3. The "Soldier Emperors"

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From the course by University of Arizona

Roman Art and Archaeology

282 ratings

University of Arizona

Roman Art and Archaeology

282 ratings

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the culture of ancient Rome beginning about 1000 BCE and ending with the so-called "Fall of Rome". We will look at some of the key people who played a role in Rome, from the time of the kings through the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. We will also focus on the city of Rome itself, as well as Rome's expansion through Italy, the Mediterranean, and beyond.

From the lesson

Crisis and Conclusion (3rd to 7th centuries CE)

What does it mean to talk about the fall of Rome? The far-flung empire collapsed in varying degrees in different places at different times. In the fourth century enormous earthquakes caused such devastation that in the Roman east the whole fabric of ancient religious belief was called into question. In central Italy along the Tiber River an epidemic of malaria, a virulent new-mutated strain from North Africa, left many dead. The legacy of Rome, however, continued into the Carolingian and Byzantine empires. And yet the city of Rome underwent a major revival in the later Middle Ages, continuing through the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Romantic Periods, playing a major role in the foundation of our own country.

1. The Years of Crisis2:45

2. The Baths of Caracalla10:18

3. The "Soldier Emperors"4:51

4. Ostia, The Port of Rome3:14

5. Diocletian7:01

6. Roman Sculpture in the 3rd century CE5:12

Meet the Instructors

David Soren
Regents Professor of Classics and Anthropology
Classics and Anthropology

Caracalla was murdered by the prefect of the Praertorian guards,

Macrinus who declared himself emperor.

He was from a lower class Mauritanian family in the area now known as Morocco.

But soon Caracalla's aunt, Julia Maesa,

M-A-E-S-A, conspired within the palace and

in her native Syria to create a plan to have him assassinated.

Her plot was not for the good of Rome.

But rather to make her own grandson Varius Avitus Bassianus

later known as Elagabalus, emperor in 218 CE.

And so it went throughout much of the century.

Elagabalus further undermined traditional Rome by instituting the worship

right by the Roman Forum and Colosseum of Syrian divinities.

Including a temple to a solar divinity

known in Rome as Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun.

A large fetish stone or baetyl,

b-a-e-t-y-l, was brought to Rome from Syria.

His coinage however, kept up the illusion that he was a traditional Roman.

Using classical imagery and

suggesting even that he was somehow connected to the Antonides.

Septimius Severus had claimed this also.

And he did this by changing his name to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

Nonetheless, the placing of divinities such as Jupiter in the background and

the trumpeting of foreign divinities with exotic appearance.

That strange huge cults gold structures proved a bit extreme for

the citizens of Rome.

Who caught glimpses of this emperor strutting about wearing royal purple,

along with gold embroidered silk and flashy jewelery.

The matter was settled when he, along with his mother were murdered

in the Praetorian Guard headquarters in Rome in 222 CE.

After Elagabalus, a succession of emperors faced off against internal rivals.

But also struggled to hold the line against Goths, Franks,

Alemanni, Herulians, Partheons, Persians,

Caledonians and other assorted Germanic tribes.

While at the same time dealing with economic crisis at home in Rome.

Many of the so-called soldier emperors of the 3rd century CE came from the area

of the former Yugoslavia, known as Illyria or Illyricum.

This is because of the enormous importance of this area

as a European hub between east and west.

And this was a key area of barbarian unrest.

At this time, a major threat was the grain supply.

During the 1st and especially 2nd century CE, Ostia, the Port

of Rome on the Tiber River had been built up into an efficient supply center.

Bringing grain from the grain centers.

At first in Egypt, later along the Majardah River,

deep in the heart of Tunisia.

Olive oil also began to pour into Ostia,

especially in the 2nd century, along with all manner of imported goods.

Claudius, the Julio-Claudian emperor of the 40s and

50s, had built a harbor there to improve trade, but

it proved insufficient for protecting the grain ships from storms.

And so the emperor Trajan, at the beginning of the 2nd century,

built a larger harbor at porto by the area of today's Fiumicino Airport of Rome.

Ostia required hard workers to unload the ships and store the grain in warehouses.

As the town grew, land became expensive for the workers.

And high-rise apartment buildings, some of them up to five stories were constructed.

Fire fighting balconies were also put onto the buildings, because of the limited

abilities of the Roman fire fighting brigade and its water spewing pumps.

Let us pay a little visit to Ostia via a movie that I helped to

make a few years back.

And we'll learn about how houses were put up and

people lived in this critical Roman satellite town.

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