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Introduction to the rise and fall of the roman empire
Introduction to the rise and fall of the roman empire
Introduction to the rise and fall of the roman empire
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The government of the Roman Republic was complex. Each position in government had a specific function. The Roman government was led by two consuls, or leaders. This was the highest position of the political government, holding a large amount of power. There were two consuls selected in order to keep a balance of power. They both served a year term and had the option to veto each other if they did not agree on something. This position also gave them the power to establish laws, collect taxes, and make military based decisions. The Roman Senate consisted of patricians, who were hierarchy because of their ancestors. Therefore, they were basically born into the position. Their job was to guide the consuls and deliver the messages or rules that …show more content…
Everyone was classified differently based on their wealth and gender. Women didn’t even have the chance to vote. The wealthier people were highly favored and held the most power. It was nearly impossible for anyone to earn a high position in the political office if they weren’t wealthy. The Roman Republic eventually began to go broke, proving there wasn’t something right. The political office was corrupt and people rebelled. Crime became a problem and the Roman Republic eventually crashed.
Question 2 The Roman Empire was one of the most successful empires of all time. Some of the reasons the Roman Empire became so powerful were because of its ancient army that evolved over the years, its powerful leaders, and a fair form of government. The Pax Romana, meaning Roman Peace, was one of the most historical periods of all time. It consisted of nearly 200 years of peace. During this time, there were four main dynasties, or ages. The Age of Augustus was the first dynasty of the Pax Romana. Augustus came to power when Julius Caesar, Augustus’s great uncle, was murdered. Augustus really laid the foundation for the Roman Empire and made it a goal to be the best leader he could be. He wanted to maintain peace more than anything. He began getting
The roman republic constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down through precedent, the roman republic instead of creating a democracy such as that the Athenians created, a monarchy which was previously being used by previous roman rulers and an aristocracy which Sparta used, the Constitution combined elements of all three of these governments to create a combined government known as “Senatus populusque que romanus” (S.P.Q.R) this meant “the senate and the roman people”. The Roman magistrates were elected officials during the period of the Roman kingdom, the ‘king’ (although the Romans preferred not to be called a king and instead a rex) of Rome was the principal executive magistrate, his power was absolute similar to that of a tsar
Rome was kind of a democy it had it’s flaws but by its voting system it makes it a democy. In document C only 2% of Roman’s voted and these votes by the people even though it was few that makes it a democracy. In document C you had to be in Rome to vote which is far because they wouldn’t want an outsider to vote on things that were going on in Rome. In document B poor rich and the freed slaves could vote and for it’s time that is amazing that the poor and the freed slaves could vote. Rome definitely had it’s flaws but for it’s time it was a good democracy but in our fews we don’t think the Rome Republic was a good democy at all.
The Roman Republic, was a government, governed by an intricate constitution, which was based on the idea of separation of powers. The Roman Republic, began in 509 B.C, after the end of the Roman Monarchy and lasted for over 450 years. The constitution of the Roman Republic was highly influenced by the struggle of power between the rich families, the patricians, and other Romans who were not from famous or rich families, the plebeians. Their government was divided into three main sections, very much like the Legislative Branch, Executive, Branch, and Judicial Branch. Nowadays, the Senate and assembly resemble the Legislative Branch. In the Roman Republic, the Senate was the most powerful group. The Senate passed all laws and collected taxes. The second part of this branch, was the assembly, and the assembly was elected by the Romans from the plebeian class. The assembly elected consuls, tribunes (representatives from the plebeian class), and made laws. All members of the Senate were part of the patrician class and at the head of the Senate were two consuls. The Consuls controlled the Roman army and in order to become a consul, you had to be elected by a majority of all the citizens in Rome. The consuls, are like our president and the Executive Branch. Although the method of separation of powers came from the Roman Republic, that is not all that came from the Roman Republic that became part of the United States...
Philosopher A: In the Republic, the Senate was the primary branch of the Roman government and held the majority of the political power. It controlled funds, administration and foreign policy, and had significant influence on the everyday life of the Roman people. When Augustus came to power, he kept the Senate and they retained their legal position. The Emperor’s rule was legitimized by the Senate as he needed the senators experience to serve as administrators, diplomats and generals. Although technically the most authoritative individual in Rome, Augustus strived to embody Republican values.
The Political Decay of the Roman Republic The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the first example in history on the collapse of a constitutional system which was caused by the internal decay in political, military, economics, and sociological issues. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. Commanders of the Roman army turned their own army inward towards their own Constitutional systems, fueled by their own ruthless ambition. This paper will talk about how the violence and internal turmoil in 133 B.C.-27 B.C. was what provoked the economic stagnation in the city of Rome and to the end of the Republic and the many corrupt politicians and generals who only thought of nothing more than personal gains and glory. The senate lost control of the Roman military and the reason they rose against the senate was because the senate were no longer able to help manage the social problems or the military and administrative problems of the empire.
The Roman Republic had an upstanding infrastructure, a stable social system, and a balanced constitution that solidified Rome’s greatness. Regardless of its achievements, however, the Roman Republic owes much of its success to classical Greek cultures. These cultures, in conjunction with the fundamental values of Roman society, certified Rome as one of the most significant powers the world has ever seen.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
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
The Roman Republic is highly praised for its innovation, influence and expansion. In a period of expansion, there was a setting of constitutional precedent for the future late Republic and Roman Empire. The Roman Republic can also be viewed from the perspective of internal balances of power. That being said, although the Republic was not a full democracy, as stated by Polybius, it did provide some political power to the people. Although the Roman people played a significant role in politics and had some power, said power was limited through checks of the Senate and Consul, and most positions of power were very concentrated in the hands of Patricians and aristocrats. The powers that all citizens inherently possessed did however play a significant
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.
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 Pax Romana, a time of peace and prosperity in Roman history that lasted over 200 years. He did however, fool the people of Rome. He ruled as type of despot, hiding behind the illusion of a false republic. Augustus was careful to not raise the eyebrows of the citizens. With the senate was still intact, Augustus seemed to have somebody to prevent him from becoming too powerful. However, the power of the senate was weak compared to his, and he had the power to do what he wanted. This type of power, placed in the hands of an individual, would be passed on to other emperors after Augustus, some of whom would abuse that power. Rome would see the repeat of many of its former problems, and much blood would be spilled trying to prevent one person from having too much power; the Roman were back to back to where they started before 509 B.C., only they weren’t aware of it.
Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.
This new Republican government, which was administered by the consuls, was not the easiest to transform. Because of the expansion in Italy, the government began to initiate political institutions. These institutions enforced laws and provided authority which were very similar to imperium. “The Romans had a clear concept of executive authority, embodied in their word imperium, or “the right to command” (Spielvogel 117). Since the Romans were very sensible in their actions, they made and implemented them only as needed. The most essential positions held were the few elected magistrates and the two consuls who were “chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle” (Spielvogel 117). If the consul was otherwise occupied, either a dictator or praetor would assume responsibility for the time being.
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...