12b: Pax Romana

The Latin term Pax Romana can be translated as "Roman Peace." More specifically it means the two centuries of comparative peace and prosperity which began with Augustus in 30 BC, and ended with the fall of the Severan dynasty in 235 AD. The use of the word pax or "peace" might imply the absence of wars. In fact, there were almost always wars on one border or another, and even a brief civil war. Yet the Roman Empire - now including the entire Mediterranean world - was far more peaceful and stable than it had ever been during the Republic. Moreover, the isubject peoples of the Roman world truly became Romanized during this time, East as well as West. The Roman legal system ensured the rule of law. The Roman army kept the borders safe from marauders and the Roman navy kept the seas free from pirates. Attention to the needs of all the people, in the provinces as well as in Italy, kept the empire free from social disorder. Even the so-called "Year of the Four Emperors" (68-69 AD) merely interrupted the more than two centuries of order and prosperity, instead of stopping the Principate in its tracks.

Rome's territorial gains were very modest during the time of the Pax Romana. Augustus hoped to extend Rome's influence in Germany beyond the Rhine. His efforts backfired in 9 AD, when Herman the German annihilated three Roman legions at Teutoberg Wald. This defeat made him advise Tiberius to keep the Empire's boundaries right where they were, and to focus on keeping what Rome had already gained. Most of the Imperial army of 150,000 men was kept busy on those borders not defined by the sea, the desert, or the great rivers. They marched, they drilled and they built fortifications. The Rhine and the Danube valleys would always remain flashpoints and sometimes required additional forces, as did the restless Jews of Judea.Over time  Britain, Arabia and Dacia (that is, modern day Rumania) were added to the empire, and some client kingdoms annexed. But for the most part Rome focused upon developing internal stability. More and more provincials won the full Roman citizenship, and many of the more enterprising provincials found their way to Rome - which had become virtually the capital of the Mediterranean world. This diversity brought needed new blood to Roman society; four of the "Five Good Emperors" could trace their ancestry to Spain or France.

Although the Principate was a dictatorship based on control of the Roman military, Augustus's successors made some positive contributions to his legacy. Tiberius found the ablest provincial governors he could, and left them in their jobs as long as they were willing to serve. Claudius streamlined the government, taking it away from the equestrian class (who were more concerned with making heir own personal fortunes). He replaced the equestrians with ex-slaves with specialized administrative skills. These freedmen, as they were called, eased the problems of running an empire with their focus and their competence. They tended to recognize the Princeps as their patron, which made them more loyal and reliable than the equestrians.

The inhabitants of the Greek-speaking East flourished under Roman control. Although the provinces were still governed by Romans and Latin was the official language, the urban Hellenic culture was allowed to continue untouched. Provided a city paid its taxes and contributed troops, it could retain its own system of magistracies and assemblies with their own names. Greeks who chose to master the Latin language had the chance to earn Roman citizenship, and once they had obtained citizenship, they had the same business and political opportunities as Italian-born native speakers of Latin. Both the apostle Paul and the pagan biographer Plutarch, Greek speakers both, were proud to claim Roman citizenship, and grateful for the benefits it conferred. The Romans were also attentive to the infrastructure of the Greek East, and spent money on improving the roads, building aqueducts, and other buildings that a city might find necessary. The Greek-speaking peoples of the lands conquered by Alexander the Great, himself declared a god, were also comfortable with their god-emperor. As long as they paid homage to the Princeps, they were allowed freedom of worship in all other respects. Even the Jews were willing to offer prayers for the Emperor's "genius," or guardian spirit, and were left alone. The Christians, who refused to worship the emperor as a god, were not usually allowed freedom of worship As imperial powers went, the Roman hand fell very lightly on the East during the time of the Pax Romana.

In the far less urbanized West, the Roman culture did not have to compete with Hellenistic ways, and therefore established deeper roots. In northern Africa and coastal Spain, once Carthaginian territory, great cities already existed and were allowed much the same rights as the Greek cities. In the Roman provinces of Spain, Gaul, Germany, and Britain, however, people passed directly from tribal culture and government to urban culture and Roman citizenship. Latin was never more than a second or third language (although a very important one) in the Greek East, but in the Romanized western provinces it eventually became the native tongue. To these tribal peoples, the divinity of the Roman emperor made sense; therefore, accepting the Imperial cult was no problem. Since the Romans were the first to bring urban civilization to most of the West, the West's great cities developed out of Roman military bases such as Londinium and Lutetia Parisiorum.

As we have seen, the Roman Empire brought the benefits of Roman government and law to an enormous territory. At the same time, the Romans willingly accepted what other cultures had to offer, especially in the case of the Greeks, whose science, art, literature, and philosophy they had assimilated long before the Republic fell. The Romans also embraced the influence of other eastern civilizations such as the Jews, the Egyptians, Persians, and even Babylonians. Jews, Egyptians, Persians, and even Babylonians were allowed to become Roman citizens, and Rome was the richer for the new blood. Many of the new Romans, men and women alike, rose to high and responsible positions in Roman life. For a nation so fixated on its own mos maiorum, the Romans demonstrated a truly amazing ability to adapt.