What only enthusiastic epithets did not reward this empire at different times. She was called "sacred" and "great" and there was every reason for this. The empire included vast territories in Europe and the Mediterranean. The existence of the Roman Empire was very long and dates from the period from 27 BC to BC. e. by 476. However, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, its Eastern part, the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was Constantinople, continued to exist for more than 1000 years.

The article presents two different maps of the Roman Empire, compiled on the basis of modern interactive maps, which represent all the territories that the empire has ever owned.

The first map not only shows the territorial possessions of the Roman Empire, but also allows you to find the exact location of numerous buildings and artifacts of those times, as well as learn more detailed information about each object. Also, the map has a search function.

You can view a slideshow of some of the highlights shown on the map. In addition, anyone can make changes to the map (similar to Wikipedia). The map can be found at http://vici.org/.

The following map allows you to plan your route using the roads and shipping lanes available to the ancient Romans. It is based on an ancient Roman map known as "Tabula Peutingeriana". The routes generated by the map include a list of cities and are displayed in the sidebar. The route is also displayed on Google Map.

More details about the map can be found on the website http://www.omnesviae.org/.

P.S. A wonderful film by Tikhon Shevkunov about the successor of the Roman Empire - Byzantium.

The Roman Empire (ancient Rome) left an incorruptible trace in all European lands, where only its victorious legions set foot. The stone ligature of Roman architecture has survived to this day: walls that protected citizens, along which troops moved, aqueducts that delivered fresh water to the townspeople, and bridges thrown over stormy rivers. As if all this wasn't enough, the legionaries were building more and more structures - even as the empire's frontiers began to recede. During the era of Hadrian When Rome was much more concerned with the consolidation of the lands than with new conquests, the unclaimed military prowess of warriors, cut off from home and family for a long time, was wisely directed in another creative direction. In a sense, the whole European owes its birth to the Roman builders, who introduced many innovations both in Rome itself and beyond. The most important achievements of urban planning, which had the goal of the public good, were sewerage and water pipes, which created healthy living conditions and contributed to the increase in population and the growth of the cities themselves. But all this would not have been possible if the Romans had not invented concrete and did not begin to use the arch as the main architectural element. It was these two innovations that the Roman army spread throughout the empire.

Since stone arches could withstand enormous weight and could be built very high - sometimes two or three tiers - engineers working in the provinces easily overcame any rivers and gorges and reached the farthest edges, leaving behind strong bridges and powerful aqueducts (aqueducts). Like many other structures built with the help of Roman troops, the bridge in the Spanish city of Segovia, through which the water passes, has gigantic dimensions: 27.5 m in height and about 823 m in length. Extraordinarily tall and slender pillars, built of roughly hewn and unfastened granite blocks, and 128 graceful arches leave an impression not only of unprecedented power, but also of imperial self-confidence. This is a marvel of engineering, built around 100 tons. e., steadfastly withstood the test of time: until recently, the bridge served as the water supply system of Segovia.

How it all began?

Early settlements on the site of the future city of Rome arose on the Apennine Peninsula, in the valley of the Tiber River, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. According to legend, the Romans are descended from the Trojan refugees who founded the city of Alba Longa in Italy. Rome itself, according to legend, was founded by Romulus, the grandson of the king of Alba Longa, in 753 BC. e. As in the Greek policies, in the early period of the history of Rome, it was ruled by kings who actually enjoyed the same power as the Greeks. Under the tyrant king Tarquinius Gordom, a popular uprising took place, during which the royal power was destroyed and Rome turned into an aristocratic republic. Its population was clearly divided into two groups - the privileged class of patricians and the plebeian class, which had much less rights. A member of the oldest Roman family was considered a patrician, only the senate (the main government body) was elected from the patricians. A significant part of its early history is the struggle of the plebeians for the expansion of their rights and the transformation of members of their class into full Roman citizens.

Ancient Rome differed from the Greek city-states, because it was in completely different geographical conditions - a single Apennine peninsula with vast plains. Therefore, from the earliest period of its history, its citizens were forced to compete and fight with the neighboring Italic tribes. The conquered peoples submitted to this great empire either as allies, or simply included in the republic, and the conquered population did not receive the rights of Roman citizens, often turning into slaves. The most powerful opponents of Rome in the IV century. BC e. there were Etruscans and Samnites, as well as separate Greek colonies in southern Italy (Greater Greece). And yet, despite the fact that the Romans were often at enmity with the Greek colonists, the more developed Hellenic culture had a noticeable impact on the culture of the Romans. It got to the point that the ancient Roman deities began to be identified with their Greek counterparts: Jupiter - with Zeus, Mars - with Ares, Venus - with Aphrodite, etc.

Wars of the Roman Empire

The most tense moment in the confrontation between the Romans and the South Italians and Greeks was the war of 280-272. BC e., when Pyrrhus, the king of the state of Epirus, located in the Balkans, intervened in the course of hostilities. In the end, Pyrrhus and his allies were defeated, and by 265 BC. e. The Roman Republic united all of Central and Southern Italy under its rule.

