Here are the most important things to know about Roman ...



Here are the most important things to know about Roman imperial success. Also, I forgot to mention in class that you will need a large scantron (of the ones with a fold-over page). Any of the smaller ones will not have enough space for you to write your essay.

5 Reasons for Imperial Roman Success

• Imperial success was at its height during the time of the Five Good Emperors

• Dated roughly between the reign of Augustus and that of the 5 Good Emperors (so 31 BCE to 180 CE)

• The five reasons were:

1)     The military

• held the empire together

• served not only as protection against invaders, they were also the police force, keeping order within the empire itself

May also add: effectively run; backed by road system

2)     Sustained efforts at expansion and colonization

• continued efforts of expansion meant continuous intake of booty – a real source of wealth and prosperity for all of Rome

3)     The real benefits of government to most Romans

• Being Roman was a good thing

• political order and army secured peace, which translated into safer roads, increased commerce, and therefore a higher standard of living for all. 

• Also, by 202 CE all free persons living within the empire were given citizenship.

4)     A significant degree of local autonomy

• Each province was given the right to rule itself in internal matters

• But three main requirements needed to be met: 1) provincials had to respect (not necessarily worship) the Roman pantheon of gods (which Romans believed were the ultimate source of Roman greatness); 2) provincials had to recognize and accept Roman laws and supremacy in foreign affairs; and 3) provincials had to pay taxes to the central imperial government.

5)     The establishment of a successful, common culture

• a common education, set of religious beliefs, language, etc.

May also add:

So what? cohesion within the empire, and thus the recipe for success, had undergone a transformation in the period of the Good Emperors: from using brute force and coercion to dominate its subjects, the empire moved to offering real benefits to citizens, giving them a vested interest in its the success.

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