The 3 stages of Ancient Rome: its history and its characteristics

We all know Ancient Rome, but... Do we know what stages its history is divided into and what characteristics each of them had? Rome was not always an empire, nor was it founded as a republic.

Historians clearly distinguish 3 stages in the history of Rome: monarchy, republic and empire. In addition to delving into what each of them consisted of, in this article we will also dwell on the last years of the Empire Roman, when the German hordes penetrated its borders and shook a reality that had lasted for centuries.

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The stages of Ancient Rome (summarized)

Let's see, then, what are the stages of Ancient Rome and its main characteristics.

1. First stage: the monarchy

We do not know for sure what happened during the first years of the existence of Rome. In fact, we don't even know anything about its foundation, nor who led it. Well, to tell the truth, we do have information, but this is merely legendary.

Roman mythology attributes the founding of the city to Romulus, the legendary first king of Rome.

. Both he and his twin brother Remus were descended from Ascanio, who was, in turn, the son of Aeneas, the fled Trojan. Let's dwell a little on this legend to learn how the ancient Romans described the origins of their city.

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The origin that sinks into the legend

Roman mythology tells that Aeneas fled from the fire of Troy and took refuge in Lazio, Italy. There, he sets himself up as king of the town of the Latinos, the inhabitants of the area. On his death, his son Ascanio succeeded him, who founded the city of Alba Longa, the direct predecessor of Rome.

With this legend, the Romans claimed a mythical ancestry: they were children of none other than a Trojan, so they linked their culture with the much-admired Greek culture. Not only that, but since Aeneas is the son of the goddess Aphrodite, the romans traced their origins back to the gods themselves. A whole stratagem that authors such as Tito Livio and Virgilio put in writing already in the time of Octavio Augusto, and that formed part of the propaganda mechanism of the new emperor.

But back to the legend. As we have already commented, Romulus founded the city of Rome after his brother died (in fact, he named it Rome in his honor). Romulus stands, then, as the supposed first king of the city, although there is no historical evidence to testify to it.

The first kings of Rome

What is true in the legend? Remains of an Iron Age village have been found on Palatine Hill (approximately, from the middle of the 8th century B.C. C), so that the archaeological evidence supports, more or less, the theory of the founding of a new city in the same years that the legend places that of Rome. We do not know if Romulus really existed; no records have come down to us proving his presence in the village.

Nor does there seem to be any solid evidence for the existence of the second king, Numa Pompilio, whose life is also mixed with legend. In theory, this monarch was elected king by the Roman Senate after the death of Romulus. It is known that, during the Roman monarchy, the kings were chosen by the Senate (their position was not hereditary); Generally, the candidates belonged to the main families of Roman society (those that later gave rise to the patrician families of Rome, such as the Julius or the Cornelian).

The last years of the Roman monarchy

The two kings who followed Numa Pompilius, Tulio Hostilio and Anco Marcio, also lack solid records to support their existence. We only have the testimony of authors such as Tito Livio and Dioniso de Halicarnaso, which historians question due to the large number of legendary elements that their stories present. Be that as it may, Tullius Hostilius is credited with the conquest of Alba Longa, the ancient city founded by the son of Aeneas. Since then, the preeminence of Rome in Lazio will be indisputable.

Of the last kings, Tarquinio Prisco, Servio Tulio and Tarquinio the Proud, we do have more or less reliable historical records. The last king of the Romans, Tarquin the Proud, achieved the absolute hegemony of Rome in Lazio thanks to his conquests, through which he subdued the rest of the peoples. He was a despotic and cruel king; in 509 B.C. C, Tarquinio was overthrown, according to legend, because of the indignation caused by the rape that his son had inflicted on Lucrecia, a Roman patrician. An era was ending; The Roman Republic was born.

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2. Second stage: The Roman Republic

After the overthrow of Tarquin the Proud and the expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome, Two consuls were elected (449 B.C. C) who took over the city government. Thus began a new period in the history of Rome: the res publica, or republic.

The res publica or public thing. A government for all?

res publica It is a Latin voice that can be translated as the public thing, or public affairs (from beef, thing, and public, of all). In Roman law, it is opposed to the private beef, that is, to the thing that concerns someone in particular. In a few words, and roughly, it can be said that, with the advent of the Roman Republic, the concept of the state was inaugurated as an element that concerned all citizens.

Well, not everyone. Because not all the inhabitants of Rome and its territories had civil and political rights. Needless to say, slaves didn't have anything like that (in fact, they weren't even considered human beings), but free commoners didn't have any rights either. The only ones who had access to the government and privileges were the patricians, descendants of the first founders of Rome and who bore, as a reminder of their caste, their surnames or family.

The offices of the Roman Republic: the magistracies

The Roman republic had been created in part to avoid the mistakes made in the days of the monarchy. For this, two consuls were designated, as we have already said, who possessed the powers that had once belonged to the monarch (the imperium and the auspicium). The first power referred to the military and judicial powers, while the second had a religious character and was related to the figure of the leader as a mediator before the gods. The powers of the consuls lasted one year.

With the passage of time, new magistracies were added: the praetor, the censor, the aediles, the quaestors... A curious figure was also added, the dictator or dictator, whose function was quite different from the concept we have today. He dictator only erected in case of major setbacks or political chaos, and all the powers were assigned to him. But, to avoid abuse of power, his position was limited to six months, during which he had to solve the problems that afflicted the state.

