... and to give as rewards to the Emperor's favourites. The senate remained, and its advice was given (provided that it was likely to meet with the Emperor's approval - any other advice was generally too dangerous), but not required or heeded. Excellent topic! I am eager to answer, as I studied the Roman Republic. So here is my view of it. The Roman Republic was what made Rome great. The Roman Empire was what brought about its decline and fall. When Rome became a Republic in 509BC, Rome's territory consisted of little more than the city itself. Rome was barely more than a collection of villages. By the time the Republic was effectively abolished by Octavian at the end of the 1st century BC, Rome had become a huge empire, as this map shows. Click the image to open in full size. The Republic was a system that, in its heyday from c.500BC to c.100BC, was based on the rule of law, and a cleverly balanced constitution that was not a written document, but consisted of an accord between the 3 elements, democracy, monarchy, and oligarchy. As the historian Polybius wrote, it is this balance which gave ancient Rome its greatest...
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...Rome, the most powerful empire Europe has ever seen- collapsed. The Roman Empire was very powerful, having borders as far North as Scotland, extending as far south into Northern Africa. Consisting of 2.3 million square miles, with a population of 80 million people. With each opportunity to conquer lands, the empire took it. Gaining power with each conquest, perhaps becoming too powerful. Correspondingly, the rise and fall of Rome began with it’s establishment, emperors, and actions. Moreover, the Roman Empire’s rise began with the establishment of Rome. Roman origins began during 1000-500 BCE, its earliest settlements on Palatine Hill. These settlements then turned into a republic, forming during 509-31 BCE. As a result of the Battle of Actium, the republic ended beginning the Roman Empire. Likewise, within the empire, there were two classes of people, the plebeians and patricians. Yet within these two classes of people order was needed. Laws, also known as the Twelve Tables, were written. Furthermore, along with a “new collection” of laws, the Roman empire gained control...
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...Oscar Villanueva Why the Roman Republic Decayed and Became the Roman Empire The rise and subsequent fall of the city of Rome was a significant historical event, characterized by the dramatic decline of the republic, to her transformation into an empire. Originally a small provincial town, Rome rose to prominence and produced astounding strengths, which was then lost when Rome became incapable of defending its governing structures of the republic. It is the purpose of this study to highlight these events, giving reasons that led to the decay of the Roman Republic, and the rise of the Roman Empire. The prominence of Rome Rome was a small province town which after many wars became the focus and command center of the vast empire of Rome. However, history tells us that it took hundreds of years and a combat of many wars to rise to this prominence. It gained influence over a significant portion of southern Europe, northern Africa, and Middle East. Rome conquered nearly all the surrounding territories going beyond the Mediterranean Sea. It was this military dominance in the region that helped the Roman republic rise and became a formidable force of influence. The republic had appeasing methods of keeping her citizens happy and content. In this endeavor, Rome respected and protected the people’s local cultures with the sole purpose of keeping the people pacified. The Romans in their quest for improved stability, offered a healthier way of life to...
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...RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE The invading army touched the boarders of Rome, which had been left totally undefended. In 410 C.E. (common area), the Visigoths, led by Alaric, breached the walls of Rome and ravaged the capital of the Roman Empire. The Visigoths looted, burned, vandalized, and pillaged their way through the city, leaving a trail of destruction wherever they went. The plundering continued for three days. For the first time in nearly a millennium, the city of Rome was in the hands of someone other than the Romans. This was the first time that the city of Rome was sacked, but by no means the last. Constantine and the Beginning of Christianity One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the rise of a new religion, Christianity. The Christian religion, which was monotheistic (to believe in one god), ran counter to the traditional Roman religion, which was polytheistic (many gods). At different times, the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular with the poor. This 16th-century medal depicts Attila the Hun, one of the most vicious and aggressive invaders of all time. In 313 C.E., Roman emperor Constantine the Great ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity. Later that century, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. This extreme change in policy spread this rather new religion to every corner of the Empire. By approving Christianity, the Roman state...
