Hegemony Of Power

The U.S. military uniforms are completely different from the Roman Republic; nothing is the same except for the use of a helmet. Warfare has changed since the ancient times and with that change, what soldiers wear for protection had to change as well.

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

The Roman Army was the most important factor that led to the Romans maintaining such a large empire. The army was very well organised into many groups, and the whips kept by the group leader ensured that the army would be obedient and

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)

The Roman military grew very lazy. After many years of countless victories, the Roman military grew lazy. Doc B claims, “Because of Negligence and Laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates … and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers.”

But when because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned,...” This led the military to come to the idea that breastplates and helmets were turning too heavy for them and therefore, it was not needed. Also, Michael Grant, the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, states in Document B, “There can be little that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription.” Even though there weren’t enough men to serve in the military, the government officials excluded men from tremendously different categories. Such as, senators, bureaucrats and clergymen escaped the draft. Alongside, cooks, bakers and slaves were prohibited since the leaders needed them for their own convenience. However when invaders, such as the Goths, poured into the empire around 410 CE, the troops were in battle without any protection and were exposed to wounds. This brought the soldiers to the idea that it was better off for them to run away instead of fighting unsheltered. They didn’t have any defense nor could fight back to the aggressors. The vulnerable army was the key for Rome to turn into ruins. Just like that, The Roman empire’s lusty army was turning into a clutter of frail

By 200 BC, Rome was quickly becoming one of the world’s greatest empires with their excellent military conquering territory from modern day Scotland to Spain. After the Punic Wars and the defeat of Carthage, Rome had full control of the Mediterranean region, establishing colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. Julius Caesar became Rome’s first emperor using his military influence. Under his reign, Rome shifted from a republic to an empire under the rule of an emperor and the military. Rome steadily increased in stability, power, and wealth, reaching Pax Romana (the time of Roman peace) under Emperor Augustus Caesar. Rome was forced to discover, as many other

The Roman empire started around 750 BCE, as a spreading empire. They conquered land from modern-day Scotland to Spain, and gained control of the whole mediterranean sea, and established colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the middle east, and Asia Minor. The vast empire had some twists and turns and soon fell mainly because of the natural disasters, economic problems, and most significant of all, the poor military skills.

One of the many noteworthy reasons Rome came to its demise was the unstable nature of their military. The Romans were rarely using their armor to shield themselves and it was getting tiresome to wear the armor. The emperor then did not require the use of body armor anymore, “Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets.” (page 15). Because of the decision to cast away the breastplates and helmets, it made it effortless to wound and kill the Romans with skilled archers, such as the Huns (Doc D). Another pivotal fault was the draft, “The exempted categories were...numerous” (Doc B). Draft exemptions meant that not enough men were fighting and too many were lazing around. Even bakers and cooks were not required to serve under martial law(Doc B). Because of these mistakes, the Roman military became weak. Not having enough members on their command,

With no strength, the armor they wore seemed heavy, as the Roman Historian Vegetius states from an excerpt in Document B. The military men started to ask to remove the breastplate,and later removed their helmets. With no armor protecting them in battle, the numbers grew short,as countless soldiers fell from numerous wounds. Rome tried to fix the problem by conscription, but failed to enforce it as numerous categories were excluded from the draft. With no soldiers to defend Rome, the invaders viewed this as an opportunity to attack, which was the third problem that played in Rome’s

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.”

While Rome was so powerful, their military definitely was not. Once again, Rome became lazy because of all their power. According to Document B, the customary armour began to seem heavy since the soldiers had barely ever worn it. The asked to set aside the breastplates and then soon after, they decided to drop the helmets. The soldiers were fighting without any protect over their chest and heads. The Romans were often beaten and still, no one tried to replace the armor. The Romans may have lasted longer if they would have done the right thing and tried to protect

The military prowess of Roman commanders and legionaries proved to be successful enough to turn a small community into an ancient super power. There are many discussions to be had about the tactics and success of the Roman army, some of which are: their style of fighting, the attitude toward the fight, and the fruits of their war.

No powerful civilization has ever excised without a well-organized military. The Republic of Rome and Imperial Rome would have no been so influential to civilizations across the globe without a powerful military. Imperial Rome conquered vast lands from Britain to North Africa, from Egypt to Judea with their military which consisted of well discipline soldiers from their generals to the simple foot soldiers. This military was not an armed mob with clubs and spear; they were a high skilled set of professional soldiers. Over the vast Roman Empire the military executed the will of the emperor. The distinct similarities of the Roman Military to that of modern militaries, the history of their conquest and duties,

In a country of complicated decisions made by politicians about far away places and the people that live there, it's only a guess as to the motives behind each of these decisions. In Noam Chomsky's book "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance", Noam gives a scrupulously researched critique of America's quest for dominance at any cost that not only has cast us in the role of a rogue superpower but also jeopardizes the very survival of humanity. From reading this book, I will give an account as to what Chomsky says about American hegemonic ideals and give him credit for the attempt that he has made to expose historical truth.