World History 14-Roman Empire

Mainly introduces the story of Caesar and Octavian. Caesar was the founder of Rome, and Octavian turned Rome from a republic to an empire. After its peak Rome declined.

Edited at 2024-01-12 16:31:09

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World History 14-Roman Empire

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World History 14-Roman Empire

1.Caesar-the founder of Rome

In the 1st century BC, during the Roman Civil War, three strong military men, Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, formed an alliance to divide the world.

Caesar's hegemony began in Gaul. He conquered the Gaul region in eight years of campaign, defeated the Germans, and captured a large area of land from Britain in the west to the Rhine River in the east. He is also an excellent writer, and "The Gallic War" is a model work of Latin literature.

The Roman Senate was worried about the threat of Caesar's power and ordered Caesar to disband his army and hand over the power of the governor of Gaul.

In January 49 BC, Caesar angrily sent troops to the border between the province of Gaul and the Italian mainland and crossed the Rubicon River, kicking off the civil war. Before the Civil War, Crassus had died. During the civil war, Pompey was driven to Egypt and died in a foreign land. Caesar became the permanent dictator, lifelong tribune, high priest and other positions, and ruled the world. After occupying Italy, he swept through Egypt and Spain.

His shortest battle report only had three sentences: "I came, I saw, I won."

In 48 BC, Caesar pursued Pompey and reached Egypt. Egypt was under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Caesar met Cleopatra and had a son with her named Caesarion.

In 45 BC, Caesar invited the Queen of Egypt to Rome as a guest. Caesar was thought to have become increasingly arrogant and corrupt.

On March 15, 44 BC, Caesar fell to the sword of Brutus and a group of senators. Rome began to become an empire.

2. Octavian-the founder of the Roman Empire

Octavian knew how to keep a low profile and was committed to restoring order within the empire and consolidating the territories he had conquered. After more than ten years of struggle, Octavian defeated Antony and became the dictator of Rome.

In 27 BC, Octavian was awarded the title of head of state, the first citizen, by the Senate; he also received the honorific title of Augustus, which means a solemn, great and holy person. The respect he showed for the Senate. After more than 100 years of civil war, Rome finally ushered in peace.

Rome during the Republic was simple and crude. Octavian turned Rome into the artistic center of the Western world.

①Royal Palace, Arc de Triomphe, Column of Merit, Egyptian Obelisk. During the reign of Emperor Nero, the marble capital suffered a fire. The rebuilt Rome was even more magnificent.

②Grossheim Arena, completed in 80 AD, is a symbol of the Roman national character and one of the great buildings in the world.

In 65 BC, Caesar organized a large-scale gladiatorial show involving 320 pairs of gladiators. In 107 AD, Emperor Trajan held several gladiatorial performances to celebrate his victory in the Dacian War. A total of 5,000 gladiators spilled their blood on the sand.

③The Pantheon, built by Emperor Hadrian, is a symbol of polytheistic worship and freedom of belief.

④ Stone walls. The Romans built hundreds of kilometers of stone walls in areas such as the upper reaches of the Danube and Rhine rivers to protect Rome from barbarian (Germanic) attacks. Lookout posts were built at regular intervals, and barracks were built to garrison troops in the most dangerous areas. (similar to the Great Wall)

Starting from Augustus, Roman civilization began to spread to all sides of the empire, and provincial capitals and important cities were transformed after the Roman city. Latin schools were popping up everywhere.

Roman citizenship became the most respected identity card. In the early years of the Republic, they were divided into 369 classes for the conquered, enjoying different rights.

3.The decline of Rome

From 101 to 106 AD, Trajan led his army to conquer the Danube River, extending his territory to present-day Romania; he led an army to the east and defeated the Parthian Kingdom of the Persians, establishing a new province.

In 117 AD, Emperor Trajan died of illness in Asia Minor. The results of the Eastern Expedition came to nothing, and the eastern border was retracted to the west of the Euphrates River. This was the farthest east of the Roman Empire.

The Romans were attracted to the silks of the East. To purchase silk clothing, Rome spent 100 million sestals of silver every year.

The Greeks called China Seres.

The royal family of the Roman Empire was dissolute, the provincial governors were extortionate, and they were corrupt. Eastern religions became popular. The Egyptian goddess Isis is particularly popular.

4.The fall of Rome

Around the 1st century AD, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. Because his thoughts and words threatened the ruling authority of the Roman Empire. Jesus is worshiped as the Savior and is called the Christ. Christianity, separated from Judaism. Christians refused to worship the Roman emperor. Predicted the imminent demise of the Roman Empire.

In the 3rd century AD, Christians were persecuted on a large scale by the Roman government, but this did not affect the spread of Christianity. Rome, which grew from a small city-state to a large empire in the Mediterranean, needed a simple religion ideologically. This religion is exactly reflected in Christianity. Christianity has absorbed some of the essence of Greek philosophy, as well as the essence of traditional polytheistic religious sects.

In the 4th century AD, Christianity gradually found believers among the upper classes in Rome, and its influence became ever greater.

In 313 AD, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which canceled the persecution of Christians and declared that Christianity and other pagans had equal freedom of belief.

In 392 AD, Christianity became the state religion of Rome. The victory of Christianity was a precursor to the overall decline of the Roman Empire.

Hundreds of years of luxurious and luxurious life had made the Romans weak and dull, unable to fight. The empire's financial situation deteriorated further. In the 4th century AD, the southern barbarians from the north moved southward in large numbers. War breaks out in Greece, Sicily, and North Africa, and the city of Rome is in danger. Internal civil war broke out over the struggle for the throne. The country was divided into two.

In 306 AD, Emperor Constantine, who came to power, moved the capital to Constantinople, which is now Istanbul.

In 410 AD, the Eternal City of the Roman Empire was sacked by the Visigoths for three days and three nights. Later, the Vandals came again. Constantinople's army never came to the rescue.

The emperor of the Western Roman Empire was just a puppet of the barbarian mercenaries. The Pope is the only spiritual pillar of Rome. The Pope dealt with the Visigoths and Vandals, causing the barbarian brothers to put down their butcher knives and extinguish their fireworks. The church successfully converted a number of barbarian kings into Christians, saving the Greco-Roman cultural heritage from total destruction.

In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire fell. The barbarians established many independent small countries in the occupied areas. Europe entered the feudal era, that is, the Middle Ages. There was never a unified European empire again.