Page vernment.—His death.-Titus.—His character and reign. - Public cala- 144 CHAPTER III. NERVA. TRAJAN. HADRIAN. ANTONINUS. AURELIUS. Nerva.-Adoption of Trajan.-Trajan.-His origin and character.- 166 CHAPTER IV. COMMODUS. PERTINAX. JULIAN. SEVERUS. A.U. 933-964. A.D. 180-211. Commodus.-Conspiracy against him.-Perennis.-Cleander.--Ma- CARACALLA. MACRINUS. ELAGABALUS. ALEXANDER. Caracalla and Geta.-Murder of Geta.-Cruelty of Caracalla.-Ger- 206 CHAPTER VI. MAXIMIN. PUPIENUS. BALBINUS AND GORDIAN. PHILIP. A.U. 988-1021. A.D. 235-268. The Empire.-Maximin.-His tyranny.-Insurrection in Africa. CHAPTER VII. Page 221 CLAUDIUS. AURELIAN. TACITUS. PROBUS. CARUS. CARINUS AND NUMERIAN. A.U. 1021-1038. A.D. 268-285. Claudius.-Invasions of the Goths.-Aurelian.-Alemannic War.- CHAPTER VIII. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Persecutions of the Church.-Corruption of Religion.-The Ebionites. monies.-Christian writers. 239 257 State of the Empire.-Character of Diocletian.-Imperial power di- 285 CHAPTER II. GALERIUS. CONSTANTIUS. SEVERUS. MAXENTIUS. MAXI- A.U. 1057-1090. A.D. 304-337. The Emperors and Cæsars.-Constantine.-Maxentius.-Fate of CHAPTER III. CONSTANTINE II. CONSTANTIUS. CONSTANS. A.U. 1090-1114. A.D. 337-361. -Deaths of Constan- Slaughter of the imperial family.-Persian war.- tine and Constans.-Magnentius.-Gallus.-Julian.-Silvanus.-Court CHAPTER IV. JULIAN. JOVIAN. A.U. 1114-1117. A.D. 361-364. Reformations of Julian.-His religion.-His tolerance.-Julian at CHAPTER V. Page 297 317 336 VALENTINIAN. VALENS. GRATIAN. VALENTINIAN II. AND Elevation of Valentinian and of Valens.-Procopius.-German wars. 357 CHAPTER VI. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Suppression of Paganism.-Religion of the fourth century.-State CHAPTER VII. HONORIUS. VALENTINIAN III., ETC. -A.U. 1148-1229. A.D. 395-476. Division of the empire.-Rufinus.-The Goths in Greece.-Gildo.- Page 385 407 The Roman Empire.-Regulation of it by Augustus.-Augustus in Spainin Asia.-Laws.-Family of Augustus.-Death of Agrippa.-German wars.-Death of Drusus, and of Mæcenas.-Literature. THE battle of Actium, fought between M. Antonius and C. Cæsar Octavianus in the 723rd+ year of Rome, terminated the contest for the supreme power in the Roman state which had continued for so many years. After the death of his rival, Cæsar, now in the thirty-fourth year of his age, saw himself the undoubted master of the Roman world. An army of forty-four legions regarded him as its chief; the civil wars and the proscription had cut off all the men of eminence at Rome; the senate and people vied with each other in their willingness to accept a sovereign: and though we may despise their servility, reason will evince that they were right in their determination; for he must be strangely enthralled by sounds, who, * Authorities: Velleius Paterculus, Suetonius, Dion Cassius. For a full account of the authorities for this History see Appendix (A). We shall use the Varronian chronology in this volume, as it is the one followed by Tacitus, Dion, and other historians. Orosius, vi. 18. These legions however were far from complete, some of them being mere skeletons. B |