How Did Julius Caesar's Use Of Soft Power

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The Roman Empire was a political, economic, and military superpower throughout the ancient European world, governed by an Emperor based on an imperial structure. Formed in 27 BCE after Augustus Caesar’s proclamation as the first emperor of Rome, it rapidly expanded before reaching its territorial peak in 117 CE, spanning all of western Europe and much of the Mediterranean Basin. To create and administer such a wide expanse of territory, the Roman Empire utilized various methods of Hard and Soft power. Though the use of hard power was key in expanding the borders of the Roman Empire, it was the use of soft power that ultimately integrated conquered territories and people alike under Roman rule, thus creating a sense of unity between all its …show more content…

Syncretism—a subcategory of Romanization, is the process of integrating different cultures and religions together to create a more unified population through cultural and theological identity. This process is usually peaceful, much more so than the usual enforcement of the ruling parties’ faith through the use of various methods of power. This form of peaceful religious integration can be seen in the Romano-British temple and bathhouse of Sulis-Minerva. Prior to the introduction of Roman theology to the Britons, the polytheistic religion of the native British featured a god they recognized as Sulis—their ‘mother-goddess’ of personal well-being. After the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, it was discovered certain practices and deities of the native Briton religion were very similar to those of the Roman one. Sulis’ closest Roman counterpart was the goddess Minerva, who in Roman theology was the goddess of medicine and wisdom. Using the practice of syncretism, the Romans decided to integrate the above-mentioned goddesses together in the name of religious harmony with the native people. Soon after the invasion, an open space for the worship of Sulis was found on the river hot springs of the city of Bath, located in modern-day England. Both the Romans and British natives believed that the hot springs possessed ‘healing properties’—likely a factor in the natives’ decision to honor their healing goddess at …show more content…

Their use of soft power as a means of unifying and controlling their citizens through various forms of cultural and economic manipulation decreased the need for hard power in the maintenance of their empire entirely. A satisfied populace content with the fact they were all Roman would not have sought rebellion, as the conditions they lived in were fair and the culture they represented theirs. So yes, while Hard power was crucial in the wars and battles fought to win over territory and land, it was, in fact, Soft power that cemented this new land under one Roman

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