Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Roman Empire

Two thousand years ago, the world was ruled by Rome. From England to Africa and from Syria to Spain, one in every four people on earth lived and died under Roman law. This vast empire survived for over 400 years because of several important assets.

The first strength that the Roman Empire consistently displayed was its Military. The Roman army, famed for its discipline, organization, and innovation in both weapons and tactics, allowed Rome to build and defend a huge empire which for centuries would dominate the Mediterranean world and beyond. They efficiently swept through surrounding territories, conquering all that stood in their way. This was a key strength for the Romans. If Rome invaded foreign kingdoms it meant that they weren’t at risk of being invaded themselves in the future, thus neutralizing the risk of needing to defend themselves. The land they took over and the people living there would become “Romanized” as the Empire absorbed more territory.

Another strength of the Empire would be that the constant invasion of new places meant a constant flow of money, resources and

Admittedly, literacy in Rome never exceeded more than 20%, but the wealthy upper class were extremely literate and educated. The people that governed Rome, the senate, were intelligent people, this also contributes to Rome’s success and preservation because foolish military and economic mistakes were rarely made. The Roman judicial system was in a class of its own, distinguishing laws from facts and helping to properly police the Empire. There were indictments, jury trails, prosecutors, defense attorneys and both softhearted and unforgiving judges. All of these things made Rome a highly civilized society, far superior to anything that “barbarians” had in foreign lands. This contributed to the fact that Romans were generally better educated than the people they were invading, meaning better military