baitings and gladiatorial games took place. before men's minds the idea of Rome and of her mighty emperors. Last, but not least important, was the fusion of alien peoples through intermarriage with Roman soldiers and colonists. "How many settlements," exclaims the philosopher Seneca, "have been planted in every province! Wherever the Roman conquers, there he dwells." 1 The best evidence of Rome's imperial rule is found in the monuments she raised in every quarter of the Monuments ancient world. Some of the grandest ruins of an- of Roman tiquity are not in the capital city itself, or even in Italy, but in Spain, France, England, Greece, Switzerland, 1 Seneca, Minor Dialogues, xi, 7. rule Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa. Among these are Hadrian's Wall in Britain, the splendid aqueduct known as the Pont du Gard near Nîmes in southern France, the beautiful temple called La Maison Carrée in the same city, the Olympieum at Athens, and the temple of the Sun at Baalbec in Syria. Thus the lonely hilltops, the desolate desert sands, the mountain fastnesses of three continents bear witness even now to the widespreading sway of Rome. A block of stone, 68 feet long, 10 feet high, and weighing about 1500 tons. It is still attached to its bed in the quarry, not far from the ruins of Baalbec in Syria. The temples of Baalbec, seen in the distance, were built by the Romans in the third century A.D. The majestic temple of the Sun contains three megaliths almost as huge as the one represented in the illustration. They are the largest blocks known to have been used in any structure. For a long time they were supposed to be relics of giant builders. Romanization West The civilized world took on the stamp and impress of Rome. The East, indeed, remained Greek in language and feeling, but even there Roman law and government prevailed, Roman roads traced their unerring course, and of East and Roman architects erected majestic monuments. The West became completely Roman. North Africa, Spain, Gaul, distant Dacia, and Britain were the seats of populous cities, where the Latin language was spoken and Roman customs were followed. From them came the emperors. furnished some of the most eminent men of letters. They Their schools of grammar and rhetoric attracted students from Rome itself. Thus unconsciously, but none the less surely, local habits and manners, national religions and tongues, provincial institutions and ways of thinking disappeared from the ancient world. Studies 1. On an outline map indicate the additions to Roman territory: during the reign of Augustus, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.; during the period 14-180 A.D. 2. On an outline map indicate ten important cities of the Roman Empire. 3. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 79 A.D.; 180 A.D.; and 14 A.D. 4. Whom do you consider the greater man, Julius Cæsar or Augustus? Give reasons for your answer. 5. Compare the Augustan Age at Rome with the Age of Pericles at Athens. 6. What is the Monumentum Ancyranum and its historic importance (illustration, page 196)? 7. How did the worship of the Cæsars connect itself with ancestor worship? 8. In the reign of what Roman emperor was Jesus born? In whose reign was he crucified? 9. How did the "year of anarchy" after Nero's death exhibit a weakness in the imperial system? 10. How many provinces existed under Trajan? 11. What modern countries are included within the limits of the Roman Empire in the age of Trajan? 12. Compare the extent of the Roman Empire under Trajan with (a) the empire of Alexander; and (b) the empire of Darius. 13. Give the Roman names of Spain, Italy, Gaul, Germany, Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. 14. Contrast the Roman armies under the empire with the standing armies of modern Europe. 15. Trace on the map, page 205, the Roman roads in Britain. 16. "To the Roman city the empire was political death; to the provinces it was the beginning of new life." Comment on this statement. 17. Why should Rome have made a greater success of her imperial policy than either Athens or Sparta? 18. Compare Roman liberality in extending the franchise with the similar policy displayed by the United States. 19. Compare the freedom of trade between the provinces of the Roman Empire with that between the states of the American Union. 20. On the map, page 48, trace the trade route, during imperial times. 21. Compare as civilizing forces the Roman and the Persian empires. 22. What was the Pax Romana? What is the Pax Britannica? 23. Compare the Romanization of the ancient world with that process of Americanization which is going on in the United States to-day. 24. Explain this statement: "The Roman Empire is the lake in which all the streams of ancient history lose themselves and which all the streams of modern history flow out of." 25. "Republican Rome had little to do, either by precept or example, with the modern life of Europe, Imperial Rome everything." Can you justify this statement? CHAPTER X THE LATER EMPIRE: CHRISTIANITY IN THE ROMAN WORLD, 180–395 A.D. 74. The "Soldier Emperors," 180–284 A.D. The Later 395 A.D. THE period called the Later Empire covers the two hundred and fifteen years from the accession of Commodus to the final division of the Roman world at the death of Theodosius. It formed, in general, a period of Empire, 180decline. The very existence of the empire was threatened, both from within and from without. The armies on the frontiers often set up their favorite leaders as contestants for the throne, thus provoking civil war. Ambitious governors of distant provinces sometimes revolted against a weak or unpopular emperor and tried to establish independent states. The Germans took advantage of the unsettled condition of affairs to make constant inroads. About the middle of the third century it became necessary to surrender to them the great province of Dacia, which Trajan had won. A serious danger also appeared in the distant East. Here the Persians, having overcome the Parthians,2 endeavored to recover from Roman hands the Asiatic provinces which had once belonged to the old Persian realm. Though the Persians failed to make any permanent conquest of Roman territory, their constant attacks weakened the empire at the very time when the northern barbarians had again become a menace. The rulers who occupied the throne during the first half of this troubled period are commonly known as the "Soldier Emperors," because so many of them owed their "Imperial position to the swords of the legionaries. Em- phantoms" peror after emperor followed in quick succession, to enjoy a brief reign and then to perish in some sudden insurrection. 2 See pages 184, 194. 1 See page 200. Within a single year (237-238 A.D.) six rulers were chosen, worshiped, and then murdered by their troops. "You little know," said one of these imperial phantoms, "what a poor thing it is to be an emperor." 1 The close of the third century thus found the empire engaged in a struggle for existence. No part of the Roman world had Political situ- escaped the ravages of war. The fortification of the capital city by the emperor Aurelian was itself a testimony to the altered condition of affairs. The situation was desperate, yet not hopeless. Under an able ation in 284 A.D. Constructed by Aurelian and rebuilt by Honorius. The material is concrete faced with brick; thickness, 13 feet; greatest height, 58 feet. This is still the wall of the modern city, although at present no effort is made to keep it in repair. ruler, such as Aurelian, Rome proved to be still strong enough to repel her foes. It was the work of the even more capable Diocletian to establish the empire on so solid a foundation that it endured with almost undiminished strength for another hundred years. 66 Diocletian, whose reign is one of the most illustrious in Roman history, entered the army as a common soldier, rose to high 1 Vopiscus, Saturninus, 10. |