HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME
“ROME WASN’T BUILD IN
A DAY”
Source: telegraph.co.uk |
Today, I would like to share an interesting story about how Rome was found and built. This story I've collected from the internet which was written by a freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist
College, New York, Joshua J. Mark, whom has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled
through Egypt. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at
the college level. The histories of Rome also have a few versions. Based on my reading, I understood that one of it stories has a good relationship about the leadership and team working which has taught me how an empire was built and it is not as simple as building a small hut.
Source: romae-vitam.com The Twins Brother |
Other legends claim the city was named after a woman, Roma,
who traveled with Aeneas and the other survivors from Troy after
that city fell. Upon landing on the banks of the Tiber River, Roma and the
other women objected when the men wanted to move on. She led the women in the
burning of the Trojan ships and so effectively stranded the Trojan survivors at
the site which would eventually become Rome.
Source: italy4real.com Tiber River |
EARLY ROME
Source: slideplayer.com Seven Kings of Rome |
Originally a small town on the banks of the Tiber, Rome grew in size and strength, early on, through trade. The location of the city provided merchants with an easily navigable waterway on which to traffic their goods. The city was ruled by seven kings, from Romulus to Tarquin, as it grew in size and power. Greek culture and civilization, which came to Rome via Greek colonies to the south, provided the early Romans with a model on which to build their own culture. From the Greeks they borrowed literacy and religion as well as the fundamentals of architecture.
The Etruscans, to the north, provided a model for trade and urban luxury. Etruria was also well situated for trade and the early Romans either learned the skills of trade from Etruscan example or were taught directly by the Etruscans who made incursions into the area around Rome sometime between 650 and 600 BCE (although their influence was felt much earlier). The extent of the role the Etruscans played in the development of Roman culture and society is debated but there seems little doubt they had a significant impact at an early stage.
From
the start, the Romans showed a talent for borrowing and improving upon the
skills and concepts of other cultures. The Kingdom of Rome grew rapidly from a
trading town to a prosperous city between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. When
the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed in 509 BCE,
his rival for power, Lucius Junius Brutus, reformed the system of government
and established the Roman Republic.
Though
Rome owed its prosperity to trade in the early years, it was war which would
make the city a powerful force in the ancient world. The wars with the North
African city of Carthage (known
as the Punic Wars,
264-146 BCE) consolidated Rome's power and helped the city grow in wealth and
prestige. Rome and Carthage were rivals in trade in the Western Mediterranean
and, with Carthage defeated, Rome held almost absolute dominance over the
region; though there were still incursions by pirates which prevented complete
Roman control of the sea.
Source: slideshare.net Patricians and Plebeians |
In
the 2nd century BCE, the Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and
Gaius, two Roman tribunes, led a movement for land reform and political
reform in general. Though the brothers were both killed in this cause, their
efforts did spur legislative reforms and the rampant corruption of the Senate
was curtailed (or, at least, the Senators became more discreet in their corrupt
activities). By the time of the First Triumvirate,
both the city and the Republic of Rome were in full flourish.
THE REPUBLIC
Source: slideplayer.com Populares Versus Optimates |
Even so, Rome found itself divided across class lines. The
ruling class called themselves Optimates (the best men) while the lower
classes, or those who sympathized with them, were known as the Populares (the
people). These names were applied simply to those who held a certain political
ideology; they were not strict political parties nor were all of the ruling
class Optimates nor all of the lower classes Populares.
In general, the Optimates held with traditional political and social values which favored the power of the Senate of Rome and the prestige and superiority of the ruling class. The Populares, again generally speaking, favored reform and democratization of the Roman Republic. These opposing ideologies would famously clash in the form of three men who would, unwittingly, bring about the end of the Roman Republic.
Marcus Licinius
Crassus and his political rival, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) joined with another,
younger, politician, Gaius Julius Caesar,
to form what modern historians call the First Triumvirate of Rome (though the
Romans of the time never used that term, nor did the three men who comprised
the triumvirate). Crassus and Pompey both held the Optimate political
line while Caesar was a Populare.
The three men were equally ambitious and, vying for power, were able to keep each other in check while helping to make Rome prosper. Crassus was the richest man in Rome and was corrupt to the point of forcing wealthy citizens to pay him `safety' money. If the citizen paid, Crassus would not burn down that person's house but, if no money was forthcoming, the fire would be lighted and Crassus would then charge a fee to send men to put the fire out. Although the motive behind the origin of these fire brigades was far from noble, Crassus did effectively create the first fire department which would, later, prove of great value to the city.
Both Pompey and Caesar were great generals who, through their respective conquests, made Rome wealthy. Though the richest man in Rome (and, it has been argued, the richest in all of Roman history) Crassus longed for the same respect people accorded Pompey and Caesar for their military successes. In 53 BCE he lead a sizeable force against the Parthians at Carrhae, in modern day Turkey, where he was killed when truce negotiations broke down.
With Crassus gone, the First Triumvirate disintegrated and Pompey and Caesar declared war on each other. Pompey tried to eliminate his rival through legal means and had the Senate order Caesar to Rome to stand trial on assorted charges. Instead of returning to the city in humility to face these charges, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army in 49 BCE and entered Rome at the head of it.
Source: rubiconft.com Caesar and his Army are crossing the Rubicon River |
TOWARDS EMPIRE
Julius Caesar was now the most powerful man in Rome. He effectively ended the period of the Republic by having the Senate proclaim him dictator. His popularity among the people was enormous and his efforts to create a strong and stable central government meant increased prosperity for the city of Rome. He was assassinated by a group of Roman Senators in 44 BCE, however, precisely because of these achievements.
The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius among them, seemed to fear
that Caesar was becoming too powerful and that he might eventually abolish the
Senate. Following his death, his right-hand man, and cousin, Marcus
Antonius (Mark Antony) joined forces with Caesar's
nephew and heir, Gaius Octavius Thurinus (Octavian)
and Caesar's friend, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, to defeat the forces of Brutus
and Cassius at the Battle of Phillippi in 42 BCE.
Octavian, Antony and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate of Rome but, as with the first, these men were also equally ambitious. Lepidus was effectively neutralized when Antony and Octavian agreed that he should have Hispania and Africa to rule over and thereby kept him from any power play in Rome. It was agreed that Octavian would rule Roman lands in the west and Antony in the east.
Source: en.wikipedia.org The Illustration of the Battle of Actium |
Source: facts.net Queen Cleopatra VII |
From the story above, I can conclude that as a leader of an empire, a good team work with his people should be developed to build a harmonic life. This is shown in the wars that they fight. if a good leadership is develop, hence the teamwork will be carried out successfully in an empire or even in small groups.
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