During the first 2 centuries C.E., there was a period of peace and prosperity, called Pax Romana , which remained in history as one of the happiest and prosperous periods in the entire human history. However, the achievements of the 3 emperors of the Flavian dynasty, Vespasian, and his sons, Titus and Domitian, laid the foundations for Pax Romana because it represented a period of able administration and important political, social, military and educational changes which brought prosperity in the empire. The succession of the first of these emperors, Nerva, put an end to the Flavian dynasty and in particular, to the tyrannical rule of Domitian who died assassinated and without leaving an heir. The 5 rulers in this succession were skilled and industrious, leading the empire towards an era of stability and progress. Nerva (96-98), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian (117-138), Antonius Pius (138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (161-180) were generally benevolent rulers who sought to improve the lives of their subjects and possessed the talent and strength to accomplish these tasks.
Much of the success of the 5 good emperors came as a result of their good relationship with the Senate. As Dunstan showed, they all served as senators before becoming emperors and they usually maintained cordial relationships with the members of the Senate throughout their rule. They treated the higher classes with respect and ended capricious executions and maintaining the peace throughout the empire. However, their good relationships with the Senators allowed emperors to assign administrative tasks to them, and to increase their own legislative powers. The senators willingly accepted their reduced powers and allowed the emperors to assume broader powers, and to establish more efficient bureaucracy. The fact that four of the emperors had no heirs represented an unexpected benefit, and contributed to the instauration of Pax Romana, because successors were chosen based on their competence and popularity.
Marcus Cocceius Nerva was the first in the succession of the 5 good emperors. He was born in 30 AD in Narnia, in a high class family. He was given a series of political positions as soon as he became an adult, and he began displaying a significant amount of political talent, holding on to his official positions despite the political changes. Nerva was 64 years old when the Senate elected him emperor, in the year 96 C.E.. However, like Claudius before him, Nerva was a reluctant emperor, and he only took the office in order to save his own life after being accused of treason by Domitian.
After a complot to murder Domitian ended up successfully, Nerva’s rule came as a relief for the Romans who had suffered under the former emperor’s tyranny. Throughout his brief reign of only 16 months, Nerva managed to implement an agrarian reform, and to adopt the last lex populi in Roman history. Commonly attributed to Nerva, a measure called alimenta, which was meant to support the poor children of Rome, may have been in fact the work of his successor. The Senators supported Nerva due to his respectful behavior towards them, his vow not to put a senator to death unless he had been condemned by the court, his suspension of the law of treason instituted by Domitian, and his recall of exiled senators. In 97 C.E., Nerva adopted Trajan as his successor, a step which was meant to strengthen his own reign, and to ensure a peaceful transition of power after his death. His choice was supported by the army, which had become an extremely important requirement at the time.
Nerva’s natural death, in 98 C.E. put an end to the tradition of assassinating the emperor in order to end his rule, and instead, introduced the habit of allowing the emperors to end their reign in peace. Nerva’s successor was Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajan, the first emperor of provincial origin. Born in Spain to a patrician Roman family, Trajan had a long and distinguished military career, before becoming the governor of Upper Germany. He gained the titles Germanicus, Dacicus and Parthicus after successful campaigns against these peoples. These brought him popularity among the army and the Roman people, as a man who increased Rome’s glory.
Although he did not seem promising to the Senators, his respect towards them soon gained their favor. Even though he preserved the appearance of shared power, Trajan possessed the real power and showed simple courtesy towards the Curia which cost him nothing but gained him the fame of an extraordinary civility, which was remembered long after his death. Soon after his accession to the throne, Trajan instituted a series of reforms which increased his popularity. He eliminated the provision that required cities to send gold to the emperor at his accession to the throne, and reduced the taxes. For the administration of the provinces, he tried to select honest and competent officials, and he also sent two special governors to improve the economic status of provinces who were experiencing difficulties. The letters he exchanged with one of the governors, Pliny the Younger, during the two years that the governor spent in Bithynia-Pontus constitute the most important source of Roman provincial administration. For example, in regards to the treatment of the Christians, Trajan wrote to Pliny:
“these people must not be hunted out; if they are brought before you and the charge against them is proved, they must be punished, but in the case of anyone who denies that he is a Christian, he is to be pardoned as a result of his repentance however suspect his past conduct might be”
Therefore, in regards to the Christians, Trajan did not persecute them and tried to give them a chance to repent instead. Whether or not Nerva instituted alimenta, Trajan certainly strongly supported this measure which was meant to safeguard free-born children and secure their education. Besides, Trajan also encouraged the development of infrastructure, and roads, bridges and aqueducts were built everywhere, contributing to easier movement of trade products and troops.