Continuing the war with the Greek colonists, the Romans clashed in Sicily with the Carthaginian (Punic) power. In 265 BC. e. the so-called Punic Wars began, which lasted until 146 BC. e., almost 120 years. Initially, the Romans fought against the Greek colonies in eastern Sicily, primarily against the largest of them - the city of Syracuse. Then the seizures of already Carthaginian lands in the east of the island began, which led to the fact that the Carthaginians, who had a strong fleet, attacked the Romans. After the first defeats, the Romans managed to create their own fleet and defeat the Carthaginian ships in the battle of the Aegates. Peace was signed, according to which in 241 BC. e. all of Sicily, considered the breadbasket of the Western Mediterranean, became the property of the Roman Republic.

Carthaginian dissatisfaction with the results First Punic War, as well as the gradual penetration of the Romans into the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, which was owned by Carthage, led to a second military clash between the powers. In 219 BC. e. the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barki captured the Spanish city of Sagunt, an ally of the Romans, then passed through southern Gaul and, having overcome the Alps, invaded the territory of the Roman Republic itself. Hannibal was supported by part of the Italian tribes, dissatisfied with the rule of Rome. In 216 BC. e. in Apulia, in a bloody battle at Cannes, Hannibal surrounded and almost completely destroyed the Roman army, commanded by Gaius Terentius Varro and Aemilius Paul. However, Hannibal could not take the heavily fortified city and was eventually forced to leave the Apennine Peninsula.

The war was moved to northern Africa, where Carthage and other Punic settlements were located. In 202 BC. e. The Roman commander Scipio defeated the army of Hannibal near the town of Zama, south of Carthage, after which a peace was signed on the terms dictated by the Romans. The Carthaginians were deprived of all their possessions outside Africa, they were obliged to transfer to the Romans all warships and war elephants. Having won the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic became the most powerful state in the Western Mediterranean. The Third Punic War, which took place from 149 to 146 BC. e., was reduced to finishing off an already defeated enemy. In the spring of 14b BC. e. Carthage was taken and destroyed, and its inhabitants.

Defensive walls of the Roman Empire

The relief from Trajan's Column depicts a scene (see left) from the time of the Dacian wars; legionnaires (they are without helmets) are building a camp camp out of rectangular pieces of turf. When Roman soldiers found themselves in enemy lands, the construction of such fortifications was common.

“Fear gave birth to beauty, and ancient Rome miraculously changed, changing the previous - peaceful - policy and starting to hastily build towers, so that soon all seven of its hills sparkled with the armor of a continuous wall”- so wrote one Roman about the powerful fortifications built around Rome in 275 to protect against the Goths. Following the example of the capital, large cities throughout the Roman Empire, many of which had long "stepped over" the boundaries of the former walls, hastened to strengthen their defensive lines.

The construction of the city walls was an extremely labor-intensive work. Usually, two deep ditches were dug around the settlement, and a high earthen rampart was heaped between them. It served as a kind of layer between two concentric walls. External the wall went into the ground by 9 m, so that the enemy could not dig, and at the top was provided with a wide road for sentinels. The inner wall was raised a few more meters to make it difficult to bombard the city. Such fortifications were almost indestructible: their thickness reached 6 m, and blocks of stone were fitted to each other with metal brackets - for greater strength.

When the walls were completed, it was possible to proceed with the construction of the gate. Above the opening in the wall, a temporary wooden arch was constructed - formwork. On top of it, skillful masons, moving from both sides to the middle, laid wedge-shaped slabs, forming a curve of the vault. When the last stone was laid - the castle, or key - stone, the formwork was removed, and next to the first arch, they began to build a second one. And so on until the entire passage to the city was under a semicircular roof - the Box Vault.

Guard posts at the gates, guarding the peace of the city, often represented real small fortresses: there were military barracks, stocks of weapons and food. In Germany, the so-called one has been perfectly preserved (see below). Instead of windows, there were loopholes on its lower logs, and round towers rose on both sides - so that it would be more convenient to fire at the enemy. During the siege, a powerful lattice fell on the gate.

The wall built in the 3rd century around Rome (19 km long, 3.5 m thick and 18 m high) had 381 towers and 18 gates with descending bars. The wall was constantly renovated and strengthened, so that it served the City until the 19th century, that is, until the improvement of artillery. Two-thirds of this wall is still standing today.

The majestic Porta Nigra (that is, the Black Gate), rising 30 m in height, personifies the power of imperial Rome. The fortified gates are flanked by two towers, one of which is significantly damaged. Once the gate served as an entrance to the city walls of the 2nd century AD. e. to Augusta Trevirorum (later Trier), the northern capital of the empire.

Aqueducts of the Roman Empire. Imperial City Road of Life

The famous three-tiered aqueduct in Southern France (see above), thrown across the Gard River and its low valley - the so-called Garde Bridge - is as beautiful as it is functional. This structure, stretching 244 m in length, daily delivers about 22 tons of water from a distance of 48 km to the city of Nemaus (now Nimes). Garda bridge is still one of the most wonderful works of Roman engineering.

For the Romans, who were famous for their achievements in engineering, they were especially proud of aqueducts. They brought about 250 million gallons of fresh water to ancient Rome every day. In 97 AD e. Sextus Julius Frontinus, superintendent of the water supply system of Rome, rhetorically asked: "Who dares to compare with the idle pyramids or some worthless - albeit famous - creations of the Greeks, our water pipes - these great structures, without which human life is unthinkable?" At the end of its greatness, the city acquired eleven aqueducts, through which water ran from the southern and eastern hills. Engineering turned into real art: it seemed that graceful arches easily jumped over obstacles, besides decorating the landscape. The Romans quickly "shared" their achievements with the rest of the Roman Empire, and you can still see the remnants of numerous aqueducts in France, Spain, Greece, North Africa and Asia Minor.

