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4.2 Pax Romana 2
Hi, this is the second part of chapter four: Pax Romana, the second part.
1. In the Year of the Four Emperors in 69 AD, Vespasian finally restored the order and became the first Emperor of a new dynasty, the Flavian Dynasty. This dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between 69 to 96, consisting of three emperors: Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96).
2. This dynasty experienced some natural disasters. The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 was one of the most catastrophic disasters in the human history. It released 100,000 times of the thermal energy of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings dropped by U.S. during the Second World War. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to 33 km high. The surrounding cities Pompeii and Herculaneum were completely buried. The total inhabitants of the cities were 16,000–20,000; the remains of about 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, but the overall death toll is still unknown.
3. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Revolt was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire. The Roman army led by Vespasian’ son and the future Emperor Titus besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem in 70AD.
4. The Colosseum
The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, a huge round building is situated in the center of Rome, just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his son, the emperor Titus. The Colosseum could hold 80,000 spectators; it was used for gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, executions, and dramas. This is an 1883 historical painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer describes the persecution against the Christians by the Roman Empire. Many Christians were killed by being thrown to the beasts at The Colosseum. What a horrible scene!
5. Nerva–Antonine dynasty
The last emperor Domitian of the Flavian dynasty was assassinated in 96AD by members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedmen. Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. This was the first time the Senate elected a Roman emperor. Nerva was the first emperor of the long-lived Nerva–Antonine dynasty. This dynasty has 7emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Lucius Verus, Marcus Aureliu, Commodus. Lucius Verus was the co-emperor with Marcus Aureliu until his death, and the last emperor Commodus was the co-emperor with his father Marcus Aureliu, after the latter died he became the only one. The first emperor Nerva established this dynasty, and the last one was the son of the former emperor. All other emperors are called Adoptive Emperors. They were all the adopted sons and heirs of the ruling emperors.
6. The Italian Renaissance political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) called the first five emperors Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius "Five Good Emperors". He wrote "all the emperors who succeeded to the throne by birth, except Titus, were bad; all were good who succeeded by adoption, as in the case of the five from Nerva to Marcus". In The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, English historian Edward Gibbon (1737– 1794) wrote the time of "Five Good Emperors" is "the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was the happiest and most prosperous”, “the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue".
7. Trajan was a successful soldier-commander-emperor who conquered modern Romania, Armenia and Mesopotamia. The Roman Empire reached to its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death in 117AD. It covered 5 million square kilometers, 70 million people, 21% of the world's entire population at that time.
8. Hadrian had strengthened the stability of the Roman frontiers. He spent more than 10 years traveling on the road, visited almost every province of the Empire. He built Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britannia. In 135AD Hadrian put down the second revolt of Jews. 580,000 Jews died, 50 fortified towns and 985 villages were rezed. Many survivors were enslaved or expelled from Judea. Marcus Aurelius was one of the most respected emperors in Roman history. He spent nearly whole of his reign on the Danubian frontier (I mean, the area among Danube River) to the north of the Empire, fighting and repelling the barbarians. He was born into a wealthy and politically prominent family. He was strongly influenced by Stoicism, one school of the Hellenistic Greek philosophy which emphasized fate, reason, virtue and self-restraint. He traveled and fought at day and studied and wrote at night in his soldier’s tent. His famous work was Meditations. Meditation is thinking about something very carefully and deeply for a long time. The central theme of his writing is to emphasize the importance of analyzing one's judgment of self and others and the development of a cosmic perspective. He advocates finding one's place in the universe and sees that everything came from nature. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining strong ethical principles such as "Being a good man". Meditations is the favorite book of our former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and former United States President Bill Clinton.
9. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius. As a philosopher Aurelius’ judgment of his son was a really terrible one. In 177, Aurelius made Commodus the youngest consul in Roman history at the age of 16, and later that year, he made him the co-emperor with Aurelius. When his father died in 180, Commodus became the only emperor. It seemed Commodus wanted to be a gladiator more than an Emperor. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of the legendary hero Hercules, Greek name Heracles. A reincarnation is a person whose body is believed to contain the spirit of a dead person. He frequently imitated Hercules’s feats by appearing in the arena to fight wild animals. Commodus was assassinated in 192 and this marked the end of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the 200-year Pax Romana.
10. Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 – c. 120 AD) was a senator and historian during the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. His two major works the Annals and the Histories, recorded the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in 14 AD, to the years of the First Jewish–Roman War in 70 AD. He examined the differences between the public propaganda and the realities of the political power struggles with an irony and sharp sense. His Germania described the lands, laws, and customs of the various Germanic tribes. These descriptions were considered a warning of the Romans’ excessive self-confidence.
Plutarch (46–120AD)
His works were written in Greek. He was born in a small town 80 km east of Delphi, Greece. Later he became a Roman citizen. He had worked as magistrate and ambassador. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his life serving as a priest in Delphi. He was a biographer and essayist, his most famous work is Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, consisting of 23 pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman like Alexander the Great from Greece and Julius Caesar from Rome. As he explained he was not concerned with writing histories, but with exploring the influence of good or bad character on the lives and destinies of famous people.
