The entire first century BC transitional period in the Roman state. Transition from republic to monarchy. Power in the state was seized by commanders who relied on the power of their legions. The first dictator of Rome was Luca Corelius Sulla. He captured Rome with his army. Sulla established a dictatorship. He put political opponents on the proscription list, executed 40 out of 300.
After the death of Sulla, power passes to: Caesar, Pampey and Crasus. In 49 BC. Caesar's troops captured Rome. Julius became dictator for life, but he was assassinated. After the death of Caesar, the struggle for power took place between the military leaders close to him - Marco Antonio and Octavian. In 27, Actavian was proclaimed Caesar and given the title of Augustus. The beginning of the principate (the board of one person).
Under Augustus, magistrates lose their importance. The period of the first empire is called the principate. The first Roman emperors retained their republican positions, but purely formally. These positions actually covered their unlimited power, this leads to tyranny. In the 2nd century our Roman Empire reaches its highest rise. Under Emperor Hadrian 117-138, the empire shifts from conquest to strategic defense. Improving the administration of the province, strengthening the borders of the empire. The 2nd century AD is the golden age of the Roman Empire. There was a division of labor between the various provinces. Bread was produced in Egypt, Italy and Spain: wines, metal, oils; Gaul: glass. Riches from all over the empire flocked to Rome, which made it possible to turn life into a holiday. 212g, under the emperor Caracalla, all the inhabitants of the empire received citizenship. Art, architecture, literature developed. Roman philosophers Seneca and Epictetus.
By the end of the 2nd century, a crisis began in the Roman Empire. Crop failure due to cooling and the onset of deserts leads to a crisis. One of the main causes of the crisis is the crisis of the slave system. Due to the reduction in the influx of slaves, the economy of large landowners is declining, new forms of land relations appear: peculium and colonat. Pekuliy - landowners allocated small plots of land to slaves, the slave had to give half of the birth, and half to himself. Coulomb is the lease of land to ruined citizens.
Changes in the economic and political life of the Roman Empire led to the establishment of more rigid power. In the second half of the 3rd century, instead of the principate, the dominate (absolute monarchy) comes. The transition to dominance took place under the emperor Diocletian.
He carried out reforms to strengthen the state system. administrative reform. The state was divided into 4 parts: France, Italy, Gaul (xs, did not hear) and the east. Bureaucracy comes first. The capital of the empire becomes Constantinople.
Introduction
The main reasons for the transition from a republican form of state to an empire. Rise of an empire
Roman Empire: main periods of development
1 Principate and its essence
2 Roman Dominate
The collapse of the Western Roman Empire
Conclusion
Bibliography
empire roman council of state
Introduction
The Roman state occupies a special place in the history of the legal development of mankind and modern jurisprudence, as well as, in fact, Roman law, since it was this system, which once became uniform for the ancient world, that formed the basis of the law of many modern states.
The history of the Roman Empire is usually divided into three periods. The period of formation, heyday and fall. Most historians consider the turning point III century n. e. , which occupied a special place in this history, separating the period of the Early Empire (Principate) from the period of the Late Empire (Dominat). It is usually noted that the Roman state in this century was in a state of crisis, and the period itself is called the period of crisis III. century. Although there is a very extensive historiography for this period of Roman history, a number of aspects of the problem of the crisis cannot be considered definitively resolved and continue to be the subject of controversy. Therefore, the relevance of the study of the formation, development and fall of the Great Roman Empire is not lost over time, but rather acquires a unique scientific interest.
The purpose of this work is to study the formation, development and fall of the Roman Empire (I century BC - V AD).
To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set:
determine the reasons for the transition from a republican form of state to an empire;
to characterize the most important periods in the development of the Roman Empire: principate and dominance;
analyze the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire.
The course work consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.
1. MaincausestransitionfromRepublicanformsstatestoempire.Formationempire
In II-I centuries. BC. the development of a slave-owning society in Rome leads to an aggravation of all its class and social contradictions. Shifts in the economy, the expansion and change in the forms of exploitation of slave labor, its intensification were accompanied by intensification of conflicts between groups of the ruling upper classes of slave owners, as well as between them and the majority of the free, the poor and the poor. The successful policy of conquest, which turned the Mediterranean into an inland sea of the Roman state, subjugated to it almost all of Western Europe up to the Rhine, confronted Rome with new complex military and political problems of suppressing the conquered peoples and ensuring their control.
Under these conditions, it becomes more and more obvious that the old political system is already powerless to cope with the contradictions that have arisen and aggravated. Rome enters a period of crisis, which affected, first of all, the existing political institutions, the outdated polis form of government, the aristocratic political regime of the nobility, disguised by the republican form of government, which created the appearance of the power of the Roman people. There was an objective need for their restructuring, adaptation to new historical conditions.
During the conquest of Italy in the V-IV centuries. BC. Rome sought, above all, to confiscate land, as population growth required the expansion of land holdings. This trend was not stopped by the intensive urbanization that developed by the 2nd century BC. BC. Wars II-I centuries. BC. the accents shifted somewhat - they were accompanied by the massive enslavement of the conquered population, which led to a sharp increase in the number of slaves in Rome. Slavery acquires a "classical", antique character. A significant mass of slaves are exploited in state and large private landowning latifundia with extremely difficult working and subsistence conditions and a brutal terrorist regime. The natural protest of the slaves results in a series of ever wider and more powerful uprisings. Slave uprisings in Sicily in the 2nd century BC had a particularly large scale. BC. and an uprising led by Spartacus 74-70. BC, which threatened the very existence of the Roman state.
In parallel with the slave uprisings and after them, civil and allied wars flare up, caused by the struggle for power between the factions of the ruling class, the contradictions between it and the small producers and the increased (up to 300,000) mass of lumpen proletarians who received insignificant material assistance from the state. The growth in the number of lumpen becomes convincing evidence of the general degradation of the free.
The economic and political dominance of the nobles caused in the II century. BC. a broad protest movement of the poor, led by the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi. The Gracchi sought to limit the large land ownership of the nobility and thereby create a land fund for allocating land to small landowners, as well as weaken the power of the stronghold of the nobility - the Senate and restore the power of the people's assembly and the people's tribune that had lost its former importance.
Having received the position of tribune, Tiberius Gracchus, relying on the popular movement, managed, despite the resistance of the senate, to hold in 133 BC. through the People's Assembly Agrarian Law. The law limited the maximum amount of land received from the state. Due to the withdrawn surplus, a land fund was created, distributed among landless or land-poor citizens. The plots they received became inalienable, which was supposed to prevent the dispossession of the peasantry. Despite the fact that Tiberius Gracchus was killed in the same year, his land reform began to be carried out, and several tens of thousands of citizens received land.
The reforming activity of Tiberius was continued by his brother Gaius Gracchus, who was elected tribune. He passed laws that weakened the political influence of the nobility - the introduction of secret ballot in the national assembly, the right of the people's tribune to be elected for the next term. Carrying out the agrarian reform of his brother, Guy, however, in 123-122. BC. passed laws on the creation of colonies of Roman citizens in the provinces with allotment of their land and on the sale of grain from state warehouses to citizens at very low prices. The last law limited the important right of the Senate - to manage public expenditures, since the financing of the sale of grain passed to the people's assembly, the role of which increased significantly.
Guy also carried out military reform. The number of military campaigns obligatory for Roman citizens was limited, military duty was canceled for citizens who had reached the age of 46, soldiers began to receive salaries and weapons from the state and could appeal against the death penalty to the people's assembly.
Along with these activities, in the interests of the lower strata of Roman citizens, Gaius Gracchus also carried out activities in the interests of the horsemen. In their favor, the order of paying off taxes from the provinces was changed.
Finally, since Gaius Gracchus was a tribune, the role of this magistracy increased, pushing even the consuls into the background. However, having satisfied the interests of the majority of Roman citizens, Gaius lost their support in an attempt to extend the rights of Roman citizenship to the free inhabitants of Italy. The Senate aristocracy managed to fail this bill, unpopular among the Roman citizens, Guy's popularity fell, he was forced to resign as a tribune and in 122 BC. was killed.
The extreme aggravation of the political situation in Rome, caused by slave uprisings, the dissatisfaction of small landowners whose farms fell into decay, could not compete with large latifundia as a result of the participation of the owners in endless military campaigns, allied and civil wars, demanded the strengthening of central state power. The inability of the old political institutions to cope with the complicated situation is becoming more and more obvious. Attempts are being made to adapt them to new historical conditions. The most important of these was undertaken during the dictatorship of Sulla (82-79 BC). Relying on the legions loyal to him, Sulla forced the senate to appoint him dictator for an indefinite period. He ordered the compilation of proscriptions - lists of his opponents who were subject to death, and their property - to confiscation. By increasing the number of senators and abolishing the position of censor, he filled the Senate with his supporters and expanded its competence. The power of the tribune was limited - his proposals must first be discussed by the senate - as well as the competence of the people's assembly - judicial powers and control over finances returned to the senate were removed from it.
The establishment of a lifelong dictatorship revealed the desire of the nobles and the top horsemen to get out of the crisis situation by establishing a strong one-man power. It also showed that attempts to adapt the old state form to new historical conditions are doomed to failure (Sulla's reforms were canceled by Pompey and Crassus). After the Allied War 91-88. BC. The inhabitants of Italy received the rights of Roman citizens. If before it about 400,000 people enjoyed these rights, now their number has increased to two million. The inclusion of allies in the Roman tribunes led to the fact that the comitia ceased to be organs of the Roman people. Their legislative activity is suspended, the right to elect officials is lost. Successful wars of conquest turned Rome from a small state-city into the capital of a huge state, for the management of which the old state form of the policy was completely unsuitable.
The establishment of a lifelong dictatorship and civil wars have shown that a professional mercenary army is turning into an important political factor. Interested in the successes of the commander, she becomes in his hands an instrument for achieving ambitious political goals, and contributes to the establishment of a dictatorship.
