Two million square kilometers of land, fifty-five thousand miles of roads, and sixty-five million people, this was Rome at its height under “Pax Romana”. “Pax Romana” or the Roman Peace was a period of relative order and security which lasted for two hundred years and beginning with the reign of Augustus. The Roman Peace had a significant impact on the political, economic and social systems of the Roman Empire.
On the 14th of March, 44 BCE, Julius Caesar is assassinated, sending the Roman Empire into chaos and forever changing the political landscape. The civil war that followed was won by Julius Caesar adopted son, Octavian. In reaction, the Roman senate handed over an immense amount of power to Ocativan by honoring him as “the first citizen”,
…show more content…
The average Roman citizen would have seen many changes to society, such as the introduction of the imperial cult, civil service jobs and the ability to travel and visit new places. Romans understood the peace and security Augustus’s leadership brought and subsequently he was worshipped as a god. The Imperial Cult emerged, which deified past and present emperors, although this resulted in Christians occasionally revolting, this remained a small issue. Roman society also saw the beginnings of civil service jobs, where peasants could work instead for the government instead of a farm or local industry. This helped to alleviate the effects of globalization. Old decaying temples were also restored by Emperor Augustus, in attempt to rebuild old moral values. Though the rot had already begun to eat away at the Rome’s morals. The historian Tacitus recorded Calgacus, a leader of the Britons, in addressing the Romans, “we kept even our eyes free from the defilement of tyranny today the boundary of Britain is exposed; beyond us lies no nation, nothing but waves and rocks and the Romans, more deadly still than they, for you find in them an arrogance which no reasonable submission can elude”. Calacus continues “They are unique in being as violently tempted to attack the poor as the wealthy. Robbery, butchery, rapine, the liars call Empire; they create desolation and call it peace.”This quote highlights the arrogance and warlike nature the Romans developed, and the paradigm shift that the Roman Empire endured culminating from “Pax