The Roman Empire seems to have upheld monarchy, aristocracy and democracy together in Rome. Rome was divided into two classes, one being the Patricians, which were the small group of aristocratic people and the second being the Plebeians, which were the commoners and everyone else. Rome was an innovator in that they created the first known body of the senate, chosen by the elite class to represent their decisions. The senate was supposed to set policies for the consuls and elect 2 people as chief executives of Rome, one to take care of Rome domestically and make sure that everything as going well inside the empire and the other to conquer new territories and fight wars. Each consul had a one year term check and a senator was not able to serve as consul again after serving for it once before until 10 years later. There was also a position of dictator in Rome when it faced terrible danger and a person would have to step up and take control of the army to face whatever enemy was opposing them. Yet, once Octavian or Caesar Augustus took over, he made the laws and the senate was no longer useful. The emperors were almost always generals because Rome decided to become an empire and conquer new lands so the republic aspect of Rome was shrouded in the hands of one man with most of…
Rome’s location contributed to its success in unifying Italy and all the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Agriculture was essential to Rome and was the source of most wealth. Social status, political privilege, and fundamental values were related to land ownership. The heads of families who were able to acquire a large profit of land were members of the Senate—“Council of Elders” that played a central role in Roman politics. The Republic was not a democracy in the modern sense. In Rome, the votes of the wealthy classes counted for more than the votes of poor citizens. Individuals of separate classes came together in ties of obligation, such as the patron/client relationship. Rome’s success in creating a huge empire released forces that eventually destroyed the Republican system of government. Octavian eliminated all enemies and reconstructed the Roman system of government. This period following the Republic is called the Principate. Augustus, one of the many names given to Octavian, became the name by which he is best known. Augustus’s understanding of human nature enabled him to manipulate Roman society. During his reign Egypt, parts of the Middle East, and Central Europe were added to the empire. Augustus had allied himself with the equites; Italian merchants and landowners second in wealth and social status. They helped run the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire of the first three centuries was an “urban” empire. Trade was greatly enhanced by the pax romana guaranteed by the Romans. Romanization—the spread of the Latin language and Roman way of life—was strongest in the western provinces. During this period of tranquility and success, many waited for the arrival of “the Messiah,” or Jesus, a young Jew. Paul, a Jew from the Greek city of Tarsus in southeast Anatolia, threw his talent and energy into spreading the word of Jesus. Surviving pieces of roads, walls, aqueducts and buildings are evidence of the engineering expertise of the ancient Romans. The third…
In studying Amy Chua’s “Day of Empire”, one finds a lot more similarities than differences shared among the great empires. Tolerance is a common theme that repeats itself over and over, and along with assimilation, unity, and acceptance, it is the glue that holds together these hyperpowers. But the path to the golden times of peace and glory and the strategic use of tolerance differs in each empire, and within the empire itself, from ruler to ruler. The Roman Empire enjoyed far more longevity than the Mongolian, British and American empires combined; two millennia[1] to be exact. Also, another unique feature of the Roman Empire was the idea of Rome, which was bigger than the empire itself, and an ambitious vision shared by most Roman Emperors. But let’s analyze the commonalities and differences among these four empires through three different lenses: political, economic and social.…
One of the main reasons that allowed Rome was able to flourish was the generous giving of citizenship. That citizenship along with the factor of wealth decided a person social status. Slaves were not considered to have much worth socially. There was disparity of power between the rich and the poor. The rich were always wary of the gatherings of the poor, uneducated for fear of revolt.…
In 509 b.c., Rome changed their government to a Republic which became an internal conflict amongst the Romans. This was largely due to the fact that the Republic had a Senate and a Consul, both of which were positions of authority only given to the wealthy men of Rome, also called Patricians. Many disputes among the people of Rome began to arise, and acts of violence even began to occur within the empire walls. It was not until the less wealthy citizens found an officer that would vote in their favor and veto the bills of the rich. Once the people of Rome solved the political issue, and had a stable government, they began to take control…
The political system of both Roman empires was based on virtue and the republic was founded with the Senate as the center. The magistrates were elected annually and also had control of the armies. The key to Roman superiority was the patriotism and training and drills. The…
The Roman Empire was and still is one of the strongest empires to have ever rule,and has faced alot of different challenges and trials that they have overcome since then.The Latin were early settlers of Rome but it was the Etruscans that had the most influence towards the Roman life.But around 509 B.C. romans took their land back.But the first true ruler of rome was a man named Tarquin who was eventually overthrown by the people,and after that event Rome became a republic.The first form of government was the Twelve Tables which had established Congress today.The only thing about it that the U.S. has changed about the Twelve Tables is that they don’t have to be in Congress until they die(we have a set term for congressman).There was also two…
