Tacitus And Roman Imperialism

When people hear or see the word “Rome”, many of them think of the ancient Roman culture. The Roman culture consists of the Roman Gods, myths, their way of life, and arts. The surveyors wrote things such as “Romans Gods”, “Jesus”, “Architecture”, and “Ancient”. But the most surprising thing was that barely any of the surveyors mentioned Rome’s dark side; conquership, enslavement of people, forcing other people to fight for entertainment, and most of all, the struggle for power;. This research paper is to let all the readers know about Rome’s beginning, Rome’s conquership, their culture, and the power struggle.

The military campaigns of the Caesars made Rome one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Suetonius conveys through his writings that being a good military leader and a good Caesar were synonymous. Augustus, who Suetonius thought an excellent leader, reunited the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire ( 51) and greatly expanded Romes territory (53). Augustus “showed not only skill as a commander, but courage as a soldier” in the eyes of his contemporaries (47). On the other hand, both Caligula and Nero, considered poor leaders by Suetonius, had very limited military success and aspirations. Only once did Caligula initiate a military exploit, and it was rife with his madness. His campaign into Germany was on a whim and all he accomplished was receiving the surrender of a

Tacitus also shows distrust towards Augustus in his exiling and killing of anyone deemed to be a political enemy – a taste which her masterfully called the proscriptions, and advertised to the public as a

The Germania written by Tacitus served as an ethnography of Germans that lived in the lands beyond Roman control. Tacitus goes through every aspect of culture and in some cases compares Germans to Romans. He describes German culture as a whole in the first half of the reading, then moves on to discuss each individual tribe and their customs. Tacitus defines race in very broad sense, drawn from how he depicts Germans in contrast to Romans. We see that geography and culture play a large role, although they differ slightly from tribe to tribe, many maintain similar customs. Through the Germania, we see that Tacitus differentiates race on the basis of physical appearance, lifestyle, and regard for women.

The Roman Empire conquered land at a previously unparalleled rate, within the known world, affecting its institutions from the rest of the Empire’s prevalence. From Hispania to Britannia sweeping across the mediterranean, gaining Egypt, ending in Persia; the absorption of Carthage and North Africa, and finally the civil war being won by Augustus, all brought upon the negative effects of their conquest. The Empire continued to grow from the year 200 B.C.E. to the year 200 C.E.; this growth had many effects upon the Empire. Although expansion and conquest are often good, seen as liberating, or wholly expansive in mathematical, philosophic, and scientific thought, this is not inherently the case. The Roman Empire’s expansion was not entirely as powerful and awe inspiring as many claim it to be; the greedily performed collection of lands resulted in many negative outcomes. These outcomes largely presented Rome with an issue they would never be able to recover from: empiric decay. The effects of militaristic expansion, of the Roman Empire, resulted in the decay of previously prosperous economic, political, and social institutions.

As can be seen, the Roman Empire was great for its time in more ways that one, with its undefeatable strength and size . It was greater than the empires before it

The War with Veii played a significant role in the expansion of the Roman Empire. The war, which ended in 410 B.C., set in motion an entirely different Roman army. No longer was the army a volunteer militia, instead it became a paying and contractual organization. The “Roman victory brought an end to Rome’s most threatening neighbor and began its rise to prominence in the central Italian peninsula” (www.warandgameinfo.com).

In examining the histories presented by Livy and Tacitus, it is crucial to take into account the agendas of the respective authors. While both set out to portray as accurate of a historical representation as possible, it is evident that both renowned historians and rhetoricians intended to deliver several significant messages regarding their thoughts on Rome. Both authors do, indeed, acknowledge the greatness of Rome and champion the core of Roman values; however, Livy and Tacitus tactfully elaborate on different troubles that face the Roman Empire. The histories put forth by these great men aim to present the past as an aid to promote

Ultimately the tone of each account is tremendously different; Suetonius is more concerned with its relation to history while Tacitus is intertwining his own spin on it by blaming the emperor for his unreliability and foolishness.

body and ignoring the mind, heart and soul can be deadly. When faced with sickness and the

Moving forward to Germania, which contained much more social criticism than Agricola did by comparing the cultural difference of Germania and Rome. Tacitus described Germania as an empire that revolves strictly around their freedom. The kings of Germania did not hold absolute control over the German citizens. "But even the power of the kings is not absolute or arbitrary. As for the leaders, it is their example rather than their authority that wins them special admiration" (Tacitus, 38). In contrast, the citizens of Rome strongly believed that they attained their own freedom, however they were wrong in the fact that it was the Emperor who held all power in the Roman empire.

Imperial Rome, during the first century A.D. was expanding it's boundaries by adding new territories. They expanded into northern Europe and Britain and conquered or attempted to conquer various types of people. Based on my reading of Tacitus' The Agricola and The Germania, I have knowledge of the life and customs of the Britons, subject of the Agricola, and the Germans, subject of the Germania. This of course being the Romans, and more specifically Tacitus,' observation and view of these groups of people.

Two of the more memorable emperors to the Romans were Augustus Caesar (27 BC to 14 AD), and Caligula (37 AD to 41 AD). Although only having ruled the empire by a separation of 23 years and belonging to the same family (through marriage and adoption), their empires couldn’t have been more different. It is possible to determine the impact of an emperor’s rule based on their many vices and virtues, as well as the choices that they make in relation to them. The author Suetonius expressed in his writings the many vices and virtues that put into perspective the kind of leaders that these emperors appeared as to their polis. As we explore the concept of vices and virtues, as well as what kind of ideals these two rulers represented, we will begin to be presented with a clearer picture of what an ideal emperor would have looked like. A vice can be described as an immoral or wicked behavior; while a virtue can be described as a behavior showing high moral standards. Suetonius and the Roman people had a high interpretation of the concept of virtue and vice, as well as their role in the ruler’s life.

A Review of Edward N. Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the First Century A.D. to the Third.

“VENI VIDI VICI,” or, “I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED.” These are probably some of the most ludicrous yet impressive words that can be articulated from the tongue. It is reassuring to note that undoubtedly these were the exact words uttered by Julius Caesar, for they seem to sum him up perfectly. Not only was he successful in conquering the ancient world, but his name resonated through the medieval and modern worlds also, and has not failed to fascinate the one present today. Very few people can read his tale without felling a sense of reverence for the man’s “brilliance, undeterred will, and extensive achievements concluded with one of the utmost dramatic tragedies of all time” (Grant 5). There are numerous reasons why Caesar’s life, along with the lives of other notable figures of world history, deserves continual study, but what sets him apart from the other great leaders is Caesar’s versatility for he was the most “outstandingly capable over the most extensive of range” (Grant 7). He was a man not just good at his activates, but exceptional at every single one of them including governing, commanding troops, and public specking. His bold solutions to problems of economic debt, the calendar, unemployment and mercy towards Roman rebels have all become legendary. No wonder why his myth and legacy has inspired, in some way or form, every sequential age from him marking the beginning of a new chapter in Roman history in his time, to influencing writing in Shakespeare’s time, and