Roman Society From Nero to Marcus Aurelius
Roman Society From Nero to Marcus Aurelius
When Julius Caesar emerged victorious from the civil wars he ushered in a radical change to the government and social order of the Roman state. However, the transition from a republican government to the system of monarchy under the emperor was a drawn out and complicated process. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Shortly after the successful reign of Augustus, this new form of government produced, in emperors Caligula and Nero, some of the worst examples of a highly centralized autocratic government. Even during the darkest periods of despotic rule Roman society endured and went on to produce one of history’s most enlightened golden age under the reign of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius.
But how different was daily life for ordinary citizens? How did these changes alter the long-term ambitions of Rome’s aristocratic families? How did religious and philosophic thought adapt? How did the morals and ethical codes of Roman civilization guide civil society through this revolution?
Shortly after the successful reign of Augustus, this new form of government produced, in emperors Caligula and Nero, some of the worst examples of a highly centralized autocratic government. Even during the darkest periods of despotic rule Roman society endured and went on to produce one of history’s most enlightened golden age under the reign of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius.
But how different was daily life for ordinary citizens? How did these changes alter the long-term ambitions of Rome’s aristocratic families? How did religious and philosophic thought adapt? How did the morals and ethical codes of Roman civilization guide civil society through this revolution?
