ROMAN EMPIRE

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization,
characterized by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in
Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state
during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus.

The 500-year-old Roman Republic, which preceded it, had been weakened and subverted
through several civil wars. Several events are commonly proposed to mark the transition
from Republic to Empire, including Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator
(44 BC), the Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to
Octavian the honorific Augustus (4 January 27 BC). Roman expansion began in the days
of the Republic, but the empire reached its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan: during
his reign the Roman Empire controlled approximately 6.5 million km2 of land surface.
Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of
Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion,
architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed,
particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern
world.

In the late 3rd century AD, Diocletian established the practice of dividing authority
between four co-emperors, in order to better secure the vast territory, putting an end to
the Crisis of the Third Century. During the following decades the empire was often
divided along an East/West axis. After the death of Theodosius I in 395 it was divided for
the last time.

The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 as Romulus Augustus was forced to
abdicate by Odoacer. The Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire ended in 1453 with the
death of Constantine XI and the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks led by
Mehmed II.
 GOVERNMENT
EMPEROR:

The powers of an emperor existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his "tribunician powers"
and his "proconsular powers". In theory, the tribunician powers (which were similar to
those of the Plebeian Tribunes under the old republic) made the emperor's person and
office sacrosanct, and gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government,
including the power to preside over and to control the Senate.

The proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or Proconsuls, under the
old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. He was also given powers that,
under the republic, had been reserved for the Senate and the assemblies, including the
right to declare war, to ratify treaties, and to negotiate with foreign leaders. Realistically,
the main support of an emperor's power and authority was the military.

The death of an emperor led to a crucial period of uncertainty and crisis. In theory the
senate was entitled to choose the new emperor, but most emperors chose their own
successors, usually a close family member. The new emperor had to seek a swift
acknowledgement of his new status and authority in order to stabilize the political
landscape. No emperor could hope to survive, much less to reign, without the allegiance
and loyalty of the Praetorian Guard and of the legions. To secure their loyalty, several
emperors paid the donativum, a monetary reward.

SENATE:

While the Roman assemblies continued to meet after the founding of the empire, their
powers were all transferred to the Roman Senate, and so senatorial decrees acquired the
full force of law.

RELIGION
As the empire expanded, and came to include people from a variety of cultures, the
worship of an ever increasing number of deities was tolerated and accepted. The imperial
government, and the Romans in general, tended to be very tolerant towards most
religions and cults, so long as they did not cause trouble. This could easily be accepted by
other faiths as Roman liturgy and ceremonies were frequently tailored to fit local culture
and identity.An individual could attend to both the Roman gods representing his Roman
identity and his own personal faith, which was considered part of his personal identity.
There were periodic persecutions of various religions at various points in time, most
notably that of Christians. As the historian Edward Gibbon noted, however, most of the
recorded histories of Christian persecutions come to us through the Christian church,
which had an incentive to exaggerate the degree to which the persecutions occurred. The
non-Christian contemporary sources only mention the persecutions passingly and without
assigning great importance to them.
 ROMAN CULTURE
Ancient Roman culture evolved throughout the thousand-year history of that civilization. The term
refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which, at peak, covered an area
from Cumbria and Morocco to the Euphrates.
Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, located on seven hills, and its monumental
structures like the Colosseum, the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon. The city also had several
theatres and gymnasiums, and many taverns, baths and brothels. Throughout the territory under the
control of ancient Rome, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to country villas,
and in the capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on the elegant Palatine Hill, from
which the word "palace" is derived. The poor lived in the city centre, packed into apartments, which
were almost like modern ghettos.
The large urban population required an endless supply of food which was a complex logistical task,
including acquiring, transporting, storing and distribution of food for Rome and other urban centres.
Italian farms supplied vegetables and fruits, but fish and meat were luxuries. Aqueducts were built to
bring water to urban centres and wine and oil were imported from Spain, Gaul and Africa.
Ninety percent of the population under the jurisdiction of ancient Rome lived in the countryside, in
thatched huts and in abject poverty. Landlords generally resided in cities and their estates were left in
the care of farm managers. These farm managers treated the manpower under their control very badly.
The plight of rural slaves was worse than their counterparts working in urban aristocratic households.
Some records indicate that as many as 42 people lived in one small farm hut in Egypt, while six
families owned a single olive tree. The villagers were also devoid of certain diversions like games and
religious festivals. Such a rural environment continued to induce migration of population to urban
centres.
Against this human background, both the urban and rural setting, one of history's best-known
civilizations took shape, leaving behind a cultural legacy that still survives today.

ROMAN LANGUAGE
The language of Rome before its expansion was Latin, and this became the empire's
official language By the time of the imperial period Latin began evolving into two
languages: the 'high' written Classical Latin and the 'low' spoken Vulgar Latin. While
Classical Latin remained relatively stable, even through the Middle Ages, Vulgar Latin as
with any spoken language was fluid and evolving. Vulgar Latin became the lingua franca
in the western provinces, later evolving into the modern Romance languages: Italian,
French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, etc. Greek and Classical Latin were the
languages of literature, scholarship, and education.
 HAZRAT UMAR FAROOQ BIN KHATTAB (May Allah
plesased with him)

Umar (Arabic), also known as Omar, was a friend of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad,
and one of his companions. He became the second Muslim ruler after Muhammad's death
and ruled for 10 years.

Converting to Islam in the 6th year after Muhammad's first revelation, he spent 18 years
in companionship of Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr on 23 August 634 as
the second Caliph, and played a significant role in Islam. Under Umar the Islamic empire
expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more
than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political
and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly
coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the
conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great
political and military leader. He was killed by a Persian captive.Sunni Muslims view him
as the Second Rashidun and know him as Farooq the great