To provide water to the provincial cities, whose population had already depleted local supplies, and to build baths and fountains there, Roman engineers laid channels to rivers and springs, often tens of miles away. Draining at a slight slope (Vitruvius recommended a minimum slope of 1:200), the precious moisture ran through stone pipes that ran through the countryside (and were mostly hidden into underground tunnels or moats, repeating the outlines of the landscape) and eventually reached the city limits. There, water was safely supplied to public reservoirs. When rivers or gorges crossed the path of the pipeline, the builders threw arches across them to maintain the former soft slope and maintain a continuous flow of water.

In order to keep the angle of incidence of the water constant, surveyors again resorted to thunder and chorobate, as well as to a diopter, which measured horizontal angles. Again, the main burden of the work fell on the shoulders of the troops. In the middle of the II century AD. one military engineer was asked to understand the difficulties that arose in the construction of the aqueduct in Salda (in present-day Algeria). Two detachments of workers began to dig a tunnel in the hill, moving towards each other from opposite directions. The engineer soon realized what was the matter. “I measured both tunnels,” he wrote later, “and found that the sum of their lengths exceeded the width of the hill.” The tunnels just didn't meet. He found a way out by drilling a well between the tunnels and connecting them so that the water began to flow as it should. The city honored the engineer with a monument.

Internal position of the Roman Empire

The further strengthening of the external power of the Roman Republic was simultaneously accompanied by a deep internal crisis. Such a large territory could no longer be governed in the old way, that is, with the organization of power characteristic of a city-state. In the ranks of the Roman military commanders, commanders emerged who claimed to have full power, like the ancient Greek tyrants or the Hellenic rulers in the Middle East. The first of these rulers was Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who captured in 82 BC. e. Rome and became a sovereign dictator. Sulla's enemies were ruthlessly killed according to the lists (proscriptions) prepared by the dictator himself. In 79 BC. e. Sulla voluntarily relinquished power, but this could no longer return him to his former administration. A long period of civil wars began in the Roman Republic.

External position of the Roman Empire

Meanwhile, the stable development of the empire was threatened not only by external enemies and ambitious politicians who fought for power. Periodically, slave uprisings broke out on the territory of the republic. The largest such rebellion was the performance led by the Thracian Spartacus, which lasted almost three years (from 73 to 71 BC). The rebels were defeated only by the combined efforts of the three most skillful commanders of Rome of that time - Mark Licinius Crassus, Mark Licinius Lucullus and Gnaeus Pompey.

Later, Pompeii, famous for his victories in the East over the Armenians and the Pontic king Mithridates VI, entered into a fight for supreme power in the republic with another well-known military leader - Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar from 58 to 49 BC e. managed to capture the territories of the northern neighbors of the Roman Republic - the Gauls, and even carried out the first invasion of the British Isles. In 49 BC. e. Caesar entered Rome, where he was declared a dictator - a military ruler with unlimited rights. In 46 BC. e. in the battle of Pharsalus (Greece), he defeated Pompey, his main rival. And in 45 BC. e. in Spain, under Munda, he crushed the last obvious political opponents - the sons of Pompey, Gnaeus the Younger and Sextus. At the same time, Caesar managed to enter into an alliance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, in fact subordinating her vast country to power.

However, in 44 BC. e. Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of Republican conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Civil wars in the republic continued. Now their main participants were the closest associates of Caesar - Mark Antony and Gaius Octavian. First, together they destroyed the killers of Caesar, and later they entered into a fight with each other. Antony was supported by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra during this last stage of the civil wars in Rome. However, in 31 BC. e. at the battle of Cape Actium, the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated by the ships of Octavian. The queen of Egypt and her ally committed suicide, and Octavian, finally to the Roman Republic, became the unlimited ruler of a gigantic power that united almost the entire Mediterranean under its rule.

Octavian, in 27 BC e. who took the name Augustus "blessed", is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, although this title at that time meant only the supreme commander, who won a significant victory. Nobody officially abolished the Roman Republic, and Augustus preferred to be called a princeps, that is, the first among senators. And yet, under the successors of Octavian, the republic began to more and more acquire the features of a monarchy, closer in its organization to the eastern despotic states.

The empire reached its highest foreign political power under the emperor Trajan, who in 117 AD. e. conquered part of the lands of the most powerful strong enemy of Rome in the east - the Parthian state. However, after the death of Trajan, the Parthians managed to return the occupied territories and soon went on the offensive. Already under Trajan's successor, Emperor Hadrian, the empire was forced to switch to defensive tactics, building powerful defensive ramparts on its borders.

Not only the Parthians disturbed the Roman state; raids by barbarian tribes from the north and east became more and more frequent, in battles with which the Roman army often suffered painful defeats. Later, the Roman emperors even allowed certain groups of barbarians to settle in the territory of the empire, on the condition that they would guard the borders from other hostile tribes.