The expansion of Rome

It was during the Republic when Rome began to establish itself as a new military power in the Mediterranean.. In the fourth century B.C. C had already begun the expansion by Italy, and, during the II century a. C, the Romans conquered the entire Iberian Peninsula. Meanwhile, they had become involved in a heated fight against Carthage for Mediterranean hegemony: they were the so-called Punic Wars, which lasted for more than a century. The defeat of Carthage in 146 a. C marked the turning point. Rome became the mistress of the entire Mediterranean.

The difficult years: the civil wars of the 1st century BC. C.

After a period of republican splendor, political and social instability hangs over Rome. The crisis culminated in the so-called civil wars, which plagued the Republic during the last century BC. In this period, one figure stands out above the rest: that of Julius Caesar.

Caesar belonged to the popular political faction that, roughly speaking, was inclined to provide certain improvements to the lower classes of Rome; among them, the modification of the grain distribution system. All of this, together with his extraordinary oratory capacity, earned him the sympathy of the commoners. On the opposite side, and declared enemies of the popular, were the optimizes, who supported the Roman patricians and were clearly opposed to the political and social rise of the plebeians born in the conquered parts. The consequence of this staunch enmity was the confrontation between Julius Caesar and Pompey, a member of the party of the optimizes, within the complex context of the Roman civil wars. After the defeat and death of Pompey, Julius Caesar stands as absolute lord of Rome.

With Caesar, the Romans witness a gradual restoration of royal power, against which they had fought so long. Appointed dictator for life and pontiff maximum, Julius Caesar represented a danger to the Roman Republic. Thus, in the famous ides of March of the year 44 a. C, the dictator is assassinated.

However, the Republic was already mortally wounded. Caesar's assassination begins another period of instability and warfare, culminating in the appointment of his adoptive son, Octavian Augustus, as Rome's first emperor.

3. Third stage: the Empire

Octavian did not immediately absorb the imperial powers. First the Principality is established, during which the institutions of the Republic remain in force. But little by little, the young man is acquiring more and more power, until, in the year 27 a. C, is proclaimed august, name by which he will be known. The third and last period in the history of Rome began, and also the longest.

The High Empire (27 a. C – III century AD. C)

The Roman Empire spans no less than 500 years in history, from 27 B.C. C, year of the proclamation of Augustus, until 476 d. C, in which the last emperor, Rómulo Augustulo, is deposed. Five centuries in which dynasties, conflicts, times of peace and dark periods follow one another.

Historians distinguish two stages in the Roman Empire: the High Empire and the Low Empire. The High Empire began, as we have already commented, with the proclamation of Octavio Augusto, and ends with the last emperor of the Severus dynasty, Severus Alexander. Emperors of the stature of Trajan, who led the Empire to its maximum expansion, and Hadrian, who culminated the task of his predecessor with the stabilization of the borders, stand out at this stage.

During the High Empire we also had educated emperors, such as Marcus Aurelius, of the Antonina dynasty, author of the famous meditations, a compendium of Stoic philosophy aimed at leading an orderly, judicious and full life.

Unfortunately, there are also nefarious emperors. This is the case of Caligula and Nero, of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (the first of the Empire, to which Augustus also belonged), or, a little later, Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius. It is necessary to clarify that, despite the fact that historians agree as to their inability to hold the reins of government, it is truly difficult to distinguish the truth from the truth in the lives of these emperors. legend.

The High Empire ends with a military anarchy, a period of political instability that ends with the rise to power of Emperor Diocletian.

The Lower Empire and the two Romes

With Diocletian a new period for the history of Rome opens, because it was this emperor who established the tetrarchy. This system of government divided the power of the Empire between four people, two august and two caesars, scattered in several provinces in order to better control the borders of the Empire. In addition, under the reign of Diocletian, a frenzied persecution was declared against the Christians, who were already beginning to be numerous.

Constantine, son of Caesar Constantius Chlorus, proclaimed himself sole ruler of the entire Empire, bringing the tetrarchy to an end. Constantine's reign is important, among other things, for the decree of tolerance of cults issued in Milan in 313, for which Christianity ceased to be persecuted. However, it would not be until Theodosius (380) that Christianity would be proclaimed the official religion of the Empire.

Constantine is also famous for the establishment of the new capital in Byzantium, a former Greek colony located in present-day Turkey, which was later renamed Constantinople in honor of Constantine. This New Rome, as it was called at its founding, is of great importance in history, since it would be the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, in force until the conquest of the Turks in the year 1453.

This separation between western and eastern Rome occurred with Theodosius who, on his death (395), divided the Empire between his two sons: for Arcadius it was the eastern part, while Honorius stayed with the West. The Roman Empire would never again be united.

The end of the Western Empire

We cannot end this trip through the stages of Ancient Rome without briefly commenting on how the Western Empire ended. During the fifth century, Germanic tribes began to penetrate the borders of the Empire, which was already greatly weakened. Rome could not face the advance of these peoples who were slowly establishing themselves in Roman territory, either in a more or less peaceful way (as in the case of the Goths, to whom the Romans gave land in exchange for military aid) or violent (the vandals, who crossed the Iberian Peninsula with blood and fire and settled in the North of Africa).

Traditional historiography gives the date of the end as 476 AD. C, with the deposition of the last emperor, the child Romulus Augustulus, at the hands of the Hérules. Ironies of life, the last Western Roman ruler shared a name with the mythical founder of Rome.