The History of the Roman Republic - Coursework Example

Roman Republic The Romans started off with nothing but their seven hills and some huts. In that, they resembled many of their neighbors, but they were also surrounded by cultures that were much more advanced (Etruscans and Greeks). Yet in the end (264 B.C.), it was the Romans who dominated the Italian peninsula. We have read about the events that led to this dominance. Define what it was about the Roman culture that made this dominance possible. How did they DO that? Rome began as a republic. There were two classes of citizens: the aristocratic patricians and the majority of citizens, the plebeians. Both groups had some civic rights, but only the patricians could be elected to office. Rome’s government was divided into executive and legislative branches. Two Consuls headed the executive branch. The Senate dominated the legislature. Its 300 patrician members, who were elected for life, advised the Consuls and debated foreign policy and legislation. In 494 BC, a revolt by the plebians increased their political power and established the principle that all free citizens were protected by the laws (James, 2002). The collapse of Hellenic Greece gave way to the dominance of Alexander and the period of Hellenism. When political unity was lost after Alexanders death, the way was open for the Romans to establish their control of the Mediterranean world. The culture that emerged and was spread under Rome was a result of the blending of Hellenic and Hellenistic ideas, as well as the particular genius of the Romans (Jones, 1997). Despite the fact that Italy gained from the important contributions of the Etruscans, Etruscan rule was resented by the different groups living in Italy. In the late 6th century BCE a rebellion began which ultimately pushed the Etruscans out of the peninsula. Leading the rebelling forces and regions against the Etruscans was the city of Rome - the Romans. This movement to expel the Etruscans took a very long time; it was not until the end of the 4th century BCE that the Etruscans were pushed out and/or absorbed (Jones, 1997). By 300 BCE, the Romans (those living in the city of Rome) had a dominant position in Italy. In fact, what had actually occurred in the two hundred years of fighting the Etruscans was a transfer of power. As the Romans led the fight against the Etruscans, they extended their own power and control over the peninsula. The city of Rome became the political center of a growing, centralized state that would ultimately include all of Italy (Jones, 1997). In the process, a very important characteristic of Roman based control became clear - a pattern that will prove to be one of the greatest strengths of this civilization. As the Romans expanded their power throughout Italy, sometimes in very hard fought battles, they did not treat their Italian neighbors as conquered subjects - unlike their Etruscan predecessors (Woolf, 2000). Instead, the Romans included these different regions as part of an expanding state; Italians became absorbed into Romes growing state and were treated as fellow citizens, rather than conquered subjects. The peninsula of Italy was united by Rome and emerged as a unified state of fellow citizens. In short, the meaning of the term Roman expanded to include all living in Italy in the new Roman controlled state. This willingness to extend citizenship and belonging in the state stands in stark contrast to the exclusive Greeks. Think of the benefits for the growing Roman state of treating new peoples and territories in this manner. Instead of unhappy, rebellious subjects, they created loyal, supportive citizens. This helped not only to maintain law and order, but in collecting taxes, and recruiting soldiers for the Army. It is a pattern that is continued to trace as Rome continued to expand. One of the key terms to keep in mind regarding the Romans was their inclusiveness - trying to absorb rather than just conquer. It is considered one of the key elements contributing to the success of the Rome Empire (Woolf, 2000). The roman expansion in the Italian peninsula has been a direct result of infusion of local society to Roman values. The Romans had successfully used alliances and soldiering to grow and prosper into different parts of their expanding empire. The Romans spread their culture through religious cults, mythology and drama to capture the social setup of the people into developing one roman open culture. The Romans did not force their religion and culture on the Italians, but invited them to participate by way of cult practice and drama (Woolf, 2000). People were exposes to the state as building of Podiums, Coliseums and other central people oriented buildings were erected and the interest of people was captured through portraying of Roman culture as tales of heroic and purity propagated form these centres. Religion, drama and mythology were used to extend the Roman legal, political and military systems. Through granting citizenship, people of conquered states or prospective states to be conquered were made to accept Rome as their own country as contrary to normal practice of being treated as slaves or inferior people. Most citizens were poor but they were consoled by free grain and public spectacles such as chariot races and gladiator fights. Over time, general perception had developed that it was a good thing for them to be conquered by Rome. They could now no longer fight and plunder each other, but must live in peace and apply themselves to industry. Everywhere throughout the empire might be seen splendid cities, with fine buildings, beautiful public squares, and noble theaters. Huge stone aqueducts often brought to such towns a supply of clear water from a distance of many miles. Between the cities lay smiling fields and green vineyards, cultivated in peaceful security, while through the country stretched those wonderful white roads for which the Romans were famous. All of these led finally to Rome itself, the capital of the world (Sowell, 1999). As time went on, the people of many provinces of the empire became like the Romans. They learned to speak the Latin language; they dressed in Roman costume; they sent their children to Roman schools. Thus, after a while, if a person had traveled in Spain, in Gaul, or even in northern Africa he would have seen little that was different from Italy itself (Sowell, 1999). OK, the Romans have now taken control of quite a large amount of territory, encompassing various cultures. When they took over the Italian peninsula, the Romans did a really splendid job of controlling conquered territories; weve discussed how effective that was a couple of times. Now theyre taking over more: Is their system of takeover the same as it was with the various Italian states? Is their system as effective as it was with the Italians? Rome’s military success was based on its well-organized and highly disciplined army. At first, when most Romans were small farmers, all male citizens served as soldiers. But military conquests changed that. Thousands of conquered people were brought as slaves to Rome and replaced the paid workers. At the same time, many small farmers lost their lands to great landowners who also used slave labor. Rome’s swelling population of the poor and unemployed now provided army recruits (Sowell, 1999). These new soldiers were loyal to the generals who paid them, not to the state. Powerful generals used their soldiers to gain political control. The most important was Julius Caesar. After conquering Gaul and Britain, Caesar’s army invaded Italy. In 45 BC, he began to rule as dictator for life, but some senators viewed him as a tyrant and murdered him in 44 BC. Caesar’s nephew, Octavian, defeated his rivals and made himself Rome’s first emperor as Augustus Caesar in 27 BC (Sowell, 1999). Emperor Augustus and the “good emperors” who ruled from 96 to 180 AD reformed the administration of the empire. They appointed capable governors to rule the provinces; fine new roads allowed them to communicate with Rome. Imposed public buildings were constructed and aqueducts were built to carry water to the cities. Roman law applied to rich and poor alike and was used across the empire. The provinces sent luxury items form the East and raw materials to Rome (Sowell, 1999). But by 200, the Roman Empire was threatened from inside and out. Christianity was spreading, especially among poor city folk. Christians refused to fight in the army or honor Roman gods (including the emperor who was viewed as a god). They were widely persecuted and even though their numbers were small, their influence was considerable. By 392, Christianity was so widespread that it became the official religion of the empire. After 192, emperors were appointed by the army. Most of them ruled only briefly. Army factions fought each other constantly. This internal fighting disrupted trade and industry and destroyed harvests and farms (James, 2002). To make matters worse, Germanic groups whom the Romans called barbarians began to threaten the empire. Rome’s army was too divided, and its borders too long to be defensible. Emperor Diocletian recognized that it was impossible for one man to rule such a vast area and appointed separate rulers for the eastern and western provinces- the empire was formally divided into two halves in 395 (James, 2002). Works Cited: James, Simon. Ancient Rome. Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 2002. Jones, Peter. The World of Rome: An Introduction to Roman Culture. Cambridge University Press. 1997. Sowell, Thomas. Conquests and Cultures: An International History. Basic Books. 1999. Woolf, Greg. Becoming Roman. Cambridge University Press. 2000. Read More