How Did The Pax Romana Change

For about 200 years during the Greek / Roman Empire, there was a period of time known as the Pax Romana. Pax Romana is literally translated as ‘the Roman Peace”. This period of time was between the reign of Augustus Caesar through the death of Marcus Aurelius. Pax Romana is defined by the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, as “the terms of peace imposed by ancient Rome on its dominions or any state of peace imposed by a strong nation on weaker or defeated nations” (Random House, 2006). This 200 year period which brought many changes to the Roman Empire and was a time for unity, peace, and national stability.
The Pax Romana was started by Augustus Caesar, born Gaius Octavius – the grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. After the assassination of Julius Caesar by members of the Roman Senate, Octavius eventually won full rule over the Roman Empire from his rivals. Most notably, his victory over all of Rome was finalized when Octavius defeated his former ally, Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium (Greer & Lewis, p. 119). Octavius changed his name to Augustus Caesar as he took supreme control over the Roman Empire and was given the ‘authority of tribune’ which gave him the ultimate power of veto over the senate. He became Rome’s first true Emperor and ruled until his
death 45 years later in A.D. 14 (Kreis, 2001).
This period of time was so important to the empire, because it represented a time to restore peace to, reform and reconstruct the Roman Empire.
Augustus quietly retained the ultimate control over the senate and the Roman government, but kept the appearances of being confined by the government’s constraints (Greer & Lewis, p. 121). Augustus was successfully able to unite all of the different conquered city-states of the Roman Empire under one rule by allowing each to retain their own identity – yet encouraging them to adopt the Roman rule. This was a huge driving force for the success of his reign over the empire as it inadvertently discouraged rebellion and revolt (UNRV,
2003).
One of the major reforms that Augustus was able to put into place involved the Roman military and a reorganization of its efforts. His reformed, organized army was put into place after the defeat of Antony and was mostly left unchanged through the entire 200 year period of the Pax Romana (New Catholic Encyclopedia, p.299-301).
At the beginning of the Pax Romana, Augustus reformed the government. He created a system of government that encouraged trade between the different states of the empire. As a part of this governmental reform, a silver coin was created as one of the first currencies - the denarius. The introduction of a currency made trade between the different parts of the empire easier. Trade also became easier and faster through the introduction of new and improved transportation between cities by beginning a program of road construction. These new roads not only improved the speed of trade between the different states, but they also made it easier for the Roman military to have mobility to protect the empire (Kreis, 2001).
The Pax Romana is also a notable time in history as it this stable period of time allowed for the spread of Christianity through Rome. Christ was born under the reign of Augustus Caesar, and the early Christian Church developed within the Roman Empire and was subject to its government. That said, the New Testament of the bible serves as an important source for the life of the common people in the first century of the Empire (New Catholic Encyclopedia, p.299-301)
The Pax Romana was a period of 200 years of peace in the Roman Empire. It was started during the reign of Augustus Caesar, the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. This 200 year period which brought many changes to the Roman Empire was a time for unity, peace, and national stability for its people.