The Roman Empire

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Introduction

An empire signifies a political system in which a group of individuals is governed by a single person, an emperor or empress. The Roman Empire is well identified as one of the greatest empires that ever existed, blossoming economically, politically, and culturally. It started on 27BCe when August became the sole monarch of Rome. August and his successor attempted to maintain the imagery and language of the Roman Republic to justify and preserve their power. The Roman Empire, at its height, c117CE, happened to be one of the most extensive political and social structures in Western civilization (McMullen, 2019). The Roman Empire Army was the largest and meanest fighting force in the ancient world. One of the main reasons why it became more powerful was due to the strength of its army. The Roman Empire was so successful because of the stable structures of politics. It was also impressive due to the fact that Romans were well organized and practical; they were aggressive and ambitious in getting anything they craved for.

History

The Roman Empire was created when August Caesar proclaimed himself the first emperor of Rome in 13BC and came to an end with the fall of Constantinople in 1453CE. By 285 CE, the Empire had developed too vast to be governed from the central government at Rome and so was divided by Emperor Diocletian Into an Eastern and a Western Empire, when the last Roman emperor, Romulus emperor, Augustulus. Being a legend, Rome was created in 753 (Jones, 2018). The elides is an issue that has some international universe. Being in the commencement of the eighth century, they grew from the small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire. Roman Empire extended from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its top encompassed much of western Asia, most of continental Europe, Mediterranean islands, and Northern Africa. Among the many dominance of the Roman Empire are the modern Western alphabet, the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion, and the widespread use of the Romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian, derived from Latin.     

Cultural context

Represented in the U.S.

The Roman Empire represented in the U.S. in terms of facilitating roads, fast food, towns, architecture, advertising, currency, Latin, and trademarks. The Roman Empire invented the technology in the United States for roads, concrete, aqueducts, and arches. The Roman Empire represented well in the United States in a way that it now follows in its footsteps. Many aspects of the Roman Constitution and Roman were more relevant in the U.S till today. These include concepts of separation of powers, checks and balances, term limits, and regular elections. It had the greatest influence on the United States. From stadiums and bridges to books, the ancient Roman have generally left a mark on the United States and the world. Roman Empire greatly impacted the art and architecture of the U.S. 

Individualistic/Collective

Ancient individualism witnessed a surge during the Hellenistic period, which spans the time from the demise of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the emergence of the Roman Empire after the battle of Actium in 31 BC (Jones, 2018). The Roman Empire went through political, intellectual, and psychological transformations during that period. It resulted from the control of the Macedonian Empire, which was the late Roman Empire (Garnsey & Saller, 2014). It arguably prompted Roman philosophers to focus on personal salvation, internal happiness, and private life at the expense of other concerns, such as the formation of the ideal political organization. The perception of the individualistic retained some vital with the rise of Christianity. Like Stoicism, the Christian faith asserts that every individual has dignity since he/she was made in the Creator’s likeness. In order to be in charge of their large Empire, the Romans created important ideas about the government and law. They had outstanding buildings, fine engineering, and built roads, cities. 

Artistic

In terms of their artistic nature, the Roman Empire had visual arts designed in ancient Rome during the time of the Roman Empire. Their art was made of mosaic works, architecture, and sculpture. In the contemporary world, luxury objects in the form of ivory carvings, metal works, gem engravings, metal works, and glass are considered minor forms of Roman Empire Art. They are all considered beautiful and ones that convey meaning from military prowess to fashions in aesthetics. The Romans influenced art in a way that their classic art had a significant influence on the art sector for numerous years. Sculptures of individuals became so common that artists would mass make sculptures of bodies without heads.

Values

In terms of values, the individuals in the Roman Empire believed in the sense of one’s social standing created through experience. They also believed in the sense of self-worth, personal pride, ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness. The central value is that they believed their ancestors had established faithfulness, respect, uprightness, and status. These values had numerous diverse impacts on Romans’ behaviors and attitudes, depending on the social framework (Garnsey & Saller, 2014). These Roman values are often interrelated and overlapped. The Roman empire values became an agrarian society and gave great significance to decency, frugality, family, hierarchy, justice, incorruptibility, piety, discipline, and moral integrity. The Romans of old were viewed as exempla’ role-models’. 

Religion

Religion played a very significant part in everyday life of Ancient Rome and the Romans. They had a belief that gods were in control of their lives and, because of that, they spent a great deal of their time worshipping them. Before Christianity, the Roman Empire practiced a religion called Roman polytheism that was brought to an end with the adoption of Christianity as the empire’s official religion. With time, the Christianity faith and church grew more organized. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine gave out the Edict of Milan, which acknowledged Christianity. After ten years, Christianity turned to be an official religion of the Roman Empire.

Sex and Gender Roles

In terms of sex and gender roles, defined by the men in their lives, women in ancient Rome were valued mainly as mothers and wives. Despite the fact that they were permitted to have more freedom than others, there was usually a limit, even for the daughter of an emperor. The most vital role for a woman in the Roman Empire was to bear children and raise them to follow traditions. Sexual behaviors and attitudes in ancient Rome were indicated by art, literature, and inscriptions. In common, the Romans had more flexible gender categories than the ancient Greeks. Men and women had different gender roles that they were expected to play within family and state.

Conclusion

The rise of the Roman Empire came about as a result of Rome managing to gain its empire in large part by extending some form of citizenship to a lot of the individuals it has conquered. The expansion of the military brought about economic growth, bringing enslaved individuals and loot back to Rome, which changed Rome and Roman culture. The Roman Empire had great success because of roman supremacy in combat and the stable structure of politics. Last, the empire collapsed because of the economic things, military, political, and the Social of Rome. The Roman military made the Roman Empire collapse by no longer listening to the patriotism or to the Roman citizens. 

Reference

Jones, H. S. (2018). The Roman Empire. Ozymandias Press.

Garnsey, P., & Saller, R. (2014). The Roman Empire: economy, society and culture. Univ of California Press.

MacMullen, R. (2019). Changes in the Roman empire: essays in the ordinary. Princeton University Press.