Pax Romana

Background

In the first century BC the Roman Republic endured prolonged turmoil from civil wars among its generals. After Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, his adopted son Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, bringing the civil wars to an end. In 27 BC the Senate granted him the title "Augustus," meaning "the revered one." The Bible calls him "Caesar Augustus," and Luke 2:1 records the census decree he issued in connection with the birth of Jesus.

Course of Events

• Around 27 BC: As Augustus became in effect the first emperor (princeps), major wars within the empire diminished. Scholars commonly regard this period as the beginning of the Pax Romana.
• The Age of Augustus: Augustus himself recorded in his Res Gestae that the doors of the Temple of Janus, which stood open only in time of war, were closed three times during his reign. In 9 BC the Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis Augustae) was dedicated.
• First century: Although there were struggles over the imperial throne, order across the empire as a whole was generally maintained. On the frontiers and in the provinces, however, wars and revolts continued. In Judea a revolt broke out in AD 66, and in AD 70 Roman forces captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.
• AD 96–180: Under the so-called "Five Good Emperors"—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—the empire reached the height of its territorial extent and prosperity. After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180, the empire again became unstable, and this is generally regarded as the end of the Pax Romana.

Results and Influence

Within the Roman Empire, people and goods moved along well-built roads and sea routes. In the East, Greek served as a kind of common language. These conditions also influenced the spread of the gospel by the early church. Paul, who held Roman citizenship, traveled to many cities along Roman roads (Paul's missionary journeys), and the New Testament letters, written in Greek, were read in churches throughout the empire.

During the same period, however, the church also suffered persecution. The Roman historian Tacitus records that after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, the emperor Nero punished Christians. Rituals honoring the emperor as a god (the imperial cult) also became a source of conflict for Christians.

Assessment

Christian tradition has long interpreted this period as a time God prepared for the spread of the gospel. The third-century church father Origen wrote that the peace of the Augustan age helped the gospel to spread. Even today, many sermons and teaching materials connect this period with "when the fulness of the time was come" in Galatians 4:4.

Critics, however, point out that this peace was an order maintained through conquest and military force. Tacitus, putting the words in the mouth of a British leader who resisted Rome, wrote, "They make a desolation and call it peace." Some New Testament scholars draw attention to surviving inscriptions that celebrated the emperor's birthday as the beginning of "good news." They read the proclamation of a "Saviour" in Luke 2:10–11 and the peace of Christ described in Ephesians 2:14–17 as a message set in contrast to the Roman peace. Scholars are divided over how well this interpretation reflects the intent of the New Testament texts.