Polity · 31 BCE – 450 CE
Roman Empire
Imperium Romanum · Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων
- Peak recorded area
- 5,260,230 km²
- 117 CE
- Rulers on record
- 80
- from 27 BCE
- Data series
- 26
- 31 BCE–400 CE
Overview
The Roman Empire was a state that controlled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa during the classical period. The Roman Republic had previously conquered most of these territories, which became ruled by emperors following triumvir Octavian's rise to power and establishment of a Principate regime in 27 BC. By the 4th century AD the empire split into western and eastern halves.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
55 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 450 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Largest Settlement Pop5 obs · 1 CE–400 CE | 300Kpersons400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Population5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 7.18score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Population5 obs · 1 CE–400 CE | 15Mpersons400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sophistication5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 1.15score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Monetary Complexity5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 0.8333score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Battle Count6 obs · 69 CE–378 CE | 1battles378 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Military Sophistication4 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 1score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Levels3 obs · 31 BCE–395 CE | 9levels395 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Battle Losses2 obs · 251 CE–378 CE | 1battles lost378 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Scale Avg2 obs · 69 CE–378 CE | 3Lehmann-Zhukov 1-5378 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Wins | 1battles won133 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Territory km²6 obs · 1 CE–400 CE | 1.3Msq km400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Territory5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 6.11score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Admin Levels3 obs · 31 BCE–395 CE | 8levels395 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Hierarchy3 obs · 31 BCE–395 CE | 7levels395 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 11 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Known Ancient Places10 obs · 22 BCE–374 CE | 13Kplaces374 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Known Ancient Settlements10 obs · 22 BCE–374 CE | 5,243settlements374 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Government Complexity5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 0.9091score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 7.67score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 0.9923score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure5 obs · 1 BCE–400 CE | 0.9167score400 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Rulers
80 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- AugustusRoman emperor27 BCE – 14 CE
- TiberiusRoman emperor14 CE – 37 CE
- CaligulaRoman emperor37 CE – 41 CE
- ClaudiusRoman emperor41 CE – 54 CE
- NeroRoman emperor54 CE – 68 CE
- GalbaRoman emperor68 CE – 69 CE
- OthoRoman emperor69 CE
- VespasianRoman emperor69 CE – 79 CE
- VitelliusRoman emperor69 CE
- TitusRoman emperor79 CE – 81 CE
- DomitianRoman emperor81 CE – 96 CE
- NervaRoman emperor96 CE – 98 CE
- TrajanRoman emperor98 CE – 117 CE
- HadrianRoman emperor117 CE – 138 CE
- Antoninus PiusRoman emperor138 CE – 161 CE
- Lucius VerusRoman emperor161 CE – 169 CE
- Marcus AureliusRoman emperor161 CE – 180 CE
- CommodusRoman emperor177 CE – 192 CE
- PertinaxRoman emperor192 CE – 193 CE
- Didius JulianusRoman emperor193 CE
- Septimius SeverusRoman emperor193 CE – 211 CE
- CaracallaRoman emperor198 CE – 217 CE
- GetaRoman emperor209 CE – 211 CE
- MacrinusRoman emperor217 CE – 218 CE
- DiadumenianRoman emperor218 CE
- ElagabalusRoman emperor218 CE – 222 CE
- Severus AlexanderRoman emperor222 CE – 235 CE
- Maximinus ThraxRoman emperor235 CE – 238 CE
- BalbinusRoman emperor238 CE
- Gordian IRoman emperor238 CE
- Gordian IIRoman emperor238 CE
- Gordian IIIRoman emperor238 CE – 244 CE
- PupienusRoman emperor238 CE
- Philip the ArabRoman emperor244 CE – 249 CE
- PacatianRoman emperor248 CE
- SilbannacusRoman emperor248 CE
- DeciusRoman emperor249 CE – 251 CE
- Herennius EtruscusRoman emperor251 CE
- HostilianRoman emperor251 CE
- Trebonianus GallusRoman emperor251 CE – 253 CE
- VolusianRoman emperor251 CE – 253 CE
- AemilianRoman emperor253 CE
- GallienusRoman emperor253 CE – 268 CE
- ValerianRoman emperor253 CE – 260 CE
- IngenuusRoman emperor258 CE – 260 CE
- Macrianus MajorRoman emperor260 CE – 261 CE
- SaloninusRoman emperor260 CE
- Claudius GothicusRoman emperor268 CE – 270 CE
- AurelianRoman emperor270 CE – 275 CE
- QuintillusRoman emperor270 CE
- TacitusRoman emperor275 CE – 276 CE
- FlorianRoman emperor276 CE
- ProbusRoman emperor276 CE – 282 CE
- CarusRoman emperor282 CE – 283 CE
- CarinusRoman emperor283 CE – 285 CE
- NumerianRoman emperor283 CE – 284 CE
- DiocletianRoman emperor284 CE – 305 CE
- MaximianRoman emperor286 CE – 305 CE
- Constantius ChlorusRoman emperor305 CE – 306 CE
- GaleriusRoman emperor305 CE – 311 CE
- Constantine the GreatRoman emperor306 CE – 337 CE
- MaxentiusRoman emperor306 CE – 312 CE
- SeverusRoman emperor306 CE – 307 CE
- LiciniusRoman emperor308 CE – 324 CE
- Maximinus DazaRoman emperor311 CE – 313 CE
- Valerius ValensRoman emperor316 CE – 317 CE
- MartinianusRoman emperor324 CE
- ConstansRoman emperor337 CE – 350 CE
- Constantine IIRoman emperor337 CE – 340 CE
- Constantius IIRoman emperor337 CE – 361 CE
- VetranioRoman emperor350 CE
- JulianRoman emperor360 CE – 363 CE
- JovianRoman emperor363 CE – 364 CE
- ValensRoman emperor364 CE – 378 CE
- Valentinian IRoman emperor364 CE – 375 CE
- GratianRoman emperor367 CE – 383 CE
- Valentinian IIRoman emperor375 CE – 392 CE
- Theodosius IRoman emperor379 CE – 395 CE
- Flavius VictorRoman emperor384 CE – 388 CE
- Theodosius IIRoman emperor402 CE – 450 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Ancient Greek, Latin
- Currency
- aureus, Roman currency, sestertius, denarius, as
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3)v3
Brecke, P. Conflict Catalog (Historical Conflict Events Dataset), digitized v3.
Academic use, attribution
Pleiades Gazetteer2024 snapshot
Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.). Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places.
CC BY 3.0
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Roman Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.