Rise and Decline of the Roman Civilization

Abstract

Rome expanded across the Mediterranean and grew into a huge, diverse empire. By the end of the fourth century B.C.E.
Rome was already the dominant power on the Italian Peninsula. For five centuries thereafter Rome’s power steadily increased. Rome’s
destruction of the powerful North African City of Carthage united the entire Mediterranean world and made the Mediterranean itself a
“Roman Lake”. Rome began as a small city state in Italy. The Romans were an Indo-European people who settled along the Tiber River
in small villages. Their neighbors, the Etruscans, ruled much of central Italy, including Rome. After the Romans threw out the hated
Etruscan king in 509 B.C., they resolved never to be ruled by a monarch again. Instead they set up a republic, a government in which
officials are chosen by the people. At first, the most powerful people in government were Patricians, or members of the landholding
upper class. Eventually, commoners, or Plebeians were also elected to the Roman Senate. Military victories put the Romans in control of
busy trade routes. Incredible riches flooded into Rome faced and this causes a series of civil wars. Eventually, a powerful Roman
general named Augustus restored order. Under Augustus, who ruled from 31 B.C to A.D.14, the 500 year old republic came to an end. A
new age dawned – the age of the Roman Empire. Augustus laid the foundation for a stable government and undertook economic
reforms. The 200 years span that began with Augustus ended with emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is Known as the Pax Romana, or
“Roman Peace”. During the time, Roman emperors brought peace, order, unity and prosperity to the lands under their control. Rome
acted as a bridge between the east and the west by borrowing and transforming Greek and Hellenistic achievements to produce Greco-
Roman Civilization. The Romans greatly admired Greek culture. They took Greek ideas and adapted them in their own ways. Roman
sculptors, for instance, used the Greek idea of realism to reveal an individual’s character in each stone portrait. Probably the greatest
legacy of Rome was its commitment to the rule of law and to justice. These shape western civilization today. After the death of the
emperor Marcus Aurelius in A.D.180, turmoil rocked the Roman Empire split into two parts, east and west, each with its own ruler in the
west. The foreign invaders marched into Italy and, in 476, took over Rome itself. But the Roman Empire did not disappear from the map.
The eastern Roman Empire prospered under the emperor Constantine. In time, the eastern Roman Empire became known as
Byzantium. It lasted for another 1,000 years. The article discussed on overall Roman Civilization – the rise and fall of Roman Empire with
its political changes and the prosperity of Romans during their rule.