The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is one of the most well known civilizations in history. At the time, this vast empire was one of the most powerful nations in the world. From its founding to its fall, the differences in social classes, differing religions, and government made the Roman Empire truly a historical masterpiece.

The founding of the Roman Empire is mostly composed of myths. While the exact origins are not quite known, the most common myth is of Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus were twin brothers whose mother was Rhea Silvia, the princess of Alba Longa. The twins were born out of wedlock, so by custom they were left to die on a river. The two twins were then found by a female wolf who helped nurse them. Eventually, the twin boys were found by a shepherd and he brought them home to his wife. Romulus and Remus were raised by the shepherd and his wife, but when they discovered who they really were, they decided that instead of having to wait to inherit Alba Longa they would create a new city. The two brothers could not decide where to create the new city, so they fought and Romulus killed Remus. Romulus then founded the city of Rome on the Palatine Hill.

For the next few hundred years, Rome would be ruled by 7 kings. The last Roman king named King Tarquinius raped the wife of a noble man and that was an unforgivable offense to the Roman Nobles. A revolt was led by Tarquinius’ nephew, Lucius Brutus as he and many of the Roman nobility stormed the palace and destroyed it. This marked the end of the Roman Monarchy and the birth of the Roman Republic.

The Roman Republic’s military force was one of the main reasons for Rome’s expansion. The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage were crucial for the military success and expansion of Rome. The first Punic War began when Rome and Carthage declared war on each other to gain control of Sicily. The first few battles were fought on land and after Rome’s many victories Carthage decided to move the battles to the sea since they had a strong naval force, but they did not know that Rome had been secretly forming a strong navy themselves. Rome was then able to defeat the Carthage navy and win the war.

In the second Punic War, Carthage tried to invade Roman territory in Southern Spain but they were not able to hold on and retreated. The Carthage generals attacked the Roman army by surprise and were able to win several battles. Rome was able to cut off supplies going to the Carthage army which allowed for another Roman victory.

The third and final Punic War began when Rome invaded Carthage City. The city of Carthage was so weak from the prior battles they surrendered to the Roman army after only a few months. Rome gained complete control of Carthage which helped aid Rome because, “The province of Carthage proved a valuable source of grain for Rome's expanding empire, and the North African coast eventually became so Romanized that any remains of Carthaginian influence virtually disappeared” (“Punic” 1). These wars allowed Rome to strengthen their military, expand their land, and increase their population due to the number of conquered people which allowed Rome to become one of the strongest nations in the world.

The later years of the Roman Republic were filled with conflict. Due to Rome’s military success, the wealthy class of Rome became even wealthier causing an even bigger gap between the rich and the poor. Life for Roman citizens was filled with a lack of money for food and clothing and slave revolts were extremely common. Generals of the Roman army began paying their soldiers with money and land which made them more loyal and gave military leaders more power. One of the most important military generals was named Julius Caesar. Caesar quickly rose to power through support from the common people and military soldiers. Eventually, Caesar became the Dictator of Rome and enacted several reforms such as allowing more land for poor Roman citizens and limiting the number of slaves. Caesar then forced the Senate to appoint him dictator for life which angered the Roman citizens and lead to Caesar's murder by the Senate members, who opposed his autocratic rule. Following Caesar's death, Augustus became Rome’s first Emperor which marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Empire.

Although the Roman Empire was the strongest nation in the world, it was declining rapidly. Since Rome had such a large amount of land, control over it grew even more difficult. The Romans were unable to communicate information quickly enough to one another, it was nearly impossible to have enough troops to keep out foreign invaders, and as more funds were sent to the military, the technological advancements were left behind. In addition, inconsistent leadership caused constant problems and, “For 50 years, emperors rose and fell, all while devastating the empire and eroding traditional concepts of rule” (Emmons 1). All of these things combined lead to the fall of the Roman Empire.

The social structure in Rome was mainly divided into two parts, the Patricians and the Plebeians. The Patricians were, “ As distinguished from the plebeians, or common people, the patricians were descendants of the oldest and most important and powerful families or clans of Rome” (Haber 1). These were the people that were members of Senate and had all the power in Rome. The Plebeians on the other hand were the common people. There was a very distinct split between the two classes in the sense that the Patricians made all the laws, owned the most land, and were generals in the army while the Plebeians were not allowed to hold office or even marry a Patrician woman.

The difference in the two classes was also present in clothing and food. The tunics worn by the Plebeians were made of dark coarse material and the tunics worn by the Patricians were