Rome: Why It Lasted So Long. Essay, Research Paper
Ancient Rome it is said was founded by two brothers Romulous and Remus who were decedents of the survivors of Troy. A that time Rome was under the rule of an Etruscan King. Rome finally come on its own in 509 B.C.E when they over threw the king in a peaceful rebellion. The Empire lasted up until about the 200’s when it began to decline because of bad leadership, and distrust in the senate. The Empire had lasting impact on the world but the made were the reasons that Rome lasted so long as an Empire were spread across three main categories Political, Social, Economical. Leadership was on of the main reasons that the Roman Empire lasted so long. One of it greatest rulers being Octavian Augustus. The romans disliked kings or any sort of monarchical rule They wanted to be in charge of their own destinies. Form the early origins of the Roman Empire when it was a republic it was being run by the senatus et populus upper class and the people. The Senate consisting of the Upper class and the people represented by official delegates in the general assembly. The way that the Government was designed at first was that the general assembly would have most of the power and the senate would only have advisory powers. But that was not to be the senate had the decisive powers and the general assembly became the ones to pass the laws put down by the senate. The leadership of the romans was strong, and smart and most of them had vision. Take for example Agustus when he became the ruler of Rome he pretended to be a high priests or pontifiex maximus . He however became a high priest for life and almost became a god. He put people on the senate that would help him with whatever decisions he had to make he had the final say on any thing. Here we can see that the leadership of this princeps as he preferred to be called was very effective. He pretended to be a servant when in fact he had the last say in any decisions that were passe by the senate. He instituted welfare and thus gained the popularity among the people whom he served. The roman Cesar as they were later known as instituted a from of democracy. Augustus tried to institute it fully but he could not as soon as he died the idea died with him. The leadership was also strong because they say for the needs of the general population of Rome. They set up funds for the needy like the one that . Waa setup by Nerva He lent money to some Italian land owners at a rate of five percent . The interest collected was used to help the children of the needy. These alimentary institutions as they were called greatly befitted the people concerned. The leadership also helped Rome to survive as long as it did because leaders were either a member of the family as inn the case of Publius Aelius Hadrian who was the cousin of who succeed Trajan when he died, or they were adopted as in the case of Tiberius who was adopted by Augustus to succeed him when he died. Training was provided by the emperor that was to be succeeded . That way the ruler that would take over would already be taught the ethics that were expected of them. The roman rulers were smart when a they defeated a country in battle they allowed the country to continue with their own rulers they granted them partial citizenship as in the case of the Italians but they had to supply troops when Rome needed troops to fight in wars. These new provinces were incorporated into Rome and were taxed like any other city or state. The Roman empire also endured as long as it did because of Imperial Unity, there was at most of the time a unity between all the members of the consol. Because of the fact that there was one ruler and not a group of them and besides a ruler would normally when he enters office bring some of his own or gradually replace the members of the senate that were there with a couple of his own so that he can get his laws and decrees passed. The roman rulers also did not encourage conspiracy if they even suspected that some one or a group of persons were conspiring to over throw them would have the persons who were conspiring put to death so as to keep peace and to keep the an adequate balance or power. The ruler did not stretch himself too much he appointed members of the consol or some one who he thought was capable to take care of smaller provinces these sub ruler would in turn report to him but they would carry out most of the duties that a ruler would carry out. The Empire was further unified by incorporating non-romans into the government as was in the case of the Italians in the age of Augustus. They were eventually given full citizenship and were treated as pure Romans so that they could hold any office that they wanted and they could rise to the highest part of the senate. The defense was also a major factor that helped the Roman Empire last so long. The military, the navy, and the calvary. The army was not only made up of romans they had a lot of allies. These allies were the other countries that they conquered the were required to supply aid to the Roman army when it was required. The roman army was normally run by a member of the consul, they were most times made up of the peasants of the or of slaves. The army seem to them like a good way to show their loyalty to the state. The soldiers when they retired The army was one of the ways that Rome kept control of the provinces that she owned. The army intimidated other nations they only