11. This is the end of this part. Let’s look at key words: the Flavian Dynasty, Five Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Plutarch.
This is the end of second part of chapter four.
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Hi this is the second part of
chapter four
Pax Romana the second part
In the Year
of the Four Emperors in 69 AD
Vespasian
finally restored the order
and became the first Emperor
of a new dynasty
the Flavian Dynasty
This dynasty ruled the Roman Empire
between 69 to 96
consisting of three emperors
Vespasian and his two sons
Titus and Domitian
This dynasty experienced
some natural disasters
The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius
in 79 was one of the most
catastrophic disasters
in the human history
It released 100000 times
of the thermal energy
of the Hiroshima Nagasaki bombings
dropped by US during the Second
World War
The eruption ejected
a cloud of stones ashes and
volcanic gases to 33 km high
The surrounding cities
Pompeii and Herculaneum
were completely buried
The total inhabitants of the cities
were 16000 to 20000
The remains of about
1500 people have been found
at Pompeii and Herculaneum
but the overall
death toll is still unknown
The First Jewish Roman War
sometimes called the Great Revolt
was the first of three major rebellions
by the Jews against the Roman Empire
The Roman army led by Vespasian’s son
and the future Emperor Titus
besieged and conquered
the city of Jerusalem in 70AD
The Colosseum also known
as the Flavian Amphitheatre
a huge round building
is situated in the center of Rome
just east of the Roman Forum
Construction began under the emperor
Vespasian in AD 72
and was completed in AD 80
under his son the emperor Titus
The Colosseum could hold
80000 spectators
It was used for
gladiatorial contests animal hunts
executions and dramas
This is an 1883 historical painting
by French artist Jean Leon Gerome
The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer
describes the persecution
against the Christians
by the Roman Empire
Many Christians were killed
by being thrown to the beasts
at The Colosseum
What a horrible scene
The last emperor Domitian
of the Flavian dynasty
was assassinated in 96AD
by members of the Praetorian Guard
and several of his freedmen
Nerva was declared emperor
by the Roman Senate
This was the first time
the Senate elected a Roman emperor
Nerva was the first emperor
of the Long lived Nerva Antonine dynasty
This dynasty has 7emperors
Nerva
Trajan
Hadrian
Antoninus Pius
Lucius Verus
Marcus Aurelius
Commodus
Lucius Verus was the co-emperor
with Marcus Aurelius
until his death
and the last emperor Commodus
was the co-emperor
with his father Marcus Aurelius
After the latter died
he became the only one
The first emperor
Nerva established this dynasty
and the last one
was the son of the former emperor
All other emperors are called
Adoptive Emperors
They were all the adopted sons
and heirs of the ruling emperors
The Italian Renaissance
political philosopher
Niccolò Machiavelli
called the first five emperors
Nerva Trajan Hadrian
Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius
Five Good Emperors
He wrote all the emperors who
succeeded to the throne
by birth except Titus
were bad
All were good
who succeeded by adoption
as in the case of the five from
Nerva to Marcus
In The History of the
Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire
English historian Edward Gibbon
wrote The time of Five Good Emperors
is the period
in the history of the world
during which the condition of the human race
was most happy and prosperous
the Roman Empire was governed by
absolute power
under the guidance of wisdom and virtue
Trajan was a successful
Soldier commander emperor
who conquered modern
Romania
Armenia and Mesopotamia
The Roman Empire reached to its
maximum territorial extent
by the time of his death in 117AD
It covered 5 million square kilometers
70 million people
21% of the world's entire
population at that time
Hadrian had strengthened
the stability of the Roman frontiers
He spent more than 10 years
traveling on the road
visited almost
every province of the Empire
He built Hadrian’s Wall
which marked the northern limit
of Roman Britannia
In 135AD Hadrian put down
the second revolt of Jews
580000 Jews dead
50 fortified towns and
985 villages razed
Many survivors were enslaved
or expelled from Judea
Marcus Aurelius was one of the most
respected emperors
in Roman history
He spent nearly whole of his reign
on the Danubian frontier
I mean the area among Danube River
to the north of the Empire
fighting and repelling the barbarians
He was born into a wealthy and
politically prominent family
He was strongly influenced by Stoicism
one school of the
Hellenistic Greek philosophy
which emphasized fate reason
virtue and self-restraint
He traveled and fought at day
