Being A Roman Governor Essay

The later Roman Republic and early Roman Empire controlled most of modern day Europe through Northern Africa to Asia Minor. This time of complete dominance over much of the known world propelled Rome into a new era of wealth and prosperity that allowed Romans to look past military expansion. The Roman state now turned towards betterment of society and the “craving for a good education.” Education was seen not only as a tool for the furthering of personal careers, but as a way to improve Rome. Education passed along virtue and the skills necessary to run the Republic and early Empire. This knowledge began in the home, transferring from father to son through the role of fathers as paterfamilias or head of household. Fathers were in charge of ensuring the best possible education for their sons in hope that they would further the ideals and goals of a glorious Rome. Education, through the different steps of the informal Roman education structure and through the influence of the father, furthered the ideal of Roman virtue and ensured generations of virtuous leaders.

The seemingly unstoppable Roman empire was certain to fall in a matter of time. Even though Rome was majorly affected by external attacks, I feel like the fall was because of the internal decline. The economy and social issues were the key factors that led to the descent of the large empire. A vast amount of their problems came from within the city. Every decision that Rome made had an extensive effect on the city itself and the rest of the world. Many foolish decisions made by terrible emperors weakened the city and eventually cause the many aspects of Roman life to crumble.

Roman government is the origin for all of our current government system. The Romans has three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The executive had two councils that decided on pretty much every affair within the empire. In the legislative branch was a senate, which advised the executive branch. Lastly in the judicial they had a Supreme Court. Also there was a written law consisting of twelve tablets that gave allowed the citizens to know their rights. As one can tell, the Roman system of government is much like the one currently residing in the United States of America.

Rome was mostly run by their Consuls. They had the power to run the military and are also the supreme masters of the government. They could bring matters to debate to the Senate and could pass the majority ruling of the Assemblies. However, the Senate was in charge of proposing laws, had control over the treasury, handled crimes needing investigation and could send diplomats. The Assemblies

Within the Roman administration were various levels of authority. The central administration of the Roman Empire was located in Rome, which included the Roman Senate. The Emperor had complete rule over the empire, and depending on the type of state or territory, the Emperor could have direct control. If not under the direct control of the emperor, each region or city-state had a governor (or prefect or procurator) who then reported to the emperor (Tomorad, 2014). Interesting to note that Jewish leaders (high priests) and families found privilege with the Roman administration and became comfortable with the lifestyle that the Romans lived and took full advantage of it (Wenham & Walton,

From 509 BC to about 27 BC, Rome was considered a republic. During this time there was no single leader of Rome and the government was run by elected officials. The main leaders of the Roman Republic were the consuls. There were always two consuls in power at a time. Each year new consuls were elected to serve for a one-year term. This kept any one man from becoming too powerful in the government. At the time the Senate was the most powerful governing body in Rome. The Senate had control of the state’s finances and foreign policies. Senators were elected by the people to represent them in government. The Senate was made up of 300 of the most elite and wealthiest of the Roman Republic. One of the most important roles of the Senate to undergo the checks and balances of the Roman government. Checks and balances are the “principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power” (The Editors). The checks and balances of Rome helped to stabilize the government and allowed the power to be distributed somewhat equally between the consul, the Senate, and the people. However, the fall of the Roman Empire eliminated this type aspect of government in Rome (Kagan 101-103).

Conquering three continents, Rome lacked the proper amount of soldiers required to protect the empire. This was due to its “immoderate greatness (Doc 2).” According to Document 2, the size of Rome played a great and inevitable role in the decline of Rome. Regarding the military, a large portion of the soldiers not only lacked discipline and training, but were not actually Romans. As seen in Document 5, “the Roman army was composed entirely of Germans.”

