Dominance And Hegemony In Pre-Modern Empires

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. The power and size they managed to obtain has been a constant subject of interest for historians and all those who are interested in history. Julius Caesar’s ascension to power marked the time from where the Romans steadily expanded their territory and by the time the Roman Republic dissolved and the Roman Empire emerged, the Empire had become so big that the Romans had then to face the problem of maintaining their empire. The Roman Empire maintained its power by

As the series Game of Thrones starts a new season, illustrating a bloody scenario of Kings and Queens contesting for total control of lands and supremacy, we may be reminded that such a fiction was a reality in past history– minus the dragons and the walking dead of course. As history progresses in time, empires rise and fall. Historians look back on once strong empires and are divided, concerning if the damage they caused and slaughter they wrought was worth the advances they gave to the world. When comparing once powerful empires like the British and Roman Empire, one clearly rises above all in terms of all-out strength and domination, but the way they become powerful is similar. Governments that hold true power seem to be reflected on the most. Both the British and Roman Empire reigned with significant authority and yielded to defeat or declinism; however, the Roman Empire stands superior not only for its lengthy rule, but for its everlasting influence over others, and its expansion of citizenship.

As well as the Roman Army and the Roman roads, the Pax Romana was another factor that led to the empire’s great success. Pax Romana, Latin for “Roman Peace”, was the peace established by the Romans in their empire, where the inhabitants benefitted from the law and order that was enforced by the Romans, and no more land was to be conquered. The Pax Romana was one of the most stable periods of the empire. This brought relative civilisation across the empire and kept the peasants happy, which was essential to keeping the empire under control.

Between approximately 509 BCE and the third century CE the Roman empire continually expanded and became one of the largest in history. While this expansion was due to many reasons, not the least of which was greed, to a great extent it was made possible because of Rome's overwhelming military and its combination of a democratic and republic government. (Lee) (Ferril)

For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman

Chau’s thesis that the rise and fall of empires was due to tolerance, inclusion, difference, and diversity is shown to be true of the Roman Empire because of the way that tolerance allowed and caused the empire to rise, enter its golden age, and fall. The Roman Empire was a “hyperpower” that lasted from 44 BCE to 476 CE. The empire contained Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, along with North Africa; thus, there was an abundance of culture from many different conquered groups. Romans wanted to make these conquered nations provinces of Rome. The Roman Empire began (and the Roman Republic ended) with the assassination of Julius Caesar, who wanted to be a dictator. No longer a republic, the lands already ruled by Rome became part of an empire. The government became centralized with a single ruler, the emperor. However, even before the empire, during the Republic, there was also the similar feeling of wanting to conquer other nations was there.

The era dominated by Roman empire is one the most well-known and influential periods of history, home to famous names from Julius Caesar to Jesus Christ. At its height, Rome’s territory stretched from the Atlantic coastline to the Middle East, reigning over 60 million people, one-fifth of the population of the ancient world. However, the Roman empire’s treatment of their conquered people’s and their own citizens ultimately led to the permanent downfall of Rome.

How did ancient empires exert their power before 600 BCE.? The way that ancient Empires exerted their power was based on their cultural differences. Empires were different in the way they exerted power because they could affect places outside their empire in a positive or negative way . Another way that empires exerted their power is by creating and enforcing laws within their empires.

Although many Historians may argue that the empire that was most successful in creating, maintaining, or changing its system of power, authority, or government was the Mongolian empire, but it was actually the Islamic empire because it was expanding from every person that ruled the empire. According to Mr. Block’s power point it state that during the reign of Muhammad it was spread through travel, and during the reign of Rashidun Caliphate it was spread to Northern Africa, and during the reign of Umayyad Caliphate the empire was spread into Europe. But according to textbook insert it states that Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan was the first foreigner ruler that ruled all of China. Considering that the Russian Empire was most successful because

Rome is known for its’ empire (The Roman Empire). Rome started out small and ended up becoming this huge and undefeatable force of nature. Rome received their success by either attacking other nearby towns/neighbors or granting them treaties or citizenships. E. Badien, the author who created an article called, The Organization Of Italy, explains how Rome organized Italy, and got their neighboring cities and nations to join them and turn ancient Italy into a leading state of power. In Badien’s observations, he finds that granting citizenship and the Latin’s helped Rome to become powerful and assisting Italy to be more structured.

The Western Roman Empire was marked by its vast territorial supremacy, as it conquering its neighbors to absorb their energy surpluses whether in agricultural outputs, mineral resources, or human capital. With the rapid growth of the Empire, the cost of maintaining order, production, and other logistical elements grew as well. This cost grew to the point there simply weren’t enough resources to defend against invasion especially when disgruntled peasants welcomed the removal of Roman control. The Maya empire failed due to the burdens of competitive warfare between the various city-states of the region. This was unsustainable especially given the population was already weakened by crop failure and drought. The Chaco Empire failed due to the communities coming to the conclusion that the costs paid to the central faction to be redistributed outweighed the benefits gained so they departed one after another. (Chippindale 1)

Throughout history many civilizations have risen and fallen without so much of a second thought from historians. However there have been civilizations that climbed to the top of the metaphorical food chain and stayed there and influenced not only their region but the world for countless millennium even after they were no longer a functioning empire. Two such empires were the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire. The first factor to consider when thinking of successful empires would be geographical location. The second factor would have to be the leadership, and the third would have to be the method in which the empire expands. All of these factors are what makes a small civilization with great potential a formidable empire that lasts longer than a lifetime.

Rome, from its inception as a monarchy to its transition to a republic and then an empire, has set patterns in government, religion, and technology for later civilizations. In its prime, Rome dominated the Western world, controlling trade, taxes, and agriculture throughout the Mediterranean. Eventually, due to many internal and external issues, the Roman empire transitioned from a time of prosperity during the Pax Romana and the early days of the empire to an age of chaos, war, and fear. Like any empire, Rome fell, leaving starving and vulnerable people in its wake. With little resources, destroyed cities, and lack of government and law enforcement, the people were left to fend for themselves, creating a system that shaped Western Europe and

The Roman empire is considered one of the most powerful and longest lasting empire of all time by most historians. At its peak the Roman empire managed to take control and rule nearly the whole inhabited world at the time. Though their military achievements were outstanding the Romans also excelled at legislature. The Romans ran a governmental system which was most like a republic which the power was in the hand of the senators and patricians. The senators and patricians were mostly extremely rich elders of the community who linked themselves to gods. Though the people were the ones who voted for the senators the rich always voted who they wanted because they were the first to vote which made the senate corrupt since the lower classes barely got a say. Although the Roman empire was extremely successful historians are always doing research to figure out what elements led to its collapse. However, the Roman legislature, use of propaganda to sway public opinion, military power to conquer lands, and philosophy were essential reasons for the extended survival of the Roman empire.

The Romans were also known to be a dominant and warlike group and this dominance which was key in the construction of this vast empire (Backman, Cultures of the West, p.172). One way Romans were able to grow so large was by successfully integrating the conquered people into society. (Jones, Rome, Podcast 1). Even with the changes to come over the course of the next century a lot of Romans were actually opposed to change (Jones, Rome, Podcast 1). Romans were a traditional society