Friday, July 22, 2011

Do the Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia fall under the pax romana or the Byzentine empire period of time?

The Byzantine Empire of course. Hagia Sophia ("holy wisdom") was a major christian edifice, and christianity hardly yet amounted to much in the Pax Romana. Btw ammianus got one thing wrong: 180 CE marked the end of the age of the Antonines, or Good Emperors, NOT the end of the Pax Romana. In fact, the reign of Commodus, from 180-192, was far more peaceful and stable than the tumultuous years of Marcus Aurelius's reign (161-180). And while there were civil wars in the period 193-97, generally there was stability until the end of Alexander Severus's reign in 235 CE. (Historians don't say the pax romana because of the civil wars of 68-69). Serious internal strife was the exception down to 235; it became the rule only beginning around then.

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