Julia Mamea - Mother or Manipulator

Julia Mamea plotted with her mother, Julia Mesea, to have the Praetorian Guards kill Elagabalus and his mother, who were trying to gain the throne. With the death of Elagabalus and his mother, the door was wide open for Alexander to be elevated to the throne. At thirteen years of age, Alexander was not quite emperor material, so his mother and grandmother molded his ways.

This is a strange phenomenon - mothers placing their prepubescent children on the throne of such a large empire. This kind of manipulation gave these women an immense amount of power, but at some point, these children would grow up and take control. I can see this kind of arrangement backfiring if the children feel used or if they later find they disagreed with what their mother did.

Constantine - The 13th Apostle

Constantine's toleration of the Christian religion stemmed from an incident before a crucial battle; he had a dream and saw a symbol in the sky which he believed came from the Christian god. He placed the symbol on his flags and marched into a victory. After he won the battle, he issued the Edict of Milan, a decree favoring the Christians. It said Christians could observe their religion freely and openly without molestation.

Constantine went even farther to help the Christians. He gave money to Christian clergy, passed laws against those who tried to turn people away from the church, exempt the Christian clergy from taxes, and Sundays were declared a day of rest (except for the farmers). In less than ten years, Constantine allowed Christianity to emerge from one of the most persecuted religions in Rome to become a favored religion. 90% of Rome became followers of Christianity.

Constantine faced some problems with Christianity. He wanted to use it as a unifying force, but Christians themselves disagreed on many issues. They had trouble deciding what was heresy. Constantine forced bishops to meet at Nicaea and resolve heresy issues, resulting in the Nicene Creed, one of the greatest contributions to Christianity. The Nicene Creed was a summary of the essentials of Christian doctrine, and is still recited today. However, heresy became not only an internal church problem, but also a political problem.

The Edict of Milan

After a key victory, influenced by a message from the Christian God, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. Christians were allowed to observe their religion could do so freely and openly, without persecution. The edict also restored their places of worship and status among the world's religions. The edict proclaimed that everyone would have the opportunity to worship as he pleases and their property taken under persecution be returned.

The Edict of Milan and the reign of Constantine is an important part of Christian history. Although they were willing to struggle under persecution such as that delivered under Galerius and Diocletian, it is open to question whether or not they would have survived. Emperors such as these were determined to wipe Christians out and undermine their religious beliefs at any cost. Because of his toleration, Constantine is often called the 13th Apostle.

The Edict of Toleration - Revelation or Resuscitation?

Galerius gained power in Rome after Constantius died. He immediately began to persecute Christians, even though Rome was in a Civil War. They would hang women in the air from their legs naked and let people stare, tie people to stretched tree limbs and suddenly cut the ropes, ripping peoples' bodies apart. No matter what Galerius did, the Christians would not give up.

Then, Galerius became ill and, thinking he was on his death bed, he wrote the strangest decree in history, the Edict of Toleration. The edict allowed Christians to practice their religion with some restrictions. They were encouraged to pray; to pray for safety of the republic, for themselves, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes.

This was a rather unsuccessful attempt to reconcile with the people, especially the Christians. Galerius's death brought about another major turning point for Rome - a true revelation for Christians, rather than his poor attempt to resuscitate a dead reign - the reign of Constatine, the true restorer of the Roman Empire.

Poor Poor Julia

I can imagine being pass around just at your father's will, so that he could get a certain man into his family to continue his way of rule in Rome. I guess it a huge deal for Augustus, he went out of his way to get these men to marry his daughter, some even left another family or wife behind. He used Julia as a piece of property, or a item, to close the deal with the man of his choice. I can't imagine if my father even tired to marry me off, but I guess this practice did last a while, but usually it was only once, and not three times. I guess the third time is the charm!

Good Year for Soap Opera Digest

Setting: Rome, 68-69 AD
Characters: Galba & Piso, Otho, Vitellus, Vespasian, Praetorian Guard
Plot: cause death as gruesomely as possible while somehow surviving yourself

Scene I

(Action!)

Galba, a rebel general in Spain, bribed Praetorian Guards to become the emperor of Rome. It worked. He was very qualified, but not very effective. When he chose Piso to be his successor, Otho was apalled and had them killed in a dramatic fashion - the death scene probably took five or six takes and make-up probably had a hell of a time.

(Curtain.)

Scene II

(Action!)

As emperor, Otho tried to restore the memory of Nero. The Rhine troops, under Vitellus were apalled, and challenged his authority. They gallantly marched into Rome to defeat Otho. Otho, avoiding assassination, killed himself at the last desparate moment, depriving Vitellus of the pleasure.

(Curtain.)

Scene III

(Action!)

Vitellus, in the absence of opposition, became emperor. He executed Galba and Piso's murderers in an effort to rectify their wrongful deaths. He was not, however, a qualified emperor. He could not control his troops and he tried to buy popularity among the Roman people with gladiator games. He was very cruel; he would raise peoples' hopes and crush them absolutely.

(Curtain.)

Scene IV
act i

(Action!)

Vespasian enters. Another Roman general, loyal troops defeated Vitellus at Cremona and moved the fighting into the streets of Rome while the Roman citizens stood by and watched. Vitellus would have conceeded, but the Praetorian Guard would not let him give up. Vespasian's troops captured and tortured Vitellus until agony gave way to death.

act ii

Vespasian as emperor. The Flavian house gained the throne and placed a new dynasty into power. Vespasian restored hereditary succession and was a merciful emperor - he even provided a dowry for Vitellus's daughter. He had a quick wit and realistic grasp of the empire's needs. He named his son, Titus as his successor.

(Curtain.)

(Wild Applause.)

Cleopatra

What a woman!! She used her charms, good looks, and intelligence to use certain men to gain power, wealth, glory, and basicly what she wanted or needed at the time. I find it interesting that a man would put her in a postion of power in those days. My idea of a woman in Rome at that time has changed because of Cleopatra. She wasn't the type of woman to listen to a man's words. She would use his words to gain an advantage for herself. She was smart, used what she had to get what she wanted or needed at the time.

Cicero

Cicero was a candidate for consul in 64 bc. He had risen to prominence through law, for example, he prosecuted a corrupt Sicilian governor who boasted of the money he was making. Cicero was also a gifted orator, philosopher, and poet with a tremendous ego. In the election, Cicero was up against Cataline, a rather unsavor character whose campaign capitalized on parties, sex, and promises. Cataline had developed a plot to kill Cicero. As consul, Cicero ordered all the conspirators to death without a trial. I thought this was surprising unjust and and out of character for him to do.

Pompey

Pompey became consul of Rome in 70 bc. His rise to power marked the overthrow of the Sullan settlement. Sulla had set up a constitution to prevent future usurpation of power, but he did so in a very undemocratic manner. Pompey, an ambitiuos military leader, was too young to become consul and receive the best commands. He finally convinced the Senators to send him to Spain to fight Sertorius, who wanted to negotiate amnesty for the Marians. Pompey claimed victory and was successful with his subject peoples. Pompey & Crassus, another prominent military leader, made the tribunes powerful again after becoming consuls.