The ORIGIN of the ROMAN EMPIRE

One of the greatest empires in history of humanity is the Roman. In fact, it was the center of Europe for much of ancient times, bringing Western culture to much of the entire European continent and even Asia. To know the birth of one of the great empires in our history, in this lesson from a Professor we must talk about the origin of the Roman Empire.

Before talking about the origin of the Roman Empire we have to talk about its capital: Rome.

Thefounding of Rome took place in the 753 a. C., its legendary origin being the founding of Romulus and Remus like children of wolves; But its real foundation was that these two brothers united various tribes in the area and focused their influence on what, years later, would be the city of Rome.

At first, Rome was a monarchy, this period being known for the influence of the etruscanswithin the city and for having a series of characteristics very different from those we usually use to refer to the Romans. This monarchical system remained until the 6th century BC. C.

, being at this time when the Roman nobles, known as patricians, rose up against the Etruscans to end their monarchical rule and go on to call Republic.

Since the 509th century BC C. and until 27 a. C. Rome's political system was the Republic, therefore, it was a system of magistrates elected by the citizens Romans who formed the Senate in which the affairs of Rome were dealt with by a number of nobles and other classes privileged. We are, therefore, before a kind of primitive democracy.

Over the years, the monarchical and republican systems fell apart and it was then that society began to ask for a change that would lead to what we know as the Roman empire.

The last century before the birth of Jesus was marked by a severe crisis in all the estates of Rome, some of the causes being the clashes between Rome and hers allies, the wars against the slave uprisings or, the increasing expansion of the region and, therefore, the greater difficulty in managing such vast territory.

In this situation of so much expansion and problems, the republican system seemed to be out of date, causing that, for years, a way to fix this problem was sought: first with the dictatorship of Sila and then with the formation of the First Triumvirate.

The idea was that through the government of three people the management of so many lands would be easier, being chosen for this process General Pompey known for his victories in Asia, Julio Cesar known for his spectacular management in Hispania and for his victories with the Gauls, and Crassus, economic genius, staunch defender of Julio Cesar and hero of the wars against the slaves. The idea was that a government made up of a military genius, an aristocratic and economic genius, and someone who united both sides could rule the entire territory.

Rome Civil War

The alliance seemed to have a future, but a war changed all of Roman history. Crassus, envious of the great victories of Caesar and Pompey, sought to attack the Parthians to achieve a military triumph, but was defeated by them and killed in Parthia.

The death of one of the members of the Triumvirate brought a great misalignment, and the Senate asked Julius Caesar to return the legions to Pompey to be the new leader of Rome, offering Caesar a simple position as consul. Julius Caesar not only disobeyed orders, but invaded Italy and forced Pompey to escape to Greece, initiating the Second Roman Civil War.

After 4 years of war, Julio Cesar was named the winner of the conflict, largely due to the death of Pompey on Egyptian soil. Julio Cesar initiated a series of anti-republican reforms, seeking a new system that laid the foundations for a dictatorship or empire.

Julius Caesar was assassinated by a series of senators who defended the interests of the Republic and who were afraid of the formation of the empire.

To conclude this explanation about the origin of the Roman Empire we must talk about the Julio Cesar's successors and how are you they created the huge empire that would dominate the Old Age.

After the death of Julius Caesar, the power of rome passed to his successor Octavian, his great friend Marco Antonio and Lepido, who fought against those who caused the death of Julio Cesar in the Third Roman Civil War. After a few years, Cesar's allies won the war, beginning the quest to form the Empire.

After defeating their enemies, the relationship between Octavio and Marco Antonio deteriorated due to the different way of seeing the inheritance of Julio Cesar, starting a war between them. The victory went to Octavio who beat Marco Antonio in Egypt, conquering the region of Cleopatra and annexing it to Rome.

Octavian was named Augustus, proclaimed prince and received the imperial powers, turning Rome into an Empire under his power.

The arrival of the empire brought a time of peace in all Rome, starting a new period of splendor. Over the years, many were the emperors who took Roman power, but all of them brought great changes to an empire that, for centuries, spread throughout Europe until drop against the Germanic peoples.