and studied and wrote
at night in his soldier’s tent
His famous work was Meditations
Meditation is thinking about
something very carefully
and deeply for a long time
The central theme of his writing
is to emphasize the importance
of analyzing one’s judgment
of self and others
and the development of a
cosmic perspective
He advocates
finding one’s place in the universe
and sees that
everything came from nature
He also emphasized the importance
of maintaining strong ethical principles
such as Being a good man
Meditations is the favorite book
of our former Prime Minister Wen jiabao
and former United States
President Bill Clinton
Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius
As a philosopher
Aurelius’s judgment of his son
was a really terrible one
In 177 Aurelius made Commodus
the youngest consul
in Roman history at the age of 16
and later that year he made him
the co-emperor with Aurelius
When his father died in 180
Commodus became the only emperor
It seemed Commodus
wanted to be a gladiator
more than an Emperor
He thought of himself
as the reincarnation
of the legendary hero Hercules
Greek name Heracles
A reincarnation is a person
whose body is believed
to contain the spirit of a dead person
He frequently imitated
Hercules’s feats
by appearing in the arena
to fight wild animals
Commodus was assassinated in 192
and this marked the end of the
Nerva Antonine dynasty
and the 200 year Pax Romana
Cornelius Tacitus
was a senator and historian
during the Nerva Antonine dynasty
His two major works
the Annals and the Histories
recorded the history of the Roman Empire
from the death of Augustus in 14 AD
to the years of the First
Jewish Roman War in 70 AD
He examined the differences
between the public propaganda
and the realities of the
political power struggles
with an irony and sharp sense
His Germania described the lands laws
and customs of the various
Germanic tribes
These descriptions
were considered a warning
of the Romans excessive
self confidence
Plutarch
His works were written in Greek
He was born in a small town
80 km east of Delphi Greece
Later he became a Roman citizen
He had worked as
magistrate and ambassador
Plutarch spent the last
thirty years of his life
serving as a priest in Delphi
He was a biographer and essayist
His most famous work is Parallel Lives
a series of biographies
of famous Greeks and Romans
consisting of 23 pairs of biographies
Each pair
consisting of one Greek and one Roman
like Alexander the Great from Greece
and Julius Caesar from Rome
As he explained
he was not concerned with
writing histories
but with exploring the influence
of good or bad character
on the lives and destinies
of famous people
This is the end of this part
Let’s look at key words
The Flavian Dynasty
Five Good Emperors
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
Plutarch
This is the end
of second part of chapter four
-1.0 Introduction
--1.0.3 Exercises
-1.1 Greek Bronze Age and Dark Age
--1.1.3 Exercises
-1.2 Greek Gods
--1.2.3 Exercises
-1.3 Archaic Greece
--1.3.3 Exercises
-1.4 Athens and the Persian Wars
--1.4.3 Exercises
-1.5 Discussion
-2.1 War and politics in the fifth century BC
--2.1.3 Exercises
-2.2 Greece in the fourth century BC
--2.2.3 Exercises
-2.3 Classical Greek Philosophy
--2.3.3 Exercises
-2.4 Athenian Drama
--2.4.3 Exercises
-2.5 Alexander the Great and Hellenistic World
--2.5.3 Exercises
-2.6 Discussion
-3.1 Roman Kingdom
--3.1.3 Exercises
-3.2 Early Republic
--3.2.3 Exercises
-3.3 Mid-Republic
--3.3.3 Exercises
-3.4 Late-Republic
--3.4.3 Exercises
-3.5 End of the Republic
--3.5.3 Exercises
-3.6 Discussion
-4.1 Pax Romana 1
--4.1.3 Excecises
-4.2 Pax Romana 2
--4.2.3 Excecises
-4.3 Crisis of the Third Century and Constantine
--4.3.3 Excecises
-4.4 The Victory of Christianity
--4.4.3 Exercises
-4.5 The Fall of the Roman Empire
--4.5.3 Exercises
-4.6 Discussion
-5.1 Early Middle Ages
--5.1.3 Excecises
-5.2 Carolingian Dynasty
--5.2.3 Excecises
-5.3 High Middle Ages
--5.3.3 Excecises
-5.4 Late Middle Ages 1
--5.4.1 Excecises
-5.5 Late Middle Ages 2
--5.5.3 Excecises
-5.6 Discussion
-6.1 The Renaissance
--6.1.3 Exercises
-6.2 Protestant Reformation
--6.2.3 Exercises
-6.3 Italian Wars and Rise of Russia
--6.3.3 Exercises
-6.4 Age of Discovery
--6.4.3 Exercises
-6.5 French War of Religion and Russia’s Time of Trouble
--6.5.3 Exercises
-6.6 Discussion
-7.1 The Thirty Years War
--7.1.3 Exercises
-7.2 English Revolution
--7.2.3 Exercises
-7.3 Three Absolute Monarchs
--7.3.3 Exercises
-7.4 Dutch Golden Age
--7.4.3 Exercises
-7.5 Science and Culture in the 17th Century
--7.5 Text
--7.5.3 Exercises
-7.6 Discussion
-8.1 The United Kingdom
--8.1.3 Exercises
-8.2 The American Revolution
--8.2.3 Exercises
-8.3 The French Revolution
--8.3.3 Exercises
-8.4 Age of Enlightenment
--8.4.3 Exercises
-8.5 West after the 18th century
--8.5.3 Exercises
-8.6 Discussion