Political History of Rome-Free-Samples for Students Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the Political History of Rome. Answer: The political history of the ancient Rome is highly intertwined with the military history of the empire. The Roman military is an integral part of Rome from the time of its origin as a peninsular state in Italy in the early 8th century BC to its huge expansion in the Western and Southern Europe, Northeast as well as North Africa to finally its decline in the 5th Century AD (Ronald and Mats). The history of the Roman military starts with its initial defence actions against the conquests of Italy's hilltop neighbours to the ultimate struggle of existence against the invasions of Vandals, Huns and other German barbarian Tribe. The expertise of the military force of Rome is the chief reason behind its successful invasion and expansion over the Mediterranean. The whole process of Rome from being a republic to an empire can be segmented into 4 crucial periods. During the first period of expansion, Rome became a republic by killing the last Etruscans King. Considering the fact that Rome was suffering from a shortage of land to provide enough accommodation to their residents, expansion of the kingdom through invention was highly crucial for them. In order to expand their territory, Rome conquered its neighbour kingdom along with several Greek City states. By the end of 264 BC, Romes conquest o the Italian Peninsula was complete (Edward). However, the Kingdom understood the need for a more empowered military force when it was attacked by a band of warlike people travelling from the north, who were popularly known as the Gauls. The Gauls invaded and completely ruined the Roman empire (Thomas, Frederick and Martin). They looted the city, burned a majority of the houses and resources and completely crushed the Roman army. At that point of time, the Roman understood a need for a stronger and larger military force. The Army needed to be large enou gh so that a portion of the army could be kept in the homeland to protect it while another portion could be used for expansion of the kingdom. In order to build a larger military force, more and more citizens of Rome were forced to serve the army. Along with the citizens, individuals from the conquered land were also forced to join the army. The gradual growth of Rome acted as a threat to one of the largest kingdoms at that period of time, namely, the Carthage, located in North Africa. During the second period of expansion, the Roman Military had to fight three major wars popularly known as Punic wars. During the first Punic War, North Africa along with major parts of Spain and Parts off Sicily Island was under the kingdom of Carthage (David). The first Punic war between Rome and Carthage initiated with the invasion of Rome over the Greek City States that was under the kingdom of Carthage. Considering the fact that the war was fought mostly in the sea, Rome who did not have an efficient navy, develop an efficient navy army by imitating the navy system of the Carthaginians ships. This efficient strategy helped Rome to gain victory over Sicily as well as other Islands. In the second war of Punic, Italy was attacked by the Carthaginian general Hannibal. However, after 15 years of the war, Hannibal was forced to return to Ca rthage in order to prevent the Roman attack (John). Thus, Rome successfully defeated Carthage and conquered Spain. Finally, in the third Punic war, Rome attacked Carthage and conquered it. With the victory over Carthage, Rome became the major power in the Mediterranean region with entire North Africa, Spain and Greece under its control. However, as a result of the war, Rome suffered from the huge loss of lives and property. Firms were destroyed and as a result, there was a scarcity of food. During its third period of expansion that is between 155 and 44 BC, Rome became the ruler of the entire Mediterranean world (Arthur). For the dominance of Rome over the Mediterranean region, the major credit goes to two of the most renowned Military general of Rome, mainly General Pompey and Julius Cesar. While General Pompey had expanded the above-mentioned empire into the eastern parts of Asia Minor that included Syria and Cyprus, General Julius Cesar had captured majority portion of the Gaul and Egypt. With the conquest of the Mediterranean region, Rome became one of the wealthiest kingdoms in the world. However, while prosperity was the beneficial side of Roman conquest, Rome also faced several issues while controlling and maintaining the dominance over the huge invaded area. The conquered lands were subjected to pay tax to the Roman Empire and send soldiers to the Roman army. Besides that, the slaves who were being brought by the Roman Army were severely tortured by the army for ces. This resulted in frequent revolution. A slave named Spartacus had revolted in 73 BC (Charles). The Roman Soldiers, however, killed Spartacus in the battle along with killing an innumerable number of slaves brutally. Due to expansion Rome also faced financial crisis. Since a majorly of laborious works were done by the slaves, Roman farmers became jobless and crowded the city. Thus Roman conquerors started facing issues in controlling the expansion. The trouble took a huge form when power battle started between the Military Generals of Rome. Civil wars broke out and Julius Caesar gained the control of Rome. After Ceaser was murdered, his adopted son Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome. He falsely acted that he was restoring the authority of the Senate in order to gain the favour of the Roman Citizens. He further incorporated eastern kingdoms of Armenia and Judea in the kingdom. From the above discussion, it can be clearly understood that the efficiency of the Military force of Rome enabled the kingdom to successfully expand its borders and extend its control over the Mediterranean. However, it can be understood that as a result of this expansion, Rome had to pay several costs that include loss of lives and money Reference List Blagg, Thomas Frederick Colston, and Martin Millett.The early Roman empire in the west. Oxbow, 2016. Bury, John Bagnell.History of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. 2: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. Courier Corporation, 2013. Eckstein, Arthur M.Rome enters the Greek East: from anarchy to hierarchy in the Hellenistic Mediterranean, 230-170 BC. John Wiley Sons, 2012. Findlay, Ronald, and Mats Lundahl. "Towards a model of territorial expansion and the limits of empire."The Economics of the Frontier. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017. 105-124. Freeman, Charles.Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean. Oxford University Press, 2014. Luttwak, Edward.The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century CE to the Third. JHU Press, 2016. Mattingly, David J.Imperialism, power, and identity: Experiencing the Roman Empire. Princeton University Press, 2013.