Contrary to what many people think, even though Augustus Wottavi became the first head of state in 27 BC and the Roman Empire replaced the republic; the Roman tradition of democratic republicanism was not completely extinguished. They are simply being pushed into a less conspicuous secondary position. Although Wottaville established various administrative positions and consolidated the authority of the Fuehrer to strengthen the monist dictatorship of the Fuehrer system, the Senate still had the power to elect consuls and govern several senate provinces, including Italy itself. Even after the crisis of the third century, Diocletian strengthened the imperial system, the Senate was still an important stage and microphone for imperial politics, and major political events and decisions were still inseparable from the senators who sat in the senate, with a prominent position and wearing purple toga robes. After Constantine I moved east to Constantinople, he still established a new senate in the new capital. The Romans were keen to participate in politics, and the tradition of discussing current politics continued. But in a great riot in the 5th century, this tradition went into decline along with another Roman tradition, racing.
The Senate of the late Republic
It is well known that the Romans loved to watch competitive events, in addition to bloody gladiator fights, there were also racing competitions that surrounded the Oval Arena. In the city of Rome, there is the Maximus Arena, which can accommodate up to 150,000 people. Constantinople was built with a 450-meter-long and 130-meter-wide hippodrome capable of accommodating 100,000 spectators. On the north side of the track stands bronze gilded horses, and the inside of the track is full of statues, but the only ones that have survived to this day are the Obelisk of Thutmose III taken by Emperor Theodosius from the Temple of Luxor in Egypt in 390 AD, the Obelisk of Constantine, which now contains only brick cores, and the Platyan altar from the Temple of Delphi in Greece. At the eastern end of the U-shaped circuit, a special Emperor's Stand was set up, with a secret passage connecting to the Imperial Palace. The emperor often came to watch the game and listened to the voices of the citizens. Over time, the spectators of racing competitions are divided into politicized audience groups such as "Blue Party" and "Green Party". The first participants of the Blue Party were seafarers, but later citizens, nobles and senators joined. They embraced orthodox Christianity and supported the emperor's centralization of power. The members of the "Greens" were mostly made up of the upper classes such as wealthy merchants and magnates in the eastern part of the empire, who advocated local autonomy and embraced the unitarian school of Christ, which was considered heretical. The social problems of the Empire and the popular will of the people representing different groups were often conveyed to the emperor here.
Ancient Roman Racing Athletic
In early 532, a conflict broke out between the Blues and the Greens in Constantinople. The Blue Party believed that Justinian I's ascension to the throne was their own credit, so it was arrogant and arrogant, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Green Party, and the two parties broke out in the Grand Arena. Two days later, on 13 January, the mayor of Constantinople ordered the arrest and death sentence of the perpetrator of the trouble. Two of them were taken away by the masses while being hanged. The two death row inmates belonged to the blue and green parties, so the two factions united and wanted to
Ask the Emperor to forgive the two men. The Blues and Greens converge and flock to Meyer Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the Empire, chanting in unison the slogan of racing competition, 'Nika!' ''''Victory''' The famous "Nika Riot" broke out.
Justinian I
The next day, demonstrators surrounded the Grand Palace and demanded the removal of some officials, notably John of Cappadocia, who favored the Blue Party. The demonstrators were dispersed by the guards, but the incident was exacerbated by the arrival of residents of several districts near Piazza Augustus. Demonstrators set fire to the city and destroyed the prettiest quarter of the capital, including the Senate, Hagia Sophia, St. Irina's Church, Alexander Baths, and Theodosius Market, destroying them in the fire.
Nika riots
After three days of siege of the palace, Justinian I decided to go to the Racing Arena at 11 a.m. on January 17 to address the populace, but the agitated populace shouted that the emperor was a "stupid donkey, a hypocrite, a vulgar embryo" and threw stones at the emperor and the empress. Justinian saw that the situation was not good, and fled back to the palace from the secret tunnel under the emperor's stand. At noon, the people forcibly elected Ipadios, nephew of Anastasias I, as emperor. Justinian tried to escape, but was stopped by Empress Theodora.
Queen Theodora
The Empress sent the eunuch chief Narsses to infiltrate the Blue Party's residential area with cash and bribe the party's leaders to support the emperor. The famous general Belisarius surrounded the Colosseum with a force that had just returned from the Persian front, and launched a bloody massacre of the people in the arena. About 35,000 people died in the Colosseum, and the "Nika Riots" that shook the Empire ended in blood.
The Emperor suppressed the Nika Rebellion
In the subsequent reckoning, Justinian retaliated against dissident forces, and the opposition and the nobles and senators involved in the rebellion were executed. Justinian I once again consolidated his absolute rule with bloodshed. Although the main cause of the rebellion was the corruption of some of the officials appointed by Justinian, a series of reforms by Justinian were also resisted by the old nobility, and the Empire's wars in the East were not smooth; these factors combined to cause the capital's popular anger to boil and unrest. Since then, however, the emperor's dictatorship has become more consolidated in the Eastern Roman Empire, and the blue-green parties and racing competitions have gone downhill. The ancient Romans participated in politics, and the tradition of discussing the government and the opposition gradually disappeared.