'They create a desolation and call it a peace'
The Roman empire is the most powerful the world has ever known. Not until the 19th century will its like be seen again. At its height, it stretches from the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea in the east to the Atlantic in the west, and from the Sahara in the south into Britain in the north. It controls all of the territories around the Mediterranean and most of those abutting the Black Sea, while its 'natural' boundaries on the European continent are formed by the rivers Rhine and Danube.

The Pax romana, or 'Roman peace', lasts for centuries throughout most of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor – although it should be said that 'peace' is only rarely the order of the day throughout the empire as a whole. Nor does the Roman idea of peace always tally with that of the conquered. In the words of the British king Calgacus, quoted by Tacitus: 'Atque ubi colitudinum faciunt pacem apellant.' ('They create a desolation and call it a peace.')

Wars within and without
The empire is at war with the Parthians in the east for the best part of three centuries. When the Parthian empire finally collapses under the weight of this draining conflict, it gives way to a resurgent Persian empire, which is almost immediately engaged in a new series of wars with Rome.

On the Rhine frontier, the Germanic tribes are never pacified, unlike those in Gaul (France). On the Danube, where the Visigoths, in particular, begin to press from AD 230 onwards, Trajan's province of Dacia, established in AD 106, has to be abandoned. And while Saxon raiders attack the coasts of Britain and Gaul, other barbarians remain a constant menace north of Hadrian's Wall.

Even before the frontiers of the empire are penetrated by external enemies of Rome (Rome itself is first sacked by the Visigoths in AD 410), the empire is torn apart from within by frequent civil wars between its armies. The apparent stability of the empire, because it lasts for such a long time, conceals a seething instability beneath the surface calm. Given the threats that beset it from without and within, including regular outbreaks of plague and famine in the later empire, what is perhaps most remarkable is that it survives for as long as it does.

Why the empire lasts
How does Rome manage to govern such a huge empire so successfully for so long? One answer lies in the basic system of government inherited from the days of the Republic (see Politics). Although susceptible to corruption, abuse of power, plotting, conspiracy and a sometimes stultifying bureaucracy (by c. AD 325, the imperial administration employs about half a million 'civil servants'), this proves remarkably effective and durable. By opening up rights of citizenship to conquered peoples, the empire also buys off potential enemies and stabilises its rule in areas that might otherwise be more hostile.

Religion
The Roman attitude towards religion is also, for the most part, a stabilising factor. Until Constantine I effectively makes Christianity the state religion (he is himself baptised on his deathbed) in the 4th century AD, the Romans display a remarkable capacity for absorbing foreign gods or cults into their own pagan pantheon.

There are three broad categories of gods worshipped in the pagan empire:

• Local deities These are the gods worshipped locally by people in different parts of the empire, often the same gods that were worshipped before the locals came under the rule of Rome. Mostly they are tolerated as long as their followers pose no threat to the Romans. When they do, as with the Jews in the Middle East and the Druids in Britain immediately after the Roman invasion, they are brutally suppressed.

• 'Exotic' cults Soldiers posted to different parts of the empire often take with them 'exotic' cults from their own places of origin. Some of these spread throughout the empire, including to Rome itself. They are often organised as secret societies and involve the worship of gods and goddesses from Asia and Egypt, such as the great mother-goddesses Cybele and Isis. One of the most popular cults among soldiers is the worship of Mithras, the Persian god of heavenly light. There is a Mithraeum, where worshippers congregate, in London and most other towns and cities of the empire.

• The Roman pantheon At the top of the Roman pantheon of gods is Jupiter, whose great temple stands on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. Then, as with the Greek pantheon, many of whose gods Rome has adopted wholesale, there is a host of other deities with special interests and powers. Citizens make regular sacrifices to these gods. Refusal to do so, as in the case of the Christians, can lead to persecution.

Diversity is the spice of religious life, and among the most popular of the Roman gods are those that mix pleasure with devotion. Indeed, Dionysus (the Greek god Bacchus), the god of wine who promises rebirth to his followers, has such riotous and licentious festivals that the authorities often clamp down hard on his followers.

Emperor worship
Although Augustus makes a show of opposing it in life, he allows a cult of emperor worship to develop in the Asiatic empire and is immediately deified (acknowledged as a god) by the Senate on his death. Future emperors have no qualms about being seen as gods (some, such as Caligula, clearly believe it): it is a good way of ensuring loyalty.

From the time of Nero (AD 54-68), the sun god Sol becomes increasingly popular. Encouraged throughout the empire as a way of uniting different peoples by getting them to worship one god, worship of the sun god and of the emperor often goes hand in hand. Emperors eventually learn that the worship of one god, in a religion under state control, is a very effective means of controlling the population. Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the official state religion in the 4th century AD is not unconnected with this fact.

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