1 The Qualities That Made Rome Great
Roman historian Titus Livius once said, "Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness." Rising from a small city-state in central Italy to one of the most significant influences on the western world, Rome was indeed great. But what qualities allowed for the rise of this great civilization? The Romans went through phases of growth and different political systems that changed the way the people interpreted things. Rome began as a small city-state in central Italy in 753 BC. This tiny kingdom became the first republic and expanded outside Italy to encompass much of the Mediterranean. As the republic grew, it also fell prey to power-hungry senators
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Wolfe
HIST 207
February 5, 2023
Throughout all of Rome’s history, the Roman people relied on their strong religious beliefs to make sense of the world. The Roman gods gave purpose and reason to the Roman people and drove them to expand Roman culture. The gods gave a basis for the Roman virtues and enabled the Roman people to develop their culture and traditions to the rest of the
Mediterranean. The roman people held in high esteem their religious values and avoided any philosophy that denied the gods. The roman poet Horace warns in his “odes'' that the people need to cling to their religion to preserve Rome and warns them against turning away from the gods.
He says, “Romans, though you’re guiltless, you’ll still expiate your fathers’ sins, till you’ve restored the temples, and the tumbling shrines of all the gods, and their images, soiled with black smoke. You rule because you are lower than the gods you worship: all things begin with them: credit them with the outcome. Neglected gods have made many woes for sad Italy…(“Week 4:
The Romans”)” Rome's religious beliefs gave solidarity to the people of all the empire. Without them, Roman civilization would have been fractured and gradually
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The Romans highly valued loyalty to the state and serving as a general or magistrate would increase a citizen’s status. When the Republic rose to power, family status and political prowess became intertwined, making loyalty to the family and state imperative to the
Roman citizen. Horace writes of the decline of the virtues of family and state loyalty, warning the Roman people that “Our age, fertile in its wickedness, has first defiled the marriage bed, our offspring, and homes: disaster’s stream has flowed from this source through the people and the fatherland. (“Week 4: The Romans”)” The family became the backbone of the roman citizen’s political power, and the family's social status and loyalty to Rome determined their political influence. The importance of family status continued during the Empire, where the name Caesar became synonymous with leadership in Rome. strong religious beliefs, influenced the Roman people and allowed the Roman civilization to expand beyond its humble origins. These qualities took Rome from a tiny kingdom in central
Italy to one of the most influential empires of Western society. Even though Roman
Roman civilization is said to go as far back as 625 BC and continued throughout history as a strong territory. Early Rome was ran by kings. This lasted until the king that went by the name of Tarquin was overthrown by the people of the city. The Roman Nobility took over power and were called the Senate. Rome was now known as a Republic and would remain until a man by the name of Julius Caesar came to power in 60 BC.
According to Roman tradition, Rome was ruled by Etruscan kings until around 509 BC. The Romans then drove them out and created a republic (Chrisp 7). This helped Rome create its own type of government. Caesar was one of Rome’s dictators. A group of senators thought he was too powerful and was destroying the Romans republic, so they stabbed him to death.
The Romans emerged from Italy and formed their culture that can find its roots among an array of native tribes and Greek colonies that populated Italy. There are two parts of the foundation of a Roman’s identity that stemmed from the cultural influences that produced the Romans, their culture and their ideals. The first component of the foundation of the Roman identity is the usage and the incorporation of others’ myths into their own etiological myth. The second part stems from these myths that made the Romans believe that their existence and success was the result of fate. By looking into Virgil’s Aeneid and Sallust’s Conspiracy of Catiline one can see that this two-part foundation produced a society and people that embodied this idea that they were the best parts of all the cultures
Moreover, Rome had a strict hierarchical system that was not ideal for every citizen. A passage from the documentary, From Jesus to Christ, states, “if you’re at the bottom of that social pyramid, not a whole lot of things are coming down to you anymore,” (Document D). The emperors were the direct connection to the Roman gods and their blessings because they were at the top of the status pyramid. Christianity supplied a superior alternative to the Roman beliefs because it leveled the playing field and allowed everyone fair and equal relationships with God. Unfortunately, Roman officials were not enthusiastic about Christianity’s rise in popularity.
