The Vast Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the most extensive in social and political order in western civilization. It began when Augustus Caesar became the emperor of Rome. It is important to note that Rome started out very humble and archaic. Despite how primitive it was, Rome managed to become a world dominating power. Some of the advantages that Rome had were it's location near the sea which facilitated and enhanced trade, and the proximity of the Greek influence which gave potential to the uprise of the Roman Empire. Along with a new empire comes new economical values, governments and class structure. And along with the undoing of an empire comes the destruction of those values, the government and the class structure. As the Roman Empire rises, so does it's influence on upcoming eras. However, as the great empire unravels itself into a shambles, the upcoming ages ought to endure the residue of the decimation of the once great empire.

The Roman Empire was on of the first ever to pass on the outline of types of government, and how the government functions to western civilization. The Roman government was a mix of democracy, a republic and even a dictatorship as some emperors chose to act upon what they wanted rather than follow the senate's advise. Early in the republic, all power was in the hands of the noble, aristocratic and wealthy land owners. In 450 BC, twelve tables of laws were published making the Roman Empire the first to make and enfore fair laws in the Roman world. Those laws stem from a democratic element of the government because traditionally, those laws can only be passed if they were voted on by the people. The people also we're extended the right to elect their own officials. The officials of Rome were called consuls; they could...

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...controlled by The Lord who is free to enjoy the gain of the land and control the peasants. The Lord was in control of both the workers on his land, and the land itself. Another basic economic need was money. In the Middle Ages, money was in the form of metal coins. The value of a coin was predetermined by the type of metal used. The most valuable metals created the highest paying coins. But of course, in order for the money to be of any value, it has to create a strong economy. Such was done by creating jobs which led to trade. The most common job was farming but there were also other jobs available that played a big part in the economy. Such jobs included artisans who produced commodities, bakers, shoemakers, miller and merchants. All those jobs and money created a very strong foundation for trade between continents which lead to an expanded and successful economy.