In 284, the Roman emperor Diocletian made an important reform that finally transformed the former Roman Republic into an imperial state. From now on, even the emperor began to be called differently - “dominus” (“lord”), and at the court a complex ritual was introduced, borrowed from the eastern rulers. At the same time, the empire was divided into two parts - Eastern and Western, each of which was headed by a special ruler who received the title of Augustus. He was assisted by a deputy called Caesar. After some time, Augustus was supposed to transfer power to Caesar, and he himself retired. This more flexible system, along with improved provincial administration, saw this great state endure for another 200 years.

In the IV century. Christianity became the dominant religion in the empire, which also contributed to strengthening the internal unity of the state. Since 394, Christianity has been the only permitted religion in the empire. However, if the Eastern Roman Empire remained a fairly strong state, then the Western weakened under the blows of the barbarians. Several times (410 and 455), barbarian tribes captured and ravaged Rome, and in 476 the leader of the German mercenaries, Odoacer, overthrew the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and declared himself the ruler of Italy.

And although the Eastern Roman Empire was preserved as a single country, and in 553 even annexed the entire territory of Italy, it was still a completely different state. It is no coincidence that historians prefer to call him and consider his fate separately from history of ancient rome.

The Roman Empire (ancient Rome) left an incorruptible trace in all European lands, where only its victorious legions set foot. The stone ligature of Roman architecture has survived to this day: walls that protected citizens, along which troops moved, aqueducts that delivered fresh water to the townspeople, and bridges thrown over stormy rivers. As if all this wasn't enough, the legionaries were building more and more structures - even as the empire's frontiers began to recede. During the era of Hadrian When Rome was much more concerned with the consolidation of the lands than with new conquests, the unclaimed military prowess of warriors, cut off from home and family for a long time, was wisely directed in another creative direction. In a sense, the whole European owes its birth to the Roman builders, who introduced many innovations both in Rome itself and beyond. The most important achievements of urban planning, which had the goal of the public good, were sewerage and water pipes, which created healthy living conditions and contributed to the increase in population and the growth of the cities themselves. But all this would not have been possible if the Romans had not invented concrete and did not begin to use the arch as the main architectural element. It was these two innovations that the Roman army spread throughout the empire.

Since stone arches could withstand enormous weight and could be built very high - sometimes two or three tiers - engineers working in the provinces easily overcame any rivers and gorges and reached the farthest edges, leaving behind strong bridges and powerful aqueducts (aqueducts). Like many other structures built with the help of Roman troops, the bridge in the Spanish city of Segovia, through which the water passes, has gigantic dimensions: 27.5 m in height and about 823 m in length. Extraordinarily tall and slender pillars, built of roughly hewn and unfastened granite blocks, and 128 graceful arches leave an impression not only of unprecedented power, but also of imperial self-confidence. This is a marvel of engineering, built around 100 tons. e., steadfastly withstood the test of time: until recently, the bridge served as the water supply system of Segovia.

How it all began?

Early settlements on the site of the future city of Rome arose on the Apennine Peninsula, in the valley of the Tiber River, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. According to legend, the Romans are descended from the Trojan refugees who founded the city of Alba Longa in Italy. Rome itself, according to legend, was founded by Romulus, the grandson of the king of Alba Longa, in 753 BC. e. As in the Greek policies, in the early period of the history of Rome, it was ruled by kings who actually enjoyed the same power as the Greeks. Under the tyrant king Tarquinius Gordom, a popular uprising took place, during which the royal power was destroyed and Rome turned into an aristocratic republic. Its population was clearly divided into two groups - the privileged class of patricians and the plebeian class, which had much less rights. A member of the oldest Roman family was considered a patrician, only the senate (the main government body) was elected from the patricians. A significant part of its early history is the struggle of the plebeians for the expansion of their rights and the transformation of members of their class into full Roman citizens.

Ancient Rome differed from the Greek city-states, because it was in completely different geographical conditions - a single Apennine peninsula with vast plains. Therefore, from the earliest period of its history, its citizens were forced to compete and fight with the neighboring Italic tribes. The conquered peoples submitted to this great empire either as allies, or simply included in the republic, and the conquered population did not receive the rights of Roman citizens, often turning into slaves. The most powerful opponents of Rome in the IV century. BC e. there were Etruscans and Samnites, as well as separate Greek colonies in southern Italy (Greater Greece). And yet, despite the fact that the Romans were often at enmity with the Greek colonists, the more developed Hellenic culture had a noticeable impact on the culture of the Romans. It got to the point that the ancient Roman deities began to be identified with their Greek counterparts: Jupiter - with Zeus, Mars - with Ares, Venus - with Aphrodite, etc.

Wars of the Roman Empire

The most tense moment in the confrontation between the Romans and the South Italians and Greeks was the war of 280-272. BC e., when Pyrrhus, the king of the state of Epirus, located in the Balkans, intervened in the course of hostilities. In the end, Pyrrhus and his allies were defeated, and by 265 BC. e. The Roman Republic united all of Central and Southern Italy under its rule.

Continuing the war with the Greek colonists, the Romans clashed in Sicily with the Carthaginian (Punic) power. In 265 BC. e. the so-called Punic Wars began, which lasted until 146 BC. e., almost 120 years. Initially, the Romans fought against the Greek colonies in eastern Sicily, primarily against the largest of them - the city of Syracuse. Then the seizures of already Carthaginian lands in the east of the island began, which led to the fact that the Carthaginians, who had a strong fleet, attacked the Romans. After the first defeats, the Romans managed to create their own fleet and defeat the Carthaginian ships in the battle of the Aegates. Peace was signed, according to which in 241 BC. e. all of Sicily, considered the breadbasket of the Western Mediterranean, became the property of the Roman Republic.

