Guest Xanthos Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey all... I was just wondering how was the Military and Religion throughout each stage of the Roman Empire? Im pretty sure the 3 stages were the Republic, the Polytheistic empire, and the Empire when it was under Christianity. I wonder how the Byzantine empire fits into this. yea this is a question to for a college essay I have to write. Hope you guys can help me thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Goblinus Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey all... I was just wondering how was the Military and Religion throughout each stage of the Roman Empire? Im pretty sure the 3 stages were the Republic, the Polytheistic empire, and the Empire when it was under Christianity. I wonder how the Byzantine empire fits into this. yea this is a question to for a college essay I have to write. Hope you guys can help me thanks Well technically, the Republic is separate from the Empire, so the Republic would not be a stage. For me, the four periods of the imperial period would be the Pax Romana from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, the period from Commodus to Alexander Severus, the Third Century Crisis from 235 to the ascendancy of Diocletian in 285, the Late Empire from 285 to the death of Heraclius in 641. The Byzantine period is from there until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Im pretty sure the 3 stages were the Republic, the Polytheistic empire, and the Empire when it was under Christianity. Hmm, I don't think I'd be willing to jump to that conclusion. I don't believe that those 'stages' would give you the type of cohesive breakdown that your professor may be looking for. There are many ways we could define these stages, so this a pretty key element of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I think that you might mean 'three periods': the pagan Republic; the pagan Empire and the Christian Empire. "Byzantine" is an invention of medieval monks. It was always 'one' empire. The so called 'Byzantines' were merely a succession. The edicts of east and west were recognized in both. The soldiery melded from Roman to Italianate to barbarian as time went on. During the Republic, the legionaries owed their fealty to the state. During the Empire to the commander. I doubt if religion made a soldier braver or not. You can click around on this site or try Roman Empire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Well, on the religion side of things I think you can break it down into several stages, though the change between stages is gradual. 1) Early Roman Religion - Domestic cult and Italic agricultural deities 2) Increasing Hellenization - The Twelve "Dii Consentes" modeled after the Greek Olympians 3) Increasing Orientalization - Greco-Oriental gods become popular, culminating with "Sol Invictus" as the patron of the state 4) Christianization - from Constantine and beyond The military I know less about it, but it seems you would have more than three stages - from very early Rome, to the late Republic, to the Principate, and to the Dominate. Thus I have no idea what your professor is getting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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