Costume Ideas: Take A Look at Roman Life at Costume Discounters

When you look at those famous Roman buildings like the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Baths of Trajan, and the Aqueduct of Segovia, you can get a little idea of the power and glory of the Roman Empire. The history of the Roman Empire began when Octavian, the grandnephew of Julius Caesar, became the first emperor with the title Augustus Caesar in 27 BC. The Roman Empire lasted for about 1,500 years, ending with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.

At its height, the Roman Empire occupied an estimated land area of 6.5 million km square. This was achieved under the reign of Emperor Trajan in 116 AD. Its territories included Britain, Spain, Thrace, Greece, Syria, Judea, Egypt, Carthage, and more. From 235 to 284 AD, the Roman Empire suffered a near-collapse which was known as the “Crisis of the Third Century.” There were great economic, political, and military problems. When Diocletian became emperor in 284 AD, he managed to control a lot of these problems but he realized that it’s quite impossible to govern such a large empire effectively. In 286 AD, Diocletian split the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires where he would become the emperor of the Eastern Empire and Maximian would become the emperor of the Western Empire.

From 395 AD onwards, the Western Roman Empire was actually ruled by military strongmen while the emperors held very little power. It signaled the beginning of the Decline of the Western Roman Empire, which finally happened in 476 AD when Romulus Augustus, the last Western emperor was overthrown by Odoacer, leader of the Germanic mercenaries in the Roman army. After conquering Italy, Odoacer declared himself the King of Italy but he was killed by the King of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric the Great in 493 AD who ruled Italy until 526 AD.

Unlike the Western Empire, the Eastern Empire was richer and stronger. In 324 AD, Constantine the Great made Byzantium the new capital, which was later renamed Constantinople. When Justinian the Great became emperor in 527 AD, he aimed to revive the glory of the Roman Empire. He recaptured lost Western territories including Italy, North Africa, parts of Illyria, and southern Hispania. Greatly influenced by Greek culture, the Eastern Roman Empire came to be known as the Byzantine Empire. In the 7^th century, the Arab-Islamic Caliphate conquered the empire’s territories in Africa as well as the Levant. In 1204 AD, Constantinople was captured and looted by the Crusaders. In 1261 AD, the Byzantines succeeded in recapturing Constantinople, which ensured that the empire would continue for another 192 years. In 1453 AD, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople under the leadership of Mehmed II, resulting in the “Fall of Constantinople”, which officially ended the Roman Empire. The last Roman emperor was Constantine XI.

For the rest of the article, you will find a wealth of ancient Roman resources covering maps, historical information, the Roman army, Roman games, family life, laws, Roman clothing, and lots more.

Article written by Janice D. McDonald

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