The need to get out of an acute political crisis, the inability of the old state form to new historical conditions and the transition to a mercenary army were the main reasons for the fall of the polis-republican system in Rome and the establishment of a military dictatorial regime.
A short time after Sulla's dictatorship, the first triumvirate (Pompeii, Krase, Caesar) seizes power. After him, the dictatorship of Caesar is established, who received in 45 BC. the title of emperor (previously given sometimes as a reward to the commander). Then a second triumvirate is formed (Anthony, Lepidus, Octavian) with unlimited powers "for the establishment of the state." After the collapse of the triumvirate and the victory over Antony, Octavian received the title of emperor and life-long rights of the people's tribune, and in 27 BC. - the authority to govern the state and the honorary name Augustus, previously used as an appeal to the gods. This date is considered the beginning of a new period in the history of the Roman state - the period of the empire.
Thus, from the 30s BC. a new historical era begins in the history of the Roman state and the ancient world in general - the era of the Roman Empire, which replaced the Roman Republic. The fall of the republican form of government and the birth of the monarchical system in Rome was not a minor episode of the socio-political struggle.
The fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire was an event of great historical significance, a radical socio-political upheaval, a revolution caused by the restructuring of traditional socio-economic and political institutions. The basis of perestroika was the transformation of the polis-communal organization as a comprehensive system into a structure of a different type.
The history of imperial Rome is usually divided into two periods: the first period of the principate, the second - the period of dominance. The border between them is the III century. AD
The period of the empire is usually divided into two stages:
Principate (1-3 centuries BC);
Dominate (3rd-5th century BC).
2. Romanempire:mainperiodsdevelopment
.1 Principate and its essence
The social structure of Rome during the principate. After the victory of the great-nephew and successor of Julius Caesar - Octavian - over his political opponents (during Action 31 BC), the Senate handed Octavian supreme power over Rome and the provinces (and presented him with the honorary title of Augustus). At the same time, a state system was established in Rome and the provinces - principate.For Augustus, "princeps" meant "the first citizen of the Roman state" and, according to the unwritten Roman Constitution, the office of emperor. In the person of the princeps, power was concentrated, which was usually divided into the following elements.
As military commander, the emperor has the right to complete and uncontrolled control of those provinces in which troops are usually stationed.
Imperium proconsulare, that is, the right of a general proconsul to govern senatorial provinces.
Tribunicia potestas, which gives the emperor the quality of sacronsanctus and the right of intercessio with respect to all republican magistrates.
The princeps were elected, in violation of republican tradition, by consuls, censors, and tribunes of the people at the same time. As a consul, he could, using the right of intercession, cancel the decision of any magistrate, as a censor - to form a senate from his supporters, as a tribune - to veto a decision of the senate or a decision of a magistrate.
Initially, the power of the princeps was not hereditary. Legally, he received power by decision of the senate and the Roman people, but he could designate his successor (usually a son or adopted), whom the senate elected princeps. At the same time, there were more and more cases of the overthrow of princeps and the appointment of new ones as a result of palace coups carried out with the help of the army.
Let us consider in more detail the essence and development of the era of the principate, referring to the reforms and changes taking place in the system of government during this period.
The first thing to say about citizenship. Already under Julius Caesar, the granting of the rights of a Roman citizen in the provinces became a widespread political measure. This practice was continued under his successors. Finally, in 212 AD. e. Emperor Caracalla granted the rights of a Roman citizen to the entire free population of the empire. It was a momentous step with far-reaching consequences. The privileged position of Rome itself was undermined. Moreover, already by this time the differences in the position of free people in Rome and the empire were significantly different from those that were under the republic.
The upper strata of the slave-owning class comprised two estates. The noble class was considered the first and most honorable. It is still in the IV-III centuries. BC e. formed from the patrician-plebeian local nobility. Under the empire, nobles become the dominant class, dominating both in society and in the state. economic The nobility was based on vast land holdings, cultivated by a mass of slaves and dependent peasant speculators. political The senate became the stronghold of the nobility. The high priests and high magistrates were members of the nobility, and this continued for centuries. The consulate was especially the prerogative of the nobility. The rulers of the conquered territories - proconsuls, propraetors, legates, etc. - belonged to the nobility. They ruled the provinces to the extent that they imposed constitutions on them. They also robbed them. There were 18 provinces in total.
Under Emperor Augustus, the nobility turned into a senatorial class , replenished from dignitaries who advanced in the public service. From the class of horsemen, the financial nobility of the empire with a qualification of 400,000 sesterces were responsible officials and officers. The government of the cities was in the hands of the decurions. , composed mostly of former magistrates. These were, as a rule, middle landowners.
At the lowest point of the social position were still slaves. Under Augustus, the interests of the slave owners were protected with the help of special measures, characterized by extreme cruelty. The possibilities of letting slaves go free were sharply reduced, the law was restored, according to which all those slaves who were in the house at the time of the murder of their master (at a shouting distance) and did not come to his aid were subject to execution. In one of the cases of this kind known to us, in spite of the widespread discontent of the people, the senate and the emperor put to death 400 slaves. Roman lawyers found a good justification for this cruelty: not a single house can be secure (from slaves) in any other way than by fear of the death penalty ....
Meanwhile, economic development increasingly pointed to the inefficiency of slave labor. No taskmaster and no punishment could replace the economic stimulus. The slave did what was absolutely necessary - no more than that and so as not to cause punishment. None of the improvements worked.
No wonder the progress of technology seemed to have stopped in Rome: neither the scythe, nor even the primitive flail, with which grain is knocked out of the ears, were known either in Rome or in its provinces. The Roman author Columela (1st century BC) wrote not without bitterness that “slaves bring the greatest harm to the fields. They graze cattle ... badly. They plow the land badly, they show a much greater consumption of seeds when sowing compared to the present, they do not care that the seed thrown into the ground sprouts well, ”etc.
Understanding all this, slave owners-masters began to provide slaves with peculia more and more widely, that is, plots of land for which the owner had to pay with a predetermined share of the product (usually half of the crop). Everything else was left to the worker, so he tried.
But in order for speculative relations to gain the proper scope, firstly, they should be reliably protected from abuse and, secondly, they should be given more or less extensive legal protection. The old Roman law forbade the slave all kinds of trade and loan transactions if they were carried out on his behalf (not the owner) and for his own benefit. The old law forbade the slave to "seek" and answer in court. And since all these prohibitions were an obstacle to the development of peculia as a specific form of rental relations, they should have been canceled, softened, modified. And so it was done, albeit with understandable gradualism.
At the same time, another important process was taking place within the boundaries of the Roman Empire: the transformation of a free peasant into a sharecropper called a colon. The development of the colony was a direct result of the endless violent robbery of peasant land, directly related to the growth of senatorial and equestrian latifundia. Another reason for it was a decrease in the influx of slaves from abroad, which was, on the one hand, a direct consequence of the decrease in the military power of the empire, and on the other hand, the intensification of resistance to it.
Colon obligations were both monetary and in-kind. Kolonat began with a short-term lease, but it was unprofitable for the landlord. Only a long lease could
to provide him with a labor force and at the same time give rise to the desire of the colony to improve the land, increase its productivity, etc.
Satisfying the demands of landowners, the law of 332 marked the beginning of attaching tenants to the land. Those who voluntarily left the estates returned by force. At the same time, the law forbade the rounding up of columns when selling land. In the same way, the unauthorized increase of the burdens and duties lying on the column was also prohibited. Attaching columns to the ground was lifelong and hereditary.
Thus, in still slave-owning Rome, feudalism was born. order, feudal production relations. In this complex process, the slave rises in his social status, the free peasant, on the contrary, descends. By the end of the empire, the unauthorized murder of a slave, the separation of his family are prohibited, and a simplified procedure for setting free slaves is introduced. Craftsmen organized in colleges, that is, communities, had to “remain forever in their state,” which meant for them nothing more than forced hereditary attachment to their professions. And here one can see the prototype of the medieval guild of artisans.
Thus, by the end of many years of reign, Augustus managed to create the foundations of the future monarchical system, which entered world history under the name of the Roman Empire. This form of monarchy grew up on the basis of the Roman state structures proper, the dominant ideas, which gave the imperial regime, so to speak, a national character, although one cannot deny the influence on its formation of some tyrannical regimes of ancient Greece.
Since the monarchical system was formed on the basis of traditional polis-communal institutions, the emerging imperial structures turned out to be associated with the previous order, and the new monarchy was permeated with some republican legal ideas.
2.2 Roman Dominate
Already in the period of the principate, the slave system in Rome began to decline, and in the II-III centuries. its crisis is brewing.
The social and class stratification of the free is deepening, the influence of large landowners is increasing, the importance of colonial labor is growing and the role of slave labor is decreasing, the municipal system is falling into decay, the polis ideology is disappearing, Christianity is replacing the cult of traditional Roman gods. The economic system based on slave-owning and semi-slave-owning forms of exploitation and dependence (colonates) not only ceases to develop, but also begins to degrade. By the 3rd century slave uprisings, almost unknown to the initial period of the principate, become more and more frequent and widespread. Columns and the free poor join the rebellious slaves. The situation is complicated by the liberation movement of the peoples conquered by Rome. From wars of conquest, Rome begins to move to defensive ones. The struggle for power between the warring factions of the ruling class sharply escalates.
The principate suppressed the spirit of citizenship among the Romans, republican traditions are now a thing of the distant past, the last stronghold of republican institutions - the senate finally submitted to the princeps.
So In the III century. n. e. (since 284) in Rome, a regime of an unlimited monarchy is established - dominat (from the Greek "dominus" - lord). The old republican institutions are disappearing. The management of the empire is concentrated in the hands of several main departments, led by dignitaries who are subordinate to the head of the empire - the emperor with unlimited power.