Fellow Romans when we were a republic, there were two major social classes. They were the Patricians and Plebeians. The Patricians were the wealthy and owned most of the land and they held most of the power. The Plebeians were the rest of the republic such as the farmers, artisans, and merchants. The Patricians thought they were the mightiest and greatest of all Romans because of their ancestry, they thought they were better than anybody else and that they have the authority to make laws in Rome. The Plebeians were just citizens who were thought to be inferior and had the right to vote. Luckily, the Patricians had some decency and allowed the Plebeians to form their own assembly…
Rome was a republic starting at 509 BC and ending at 27 BC before it became an empire. Lucius Junius Brutus established the system called the Roman republic. As war and expansion occurred, Rome was gaining more and more power, which lead to corruption, greed and the over reliance of foreign slavery. Rome divided its people with certain ideology up into two different classes. The ruling classes were called Optimates (the best men) and the lower…
Roman Republic was undemocratic, not favoring the people. Candidates weren't elected by the people. Laws were decided and voted on by the Senate not the people. Senate controlled the tregory not the people. Rome was the only place to vote this not catering to people. The people control the government in a democracy.…
“The disintegration of the Roman Republic is the first example in European history of the collapse of a constitutional system.” Before the Roman Republic, the Roman Kingdom existed, and in 509 BC the kingdom was replaced by the republican government. At 27 BC, the Roman Republic collapsed, and the Roman Empire was formed on the republic’s foundations. The early Roman Republic was greatly influenced by the Etruscans. “The Roman model for their Republic was based in part on the Etruscan Monarchy and hierarchical structure.” The Republic’s main principle was that they did not want a dictatorship through blood lines, but that the mass chooses their leaders. The ideology of the Senate was that, “… it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors.” The republican government was a complete mess that arose out of practical need; there also was no account of a written constitution made by the Republic. The Roman Republic’s origin was located in the city of Rome, Italy. At that time, Rome was considered the center of the Mediterranean world. The true fall of the Roman Republic is the result of too many problems for the romans to handle.…
It's the year 509 B.C. and the Romans are finally no longer under the rule of the Etruscan king. They create a republic where they elect citizens to rule. The aristocrats or patricians dominated while the plebeians had almost no say in the government. Plebeian and Patrician were kept apart and where prohibited to marry each other. Plebeians then began electing tribunes who could veto acts passed by the senate Plebeians slowly gained more power until they were able to hold the position of consul, while Patricians still bought power using their wealth. Sometimes in emergency situations the consuls and senate would elect a temporary dictator until the crisis was over. A great example is a farmer who left his farm in a time of war, became dictator and stepped down after defeating Rome's enemies The first Roman laws written down were carved into twelve stone tablets although they would be considered harsh by today's standards. They are as follows females shall remain in guardianship even when they have…
Ancient Rome was one of the most influential historical societies on our world today. From architecture to the basic way that the government was set up, they created a new era of thinking that set the standard for countries in the future, including how social classes were organized. Rome was an empire that was built upon its social classes with clearly defined roles that allowed for limited social mobility. There was a large gap between the wealthy upper class and the lower classes as well as slaves. Three main factors decided one's class, including wealth, freedom, and Roman citizenship. A person's social class determined what education, pastimes, and occupations were available to them. These classes included the elite upper class, a small middle class, and a majority of the population of lower class status, and slavery.…
For those who are interested in learning about history, Roman Empire and its civilization were one of the most interesting spotlights in the human history. Roman Empire existed throughout a hundreds-years timeline, officially since 27 BC under the reign of Emperor Augustus. However, for one who wonders what created the foundation of this great empire, they have to back to the time a bit to the “the early Rome and the Republic” period. In this period, these events happened orderly, from the rise of Rome in Italy peninsula that led to creating the Roman republic, warfare with Carthage Empire, the conquest of the Mediterranean and it ended with the fall of the Roman Republic.…
Political inequality There are several developed political institutions during the Roman Republic period. The consuls, the executive power, were there. It was considered a very high title. There were two of them at any given time. They could veto each other to keep away any one consul from getting too powerful. And there was a Senate, which is elected to be the oldest and wisest of the citizens. In the early days, the consuls and senators were elected from the patricians who were mostly wealthy landowning families from…