Most Oppressive Emperors Of The Roman Empire example essay topic

Throughout world history, countless civilizations have risen up in attempts to challenge others with world domination as their ultimate goal. One such civilization, the Roman Empire, would rise to greater power than had ever been witnessed in the course of human history. Because it was so glorious, modern cultures have modeled themselves on the Roman Empire, so that the legacy of the Romans pervades even today. Like many ancient civilizations, the origins of the Roman empire remain shrouded in myth. The historian Levi recorded the birth of Rome based on oral traditions passed on from generation to generation. According to Levi, the Romans claimed that their city was built by brothers Romulus and Remus, 800 years before the birth of Christ.

In 753 BC, the twins were placed in a wicker basket by their mother and were set afloat on the Tiber River shortly after they were born. The twins' mother had done so to protect them from their uncle, who wanted to kill them. When they were washed ashore, a female wolf adopted and raised the boys in the lush forests of Italy until they were found by a shepherd. As adults, Romulus and Remus returned to their home and defeated their uncle. Then, Romulus and Remus decided to build a town, called Latins, which was fortified by a wall.

Soon, however, the brothers quarreled violently about who was to be the leader of the town, and asked the town augers for help. These mystics instructed the brothers to stand atop a hill named Palatine Hill. When birds flew over Romulus, it was taken as a sign and he was chosen to be king. Remus, however, rejected the augury and the two brothers fought. A violent battle ensued and Romulus defeated Remus. Thus town was therefore called Rome (after Romulus), and it was the fruit of fratricide.

More historically oriented, archaeologists suggest that people lived where modern Rome is from about 1500 BC, which is confirmed by Greek sailors who encountered the growing town of Rome on one of their exploratory voyages. The earliest community lived in villages located on the main hill in the area called Palatine Hill and were called Latins (later they were known as Romans). By about 1000 BC, other small villages were built on other hills nearby. The roots of the Roman culture lie in the ancient and mysterious civilization of the Etruscans.

The Etruscan empire, situated in Northeastern Italy, was founded somewhere between 900 and 800 BC, and was believed to have been originally from the Eastern Mediterranean, in Asia Minor. When Greek sailors into uncharted areas called the "land of the rising sun", they encountered civilizations, the most prominent being the Etruscan. There they found walled cities, kings, traders, and clergy: all the makings of an advanced culture. Their civilization stretched from the Arno river in the north to the Tiber river towards the center of the Italian peninsula; it was on the Tiber river that a small village of Latins, the village that would become Rome, sat. So the Romans, who were only villagers during the rise of the Etruscan civilization, were in close contact with the Etruscans: their language, their ideas, their religion, and their civilization. Being great artisans in metalwork, for iron, copper, and tin was abundant in the Tuscany region, they built great subterranean shelters linked by magnificent tunnels of exquisite design.

(These were later melted by Mussolini to make weapons for WWI.) They taught all their culture had to offer. The Etruscans were the single most important influence on Roman culture in its transition to civilization. The early Rome contrasts greatly with the magnificent Rome that it later became. The inhabitants of the town were mainly desperate fugitives who had escaped from the Etruscan Empire, and there were no women living there. Thus, the people of Rome invited a nearby settlement, inhabited by the Sabines, for festivities in the town. Warily, the Sabines accepted the invitation.

As the festivities went on, the Sabines became calm and adjusted to the situation. It was at this time that the Romans attacked. The Romans slew the men and carried off the women. In this way, Rome was created in violence and rape. As a result of the growing population, there was a newfound stability in Rome. Mud huts turned to stone houses as wealth increased due to trading with the Etruscans and Greeks.

The neighboring Etruscan king, Cerbius Tulius, saw this prosperity as a threat and conquered the town. Tulius planned to bring organization to Rome. This organization would set Rome apart as a city in the years to come. In 6 BC, Cerbius made the first census ever in Rome. This census led him to segregate the different social classes, give rights to each specific class, and begin a representational government called the Senate, thereby laying the foundations for a republic. Along with these improvements, Tulius stated that each class would contribute a fighting unit called a legion to the protection of Rome.

Rome was not a democracy, but it had traded that for being very well organized. Soon after, Cerbius Tulius was murdered and replaced by king Tarquin. The years under his rule were fraught with flagitiousness as Tarquin used agents to carry out murders and social campaigns, ensuring his survival as king. One day, Tarquin caught sight of a beautiful young girl named Lucricia. She was the paragon Roman: loyal, kind, and beautiful, she was everything that the Etruscans weren't. Subsequently, Tarquin's son violated her and she committed suicide.

