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170 General History oj Europe endure cruel persecution. Their religion seemed to interfere with good citizenship, since it forbade them to show the usual respect for the emperor and the government. Nevertheless their numbers steadily grew. 269. Summary of the Two Centuries of Peace. The remark- able forty-four years of the peaceful reign of Augustus had ushered in a century of general peace, ending (A.D. 68) with the death of the infamous Nero. The second century of peace, which began after a brief period of disorder, was covered by the reigns of a group of very able emperors, especially Trajan and Hadrian. These rulers expanded the once local government and laws of the former city-state of Rome until they fitted the needs of a vast state including the whole Mediterranean world. At this time Christianity was spreading very rapidly. Internal decay was going on, however, and under Marcus Aurelius, about A.D. 167, the two centuries of peace ended. We now pass on to a fearful century of revolution, civil war, and anarchy, from which a very different Roman world emerged. QUESTIONS I. What was the meaning of the various titles of Augustus ? What is meant by the substitution of the Roman Empire for the Republic ? What were the bounds of the Empire in the time of Augustus ? Men- tion the chief writers of the time of Augustus. II. Mention some of the successors of Augustus. What do you know of Nero ? What means were taken for protecting the Empire from invasion ? What improvements were made in the Roman government ? III. Mention some of the chief peoples included in the Roman Empire. How was it possible to get about the Empire ? Describe some of the things that a tourist might have seen in his travels. Describe the chief public buildings at Rome. Tell something of the science of the Romans. Mention the chief oriental religions which prevailed in the Roman Empire. Describe the rise of Christianity.