Pax Romana

Quick Facts: Who was Pax Romana?

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Pax Romana

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A 200-year period (c. 27 BC–180 AD) marking Rome's golden age of stability and power.

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Origins & Early Life

The Pax Romana (Latin: [ˈpaːks rɔːˈmaːna]; 'Roman Peace') is a roughly 200-year-long period of ancient Rome that is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, regional expansion, and relative peace and order, although it still featured a number of internal revolts and external wars, including the Roman–Persian wars. Traditionally, the onset is understood to be the ascent of Augustus, who also founded the Roman principate, in 27 BC. Conversely, the end of the era is considered as 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the "Five Good Emperors". It was during this period that the Roman Empire achieved its greatest territorial extent under Trajan in 117. Additionally, the Roman Empire's population is estimated to have peaked at 70 million people during the Pax Romana, accounting for 33% of the world's population.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Following the Pax Romana, and according to Cassius Dio, the tyrannical reign of Commodus, later followed by the Year of the Five Emperors and the Crisis of the Third Century, marked Rome's descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust". The Pax Romana, spanning from 27 BC to AD 180, stands as one of the longest enduring periods of peace in history. However, Walter Goffart wrote: "The volume of the Cambridge Ancient History for the years AD 70–192 is called 'The Imperial Peace', but peace is not what one finds in its pages". On the other hand, Arthur M. Eckstein writes that the period must be viewed in contrast to the much more frequent warfare in the 3rd and 4th centuries BC under the Roman Republic. Eckstein also notes that the initial Pax Romana appeared during the Republic, and that its temporal span varied upon geographical region as well: "Although the standard textbook dates for the Pax Romana, the famous 'Roman Peace' in the Mediterranean, are 31 BC to AD 250, the fact is that the Roman Peace was emerging in large regions of the Mediterranean at a much earlier date: Sicily after 210 [BC], the Italian Peninsula after 200 [BC]; the Po Valley after 190 [BC]; most of the Iberian Peninsula after 133 [BC]; North Africa after 100 [BC]; and for ever longer stretches of time in the Greek East." Thomas F. Madden explained the dating of 27 BC as avoiding the civil wars of the 1st century BC.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The true origins of Pax Romana for him are in the 2nd century BC, after Rome had eliminated all of its serious military rivals and brought an unprecedented peace and prosperity to the lands of their empire. Tim Cornell argued that Pax Romana in the sense of the absence of major inter-state wars began in the Second century BC. Over the course of the last two centuries of the Republic, the character and frequency of these wars declined. Almost continuous warfare in the Fourth and Third centuries BC became sporadic and punctuated by long periods of peace. The first known record of the term Pax Romana appears in a writing by Seneca the Younger in AD 55.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Pax Romana

True or False: “The Pax Romana was characterized by a complete absence of all internal revolts and external conflicts throughout its entire duration.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While marked by relative peace, the period still featured notable internal revolts and external wars, such as the Roman–Persian wars.

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