Roman Republic Essay, Research Paper
The author Michael Crawford wrote the book The Roman Republic to offer an interpretation about the Roman Empire. This was done to educate the reader about how Rome gained its greatness and became the military and cultural center of the world at that time. He wanted to inform the readers about how the Roman Empire grew from one city tribe, to dominate the Italian peninsula, and finally to conquer the Mediterranean coast. This conquest led to what was then the great Greek and Egyptian Empires. He also suggests the want and desire of the Roman people to acquire education, artifacts, and philosophy from the Greek cities. Furthermore, how the Roman people took this culture and molded it to make their own style and customs.
Michael Crawford also documents the Roman Empires political structures. He writes how it went through the transition from a monarchy, early in the empires existence, to a Republic where the people had more say over the countries actions. He discusses the political scheme of Rome and how ”Senators” were chosen and served the empire. Crawford states how the governing class of Rome seemed to question and change its idea of what the government should be on a regular basis. ”The prevailing ideology of the Roman governing class was one which facilitated change, including in the end, the abolition of the Roman government itself”(Crawford 1). This quotation suggests to the reader the ever-changing ideas of the Roman people and how they viewed their governing body.
Michael Crawford states that the Roman society gave rewards for military victory. The people were often rewarded when an army experienced victory in a battle. ”The loyalty of the Roman population to its leaders was assured by a share in the rewards of victory”(Crawford 1). The people had a share of goods, moneys, lands, and slaves when a territory would be conquered. This did have a negative effect though. ”As the empire expanded it became harder for the lower class to gain access to these rewards, and the competition between the upper class and lower class became more intense”(Crawford 1). This suggests that people were not getting what they though was their fair share of the rewards. This could lead to loyalties being questioned and discontemptment of the people.