Roman Empire

==Government and military==
{{Main|Constitution of the Roman Empire}}
[[File:Jerash BW 12.JPG|thumbnail|left|Forum of Gerasa ([[Jerash]] in present-day [[Jordan]]), with columns marking a covered walkway ''([[stoa]])'' for vendor stalls, and a semicircular space for public speaking]]

The three major elements of the Imperial state were the central government, the military, and the provincial government.{{Sfnp|Bohec|2000|p=8}} The military established control of a territory through war, but after a city or people was brought under treaty, the mission turned to policing: protecting Roman citizens, agricultural fields, and religious sites.{{Sfnp|Bohec|2000|pp=14–15}} The Romans lacked sufficient manpower or resources to rule through force alone. [[Local government (ancient Roman)|Cooperation with local elites]] was necessary to maintain order, collect information, and extract revenue. The Romans often exploited internal political divisions.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Moralia'' Moralia 813c and 814c; {{Harvp|Potter|2009|pp=181–182}}; {{Cite book |last=Luttwak |first=Edward |title=The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire |date=1979 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=0-8018-2158-4 |page=30 |author-link=Edward Luttwak |orig-date=1976}}</ref>

Communities with demonstrated loyalty to Rome retained their own laws, could collect their own taxes locally, and in exceptional cases were exempt from Roman taxation. Legal privileges and relative independence incentivized compliance.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=184}} Roman government was thus [[limited government|limited]], but efficient in its use of available resources.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=181}}

===Central government===
{{See also|Roman emperor|Senate of the Roman Empire}}
[[File:Antoninus Pius Hermitage.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Antoninus Pius]] ({{R.|138|161}}) wearing a [[toga]] ([[Hermitage Museum]])]]
The [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult of ancient Rome]] identified [[Roman emperor|emperors]] and some members of their families with [[Divine right of kings|divinely sanctioned]] authority (''[[auctoritas]]''). The rite of [[apotheosis]] (also called ''consecratio'') signified the deceased emperor's deification.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=William |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Apotheosis.html |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |date=1875 |publisher=John Murray |pages=105–106 |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713102925/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA%2A/Apotheosis.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The dominance of the emperor was based on the consolidation of powers from several republican offices.{{Sfnp|Abbott|1901|p=354}} The emperor made himself the central religious authority as ''[[pontifex maximus]]'', and centralized the right to declare war, ratify treaties, and negotiate with foreign leaders.{{Sfnp|Abbott|1901|p=345}} While these functions were clearly defined during the [[Principate]], the emperor's powers over time became less constitutional and more monarchical, culminating in the [[Dominate]].{{Sfnp|Abbott|1901|p=341}}

The emperor was the ultimate authority in policy- and decision-making, but in the early Principate, he was expected to be accessible and deal personally with official business and petitions. A bureaucracy formed around him only gradually.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=Fergus |chapter=Emperors at Work |date=2004 |title=Rome, the Greek World, and the East: Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=0-8078-5520-0 |volume=2 |pages=3–22, especially 4, 20 |author-link=Fergus Millar}}</ref> The Julio-Claudian emperors relied on an informal body of advisors that included not only senators and equestrians, but trusted slaves and freedmen.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|pp=195ff}} After Nero, the influence of the latter was regarded with suspicion, and the emperor's council (''consilium'') became subject to official appointment for greater [[Open government|transparency]].{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|pp=205–209}} Though the Senate took a lead in policy discussions until the end of the [[Antonine dynasty]], equestrians played an increasingly important role in the ''consilium''.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|pp=202–203, 205, 210}} The women of the emperor's family often intervened directly in his decisions.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=211}}

Access to the emperor might be gained at the daily reception (''salutatio''), a development of the traditional homage a client paid to his patron; public banquets hosted at the palace; and religious ceremonies. The common people who lacked this access could manifest their approval or displeasure as a group at [[#Spectacles|games]].{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=212}} By the 4th century, the Christian emperors became remote figureheads who issued general rulings, no longer responding to individual petitions.{{Sfnp|Millar|2012|p=76}} Although the Senate could do little short of assassination and open rebellion to contravene the will of the emperor, it retained its symbolic political centrality.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=215}} The Senate legitimated the emperor's rule, and the emperor employed senators as legates (''[[legatus|legati]]''): generals, diplomats, and administrators.<ref>{{Harvp|Boardman|2000|p=721}}; {{Harvp|Winterling|2009|p=16}}</ref>

