How Has Western Society Affected By Ancient Rome

Julius created a calender with 365 days, and named the month of July after himself. He also planned to attack the Parthians. In 44 B.C, Julius was elected dictator for life. The Senate agreed that Julius was acting as king, and plotted to assainate him. On March 15, 44 B.C, Julius Caesar was assaninated by the Senate, led by Pompey.

After Caesar’s victory in Gaul, he was made dictator of the Roman Empire around 47 BCE. He was the first dictator to be awarded dictatorship for life and was so adored that his birth month, July, was renamed after him. His position as dictator bestowed upon him command of the all Roman legions and provinces, financial control, foreign policy decisions and power over the Senate. He appointed a large number of his supporters to the Senate firmly establishing his control of the Roman Empire.

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).

There have been many amazing and influential empires in the Western Empire. They each had great innovations and a unique culture. Of the western empire the most prevalent is Rome. The Roman civilization did not just flourish overnight; it took twelve hundred years of developing and creation. This empire or civilization owes much of its heritage and culture to the Ancient Greeks, along with dominating civilizations. The Romans took a large amount of social innovations from other empires, and applied the information in a manner that would be beneficial to their society. There are an infinitive amount of pieces that fit into the legacy of the Roman Empire. The founding

The ancient Roman Senate was a government body that advised the rulers of Rome. It was the only one to survive the long history of ancient Rome. It went through many changes since it was established around 750 BC by Romulus, the founder and first king of Rome. Both the role it played and its structural makeup changed greatly as Rome went through different phases of government.

The Romans were a extraordinary power during 509 BC–27 BC. Their government, fighting styles, and armies were exceptional for the time, and even now. Because of all the initiative the Romans took, they were able to reign for a long and prosperous time. Even after their demise, people still follow and respect what they were able to accomplish.

Ancient Greece and Rome are considered pillars of Western Civilization due to their impact on our law, language, and art.

Because of him the doors for the Roman Empire were opened. Like during the Republic times, the government was very corrupt, the aristocrats were power hungry and constantly tried to appoint members of their groups in places of power. When Caesar joined the election for consul in 59 BCE, the aristocrats’ saw is as a threat to their power, but he still one despite all of their efforts. But problems really started when Caesar defeated all of his enemies and became Rome’s dictator. He filled the Senate seats with his own members and increased the number of seats to 900. “All the appointments were of his own partisans, which robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige and made the Senate increasingly subservient to him. To minimize the risk that another general might attempt to challenge him, Caesar passed a law that subjected governors to term limits. All of these changes watered down the power of the Senate, which infuriated those used to aristocratic privilege.” (Textbook, Chp.6, Julius Caesar). The aristocrats were livid, which lead to the assassination of Caesar, the aristocrats would do anything to remain in power, even if it meant killing to get

(5) When he first returned to home, he celebrated all of his victories in the civil wars (Witkoski). Caesar worked hard to give the people jobs, and came up with countless ideas to “help” Rome. “Caesar had other ideas, and with the army behind him… took over jobs of consuls, and power as a tribune. His actions went down badly with traditionalists, who thought he was trampling on Republican Systems,” (Moody 260). While Caesar did reject the crown three times, he even once said “The Republic is nothing, a mere name without body or form,” (Duncan 245). But he still accepted to be a dictator for at least ten years, and by 44 B.C. it was extended for life, which was much worse, (Lee 100) “He used his military strength and popularity to gain this control in 44 B.C….Caesar’s reign marked the end of the Roman Republic. (2) Instituting a number of reforms, from reducing welfare to using a new calendar, though in theory he was balanced by the power of the senate, in reality he was becoming more like a dictator,” (Stevenson). Not everyone agreed with his political acts, and many accused him of tyranny (Lee

The people of Rome wanted polical power to be distributed among themselves, instead of one individual; thus the formation of the Roman Republic. The people took away the hereditary component in governance; Hence, instead of a king, the Centuriate Assembly, or those men who served in the army, voted people into office. The army of the Roman Republic consisted of taxpaying men; men who had property, aged 17-47. Although Rome's elite successfuly overthrew the Roman monarchy and established the republic in 509 B.C.E., more challenges lay ahead (Making of the west, 101)).

Great leaders are intelligent, and Caesar showed this quality through his social reforms, where he placed the pleasing of Rome and its citizens as his number one objective. Romans conducted several sacrifices in specific days of the year. However the inadequate knowledge regarding the relationship between the lunar and solar year resulted in some of these sacrifices being conducted during inappropriate days of the year. Therefore being a great leader as he was, Caesar with the help of astronomers was able to reform the calendar by adding days per year, which caused the sacrifices and festivals such as the harvest, to being celebrated on the desired dates. He provided a great variety of entertainment for the people. There were stage plays

Firstly, they Romans introduced the numerical system that is currently used in the modern societies as well as the calendar system (Hunt et al 189). Hence, the Roman civilization influenced our way of counting days and the numbers we use to calculate things in our modern society. Another important area that ancient civilization influenced in the western civilization is the area of constitution making. The idea of having written laws guiding people in a society come up within the ancient Roman empire. In the western civilization the idea of the constitution has been embraced and many societies have written constitution, which as act as the supreme law of the land.

Wherever a Roman citizen might be, he must go to Rome to vote or to take part in the making of the laws. But when the citizens of Rome met together in the Forum, or on the Campus Martius, they made a large and unwieldy body, which could not do any important political business. Rome never learned that a democratic government in a large state is impossible without representation; that is, the election by the people of a few leading men to protect their interests, and to make the laws for them. Giving up on the policy of incorporation and the absence of the principle of representation were the two great defects in the Roman political

The Impact of Roman Empire: The Roman Empire has given most of the modern world and much of the primitive world its commands in not only its procedures but also in its substance. The barbarian societies who prospered the realm embraced much of its edicts and many of its formulas of regimes. The impact

It is quite evident that the Romans learned a lot from other societies that they conquered as they were expanding their Empire. In doing so, they helped to preserve some important cultures and traditions that could have been lost along the way (Richard, 2008). Although some people may feel that the Romans interfered with people’s ways of life, the undeniable fact is that they played a paramount role in ensuring human history was not lost. Credit must be given to them for shaping our world in the way that they