7.8 KiB
Roman Republic and Empire
Roman Republic and Empire
Overview
Rome evolved from a small Italian city-state to a republic (509–27 BCE) and then an empire (27 BCE – 476 CE in the West) that dominated the Mediterranean world. Roman law, engineering, and governance profoundly shaped Western civilization. @t[509 BCE..27 BCE]
Key Facts
- Region: Mediterranean basin, Western Europe, North Africa, Near East
- Kingdom: ~753–509 BCE @t[753 BCE..509 BCE]
- Republic: 509–27 BCE @t[509 BCE..27 BCE]
- Empire: 27 BCE – 476 CE (Western), continued as Byzantine Empire in the East @t[27 BCE..476]
- Capital: Rome; later Constantinople (from 330 CE)
- Language: Latin
- Writing: Latin alphabet
Major Periods
- Roman Kingdom (~753–509 BCE): Legendary founding by Romulus @t[753 BCE..509 BCE]
- Early Republic (509–264 BCE): Expansion in Italy, Conflict of the Orders @t[509 BCE..264 BCE]
- Late Republic (264–27 BCE): Punic Wars, civil wars, Caesar's assassination (44 BCE) @t[264 BCE..27 BCE]
- Principate (27 BCE – 284 CE): Augustus through the Crisis of the Third Century @t[27 BCE..284]
- Dominate (284–476 CE): Diocletian's reforms through the fall of the Western Empire @t[=476]
Achievements
- Roman law: Foundation of Western legal tradition 1
- Engineering: Aqueducts, roads (~400,000 km network), concrete, the Colosseum
- Pax Romana (~27 BCE – 180 CE): ~200 years of relative peace and prosperity @t[27 BCE..180]
- Latin language and literature: Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus
Fall of the Western Empire
The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus @t[=476]. Contributing factors included barbarian invasions, economic decline, military overextension, and administrative fragmentation 2 .
Review Queue
@q[temporal]Line 10: "Region: Mediterranean basin, Western Europe, North Africa, Near East" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 11: "Kingdom: ~753–509 BCE" - when was this true?
509 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 12: "Republic: 509–27 BCE" - when was this true?
27 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 13: "Empire: 27 BCE – 476 CE (Western), continued as Byzantine Empire in the East" - when was this true?
27 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 14: "Capital: Rome; later Constantinople (from 330 CE)" - when was this true?
330 CE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 15: "Language: Latin" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 16: "Writing: Latin alphabet" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 19: "Roman Kingdom (~753–509 BCE): Legendary founding by Romulus" - when was this true?
509 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 20: "Early Republic (509–264 BCE): Expansion in Italy, Conflict of the Orders" - when was this true?
264 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 21: "Late Republic (264–27 BCE): Punic Wars, civil wars, Caesar's assassination ..." - when was this true?
27 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 22: "Principate (27 BCE – 284 CE): Augustus through the Crisis of the Third Century" - when was this true?
27 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 26: "Roman law: Foundation of Western legal tradition 1 " - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 27: "Engineering: Aqueducts, roads (~400,000 km network), concrete, the Colosseum" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 28: "Pax Romana (~27 BCE – 180 CE): ~200 years of relative peace and prosperity" - when was this true?
27 BCE event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 29: "Latin language and literature: Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Jolowicz (1972) 1 ; Heather (2006) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 23: Malformed temporal tag @t[=476] — see docs for valid syntax
Fix to @t[=0476]
@q[temporal]Line 32: Malformed temporal tag @t[=476] — see docs for valid syntax
Fix to @t[=0476]
@q[missing]Line 10: "Region: Mediterranean basin, Western Europe, North Africa, Near East" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 11: "Kingdom: ~753–509 BCE" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 12: "Republic: 509–27 BCE" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 13: "Empire: 27 BCE – 476 CE (Western), continued as Byzantine Empire in the East" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 14: "Capital: Rome; later Constantinople (from 330 CE)" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 15: "Language: Latin" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 16: "Writing: Latin alphabet" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 19: "Roman Kingdom (~753–509 BCE): Legendary founding by Romulus" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 20: "Early Republic (509–264 BCE): Expansion in Italy, Conflict of the Orders" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 21: "Late Republic (264–27 BCE): Punic Wars, civil wars, Caesar's assassination ..." - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 22: "Principate (27 BCE – 284 CE): Augustus through the Crisis of the Third Century" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 23: "Dominate (284–476 CE): Diocletian's reforms through the fall of the Western..." - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 27: "Engineering: Aqueducts, roads (~400,000 km network), concrete, the Colosseum" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 28: "Pax Romana (~27 BCE – 180 CE): ~200 years of relative peace and prosperity" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 29: "Latin language and literature: Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus" - what is the source?
@q[stale]Line 26: "Roman law: Foundation of Western legal tradition 1 " - Jolowicz source from 1972 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
Yes, Jolowicz (1972) scholarship on Roman law remains current and authoritative.