 Marcus Aurelius ruled 200 years after Augustus. All this time is called the Pax Romana, meaning “Roman peace.”  During this time, people moved easily and freely throughout the empire, and were able to trade with others.

 The Pax Romana is considered the golden age of Rome.  This is when the empire was at it’s finest. Also during this time, Christianity begins to spread around the Roman Empire.

 One great thing about the Roman Empire was the fact that it mixed many different cultures together, specifically the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures.  Eventually, this developed into something called the Greco- Roman civilization. Trade and travel during the Pax Romana helped spread this new civilization. Temple for Mars

 Horace is an example of an author who use satire to attack human mistakes.  Satire- verse or prose that pokes fun at human weakness Horace

 In Rome, they developed two systems of law. The first was called Civil Law, which involved people that lived in Rome.  The second system was called the Law of Nations. This applied to all people under Roman rule, citizens and non-citizens.  They also came up with the idea of “innocent until proven guilty” and defense attorneys.

 The Roman Empire experienced many problems during Marcus Aurelius’ reign.  Military  Immigration  Bureaucracy  Economy

 Aurelius is fighting northern invaders at the Danube River  Parthian province is being invaded by Persians into Armenia  Aurelius has legions fighting in Mauretania (North Africa)  Aurelius must decide where to focus legions  Spreading his military too thin  Parthian War

 Cassius becomes popular in eastern provinces  Eastern provinces jokes on Aurelius  Rebellions continue along the Roman borders.  Legions bring plague back with them  Decimates military and civilian populations

 German tribesmen, “barbarians”, began to pour across the Danube - AD 166  Germans wanted the better farmland under Roman control

 Many Germanic tribes moved south because of the pressure they felt from other tribes  Plague wiped out many of the farmers of Rome, which left open, farmable land.  Many immigrants were brought to work the land for the Romans and not given legal status.  Many immigrants were hired as mercenaries.  Some officials criticized the policy.  Mercenary- a professional soldier; fights for money instead of loyalty

 People working for the Roman government: governors, tax collectors, judges, soldiers, messengers, and engineers.  The size of the Roman Empire made communication and regulation of government agencies complicated.

 The economy of the western portion of the empire has never been fully developed.  Eastern cities become wealthy and powerful.  Due to the decreasing gold supply, inflation becomes a huge problem.  Increasing military costs are adding to the problems of the crumbling economy.

 AD Imperial property was auctioned to pay for the costly wars.  He lowered the fee for a Senate seat to make it more affordable for the less wealthy.  Public assistance for hospitals, free burial due to the plague, and orphanages.

 Pax Romana ends and the next 100 years are times of political and economic decline  Who rules after a emperor is dies???

 Emperors were overthrown by ambitious generals  Then those generals would be overthrown or assassinated by another general  50 year period with 26 different rulers, and only one died of natural causes

 High taxes were being demanded to support armies, hurt the little man  Many small farmers left their land to seek protection from wealthy land owners  These farmers would work the land and were not allowed to leave

 AD 284 set out to restore order  Divided empire into two parts  He kept control of the wealthy Eastern half  Named a co-emperor to rule the Western half

 Diocletian still remained head emperor  Tried to increase prestige of empire by: -surrounding himself with ceremonies -wore purple and expensive jewels -made people bow and kiss his robe  Inflation – The rapid rise of prices

 He fixed prices for goods and services  Wanted to slow down inflation  Laws forcing farmers to stay on land and follow in their father’s footsteps  Economic stability

 AD 312 Constantine takes the thrown and continues with Diocletian’s reforms  Makes 2 important changes to the Roman Empire  Granted toleration to Christians and encouraged the rapid growth of Christianity  Built a new capital; Constantinople

 Constantinople was located where the Black Sea meets the Aegean Sea  Western Empire declining:  Eastern empire prospering and becoming extremely wealthy