Among these departments, the following two stood out in particular: the state council under the emperor (discussion of major policy issues, preparation of bills) and the financial department. The military department is commanded by generals appointed by the emperor and only by him.
Officials receive a special organization: they are given uniforms, they are endowed with privileges, at the end of their service they are assigned pensions, etc.
Diarchy could not be a stable form of government, and by the end of the previous period, imperial power acquires a noticeable monarchical connotation. The prolonged turmoil that followed the Severs revealed the need for a complete reorganization of the state, and this reorganization was carried out by Diocletian, and then completed in the same spirit by Constantine.
Two principles underlie this Diocletian-Constantine reform. The first is the final recognition of the emperor as an absolute monarch. He is no longer a princeps or a republican magistrate who recognizes himself, at least in principle, as the supremacy of the people; he is no longer "first" (between equals), but a lord, dominus, standing above the law. Under the influence of oriental patterns, power acquires even outwardly oriental flavor: inaccessibility, complex court ceremonial, etc. However, even now the monarchy has not acquired a dynastic character; The issue of succession remains unresolved.
The second beginning is the division of the empire into two halves: Eastern and Western, Oriens and Occidens. But this division, in principle, does not mean the division of the empire into two completely separate and independent states: Oriens and Occidens remain only two halves of the same state whole.
Let us consider in more detail the reforms carried out by Diocletian and Constantine, which can characterize this period.
Reforms of Diocletian. Diocletian carried out a number of reforms that were supposed to strengthen the economic, political and military power of the Roman Empire.
New administrative division of the empire. The leveling trend is typical for all periods of the Roman Empire, but during the principate, the provinces coincided, as a rule, with the independent or semi-independent regions that were before the Roman conquest.
Diocletian made a new administrative division. The whole empire was divided into 12 dioceses, the borders of which did not always coincide with the borders of the former provinces. Dioceses, in turn, were divided into provinces. Italy now also officially lost its privileged position: it was divided into two dioceses, which included not only Italian, but also other regions.
The dominator system was the final step towards the final establishment of the military dictatorship. The suppression of the resistance of the exploited classes and the repulse of the advancing "barbarians" required not only the political reorganization of the Roman state, but also its economic and military strengthening.
military reform. Diocletian's attention was directed, first of all, to raising the military power of the empire. In addition to the division of power between the Augustus and the Caesars, it was necessary to create a strong army that would be able to protect the borders of the empire from the "barbarians" and at the same time would be the real support of imperial power.
Along with the new principles of division of troops under Diocletian, the composition of the army was significantly increased. The latter circumstance was bound to raise the question of troop recruitment. Before Diocletian, military units, as a rule, were replenished with volunteers. This principle remained in the days of the late Empire, but at the same time, rules were introduced for the mandatory replenishment of the army. Diocletian ordered the large landowners to deliver to the state a certain number of recruits in accordance with the number of slaves and columns on their estates. They were obliged to serve in the army and years - captured "barbarians" settled in Roman territory. Finally, detachments of "barbarians" were accepted into military service for a special reward, passing under the authority of the Roman Empire.
Tax reform. Army reform was costly; the maintenance of the overgrown bureaucracy also required large funds. Meanwhile, the economy of the empire, despite individual measures, continued to be upset. Diocletian carried out a series of reforms in order to improve the state of the imperial finances.
A new system of taxation of the population was introduced. The era of the early empire was characterized by a variety of taxes, and a significant role in finance was played by indirect taxes, which lost their significance with the decline of economic life and the fall in the value of money. In Diocletian's system, direct taxes and, above all, land taxes became of great importance.
And in the previous period, the population of certain regions undertook to supply the state with certain products for the maintenance of the city of Rome, the army and officials. A similar analogue was called annona and was collected irregularly, often acquiring the character of a requisition. Since the time of Diocletian annon - a tax mainly in kind, regularly levied on the population. The unit of taxation was determined by the known amount of arable land that one person could cultivate in order to have a livelihood. When compiling the inventories, the size and quality of the cultivated plot of land, the number of workers and the number of livestock were taken into account. The senators were not exempt from the tax either, and they also paid a special tax in addition to the land tax. Urban residents who did not have land holdings were subject to a poll tax.
Diocletian's tax reform guaranteed the state a certain amount of products needed to maintain the army, court, capital and residence of the emperor. The state economy was thus built on a subsistence basis, independent of fluctuations in the value of money, market prices, or the delivery of products.
This undoubtedly indicates that subsistence - economic trends were becoming increasingly important in the economy of the late Empire.
financial reform. The money economy, of course, also played a significant role, but it needed to be improved. For these purposes, Diocletian carried out a monetary reform, which established a full-fledged gold coin, which officially weighed 1/60 of a Roman pound; in addition, a silver and bronze coin was issued. This reform was not particularly successful, since the real value of the coin was not in proper proportion with its nominal value, the ratio between the value and the value of the metal was determined arbitrarily, the system of circulation of the coin was not taken into account. As a result, a full-fledged coin disappeared from circulation and turned into ingots, the prices of goods not only did not fall, but continued to grow.
Price edict. In order to combat the rising cost of living, an edict was issued in 301 setting maximum prices for various goods, as well as maximum rates for wages. In the history of law, various assessments were given to this edict. Most often it was considered administrative madness. However, price regulation had certain grounds. At the disposal of the government there were huge stocks of products; large workshops that turned out many different kinds of products, and thus the government could throw a certain amount of goods on the market and thereby regulate prices. However, the regulation of prices throughout the Roman Empire was doomed to failure. According to the edict, the prices were set arbitrarily by the legislator: they were the same for the entire empire, they did not take into account the peculiarities of the regions, the convenience of means of communication and other local conditions. As a result of all this, the edict had little practical effect, and soon after its publication, it seems, ceased to be observed.
Judicial reform. The judicial reform of Diocletian made fundamental changes in the judiciary. The analysis of criminal cases from the standing commissions passed first to the Senate, and then to the emperor and his officials.
In the suburbs of Rome, criminal jurisdiction was administered by the perfect of the city, in Italy - by the perfect of the praetorium, and in the provinces - by the governors for the administration of the provinces. After the reforms of Diocletian in the provinces, rectors conducted criminal proceedings. In addition, there were judges for night fires and food supply cases. The latter were given the right to pass death sentences in some cases.
The analysis of civil cases in connection with the spread of the extraordinary process passed to the imperial officials. Diocletian's reform completed the process of superseding the formulary process by the extraordinary one. Since the distinction between imperial and senatorial provinces disappeared, the entire territory of the Roman state was under the control of emperors and their officials. In Rome, judicial power passed from the praetors to the city perfect. In 294, Diocletian issued a decree in which the rulers of the provinces were instructed to decide matters themselves and only in extreme cases to transfer to the decision of private judges.
New magistrates also appeared to deal with civil cases in cases of guardianship, alimony, fideocommissaries, etc.
State system in the period of dominance.
The reforms carried out by Diocletian and Constantine led to a change in the political system.
The establishment of an absolute monarchy entailed, first of all, the fall of the Senate. This was not a little facilitated by the transfer of the capital to Constantinople and the establishment of a second, Constantinople, Senate, as a result of which both Senates sank to the level of simple city councils. From the former national significance, the Senate has only one empty form: a) new laws are communicated to the Senate for information; b) the Senate is sometimes entrusted with the investigation of criminal cases; c) de jure the election of a new emperor belongs to the senate. Although, this right comes down to sanctioning someone who has already been either destined to be Caesar or proclaimed an army.
Simultaneously with the fall of the Senate, there is a further fall of the old republican magistracies. They still exist as honorary relics of the past, but they no longer take any part in state administration: consuls preside over the senate, praetors are in charge of some special affairs (for example, guardianship) on behalf of the emperor, the rest exist only as honorary titles.
All active state administration is in the hands of imperial officials, whose system grows into a complex bureaucratic mechanism and is subject to more precise regulation. The division of posts into court, civil and military is sharply carried out; in each branch a certain hierarchical ladder is formed. Moreover, each step of this ladder corresponds to a special title; each official is assigned a certain salary - according to the title and rank.
At the person of the emperor there is a council of state, which is now called the consistorium principis. At the suggestion of the emperor, he discusses all sorts of questions of legislation and administration; it also deals with all court cases that ascend in the order of instance to the emperor. Then comes a series of officials to govern the capitals and provinces, at the head of each capital stands the praefectus urbi, in whose hands is concentrated all the administrative and judicial power in the capital. His closest general assistant is vicarius, and then special - praefectus vigilum, praefectus annonae and a host of lower ranks.
As regards local government, the whole territory undergoes a new administrative division during this period. Each half of the empire is divided into two prefectures: the Eastern half - into the prefectures of the East (Thrace, Asia Minor and Egypt) and Illyrian (Balkan Peninsula), the Western half - into the prefectures of Italic (Italy and Africa) and Gallic (Gaul and Spain). At the head of each prefecture, in the form of its general chief, stands the praefectus praetorio. Each prefecture is divided into dioceses, headed by vicarii, and finally the dioceses are divided into provinces, ruled by rectores. The provinces are the basic cells of this administrative division, and the rulers of the provinces therefore become the first administrative and judicial authority. In this division, the provinces have already lost their former historical and national significance: they are only artificial territorial units. Near each official, the staff of his lower employees and his office are grouped.
Provinces, in turn, consist of smaller units - communities, or civitates. These communities enjoy a certain degree of independence in their internal affairs, although under strong government control. The bodies of local, communal self-government are now the local senate and elected municipal magistrates. The duties of these local bodies, mainly decurions, include, first of all, taking care of the fulfillment by the community of nationwide duties - delivering an adequate number of recruits, collecting state taxes, etc.