Carthaginian dissatisfaction with the results First Punic War, as well as the gradual penetration of the Romans into the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, which was owned by Carthage, led to a second military clash between the powers. In 219 BC. e. the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barki captured the Spanish city of Sagunt, an ally of the Romans, then passed through southern Gaul and, having overcome the Alps, invaded the territory of the Roman Republic itself. Hannibal was supported by part of the Italian tribes, dissatisfied with the rule of Rome. In 216 BC. e. in Apulia, in a bloody battle at Cannes, Hannibal surrounded and almost completely destroyed the Roman army, commanded by Gaius Terentius Varro and Aemilius Paul. However, Hannibal could not take the heavily fortified city and was eventually forced to leave the Apennine Peninsula.

The war was moved to northern Africa, where Carthage and other Punic settlements were located. In 202 BC. e. The Roman commander Scipio defeated the army of Hannibal near the town of Zama, south of Carthage, after which a peace was signed on the terms dictated by the Romans. The Carthaginians were deprived of all their possessions outside Africa, they were obliged to transfer to the Romans all warships and war elephants. Having won the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic became the most powerful state in the Western Mediterranean. The Third Punic War, which took place from 149 to 146 BC. e., was reduced to finishing off an already defeated enemy. In the spring of 14b BC. e. Carthage was taken and destroyed, and its inhabitants.

Defensive walls of the Roman Empire

The relief from Trajan's Column depicts a scene (see left) from the time of the Dacian wars; legionnaires (they are without helmets) are building a camp camp out of rectangular pieces of turf. When Roman soldiers found themselves in enemy lands, the construction of such fortifications was common.

“Fear gave birth to beauty, and ancient Rome miraculously changed, changing the previous - peaceful - policy and starting to hastily build towers, so that soon all seven of its hills sparkled with the armor of a continuous wall”- so wrote one Roman about the powerful fortifications built around Rome in 275 to protect against the Goths. Following the example of the capital, large cities throughout the Roman Empire, many of which had long "stepped over" the boundaries of the former walls, hastened to strengthen their defensive lines.

The construction of the city walls was an extremely labor-intensive work. Usually, two deep ditches were dug around the settlement, and a high earthen rampart was heaped between them. It served as a kind of layer between two concentric walls. External the wall went into the ground by 9 m, so that the enemy could not dig, and at the top was provided with a wide road for sentinels. The inner wall was raised a few more meters to make it difficult to bombard the city. Such fortifications were almost indestructible: their thickness reached 6 m, and blocks of stone were fitted to each other with metal brackets - for greater strength.

When the walls were completed, it was possible to proceed with the construction of the gate. Above the opening in the wall, a temporary wooden arch was constructed - formwork. On top of it, skillful masons, moving from both sides to the middle, laid wedge-shaped slabs, forming a curve of the vault. When the last stone was laid - the castle, or key - stone, the formwork was removed, and next to the first arch, they began to build a second one. And so on until the entire passage to the city was under a semicircular roof - the Box Vault.

Guard posts at the gates, guarding the peace of the city, often represented real small fortresses: there were military barracks, stocks of weapons and food. In Germany, the so-called one has been perfectly preserved (see below). Instead of windows, there were loopholes on its lower logs, and round towers rose on both sides - so that it would be more convenient to fire at the enemy. During the siege, a powerful lattice fell on the gate.

The wall built in the 3rd century around Rome (19 km long, 3.5 m thick and 18 m high) had 381 towers and 18 gates with descending bars. The wall was constantly renovated and strengthened, so that it served the City until the 19th century, that is, until the improvement of artillery. Two-thirds of this wall is still standing today.

The majestic Porta Nigra (that is, the Black Gate), rising 30 m in height, personifies the power of imperial Rome. The fortified gates are flanked by two towers, one of which is significantly damaged. Once the gate served as an entrance to the city walls of the 2nd century AD. e. to Augusta Trevirorum (later Trier), the northern capital of the empire.

Aqueducts of the Roman Empire. Imperial City Road of Life

The famous three-tiered aqueduct in Southern France (see above), thrown across the Gard River and its low valley - the so-called Garde Bridge - is as beautiful as it is functional. This structure, stretching 244 m in length, daily delivers about 22 tons of water from a distance of 48 km to the city of Nemaus (now Nimes). Garda bridge is still one of the most wonderful works of Roman engineering.

For the Romans, who were famous for their achievements in engineering, they were especially proud of aqueducts. They brought about 250 million gallons of fresh water to ancient Rome every day. In 97 AD e. Sextus Julius Frontinus, superintendent of the water supply system of Rome, rhetorically asked: "Who dares to compare with the idle pyramids or some worthless - albeit famous - creations of the Greeks, our water pipes - these great structures, without which human life is unthinkable?" At the end of its greatness, the city acquired eleven aqueducts, through which water ran from the southern and eastern hills. Engineering turned into real art: it seemed that graceful arches easily jumped over obstacles, besides decorating the landscape. The Romans quickly "shared" their achievements with the rest of the Roman Empire, and you can still see the remnants of numerous aqueducts in France, Spain, Greece, North Africa and Asia Minor.

