Pax Romana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Pax Romana (disambiguation).

Roman Empire at its greatest extent with the conquests of Trajan

Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman peace") was the relatively long period of peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the first and second centuries AD. Since it was established by the Caesar Augustus it is sometimes called Pax Augusta. Its timing was approximately 207 years (27 BC to 180 AD).

The concept of Pax Romana was first presented^{[citation needed]} by Edward Gibbon. Gibbon proposed a period of moderation and peace under Augustus and his successors and argued that generals bent on expansion (e.g. Germanicus, Agricola and Corbulo) were checked and recalled by the Emperors during their victories favouring consolidation ahead of further expansion. Gibbon lists the Roman conquest of Britain under Claudius and the conquests of Trajan as exceptions to this policy of moderation and places the end of the period at the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, despite the conclusion of peace by the latter's son Commodus later in the same year. During the Pax Romana, the area of Roman rule expanded to about five million square kilometers (two million square miles).

Despite the term, the period was not without armed conflict, as Emperors frequently had to quell rebellions. Additionally, both border skirmishes and Roman wars of conquest happened during this period. Trajan embarked on a series of campaigns against the Parthians during his reign and Marcus Aurelius spent almost the entire last decade of his rule fighting against the Germanic tribes.

Nonetheless, as the interior of the Empire remained largely untouched by warfare, the Pax Romana was an era of relative tranquility in which Rome endured neither major civil wars, such as the perpetual bloodshed of the third century AD, nor serious invasions, or killings, such as those of the Second Punic War three centuries prior. During this time, Roman commerce thrived, unhampered by piracy or marauding enemy troops. This era was also marked by a common language, well developed trade routes (expanding the influences of cultures within the Roman's vast territory), and a well trained police force.

Given the prominence of the concept of Pax Romana, historians have coined variants of the term to describe systems of relative peace that have been established, attempted or argued to have existed, usually under the hegemony of one power or of an idea. See list below.