This latter function is particularly important because, unlike previous emperors who had maintained the borders of the empire, Trajan was a very ambitious man who sought to expand them. In 101 C.E., Trajan led his army against Dacia and its formidable king, Decebalus In two separate campaigns which ended in 106 C.E., Trajan captured the capital and created the new province of Dacia providing lands for Roman settlers and opening the exploitation of the rich Dacian natural resources of gold and silver. Trajan’s subsequent war with the Parthians began in 113, when Trajan led his troops to the eastern edge of the Empire He annexed the territory between Tiger and Euphrates as the province of Mesopotamia. In 116, he conquered the capital of Parthia and then annexed this area as the province of Assyria. However, the Parthians quickly organized a resistance against the Roman rule and in the same year, the populations from the newly conquered areas started uprisings, which reached a climax with the revolt of the Jews , which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. In 117, after 3 years of difficult campaigns in the desert, Trajan, now over 60 years old, became ill. Leavening Hadrian as governor of Syria, he set out for Rome but never reached the capital, dying of a stroke a few days later.
Publius Aelius Hadrianus was Trajan’s second cousin and he had spent many years inspecting the provinces and restoring the military forces to good order. He ascended to the throne at 41, although the adoption act was rumored to having been forged. Even though he was not as popular with the elites as Trajan had been, he was extremely popular with the army, who acclaimed him as emperor as soon as news of Trajan’s death reached them. Hadrian was provided with excellent education, having been Trajan’s ward. He was extremely intelligent and cult, but he had also pursued a long military career, which explains his popularity with the army.
Hadrian inherited a legacy of revolts, but he also succeeded a great emperor and needed to prove that he was at least as competent as Trajan had been. Adrian made peace with Parthia, allowed Armenia to return to its former status, and abandoned all the conquests east of Euphrates. This policy did not please everyone, particularly powerful military men who had admired Trajan’s expansionism. Despite his attempts to gain everyone’s favor, he remained somewhat of an outsider for the people of Rome. Hadrian spent much of his time in the provinces on inspections, trying to improve life there by strengthening infrastructure, building the famous Wall against the tribesmen of the North, and led punitive expeditions in North Africa against the Moors. Even though he promoted peace over war and persuasion over the use of force, he strengthened the army to a great extent, proving to be a strict disciplinarian.
Hadrian also instituted important social policies, using his legislative power to institute humane measures. For example, he improved the lives of slaves by forbidding the owners from torturing, killing and castrating them or for selling them as prostitutes or gladiators. He expanded the alimenta program, rising the age until which the children could receive funds. Ancient writers praised Hadrian for his benefactions and for his support for the cultural and artistic life, funding schools of rhetoric, philosophy and medicine across the Empire and supporting education in general. Hadrian adopted senator Titus Aurelius Antoninus, and he asked him to adopt two boys, one of whom would become Marcus Aurelius, thus establishing the line of succession. Hadrian died of a painful illness in 138.
Hadrian’s adopted son, Titus Aurelius Antoninus, who became known as the emperor Antoninus Pius gained the reputation as the most benevolent of the 5 good emperors. He was born and raised in Lanuvium, in a very rich and prestigious family of royal lineage. He had expert knowledge of the law and was a skillful administrator and due to these gifts, Hadrian would not allow him to retire and instead, he was appointed in different positions that required a competent person. His reputation was so good that Romans used to say, “one should behave in all things like a pupil of Antoninus: his energy on behalf of what was done in accord with reason, his equability everywhere, his serene expression, his sweetness, his disdain of glory, his ambition to grasp affairs” . Antoninus chose to stay in Rome and to make good use of the senators for the benefit of the empire. One of his regulations which continue to influence contemporary jurisprudence was that a man had to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Antoninus’s reign was a very peaceful one, even though his reign was not free from unrest and usurpation attempt. However, he dealt with all of the crises in his empire without leaving Rome, but relied on his governors and other diplomatic methods of governing. This was a very beneficial style of ruling, which allowed Antoninus to focus on domestic problems, and satisfied the senators and the people. A skilled administrator and builder, he managed to preserve the economic prosperity of the empire despite his extensive building project which aimed to improve the lives of the people. The emperor suspended the taxes from areas struck by natural disasters, and offered financial supports for rebuilding after such disasters. Antoniuns died at 70 years old following a short illness, in 161. His death ended very long and auspicious reign.