To provide water to the provincial cities, whose population had already depleted local supplies, and to build baths and fountains there, Roman engineers laid channels to rivers and springs, often tens of miles away. Draining at a slight slope (Vitruvius recommended a minimum slope of 1:200), the precious moisture ran through stone pipes that ran through the countryside (and were mostly hidden into underground tunnels or moats, repeating the outlines of the landscape) and eventually reached the city limits. There, water was safely supplied to public reservoirs. When rivers or gorges crossed the path of the pipeline, the builders threw arches across them to maintain the former soft slope and maintain a continuous flow of water.

In order to keep the angle of incidence of the water constant, surveyors again resorted to thunder and chorobate, as well as to a diopter, which measured horizontal angles. Again, the main burden of the work fell on the shoulders of the troops. In the middle of the II century AD. one military engineer was asked to understand the difficulties that arose in the construction of the aqueduct in Salda (in present-day Algeria). Two detachments of workers began to dig a tunnel in the hill, moving towards each other from opposite directions. The engineer soon realized what was the matter. “I measured both tunnels,” he wrote later, “and found that the sum of their lengths exceeded the width of the hill.” The tunnels just didn't meet. He found a way out by drilling a well between the tunnels and connecting them so that the water began to flow as it should. The city honored the engineer with a monument.

Internal position of the Roman Empire

The further strengthening of the external power of the Roman Republic was simultaneously accompanied by a deep internal crisis. Such a large territory could no longer be governed in the old way, that is, with the organization of power characteristic of a city-state. In the ranks of the Roman military commanders, commanders emerged who claimed to have full power, like the ancient Greek tyrants or the Hellenic rulers in the Middle East. The first of these rulers was Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who captured in 82 BC. e. Rome and became a sovereign dictator. Sulla's enemies were ruthlessly killed according to the lists (proscriptions) prepared by the dictator himself. In 79 BC. e. Sulla voluntarily relinquished power, but this could no longer return him to his former administration. A long period of civil wars began in the Roman Republic.

External position of the Roman Empire

Meanwhile, the stable development of the empire was threatened not only by external enemies and ambitious politicians who fought for power. Periodically, slave uprisings broke out on the territory of the republic. The largest such rebellion was the performance led by the Thracian Spartacus, which lasted almost three years (from 73 to 71 BC). The rebels were defeated only by the combined efforts of the three most skillful commanders of Rome of that time - Mark Licinius Crassus, Mark Licinius Lucullus and Gnaeus Pompey.

Later, Pompeii, famous for his victories in the East over the Armenians and the Pontic king Mithridates VI, entered into a fight for supreme power in the republic with another well-known military leader - Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar from 58 to 49 BC e. managed to capture the territories of the northern neighbors of the Roman Republic - the Gauls, and even carried out the first invasion of the British Isles. In 49 BC. e. Caesar entered Rome, where he was declared a dictator - a military ruler with unlimited rights. In 46 BC. e. in the battle of Pharsalus (Greece), he defeated Pompey, his main rival. And in 45 BC. e. in Spain, under Munda, he crushed the last obvious political opponents - the sons of Pompey, Gnaeus the Younger and Sextus. At the same time, Caesar managed to enter into an alliance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, in fact subordinating her vast country to power.

However, in 44 BC. e. Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of Republican conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Civil wars in the republic continued. Now their main participants were the closest associates of Caesar - Mark Antony and Gaius Octavian. First, together they destroyed the killers of Caesar, and later they entered into a fight with each other. Antony was supported by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra during this last stage of the civil wars in Rome. However, in 31 BC. e. at the battle of Cape Actium, the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated by the ships of Octavian. The queen of Egypt and her ally committed suicide, and Octavian, finally to the Roman Republic, became the unlimited ruler of a gigantic power that united almost the entire Mediterranean under its rule.

Octavian, in 27 BC e. who took the name Augustus "blessed", is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, although this title at that time meant only the supreme commander, who won a significant victory. Nobody officially abolished the Roman Republic, and Augustus preferred to be called a princeps, that is, the first among senators. And yet, under the successors of Octavian, the republic began to more and more acquire the features of a monarchy, closer in its organization to the eastern despotic states.

The empire reached its highest foreign political power under the emperor Trajan, who in 117 AD. e. conquered part of the lands of the most powerful strong enemy of Rome in the east - the Parthian state. However, after the death of Trajan, the Parthians managed to return the occupied territories and soon went on the offensive. Already under Trajan's successor, Emperor Hadrian, the empire was forced to switch to defensive tactics, building powerful defensive ramparts on its borders.

Not only the Parthians disturbed the Roman state; raids by barbarian tribes from the north and east became more and more frequent, in battles with which the Roman army often suffered painful defeats. Later, the Roman emperors even allowed certain groups of barbarians to settle in the territory of the empire, on the condition that they would guard the borders from other hostile tribes.

