More handpicked essays just for you.
The contribution of the Roman Empire to the development of Western civilization
Ancient Rome and its impact on western civilization
Ancient Rome and its impact on western civilization
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Ancient Rome
Rome was one of the largest and innovative empires ever. Ancient Rome was one of the most significant civilizations in history because of their influence on many other civilizations. Traces of Ancient Rome can be seen in many cultures, like the romance languages of French, Spanish, and Italian. Also, much of modern law, government, art, and philosophy is based on Ancient Rome.
Legend says that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the God of war, Mars. It was located on the Tiber river, surrounded by mountains. In Historic World Events, it’s stated that “Rome's location, as well as its surrounding terrain, gave the city certain unique advantages, which would later prove essential in Rome's expansion efforts and
…show more content…
in the development of its own unique culture” (Gale). The city was also located in an advantageous position along the Mediterranean. Because of this, Rome was a fierce power in Europe from the creation of the republic in 450 B.C, to the fall of the empire in the 5th century A.D. Due to strategic military tactics, technological innovations, and powerful leaders, Rome expanded exponentially, and spread its unique culture to many other civilizations. This diffusion of culture through imperialism can be seen in many cultures today. Ancient Rome’s shadow was cast across three different continents.
In the Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450 it’s said that Ancient Rome’s “approaches towards acquisition and administration of conquered territory and individuals provided the foundation, the blueprint, for later European expansion and rule” (Timothy Howe, pg. 305-309). Ancient Rome created the policy of Imperialism, and through that policy a vast empire was created around the Mediterranean Sea. However, the success of Ancient Rome wasn’t just because of their military power. Through Rome’s divide and rule policy, the people in territories that were conquered were incorporated into Roman society, and even given citizenship. Instead of forcing unwilling subjects to obey them, a loyal following with mutually beneficial relationships was created. An example of this type of relationship is Rome and Africa. According to Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students by the first century A.D, “Africa was supplying two-thirds of all grain consumed in the city of Rome” (John Middleton, pg 214-215). In return, Rome modernized Africa, creating cities and urbanizing their society. Rome’s methods of expansion heavily influenced European imperialism and the colony …show more content…
system. Roman culture was a unique and diverse blend of many cultures.
Rome was heavily influenced by Greeks and Etruscans, and the cultures of conquered people were incorporated into their own. While Rome took from Etruscans and Greeks, they still had a prominent cultural influence on many civilizations. Roman language, religion, architecture, and government can be seen in various modern cultures. The Roman language, latin, is the foundation for many languages. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian all evolved from Latin, and are known as Romance languages.
Rome is also the reason for Christianity becoming a major religions. By the 4th century A.D, Christianity had replaced the original pagan religion. Christianity spread throughout the massive empire, and even continued after its collapse. In the Ancient Civilizations Library, the empire’s influence is described “Though the Roman Empire was gone, a remnant of its former glory remained in the Roman Catholic Church, whose supreme leader, the pope, would become a power on a level with the most influential kings” (Judson Knight and Stacy A. McConnell, pg.
373-419) Another of Rome’s big influences is their architecture. In Arts and Humanities Through the Era, it’s stated that “Roman architecture is essentially a hybrid composed of elements inherited from the Etruscans combined with the outside influences of the Greeks”. Rome took elements from the Greeks and Etruscans and improved upon them, creating huge feats of architecture like the aqueducts and the Colosseum. They also engineered various building techniques that are used even today, such as domes, vaults, arches, and the use of concrete. However, one of their biggest influences was their law and government. One of the earliest law codes was the Twelve Tables. This set of laws influenced many modern laws, such as the Bill of Rights, and established concepts of justice and punishment. “6. For anyone whomsoever to be put to death without a trial and unconvicted ... is forbidden.” (excerpt of the Twelve Tables). Rome also created the first republic, where the people elect representatives. This greatly influenced many modern governments, like the U.S. To sum up, Ancient Rome was one of the most significant civilizations in history because of their influence on other civilizations. Their penchant for assimilation of other cultures bred a very unique culture. Through imperialism, they planted their roots in countless places and spread their culture all throughout the world. Also, their policies of expansion and administration heavily influenced European imperialism. Rome’s influence can be seen in many modern governments and cultures, and without their impact, the world might be drastically different.
Rome was the greatest empire of all times and it impacted the society in many ways. It impacted society by the creation of laws, government practices, language, literature, and art.
From 300-600 CE The Roman Empire allowed new religions to be formed and universalized. The Religion that was associated with The Roman empire was Christianity. Christianity became the religion of Rome because of a man named Constantine who allowed Christianity to spread and flow throughout the empire create a harmony throughout the people. Constantine allowed for the Roman officials to adopt Christianity and this led to the building of the Constantinople. Christianity had basilicas which were opulent churches that were open to all which meant any person could go there allowing Christianity to be very universal. Christianity was also very appealing because the worshiped deity walked on land with the people. Christianity split and became the Roman Catholic church which consisted
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Rome was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. The early Roman state was founded in 509 B.C. after the Romans drove out the hated Etruscan king. By this time Rome had already grown from a cluster of small villages to a small city. Little did the settlers know that this was the beginning of one of the greatest and largest empires ever known.