attacked Rome in times when they were at war with them selves or later at the decline of the Roman empire when the army was split up and the nation was divided. For example the invasion of the great Wandering peoples of Asia easily invaded took over the outer provinces of the roman empire. This occurred because the army had already disintegrated into smaller private forces. The Roman army also was such an efficient force that they were able to conquer any opponent even if they had to retreat and try again. This occurred when Fabius Maximus was fighting General Hannibal. General Hannibal was a worthy opponent he defeated the Roman army even though he was out numbered by the Roman Army and her allies. The Roman army had about 70,000 men but after the battle the Survivors range any where from 25,000 to 2000 this led to the fear or general Hannibal by the Roman army and the would be hesitant to engage him in open battle until the battle of Zuma in 202. At this battle the great military leader Scipio engaged general Hannibal in open battle. The battle took place in the desert of Zuma. Scipio used the same strategy that the General had used in the earlier war which was to let his infantry fall back in the middle but not at the sides then encircle the army and over whelm them with the calvary. This show that the Roman army learned form others and did not hesitate to put what they learnt into practice. The Romans also had a navy which was helpful in ridding the trade routes that ran over sea of pirates this was necessary for effective trade to continue between Rome and its neighbors and also between its states. No country had effectively stood up to the roman army, they could lay siege for long periods starving out a country, and if the were low on troops all they had to do was to call on their allies or request help from their provinces.
One of the main economic reasons that helped Rome exist as long as it did was their trade. Trade flourished in Rome both within and without. The Roman provinces produced most things that were needed by the Roman empire gold, silver, bronze, and other necessary commodities. The major trade route from the China now ran through roman territory so the were able to tax merchants who passed with their spices and other goods that they would be trading. Trading over land as well over sea was common trade over sea was for a time harassed by pirates but the roman navy soon took care of that problem. Trade was important to the Romans this was one of the ways that they gained knowledge about other lands and it helped hem to keep abreast of the current technology. Rome also used taxes to gain monies to help in country development. The ruler s as I have mentioned before loaned funds to other provinces but when they got it back they got it back with interest and they used these funds to help the less fortunate in the country, to build and train a powerful army. One of the most impressive reasons that aided caused Rome to last as long as it did was the fact that they were able to learn fast and adapt to their environment and get allies. The Romans were fast learners, even though they were a major world power they were influenced by other countries. From Rome s inception they were influenced the y were influenced buy the Etruscan first of all. They were later influenced by their Greek neighbors who they later conquered. They adopted the Greeks art especially the art of sculpturing practice. They strived for realism in their sculpturing and achieve some level of realism which can be seen in their surviving art forms. Their sculptures, mostly of the rulers and caesars are almost perfect. Their paintings were very good and resembled those of the Greeks. Their buildings They Romans did not refuse to learn form their neighbors if their neighbors had something that was working good for them they would try to get it and use it for themselves and see hoe it could help them. That is how they learned from other countries , take for example the battle that was mentioned earlier the Roman army learned a new strategy and used it to defeat general Hanibal who they learned it from. The Romans were smarter than most countries they had learned from experience that when a country is invaded and conquered they do not like to be subjected to slavery. So what the romans did was to allow the countries to continue as they were before and to make them partial citizens as in the case of the Italians. The Romans whenever they set out to do something they never stopped until they got it right. This could be seen in the architecture their buildings, their bridges. Most of their structures are still in use to day and many of them are still standing. They ahd no rivals in their day their structures were looked upon by the other tribes and countries as superior. The main reasons that the roman empire survived as long as it did ranged from political to economic. With their brilliant leadership from men like Agustus and Constantine the roman empire prospered and flourished. The had an army that was feared by many and a the people had a mentality that they could over come any obstacle. They never ceased to stop learning from their neighbors. They learned to take ideas and improve on them. When they say potential they invested in it and more times than not their investments paid off. No wonder the roman empire was so powerful. All these factors and more helped the Roman Empire last as long as it did.