Essay on Ancient Rome and United States Morals and Values

“While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls - the World.” Lord Byron. This essay will discuss the similarities of military, economics and systems of government between the Roman Empire of the 6th century BCE and the United States of America of the 20th century. History has revealed that all superpowers fall eventually, although much time has passed since the glory days of Rome we see in 2015 the largest superpower in charge, the United States. There are many similarities that can be drawn between the American superpower and the Roman Empire such as the same founding of government and both dominated in military, as well as economic similarities. This leads

As the Romans economy faltered, so did their social well being. Without work to pay the citizens, they had to steal what they could not afford. The crime rate increased as citizens stole more and more

The Roman Republic began in 509 B.C.E. with the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy. In 27 B.C.E the Roman Empire began with Octavian Caesar becoming the emperor, this ended almost 500 years of republican self-government. There is much debate over why Rome became so powerful so quickly. Many think it had to do with Rome’s military strength. Others think that it was because Rome knew of and controlled most of the trade routes. Still others believed it had to do with the technology that was advanced during the Roman Republic. All of these factors played significant roles, but which one played the most important role?

     The civilization of the Roman Republic and the Empire that followed it was the first of its kind. Earlier civilizations had been based on a more abstract worldview that led humans to be creative for the will of the gods or to preserve the institutions that fostered rational thought. Rome started as a simple, self-reliant nation made up of farmers who lived the best they could to support their families and community. With an intense drive to succeed and its advanced military, Rome became the greatest civilization of its time. The civilization of 21st century America can follow its roots two thousand years back to Rome.

Right now in the 21st century, the United States of America is known to be one of the strongest nation around the globe. However back in 200 BCE, the Roman Empire was the Alpha country throughout the whole Mediterranean world. But when something or someone hits a peak, they are surely to decline in the near future. As for Rome, the problems that later caused destruction began around the 5th century. I will use Documents A,B and C as a resource to show the primary reasons of Rome’s decline. For example, the leaders who were overconfident and lazy, led a feeble and unprepared army, who soon weren’t able to defend Rome from foreign invaders. All the confusion and violence made Roman citizens fear and blame their lazy emperors for the chaos and

The story of ancient Rome is a tale of how a small community of shepherds in the central Italy grew to become one of the greatest empires in history, and then collapsed. According to Roman legend. Rome was founded in 753 B.C. By 275 B.C., it controlled most of the Italian Peninsula. In the A.D. 100’s, the Roman Empire covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the northern coast of Africa. The empire then began to crumble, party because it was too big for Rome to govern.

Due to the mass amounts of civil war taken place on Roman land, farming and agriculture greatly suffered. Land was over worked and overused causing the land to become infertile. Soon food shortages and diseases caused the population to decrease. From the cumulations of lost money to war and farming the economy weakened and inflation became high. The gap between the rich and poor gradually increased and the economy weakened. Between civil wars, high taxation, and food shortages, citizens lost a sense patriotism that once flourished throughout society.

Disasters and diseases are one reason of Rome’s fall. According to Document F, it states that “the Roman world was shaken by a violent and destructive earthquake … but the tide soon returned with the weight of an immense [flood] which was severely felt on the coasts of Sicily, … Greece, and of Egypt.” This shows that the earthquake had destroyed the Valens’ empire, which would be very costly to repair all the damage the disaster had done. The flood had also caused a tremendous amount of damage which would contribute to the cost of the earthquake. “Fifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the flood [in the city of Alexandria alone],” which meant that their population would decrease. Diseases also proved the decline of Rome. Different types of plagues “swept over the empire … which brought diseases [from] southern Asia to new areas like the Mediterranean.” (pg 35, Doc. F) These diseases were very

The Roman Empire falling due to disasters and diseases was a theory which was a top three reason for the fall of Rome. Natural disasters and diseases were responsible for many lost lives in Ancient Rome. In Document F, the text stated, “In the second year of the reign of Valens (366 C.E.)... the Roman world was shaken by a violent and destructive earthquake…” This quote represented an example of one of the natural disasters that hit Rome which was a destructive earthquake. This massive earthquake was responsible for the isolation of citizens weakening the Roman Empire. Another example of a deadly natural disaster was also located in Document F. It stated, “[F]ifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the flood [in the city of Alexandria

Greece influenced roman societies and modern day societies politically as explained in documents 1, 2, 4, and 6. Greece was the first ancient civilization to have a democracy. The basic rule for roman society law system was displayed in the twelve tables. (Doc 2) Many western civilizations adapted this law system as well as other ideas from the roman 12 tables which influenced western societies immensely. The document explains a quote that we still use in modern society which is “every man is innocent until proven guilty.” Octavian Augustus states that after he dies “the foundations which I have laid for its future government will stand firm and stable” the Greeks invented an idea of a ruling senate which today is known as democracy. (Doc 4)

Why did Rome fall? Well, It is my belief that the government was one of the main issues. Then there was the military, and finally the social classes. Now do I think America is heading in the same direction? No, Yet I do still think we have some red flags to be still watching out for.

News. NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 2 Aug. 2015. In the interview Steve Inskeep, he interviews

As Rome was facing attacks from the outside there was an even deeper problem happening from within and it was their economy. Rome’s constant war and overspending in building its empire was becoming costly. As their treasury depleted they decided to impose hard taxation to account for the new expense they were generating. Which actually caused many people who were apart of the upper class to move to the countryside to avoid the oppressive taxes(Andrews) . Another economic problem is that inflation began to occur. Marcus Aurelius increased the copper content of the silver coins and then after that there was even more severe inflation on it way(Starr 144-145). A third problem with the economy, also politically, was that there was an ever growing expansion of bureaucracy. The expansion of their government caused more and more officials to have to be paid. Not to mentions cities already were having a hard

Religion played a significant role in the Roman civilization but, “many people believe that Rome was not a religious place. What they probably mean is that it was not a moral place.” (Burrell, 65) The Romans had innumerable gods that they worshiped which included giving gifts and sacrificing for their gods. Sacrificing animals was common for ancient Roman civilization. The idea of sacrificing came from the people before the Roman Empire was built. Religion primarily used sacrificing as a means of showing appreciation to the gods but later became a way to get things from the gods. The increases in the expansion of Rome lead to an increasing number of sacrifices. Roman sacrifice was done in many different ways and there were numerous

Roman society was very different to the modern-day standards, and based on this alone, can’t just simply be declared as inherently cruel – and instead, should consider the moralistic values they may have held then rather than the ideals we strive for now. What might have been perfectly normal, or in fact more pleasant, in the era that they were living in then may not live up to the standards of living today. People of the time wanted to become Roman citizens for its values and lifestyles that it gave to its inhabitants and that should speak in numbers with regards to whether it may have been cruel or not – however, we also should realise that history is generally written by the winners, the rich, or those that might tinker with historical fact to make themselves appear in a better light to the later generations. Historians of the time may not give all the facts but historians of today might not have all the evidence to back up their theories as a lot of it was destroyed over the centuries.