By the fourth century C.E., the Roman Empire was declining. After so many years of perseverance the Roman Empire began to give into the changes that were happening all around them. One change in particular was the spread of Christianity. This new religion went against the traditions of the Romans, it was monotheistic and focused on the will of God. A religion that began small and under persecution became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Rome has impacted modern times through so many ways. This immense empire has changed the way we do things nowadays from how they used to be long before today. Roman people used their intelligent minds to create unbelievable inventions that are still used today. Rome has revolutionized political and economic structures throughout the known world by the creation of roads, their architecture, the use of a senate, and many more.
The Roman Empire In 27 BC, Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, thus creating a strong leader figure, which could shape and mold the Republic system into what was best for the empire or themselves. During the reign of the emperors, the political policies for Rome would vary according to, which emperor was in power. Not only were politics shaky, but there never was a clear-cut method of succession for the man who controlled those politics. Rome had created the position of emperor in hopes that men like Augustus would continue to lead her into prosperity, however the office of emperor struggled in attempting to find great men to lead Rome. The office never truly evolved into something greater than when it had been created, but rather the office varied according to the personality of the man in the position.
Christianity became more prevalent in Roman society as time went on because it appealed to Rome and what Roman ideals were. In the beginning Romans were skeptical of changing religion, but as the years went by, the Romans adopted and changed. Christianity appealed to the Roman ideals, as it gave certain perks that their current polytheistic religion did not offer to them. The emperors of Rome had many different views on Christianity; some emperors encouraged change, and others were more traditional and wanted to stick to their current, polytheistic religion. Roman views on Christianity have changed drastically from the early years of the Roman Empire to the 4th century, as well as its appeal to the ordinary Roman citizen.
As the story goes, Rome was founding in 753 B.C. by two brothers Remus and Romulus who were raised by wolves. The two brothers started fighting over the leadership of the land. Eventually Romulus killed Remus and took control own his own. The city was only a small settlement at that time. As the civilization grew, the Etruscans took over. The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C. By this time Rome had become a city. As the empire came to its peak it included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring places during the Roman Republic, but made wider conquests and made a strong political power for these lands. In 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman leader who ruled the Roman Republic as a dictator was assassinated. Rome descended into more than ten years of civil war. After years of civil war, Caesar's heir Gaius Octavius (also known as Octavian) defeated his last rivals. In 27 B.C. the Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning the exalted or holy one. In this way Augustus established the monarchy that became known as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, which lasted nearly 500 years, did not exist anymore. The emperor Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14 and ruled with great power. He had reestabl...
The Roman Empire is known as one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever seen. At it’s height, this Empire had peace, economic prosperity and was expanding. Roman cities contributed to a fair amount of this success because they contributed to many advances during Pax Romana and united the empire. After the fall of the Empire, Christianity survived because although the empire separated into many kingdoms they were still being influenced by the religion.
There are certain traits the Roman Empire possessed which contributed greatly to the growth of Christianity. The Roman Empire, most importantly, united a great variety and cultures and people into what became one nation; the resulting unity and communication between so many peoples eased the spread of Christianity all over the world. Of the Roman emperors, even the extremely rude ones assisted in spreading the Christian faith; not despite, but relieved by their pursuit Christianity grew rapidly. Finally, the oppressed and broken nature of the plebeians made them very liable to and eager of the Christian message.
Although, many might say that the Roman Empire was already very successful even without the Greek influence, the Romans were already known for their very great army. The Romans were able to conquer so many lands and keep a great structure to the point where other communities feared them because of their army. It is true, Rome was already very successful they had conquered many lands before the Hellenistic period, and were already known to be a very rich and powerful community. Just as Chris Truman states on the website the History learning site where du...
Like the famous saying goes, Rome wasn 't built in a day, and that couldn 't be truer. There are many things that led to the founding of Rome, and those things ultimately led to the great Roman Empire that controlled Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia at its peak. The events that led up to the widely accepted founding date of 753 BC, can mostly be attributed to the geography of the area that became known as Rome, although there is a significant legend that includes a murderous twin. Overall, through Greek and Etruscan influences, the geography of Rome led to the founding of the republic as a trade depot.
It began in the eighth century B.C. Over the course of time, Ancient Rome grew and encompassed most of Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa, and the Mediterranean islands. Ancient Rome created many legacies, and here are three. One legacy was the widespread use of the romance languages, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. All of the romance languages were derived from Latin. Another legacy
The Roman’s had its ups and downs, but they made a lasting effect on today’s world, the establishment of law, the creation of the democratic government and the increase of Christianity ("Roman Influences," n.d.). We were also left with tangible items such as art and the delicate and beautiful artifacts. The empire was also known to help spread Latin Language, which formed the foundation of the English language ("Roman Influences,"