Pax Romana

roughly 200-year-long period in Roman history

The Pax Romana was a period when there was a lot of peace in the Roman Empire. "Pax" means "peace" in the Latin language; "Romana" means "Roman" in Latin. So, "Pax Romana" means "Roman peace."

Roman Empire at its biggest size, during the Pax Romana.

the Pax Romana lasted from 27 BC until 180 AD. It started when Augustus was Emperor (ruler) of the Roman Empire. The Pax Romana is called a good time period because:

  1. There were not many wars.
  2. There was a lot of trade. ("Trade" means the buying and selling of goods. Goods are things that can be bought or sold.)

The Emperors of the Pax Romana were:

  • Augustus: (27 BC – 14 AD) Augustus was the first leader, He was the adopted son and great nephew of Julius Caesar.
  • Nerva: (96–98 AD) Nerva changed land laws to help the poor and changed tax rules.
  • Trajan: Trajan built many new public works projects such as bath-houses and roads. The empire grew to its biggest size while Trajan was leader.
  • Hadrian: Hadrian built Hadrian's Wall in Britain (at the time called Britannia). He also made Roman laws easier to understand.
  • Antoninus Pius: Antonius promoted art and science. He also built new public works, and passed laws to help orphans.


The Pax Romana, which in Latin means Roman Peace, was a period from about 2000 to about 1800 years ago when the Roman Empire had reached the height of its size and had few military conflicts. The Pax Romana was not always totally peaceful, as a transition within government could lead to chaos, but is remembered as a golden age for Rome where the empire grew wealthy and no threats challenged Roman dominance in Europe, northern Africa, or the Middle East. During this time period, they grew tremendously in architecture, science, mathematics,