History of Greece
Pre-Hellenic Greece
	Prehistory of Greece
-3200	Cycladic civilization
-2700	Minoan civilization
-1550	Mycenaean civilization
Ancient Greece
-1200	Dark Ages
-800	Archaic
-510	Classical period
-323	Hellenistic
-146	Roman Greece
Medieval Greece (C)
330	Byzantine Empire
1202	Fourth Crusade
1453	Ottoman Greece
Modern Greece
1799	Republic of the Seven Islands
1822	Revolutionary War
1832	Kingdom of Greece
1936	Plan of August 4
1941	Occupation
1946	Civil War
1967	Dictatorship of the colonels
1974	Hellenic Republic

The period of Roman rule in Greece conventionally extends 146 BC. AD after the sacking of Corinth by Lucius Mummius Achaicus until the rebuilding of Byzantium by Constantine ^I and his proclamation as the second capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD. AD

Installing the Romans in Greece

The decline of the Greek military led the Romans to conquer the country from -187. In contrast, the Greek culture was going to conquer Roman life. Although the Roman occupation begins by convention -146 , the Roman presence is effective from the ^third century BC. AD. Some Greek states demanded an alliance with Rome. The first were the cities of the Adriatic to fight against pirates Illyrian. Then -212 , the Aetolians seek an alliance with Rome against the Antigonids. The Roman intervention in Illyria (in -228 and -219 ) and Macedonia (214-205), although limited, especially in Rome took advantage to enlarge the number of Greek city-owned system of his own clientele .

Antiochus III

The weakening of Macedonia favored projects of Antiochus III who wanted to invade Greece. In -192 , he landed in Greece but received little support except that of the League Aetolian. He was defeated by -191 at Thermopylae, returns to Asia where it is crushed -190 to Magnesia L. Scipio Asian (brother of Scipio Africanus ).

The third Macedonian war saw the victory of Paulus on Perseus of Macedonia at Pydna to -168 , thus ending the dynasty Antigonids. Macedonia is also divided into four districts or merids whose towns were Amphipolis , Thessaloniki , Pella and Pelagonia .

After the victory of Pydna, Romans accentuate their presence in Greece and are defending their interests. But this intervention is poorly perceived by people who revolt in Macedonia ( -148 ) and in the Peloponnese ( -146 ) . The unrest ends with the sack of Corinth in the -146 and the fact that the peninsula becomes protectorate of Rome, which the islands of the Aegean were added in 133 BC. BC Athens and other cities revolted in -88 but were crushed by General Sulla. The Roman civil war devastated the country even more, until that Augustus organized the peninsula as a province of Achaea in 27.

The remaining city-states gradually ended by paying tribute to Rome, is losing their autonomy. The Romans left local administration to the Greeks, not trying to abolish the local political habits. And the agora in Athens continued to be the center of the political and civic life.

The Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD, extended citizenship outside of Italy to all free men throughout the Roman Empire , raising provincial populations to equal status to that of Rome. Companies already incorporated such as Greece, were more favorable to the decree, that the more distant provinces, too poor, or feeling too foreign, such as Britain , the Palestine or Egypt. Caracalla's decree did not set off the process leading to the transfer of power from Italy to the east and Greece, but instead accelerated, laying the foundations of a major power in Greece and Europe Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.

Influence of Greek on the Roman Empire

Greece was the key eastern province of the Roman Empire because the Roman culture was long, in fact, Greco-Roman. The Greek language was used as a lingua franca in east and in Italy , and many Greek intellectuals such as Galen would have made much of their work in Rome.

The Tower of Winds

Several emperors made to build new buildings in the Greek cities, particularly on the agora of Athens , where Agrippa Marcus Agrippa Vipsanius the library Pantaneus and Tower of the Winds among other things were built. Life in Greece continued under the Roman Empire at about the same as before. Roman culture was largely inspired by the Greeks. The epics of Homer inspired the Aeneid of Virgil , and authors such as Seneca the Younger wrote using Greek styles. The Roman nobles who regarded the Greeks as backward and unimportant were the main opponents of Roman heroes, such as Scipio Africanus , who studied philosophy and saw the Greek culture and science as examples to follow. Similarly, many Roman emperors tended to be Philhellenes. The emperor Nero visited Greece in 66 and participated in the Olympics despite the prohibition against non-Greeks to participate. He won a victory in each discipline and in 67 proclaimed the freedom of the Greeks to the Isthmian Games at Corinth, just 200 years after Titus had done the same. Hadrian was also an admirer of the Greeks. Before becoming emperor he was eponymous archon of Athens. He also built the ark that bears his name, and had a Greek lover, Antinous. At that time, Greece, like much of Eastern Roman Empire, under the influence of Christianity. The Apostle Paul preached in Corinth and Athens, Greece and quickly became one of the most Christianized of the Empire.

Late Roman Empire

Emperor Theodosius I

During the second and third century, Greece was divided into provinces whose Achaia , the Macedonia and Moesia. During the reign of Diocletian in the late ^third century, Moesia was organized as a diocese headed by Galerius. Under Constantine ^I , Greece was part of the prefectures of Macedonia and Thrace. Theodosius I divided the prefecture of Macedonia into the provinces of Crete , Achaia, in Thessaly , Old Epirus , New Epirus and Macedonia. The islands of the Aegean province Insulae formed in the prefecture of Asiana. Still under the reign of Theodosius, Greece had to face invasions Heruli , the Visigoths , the Goths and Vandals. Stilicho , regent for Arcadius , evacuated Thessaly when the Visigoths invaded the region in the late fourth century. Eutropius, chamberlain of Arcadius, allowed Alaric to enter Greece, the latter sacked Athens, Corinth and the Peloponnese. Stilicho finally pushed him to 397 and Alaric was made magister militum in Illyricum. Finally, Alaric and the Goths migrated to Italy, sacked Rome in 410 and established in Iberia and southern France the Visigoth empire, which lasted until 711 and the arrival of the Arabs.

Although Greece might continue to be part of the Eastern Roman Empire, the country never recovered completely from the Roman occupation, which occurred some 500 years earlier. He had become poor and underpopulated. The focal point of the Greeks had moved eastward to Constantinople and Anatolia , from the reign of Constantine. Athens , Sparta and other cities of the peninsula were ignored and many of their statues and other works of art were moved to Constantinople. Nevertheless, the country remained one of the greatest centers of Christianity in late Roman Empire and early Byzantine period.

Notes

See also

• History of Greece | Ancient Greece Timeline
• Roman Republic
• Chronology of the Roman Republic
• Byzantine Empire

• Ancient Greece Portal
• Ancient Rome portal

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