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Republic

Gradual expansion of power, 
Republican form of government 
Advanced legal system
Advanced engineering and military technology. 




Empire

Initial expansion
Protecting Romes borders 
Authoritarian Rule of the Emperor 
-Not the collected compromises of the senate, instead the will of the emperor, the will of one man Nero...Crazy
Pax (peace) Romana: 100 years of people & prosperity 

5 good Emperors
Nerva (96 AD - 98 AD)
Trajan (98 AD - 117 AD)
Hadrian (117 AD - 138 AD)
Antonius Pius (138 AD - 161 AD)
Marcus Aurelius (161 AD - 180 AD) 

Rise of Christianity 

Major Economic Decline 

220 AD - Han Dynasty Falls
	Ends trade on Silk Road which had lasted for 400 years. 

Outsourcing - more local unemployment 
Cheap goods flowing into Rome, the stop of these cheap goods, allow with over population and enlarged bureaucracy. Caused economic crisis, inflation. 


Inflation - prices rise because money is worth less. 

Technological standstill, many theories. 
Slave labor (no need for better technology)?
Lead poisoning? 
Plague ?