Introduction

Imperial history is generally divided into dynasties, as follows:

Julio-Claudians
Flavians
the so-called Five Good Emperors
Severi
the Barracks Emperors (this period is also called the Crisis of the Third Century)
Diocletian and Constantine
the Late Empire

You will find minor variations in the above, but this arrangement has been pretty stable for quite a long time now. Each dynasty or era naturally impressed its own character on the imperial government itself. The surviving historical records likewise have most to do with the emperors and their families. When we turn to economic history, though, or to the structure of society, dynastic history is less useful for arranging events and making sense of them. Likewise, the history of various provinces had each its own patterns and rhythms in which the activities of emperors were only one factor.

We can’t really follow these historical side-paths. If you go on to take a Roman History course or two, you will get to learn about them. Just as the main hall of a palace is grand and striking, but it is sometimes the little side-rooms that are more fascinating and stay in the memory longer, so it is with following the history of emperors (or kings, for that matter). We will stick to the main halls in this course, for the most part, and leave the other parts for a return visit.

For each section, I will give a brief overview, to characterize both the dynasty and the era. Thereon will follow an essentially chronological narrative through the reigns. At a couple of points I will bring in “outside” themes, such as frontiers and barbarians, the development of Christianity, or the famous question of the “fall of the Roman Empire.”

Introduction

History of Western Civilization