The Roman Empire (July 3, 2024) (Grade 5, Language Arts)

 

            The Roman Empire was a large state that existed from 27 BCE to 1453 CE. It was prodigious throughout its existence, and treated its emperors sublimely. Its capital was initially Rome, but moved to Constantinople in the 4th century. Due to its exquisite size, the Empire has influenced many things such as architecture, language, and religion.

 

            This large empire was started by Octavian, who renamed himself Augustus Caesar upon his coronation. Throughout the first century CE, it fought Germanic tribes. Though it prospered under early members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, one dynasty member, Nero, was a condescending tyrant. Fearing execution, he committed suicide.

 

            Despite this reign of terror, stability was restored under the Flavian dynasty. A famous building known as the Colosseum was built during this dynasty’s rule. However, tyranny rose again under Emperor Domitian. Due to his terrible reign, he was assassinated in an act of regicide. Though the Empire prospered again during the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, it was the last time the country would be strong for a long time. 

 

            All this chaos was stopped by Emperor Diocletian, who ended the disarray by dividing the empire in half. Emperor Constantine reunited the empire, but the next dynasty grew to divide it again. The western half fell due to Germanic invasions in 476 CE, while the eastern half fell due to Turkish invasions in 1453. 

 

            Amidst all this history, religion played a major role. The Romans had originally worshipped multiple gods. This credo was known as paganism. A new religion, Christianity, was receiving mass conversion, but the government proscribed it until 313 CE. Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity, but this led to religious extremism. But due to this, Christianity is the world’s largest religion today. 

 

            Due to all of this, the Roman Empire has profoundly influenced the world. Many European languages have influences from Latin, the language the Romans spoke, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest sect of Christianity, and a lot of pillars in the White House in Washington, D.C. are based on Roman pillars. Though it may not be manifestoften, Rome has influenced us in many ways.