With the increasing tax burden and the general economic decline of the country, this responsibility becomes very heavy, and the local aristocracy begins to shirk the duty of decurions. In order to attract them, the government is forced to give the decurions various class and honorary advantages. But even this does not help, and then the government comes to the forced organization of the decurion estate, and any attempts to leave it or evade the performance of the state duty assigned to it are punished by various penalties.
Governmental control of local self-government is exercised first through a special defensor civitatis. In the person of this official, the emperors wanted to give the poorest population a special protector of their interests in the struggle against the richer and more powerful, but in practice this idealistic function was not realized, and the defensor civitatis turned into a judge in petty cases.
Provincial congresses (concilia provinciarum) continue to exist. With the establishment of Christianity, the religious pagan goals of these congresses disappear, but their business functions become all the more solid. The right to petition is recognized for them already de jure, and the emperors strongly forbid the rulers of the provinces to create any obstacles in this regard.
The reforms begun by Diocletian were continued by Emperor Constantine (306-337), best known for his church policy favorable to Christians, until then persecuted by the state. By the Edict of Milan in 313, Constantine allowed Christians to freely practice their religion (shortly before his death, the emperor himself was baptized).
Under Constantine, the process of enslavement of the peasant colonies was completed. According to the Imperial Constitution of 332, the colon was deprived of the right to move from one estate to another. A column that did not obey this law was shackled like a slave, and in this form was returned to the owner. The person who received the runaway column paid his master the full amount of payments due from the runaway column.
The same line was drawn in relation to artisans. For example, the imperial edict of 317 ordered the miners, shipbuilders and many other workers to "remain forever in their state." The direct appropriation of the surplus product became the main form of exploitation of peasants and artisans.
Also, it was under Constantine that the capital of the Roman Empire was transferred to the old Byzantium, then called (May 11, 330) Constantinople. The highest government institutions were transferred here from Rome, the Senate was recreated here.
The final division of the empire into two parts - the Western with the capital in Rome and the Eastern with the capital in Constantinople, occurred in 395.
3. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire
With the transfer of the capital to Constantinople, the history of Byzantium begins. The western and eastern parts of the empire were still united under the rule of a successful emperor, but not for long. In the IV century. Rome and Byzantium separate completely.
The Roman Empire existed (or rather, eked out existence) until 476, when the head of the German mercenaries, Odoacer, overthrew the Roman emperor of the infant Romulus-Augustus (Romulus-Augustishka) and took his place. Let's consider this event in more detail.
The main danger to the western empire was the Visigoths, headed by Alaric. First, he attacked the Balkan regions, and then, in 401, he attacked Italy. The emperor of the Western Empire (Stilicho) made peace with him, and Alaric was supposed to assist Rome in the fight against Constantinople. In 406 the "barbarian" tribes crossed the Rhine and thereafter devastated Gaul; usurpers appeared in different places. In 408, Alaric occupied Pannonia and Noric, then moved to Italy and demanded money for his army. His demand was satisfied, since Stilicho intended to negotiate with Alaric and use him in the fight against the usurpers, as well as with Constantinople, but the party opposed to Stilicho won at court, he was deprived of power and executed (408).
The contract with Alaric was also terminated. Then Alaric led the attack on Italy. He was supported by slaves, among whom were many of his fellow tribesmen. The Goths attacked Rome twice. The first time Alaric approached Rome in 408, but left, satisfied with receiving a huge ransom and freeing 40 thousand slaves, and the second time, on August 24, 410, Rome was taken and plundered by the troops of Alaric. For three days the city was devastated.
Alaric left Rome. After his death, the Goths withdrew to Gaul. However, the weakened empire could no longer withstand the onslaught of the "barbarians".
As early as 409, the Vandals, Suebi and Alans invaded Spain and settled in some of its regions; in 420, the Vandals and Alans established themselves in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, and in 429 they crossed to the African coast and captured most of Africa. In some cases, the Roman generals managed to win victories over the "barbarians", but these victories could not change the external position of the empire.
In the western part of the empire, the struggle for the imperial throne did not stop, although not the emperors, but the “barbarian” leaders who were in the Roman service, were of greater importance. In 445. Rome was sacked by the Vandals, who carried away much booty and took away many prisoners. In 475, the Roman patrician Orestes elevated his son Romulus Augustulus to the throne and ruled the state on his behalf. But the "barbarian" mercenaries rebelled against him, led by the skyr Odoacer. In 476, Orestes was killed, Romulus Augustulus was deprived of power, and Odoacer sent the signs of imperial dignity to Constantinople. This event is considered to be the end of the Western Roman Empire.
This event was preceded by the actual collapse of the entire western part of the empire. And Gaul, and Spain, and Britain were in the power of the Germans. Africa also fell away. As for the Eastern Roman Empire, it lasted for another thousand years.
Conclusion
Based on the study of the topic of the course work, the following conclusions can be drawn:
The reasons for the fall of the Roman Republic can be considered a sharp stratification of society into rich and poor, large and small landowners. The great differences in fortunes, the multiplication of the class of proletarians, who live on handouts from the state and are ready to follow that military leader or political figure who promises the greatest material success, could not but nullify the old republican equality and democracy. Also, Roman republican institutions developed as institutions of city government. , not an empire. Therefore, the change of the republican form of government to the monarchical one was inevitable, especially since the monarchical element can also be traced in the old republican Constitution of Rome.
Under the new conditions, it proved impossible to further eliminate the slave-owning classes in the provinces conquered by Rome from political power. By sacrificing the exclusive position of the "Roman people", the empire contributed to the consolidation of slave owners throughout its territory, consolidation into a ruling class bound by the unity of fundamental interests. Thus, a fairly solid social base was created for that political regime, which, with all the changes, lasted as long as the republic - about 500 years.
The initial period of the monarchy was called the principate, the next one is the dominant.
The principate retained the semblance of a republican form of government and almost all the main institutions of the republic. During this period, people's assemblies and the senate meet. The emperor - princeps - combines in his hands the powers of a dictator, consul, censor, tribune, high priest. People's assemblies decline, they lose their judicial powers, they lose their right to elect magistrates.
The court of the princeps became the core of all higher authorities. The army was hired and permanent. In the era of the principate, the process of transforming the state from an organ of the Roman aristocracy into an organ of the entire class of slave owners was completed.
The top of the slave-owning class was made up of two estates:
) the class of nobles, which was formed from the patrician-plebeian local nobility. This estate occupied a dominant position both in society and in the state on the basis of their land allotments, slaves and dependent peasants;
) the estate of riders, formed from the commercial and financial nobility and medium landowners.
At the same time, there is a transformation of a free peasant into a tenant sharecropper - a column. The development of the colonate was the result of the plundering of peasant land and the consequent growth of latifundia. Another reason was the decrease in the influx of slaves from abroad.
Dominat is characterized by signs of an unlimited monarchy. The old republican bodies of state power are disappearing. The management of the empire is concentrated in the hands of several main departments, which were led by dignitaries. The most significant of them :
) State Council under the emperor;
) financial department;
) military department.
The Roman Empire was divided into 4 parts (prefectures), consisting of 12 dioceses. The civil power of the governors was separated from the military. Taxation was based on natural land taxes and duties.
During the imperial period, the police were reorganized. The princeps established the position of prefect of the city, endowed with broad powers for the protection of public order. He was subject to police cohorts, obliged to supervise the slaves. A special prefect led the fire brigade. The legate was at the head of the provincial police.
With the transfer of the capital to Constantinople, the history of Byzantium begins. In the IV century. Rome and Byzantium separate completely.
The Roman Empire existed until 476, when the head of the German mercenaries, Odoacer, overthrew the Roman emperor of the infant Romulus-Augustulus (Romulus-Augustishka) and took his place. This event was preceded by the actual collapse of the entire western part of the empire. And Gaul, and Spain, and Britain were in the power of the Germans. Africa also fell away. As for the Eastern Roman Empire, it lasted for another thousand years.
Listliterature
1.Alferova, M.V. History of Ancient Rome.-M.: Litera, 2009.-552p.
.Batyr, K.I. History of state and law of foreign countries: textbook / Batyr K.I., Isaev I.A., Knopov G.S.-M.: Prospectus, 2010.-576p.
.Getman-Pavlova, I.V. Roman private law: study guide.-M.: Yurayt, 2010.-343p.
.Kudinov, O.A. Roman law. Brief terminological dictionary-reference book.-M.: Exam, 2008.-224p.
.Novitsky, I.B. Roman law: textbook.-M.:Knorus, 2011.-304p.
.Pokrovsky I. A. History of Roman law.- M.: Direkmedia Publishing, 2008.-1135p.
7.Polonsky, A. Formation and heyday of the Roman Empire // History of State and Law. -2010. - No. 11. - P. 36-42.
.Puhan, Ivo Roman law: textbook.-M.:Zertsalo, 2008.-448s.
Plan
Introduction
ChapterI. The emergence of the state in ancient Rome.
Development of the ancient state.
Reforms of Servius Tullius.
ChapterII. Formation of the Roman Republic.
ChapterIII. The fall of the republic and the transition to the empire.
ChapterIV. The Roman Empire.
Social and state system.
Principate.
Conclusion
List of used literature.
Introduction.
The history of ancient Rome is the last stage in the development of the ancient world, covering the time from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. (754/3 BC - the traditional date of the founding of the city of Rome) until the end of the 5th century AD. (476 AD - the fall of the Western Roman Empire). Certain periods should be distinguished in its development. VSH - III centuries AD there was a process of formation of the early Roman slave society; in SH in BC – In AD, its further development takes place from a small community on the Tiber to the strongest Italian and then Mediterranean power. For W in AD characterized by the onset of the economic, social, political crisis of the Roman state, which in the 15th–5th centuries AD. followed by a period of prolonged decline.
Literary data on the emergence of Rome are legendary and contradictory. This is noted by the ancient authors themselves. So, for example, Diosinius of Halicarnassus says that "there are many disagreements both on the question of the time of the founding of the city of Rome, and on the personality of its founder." The most common was the version cited by Livy: the founder of Rome was a descendant of the Trojan Aeneas, who came to Italy.
