Pax Romana

Pax Romana, Latin for "the Roman peace", is the long period of peace enforced on states within the Roman Empire. The term stems from the fact that Roman rule and its legal system pacified regions which had suffered from the quarrels between rival leaders. During this time Rome still fought a number of wars against neighbouring states and tribes, most notably the Germanic tribes and Parthia. It was an era of relative tranquillity, in which Rome endured neither major civil wars, such as the perpetual bloodshed of the first century BC, nor serious invasions, such as those of the Second Punic War a century prior.

This period is generally considered to have lasted from 29 BC, when Augustus Caesar declared an end to the great Roman civil wars of the first century, until 180 AD, when emperor Marcus Aurelius died.

The Roman city Pax Iulia ("Peace of the gens Julia") is today's Beja in Portugal.

See also: five good emperors, Pax Britannica, Pax Americana, Ianus.