The Roman Empire was an empire founded by the Emperor Augustus, in the year 27 BC. C. that lasted until 476 d. C . It was characterized by the great territorial extension reached thanks to a strong political and military power .

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Characteristics of the Roman Empire

Some of the characteristics of the Roman Empire were the following:

• For much of its history its capital was the city of Rome . From the reign of Constantine, and later when the empire was divided, the capital of the eastern part was the city of Byzantium (Constantinople).
• Its official language was Latin . Towards the end of the period, in the Eastern Roman Empire, the official language became Greek.
• Until the adoption of Christianity as the official religion, the Roman state religion was polytheistic , that is, it included many gods. Emperors were also deified.
• For the year 117 d. C., when the empire reached its maximum extension, it occupied more than 7 million square kilometers of territory.

Location of the Roman Empire

The extent of the Roman Empire varied as territories were incorporated or lost by conquest. At the time of greatest expansion, it reached more than 7 million square kilometers . It included all the territories around the Mediterranean Sea, much of Europe to the north, and part of Asia Minor, from the Black Sea to the Tigris River in Asiatic Mesopotamia. How many roman gods are there?

Stages of the Roman Empire How many roman gods are there?

The history of the Roman Empire can be divided into two stages: the High Empire and the Low Empire .

High empire

It is the stage that goes from the beginning of the empire in the year 27 a. C. with the coronation of Augustus with the title of emperor until the death of the last emperor of the Severus dynasty, in the third century.

During the period, 4 dynasties ruled :

• Dynasty of Julio-Claudia, successors of Augustus , 14 to 68 AD. C. (Emperors Augusto, Tiberio, Calígula, Claudio and Nerón).
• Flavian Dynasty , 69 to 96 AD. C. (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian emperors).
• Antonine Dynasty , AD 96-192 C. (Emperors Nerva, Hadrian, Antonio Pio and Marco Aurelio).
• Severe Dynasty , 192 to 235 AD. C. (Emperors Septimius Severus, Geta, Caracalla, Heliogabalus and Alexander Severus).

The High Empire culminated in a period of infighting, economic crisis and increasing pressure from barbarian peoples on the borders of the empire.

Low empire

The Low Empire began with the arrival of Diocletian to power, in 284 AD. C., and ended with the fall of the empire, in the year 476 d. C .

Diocletian established a tetrarchy , that is, a government of four men. It was made up of two co-emperors (Augustos), one for the East and one for the West. In turn, each had an assistant emperor (Caesar).

After a reunification of the empire under the rule of Constantine, in 380 the emperor Theodosius divided the territory between his two sons and thus a new territorial and political organization was definitively constituted: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire .

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Social and political organization

Social organization How many roman gods are there?

Imperial society was divided into the following estates:

• Patricians and large landlord and mercantile owners : it was the highest class of society. They had the political, religious and economic power. How many roman gods are there?
• Commoners : they were free citizens. This group was made up of city officials, peasants, merchants, artisans, and a large part of the army. From 212 d. C. Roman citizenship was granted to all free men of the empire
• Slaves : it was a very large group. They could buy their freedom or be manumitted by their owner. During this period they acquired some rights.

Political organization How many roman gods are there?

The highest authority of the empire was the emperor , who concentrated all political power and was in charge of military, legislative, religious and judicial affairs.

The Senate acted as an advisor to the emperor, but did not have sufficient decision-making power.

The assemblies remained a Roman tradition since the days of the republic, but had no effective power.

Economy of the Roman Empire

The economy was based on slave labor . The great mass of slave labor was made up of prisoners of war and came from the conquests.

The main economic activities were agriculture and commerce .

Agricultural activity was specialized by regions. It was largely used for trade and was carried out on rural farms worked by slaves. How many roman gods are there?

Trade, facilitated by monetary circulation, was favored by the dominance of the Mediterranean Sea.

Roman Empire religion

During most of the Roman Empire, the official religion was polytheistic , that is, many deities were worshiped.

In addition to the official religion, the population practiced numerous cults from the conquered regions. One of them was Christianity, which quickly became popular and was legalized by the Edict of Milan in 313.

Christianity was transformed into the official religion of the Empire by Emperor Theodosius in 380.

Roman Empire gods How many roman gods are there?

There were at least two types of cults for the Romans: public worship and private worship. In public worship the priests were responsible for directing the worship of different gods on behalf of all . Each god had a dedicated temple and priests who only served in those temples. Some gods were:

• Jupiter held thunderbolts in his hands, which he could throw from the sky.
• Juno’s symbols were a pomegranate and a peacock.
• Mars was the strongest and more fearsome God, next to his father Jupiter.
• The symbol for Minerva was an owl.
• As God of the sea, Neptune carried around a trident.
• Ceres was always depicted as carrying around a bundle of grain, as this represented the harvest and agriculture. How many roman gods are there?
• The word “volcano” comes from the god Vulcan, as he represented volcanoes and blacksmiths. It was known that if he became too angered, volcanoes would erupt.
• Diana’s symbols included the moon, the snake, and the bow and arrow.
• Mercury was the messenger of the gods. The wings on his helmet and sandals allowed him to move very quickly to wherever a god might send him. He was reliable and could be counted on to deliver messages.
• As the goddess of hearth and home, Vesta kept a flame burning in her temple to represent the “hearth of Rome”.
• The home was very important to the Ancient Romans.
• Jupiter’s father was Saturn. When Saturn died, Jupiter and his two brothers, Neptune and Pluto, divided the world evenly amongst themselves to rule.
• Jupiter took the heavens, Neptune took the sea, and Pluto took the underworld, and they were all happy with their choices.
• Although Jupiter’s wife, Juno, ruled over all women in Rome, she especially watched over married Roman women.
• March 1st was the day when the Ancient Romans would honor Juno.
• It is said that Mars was tall and handsome, but very mean. Apparently, he didn’t care who won or lost a battle because all he cared about was seeing bloodshed and battle.
• Despite the Gods not really liking Mars, mortal men worshipped him and often prayed that he would fight alongside them.
• Apollo and Diana were twins.
• Neptune had flowing green hair and deep blue eyes like the sea. He was full of energy, but had a bad temper!
• Pluto was not the God of death, and he wasn’t lonely in the underworld.
• Mercury could fly faster than any of the other Gods. He was very popular, and people trusted him. He was a good negotiator, too.
• Minerva was born from Jupiter’s brain, and didn’t have a mother.
• When the emperors of Rome died, they were given God-like status, which made leaders of Rome become more powerful.
• Bad emperors were not given God-like status, like Nero and Tiberius.
• Since Christians only believed in 1 God, and the Romans believed in many Gods, Christians were often killed by the Romans.

The fall of the Roman empire

Following the division of the Empire by Emperor Theodosius, both parties began to function as separate entities. While in the East, the emperors consolidated their power and managed to prosper, the Western Empire began a process of disintegration. To the frequent economic crises , the invasions of the Germanic towns were added that the Roman army could not stop. The insecurity in the cities caused people to migrate to the countryside and a phenomenon of ruralization took place .

Finally, in 476, the Visigoth king Odoacer deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and the Western Roman Empire came to an end. This moment is considered as the beginning of the Middle Ages .

The Eastern Empire, with the name of the Byzantine Empire , lasted until 1453, with the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Empire , a fact that began the Modern Age . How many roman gods are there?