The practical source of an emperor's power and authority was the military. The [[Legionary|legionaries]] were paid by the Imperial treasury, and swore an annual [[Sacramentum (oath)|oath of loyalty]] to the emperor.{{Sfnp|Goldsworthy|2003|p=80}} Most emperors chose a successor, usually a close family member or [[Adoption in ancient Rome|adopted]] heir. The new emperor had to seek a swift acknowledgement of his status and authority to stabilize the political landscape. No emperor could hope to survive without the allegiance of the [[Praetorian Guard]] and the legions. To secure their loyalty, several emperors paid the ''[[donativum]]'', a monetary reward. In theory, the Senate was entitled to choose the new emperor, but did so mindful of acclamation by the army or Praetorians.{{Sfnp|Winterling|2009|p=16}}

===Military===
[[File:Palestra grande di pompei, affreschi di Moregine, terzo triclinio, IV stile, epoca neroniana, 07 vittoria con tripode.jpg|thumb|upright|Winged [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]], ancient Roman fresco of the Neronian era from [[Pompeii]]]]
[[File:Roman Empire 125.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The Roman empire under [[Hadrian]] (ruled 117–138) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 AD]]
{{Main|Imperial Roman army|Late Roman army|Structural history of the Roman military}}

After the [[Punic Wars]], the Roman army comprised professional soldiers who volunteered for 20 years of active duty and five as reserves. The transition to a professional military began during the late Republic and was one of the many profound shifts away from republicanism, under which an army of [[conscripts|conscript citizens]] defended the homeland against a specific threat. The Romans expanded their war machine by "organizing the communities that they conquered in Italy into a system that generated huge reservoirs of manpower for their army".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tignor |first1=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/worldstogetherwo03alti |title=Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: The History of the World |last2=Adelman |first2=Jeremy |date=2011 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-93492-2 |edition=3rd |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldstogetherwo03alti/page/n313 262] |display-authors=1 |url-access=limited}}</ref> By Imperial times, military service was a full-time career.{{Sfnp|Edmondson|1996|pp=111–112}} The pervasiveness of military garrisons throughout the Empire was a major influence in the process of [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]].{{Sfnp|Bohec|2000|p=9}}

The primary mission of the military of the early empire was to preserve the [[Pax Romana]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hekster |first=Olivier J. |chapter=Fighting for Rome: The Emperor as a Military Leader |date=2007 |title=Impact of the Roman Army (200 BC–AD 476) |publisher=Brill |page=96}}</ref> The three major divisions of the military were:
* the garrison at Rome, comprising the [[Praetorian Guard]], the ''[[cohortes urbanae]]'' and the ''[[vigiles]]'', who functioned as police and firefighters;
* the provincial army, comprising the [[Roman legions]] and the auxiliaries provided by the provinces (''[[auxilia]]'');
* the [[Roman navy|navy]].
[[File:042 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel XLII.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Relief panel from [[Trajan's Column]] in Rome, showing the building of a fort and the reception of a [[Dacia]]n embassy]]

Through his military reforms, which included consolidating or disbanding units of questionable loyalty, Augustus regularized the legion. A legion was organized into ten [[Cohort (military unit)|cohorts]], each of which comprised six [[centuria|centuries]], with a century further made up of ten squads (''[[Contubernium (Roman army unit)|contubernia]]''); the exact size of the Imperial legion, which was likely determined by [[military logistics|logistics]], has been estimated to range from 4,800 to 5,280.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roth |first=J. |date=1994 |title=The Size and Organization of the Roman Imperial Legion |journal=Historia |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=346–362}}</ref> After Germanic tribes wiped out three legions in the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]] in 9 AD, the number of legions was increased from 25 to around 30.{{Sfnp|Goldsworthy|2003|p=183}} The army had about 300,000 soldiers in the 1st century, and under 400,000 in the 2nd, "significantly smaller" than the collective armed forces of the conquered territories. No more than 2% of adult males living in the Empire served in the Imperial army.{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=196}} Augustus also created the [[Praetorian Guard]]: nine cohorts, ostensibly to maintain the public peace, which were garrisoned in Italy. Better paid than the legionaries, the Praetorians served only sixteen years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Penrose |first=Jane |quote=Section 3: ''Early Empire 27 BC–AD 235'' |date=2005 |title=Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War |publisher=Bloomsbury US |isbn=978-1-841-76932-5 |page=183 |chapter=9: ''The Romans''}}</ref>

