ABSTRACT
Roman religion and culture were not an exclusive product of indigenous ideology. As Rome expanded, it adopted the religious and cultural practices of the conquered areas.
Early Roman religion, at both popular and state levels, was closely bound with social values. Roman religion was more practical than ideological. Romans worshipped all natural forces connected with their daily life through appropriate prayers and sacrifices. Ancestor worship was an important feature of Roman religious beliefs. Influenced by Greek religious beliefs and practices, Romans also worshipped Greek anthropomorphic deities in a different form. Religious beliefs were combined with social values like winning, military glory, and obedience to state authority, which helped the Roman aristocracy which controlled the state.
Roman territorial expansion led to assimilation of foreign cults and deities in the Roman pantheon. This led to the introduction of new forms of worship such as funeral and secular games, ritual dances, and religious processions. Cults of eastern Mediterranean regions like Egypt (Isis and Osiris), Turkey (Great Mother Cybele) and Persia (Mithras) became more popular in Rome as their ideology, practices, and omnipresent nature of their deities appealed to the Roman people.
The priestly class played an important role in the development of religious beliefs at the state level. They were organised in the form of priestly college and were in charge of rituals and incantations during public worship. They were men of learning, political experience, and high social ranking (patricians). Many of them were ex-senators and therefore played an important role in determining state policy towards foreign cults.
During the Principate rule, there were attempts by rulers like Augustus to revive traditional religious practices. Foreign cults were assimilated as parallel cults in the Roman pantheon. An attempt was also made during his reign to provide divinity to human rulers.
An important religious development during the reign of Dominate rulers was the rise and growth of Christianity, which revolved around the cult of Jesus. Its emphasis on good deeds, charity, brotherhood and sisterhood of followers, equality of men and women, and simple and inexpensive ceremonies made it popular among people of all classes and sexes. St Paul was the first to popularise Christianity among the non-Jews of Greece, Turkey, and Rome. However, their unorthodox practices and refusal to honour traditional Roman religious beliefs did invite state persecution till it became a state religion during the reign of Constantine.
Cultural developments in early and Republican Rome were deeply influenced by Greek and Etruscan traditions. After the Roman expansion, its art, architecture, and literature benefitted from the cultural syntheses leading to the growth of a distinct Greco-Roman classical culture. Territorial expansion brought increased wealth to the Roman aristocracy which increased the demand for high-quality art and craft products. Construction of substantial houses, palaces, roads, aqueducts, baths, and gardens also received a boost. Introduction of new construction technique (use of concrete) by the Romans made them masters in the field of architecture.
New cultural trends were visible in Rome under the Principate rulers. The Augustan period is considered as ‘golden era’ with respect to cultural achievements. This was backed by strong agricultural, industrial, and commercial growth consequent upon enforcement of Augustan peace ( Pax Romana ). Augustus created a new imperial style in the field of architecture by synthesising Etruscan, Italian, and Greek architectural traditions. In the field of art, Greek classicism reached its zenith under Augustus. Latin literature also reached its apogee during his reign. His successors earned fame by undertaking construction of massive public buildings like the Amphitheatre and Pantheon.
The reorganisation of empire after third century crisis by the Dominate rulers led to the growth of a new imperial culture which went beyond Roman and Italian traditions. Christianity was accepted as a state religion and from now onwards Christianity itself became a determining factor for cultural change in the fourth century. Roman art and architecture during this period served not only the imperial cultural needs but also ideological and spiritual needs of a rising Christian population.
The decline of the Western Roman Empire was a prolonged process covering almost two centuries. Several factors ranging from political, economic, and social to invasions of the German tribes have been considered as the factors primarily responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire.
Politically, the absence of a clear law of succession created uncertainties and struggle for throne after the sudden death of each ruler with disastrous consequences. As the army became the major source of legitimisation of power, the senate lost its relevance and claimants to the throne resorted to a violent takeover of power. The decline of the city of Rome as the power centre and emergence of provinces as new fulcrums of power created a keen tussle among the respective provincial leaders. This led to the growth of sectionalism adversely affecting the unity of the empire. The system of tetrarchy developed by the Dominate rulers ultimately resulted in formal division of the Roman Empire in 395 CE.
The economic crisis manifested itself in the form of crisis in the slave mode of production, fiscal and monetary crises, and decline of trade and urban centres. Many of these were a direct outcome of certain political measures adopted by the Roman rulers in the third century CE. However, it also resulted from some inherent weaknesses in the process of economic growth witnessed in the previous two centuries under the Principate rulers.
Social tensions between the rich and poor citizens of the empire got exasperated in the wake of the crisis in slave mode of production. The crisis of slave labour forced the Roman aristocracy to look for an alternative source of surplus appropriation. This they achieved by depressing the status of free peasants by over taxation and then turning them into dependent peasants ( coloni ). Peasants reacted to this by revolting not only against the landlords but also often against the state. Though most of these revolts were ultimately crushed, the state had to use excessive manpower and resources to bring these under control.
The internal crisis of the empire was compounded by external tribal invasions particularly by the Germanic tribes as the state struggled to maintain enough manpower to protect its frontiers. The initial interaction of the empire with these tribes was both violent and peaceful. But from mid-fourth century CE onwards, these tribes, organised into leagues, started making a planned attack on the empire with the objective of territorial acquisition. Prominent among the invading tribes were the Vandals, Visigoths, Burgundians, Franks, Angels, and Saxons.
