Roman Empire罗马帝国

From Republic to Empire从共和到帝制

The Roman Empire was born from the ashes of civil war. In 27 BCE the Senate granted Octavian—heir of the assassinated Julius Caesar—the title Augustus, making him Rome's first emperor in all but name. Preserving the outward forms of the old Republic, he concentrated real power in his own hands, inaugurating the system historians call the Principate.罗马帝国诞生于内战的灰烬。公元前27年，元老院授予屋大维——被刺杀的尤利乌斯·凯撒之嗣——「奥古斯都」尊号，使他在名义之外成为罗马的第一位皇帝。他保留了旧共和国的外在形式，却将实权集于一身，开创了史家所称的「元首制」。

The Pax Romana罗马和平

For roughly two centuries the empire enjoyed the Pax Romana—the 'Roman Peace'—an era of relative stability that let trade, cities, and culture flourish from Britain to Syria. Roads and sea-lanes knit three continents together; Roman law, Latin, and citizenship spread across the provinces. Under Trajan in 117 CE the empire reached its greatest extent, stretching from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf.约两个世纪间，帝国享有「罗马和平」——一个相对稳定的时代，使贸易、城市与文化从不列颠到叙利亚遍地开花。道路与海路把三大洲连成一体；罗马法、拉丁语与公民权推广到各行省。117年图拉真在位时，帝国疆域达到极盛，自大西洋一直延伸到波斯湾。

Crisis and transformation危机与转型

The third century brought civil war, plague, and invasion that nearly tore the empire apart. It was pulled back from the brink by soldier-emperors, then reorganized by Diocletian into a tightly controlled autocracy. Constantine the Great embraced Christianity and in 330 founded a new eastern capital, Constantinople—shifting the empire's centre of gravity decisively toward the Greek-speaking East.3世纪带来内战、瘟疫与外族入侵，几乎将帝国撕裂。军人皇帝将它从崩溃边缘拉回，戴克里先随后把它重组为管控严密的君主专制国家。君士坦丁大帝皈依基督教，并于330年营建东部新都君士坦丁堡——把帝国的重心决定性地移向讲希腊语的东方。

The fall of the West西部的陷落

In 395 the empire split permanently into western and eastern halves. The West, beset by fiscal strain and waves of Germanic peoples, unravelled over the fifth century: Rome itself was sacked in 410 and 455, and in 476 the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed. The East endured as the Byzantine Empire for nearly another thousand years, until Constantinople fell in 1453.395年，帝国永久分裂为东西两半。西部深陷财政困顿与一波波日耳曼民族的冲击，在5世纪逐渐瓦解：罗马城本身于410年与455年两度被劫，476年最后一位西部皇帝罗慕路斯·奥古斯图路斯被废黜。东部则以拜占庭帝国之名又延续了近千年，直至1453年君士坦丁堡陷落。

Legacy遗产

Few states have shaped the world so lastingly. Roman law underpins the legal systems of much of Europe and Latin America; Latin gave rise to the Romance languages and the vocabulary of science and law; Roman engineering, architecture, and the very idea of a universal empire echoed through the Holy Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, and beyond. To be 'Roman' became, for centuries, a claim to legitimacy itself.很少有国家如此持久地塑造了世界。罗马法奠定了欧洲与拉丁美洲大部分法律体系的基础；拉丁语孕育了罗曼语族以及科学与法律的词汇；罗马的工程、建筑，乃至「普世帝国」这一理念本身，在神圣罗马帝国、天主教会及更远处不断回响。数百年间，「罗马」二字本身就是正统性的宣示。

Timeline of key events关键事件时间轴

1. 27 BCE公元前27Octavian becomes Augustus, Rome's first emperor.屋大维成为奥古斯都，罗马首位皇帝。
2. 64 CE64The Great Fire of Rome under Nero.尼禄治下罗马大火。
3. 80 CE80The Colosseum is inaugurated.斗兽场落成启用。
4. 117 CE117The empire reaches its greatest extent under Trajan.图拉真时期帝国疆域达到极盛。
5. 212 CE212Caracalla grants citizenship to all free inhabitants.卡拉卡拉将公民权授予所有自由居民。
6. 313 CE313The Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity.《米兰敕令》使基督教合法化。
7. 330 CE330Constantine founds Constantinople.君士坦丁营建君士坦丁堡。
8. 380 CE380Christianity becomes the state religion.基督教成为国教。
9. 395 CE395The empire splits permanently into East and West.帝国永久分裂为东西两部。
10. 410 CE410Visigoths sack the city of Rome.西哥特人洗劫罗马城。
11. 476 CE476The last western emperor is deposed — the fall of the West.最后一位西部皇帝被废黜——西罗马灭亡。

Notable rulers著名统治者

Related states相关政权