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Athenian democracy and roman republic
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The Roman Empire was vast, by the fall of the Empire it stretched from Asia, Europe and Africa. It was a strong empire, but internal strife and politics destroyed the wondrous and developed civilisation. It is interesting to note that Rome gave the implication that her citizens held full voting rights, which points to the fact that she could be considered a democracy . However, what was the actual foundation of Rome; in this essay we will be looking at the Roman Aristocrats and the structure of her political nature and how Roman Nobility reflects this.
In Gracchi to Nero, Scullard states “Sempronius GBracchus, embodied many of the older Roman virtues: a good solider, and provincial governor, …..twice consul” . The Roman people looked at
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He submitted that the people entrusted the aristocracy with their interest and at first the aristocracy were appreciative of the responsibility beholden to them, “…the public advantage their chief concern and conducted all kinds of business, public or private, with diligence and caution” . Moreover, Polybius discusses the military life and civil service; “All citizens must serve ten years in the cavalry or twenty years in the infantry ……. and no one can hold an office in the state until he has completed ten years of military service” . Upon completion of your military service you than have the possibility to be elected to become as a Magistrate, and potentially become a senator or the more exalted position as a Consul. To enable to succeed in a political career, you must show excellence in public speaking skills, demonstrate your high level of morality and ethics, be proven to be brave and a ferocious leader and fighter to enhance Rome and live by what you preach. This leads us to an interesting chap by the name of Cato.
If we begin by examining the life of Cato, and his rise into power both military and civil, we can see how the people view nobility and what they expect from the senate and the like. We shall look at Plutarch’s writings, though not the best source, he does provide an insight into roman nobility and it should be remember that Plutarch was born after the events
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Cato started with the name Priscus, although he earned the name Cato through his outstanding service and abilities It is to be noted, that Cato looked after the people under his command, and ensure their livelihood, while keeping in the limits of frugality. He worked tirelessly for the people as a lawyer and did not require a fee, furthermore, he worked and tolled on his own property, went to town every morning to collect what he himself needed from the market, he preferred to prove his ability and his loyalty to Rome on the battle field. Because of his lifestyle this brought him to the attention of Valerius Flaccus, who become Cato’s sponsor. This allowed him to move through the levels of government and militarily alike quite quickly. As attaching yourself to a great man in Ancient Rome gives you an entry into the aristocracy, that a “new man” . He built his fame and rights through military service, and excellence in civil service . Cato excelled in battle and speech, he was honoured for his triumphs in war. Although Cato, had many war triumphs including the pass at Thermoplae. He was mostly a government man and that is where he excelled and become able to display his ancestors bust at
In the early second century BC, the Roman Senate accrued a powerful ruling over the city’s civil government. Rome’s elite members lived at the heart of Rome and gave power to the members of the Senate. These elite citizens gained nobility through prior ancestors whom held consulships. With the prior influential heritage, they pushed the decisions of the Senate in order to gain more wealth and land. This often meant bribes, threats, and posturing to sway leaders to vote for laws that were favorable. This period did not last for long as for in the latter half of the second century growth in the cities occurred and meant change for the patrician nobility. Tribunes, such as Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus used this change to enforce social policies that were in favor of the plebeians, but also their eventual downfall.
Julius Caesar was a very influential figure in Roman history. Many features of the Roman Empire came from his reign as dictator. But what, specifically, were some of those great achievements? In this research paper, I will explain Julius Caesar’s youth, the Roman Republic before Caesar came to power, the Roman government before Caesar became dictator-for-life, the effects of Julius Caesar, the reasons for his assassination, and what affects there were when the public learned about his assassination.
Caesar came from an old patrician family, where he received an education, and began his journey into a political career (Hart 337). He started just as any man would trying to make something of himself and not die the same way he was born, average. Without having conquered Gaul and crossed the Rubicon he would just be another politician in a corrupted government. “Julius Caesar reached a mature age without achieving astonishing success (qtd. Hart 7). Unlike rulers like Alexander The Great, Caesar was into his 50’s with nothing to show for it. The most influential people are usually geniuses or prodigies that can’t help but make a difference in the world. Unlike people like Einstein who mastered Calculus before he was 15 he was just a white sheep amongst others.
