Introduction
The city of Rome was the center of the largest empire in Antiquity. Located in the western portion of the central region of the Italian peninsula, the origins of the city and the Roman Empire itself date back to the legend of the brothers Romulus and Remus.
In the poem “Aeneid”, written by Virgil, the brothers would be descendants of Aeneas, who fought in the Trojan War, and after the conflict would have settled in the Italian peninsula.
According to legend, Romulus and Remus were abandoned on the banks of the Tiber River, but were found and nursed by a she-wolf, and later founded the city of Rome.
During a fight, Romulus murdered his brother, thus becoming the first king of Rome.
The history of Rome is divided into three periods: Monarchy (753 – 509 BC), Republic (509 – 27 BC), and Empire (27 BC – 476 AD).
Monarchy (753 – 509 BC)
Despite the foundation myths, the city of Rome was formed, in 753 BC, through the meeting of some of the people who lived in that region, especially the Italiots (among which the Latins), the Etruscans, and the Greeks.
In its early days, Rome was a monarchy, in which the king accumulated executive, judicial, and religious powers. Even under a monarchical regime, there was the figure of legislative power, occupied by the Senate and the Curiate Assembly (or Curia).
At that time, Roman society was structured as follows:
1. Patricians: large landowners;
2. Plebeians: small landowners, farmers, merchants and artisans;
3. Clients: free men without possessions who lived as members of the patricians;
4. Slaves: recruited through wars and debts.
In total, seven kings ruled Rome during the first phase of its history. Of these, the last three had Etruscan origin.
Due to internal conflicts, the Senate removed the last Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, and began to exercise his functions, a fact that marked the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the Republic.
Republic (509 to 27 BC)
Roman government during the Republic was exercised from three main bodies: the Senate, responsible for creating laws; the Assemblies, responsible for voting on them; and the Magistracy, a set of positions elected by the Centuriate Assembly that performed specific functions to execute the laws.
The Judiciary was made up of the following positions:
1. Consuls: two consuls were elected for a one-year term, and their duties included presiding over the Senate and the Assembly;
2. Praetors: those in charge of judicial tasks;
3. Edis: responsible for the administration of urban space;
4. Censors: counted the population and their income;
5. Quaestors: administered the public treasury.
During the Republic, Rome experienced a great territorial expansion, incorporating areas of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
To expand its control over the Mediterranean Sea, an important commercial route in Antiquity, Rome went to war with Carthage, a city located in North Africa, of Phoenician origin, and which had dominance over maritime trade at the time.
This conflict, known as the Punic Wars, was won by Rome and lasted from 264 to 146 BC, establishing Roman control over the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite the great territorial expansions, the social structure and living conditions of the commoners provoked several revolts in Rome. Afraid of an internal rebellion, the patricians accepted several reforms in Roman institutions during the period of the Republic.
The main one was the creation of the “ tribune of the plebs ”, a position that allowed plebeians to have political representation. The two main tribunes of the plebs were the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus who, among other proposals, tried to implement agrarian reform
Unsuccessful, the Graco brothers ended up murdered. Thus, despite the conquest of rights by the plebeians, the political system in Rome remained under the control of the patricians.
The final phase of the Republic was marked by successive crises, which led to the creation of two triumvirates, that is, the division of administration between three rulers.
The First Triumvirate was formed in 60 BC and was made up of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. After Crassus’ death, Julius Caesar defeated Pompey and was declared Life Dictator of Rome.
However, after coming into conflict with the Senate, Julius Caesar also ends up murdered, and a Second Triumvirate is formed, this time by Marco Antônio, Octavius, and Lépidus.
Once again the three rulers come into conflict, and Otávio emerges victorious. This time, with no rival likely to defeat him, Octavius is declared emperor of Rome, beginning the third period of its history.
Empire (27 BC to 476 AD)
The Roman Empire was responsible for political centralization and the adoption of monarchical characteristics that distanced it from the Republic.
This period is divided into the High Empire, between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD, and the Low Empire, between the 3rd and 4th century AD.
The High Empire, which began with the government of Otávio Augusto (a title that meant “divine”) was marked by the stability of territorial conquests and the maintenance of slavery. Internally, Otávio enshrined the “ bread and circuses ” policy, which consisted of distributing food and promoting great spectacles, such as combats between gladiators, to entertain the masses and curb revolts.
The relative stability achieved during the period, without major military setbacks, became known as “ Pax Romana ”.
After the death of Octavius (14 AD), the Roman throne was occupied by several dynasties, and until the end of the empire, some rulers stood out.
Nero, for example, began persecuting Christians for worshiping a single god, which went against Roman religious practices. His government was also marked by great political instability.
Faced with the reduction of Roman expansionism, the Roman economy, then dependent on slave labor, began to show signs of decline that influenced the stability of the Empire.
After long years of persecution of Christians, Emperor Constantine, through the Edict of Milan, officially ended the persecution in 313 AD.
Still under the government of Constantine, the capital of the empire was transferred from Rome to Constantinople, in the Eastern portion of the Empire, in the year 330 AD
The change was due to the fact that Constantinople had an economy that was not so dependent on slave labor and was less vulnerable to invasions by barbarian peoples, who were beginning to threaten the Empire.
As a last attempt to save Rome, Emperor Theodosius transformed Christianity into the official Roman religion, through the Edict of Thessalonica, in 391, and divided the Empire into two: that of the West, with its capital in Rome, and that of the East, whose capital was Constantinople.
Less than a hundred years later, the Western Roman Empire failed to resist the barbarian invasions and fell in 476. The Eastern Roman Empire, in turn, would survive throughout the Middle Ages, and give rise to the Byzantine Empire.