The ''auxilia'' were recruited from among the non-citizens. Organized in smaller units of roughly cohort strength, they were paid less than the legionaries, and after 25 years of service were rewarded with [[Roman citizenship]], also extended to their sons. According to [[Tacitus]]<ref>[[Tacitus]] ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annales]]'' IV.5</ref> there were roughly as many auxiliaries as there were legionaries—thus, around 125,000 men, implying approximately 250 auxiliary regiments.{{Sfnp|Goldsworthy|2003|p=51}} The [[Roman cavalry]] of the earliest Empire were primarily from Celtic, Hispanic or Germanic areas. Several aspects of training and equipment derived from the Celts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Connolly |first=Peter |date=1986 |title=A Reconstruction of a Roman Saddle |journal=Britannia |volume=17 |doi=10.2307/526559 |pages=353–355 |jstor=526559 |s2cid=164155025}}; {{Cite journal |last1=Connolly |first1=Peter |last2=Van Driel-Murray |first2=Carol |date=1991 |title=The Roman Cavalry Saddle |journal=Britannia |volume=22 |doi=10.2307/526629 |pages=33–50 |jstor=526629 |s2cid=161535316}}</ref>

The [[Roman navy]] not only aided in the supply and transport of the legions but also in the protection of the [[Limes (Roman Empire)|frontiers]] along the rivers [[Rhine]] and [[Danube]]. Another duty was protecting maritime trade against pirates. It patrolled the Mediterranean, parts of the [[Atlantic|North Atlantic]] coasts, and the [[Black Sea]]. Nevertheless, the army was considered the senior and more prestigious branch.{{Sfnp|Goldsworthy|2003|p=114}}

===Provincial government===

An annexed territory became a [[Roman province]] in three steps: making a register of cities, taking a census, and surveying the land.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=183}} Further government recordkeeping included births and deaths, real estate transactions, taxes, and juridical proceedings.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=177–179|loc=Most government records that are preserved come from Roman Egypt, where the climate preserved the papyri.}} In the 1st and 2nd centuries, the central government sent out around 160 officials annually to govern outside Italy.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=179}} Among these officials were the [[Roman governor]]s: [[executive magistrates of the Roman Empire|magistrates elected at Rome]] who in the name of the [[SPQR|Roman people]] governed [[senatorial province]]s; or governors, usually of equestrian rank, who held their ''imperium'' on behalf of the emperor in [[imperial province]]s, most notably [[Roman Egypt]].{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=179|loc=The exclusion of Egypt from the senatorial provinces dates to the rise of Octavian before he became Augustus: Egypt had been the stronghold of his last opposition, [[Mark Antony]] and his ally [[Cleopatra]].}} A governor had to make himself accessible to the people he governed, but he could delegate various duties.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=180}} His staff, however, was minimal: his official attendants (''[[apparitor]]es''), including [[lictor]]s, heralds, messengers, [[Scriba (ancient Rome)|scribes]], and bodyguards; [[legatus|legates]], both civil and military, usually of equestrian rank; and friends who accompanied him unofficially.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=180}}

Other officials were appointed as supervisors of government finances.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=179}} Separating fiscal responsibility from justice and administration was a reform of the Imperial era, to avoid provincial governors and [[Farm (revenue leasing)|tax farmers]] exploiting local populations for personal gain.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=179, 187}} Equestrian [[Procurator (Roman)|procurators]], whose authority was originally "extra-judicial and extra-constitutional", managed both state-owned property and the personal property of the emperor (''[[privatus|res privata]]'').{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=180}} Because Roman government officials were few, a provincial who needed help with a legal dispute or criminal case might seek out any Roman perceived to have some official capacity.<ref>{{Harvp|Potter|2009|p=180}}; {{Harvp|Fuhrmann|2012|pp=197, 214, 224}}</ref>