Conclusion: Ending the Roman Republic may have meant changing history but Augustus is not only known as the first emperor of Rome but is referred to as one of the best leaders in history due to the successes of his reforms, in addition to the peace and prosperity of his empire. Throughout forty-five years of Augustus’s rule an uncountable amount of reforms were made in order to a flourishing and stable society. Although, some may disagree with his rule at times, the end result proved that Augustus was the right ruler. After all, don’t the ends justify the means?
Over the course of Julius Caesars life, he gained both political and social popularity due in fact to the multiple positions he had in Rome. In 69 BC Caesar was elected military tribune, after showing bravery when he was kidnapped by pirates while crossing the Aegean Sea. Being military tribune was the first step in having a political career at the time. Julius entered the course of advancement in the Roman political system as quaestor in 69 B.C. In the Roman Republic, a quaestor was a public official who supervised the financial affairs of the state and conducted audits. In 65 B.C., Julius Caesar was appointed to the position of Pontifex Maximus, this was much to people's disbelief because Caesar was so young. Pontifex Maximus gave Caesar the position of high priest in the College of Pontiffs, which was the most important position in the ancient Roman church. Caesar won against two powerful senators that had greater experience and power. Despite much uproar, Caesar was chosen to be...
Patricians were the richer people in the world at the time and owned a considerably large amounts of lands. Since they had large amounts of land, which allowed them to gain power, they were deemed patricians, They were the ones who governed the city from the Senate. The Senate was the empire’s governing body during the republic and were voted into office annually by a large group of citizens and also the equites, or men who had property. Equites were people lower in ranking under the patricians (Ancient Roman Politics, Crystalinks). All the social and political power was mostly in the hands of ancient families who are: the Cornelii family, the family of the Caesars, and the Aemilii. The Senate’s power and all other things were lost under the emperors, but the patrician families still held public opinion. The Roman’s sons were sent to be great soldiers so after they became Roman citizens, they were enlisted on their first military campaign. On their return from service in the military, the son of a patrician usually always entered into politics, and sometimes the sons of equites did the same. The young man first stood for election as an aedile, also known as a city councilor. The aediles looked after the corn supply and public amusements. They were basically there just to run the fruitless jobs that were needed. Then the next office that could be achieved was that of the quaestor, also known as the secretary of the
In 509 B.C. the Romans declared themselves a republic, free from rule of the Etruscan kings. (“The Rise of…”) From that point on, the Roman’s form of government would never include the title of “king”, in fear that a single person would gain absolute power. The republic included a dictator (in emergencies), the senate, two consuls, and several other positions. (Bishop) Although the goal of creating a republic was to have a government that represented the wishes of its people, the Roman senate consisted of men of wealth or power, leaving most of the plebeians, or common people, out of the picture. Many of the emperors’ policies strengthened the power of the government, and therefore weakened the power of the plebeians. By the end of Sulla’s rule in 78 B.C., grain prices had risen substantially and there was large gap between the rich and poor. (“The Rise of…”) When Julius Caesar took power, he initiated several reforms that were much needed at the time. Caesar spent large volumes of money on entertaining the citizens, while expanding citizenship to people of conquered lands and lessening the power of the senate. His policies threatened the method of income of senators and around 60 senators, in the name of saving the republic, murdered Julius Caesar at a senate hearing in 44 B.C. Civil war then erupted in Rome and lasted over a decade. At the end of the blood brawl, it was Octavian who emerged victorious; he would be the first Roman Emperor and would be known as Augustus. (Morey) Although the “Liberators” (Julius Caesar’s assassins), might not have realized it, the day that Julius Caesar died was the same day that the republic died; t...