The study of the history of Roman society - tracing the main patterns of its economic, social, political and cultural development and identifying specific features inherent only in ancient Rome - is of particular interest. The leading problems of the course of ancient history (defining the peculiarities of the economic development of a slave-owning society, the institution of slavery, the social and class struggle, the forms of slave-owning states) were most clearly formulated and completed in Roman times 1 .
The history of civilization, as you know, begins with the Ancient East. Its new and higher level is associated with the development of the ancient (Greco-Roman) society, which was formed in the south of Europe in the Mediterranean basin. The ancient civilization reaches its apogee and greatest dynamism in the 1st millennium BC. - at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. It was to this time that the impressive successes of the Greeks and Romans in all spheres of human activity, including political and legal, belong. It is antiquity that humanity owes many masterpieces of literature and art, achievements of science, law and philosophy, unique examples of democratic statehood.
Chapter I. The Rise of the State in Ancient Rome.
Development of the ancient state.
The time of the founding of the city of Rome, which the historical tradition associates with the names of the legendary Romulus and Remus and refers to 753 BC, is characterized by the processes of decomposition of the primitive communal system among the tribes that settled near the Tiber River. The unification through wars of the three tribes of the ancient Latins, Sabines and Etruscans led to the formation of a community in Rome .. Members of the oldest Roman families were called patricians.
The development of cattle breeding and agriculture led to the emergence of private property. Slavery also arises, the sources of which are wars, and at the same time the beginnings of the class division of society.
In childbirth, rich aristocratic families stand out. The best land plots, which are still considered the collective property of the community, pass to them. They also receive a large share of military booty. At the same time, a separate social group of impoverished community members, accepted into the newcomer clans, and, sometimes, freed slaves, also appears. Being personally free, but limited in rights, they were under the patronage of patrician patrons, for which, in turn, they had to provide them with property and personal services.
Favorable for cattle breeding and agriculture, climatic conditions, advantageous geographical position in terms of exchange and trade, and wars attracted to Rome an ever-increasing newcomer population from neighboring tribes. They were not part of the Roman community 2 .
The alien population that found itself outside the Roman tribal community was called the plebs. The plebs were also replenished at the expense of former members who went bankrupt and lost contact with the community. The plebeians remained free, but were limited in property and personal rights. They could receive land plots only from the free part of the communal land fund, did not have the right to marry members of the community, and were deprived of the opportunity to participate in the management of its affairs.
At the head of the Roman community was an elected leader - the river. Although by tradition he was called a king (hence the "period of kings"), his powers were limited. They were reduced mainly to the military, priestly and judicial.
The governing body was the council of elders of the clans - the senate. General issues were considered at the people's assembly. However, his decisions could be rejected by the Senate and the Rex. The latter could issue generally binding decrees.
The community included 300 genera, united in 30 curia, which, in turn, were included in 3 tribes. Each curia in the assembly was represented only by soldiers (100 on foot and 10 on horseback) and had one vote.
The paramilitary nature of the Roman tribal organization allowed it to maintain its closed character for some time. But processes were developing in Rome that were bound to hasten her downfall. The plebeians appear - rich artisans and merchants, who begin to play an ever-increasing role in the economy of Rome. At the same time, the number of poor plebeians is increasing, many of whom become unpaid debtors of the patricians and fall into debt bondage. The impoverished part of the plebs, under the conditions of the growing number of slaves, becomes even more dangerous for the Roman community by force.
The situation was complicated by the fact that the Romans were forced to recruit plebeians to participate in military campaigns. The developing discrepancy between the large role that the plebs began to play in the life of Rome and its powerless position gave rise to the struggle of the plebeians for equal rights with members of the Roman tribal community, weakened by internal contradictions, represented by its leading force - the patricians. It ended in victory, which destroyed the closed Roman tribal organization and thus cleared the way for the formation of the state.
Thus, the emergence of the state in ancient Rome was the result of the general processes of decomposition of the primitive communal system, generated by the development of private property, property and class differentiation. But these processes were accelerated by the struggle of the plebeians for equality with members of the Roman community, which finally destroyed the foundations of the tribal system of Ancient Rome.
The victory of the plebeians and the emergence of the state in ancient Rome are associated with the reforms of Rex Servius Tullius, dated to the 6th century BC. BC.
Reforms of Servius Tullius.
The reforms of Servius Tullius laid the foundation for the social organization of Rome on property and territorial principles. The entire free population of Rome - both members of the Roman clans and the plebeians - was divided into property categories. The division was based on the size of the land plot owned by a person. Those who had a full allotment were included in the first category, three-quarters of the allotment - in the second, and so on. In addition, a special group of citizens was singled out from the first category - horsemen, and landless - proletarians were separated into a separate, sixth category.
Each category exhibited a certain number of armed men, from which centuries were formed - hundreds. Horsemen were centuries of cavalry, 1-3 ranks - heavily armed infantry, 4-5 ranks - lightly armed infantry. The proletarians fielded one unarmed centuria. The total number of centuries was 193. Of them. 18 centuries of equestrians and 80 centuries of the first category accounted for more than half of all centuries 4 .
The most important thing in this part of the reforms was that the centuries became not only a military, but also a political unit. From the time of the reforms, along with curate people's assemblies, people's assemblies began to be convened by centuries (centuriate comitia), where each centuria had one vote and voting traditionally began with centurions of equestrians and the first category, and if they were unanimous, naturally, ended with this. The decision of the people's assembly by centuries received the force of law, and this assembly relegated the people's assembly by curiae to secondary roles.
The second part of the reforms is the division of the free population according to the territorial principle. In Rome, 4 urban and 17 rural territorial districts were formed, behind which they retained the old name of the tribes - tribes. The tribe included both patricians and plebeians who lived in it, obeying its headman. He collected taxes from them. Somewhat later, territorial tribes also began to convene their own meetings (tributary comitia), in which each tribe had one vote. Their role for a long time remained secondary, but the division of the population into tribes, in which patricians and plebeians had the same duties, testified to the appearance in the organization of public power in Rome of a territorial, rather than consanguineous principle of its action.
The reforms of Servius Tullius, thus, completed the process of breaking the foundations of the tribal system, replacing it with a new socio-political structure based on territorial division and property differences. Including the plebeians in the "Roman people", allowing them to participate in the centuriate and tributary people's assemblies, they contributed to the consolidation of the free, ensured their dominance over the slaves. The emerging state became a form of such consolidation and domination. But at the same time, state power was also directed against the free proletarians.
The reforms attributed to Servius Tullius summed up the most important stage in the process of state formation, but did not complete it. This process developed both through the transformation of the authorities inherited from the tribal organization, and through the creation of new ones. It was based on the further consolidation of the free into the ruling class, which required the final elimination of past differences between patricians and plebeians. The reforms of Servius Tullius allowed the plebeians to participate in popular assemblies, but did not completely eliminate their political and social restrictions. The next two centuries in the history of Rome are characterized by the continuation of the struggle of the plebeians for equal rights with the patricians.
There are two main stages in this struggle. In the 5th century BC. the plebeians succeeded in limiting the arbitrariness of officials, who, by tradition, were patricians. For these purposes, in 494 BC. Tribune of the Plebs was created. The plebeian tribunes, elected by the plebeians in an amount of up to 10 people, did not have managerial power, but had the right to veto - the right to prohibit the execution of the order of any official and even the decision of the Senate. The second important achievement of the plebeians is the publication in 451-450. BC. The laws of the XII tables, which limited the ability of patrician magistrates to arbitrarily interpret the norms of customary law. These laws testify to the almost complete equalization of plebeians with patricians in civil rights - the very word "plebeian", judging by the exposition of the text of the Laws that has come down to us, is mentioned in them only once in connection with the preservation of the ban on marriages between plebeians and patricians. However, this ban soon in 445 BC. was abolished by the Law of Canulei.
The second stage belongs to the IV century. BC, when the plebeians won the right to hold public office. In 367 B.C. The law of Licinius and Sextius established that one of the two consuls (high officials) was to be elected from the plebeians, and a number of laws of 364-337. BC, they were granted the right to occupy other government positions. In the same century, laws were also issued that contributed to the consolidation of the plebeians and patricians.
The end of the struggle of the plebeians for equality was the adoption in 287 BC. The Law of Hortensia, according to which the decisions of the plebeian assemblies by tribes began to apply not only to the plebeians and, therefore, received the same force of law as the decisions of the centuriate assemblies.
There are countries and eras that remain not only as a memory of the past. They are always up to date and we still have not squandered their legacy. Therefore, they excite, disturb, cause controversy, make you yearn for valor, inspire to a feat and stir up hearts.
Imperial Rome is one of them.
It's not even that the boundaries of the power of Rome for many centuries marked the limits of the influence of European and Muslim civilizations. And not that the concepts of the correct behavior of people in society, which are now taken for granted, were first formulated by Roman jurists. And not that, crossing the border of the Danube and moving to the West, we will certainly go along Roman roads and roll out the names of Roman cities in the language.
No, just together with Rome, we people lived some of the most glorious centuries of our history, when words valor, glory, vice, crime, loyalty and betrayal acquired their modern meaning - but were not yet erased. Together with them, the name and the unique life of an individual were not wiped out, chatted out, but, on the contrary, the name and unique life of an individual were put at the forefront.
Imperial Rome not only gave the world biography, biography - as a genre. He left a feeling of the importance of individual will and destiny, personal choice - the importance for the fate of the state, civilization, for the entire cosmic order. The Tale of Rome is one of the very few people's stories, - among the endless histories of communities, societies, classes, groups, peoples and states.
Shadow of a legend
The twins Romulus and Remus founded Rome in 753 BC. This date is well remembered. In Rome, time was counted from her and every hundred years they arranged age old games in honor of the founding of the city.
