The Roman Empire was one of the strongest civilizations during its twelve century history.The three most important contributions to their strengths were a perfect location which provided an abundance of resources, powerful leaders such as Julius Caesar that focused on military might so they could conquer other civilizations, and a far more advanced architecture than their neighbors. The history of Rome is so important because they are one of the greatest civilizations to have ever existed and there are reasons to why they were so successful. Looking back at what they did could show us how to be just as powerful as Rome was.
Legend has it that Rome was founded Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber River and rescued by a she-wolf. They found their own city on the river’s banks in 753 B.C. Romulus killed his brother and then became the first king of Rome, which is named for him. (History.com). Early Rome was governed by kings, but only after seven kings, the Romans took power of their city and ruled themselves. They created a council known as the senate which ruled over them, the Roman Republic. Roman-Empire.net states that “The word 'Republic' itself comes from the Latin (the language of the Romans) words 'res publica' which mean 'public matters' or 'matters of state'” (http://www.roman-empire.net/children/history.html) The senate would appoint a consul who ruled over Rome like a king, but for only a year. These consuls would always rule carefully and not as tyrants because they knew that once they served their year, they could be punished by the next consul. Rome had four social classes as stated by Roman-Empire.net that were called “Slaves, Plebeians, Equestrians and Patricia...
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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.
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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...
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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.
The Roman Republic began approximately around 509 B.C. when the nobles drove the King and his family out of Rome. This monumental incident helped shape the start to the transformation of the monarchy into a republican governmental system. This is known to have begun by that of the Roman nobles trying to hold their power that they had gained. The Republic was “[a] city-state [which] was the foundation of Greek society in the Hellenic Age; in the Hellenistic Age, Greek cities became subordinate to kingdoms, larder political units ruled by autocratic monarchs” (Perry 105)
Rome's Republican era began after the overthrow of the last Roman King Tarquin Superbus by Lucius Brutus in 509 BC(1), the Senate was ruled the by the people of Rome. The Roman Republic was governed by a largely complex constitution, which established many checks and balances, so no man could have complete control. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians and the other prominent Romans who were not from the nobility. Early in Rome’s history, the patricians controlled the republic, over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a the republic which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. This is similar to the creation of the American system of government. Starting with the over throw of t...
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Rome, even at its beginnings, proved to be a force to be reckoned with. It’s rapid growth and accumulation of power and repeated victories over powerful neighbors set Rome in a position of great authority and influence. As the leader of early Rome, Romulus’ effective command of his men and governance of his people provided the foundation for the building of a great city. Livy emphasizes Romulus’ possible divine origins and strong ties to deities as a validation and reinforcement of his ability to rule. A nation’s sole defense cannot be just bricks and mortar, it requires an army and a will and Romulus was able to successfully take action against the aggressors when action was needed.
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