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The Romans were able to expand and be a successful Empire because of their ability to invent and employ new types of technology such as roads and aqueducts, their Government, army and weaponry. In AD 150 the Romans had the biggest Empire in Europe. The Romans conquered most of Europe and the main countries and regions that were conquered were France, Spain, Greece, England/Wales, the Middle East and the North-African coastal area. The roads and aqueducts the Romans built were a crucial part in the Empire’s expansion. The roads the Romans built were made out of mostly cement and stones. They would first dig a trench where the road was going to be built. They would then put cement, pebbles, sand and big stones in the trench and then they would …show more content…
The Roman Government was built up of two consuls, a senate and an emperor. The consuls controlled the army and decided if they should start a war or not. The senate would decide how much taxes were to be collected and what the laws would be. The consuls could only rule for one year. At first, plebeians (citizens) couldn’t be consuls but later there was a law introduced, that there had to be a least one consul that was a plebeian. When a decision was made, both of the consuls had to agree on it before they could change anything. When the Romans had conquered many countries they started to have a system with provincial governors. These governors would each take charge of one of the provinces in the Empire. The senate was the advisory council for the consuls. The senate consisted of patricians and people who came from the wealthy landowner classes. They would advise the consuls and make decisions that had to do with foreign countries. When you had been voted into the senate you were part of it until you died. The consuls were elected by plebeians and the senate was chosen by the consuls. The Emperor would rule the Empire and join the senate’s sessions, set rules and regulations for them and he also oversaw them. The Government helped the Romans control the Empire because then they were able to make good decisions because the consuls had to agree on everything. The consuls were …show more content…
The Roman army was a large army and consisted of around 150, 000 soldiers. This gave the army a significant advantage due to it's size. The army was built up of legionaries and auxiliaries. The legionaries were Roman citizens and they were the best soldiers and were paid more than the others. They would get paid around 112 denarii each year. The auxiliaries were men who were not Roman citizens and they would be paid a third of what the legionaries were paid. Auxiliaries would usually guard forts and fight at the front lines in a war. All soldiers had to stay in the army for 25 years. In war the Romans would wear three different types of weapons. They would carry a dagger, sword and two throwing spears. They would also be carrying a shield to protect themselves. The spear they invented was made so that when it was thrown at the enemy and hit their shield it would bend. When the spear bent, because of the impact it would stay stuck in the shield and the enemy then wouldn’t be able to use the shield anymore. The army helped the Empire to expand because they had a bigger chance of winning wars and conquering other countries because of their size and use of advanced
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
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.
The creation of the body which allowed the tribunes to check the consul. The ending of the chapter goes on to explain how Coriolanus, who had been driven into exile and had been made general of the Volsci, had led a hostile army nearly to Rome, and when the envoys who had been sent to him at first, and how his mother Veturia and his wife Volumnia persuaded him to withdraw. This chapter also showcases how Spurius Cassius, the ex-consul, charged with aspiring to be king, was condemned and put to death. Lastly, When Appius Claudius the consul had sustained a defeat at the hands of the
The Roman Republic can be seen as a template for how the United States Government was formed, and still to this day consists of. The First influence that the Romans had on our government was their idea for a republic. They, our country as well, wanted their people to have a vote on who would represent them in government. The U.S. representative type of government was influenced by this. Today we vote for the people representing us in our Senate, House of Representatives, and our President. One of the main influences that the Ancient Romans had on the U.S. Government was the idea of the division of power. Today we have executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The Ancient Romans had a very similar set-up. In Rome when organizing a government, there were many different styles between monarchies, the Senate that was the aristocracy, and the voice of democracy in the people. These acted as their different branches of government. As the U.S Government has an executive branch which consists of our President and Vice President, the Romans had counsels which acted as executive leaders for a year, and controlled the military (“The Roman Republic”). The Ancient Romans also obtained a Senate, similar to our government. In Rome, it was 300 members of the wealthy and self-serving. Today, there are career senators, and elite men in society. This is the legislative branch of our government that has been derived from the Ancient Romans. Also within the legislative branch of the Romans, they had numerous assemblies like that of the U.S. Government’s House of Representatives, based on where each member lives. Our judicial branch was based off of the Roman’s Praeto...