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

For a long time only the Patricians had a say in Roman government through the Senate and Consuls. Eventually Plebeians were given the Tribunes as a way for them to give their input into the Roman government. This was much different from the government in the Han Dynasty. In China at this time the government was based off of the Mandate of Heaven. This stated that the ruler had a specific way to live and rule his empire and if he failed, he would lose this mandate. Many emperors were overthrown and the new emperors would rule by saying that the last had lost the Mandate of Heaven. The Han government was also very close-knit with teachings, especially of Confucian. Some of these teachings included that rulers would levy light taxes, avoid wars, support education and encourage harmony and cooperation throughout his empire. This is important because it went hand in hand with the Mandate of Heaven and if a Ruler wasnt fulfilling his duties as a good Confucian or emperor then he would lose the throne. The Roman and Han empires equally strived economically in trade. However, decline in trade affected Rome more than Han China. Many Chinese communities were self sufficient, and most trade was carried out between communities. The Roman’s economy relied heavily on trade, and as trade routes became compromised, pirates and bandits began stealing goods from merchants creating a decline in trade and profits. Less trade reduced the amount of

The Roman and Han rulers both used government officials to govern the provinces of their vast and powerful empires. An excerpt from The Letters of Pliny, Book X, was given. This book is a record of letters written by Pliny and letters received by Pliny. Pliny was a governor of the Roman

The Roman government was democratic when it came to the citizens. The citizens could elect their own officials, and the officials were supposed to represent every level of Roman society. There were many types of officials. The two consuls were the chief officials of Rome. Once elected, they served for two years (Trueman, Chris). One of their most important powers was controlling the army (Government under Roman Republic). When they were unsure of a course of action, they were advised by the Senate, a council of around six hundred male citizens (Trueman, Chris). Those six hundred men were usually from wealthy patrician families and were the ones in charge of making the laws and controlling the spending. Contrary to the election of the other officials, the Senate was appointed by the current Consuls. Once they were appointed, they served for life. When one member died, another was chosen in their place (Government).

The principle of the Roman government was to function for the people, hence classifying them as a republic (Res Publica or the Thing or Matter of the People). Before the commencement of the Republic, Rome was ruled by a line of Etruscan kings called Tarquins. The

This extensive system of administration underwent a change when the Republic transitioned into an Empire. Then an emperor was at the top and below him came the patrician class, which held the administrative power. An example that shows the role of the Senate is: “Senators during the Republic held the greatest power in the Roman state. They had many responsibilities, such as governing of all of Rome’s finances, making critical decisions about deploying the military, guiding all the diplomatic missions and engaging in commerce or investing in the trade.” (Roman Republic and Empire VOL.3 / Pg. 198) As it can be seen from the quote, the Senate was an institution that ran the whole Republic. Its social status was immense. They provided an effective ruling of the state and although, they didn’t create the laws (consuls did), the senators ensured consistency, which was a needed element in a democracy. This ensured that the consuls and senators had their own position, and only one can rule over the other. Later, with the gradual establishment of the Empire, the role of the Senate weakened. Still, during that time the emperor sometimes looked up to the Senate for making appropriate decisions, concerning the empire. Another example shows the complex system of Cursus Honorum. “Praetors: the praetorship was one of the most powerful offices in the Roman Republic, second only to the consulship. Urban praetors became increasingly responsible for law courts. During the empire they governed

Ancient Rome, the period between the 8th and 1st centuries B.C. in which Rome grew from a little colony to an emerging empire. "Roman imperialism introduced extremes of wealth and poverty that honed social and economic conflict within the Roman state ." The enormous army and their countless loots, as well as their captured slaves, produced many changes along the countryside such as small farms becoming large plantations, and peasants left without lands decided to journey to Rome and other cities. "Immense wealth inflamed the ambitions of Roman nobles who struggled for personal domination rather than collective rule ." This dominant emergence of power and rule thus led to the conquering and control of other societies. The

The importance of cities during Roman rule was unparalleled. With ever-expanding colonization, decentralization of government was invoked through the delegation of administrative functions to local elites. Tax collection, military command through instructions, and occasionally acting as an intermediary between competing local interests were a few roles carried out by these instrumental leaders. They were the Publicans, of the equites class.