The Roman and Christian Legacies of Empire

The Foundations of Empire

Nineteenth-century empires framed their ideologies as transfigured products of earlier critiques, advocating for "harmonious exchange" and "enlightened instruction" (Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès de l'esprit humain) over conquest. This perspective, influenced by thinkers like Condorcet, laid the ideological groundwork for the "white man's burden" and the notion of bringing civilization to "distant countries." The historical link to earlier empires lies in the transformation of imperial thinking away from crude domination towards a pretense of enlightened rationalism.

The Evolution of "Imperium"

The Latin term imperium initially referred to the sphere of executive authority of Roman magistrates with sacral undertones. It evolved to mean "sovereignty" or "state," as seen in the phrase rex imperator in regno suo (each ruler an Emperor in his own Kingdom). By the late 16th century, it denoted an "extended system" of political relationships, akin to Britain's relationship with its colonies. Geographically, it described the "immense body of empire" (immensum imperii corpus), uniting diverse states into a political and cultural whole. An imperator came to embody supreme military and legislative power, considered an "unfettered legislator" (princeps legibus solutus), and "monarchy" became synonymous with empire—a domain under a single, unquestioned will. The inherent tension between the expansive nature of empire and republican ideals often led to the concentration of power in a single individual.

Civitas, Law, and Humanity

Central to the Roman Imperium was the concept of civitas, defining a life lived in cities, governed by law, and crucial for human flourishing. The Roman Imperium was seen as a source of knowledge, conferring identity based on the rule of law, with Roman Law (ratio scripta) being equated to human law. This often led to the belief that true "humans" lived within the empire, while "barbarians" or "provincials" lacked the necessary qualities for full membership, drawing on Aristotle's theory of natural slavery. However, the Roman civitas was also a "civilization for exportation" (vinculum societatis), capable of assimilating and civilizing those outside its initial bounds. By the 1st century CE, Imperium became synonymous with "the world" (orbis terrarum), signifying a grand "world-state" and the emperor as dominus totius orbis (Lord of all the World).

Christian Influence on Imperial Ideology

With Christianity's rise, notions of singularity and exclusivity in empire were amplified. The Imperium romanum became the orbis Christianus, then the Imperium Christianum, where "barbarians" were conflated with "pagans"—unbelievers lacking "civility." While variety in governance and customs was acknowledged, all civil association had to align with a single belief system. The empire gained a sacred dimension, seen as God's instrument to prepare the world for Christianity, with Christ (born under Augustus) being the true dominus totius orbis, and imperial authority divinely sanctioned. This fostered the concept of a "Holy, Roman, and an Empire," a unique and universal domain, continuing to influence later European imperial projects through "renovations" aimed at achieving universal human flourishing (eudaimonia, redefined as beatitudo, or blessedness).