“While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls - the World.” Lord Byron. This essay will discuss the similarities of military, economics and systems of government between the Roman Empire of the 6th century BCE and the United States of America of the 20th century. History has revealed that all superpowers fall eventually, although much time has passed since the glory days of Rome we see in 2015 the largest superpower in charge, the United States. There are many similarities that can be drawn between the American superpower and the Roman Empire such as the same founding of government and both dominated in military, as well as economic similarities. This leads to the conclusion that because the rise to power between the two powers was so similar, the downfall will be equally parallel.
Rome's Republican era began after the overthrow of the last Roman King Tarquin Superbus by Lucius Brutus in 509 BC(1), the Senate was ruled the by the people of Rome. The Roman Republic was governed by a largely complex constitution, which established many checks and balances, so no man could have complete control. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians and the other prominent Romans who were not from the nobility. Early in Rome’s history, the patricians controlled the republic, over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a the republic which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. This is similar to the creation of the American system of government. Starting with the over throw of t...
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... the fall of Rome should be a warning to the United States. In addition, because the domination of the USA happened much faster than Rome, arguably the fall may be much more swift as well.
Works Cited
1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
2.Guglielmo Ferrero, Ancient Rome and Modern America: A Comparative Study of Morals and Manners, G. P. Putnam's Sons Publishing, New York, 1914. (pg. 130-143)
3. Tom Holland, Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic, Abacus Publishing, 2004. (Pg. 50)
4. Suetonius, Robert Graves (translator), The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics, 2007. (pg. 27)
5. Lesley Adkins, Roy A Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998. (pg. 304)
6. Lewis M. Simons, Panama’s Rite of Passage and American Trade, National Geographic, November 1999.
From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
In ancient times, there was a country of stupendous power and might. A nation which amassed a military like no other, grew an economy so strong that it seemed everlasting, and established a government that stood for its people. It appeared that this was the country to set an example for all countries that followed. It was the behemoth of prosperity. It was the great Roman Empire. It seemed as though this country’s reign would never end, but this was far from the truth. For with great prosperity came a dreadful plummet and eventually collapse. This was the unfortunate fate of all powerful nations, including that of, dare it be said, the United States of America. The all powerful and unbeatable nation which reigned its dominant influence over the entire world. Surely, it could never have fallen. However, that statement would be considered nonsensical if directed toward the once almighty and all powerful Roman Empire. Thus, it could not be stated for the “Great Experiment” (USA). Which was why the comparison between the two, very similar, superpowers was logical. Clearly, the Roman Empire which had striking parallels to the United States was a foreshadowing of America’s fate: Inevitable collapse. Both superpowers had vastly similar economics, foreign influence, and government, of which, Rome had experienced an unfortunate decline. Thus, comparisons could be made between how Rome and America rose to power, began to lose their power, and eventually, how Rome fell and how America might have fallen.
How was it possible that under the dictatorship and after the deification of Julius Caesar the Roman republic fell, when it had been structurally sound for four centuries before? When the republic was established around the end of the 6th century B.C.E., the Romans made clear that they wished to avoid all semblance of the monarchy that had ruled for two centuries before. (T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995; p. 215) The rule of the Republic was to be split into powers of the senate and consuls, a system that worked for over four centuries. The republic would face problems with the rise of the first triumvirate in 60 B.C.E., involving Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. The triumvirate gained power that was intended to be in the hands of the senate and Roman assembly. This paved way to a situation in which a single man could sweep up the political power that previously belonged to the entire senate. Julius Caesar would use this tactic, following his campaigns of Gaul and Britton, to take sole dictatorship over Rome. While there were previous cases which individuals had been appointed as dictator, usually by the senate to serve for six months in a time of war, Caesar was appointed dictator three separate times.. After declining his first dictatorship, Caesar was awarded two more reigns as dictator for one and ten years, respectively. At this point Caesar was praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded several awards and honors by the senate. Having conquered much of the surrounding territories, spanning from northern Africa to Greece, and enacting several reforms, Caesar was in the pro...
Between the second century BCE and the first century ACE Rome expanded from a city-state into an empire controlling the Mediterranean Sea, which at the time of the Roman Empire, was the center of the civilized world. As years went by Rome fell. Many people link Rome and the United States together. Rome rose from nothing into a great world power, however, they reached their peak and then fell, much the same, as the United States is today.
3)Dionysius, Earnest Cary, and Edward Spelman. The Roman Antiquities. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP, 1937. Print.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26. American Book Company, 1901. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
Buren, Albert W. Van. "The Ara Pacis Augustae." Journal of Roman Studies 3 (1913): 134-141.
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
Rome was changing. The people of Rome were changing. The citizens of Rome were getting tired of being ruled by others. They wanted to rule themselves. So after years of fighting against the last king of Rome, who was Tarquin the Proud, the people of Rome took over, and created a new form of government called a republic (Mr.Donn). In Rome’s republic, citizens of Rome would vote for their own leaders. Now, Rome was not ruled by heirs to the throne, but by the power of citizens that strove to become great leaders. From 509 to 82 BCE, the Republic of Rome thrived. In 451 BCE, ten men were chosen to write the first ten tables of the Twelve Tables after long opposition by the patricians to publicly educate people about the rights they had. One of these ten men was lucky enough to write the last two “tables” to make The Twelve Tables. Some of the rights included in The Twelve Tables were a person’s innocence until proven guilty and a person’s right to pay off debt. During this time, the Roman Republic annihilated Carthage and poured salt on their fields as Rome grew and became stronger. When 82 BCE came around, Cornelius Sulla, a conniving dictator took over Rome when he named...
Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Look at a picture of the White House. What do you notice? The beautiful structure and the way it stands out? What about the columns? They look awfully familiar. Now look at a picture of the Pantheon. See the similarities? Because the Modern U.S. and Ancient Rome have many similarities and differences, the lessons from Ancient Rome could help the U.S. to avoid the fall and collapse that Rome experienced.
When you think of Ancient Rome you would normally not compare that to the Modern U.S.A. but there are also similarities between the two if you look hard enough to figure them out. In fact there are actually lessons that can be learned from the Ancient cities of Rome and how we can possibly help to avoid disaster ourselves. Three main reasons can show you how different, similar, and how we can learn from Ancient Rome. Because the Modern U.S. and Ancient Rome have many similarities and differences, the lessons from Ancient Rome could help the U.S. to avoid the fall and collapse that Rome experience.
The Roman Republic began approximately around 509 B.C. when the nobles drove the King and his family out of Rome. This monumental incident helped shape the start to the transformation of the monarchy into a republican governmental system. This is known to have begun by that of the Roman nobles trying to hold their power that they had gained. The Republic was “[a] city-state [which] was the foundation of Greek society in the Hellenic Age; in the Hellenistic Age, Greek cities became subordinate to kingdoms, larder political units ruled by autocratic monarchs” (Perry 105)
Ultimately, the Roman Republic’s downfall lay in its lack of major wars or other crises, which led to a void of honor and leadership. War united all of Rome’s people, and provided the challenge to its leaders to develop honor and leadership by their causes and actions. The lack of war allowed the Roman Republic to stagnate and become self-indulgent. By the end of the Punic Wars, which combined these elements, Rome was sure to fail. Without a common thread uniting its society, the Roman Republic unraveled because it had nothing left holding it together.