Re: topic 3 -- Early World History, Level I

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Date Posted: 15:17:32 03/07/02 Thu
Author: Marie Grunbeck
Subject: Re: topic 3
In reply to: j curboy 's message, "topic 3" on 05:21:40 02/26/02 Tue

I believe that there are many aspects of the Roman Empire that contribute to the reasons why they lasted so long. Some of these reasons include the way they setup their government, how they conquered other people, and the levels of social status in their society. The Roman government began with the Etruscan rule, however the Romans soon got sick of the Etruscans ruling them, so they got rid of them. Once the Etruscans were gone, the Romans formed two social classes, the Plebians and Patricians. I believe that the formation of these two groups helped make Rome stronger. This is because with the Patricians taking over the government, the rest of the Romans had someone to guide them to living civilized lives in an organized society. Even though this unbalanced power between the Patricians and Plebians later led to civil wars, it helped Rome at first by getting its government functioning well. Another thing that helped Rome become an imperial power is the way that they conquered other civilizations. Rome's army was very strong and was led by people who knew what they were doing. This enabled Rome to seize and take over almost the entire Mediterranean region, which is a major factor, is their empire's success. One more aspect of the Roman Empire that enabled them to be successful is the way that they dealt with problems in society. Although their leaders may seem very cruel because of some of the things they did to those who disobeyed laws, this idea of harsh punishment is essential for a civilization to survive. These are just some of the main things that helped the Romans develop from a small city-state into an imperial power. Although the Roman's success lasted for about a thousand years, it eventually began to downfall. The start of their downfall began with the introduction of slaves into their society. After the Third Punic War, the Romans enslaved many Carthaginians as slaves in Rome. With the new cheap labor, large estates started producing great amounts of the crops that used to be produced only by small farmers. This caused the farmers to "go out of business" and they were forced to move into cities. However, they could not find work in the cities either because slaves were also hired to work in businesses and factories. This left the dismayed farmers poor and not having anything to do with their lives, which eventually caused a great outbreak of boredom in the Roman society. The fact that the majority of Romans did not have anything do to all day long, led to a great changes in their lives. The �traditional values of discipline, self-sacrifice, and devotion to the republic were lost�, and this began to lead Rome into its decline. As the Roman civilization began to spiral down to its end, many people tried to help bring it back. However these attempts all eventually failed and only helped to further weaken the Roman Empire. Finally, in the 400's A.D., the Germans took advantage of the falling Empire and succeeded in taking over Rome's civilization to finally end its existence.
I believe that more modern cultures are not able to last as long as the Romans because no one has the patience or will to do so anymore. After watching how much time and effort the Romans put into keeping its civilization from falling, other cultures did not think it was worth the effort to keep their own civilizations alive for such a long time. As time has gone on, people no longer use as much intelligence with political matters and are afraid to take as many harsh measures as the Romans did, in fear of rebellion. However it is easy for one to see that in the case of the Romans, harsh measures were the way to go. Although Rome eventually fell, it is the only civilization ever to last a thousand years, so matter what the reasons are for its decline, the reasons for its survival are much more important.

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[> Re: topic 3 -- Kristen Berard, 15:40:03 03/07/02 Thu

Romans were so successful for a long time. The legendary date of the founding of Rome was 753 BC. The accounts of this period have come down covered with such a mass of myth and legend that few things from this period can be proved true. Following this period, when a republic was established, Rome became a world power and emerged as an empire with extensive boundaries. Rome was said to have been founded by Latin colonists from a nearby city in ancient Latium. The legendary date of the founding was 753 BC; it was credited to Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin. Later legend carried the ancestry of the Romans back to the Trojans and their leader Aeneas, whose son Ascanius, or Iulus, was the founder and the first king of Alba Longa.
The Romans were successful for so long because they were a smart people. They had a strong government and had armies that were so strong that it didn't matter who were leading the army it was still strong.
Rome had come to a downfall after about 1250 years. The downfall started when Rome received to many cheap slaves and a lot people no longer had work. Rome reached the end of its downfall when the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by the mercenary Herulian leader Odoacer in about 493 AD.

The Middle Ages was another civilization that didn't survive. It was period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the fifth century, to the 15th century. No one definitive event marks the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Although during this period the loose confederation of tribes began to unite into kingdoms, virtually no trace of government existed, and political and economic development was local in nature. Regular commerce had ceased almost entirely, although the money economy never entirely vanished.

The only universal European institution was the church, and even there, a division of authority was the rule; all power within the church chain of command was in the hands of local bishops. Cultural activity during the early Middle Ages consisted primarily in appropriating and systematizing the knowledge of the past. By the year 1050, Europe stood on the verge of an exceptional period of development. The era of migrations had ended, and Europe experienced the continuity and active growth of a settled population. Town life, and with it regular and large-scale trade and commerce, was revived.
The downfall of the Middle Ages was in the late Middle Age. Conflict and dissolution characterized the late Middle Ages. The struggle for domination between church and state became a fixture of European history for the next several centuries. Towns and cities, continuing to grow in size and prosperity, began to strive for political self-control, and the urban conflict became internal as well, as various classes and interests vied for control.
There is a similarity between the downfall of the Romans and the Middle Ages. Both ended over control of power. In Rome, it was that there was so many different groups fighting for power. In the Middle Ages, it was that the towns and cities wanted their own power. That is what I think causes a lot of downfalls of past civilizations. It seems to be obvious that this pattern of being a large empire then beginning to downfall after trouble with division of power will continue in centuries to come.

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