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...The Rise of the Papacy The rise to power of the Papacy in the Roman Empire during the 6-9th centuries is crucial to the history of the church. There were many theories as to why the Papacy earned such central power. Included in these were the rise of the early church, and also the negative and positive effects of individuals related tot he government of the Roman Empire. Altogether it took many steps in a long process for the Papacy to gain such control. What is clear though is that the Papacy held firm control until the reformation. This paper will expand on the reasons for the rise of the Papacy in power, what allowed for it to thrive, and also negative and positive impacts on the empire and even the world. Fall of the Roman Empire There were many factors, and theories that are included when one is speaking of the fall of the Roman Empire. One of the first theories centers around disease and plagues. Some historians maintain that the Empire was crippled, as many diseases and plagues circled the Empire. They crippled families, workers and even members who were involved with the government. Another small factor may have been the decay of the army. The army say an increase in more German peoples, which may have altered the morale of the army, and even the size of the army itself. One large theory also centers around the government of the Empire. Many historians also believe that the Roman Empire set itself up for failure.(1) In the way that the...
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...Trace how Carthage became almost the equal of Rome Introduction In the light of the history of great Ancient empires, we should consider the rise of conflict between two prominent powers of the Ancient World. On the one side stood the powerful force of western Mediterranean lead by Carthage, while on the other one was the ruler of Italian Peninsula - the Rome. In following discussion, we are going to overview prerequisites of Carthage development as a rival of Rome. Next we need to compare strengths of both. Finally, we will trace down reasons behind Rome becoming a naval power in early stages of First Punic War (264 to 241 BC). Discussion The Carthage City was established in 814 BCE and is believed to be originally the dwelling of Phoenician inhabitants from the town of Tyre (present day Sur, Lebanon.) (“Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War Heaven.”, n.d.). As time has passed, territories were expanding. Later the Carthage united provinces of North Africa to the scale large enough to compare to modern day Morocco of the Egyptian regions. Moreover, influence has extended to the lands Sardinia, Malta, the Balearic Islands and the western part of Sicily, which later was the reason of First Punic War rise between Rome and Carthage. As a matter of fact, we have the Carthage as one of the most powerful trade regions of the Ancient world. The Carthage extended their business paths even as far as Cornwall in England (Miles, 2010). Many historians believed that trade paths together...
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...The Romans were a very powerful civilization who conquered a lot of land and territories, after Rome was founded at around 753 B.C.E. This powerful empire which is better known as the “Roman Empire” flourished under three different periods which are The empire which was ruled by an emperor, the Republic which was ruled by the Senate, and Monarchical period which was ruled by Kings. Although the Roman Empire was a strong and powerful one, they had their fair share of problems to include a civil war and other conflicts that slow them down for a little, but didn’t stop them. The main question is, how did the Romans come to dominate Italy? The answer to this question can varies, but the Romans used brute force and military power along with alliances to conquered and dominate Italy piece by piece. The Romans learn the true value of the word alliances and used it to their advantage during the conquest of Italy. This was...
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...Rome was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world, but like all great things, Rome came to an end. Rome was large in size therefore it was very hard to defend from the many enemies who wanted land. There was also corrupted government in Rome and civil wars occurred because certain people wanted power. The size of Rome and the amount of money they spent on military was also a big part in the fall. Overall Rome was a great empire but war, poor leadership, the rise of The Middle East, and the size and spending led to the end of the Roman Empire. The Barbarians were a Germanic tribes who wanted more land. The barbarians crossed the border of Rome looking for more land, this angered Rome and they sent an attack to defeat the barbarians, this attack did not farewell for the Romans because they were not used to the Barbarians ruthless, aggressive attacks. The Barbarians met the leaders of Rome and asked for peace in exchange for some land, the Romans...
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...Dries Ghielens EBM | The fall of the Roman Empire | How Christianity played a part in the decline of an Empire | | | | 8/1/2014 | Paper outline 1. Introduction 2. Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire 3. How Christianity played a part in the decline of the Roman Empire 4. The situation after the fall of the Roman Empire 5. The situation in the dark ages 6. Conclusion 7. Bibliography “Why did Rome fall?” still remains one the greatest questions of Western history. Many books have been written about this topic and many theories have been advanced about the reason of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Several reasons are issued for the fall. These reasons are issued to be sequacious and interwoven. For example, one of the most influential modern historians, Edward Gibbon wrote “The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire” in 1776, where he stated that the initiation of Christianity was one of the reasons for the decline. The transition of religions in the Roman Empire, from a polytheistic religion to a monotheistic religion, leads to instability within the Empire. (Gibbon, 1782) How Christianity was a factor in the decline of the Western Roman Empire will be discussed more extensively in this paper. In the beginning, Christianity was not more than an insignificant...