Before her death, Lucricia had written a note to her husband, labeling Tarquin's son as her rapist and demanding that swift action be taken against the corrupt Etruscans, lest her death be in vain. Thereafter, Lucricia's husband and his good friend Brutus rallied the Romans in a valiant effort to overthrow their Etruscan overlords. Brutus's endeavor was victorious and the Romans overthrew the government. Brutus and Lucricia's husband became Rome's first consuls, annually elected Roman magistrates, and instituted the "res publica", making government a "public affair" with elections for governmental positions, changing Rome from a monarchy to a republic. In the Senate were inscribed the letters "S PQR" which stood for "Senator Populus que Romani" meaning the Senate and the People of Rome. This signified the unity in values between the government and the people.

The modern day equivalent would be the United States, who shook off the shackles of the British Monarchy to become a republic governed by an elected government and Senate. Now that Rome and its people had clearly staked out their territory, they turned their attention to the empire that had wronged them so. One hundred years after Rome had gained its independence, the Romans attacked the Etruscans and defeated them. They integrated the most effective parts of the Etruscan military, strengthening their own ranks. The victory over the Etruscans foreshadowed the fate of the Roman Empire in that its various rulers would lead Rome to glorious conquest after glorious conquest. In 397 BC, the forces of Rome mobilized against the city of Beii across the river Tiber.

The Romans effortlessly took the city and built an arch in the city square to commemorate the victory. This became a traditional practice from the Romans because conquest became prevalent to Roman identity and the key to Roman prosperity: the riches, slaves, land, and reputation would place Rome in the historical annals as the superlative empire in the history of the world. Unfortunately, all empires suffer drawbacks of one kind or another; it is part of the evolutionary nature of betterment which drives the human race towards perfection. In 386 BC, one year after the conquest of the city of Beii, the walls of Rome shook under the thunder of hooves. Celtic horsemen from the upper regions of France, known as Gauls, crossed the Alps as war in their homeland pushed them out. The Romans, being very protective of their land, denied the Celtic plea to camp outside the city.

The Gauls plundered the city of Rome and it took the total sum of money in the city to get them away. Yet amidst the shame of defeat, made ever so much the more bitter due to this being the first defeat the Romans had yet suffered, the Roman empire overcame it and drew strength from it. During this period of turmoil, there was a nobleman also doing his bit to rebuild the city of Rome. Cincinnatus, who tilled the soil regardless of being a noble, was called upon by the Roman Senate to act as dictator to Rome. This followed the law which stated that in an emergency, when the constitution of Rome is jeopardized, a Roman citizen may be elected to serve as dictator for a maximum period of six months. Cincinnatus accepted the position, led the people as only a true Roman could, and gave up his office willingly at the end of his term to return to his farming.

Cincinnatus became the role model for Roman rulers for many generations to come. George Washington has been compared to Cincinnatus for his unwavering faithfulness to the state as a whole. Cincinnatus also became the Roman role model for Napoleon. The means by which the Roman culture managed to survive as a civilization and then became the most powerful civilization in existence was by its formidable army. The Roman army began as the first army to be part of the fabric of the state; it was a militia made up of the citizens of Rome. The Roman soldier became a type of profession in which people freely joined and left, and were paid for serving in the army.

In the infancy of the empire, the Romans claimed their annexation of nearby land was due to the need for defense. The Roman policy was defensive aggression and it required the Romans to conquer any neighboring settlements for fear of being attacked first, just like the modern day masters of the preemptive strike, Israel. Thus the Romans contracted 52,000 square kilometers of land by the year 17 BC. The Roman army's success can be attributed to two main strategies. Firstly, the Romans integrated the militarily oriented technology possessed by enemy nations when the Romans defeated them. The Roman's mastery of war came because they didn't believe in a single strategy or rely on a single technology to prevail against an enemy.

From the Greeks, the Romans took round shields and thrusting spears. Out of the triumph over the Gauls, they integrated oblong shields, javelins (throwing spears), and chain mail (armor composed of tiny ringlets of steel woven together to form a protective "tunic"). Finally, from their first conquest, the Romans adopted the legions, small precision fighting units that attacked in coordination with other legions. The second thing that was employed by the Roman army, which made it the most efficient fighting group in history, was its notorious discipline of the troops. If one of the ten men in a unit failed to carry out an order, the entire group was either beaten, stoned, or flogged. For the Roman soldiers, retreat was not an option; the frame of mind was that victory was inevitable.

Although it may seem harsh today, the discipline of the Roman army often saved lives. Early on, Roman generals realized that retreat left the soldiers most vulnerable; they had their backs to the enemy. These factors contributed to the transformation of the Roman army from a ragged group of amateur soldiers to the greatest fighting force of its time that managed to take over the world without ever having any formal military training. All these factors would prove their usefulness in the greatest battle the world had ever seen: the Punic War pitted the two superpowers of the Old World, Rome and Carthage, against each other.