A legend tells of the early days of Roman history. The twins Romulus and Remus are the descendants of the Trojan hero Aeneas, the sons of the god of war Mars and the vestal Rhea Sylvia. Their grandfather Numitor ruled in nearby Alba Longa, but was overthrown by his own brother Amulius. Amulius ordered the babies to be tied up and thrown into the Tiber. However, Romulus and Remus - as the future requires - escaped. They were fed by a she-wolf and brought up by the shepherds Faustul and Akka Lorenzia.
Having learned to fight well, the brothers returned the throne to their grandfather, and they themselves established themselves 25 kilometers from the sea, in a new city on the seven hills of the high bank of the Tiber River (Capitol, Palatine, Aventine, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline and Caelius).
Romulus and Remus went up the mountain
The hill before them was wild and mute,
Romulus said: "There will be a city"
"The city is like the sun," Rem replied.
These lines were written by the remarkable Russian poet Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov.
However, the idyll did not last long. Romulus fenced off his land on the Palatine Hill, and the indignant Remus jumped over the wall. The brothers fought. Romulus killed Remus.
Rome, as they sighed in antiquity, was founded on blood.
The Romans often remembered this in difficult times. Rem was ranked among the host of deities. And fratricide, naturally placed at the very beginning of history, was perceived as the cause of all subsequent troubles, a kind of original sin.
But, at the same time, among the barbarian peoples it was believed for a long time that every great city should rest on blood. And the creators of the Russian “Tale of the City of Moscow” in the 16th century proudly recalled that Moscow was not only built, like Rome, on seven hills, but blood was shed at its foundation, the blood of the boyar Kuchka.
People and state
At first, in Rome, as in any ancient society, kings ruled. But in 510 B.C. the townspeople expelled Tsar Tarquinius the Proud and established a republic ( res publica- common cause).
The supreme state power was divided between two consuls, who were elected for a year. The right to determine laws and conduct foreign policy (represent Rome to foreigners, declare war, make peace) belonged to the Senate. The Senate was made up of the fathers of the most ancient families of the city.
Much was decided by the popular assembly, which united all free Roman citizens.
Citizens at first included only patricians- descendants of the closest associates of Romulus. But, besides the patricians, other free people also lived in Rome - those who were a little late and came to the slopes of the seven hills when the city was already built. They were called plebeians.
Even in tsarist times, the plebeians began to fight for their rights. They elected their own power - tribunes of the people who defended their interests before the Senate and had the right veto(resolute No) to any consular or senatorial decree. The stands were considered sacred and inviolable.
By 300 B.C. the plebeians achieved equality with the patricians and became full citizens of Rome.
The equality of patricians and plebeians served to rally all the free people of the city. They began to perceive themselves as a whole. It is from this moment that we can talk about the emergence in Rome civil society.
At first, Rome was the same city-state as the Greek policies, Athens or Thebes. But one significant difference gradually emerged, which provided the Romans with a different historical fate.
Like the Greeks, most Roman citizens in antiquity were engaged in agriculture. Young people, having become adults, had the right to their own land. But there weren't enough spots. However, the Senate and the consuls never sent people to establish distant cities, giving them full independence, as was the practice in Greece during the era of colonization.
The Roman policy, as it were, grew, highlighting the colonies, whose inhabitants retained all the rights and obligations of a Roman citizen. The Greeks led their compatriots far beyond the borders of Hellas, to the will of fate. Regular contact with them was impossible. The Roman authorities themselves founded and equipped settlements in Italy, taking away part of the land from the defeated peoples.
Then this practice was transferred to the colonies, arranged in distant lands. The new settlers felt they owed everything to the state. The country grew, the population remained united.
Therefore, for many centuries, Rome maintained both the unity of the territory and healthy territorial appetites. By the middle of the III century. BC he gathered under his rule the entire Apennine Peninsula, and a hundred years later, after victories in three Punic wars, the rest of the lands lying along the shores of the Western Mediterranean. The Romans called him Marum nostrum - Our Sea, and they had every right to do so ...
Emperors of the Roman Republic
The Roman Empire - although this may seem strange to the ear of our contemporary - began under the Roman Republic.
In the Republican era, the word imperium denoted the fullness of power. Symbols imperium'a were fascia- bundles of rods tied with leather straps (hence, by the way, the word fascism). Lictors - special ministers - carried these fasces before the Roman consuls when they solemnly prepared to announce a judicial or political decision. If the highest officials went beyond the city walls, hatchets were placed in the fascia - as a sign that the official accompanied by the lictors was invested with full judicial power, up to the right to pass death sentences.
Consuls were called emperors of the Roman Republic, - and in such a phrase the ancient Romans did not find any contradiction.
During the period of greatest trials, the Senate had the right to transfer full power into the hands of one of the consuls for six months. Such a consul was called not only an emperor, but also dictator, - and in this word there was no negative connotation.
Roman history turned out to be turbulent, and the services of dictators had to be resorted to quite often. According to the remarkable historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquill, only the patrician family of Claudius was honored from the beginning of the republic with "consulates - twenty-eight times, dictatorships - five times, six triumphs and two ovations."
Troubles of the last century
By the 1st century BC Rome has become a meeting place for people of very different backgrounds, cultures, and faiths. The accession of Greece led to a fruitful interpenetration of Latin and Hellenic cultures. This dialogue gave a new breath to the development of philosophy, literature and other arts.
Although Italy was very different from the provinces, Roman influence was also felt in the provinces. Its guides were the Roman citizens, who brought to the East and North their idea of the freedom and dignity of the individual.
However, it became increasingly difficult to manage this vast country as a policy. The ancient res publica and its laws were designed to ensure that all citizens knew each other by sight, at least by name. Now this has become impossible.
Along with the patriarchal naivete, the good old morals that the Romans were so proud of were a thing of the past.
The army gained more and more influence. Soldiers began to be recruited not only from the native Romans, but also from the provincials, who were not connected by fate and blood with the history of the City. The legions, stationed far from Rome, more and more often wanted to see their illustrious commanders at the head of the state.
A certain problem was the slaves, whose number multiplied with each victorious war.
In 74-71 years. The uprising of slaves under the leadership of Spartacus shocked all of Italy.
Against this background, in the civil life of the Roman state, two forces loudly declared themselves.
On the one hand, successful commanders, sometimes of the most unenviable origin, aspired to dictatorship. Having reached the consulate, they often ignored the senators, acted in the interests of the provincials and the Roman common people.
On the other hand, patricians, natural aristocrats, stood as a wall guarding republican freedoms and the power of the Senate.
This confrontation at the very beginning of the 1st century. BC brought to the battlefield the famous military leader, rude and straightforward commoner Gaius Marius. His mortal enemy was an exquisite Roman youth, a fan of the theater and poetry, Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
The First Civil War began, which opened a whole century of internecine unrest and dictatorships, gave rise to unprecedented cruelties.
When Sulla defeated Marius and became dictator, he posted in Rome proscription- lists of objectionable persons. A person included in such lists could be killed by anyone and anywhere. The murderer not only said goodbye, but also received money from the treasury.
After Sulla, who came to power under the banner of freedom and paternal republic, all political concepts in Rome were confused. The old system was doomed. One after another, new positions began to appear.
Leaders received unheard-of powers. Conspiracies, turmoil, the darkest suspicions shook Rome. Dark forebodings thickened in the air. People whispered that Italy was threatened with destruction and that only a strong and confident hand could save the country.
Gaius Julius Caesar
But before the fall of Rome was still very far away. A hero appeared in the country, it seemed, specially created in order to act in troubled times.
Guy Julius Caesar was the nephew of his wife Marius and therefore became the favorite of the Roman common people. He escaped the proscriptions of Sulla and made a rapid career under his successor, Gnaeus Pompey.
He was a man of phenomenal ability. It is said that he could read, write and give orders at the same time.
A brilliant commander, no less talented writer, Gaius Julius also turned out to be endowed with fantastic ambition. At the age of thirty, already holding major republican positions, he said: "At my age, Alexander the Great conquered the whole world, but I have not done anything yet." Passing by a village, in response to a friend’s complaints about how boring life must be here, Caesar dropped: “It’s better to be the first in the village than the second in Rome.”
In the 50s. Caesar conquered Transalpine Gaul (Gallia, lying beyond the Alps; present-day France). He hoped to obtain a consulate in order to confirm his orders in the new province and reward the veterans of the illustrious legions. However, the Senate, which was afraid of the illustrious commander, demanded that he first give up command of the troops. Caesar considered such a demand insulting and turned to his legions. The soldiers said he could lead them wherever he wanted.
At the head of his legions, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, which separated Gaul from Italy. He had no right to do this. He violated the will of the Senate and the old Roman law.
Ever since the expression Rubicon crossed means: the fate is decided, the die is cast.
Soldiers hardened in Gaul occupied all of Italy in two months. But the protege of the Senate, Gnaeus Pompey, did not even think of giving up. A new civil war has begun.
The forces of the opponents were unequal. After the victory of Caesar, Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was killed, and the leader of the Senate party, Cato the Younger, threw himself on the sword. He could not survive the fall of the republic.
When Gaius Julius returned victorious to Rome, proscriptions in the spirit of Sulla were expected from him. But he was merciful to his enemies. Moreover, the goal was achieved, the country lay at his feet.
The Senate made Caesar dictator for life and declared his person "sacred and inviolable." He received the full imperium and preferred the title of emperor to all his other titles. His image was minted on coins, and even the name itself Caesar became the symbol of Rome.
Having become a common noun, it later became part of the title of any self-respecting monarch.
Under Caesar, the understanding of the tasks of the state completely changed. Gaius Julius no longer perceived himself as the leader of the old urban community, which by force of arms had extended power to the entire foreseeable world. He wanted to be the head of the world; he felt responsible for the fate of not only the inhabitants of the city of Rome, but also the Gauls, Africans or Iberians. He did not just reward his soldiers according to the Roman tradition, but arranged for them daily life, endowed them with land in the colonies, delved into the intricacies of life.
