Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/298

HOME. 272 ROME. which the wliole of that country was reduced to the far north and to the borders of the African subjection; his rupture with Pompey; hia de- desert in the south; but the immorality of the (iaucc of the senate; the civil wars; his victory, rich, especially among the women, became yet dictatorship, and assassination ; the restoration worse than before, and corruiition reigned su- of the senatorial oligarchy; the second trium- preme at the centre of authority. With the accession of Vespasian (a.d. 69-79) a better era commenced, which, if we except the reign of Domitian. continued uninterrupted for a space of one hundred years, comprising the reigns, besides those mentioned, of Titus (a.d. 79-81), Nerva (a.d. 9G-98), Trajan (a.d. 98-117), Hadrian (a.d. 117-138), Antoninus Pius (a.d. 138-lGl), and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (a.d. 161-180). These were all men of fine and honor- able character. Under all of them the provinces were better governed, the finances better adminis- tered, and public morals wonderfully improved. After the time of Vespasian the worst days of Rome (in a moral point of view) were over. Bad emperors she had as well as good, but they did not again succeed in corrupting their age. How far the change was due to the influence of the ever- extending Christian religion it is impossible to tell; but that Christianity did send a reinvigor- ating breath of new life through the old decaying body of the State is beyond all dispute, and is written on the very face of the history of the first centuries. The chief military events, from virate, composed of Antonius, Lepidus, and Oc- tavianus (Augustus) ; the overthrow of the oli- garchy at Philippi; the struggle between Antonius and 'Octaviauus; the triumph of the latter, tliidU'jh his victory at Actium over the fleets of Aulotiius and Cleopatra (B.C. 31), and his investment with absolute power for life (B.C. 29), which put an end at least to the civil dissensions tliat had raged so long (and was therefore so far a blessing to the State), are described in the biographical articles already referred to. The Rohan Empire. When Augustus had gathered up into himself all the civil and mili- tary (lowers of the State, its political life was at an end. Rome had been transformed into an em- pire, in which some of the forms of the Republic, including the senate and consulship, were pre- served. When Augustus died (a.d. 14), the Ro- man Empire was separated in the north from (iermany by the Rhine, but it also included both Holland and Friesland; from the vicinity of the Lake of Constance the boundary followed the Danube to Lower Moesia, though the Imperial au- thority was far from being firmly established the days of Vespasian to those of Marcus Aure- there. In the extreme east the boundary-line lius, are the final conquest of Britain by Agricola was. in general, the Euphrates; in the south, (q.v.), the conquest of the Dacian monarchy by Egypt (annexed on the death of Cleopatra in B.C. Trajan, the victorious invasion of Parthia and 30) Libya, and, in fact, the whole of Northern of Northern Arabia; the conquest of the val- Africa, as far inland as Fezzan and the Sahara, ley of the Nile as far south as Upper Nubia, by acknowledged Roman authority. The Roman Trajan ; and the chastisement of the Marcomanni, franchise was extended to transmarine communi- ties, and in the western provinces especially it became quite common. To keep under subjection this enormous territory — containing so many dif- ferent races — an army of forty-seven legions and as many cohorts was maintained, levied mainly among the newly admitted burgesses of the west- ern provinces. The reigns of Tiberius (a.d. 14- 37), Caligula (a.d. 37-41), Claudius (a.d. 41- 54), Nero (a.d. 54-68), Galba (a.d. 68), Otho (a.d. 69), and Vitellius (a.d. 69) present little of any moment in a general survey of the external history of the Empire. The most notable incident of this period is probably the concentration of the pra>torian guards in the vicinity of Rome during the reign of Tiberius. Under Claudius, the conquest of Britain, to which Caesar had made two expeditions, was begun. In Nero's time Armenia was wrested from the Parthians, and only restored to them on condition of their hold- ing it as a fief of the Empire ; the Roman author- ity in Britain was extended as far north as the Trent; and a great rebellion in Gaul (not, how- ever, against Rome, but only against Nero) , head- ed by .Julius Vindex, a noble Aquitanian and a Roman .senator, was crushed by T. Verginius Rufus. the commander of the Germanic legions. Quadi, Chatti, etc., by Marcus Aurelius. Ha- drian's long rule of twenty-one years was peace- ful, but is memorable as the most splendid era cf Roman architecture. The reigns of Commodus (q.v.), Pertinax (q.v.), and Didius Julianus (q.v.) were insignificant, except in so far as they show the wretched confusion into which the administration of affairs had fallen. Able generals, respectable jurists, honorable senators are not wanting, but their influence is personal and local. The reign of Septimius Severus (a.d. 193-211) is memorable as marking the first real change in the attitude of the emperors toward Christianity. The new religion was beginning to make itself felt in the State; and ■Severus, who was a Car- thaginian, while his wife was a Syrian, may have felt a special interest in a faith that like them- selves was of Semitic origin. At all events it was taken under the Imperial protection, and began to make rapid way. Caracalla (q.v.) and Elagab.alus (q.v.) are perhaps the worst of all the emperors in point of criminality; but the mad brutality of the one and the monstrous de- bauchery of the other were purely personal af- fairs, and -vi-ere regarded with horror by the citi- zens of the Empire. The reign of Alexander Severus (a.d. 222-235) was distinguished by During the profound peace that the Empire had wisdom and justice. After the death of Seve enjoyed everywhere, except on its frontiers, its rus followed a period of confusion and blood material prosperity had greatly increased. The population was more than doubled: the towns be- came filled with inhabitants and embellished with splendid monuments of architecture and sculp- ture ; the wastes were peopled, wherever, at least, the pulilioani (q.v.) or farmers-general had not got the land into their hands; Roman literature reached its culmination; the refinements of civili- zation were carried to the Roman frontiers in shed. The names of Maximinus (q.v.), Maxi- inus (q.v.), Balbinus (q.v.), Gordianus (q.v.), and Philip recall nothing but usurpation, often ending in assassination. Then followed the beginning of the end. The whole of Europe beyond the Roman frontier began to ferment. The Franks showed themselves on the Lower Rhine, the Swabians on the Main ; while the Goths burst through Dacia, overthrew the