The senate was a collective of the state’s best people, by tradition chosen from the aristocracy. Their role was to advise the elected magistrates. In practice, they came to be the collective of former magistrates. Their authority lay in their advice became like orders to serving magistrates. Their authority lay in their prestige and their experience. The roman senate was basically the governing body of men in Rome. It consisted of few hundred members, all who had to have property or money.
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...
During the reigns of the first Emperors, legislative, judicial, and electoral powers were all transferred from the Roman assemblies to the Senate. However, since the Senate was filled with individuals whom Augustus approved of, it acted only as a vehicle through which the Emperor exercised his autocratic powers. In the Empire, the Emperor had complete jurisdiction over all policies and decisions. In the beginnings of the empire, he was expected to be accessible to Plebeians and Patricians alike, and to handle all official business and petitions personally.... ... middle of paper ...
Upon reading the excerpt, it could be said that the power of the consul could have possibly been the mightiest of the three. There was the consul, the Senate and the People. Yet, how interesting it is that without the People, the consul and the senate would cease to exist. Just as a house finds it’s stabilization on a foundation build on rock, the consul and senate find their strength standing upon the power of the people of their nation living their ordinary everyday lives. However in the same regard, the Senate needed the People just as much as the People needed the senate. The relationships between these two were very much a give and take and communication was essential. Polybius stated that the People had what seemed like the most important role, for the reason that they themselves were the decision makers of those under the law. They were the jury, the ultimate say. Polybius wrote, “As a result of all of these factors, the Senate fears the masses and is ever mindful of the People.” (Porter, 1995) It is optimistic to say that this type of government, with this type of constitution in place was a rather successful one.
Outward appearance was extremely important to the Romans and the first thing that new recruits learned was to march in perfect form. Once they knew how to march they were then assigned to the legions in which they would remain for the next 20 years of service. (the book) The legions were made up of between 5000 and 5500 men. In a legion there were 10 Cohorts and in those Cohorts there were 6 Centuries. Auxiliary troops, although not usually counted as part of a legion, were part of a legion and could raise the number of men from around 5000 to 6000. The number of legions active in the empire was consistently between 25 and 33. (internet, http://museum.simplenet.com/rome/military/military.htm) The average year for auxiliaries to serve was 25 years or less. After about 20 years in the legions they “graduated” to a veteran cohort, and continued service there for about 5 years. The soldiers who completed their 25 years of military service to Rome were given a “diploma” made of bronze. It was actually a record of their service throughout the years and a copy was kept in soldier’s files in Rome. (the book)
Then another layer was put on which was made up of crushed rocks or gravel cemented with lime mortar, the surface layer was made by using neatly arrange blocks of gravel, pebbles, iron ore, or hardened volcanic
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.
...tablish the principate, where he established several legates to help govern the expanding empire. The system allowed the Emperor to remain in control, but also step away and allow others to take the lead if need be. Had Augustus not set this new form of government into play, Rome would have been torn apart several years before the fall of the Empire. His form of government proved strong enough to support the likes of Caligula and Tiberius, who was more concerned with his special interest museum than being Emperor.
On the consul side, two men ruled instead of just one, they acted much like the pater in a family unit. The most powerful body of government was the senate, which had powers ranging from controlling the government’s finances, passed laws, and supervised the foreign
The duties of the senate were the investigation of crime, control over the treasury, the repair and maintenance of the public buildings, and the final approval of public contracts. The duties of the people were to vote, award honors and punishment, and approve and reject laws. From the duties listed, it is clear to see where each division could checkpoint the other. For instance, the consul had the power over the conducts of war, but without money from the senate, who handled the treasury, the war could not be funded. One way the senate could keep the people in check was the distribution of public contracts.
The rise of the Roman Empire also led to significant innovations in the technology and techniques used in building roads. The Romans built roads in all regions they conquered and used roads as their main transport avenue for military and economic purposes. Roman roads were characterized by their straightness and the use of hard stones as the primary building materials. The roads were built all across the Roman Empire, connecting cities across North Africa and Europe. The first use of tar in the construction of roads was recorded in the ancient regions around Baghdad and is dated to the 8th century AD.