Roman Influence On Western Civilization

The Roman Empire, at its peak was the most political and social object in “western civilization”. “The Roman Empire began when Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of Rome it then ended, in the west, when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was destroyed by the Germanic King Odoacer.” (Grummond, 2015) “In the Roman east, it continued as the Byzantine Empire until the death of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks” (Grummond, 2015) The influence of the Roman Empire on western civilization was profound in its lasting contributions to virtually every aspect of western culture. From building to language to writing to even government; every aspect of the Roman Empire had thrived. However there are three main
Without a legal system there would be crime, and much disarray. There would be no system of money, trading, or taxes. Having a legal system covers the basis of starting a thriving empire. Rome's continuing influence on society today is apparent in the government structure and legal system in use in much of the western world. The Roman law is the basis for most European legal systems and laws today. In this system, all laws are listed by crimes in one or more books. However, with this being know, it was said that The Roman Empire did not concentrate enough on smaller tasks and over expanded which is what ended their “great run”. It is believed that The Roman Empire was more concentrated on expanding and creating a better and stricter form of government. Another important aspect of the Roman Empire legal system is Imperium. “Imperium is the supreme executive power in the Roman state, involving both military and judicial authority.” (Burbank, Cooper, 2011) It was exercised first by the kings of Rome; under the republic it was held by the chief magistrates (consuls, dictators, praetors, military tribunes with consular power, and masters of the cavalry) and private citizens entrusted with a special
Historically “the Roman Empire has been the prime example from which many traditional understandings of a legal system come from” (From Imperium to Imperialism, 2012.) This can rule the debate not plausible; the large amount of material that has been discovered and determined to be “Roman law" forms an important part of the our world today. Even though the United States at this time had a law system based on British laws; the British laws originated from the Roman law system. Without the Romans there would be no form of established government system. Its success traveled far and wide. It formed nations and legal systems and allowed them to become aware of their own identity. “It provided the basis for the rational character of the systems and the legalism of the western nations.” (Wieacker, 1981) It even had the principle of settling social and economic conflicts not only by force, authority or compromise, but also by general rules. Overall this shows how important a legal system was for the Roman Empire. Without it, we may have been lost in today’s world of government and politics. However, this was not the only important aspect of the Roman Empire. Physical features of the Roman Empire played a large part as well; this went hand in hand with how the government and legal system was formed and where it was located and