===Law===
{{Main|Roman law}}
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Roman courts held [[original jurisdiction]] over cases involving Roman citizens throughout the empire, but there were too few judicial functionaries to impose Roman law uniformly in the provinces. Most parts of the Eastern Empire already had well-established law codes and juridical procedures.<ref name=Garnsey/> Generally, it was Roman policy to respect the ''mos regionis'' ("regional tradition" or "law of the land") and to regard local laws as a source of legal precedent and social stability.<ref name=Garnsey/>{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=184–185}} The compatibility of Roman and local law was thought to reflect an underlying ''[[ius gentium]]'', the "law of nations" or [[international law]] regarded as common and customary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bozeman |first=Adda B. |title=Politics and Culture in International History from the Ancient Near East to the Opening of the Modern Age |date=2010 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |edition=2nd |pages=208–220}}</ref> If provincial law conflicted with Roman law or custom, Roman courts heard [[Appellate court|appeals]], and the emperor held final decision-making authority.<ref name=Garnsey/>{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=184–185}}{{Efn|This practice was established in the Republic; see for instance the case of [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus#Contrebian water rights|Contrebian water rights]] heard by G. Valerius Flaccus as governor of [[Hispania]] in the 90s–80s BC.}}

In the West, law had been administered on a highly localized or tribal basis, and [[private property rights]] may have been a novelty of the Roman era, particularly among [[Celts]]. Roman law facilitated the acquisition of wealth by a pro-Roman elite.<ref name=Garnsey/> The extension of universal citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire in 212 required the uniform application of Roman law, replacing local law codes that had applied to non-citizens. Diocletian's efforts to stabilize the Empire after the [[Crisis of the Third Century]] included two major compilations of law in four years, the ''[[Codex Gregorianus]]'' and the ''[[Codex Hermogenianus]]'', to guide provincial administrators in setting consistent legal standards.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Elizabeth DePalma Digeser|Digeser, Elizabeth DePalma]] |year=2000|title=The Making of a Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome|publisher= Cornell University Press|page= 53}}</ref>

The pervasiveness of Roman law throughout Western Europe enormously influenced the Western legal tradition, reflected by continued use of [[List of legal Latin terms|Latin legal terminology]] in modern law.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===Taxation===
{{Further|Taxation in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Foro_romano_tempio_Saturno_09feb08_01.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Temple of Saturn]], a religious monument that housed the treasury in ancient Rome]]

Taxation under the Empire amounted to about 5% of its [[Roman gross domestic product|gross product]].{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=183}} The typical tax rate for individuals ranged from 2 to 5%.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=187}} The tax code was "bewildering" in its complicated system of [[direct taxation|direct]] and [[indirect taxes]], some paid in cash and some [[barter|in kind]]. Taxes might be specific to a province, or kinds of properties such as [[fishery|fisheries]]; they might be temporary.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=185–187}} Tax collection was justified by the need to maintain the military,<ref>{{Harvp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=184}}; {{Harvp|Potter|2009|p=185}}</ref> and taxpayers sometimes got a refund if the army captured a surplus of booty.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=185}} In-kind taxes were accepted from less-[[monetization|monetized]] areas, particularly those who could supply grain or goods to army camps.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=188}}

The primary source of direct tax revenue was individuals, who paid a [[Tax per head|poll tax]] and a tax on their land, construed as a tax on its produce or productive capacity.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=187}} Tax obligations were determined by the census: each head of household provided a headcount of his household, as well as an accounting of his property.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=186}} A major source of indirect-tax revenue was the ''portoria'', customs and tolls on trade, including among provinces.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=187}} Towards the end of his reign, Augustus instituted a 4% tax on the sale of slaves,<ref>[[Cassius Dio]] 55.31.4.</ref> which Nero shifted from the purchaser to the dealers, who responded by raising their prices.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Annales'' 13.31.2.</ref> An owner who manumitted a slave paid a "freedom tax", calculated at 5% of value.{{Efn|This was the ''vicesima libertatis'', "the twentieth for freedom"{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=187}}}} An [[inheritance tax]] of 5% was assessed when Roman citizens above a certain net worth left property to anyone outside their immediate family. Revenues from the estate tax and from an auction tax went towards the veterans' pension fund (''[[aerarium militare]]'').{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=187}}

Low taxes helped the Roman aristocracy increase their wealth, which equalled or exceeded the revenues of the central government. An emperor sometimes replenished his treasury by confiscating the estates of the "super-rich", but in the later period, the [[tax resistance|resistance]] of the wealthy to paying taxes was one of the factors contributing to the collapse of the Empire.{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=184}}