In 284, the Roman emperor Diocletian made an important reform that finally transformed the former Roman Republic into an imperial state. From now on, even the emperor began to be called differently - “dominus” (“lord”), and at the court a complex ritual was introduced, borrowed from the eastern rulers. At the same time, the empire was divided into two parts - Eastern and Western, each of which was headed by a special ruler who received the title of Augustus. He was assisted by a deputy called Caesar. After some time, Augustus was supposed to transfer power to Caesar, and he himself retired. This more flexible system, along with improved provincial administration, saw this great state endure for another 200 years.

In the IV century. Christianity became the dominant religion in the empire, which also contributed to strengthening the internal unity of the state. Since 394, Christianity has been the only permitted religion in the empire. However, if the Eastern Roman Empire remained a fairly strong state, then the Western weakened under the blows of the barbarians. Several times (410 and 455), barbarian tribes captured and ravaged Rome, and in 476 the leader of the German mercenaries, Odoacer, overthrew the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and declared himself the ruler of Italy.

And although the Eastern Roman Empire was preserved as a single country, and in 553 even annexed the entire territory of Italy, it was still a completely different state. It is no coincidence that historians prefer to call him and consider his fate separately from history of ancient rome.

On the ground. At first it was located on the eastern bank of the Tiber. It was called "eternal" or "city on seven hills". Rome was indeed built on hills, which were separated from each other by relatively deep, but small valleys. Now the ancient capital has grown and occupied the territory already on both sides of the river. Now it is already located on twelve hills, but there is a map of Ancient Rome, which shows the original site of the settlement, which includes only seven hills.

General information

But, as the story of the Eternal City says, it began to be built on the left bank. The hills were settled gradually. The first place where a settlement arose was the central one - Palatine, then Esquiline, then the Capitol and Quirinal, a little later Viminal, Caelius and Aventine. After all of them were included in the city, the Romans began to celebrate the Day of the Seven Hills once a year on December 11th.

The place where the ancient settlement was founded is of volcanic origin. The average height of the hills is about 40-50 m above the river level.

Palatine

It was from him that the history of the Eternal City began. According to legend, a basket with babies, Romulus and Remus, sailed to the foot of this hill along the waters of the Tiber, who later became the founders of Ancient Rome. Here on the shore there was a cave where a she-wolf lived, which brought up the brothers. This hill is named after the goddess Pales, the patroness of shepherds.

Since the city was founded, this part of ancient Rome has always been the center of power, where the patricians, emperors and kings lived. Aristocrats erected their majestic palaces - Domuses here. Their fragments have been preserved to this day.

Esquiline

Its name translates as "suburb". It has already been said above that the hills of Ancient Rome were settled in turn. This hill was next after the Palatine. At that time, it was literally turned into a city dump. In addition, executions were carried out here, as well as cemeteries where beggars and slaves were buried. Their graves were rather deep pits, where the corpses were dumped.

During the reign of Emperor Augustus, the cemetery was filled up, and beautiful gardens of the Maecenas grew in its place. Also, a whole system of water pipes was built on Esquiline.

Capitol

All the hills of ancient Rome had their purpose. This hill was completely built up with temples. It was here that one of them, dedicated to Moneta, was located, where the legendary geese lived, warning the Romans about the approach of the enemy with their loud cry. The first yard was also equipped here, where money was minted. They were called "coins" in honor of the local goddess.

During the reign of Servius Tullius, a wall was built around the Capitol, thanks to which the hill became an impregnable citadel. In its center was a temple dedicated to Jupiter. Under it were quarries, which caused its complete destruction. In the territory of the hill, the only monumental building was the church of St. Mary. A staircase led to its entrance, in which there were 122 steps. It was built in honor of the deliverance of the city from the plague.

Quirinal

Almost all the hills of Ancient Rome have their own legend. Quirinal is no exception. It was named after the god of war Quirinus, who was worshiped by the ancient Sabines. According to legend, initially only men lived in Rome. Once Romulus invited the Sabines to a feast. During the celebration, the Romans stole all the girls from the guests and married them. Because of this, a war broke out, which the kidnappers began to lose.

According to legend, the women themselves stopped the armed conflict, as they were already accustomed to their Roman families. As a result, the warring parties concluded a peace treaty among themselves. Interestingly, its main point was the condition under which the Sabine Tatius began to rule Rome on a par with Romulus.

Viminal

The name of the hill is translated as "willow hill", because its slopes were completely covered with these trees. It was originally inhabited by the Sabines. Quirinal and Viminal entered the Eternal City at the same time after the abduction of girls by the Romans. During the period of the Empire, this territory was mainly built up with residential buildings inhabited by people from the lower class.

There were also the famous ancient Roman baths - the Baths of Diocletian, which occupied an area of ​​about 13 hectares. They could simultaneously accommodate 3200 people. Wonderful fountains also grew on the territory of the baths, and there was also a library. In addition, Viminal was the place where the Praetorians lived, who served as the personal guard of the ruler of Rome.

Caelius

As you know, initially Ancient Rome, whose hills were briefly described in the article, was settled extremely unevenly - this area was one of the last to be built up. Caelium was named after the Etruscan Celes Vibenna. He was considered the ancestor of the Roman plebeians, so the local lands were inhabited exclusively by his descendants. Only in the 1st century did the nobility come here. The main religious building on the hill was the temple dedicated to the Divine Claudius, but, unfortunately, only a few fragments of this grandiose building remain.