The city of Carthage, which became known as the jewel of the Mediterranean, had been built in 1814 BC, long before Rome was even a collection of mud huts. It profited over the years through trade, as it was the main port city of Europe at its prime. To protect the merchant shipping lines which were so vital to the survival of the Carthaginian economy, Carthage built a vast fleet of warships which amassed over the years. In 265 BC, a Carthaginian warship was found washed up on a shore near Rome.

In keeping with Roman tradition, Roman engineers dismantled the warship and built hundreds of replicas to fuel its own need for expansion. Roman sailors improved upon the original design by adding an extendable boarding plank. They found that bombardment from ship to ship was ineffective and time consuming. By installing a plank, the Roman legions easily captured enemy ship, whereby they commandeered them and added them to the rest of the Roman fleet. By 241 BC, the Carthaginian fleet had been reduced to a pitifully small number, and Rome took over the city of Carthage.

Rome added its treasury to its own, and forced the Carthaginians to sign a treaty of submission. The forced signing of this treaty proved to be a big mistake on the Romans part: the Carthaginian general Hannibal secretly vowed revenge on the Romans. Several years later, Hannibal had assembled a standing army of 40,000 men and 37 elements and led them through the "back door" of Europe. The army skirted the Mediterranean Sea westward, through current-day Spain, and crossed the Alps. The journey had taken 27 months and it had taken its toll: 1/3 of the Carthaginian army had been left for dead and only one elephant remained. Amidst the tragedy, however, came great success for the Carthaginians.

In the Battle of Cannai, Rome suffered its worst military defeat ever. The Roman soldiers, who had never seen an elephant in their lives, fled the battlefield. Hannibal routed the troops, surrounded them, and though the Carthaginians were outnumbered, slaughtered 50,000 Roman, equal to half the garrison at Rome. The Roman Publius Scippio Scublio rose to meet Hannibal's challenge. Scippio attacked the relatively unprotected Carthage while Hannibal was laying siege to Rome. After 17 years away from Carthage, Hannibal returned home once more - this time to defend it from total annihilation.

In the battle that ensued on the field outside of Carthage, both sides were evenly matched. The Carthaginians had over 80 elephants to strengthen their lines, but the Romans had recovered from their loss at the Battle of Cannai and had new tactics for dealing with elephants, as well as a new cavalry unit which dealt quick yet devastating blows to the flanks of the enemy army. Once again, Rome defeated the Carthaginian forces and forced them to surrender their wealth. Also, the Romans demanded all the elephants and all but ten warships to be paid as tribute to Rome. After the crushing and humiliating defeat, Hannibal committed suicide. Yet even though their great leader was dead, Rome still saw Carthage as a threat and destroyed the entire African empire, beginning from the west and spreading east.

From this campaign, Rome expanded its boarders to 250,000 square miles and changed its standing army from a militia to a battle-hardened army. The Romans were not just destroyers, however. The Roman culture produced some of the most revolutionary technologies, as well as the most exquisite architecture of its time. During the peak of the empire, the Roman engineers made some incredible feats of engineering. The Roman Empire was linked by 5300 miles of roads. These roads were so well built, most of them have survived intact to this day.

These roads provided a means of defense because armies could move to defend any part of the empire, they were convenient routes which allowed for great trade between large expanses of land, and they provided efficient tax collection. The Romans built their roads with ruts in them to allow for carts to move easily; this concept was first used in designing modern railway systems. The increased commerce and mobility made life better in the cities. The Romans invented urban planning as well as the answer to traffic problems, beggars, dirt, and disease. They separated social classes, formed cement edifices, and secured a food supply for Rome. They created devices and instruments which we take for granted in our society.

They created things like the two-cylinder pump, the pipe organ, and the elevator. The greatest of all the Roman inventions was the aqueduct. This was a piping system which utilized gravity to pump hundreds of gallons of water from mountains hundreds of miles away to urban centers. This advanced water system supply 2-3 times more water per person than we have today. On every corner in Rome stood a fountain or a public bath. This system also allowed Roman citizens to enjoy water pumped straight into their homes.

The sanitation assemblage also permitted a level of sanitation which rivals even those of today's society. Although war was a large part of Roman society, it wasn't the only part. As a result of annexing territory, the Romans gained a great sum of wealth. The Romans eventually learned to spend it lavishly on ostentatious architecture and festivals. For example, the embodiment of the Roman love of entertainment and fine architecture can be seen in Rome's Colosseum. Built in 70 AD, the Colosseum could hold about 60,000 people: 40,000 sitting and 20,000 more standing.

When the building of the Colosseum was complete, the population of Rome was about one million people, about the same as 19th Century London. Unfortunately, Rome was not a port city and would never grow beyond that population of one million. Beginning in 264 BC, the gladiatorial games were the main source of Roman entertainment and were held in the Colosseum in Rome or the amphitheatre. Fights were commissioned by political figures who wanted to sway the vote in their favor by appealing to the citizen's need for entertainment. Because most of the wars were so far away from the major cities, the gladiatorial games quenched the people's thirst for blood. Gladiators were usually slaves or condemned criminals who were trained in various weapons to fight to the death.