The Romans were on one of the greatest people of all. They had power, wealth, and even a half of the world. They built one of the strongest and vast empire that world has ever seen. They came from nothing to something awesome. It started of as a city and ended up being one of the greatest empire of all. This essay is going to focus on the Roman Empire from the rise to the fall and the government, architecture, mythology, Family Structure, and Food of the Romans.
...s to make Rome a democracy and through it he faced his sorrows like a god and held a good reputation in society. He made his own enemies look up to him with respect and never gave up his great moral character. He turns nobler through every act and scene. A noble person is someone with moral character, courage, generosity, honor and bravery to do what is right. They are the people who show respect for what is right and face obstacles, challenges and risks and face the consequences and challenges to prove what is right. They are strong, honorable and face their sorrows in silence. They find the truth and reason in everything that happens. They are great people like Martin Luther King, Jr., honorable soldiers and senators like Brutus. Brutus was a man of courage, generosity, honor, bravery and honor. He was the noblest of them all.
There were several strengths of the Roman Empire which enabled it to survive for more than four hundred years. These strengths included a strong foundation, having been built off of the Roman Republic; the standardization across the empire of many aspects of life, such as language, law, and especially the extension of citizenship, which made the empire more cohesive and easier to rule; and strong leaders, who were able to utilize the manipulation of the upper class and Senate, and the management of the military.
Commonalities between Cato and Caesar abound in Suetonius and Plutarch's biographies. The most apparent similarity is physical appearance and ability. Cato followed a sober mode of living and trained hard to attain “ a tough constitution and a body which was as strong as it was healthy” (P1). In battle Cato was a “formidable fighter, who stood his ground resolutely and and confronted his opponents with a ferocious expression “ (P1). Caesar was also strong in body and battle. He was “tall fair and well built,” and he was “a most skillful swordsman and horseman, and showed surprising powers of endurance” (s45,57). The enormous number of victories left by Caesar are testimony to his skill as general and fighter. Similarity in strength is only one part of dom...
"Rome, History of Ancient Rome From Its Founding To Collapse." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .
Julius Caesar was born on the 13th day of the month Quintilis (now July) in the year of 100 B.C. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the same as his father's name. Gaius was his given name and Julius was his surname. Caesar was the name of one branch of the Julian family. Its original meaning was "hairy.” Caesar's family was not prominent, but they claimed to be descended from Venus as well as the kings of Alba Langa. In spite of that fiction, Caesar was well connected through his relatives and received some important government assignments during his youth. Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome from 61-44 BC. At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. Caesar made his way to be considered a head of Rome by 62 BC, but many of the senate felt him a dangerous, ambitious man. The senate did their best to keep him out of consulship. He finally became consul in 59 BC. In Caesar, they saw only the threat of a king, a word that was linked with the word “tyrant” that is cruel or unjust rule.
...mpletely disappeared. The eastern half of the empire became the Byzantine Empire and it survived and flourished greatly. The Byzantine Empire retained the roman culture for another 1000 years. This empire continued to exist until 1453 when it fell to the Turks. Even though the political dynasty of the Roman Empire fell, the ideas and customs of the romans still influence the development of the western civilization until now.
During the late Republic the patrician aristocracy was fading as a result of war, civil strife, low procreation and loss of wealth resulting in the virtual disappearance of this old and established aristocracy by first century CE (Tacitus Annales, c. 100 AD). Under the new rule of the emperors it became much harder to become a great man and be seen as Roman aristocrat as the virtues and attainments which defined the aristocracy during the Republic were now altered to fit the new Imperialist setting of Rome. This can be seen throughout The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola written by Tacitus c. 98 AD which looks at the lengths that Gnaeus had to go through under Imperialist Rome to be seen as a great man and one who fit the ideal definition of what is meant to be a Roman aristocrat. The Agricola strongly highlights how the ways in which becoming an aristocrat had been altered to fit Imperial Rome of which can be seen changing through Suetonius’ biography on the Life of the Defied Julius Caesar. In the Agricola it shows how at its base the path to being a great man was unchanged through gaining prestige through military conquest, of which he achieved under the command of Suetonius Paullinus, while serving