The Roman civilization isn’t a vague memory from the past, but is instead still present everywhere you look in Western civilization. It isn’t easy to ignore or miss the greatness that once was and still is from this grand empire. The Roman culture’s greatness was based off the imitation, but vastly improved ideas of nearby cultures for its own purpose. The majority of the concepts or ideas in Rome came from their association with the Etruscan, Egyptian and Greek civilizations. Yet, the Roman culture’s presence is strong enough to be seen or felt in every wall, street and structure to this day. First and foremost, the Roman Empire conquered millions of square miles, quickly advancing their customs across the region. One of the many advancements being the alphabet, which had been taught to them by the Greeks. The Roman’s enhanced this alphabet, thus creating the language called Latin. Latin became the foundation to various languages across the world to this very day. For example, the romance languages from Spain, Portugal and France all originate back to Latin. The alphabet was needed to send letters and proceed in governmental operations across the empire.
Following this, the Roman’s government itself was one of the first recorded governments of Republic, due to their hatred of Etruscan kings and rulers. The republic was overseen by the Senate, also known as the “council of kings.” It consisted of two chief magistrates called consuls and could veto one another’s decisions.
Rome's vast empire lasted for an amazing one thousand-year reign. Half of it referred to as the republic, and the other as the empire. However, after its fall in 5oo-a.d. Rome has still remained in existence through its strong culture, architecture, literature, and even religion (Spielvogel 175). Even after its disappearance as a nation Rome left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten. Its ideals and traditions have been immolated, and adopted for over two thousand years. Whether, it is through its language of Latin, its influence of religion, or its amazing architectural ability Rome has influenced almost every culture following its demise. The heritage of Rome has
First, The Roman Republic had three main units and other small branches, much like America’s government. For the first main unit, there is a dictator that was elected by the people and took total control of Rome during a crisis, such as food shortages, wars, and other things. The second main unit is the Senate that collected taxes and passed all of the laws. For the last unit there are the Consuls that had control over the military when not in a crisis. They were elected by majority like America’s government. They also chose the senate members. And that is how Ancient Rome’s government worked.
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).
The Roman people managed to spread their Latin language across Europe and over a period of short duration, Latin became known as the Romance language. Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Rumanian all developed out of the Latin language. For instance, in Latin the word freedom is pronounced or written as libertas, it was translated in Italian as liberta, in French as libertein, in Portuguese as liberdade, in Spanish as libertad, and in Romanian as libertate. This is a clear indication of how rich the Roman language was and the influence it had on other communities across the world.
The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire highly differ in their political structures. The republic: created in 509 BCE. was a form of representative democracy. It consisted of 2 consuls of which were appointed by the senate and then voted on. These consuls were the head officers and the were appointed for one year. The senate was one of two legislative bodies comprised of 300 senators and 10 tribunes who were all patricians. The other body was knows as the tribal assembly and was made up of plebeians who met in a forum to vote on things such as consuls.
The greek and roman civilizations were very influential to our modern day civilization, for example our government, sporting events, and medicine first became widely spread in their culture. In document 6, the text explains the branches of government during ancient rome. Their government had a significant influence in our government today. For example it split up the power between the branches and we use similar branches today such as the judicial branch. The Romans created a system of government which influenced many other cultures.
In the ancient Roman world, religion played the most important role in everyday life, as well as in matters of the state. The Romans looked to the gods for political stability and for control of the unexplainable and natural phenomenon. The gods were believed to control all aspects of Roman life, and for that reason, a great deal of importance was placed in the appropriate worship of the gods. Women played an extremely influential role in ancient Roman religion. Not only did they participate in religious rituals, but some even held religious positions as Vestal Virgins.
As mentioned earlier, the Roman Empire was initially being ruled by Etruscan kings and as many people were not in an accord in being ruled by a king, the last king called Tarquinius Superbus was thrown out through a revolt led by a man named Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 B.C and a new type of government had started. Like many countries today, The Roman government became a republic. In a republic, citizens in the empire vote to elect representatives to rule on their favor; this way, things were fairer in some ways. In the Republic, both men and women were considered citizens, however, only men could vote. Along the structure of the Republic were magistrates who were two consuls who worked together. These ran the government and led the army in wartime (Grolier Online). Consuls were selected every year in assemblies in which adult male citizens voted. There was also the Senate, which was made up of wealthy aristocrats, the heads of noble families, and hereditary priests (Ward). The Senate offered advise to the
The Roman government was democratic when it came to the citizens. The citizens could elect their own officials, and the officials were supposed to represent every level of Roman society. There were many types of officials. The two consuls were the chief officials of Rome. Once elected, they served for two years (Trueman, Chris). One of their most important powers was controlling the army (Government under Roman Republic). When they were unsure of a course of action, they were advised by the Senate, a council of around six hundred male citizens (Trueman, Chris). Those six hundred men were usually from wealthy patrician families and were the ones in charge of making the laws and controlling the spending. Contrary to the election of the other officials, the Senate was appointed by the current Consuls. Once they were appointed, they served for life. When one member died, another was chosen in their place (Government).
The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.
What kind of technology in the Roman Empire affect its growth the most? I will be investigating from the start of the Roman Empire in 753 BCE to when the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE. This investigation will have a broad scope while investigating and include things from the Roman Legion to aqueducts and concrete. This investigation will not include technology that was not widely used to better the Roman Empire. The research question will answer my question by conducting research on how different groups of technology made the Roman Empire better based off of their potential uses and different contributions to Roman society.
Rome is known as a mighty and powerful country throughout the nations. They have massively influenced art and architecture for decades to come. From their weapons to their brave characteristics, they have left their legacy to be remembered..
Throughout history there have been many great empires, but none have made a greater impact than the Greek and Roman empires. These empires began as small city-states, and grew to become the powerful empires we know today. The Greek and Roman empires were not always enemies, considering the Romans were greatly influenced by the Greek culture. The two civilizations shared many similarities, but had different opinions on government operations. There are three different periods that span the history of the Greek and Roman empires; the Hellenic, Hellenistic, and Roman civilization. I will thoroughly examine the differences in religion, philosophy, societal struggles, territory expansion, trade, commerce and the decline of each
The Roman Empire is among the greater ancient civilizations known to man. In 753 B.C. Rome at one point consisted of The Rhine River to Egypt and from Asia Minor to Britain accumulating some 2 millions square miles. This essay goes over some of their culture and the great strides made throughout 753 BC to 27 BC and from 64 AD to 1453 A.D.
The Roman Empire was a vast and powerful one. Stretching from modern-day Spain to the Middle East, and reaching from Britain to the northern tips of Africa, this empire was certainly one of the largest empires in history. Their strength was also evident in the fact that the Empire lasted over 500 years. Control of such a large area of land and the Mediterranean Sea allowed for the spread of their Roman culture. Although the Roman Empire and Republic no longer exist today, the ideas and designs of ancient Rome live on in our modern-day art, law, engineering, languages, and literature.