Fights were ended with the death or surrender of one of the gladiators. The president of the games decided whether the gladiator has fought bravely and whether he should die. Gladiatorial games were not restricted to duels only; there were beast hunts, fights between a gladiator and a ferocious animal, and chariot races. The blood and gore in the arena was often suppressed by a sprinkling of rose petals over the carcasses of dead men and animals. The gladiatorial games became an obsession among the Roman people.

The addicted populace was entranced and became a bloodthirsty society. The population began to rely on the fights and there was a desensitization of the Romans. In 63 AD, female gladiators were first introduced to the games, but they were outlawed by 200 AD. The legacy of the gladiatorial games lasted until 400 AD.

The Roman leadership was anything short of fun and games, however. Romans began fighting internal battles because armies had become stronger than the state. One general, Sulla, broke the Senate's ruling that no general shall enter Rome with an army. Sulla bullied the government and the Senate. He killed thousands over property ownership. Sulla became emperor for only four years, but this set the precedent for harsh emperors to come.

Perhaps the most famous person associated with the Roman Empire was Julius Ceasar. He was born to wealthy parents and he belonged to the aristocratic part of society. The most influential person in his life was Alexander the Great. His rise to power as Roman emperor came about because of two things. Firstly, he played the people. He held gladiatorial shows that were ostentatious enough to sway the people to his favour and he collected dirt on other candidates.

For the most part, Roman elections were set so that only the rich could win (when 95% of the population was poor). Secondly, he commanded a strong army. Like Sulla, he persuaded the Roman army to take Rome. The Senate chose another general, Pompey, to defend the city, but he was defeated by Ceasar. He was voted to power as dictator by the populace. Ceasar made great social reforms: he gave to the poor.

He was a benign dictator who gave food to the poor and land to the soldiers. In 44 BC, Ceasar was assassinated with 35 stab wounds. When the two rivals, Mark Anthony and Ceasar Octavian, fought for the throne, civil war erupted for ten years. In 31 BC, Octavian defeated Anthony and became ruler.

He went beyond the generosity of Ceasar. He became the universal patron by giving money to everyone. Again, the people were played as Octavian gave even more lavish gladiatorial games. In 27 BC, the Senate allowed Octavian to become a lifetime ruler and Octavian took the name "Augustus", meaning "Sacred One". Augustus lived through what was known as the "Pax Romana", a golden age in Roman history where peace flourished and commerce brought wealth. In 14 AD, after a reign of 40 years, at age 76, Augustus died.

One of the most oppressive emperors of the Roman Empire was Nero. Nero was brought up in an unstable household, and became emperor at age 16. Like others before him, he handed out money and provided public services for the people. Nero was a violent emperor, having exiled and executed his own mother. In 64 AD, a massive fire swept through Rome killing 1/3 of the population, and leaving half of it homeless. Rumors started that Nero had ordered the fire to be set so that he could rebuild Rome in his image.

Nero used the Christians, who were little more than a disliked, secretive sect, as scapegoats for the fire. Roman culture has been the main influence on Western society. It influenced U.S. law, government, and the political system. The American Constitution is based on the Roman Constitution, and United State's government has an elected Senate just like Rome did.

Also, the democratic system of government that was chosen by the Romans is still in use today. Most European languages are based on or have some roots in the Roman language, Latin. The Roman Empire spanned such a vast area and thus influenced so many cultures. Countries like the United States draw parallels with the Roman civilization for its greatness.

Finally, the architecture of many American government buildings reflect those used in Ancient Rome. The victories an war during the rise of the Roman Empire brought about riches and slaves that supported the Roman economy. With the Pax Romana, Rome was no longer getting those riches to support the vast empire. At the peak of the Empire, the population of the Roman Empire was approximately 50 million people, 16 million whom of which were slaves. The Roman borders stretched so far that it was often difficult to supply distant troops, let alone defend the extensive borders. Expansion was difficult because the Empire could only expand East by 106 AD.

Soon grain prices and the cost of military begins to rise - the first signs of inflation. Eventually, Rome's budget is focused on the defense of the Empire. The first signs of weakness are exploited by a slave revolt and numerous barbarian attacks from Northern Europe. The Christian woman, Perpetua, who slit her throat rather than be part of the Empire cast doubt in the minds of the Romans.

All these factors contributed in one way or another to the downfall of the mighty Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, which lasted about two millennia, was the greatest Empire since the dawn of mankind. But, as the seasons turn, so must the civilizations of the world. Although the time for the Romans has risen and fallen, Rome, in all its power and glory will never be forgotten.