Aventine

Named after the Aventine king Silvius, who ruled after Romulus. In one of the museums there is a map of Ancient Rome, which shows that this hill, unlike the others, was not yet inhabited. But already in the days of the Republic, it was densely built up with various structures. Mostly slaves and plebeians lived here. But already in the era of the existence of the Empire, the rich and aristocrats began to settle in this area.

Emperor Aurelian, who ruled in the 3rd century, managed to erect a wall in just 4 years that covered all seven hills of Ancient Rome. Its length was 19 km, height - 8 m, and thickness - 3.4 m. There were 383 towers and 18 gates in the wall. When Rome was captured by the Goths, it was badly damaged and was partially dismantled. However, during the Renaissance, the wall was restored and, I must say, it has been well preserved to this day.

When the Roman civil community subjugated most of the known world, its state structure ceased to correspond to reality. It was possible to restore the balance in the administration of the provinces only under the conditions of the empire. The idea of ​​autocracy took shape in Julius Caesar and entrenched in the state under Octavian Augustus.

Rise of the Roman Empire

After the death of Julius Caesar, a civil war broke out in the republic between Octavian Augustus and Mark Antony. The first, in addition, killed the son and heir of Caesar - Caesarion, eliminating the opportunity to challenge his right to power.

Defeating Antony at the Battle of Actium, Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome, taking the title of emperor and turning the republic into an empire in 27 BC. Although the power structure was changed, the flag of the new country did not change - it remained an eagle depicted on a red background.

Rome's transition from republic to empire was not an overnight process. The history of the Roman Empire is usually divided into two periods - before and after Diocletian. During the first period, the emperor was elected for life and next to him was the Senate, while during the second period the emperor had absolute power.

Diocletian also changed the procedure for obtaining power, passing it on by inheritance and expanding the functions of the emperor, and Constantine gave it a divine character, religiously substantiating its legitimacy.

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Roman Empire at its height

During the years of the existence of the Roman Empire, many wars were fought and a huge number of territories were annexed. In domestic policy, the activities of the first emperors were aimed at the Romanization of the conquered lands, at appeasing the peoples. In foreign policy - to protect and expand borders.

Rice. 2. The Roman Empire under Trajan.

In order to protect against the raids of the barbarians, the Romans built fortified ramparts, called by the names of the emperors under whom they were built. Thus, the Lower and Upper Trajan's ramparts in Bessarabia and Romania are known, as well as the 117-kilometer Hadrian's Wall in Britain, which has survived to this day.

August made a special contribution to the development of the regions of the empire. He expanded the road network of the empire, established strict supervision of the governors, conquered the Danubian tribes and waged a successful struggle with the Germans, securing the northern borders.

Under the Flavian dynasty, Palestine was finally conquered, the uprisings of the Gauls and Germans were suppressed, and the Romanization of Britain was completed.

The empire reached its highest territorial scope under the emperor Trajan (98-117). The Danubian lands underwent Romanization, the Dacians were conquered, and a struggle was waged against the Parthians. Adrian, who replaced him, on the contrary, was engaged in purely internal affairs of the country. He constantly visited the provinces, improved the work of the bureaucracy, built new roads.

With the death of Emperor Commodus (192), the period of "soldier" emperors begins. The legionnaires of Rome, at their whim, overthrew and installed new rulers, which caused the growth of the influence of the provinces over the center. The “epoch of 30 tyrants” is coming, which resulted in a terrible turmoil. Only by 270 did Aurelius manage to establish the unity of the empire and repel the attacks of external enemies.

Emperor Diocletian (284-305) understood the need for urgent reforms. Thanks to him, a true monarchy was established, and a system of dividing the empire into four parts under the control of four rulers was also introduced.

This need was justified by the fact that, due to their huge size, communications in the empire were very stretched and news of barbarian invasions reached the capital very late, and in the eastern regions of the empire, the popular language was not Latin, but Greek and in money circulation instead of denarius drachma went.

With this reform, the integrity of the empire was strengthened. His successor, Constantine, officially entered into an alliance with the Christians, making them his support. Perhaps that is why the political center of the empire was moved to the east - to Constantinople.

Decline of an empire

In 364, the structure of the division of the Roman Empire into administrative parts was changed. Valentinian I and Valens divided the state into two parts - eastern and western. This division corresponded to the basic conditions of historical life. Romanism triumphed in the West, Hellenism triumphed in the East. The main task of the western part of the empire was to contain the advancing barbarian tribes, using not only weapons, but also diplomacy. Roman society became a camp where every stratum of society served this purpose. Mercenaries began to form the basis of the empire's army more and more. Barbarians in the service of Rome protected it from other barbarians. In the East, everything was more or less calm and Constantinople was engaged in domestic politics, strengthening its power and strength in the region. The empire united several more times under the rule of one emperor, but these were only temporary successes.

Rice. 3. Division of the Roman Empire in 395.

Theodosius I is the last emperor who united the two parts of the empire together. In 395, dying, he divided the country between his sons Honorius and Arcadius, giving the eastern lands to the latter. After that, no one will succeed in uniting the two parts of the vast empire again.

What have we learned?

How long did the Roman Empire last? Speaking briefly about the beginning and end of the Roman Empire, we can say that it was 422 years. It inspired fear in the barbarians from the moment of its formation and beckoned with its riches when it collapsed. The empire was so large and technologically advanced that we still use the fruits of Roman culture.

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