With equal zeal, Caesar supported the poor and cared for culture. Fascinated by the image of Alexander the Great, he dreamed of extending Greek and Roman education to the farthest borders of the empire.
He was also interested in deeper questions, questions of the fundamental meaning of human destiny and the countdown of time. He spent long nights in conversations with the Alexandrian scholars and together with them approved the very calendar that - with some amendments - we still use (in almost unchanged form). Julian calendar adopted in the Orthodox Church).
In 44 B.C. Gaius Julius Caesar died. He fell victim to aristocratic conspirators who dreamed of restoring the republic. Rome again plunged into a bloody mess of civil strife. And, as Suetonius writes, of the murderers of Caesar, “no one lived more than three years and no one died a natural death. All of them were condemned, and all died in different ways: some in a shipwreck, some in battle. And some struck themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.
Empire in the era of Octavian Augustus.
Golden Age of Roman Culture
Peace returned to Rome only in 30 BC. Caesar's great-nephew Gaius Octavian, who took the name Augustus, defeated his opponents and achieved sole power in the state.
Like Gaius Julius, Gaius Octavian retained the empire and many republican posts. In addition, he received the title princeps(the first senator) and took direct control of half of the provinces of the state (mostly the most responsible, border).
For a long time, historians considered the year 30 the date of the establishment of the monarchy in Rome. But such a strict division is very conditional. On the one hand, Octavian and all his successor princeps bore the title emperor of the roman republic, and thus the res publica did not legally cease to exist. On the other hand, the transition to autocracy began as early as the time of Gaius Julius Caesar, if not in the time of Sulla and Marius.
In his policy, Augustus strove not so much for conquest as for internal balance. He commanded his heirs to keep the limits of the empire in Europe along the Rhine and the Danube, in Asia - along the upper reaches of the Euphrates. These borders have proven to be perhaps the most stable in world history. European ones lasted at least three centuries, Asian ones - until the beginning of the 7th century. according to R.H.
And in internal affairs, Octavian proved himself a worthy successor to Caesar. He could proudly say: "I accepted Rome in brick, and I leave it in marble."
Everywhere, wherever possible, both in the capital and in the provinces, he built, decorated, arranged water pipes, improved the conditions of the grain trade, took care of the poor and veterans.
For the first time in the time of Octavian, one can speak of a coherent cultural policy of the state. Augustus not only supported writers and artists - almost all classical Roman poetry came out of the circle of his friend and associate Maecenas. The very name Maecenas has become a household name and has since been a generous patron of the arts.
The time of Augustus and Maecenas was named by the descendants golden age Roman culture.
However, at the same time it became clear that the close attention of the authorities to the artist could turn into dubious decisions. For obscene rhymes about love, Augustus sent the wonderful poet Ovid to the extreme borders of the empire, to present-day Romania ...
Of particular importance was the policy of Augustus in relation to the provinces. If in Rome someone else could yearn for the former republican freedoms, then for the provincials the empire turned into a real boon. The inhabitants of the regions remote from Rome became necessary to the princeps, they were taken care of, their needs were taken care of, they were protected from the arbitrariness of officials and tax-farmers.
And, characteristically, the worst emperors who ravaged the capital imitated Augustus in the provinces. By the middle of the 1st c. according to R.H. both in Africa and in Asia, they learned to set up altars in honor of the patron goddess of Rome.
But the most interesting thing is that the main benefit for the provincials was not even the patronage of the highest authority, but in itself roman peace - pax romana. During the imperial period, the Roman legions waged constant wars on the borders, but preserved for civilian life, protected all internal territories from disasters and devastation.
However, under the successors of Octavian Augustus, the glaring shortcomings of the new state system also appeared. He was completely unprotected from imperial arbitrariness. Caligula, and especially Nero, glorified themselves with such crimes that were unthinkable in republican Rome.
But there was no way back. The Republic perished completely, perished along with the Roman aristocracy in the days of Nero's terror. It only remained to wait for worthy emperors who could save the day.
The situation improved somewhat under the Flavian dynasty (68-96 AD). And during the time of Ulpius Trajan (98-117) and his successors from the Antonin dynasty, state administration was brought to almost perfection.
"Rule happier than Augustus and better than Trajan."
Silver Age of Roman Culture
Historians will call this time "the happiest period of the empire." Trajan pushed the boundaries of the state as far as possible, conquering Dacia (present-day Romania), Armenia and Mesopotamia. And only the Jews, who rebelled in the rear, prevented him from reaching the borders of India - in the footsteps of Alexander the Great.
The glory of Rome thundered at that time in all the valleys of Eurasia. Echoes of it can be found both in Chinese historical chronicles and in the Russian Tale of Igor's Campaign.
And yet, Trajan was more interested not in external successes, but in the arrangement of the life of his subjects. Marble was polished throughout the empire: theaters, baths, schools were opened.
It was Trajan who invented and established the public library, and soon dozens of public book depositories appeared from the Danube to the Nile. At the same time, the imperial treasury, lending money to landowners, began to raise orphans with the funds received. This is the first case of public charity in history.
The era of Trajan and the Antonines became silver age Roman literature and arts - and many place it above the golden age.
The emperor himself encouraged the work of Tacitus and Juvenal, and appointed Pliny the Younger governor of the province of Bithynia. The correspondence between Pliny and Trajan has remained as one of the most significant monuments of Latin literature.
There is no doubt, it was not in vain that all subsequent emperors were greeted in Rome with parting words: “Rule happier than Augustus and better than Trajan!” Alas, few people succeeded ...
However, Adrian, who succeeded Trajan, was worthy of his adoptive father in everything. A man with broad spiritual and intellectual interests, more than anything else, he loved to travel and traveled to the most distant provinces.
Adrian, a great lover of the arts, himself a sculptor, enjoyed beauty everywhere. He lived for a long time in Athens and Alexandria, contemplated the sunrise from the height of Etna, went to the Egyptian desert to look at the pyramids and the statue of Memnon, dreamed of the ascetic landscapes of Great Antioch. Yet the main purpose of his travels was politics.
Everywhere he perfected the government and thereby strengthened the guarantees of world peace.
Under Hadrian, the Greek language was finally equated with Latin. Greeks appeared in the central state apparatus and in provincial institutions, especially in the East. Roman and Greek culture merged completely for several centuries.
The educated society became bilingual, the empire took all the spirituality of the Western world into its arms. But against the backdrop of the Greek artistic and intellectual heritage, the Roman one itself was somewhat forgotten: civic prowess and exploits in the name of the fatherland.
In his last years, staying mostly in Rome, Adrian took up architecture. He erected a Mausoleum for his family (today there is the papal castle of the Holy Angel), founded two libraries, two theaters and set up corners in the city that remind of the most wonderful places in the world.
The Academy was built according to the Athenian model, the long canal with the temple of the god Serapis was supposed to resemble the Egyptian city of Canopy, and the skillfully recreated valley of Tempe was supposed to remind of Thessaly. Probably, the sovereign yearned for distant lands, but what to do, his destiny required the presence of the monarch in the capital ...
Antoninus Pius, the third emperor of this dynasty, retained the best features of Hadrian's reign. He cared first of all about the calm prosperity of his subjects and often repeated: "It is better to save the life of one citizen than to defeat a thousand enemies."
They say that when Antoninus Pius was dying, the tribune of the guard appeared. He approached the emperor and asked him for the password. “Peace of mind,” answered Antonin and fell asleep so as not to wake up.
In every blossom there are seeds of decline. Marcus Aurelius, almost the only emperor-philosopher in history, completed the “epoch of Roman glory”. But, as if in mockery, Caesar the philosopher had to fight many wars. It seems that power itself was often a burden to him.
Marcus Aurelius left us poignant notes "To himself", in which he sadly says that every person has to do a lot of things that in no way correspond to his desires and inclinations. Well, the philosophy of stoicism, which the emperor adhered to, in no case called for the fulfillment of desires. On the contrary, she built a person's life in the spirit of asceticism and irrevocable moral duty.
The coming crisis and the change of eras were probably already on the threshold. How different is this wise restrained sadness from the youthful, sweeping ambition of Julius Caesar! ..
During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, a plague struck Rome. The emperor fell ill with it during the war on the Danube, in Vindobon (modern Vienna). When he lay dying, his son and heir Commodus did not listen to his father and ran out of the tent, afraid of getting infected. What to do, the child of the Stoic philosopher was most fond of athletics and valued his own health ...
And it was a bad sign. Rome was facing hard times.
Roman citizenship and Roman law
Among the immense intellectual heritage left to us by the Roman Empire, a special place is occupied by the concepts of citizenship and law. We owe to Rome modern ideas about citizenship as a unity of duties and benefits. In Rome, all the main branches of law and legal concepts arose, without which no nation, no state can do today.
But it's even different. Roman citizenship and law built a very special way of life, a special self-awareness of a person.
The famous lawyers of the empire Gaius Papinian, Julius Paul and Ulpian taught: "By natural law, all people are born equal and free." Such ideas were fundamentally different from the opinions that prevailed in barbarian and Eastern societies. And until now, those areas where Roman laws have penetrated, or at least where they were known, in terms of the way of life, in the nature of people's communication, are in no way similar to those that in early history were not touched by the civilizing hand of the great empire.
During the Republican period, only the original inhabitants of the city of Rome had Roman citizenship, and Rome dominated the world. In the 1st century BC all the inhabitants of Italy became citizens, a little later - the Greeks. Caesar extended citizenship rights to Cisalpine Gaul.
During the imperial period, the approach to citizenship changed radically. The number of citizens was constantly expanding, until the edict of the emperor Caracalla included in it all the free inhabitants of the country (212 AD).
