Rome The Power And Glory Essay Research

Rome, The Power And Glory Essay, Research Paper

Rome, the Power and Glory

As the story goes, Rome was founded by a pair of feuding brothers who were allegedly raised by wolves. Romulus and Remus. From that point on, the Roman Empire would play a pivotal role in the development of both Eastern and Western society alike. Its influence can still be noticed. The Empire bought us such inventions as aqueducts, elevators, and innovations like urban planning. This essay will discuss the evolution of the Roman Empire and its impact on the Western World.

As the story goes, Rome was founded in 753 B.C by two brothers by the names of Romulus and Remus. The two feuded over leadership and the end result was Romulus killing Remus and becoming emperor on his own. The city was only a small settlement at this time with almost no women. Romulus decided to invite their neighbours, the Sabines to a harvest festival. After they all had arrived, the Romans abducted 600 of their women at sword point. In this way, the growth of Rome was insured.

The Romans learnt many of their artistic and technological from a group of people known as the Etruscans who lived in the hills of Tuscany. The Etruscans were notably accomplished artists and inventors. They taught the Roman people how to work metal and many other materials. The gladiatorial games, in fact, came from an old Etruscan rite. The very first roman Emperors were Etruscans. The first of these was a man known as Serbius Tullius. He was the very first emperor to conduct what would become a yearly tradition. A census. Unfortunately, he was murdered and deposed by another Etruscan by the name of Tarquin, who was hated by the Roman people. Following the murder of a popular Roman woman by the name of Lucrectia by Tarquin, the people had him deposed and vowed never to live under the rule of one man again. This would hold true for an extremely long time.

The Roman people decided that yearly elections would be held to determine which pair of people would rule Rome as Consul s. Yearly elections were held to make sure that no two people would remain in power for an extended period of time. This led to the establishing of the senate and the motto SPQR. The Senate and the People of Rome. This is one of the many ways that Rome had a lasting impact on western civilization. Both the United States and Canada have a senate modeled after the Romans. In this way, Rome became a republic. For at least 100 years after they gained their independence, the Romans were at war with the Etruscans. Finally, the extraordinary long battle was over and Rome was free from the Etruscans forever.

It was about time that there was a persisting threat from the Gauls to the north. The Romans were pleased with themselves and having defeated the Etruscans, that they refused to believe that the barbarians would be too much of a threat. They were sadly mistaken. In 386 B.C the Gauls ransacked and occupied Rome. The citizens were devastated. They had never suffered a loss of this magnitude, and the empire was still in its infancy, the citizens decided the only was to win back the city was to go under its infancy. An enigmatic farmer know as Cincinnatus was elected to this position. He rallied the legions into an extremely formidable force and took back Tome from the Gaulish barbarians. After he had accomplished this, he returned to his farm to live a simple life.

The first major battle the empire would ever face was that against the Carthaginians led by Hannibal who came over the Alps and invaded Italy. At this time, the legions were led by a general by the name of Skippio. The majority of the army was made up of citizens who could be called together when needed. Otherwise know as the militia. The legions defeated Hannibal and pursued him back to Carthage. In 291 B.C it stretched 52,000 miles.

Sulla

Sulla was a staunch republican who returned form the Social wars in 88 B.C and demanded land for his soldiers. The senate refused to grant him what he asked for. In response to this, he created a list of politicians that he would like to have killed. A reward was offered for their deaths. Naturally, many poor Romans needed money desperately, and killing a senator was a relatively easy was of getting it.

However, Sulla was driven out of Rome after a short time. Most thought that it was the end of him. He returned width 6 legions and marched into the city. The Consuls, having no real military to back them up, fled leaving the city in control of Sulla. Although it seemed that he would become a cruel dictator, the people who believed this were proved wrong.

Sulla believed that the key to effective and responsible government was the Senate. He therefore opened 300 new seats and refilled empty ones. Doing this. He thought he would lead Rome into a time of great prosperity. He also instituted standing punishments for all crimes. Which could not be appealed. For reasons like this, the Senate actually opposed him instead of agreeing with him. This led to his eventual deposition. His reign as leader of Rome had lasted less than 4 years. The main reason Sulla is remembered is not because of his attempts of reform, but because he was the first man ever to use troops under his command against Rome itself.

After the death of Sulla, there was not a great deal of activity in Tome up until the year 52 B.C. It was at