During The rise Roman Empire a powerful ancient civilization first because of location and resources. “Julius Caesar started to build Rome as a great city and empire by also focusing on military strength in order for Rome to overcome other great civilizations such as the Ottoman. ”6The Roman Empire became a powerful ancient civilization first because of location and resources. Also great leaders such as Julius Caesar that started to build Rome as a great city and empire by also focusing on military strength in order for Rome to conquer other great civilizations such as the Ottoman Empire The roman empire fell because of germanic barbarians.
They concentrated on creating a system of jurisprudence for their realm and granting a high measure of freedom to those under their rule. The Romans were major benefactors of their own policies, for through them they improved their own civilization. Roads, aqueducts, and other construction projects throughout the empire did much to unite the diverse population. Romans themselves and their emperors was a superstitious people--not an uncommon trait among all commoners who believed in multiple gods at the time. Revering the gods was a direct result of a belief that the gods could benefit your cause or defeat you.
We will do this by looking at the changes in the duty or view of the empire, religion, and the government. Both the Romans and the Greeks originally had high views and respect for their empire. For the Greeks, they had a duty to their polis. “In the Homeric world of war, men do not have rights, but only duties. By serving the city-state with their virtuous behavior, they are also serving themselves.”
The Roman Empire was built on the pietas of its people, which was highlighted by Virgil in “Aeneid” through the character of Aeneas. Virgil provided several examples of this powerful virtue throughout “Aeneid”, but as our texts progress through the semester the authors began to realize that the Romans had become envious of one another. The Roman Empire started on strong foundation of virtues, with pietas being the strongest layer. Through centuries of erosion this foundation began to crumble and moral decay brought this might empire to its knees. Some will argue that foreign invaders simply defeated the Roman Empire, while that is true; the real reason is the moral decay or the loss of pietas that allowed these armies to invade.
The Roman Republic emerged in 509 BCE following the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. As Gibbons and Livy in History of Rome both say, Rome got too big and too wealthy too fast, with the emperors being lax with their power and control
Rome put a lot of time and effort into establishing democracy. The revolution against the Etruscan tyrant Tarquin the Proud led to the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BCE. The gradual establishment of democratic institutions marks the start of a new era in Roman history. A series of unfortunate occurrences led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. The growing resentment of the Roman nobles toward the tyrannical rule of the Etruscan ruler was one of the major contributing elements.
They are reasons and might be considered good reasons, but they are not the root of it all. The root of the Romans success was that they were not overly prideful to learn from others in order to build themselves up, especially from the Greeks. The Greeks, as great as they were, were a prideful people who were constantly fighting amongst themselves. The Romans’, though, were able to take some of the greatest parts of the Greek civilization and use it for their own benefit. This was the root of their success which proves that the greatest things can start with the simplest
Rome was the center of one of the world's greatest empires. It began as an unremarkable settlement. Rome had become powerful by conquering territory. But Rome soon discovered that size has its problems. Controlling an expanded empire, meant a need for more food, clothing, weapons and supplies.
From a simple city/state to two vast empires ruled by powerful dictators. As you (hopefully) know, Rome in its infancy was just a small village on the river Tiber. After Rome grew a bit it became more akin to that of a city/state, its central governing city still being Rome. The next key phase in the evolution of the government of Rome was the Roman monarchy. This phase is characterized by its monarch rulers and, has little known of it as few records exist dating back to that era.
Rome started out as a Republic, but as time went on Rome transformed into an empire. Rome went through many rulers and obstacles when it was an empire. All of these obstacles eventually lead to the fall of Rome. The fall of Rome was mainly due to the Rise in Christianity, Political Corruption, and Inflation.
Ancient Rome left tremendous legacies such as technological advancements, religious beliefs and governmental structures that shaped the world today. The Romans conquered many territories and took on their cultures as well, in particular the Ancient Greek culture. Ancient Greek civilizations played a major role in the history and development of the Ancient Rome civilization. The Ancient Greeks influenced the social structure, religion and military strength of Ancient Rome.