This was the most important and final turn from the traditional state. A turn that determined the main features of the modern state.
Rome was the first to formulate: when an empire exists for centuries, it ceases to be an instrument of the domination of one community over other communities. It unites tribes and peoples in a common historical movement.
As the diverse experience of the past has shown, if empires fall apart, people who have only recently lived side by side become mortal enemies, and tribal strife resumes with renewed vigor ...
Dear readers!
We remind you that on April 3 this year in the Moscow House of Teachers, as part of the Pedagogical Marathon, held by the First September Publishing House, the History Teacher's Day will be held. On this day, you will have the opportunity to meet at a round table with Andrei Valentinovich Polonsky, a well-known Moscow writer, historian, thinker, author of several textbooks, many hundreds of scientific and popular works (some of which were published in our newspaper).
It is possible that the Russian writer and philosopher Stanislav Nikolsky, who lives in Paris and has long and fruitfully collaborated with A.V. Polonsky, will also take part in the conversation. True, a colleague working abroad has not yet given his final consent to come to Moscow for the Pedagogical Marathon. But the meeting with Professor Polonsky will take place for sure!
With the increase in slavery, discontent among the peoples inhabiting the Roman Empire grew, and I in. BC. the wars of the inferior Italics against Rome and the slave uprisings, the most famous slave uprising led by Spartacus (74 - 71 BC), shocked all of Italy. It all ended with the establishment in Rome in 30 BC. the sole power of the emperor, based on armed force.
Growth of the Roman state
The era of Roman history from the middle of the III century. BC. until the end of the 1st c. BC. - the time of deep transformations of the previous structures, which led to the creation of a new image and essence of Roman society. In turn, the victorious wars of the Roman-Italian Union in the Mediterranean led to the capture of masses of slaves and huge funds that were invested in the economy and contributed to the rapid development of the economy, social relations and culture of the peoples of Italy. Roman-Italian society at the beginning of the 1st century. BC. entered a period of bloody civil wars, a deep general crisis, first of all, the political and state organization of the Roman Republic. The complex relationship between Italy and the provinces, between citizens and non-citizens, urgently required a new system of government. It was impossible to manage a world power with methods and apparatus suitable for a small community on the Tiber, but ineffective for a powerful state. The old classes, whose interests were reflected by the Roman Republic, by the end of the 1st century. BC. disappeared or degraded. There were new rich people, lumpen-proletariat, military colonists. The traditional polis-communal (republican) socio-political system was replaced by the Roman Empire. From the 30s BC. a new historical era begins in the history of the Roman state and the ancient world in general - the era of the Roman Empire, which replaced the Roman Republic. It brought with it relative civil peace and a certain easing of external aggression. The exploitation of the provinces assumes a more organized and less predatory character.
Many emperors encouraged urban construction and took care of the development of the cultural life of the provinces, the road system, and the introduction of a single imperial monetary unit. For the empire of the first two centuries, one can note the growth of technology, the development of crafts, the rise of economic life, the growth of local trade. Provincial cities receive self-government. Many new urban centers are emerging. Thus, from 27 BC. and until 476 AD. Rome is going through a period of empire, which in turn breaks up into a period of principate (27 BC - 193 AD) and dominate (193-476 AD).
Principate
Empire period from the middle of the 1st c. BC. until the end of the 5th c. AD was divided into the principate, when all republican institutions formally continued to function, but in reality the power was in the hands of the princeps - the first citizen of the republic, in fact, the emperor, and the dominate (starting from the end of the 3rd century AD), when a new management system was formed led by the emperor. The period of the principate, or early empire, covers the time from 27 BC. before 193 AD [rule of the Yuliev dynasties - Claudius (27 BC - 68 AD), Flaviev (69-96), Antoninov (96-192)]. Augustus and his successors, being princeps of the senate, simultaneously concentrated in their hands the highest civil and military power. Formally, the republican structure continued to exist: the senate, popular assemblies (comitia), magistracies, but the actual power was in the hands of the princeps. The emperor-princeps combined in his hands the powers of all the main republican magistracies: dictator, consul, praetor, people's tribune. Depending on the type of cases, he acted in one or another capacity: as a censor, he completed the senate; how the tribune canceled at his own will the actions of any authority, arrested citizens at his own discretion, etc.; how the consul and dictator determined the policy of the state, gave orders for the branches of government; how the dictator commanded the army, ruled the provinces, and so on. Thus, the transfer of government to the princeps occurred due to the granting of supreme power (lat. imperium - power), election to the most important positions, the creation of a separate bureaucracy from the magistracies, provided by the formation of the princeps' own treasury, and command of all armies. Sulla's dictatorship. In the 1st century BC. Rome was embroiled in a difficult Allied war for him and was forced to grant Roman citizenship to the entire population of Italy. The allied war brought neither Rome nor Italy true peace. The era of personal power, the era of dictatorships, was coming. The first dictator was the general Sulla, who, relying on an army devoted to him, established a regime of sole power, or dictatorship, in Rome. It was indefinite, which distinguished it from the republican dictatorship described above. In addition, Sulla arrogated to himself legislative functions and the right to arbitrarily dispose of the lives and property of citizens. He granted new rights to the senate, but sharply limited the powers of popular assemblies and deprived the tribunes of political functions. The dictatorship of Sulla meant the onset of a new historical era in Roman history, and above all - the end of the republic. Dictatorship of Julius Caesar. Sulla's abdication (79 BC) restored Rome's republican constitution, but not for long. Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) became the new Roman dictator. His reign came at a time after the slave uprising (74 BC) under the leadership of Spartacus, which clearly exposed the crisis of the republican form of government and the need for an authoritarian state. Elected in 59 BC Consul of Rome, Julius Caesar, heading the anti-Senatorial group, passed two land laws through the comitia, exercising direct violence against the Senate and rejecting the veto of the people's tribunes as insignificant. In a series of subsequent measures, Caesar won over to his side not only broad sections of the Roman people, but also the inhabitants of the provinces. In 46 BC Caesar put an end to his last opponents (the Pompeians) and was proclaimed dictator for a 10-year term, and in 44 for life.
The peculiarity of the Caesarist dictatorship is that the dictator had not only the consular and tribune powers, but also the censorship (from 46 BC) and the highest priestly. As commander of the army, Caesar received the title of emperor. The comitia, made dependent on Caesar, although they continued to exist, imitating the preservation of the republic, followed the instructions of the emperor, including those related to election to office. In addition, Caesar received the authority to dispose of the army and the treasury of the state, the right to appoint proconsuls in the provinces and recommend half of the candidates for magistrates in general, the right to vote first in the Senate, which was important, etc. A triumph for Caesar was the proclamation of him "father of the fatherland" with all the honors associated with this (a special chariot, a gilded chair, special clothes and shoes, etc.). The form of government created under Caesar - the principate - was further developed under his successor Octavian Augustus (27 BC - 12 AD). The founder of the empire, Octavian Augustus, received for the first time the title of princeps from the senate. Placed first on the list of senators, he received the right to be the first to speak in the Senate. The principate still retains the appearance of a republican form of government and almost all the institutions of the republic: popular assemblies are convened, the senate sits, consuls, praetors and popular tribunes are still elected. But all this is nothing more than a cover for the post-republican state system. The emperor-princeps united in his hands the powers of all the main republican magistracies: dictator, consul, praetor, people's tribune. Depending on the type of cases, he acted in one or another capacity: as a censor, he completed the senate; how the tribune canceled at his own will the actions of any authority, arrested citizens at his own discretion, etc.; how the consul and dictator determined the policy of the state, gave orders for the branches of government; how the dictator commanded the army, ruled the provinces, and so on. The people's assemblies, the main organ of power in the old republic, fell into complete decline. Cicero wrote on this occasion that gladiatorial games attracted Roman citizens more than comitia meetings. Bribery of senators, dispersal of meetings, violence against their participants, and other signs of the extreme degree of decomposition of the comitia became commonplace.
Emperor Augustus reformed the comitia in a democratic spirit (eliminated qualifying ranks, allowed absentee voting for residents of Italian municipalities), but took away judicial power from the assemblies - the most important of their former competencies. In addition, the comitia lost their original right to elect magistrates. First, a decision was made to test candidates for the consulate and praetorship in a special commission composed of senators and equestrians, i.e. approbation. But after the death of Augustus, under his successor Tiberius, the election of magistrates was transferred to the competence of the senate. “Then for the first time,” wrote the Roman historian Tacitus, “senators began to elect officials, and not assemblies of citizens on the Field of Mars, for before that, although all the most important things were done at the discretion of the princeps, something was done at the insistence of tributary assemblies” (Tacitus. Annals. 1.14). Regarding legislation, Tacitus notes that the princeps replaced not only the senate and magistrates, but also the laws themselves (Annals. 1.21). This means, of course, that legislation has also become the business of the princeps. Already under Augustus, the senate was filled with provincial nobility, who owed everything to the princeps, and especially those horsemen who had reached the rank of senatorial. From an organ of power extending to the "city of Rome", the Senate has become a kind of all-imperial institution. But his position was humiliated, and his powers were limited. Bills that came to the Senate for approval came from the princeps, and their adoption was ensured by his authority. In the end, the unwritten rule arises and affirms "Whatever the princeps decides has the force of law." The right to elect the princeps himself belonged to the senate, but even this became a mere formality: in many cases the army decided the matter. The center of the highest institutions of the empire was the "court", and precisely the court of the princeps. It housed the Imperial Chancellery with legal, financial and other departments. Finances occupy a special place: never before has the state shown such ingenuity in finding sources of taxes as in the departments of the Empire, never before - before Augustus - was the tribe of imperial officials so numerous. The army became permanent and mercenary. The soldiers served for 30 years, receiving a salary, and upon retirement - a significant plot of land. The command structure of the army was completed from the senatorial and equestrian estates. An ordinary soldier could not rise above the position of commander of a centurion hundred.