Marcus Aurelius was already heir apparent by the time Antoninus died and he smoothly transitioned to the position of emperor afterwards. However, he refused to take the office without Lucius Verus, his brother following adoption, who would rule side by side with him as co-emperor, from 161 to 169, when Verus died. Called the gentlest and the most scholarly of all Roman emperors, he is also perhaps the most well-known of all the 5 good emperors. Hadrian showed favor unto Marcus Aurelius since a very early age, promoting him into the equestrian class at the age of 6 and enrolling him into a priestly college at the age of 8. Consequently, Marcus Aurelius received the best possible Roman education from a very early age.
Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were popular rulers who permitted the freedom of speech, and did not reattribute against those who criticized them, as they had been taught by one of their mentors, Severus. Marcus also promoted equality before the law and from Severus, he learnt about the value of helping others and the joys of sharing. Marcus was a philosopher, who embraced the doctrine of the stoics. He sought to lead a simple life, guided by duty. He was calm and optimistic. He was never hesitant, aggressive or hypocritical, but he never turned back from any of his tasks.
However, Marcus Aurelius’s reign was dominated by social and political unrest in the provinces, an economic crisis and a plague outbreak. Soon after Antoninus’s death, the plague brought chaos into the Empire and in Rome, and emptied the treasury. At the same time, in 167, the Danube frontier collapsed under the attack of Germanic people who pushed forward being also pressed from behind by other tribal people, in a major population shift. In 169, Verus suffered a stroke and died, leaving Aurelius to deal with the problems of the empire by himself. In 170, the Germanic tribes defeated Aurelius and crossed into Italy, besieging one city. This great danger determined the emperor to draft slaves and gladiators, and to payed allied tribes to harass the attackers. Finally he managed to push them back to the Danube, where Roman armies defeated them.
In 175, Marcus Aurelius broke with the adoptive principle which had produced so many able rulers before, and named his 17-years-old son, Commodus, as his successor. Even though he was criticized for this act, the dynastic principle was still popular in Rome, and Aurelius feared that popular uprisings would take place if he named someone as successor to the throne. Eventually, in 178, Marcus managed to crush the opposing Germanic tribes and planned to create two new provinces in the North of the Danube. However, he did not accomplish his plans, dying from his ailments in 180.
The death of Marcus Aurelius signified the end of the era of the 5 good emperors, a time when enlightened rulers sought to improve the lives of all the people under their command, to increase the glory of Rome, and to bring peace to the empire. Due to their efforts, the 2nd century C.E. is seen by many historians as the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. During this period, there were no civil wars, no assassinations of the emperors, and there was more unity throughout the empire than ever before. Travel had become safer. Besides, for the most part of this period, agriculture flourished and the economy prospered, while industries and trade flourished, due to the improving infrastructure and the safety of travel. Governed by dedicated rulers who put the well-being of the people above all else, Romans turned their attention to arts, literature and architecture, enjoying the benefits of peaceful life
Marcus Aurelius was succeeded by Commodus, who was very different than his father. Immediately after his death, he abandoned the territories that Marcus Aurelius had conquered and made peace with the Germanic tribes. The reign of Emperor Commodus, who was perceived as cruel, coward and unfit to rule, marked the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. Due to a succession of incompetent rulers, the power of the army grew interfered in civil matters, leading to the weakening of the Senate. Gradually Roman culture faded, and its economy declined, under higher taxes and poor agricultural reforms. Without talented army commanders and dedicated emperors to lead Rome towards progress and greatness, the empire gradually degraded. Also, Commodus’s tyrannical rule marked the beginning of political instability. Over the course of almost a century, no less than 25 different emperors ruled the Roman Empire. Because they were chosen by the army, and they had been formed as soldiers, they were called the “Barracks Emperors”. It was only after the ascension of Diocletian to the throne, in 284 C.E, that the empire got to be governed by a capable ruler again.
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