Negative Effects Of Roman Conquests

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.

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).

One trait every army must have to be successful is the willingness and drive to dominate. The Roman army took these traits to a whole different level. The Romans were very extreme in battle as well. They often enjoyed humiliating other city-states by burning them to the ground. In 264 B.C.E. a battle between other Greek city-states forced Rome and Carthage, who dominated the western part of the Mediterranean, into conflict. The First Punic War was for the control of Sicily.4 This battle lasted twenty-three years.4 The Romans were losing a lot of men, but they continued to battle on.4 Finally, the persistence paid off.4 The Romans learned how to fight by sea and cut off the Carthaginian supply line into

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,

The Ancient Roman Civilization was so large and advanced that it was able to influence the entire Western Civilization today. Some things influenced include modern architecture, entertainment, sports, and the calendar. The Roman Empire was so powerful, militarily and technologically, that their influences can still be seen around the world, and in people’s daily lives.

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.

“This account I have given the reader, not so much with the intention of commending the Romans, as of comforting those that have been conquered by them, and for the deterring others from attempting innovations under their government. This discourse of the Roman military conduct may also perhaps be of use to such of the curious as are ignorant of it, and yet have a mind to know it.” –excerpt from “Description of the Roman Army,” by Josephus

The Roman army was the most powerful war machine of its time and arguably many others. It is this vast war machine that facilitated the Roman Empire and its creation. I call the Roman army a war machine because of the meticulous organization the army displayed, organization so thorough it mimics the individual cogs and gears in a machine working in perfect unison to achieve a common goal. The roman army was responsible for developing revolutionary fighting techniques which not only secured Rome’s position as the most powerful force in the world, but would influence the fighting styles of other armies for hundreds of years. But a machine so intricate and complex was not created in a day. It was through much trial and error and the test of time that the Roman army became the world power that we remember it as. I call the legions a world power because without the approval of the legions an emperor would be powerless. History documents show many Generals who already had the approval of their legions ascending to power, most notably Julius Caesar. So the Roman army was a very prominent military and political influence. Although the Roman army did not simply consist of soldiers and future politicians, it also included engineers. These engineers were responsible for the building of the roads that carried soldiers to and from battle, along with numerous military technologies that would influence the future of warfare. The Roman army’s history and the creation of new war

It is clear that the dynamics that characterized Rome’s society during the Republic were never easy. There was a constant push and pull of intentions and interests between Patricians and Plebeians. The Patricians always wanting to maintain economic and political supremacy while the Plebeians were in constant

The Roman Army’s composition and expansion was one of its greatest strengths as well as one of its more important weaknesses. “Augustus professionalized the military” and by doing so, made the Roman army “a recognized institution of the government (pg. 149). This allowed those who served in the army to receive certain benefits when they retired. For instant, Roman citizens who served could receive land or cash bonus, and noncitizen volunteers who served received Roman citizenship. This made volunteering for the army and attractive opposition.

The Roman Empire was known as one of the greatest civilizations, their society, politics, and military skills were extremely advanced even for their time. From starting off as the Roman Kingdom, then The Roman Republic, and finally ending with the Roman Empire, Rome itself has been through many drastic changes. And throughout all three changes there has always been social and political disorder. Each stage of Rome only came about because of the fall of the one before it, in all three case political corruptions and social chaos was the reason for their failures. Although Rome had many problems, they had multiple achievements. One of their greatest achievements was their large military and military strategy. From the late Roman Republic to the

It can be seen that the problem was that patrician were lording power over the plebeians. Electing tribunes to protect the rights of a plebeian was important because it helped the empire be fair and equal to all the citizens which helped everyone be content. This prevented violent demonstrations from breaking out.

Edward Luttwak’s The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the First Century A.D. to the Third gives a militaristic analysis of the tactics used by the Roman Empire while also highlighting parallels between Rome and contemporary U.S. military policy. Luttwak divides his book into three chapters, a chapter for each of the 3 identified systems; the first chapter discusses Rome’s use of mobile armies and client states to defend her borders. The second chapter shows border defense as was provided by small groups of marching legionary troops. The third and final chapter details the transition from an offense stance to a more

Concomitant with the Athenian system, in the city of Rome popular government was introduced as well, albeit under a different name, respublica (from "res" – thing and "publicus" – public). Consequently the republic was similar with Greek demokratia. At the beginning only aristocrats or patricians were allowed to participate at the governing act, but "after much struggle the common people [….] also gained entry" (Dahl, 1998: 13). Only male patricians, later lower castes as well, were able to govern, meaning that women, same as in Athens, were denied any political rights. Starting as a city-state, the Roman Republic conquered territories far beyond its initial borders and gave Roman citizenship to the conquered people. Even though this system might seem sturdy, the impossibility to adjust the institutions of popular government to the increasing number of citizens and the ever-growing Republic is a major flaw. In order to exert their political rights, the conquered people turned into Roman citizens had to participate in meetings in the city of Rome, a tedious and expensive effort, which corroborated with the increase in

In this essay, I will be discussing the origins and relevancy of Rome’s conquest of Italy during the Middle Republic. Included will be Rome’s governing structure of it’s allied states, and the treaties, both of which aided in the long term success of Rome.