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Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman Peace") was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by the Roman military force experienced by the Roman Empire after the end of the Final War of the Roman Republic and before the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. Since it was established by Augustus, it is sometimes called Pax Augusta. Its span was approximately 206 years (27 BC to 180 AD) according to ''Encyclopedia Britannica''〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Pax Romana )〕 or from 70 AD to 192 AD according to ''The Cambridge Ancient History''. ==Overview== The Pax Romana is said to have been a "miracle" because prior to it there had never been peace for so many centuries in a given period of history. According to Walter Goffart however, "peace is not what one finds in it(pages )".〔 Arthur M. Eckstein writes that the period needs to be seen in contrast with the much more frequent warfare that occurred in the Roman Republic in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Eckstein also notes that the incipient Pax Romana appeared during the Republic and that its temporal span varied with geographical region as well: "Although the standard textbook dates for the Pax Romana, the famous “Roman Peace” in the Mediterranean, are 31 BC to AD 250, the fact is that the Roman Peace was emerging in large regions of the Mediterranean at a much earlier date: Sicily after 210 (); peninsular Italy after 200 (); the Po Valley after 190 (); most of Spain after 133 (); North Africa after 100 (); and for ever longer stretches of time in the Greek East". The first historical record of the term ''Pax Romana'' appears to be in a writing of Seneca the Younger in 55 AD. The concept was highly influential, being theorized upon and attempted to be copied in subsequent ages. Arnaldo Momigliano noted that "''Pax Romana'' is a simple formula for propaganda, but a difficult subject for research."〔 The Pax Romana started after Octavian (Augustus) defeated Marc Antony in the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC. He became princeps, or "first citizen". Lacking a good precedent of successful one-man rule, Augustus created a junta of the greatest military magnates and stood as the front man. By binding together these leading magnates in a coalition, he eliminated the prospect of civil war. The Pax Romana was not immediate, despite the end of the civil wars, because fighting continued in Hispania and in the Alps. Nevertheless, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus (the Roman ceremony to mark world Peace) three times,〔Augustus states in ''Res Gestae'' 13 that he closed the Gates three times, a fact documented by many other historians (See Gates of Janus).〕 first in 29 BC and again in 25 BC. The third closure is undocumented, but Inez Scott Ryberg (1949) and Gaius Stern (2006) have persuasively dated the third closure to 13 BC with the Ara Pacis ceremony.〔Sir Ronald Syme had suggested a later date (but Rome was then at war).〕 At the time of the Ludi Saeculares in 17 BC the concept of Peace was publicized, and in 13 BC was proclaimed when Augustus and Agrippa jointly returned from pacifying the provinces. The Ara Pacis ceremony was no doubt part of this announcement. Augustus faced a problem making peace an acceptable mode of life for the Romans, who had been at war with one power or another continuously for 200 years.〔 Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but the rare situation that existed when all opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist. Augustus' challenge was to persuade Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare was better for the Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war. Augustus succeeded by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus, issuing coins with Pax on the reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pax Romana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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