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...Rome was an empire of influence, culture, and prosperity. In its span of 500 years, Rome created works of art and literature that still continue to influence our society today. Rome was an incredibly powerful civilization and conquered many lands and other weaker civilizations. Through this, they managed to create an incredibly large and diverse empire. However, this prosperity wouldn’t last forever. In fact, after their reign of 500 years was over, the Western half of Rome fell. The Eastern half, on the other hand, managed to stay prosperous for roughly 1,000 years. Not only did the Byzantine Empire, survive past the decline of its Western half, it managed to thrive and produced many valuable works that are just as inspiring as those produced...
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...The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire Although the Roman Empire experienced many great accomplishments the decline led to many challenges. There were invasions by Barbarian tribes as well as economic troubles. Due to a final crisis, the empire began to crumble. Rome was being attacked by outside forces causing the constant spending. The empire became very dependent of their slaves to farm the land and work as craftsmen. The Roman empire is believed to have taken about a century until it finally failed in 476 A.D. So many negative contributions led to Rome’s Empire falling. Another cause of the fall of the roman empire involved the over-expansion and military overspending. The empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River. There was still not enough military to keep outside attackers away. So much money was put into the military that eventually the empire fell into a huge negative financial disparity. With the majority of the money available going into the upkeep of the military many citizens began to lose hope in the empire. The military then transformed and there was no real loyalty to the city of Rome. Christianity is believed to be another reason why the Roman Empire failed. There had been a vast majority of people converting to the Christian faith. Constantine produced The Edict of Milan. This legalized Christianity and allowed religious freedom within the empire. With the rise of Christianity, a large amount of money was put into...
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...many centuries Rome stood as the dominant power in the Mediterranean world and at the heart of its power lay the strength of the Roman Legion. It was through the strength of the legions that Rome began to exert its dominance, and in turn found itself dominated by those same legions. The story of the rise of Rome then is a story of its legions. Evolving from simple citizen levies to the most successful professional army of the ancient world, the Roman Legions were instrumental in shaping Rome from Republic to Empire. Thus it can be argued that the evolution of the Roman Legion not only impacted its military superiority, but directly influenced the evolution of Rome. In the pre republican...
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...Social factors deal with the living in a society like social classes, cultures religions, customs, and more. Social classes were a big factor in the downfall of Rome. The higher class got more privileges than the lower class. According to Roman Ambassador to the Huns 449, a wealthy lawbreaker would face no punishment for his crime while a poor lawbreaker would have a legal penalty and punished as seemed fit (Document 2). This document helped point out the causes of the fall because this time of peace was worse than war. Innocent men were being hurt for no reason by other, and not following the spiritual tradition was ruining the state. Another example of the social factors causing the fall of Rome is how the people of Rome could not organize themselves. In The Course of Civilization by Strayer, Gatzke, “the majority of the population had been systematically excluded from political responsibilities” (Document 1). Since the people were excluded from political responsibilities, they could not organize themselves. This problem led to more problems because of the people could not get organized then they could not protect themselves. They were not able to organize an army to protect themselves...
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...Rome one of the greatest and most powerful empire that ever existed its region had spread to the Middle East North Africa Western Central Europe which also influence a lot of countries and civilizations in the following centuries and today but soon collapse as they say all good things must come to a end the corruption of government , social economical problems played a strong role in the fall Rome after the Empire collapse it became to big to rule so it was divided to make better but only made worse One of the biggest causes that led to the fall of Rome was that the government was corrupted with poor leadership when coming to choose a new emperor which was the most difficult too do the transition was not as smooth as how we change...
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...According to many history books found at school, the fall of the Roman Empire can be attributed to one thing – the demise of the capitol of the Empire, carried out by the Visigoths from Germany. Roman soldiers were pulled back from a defense post in the Rhine-Danube frontier, where they held back the barbarians, to fight in Italy, leaving an open Roman border to attack. The Visigoths looted, burned, and ransacked their way through the entire capitol city, Rome, for three whole days. This was considered a major event back in its day because much of the western part of the Empire had already fallen, making Rome an exaggerated center for the existing parts of the Empire. In 476 A.D., the Germanic general Odacer inevitably overthrew Augustus and Romulus, the last of the Roman Emperors. Roads and bridges were left in disrepair, agriculture never picked back up, and pirates made travel very unsafe, officially signaling the total fall of the Roman Empire. Although most agree that this was the ultimate demise of the Empire, this was not the reason that the Empire became so weak, in order for it to be taken over so easily. Rome, considered, the ‘mighty city’ by many, could not have fallen so easily to barbarians without some external and internal conflicts, eventually weakening the whole Empire into both economic and physical decay....
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