We explain what Roman civilization was and how was its history. In addition, its forms of government and its general characteristics.
What was the Roman civilization?
Roman civilization also called Antigua Rome, It began (according to tradition) in 753 a. C. With the Foundation of Romewhich emerged as a small community near the commercial passage of the Tiber River (in current Italy), and became a great city that expanded its power and influence by Italy and much of the world then known. Rome became one of the most successful imperial powers in history.
The Roman government crossed different stages: monarchy (753-509 a. C.), Republic (509-27 a. C.) and Empire (27 BC.-476 AD). He received the influence of Etruscan and Greek civilizations In political, cultural and military aspects, but in turn introduced news that influenced Western culture in the land of law, government institutions and civil and military technology.
Managed to expand its imperial borders to most of Europe, Middle East and North Africathanks to its impressive military organization and its strategic capacity to establish alliances and subordination relationships. Unlike the Greeks, which excluded foreigners and submitted to conquered peoples, Rome incorporated them into their political-social system and granted them Roman citizenship, which contributed to an acculturation process called “Romanization” (which included the diffusion of Latin as a language).
See also: Roman monarchy
The origin of Roman civilization
Roman civilization emerged throughout a process that lasted hundreds of years. In the eighth century BC. C., The region on which Rome was built, in Lazio, was a place favorable to trafficbecause it was located next to the Tiber River, which crossed a good part of the inhabited territories of Italy and flowed into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The first settlers of the lace were Italian groupslike sabino and Latinos. Etruscan groups also settled in the area, from Tuscany (north). The formation of Roman culture could be the result of the interaction between these various populations, as well as the influence of the Greek settlers who settled in the Magna Greece, that is, in the south of the Italian Peninsula and on the island of Sicily. For its part, the Constitution of Rome as a city could be the result of a gradual aggregation of villages on Mount Palatino.
According to Roman legendwhich offers a mythological narrative of the origin, the city of Rome It was founded by the Romulo and Rowing twins in 753 a. C.who after birth had been abandoned by their father in the Tiber River, but managed to survive breastfeeding by a wolf. Already adults, the brothers decided to found a new city, but they had a fight after disagreeing on the hill on which they had to erect it. Romulo killed rowing, founded the city of Rome on Mount Palatino and became his first king.
The forms of government in Rome
Historians recognize Three stages in the history of Roman government. The era of the Roman Republic was one of the most significant periods in the history of civilization, as it laid the basis of Roman law (which legislated on private law and the separation of powers), strengthened some of its institutions (such as the Senate) and consolidated its position as a dominant power, which allowed the subsequent establishment of the empire. The three stages of the history of ancient Rome, according to their forms of government, are:
- The monarchy (from 753 to. C. to 509 BC). In this period, the city-state government of Rome was in charge of a king (in Latin, Rex), which was chosen by an elderly council. According to the tradition collected in later Roman works, there were seven kings, the first four of Latin and Sabino origin (from the area of the lace) and the last three of Etruscan origin (from the Tuscan area). Historians consider that this list contains legendary elements, such as the inclusion of the mythical Romulus in the first king’s position. In any case, the Etruscan influence is recognized in the formation of the State.
- The Republic (from 509 to. To 27 a. C.). She was established when she overthrew the last king, Lucio Tarquinio, nicknamed “El Superbio.” The Government became in charge of senior elective magistrates (such as the consuls) and the Senate (initially composed of patricians and then also by commoners, which also had representation in the position of the tribune of the plebe). The other important institution of the republican period was the army. In this era, Rome conquered and achieved the subordination of the various peoples that inhabited the Italian Peninsula, such as the Etruscans. Then he faced Carthage, an empire in North Africa founded by Phoenician populations. These clashes, known as Punic wars, lasted almost 120 years (between 264 BC and 146 a. C.), and when Rome finally triumphed, it became the great power of the Mediterranean. The military and political Julio César extended the borders of the Roman Republic and defeated in a civil war, but was killed in the year 44 BC. C .. At his death, another conflict was unleashed by the power between Marco Antonio and Octavio (Julio César’s grandson), who triumphed and established the empire.
- The Empire (from 27 BC to 476 AD). It was the period characterized by a solendal and autocratic government, in which power resided in the person of the emperor, whose decisions were not subject to laws. Octavio, who adopted the name of Augustus, was the first emperor of Rome (from 27 to. C. until his death in 14 AD). Established some peace and internal stability (known as Pax Augusta) that lasted about 200 years, although border clashes continued.
After Augustus’s death, various emperors occurred, until the disintegration of the Roman Empire of the West in 476 d. C., whose last emperor was Romulo Augústulo. The Roman Empire of the East (or Byzantine Empire), which had been constituted as a subdivision of the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century d. C., lasts until the fifteenth century d. C.
The Roman economy
The economy of Roman civilization It was based on agricultural activity, livestock and commerce. Agriculture and domestic work depended on a wide availability of slaves, which were bought or captured in wars and were considered owned by their masters.
The territorial expansion guaranteed access to products from various parts of the known world, but the maintenance of armies and the imperial administrative structure demanded a lot of food resources. This promoted that some agricultural regions that became Roman provinces, such as Sicily, Tunisia or Egypt, should regularly send grain to Romewhich in turn distributed it to the regions of the empire that needed it.
The Roman State raised taxes of free men in Rome and communities in the provinces, which were administered by Roman governors. Taxes consisted of valuations that applied on the earth, home, slaves, animals, personal items and monetary wealth. Farmers could pay with surplus crops, instead of paying a metallic tax.
The goods of goods was carried out by bartering (that is, by the exchange of goods for others) OA through a currency system Brass, bronze, copper, silver or gold, coined under strict rules of weights, sizes and values. Roman coins were so popular that they were used in various regions, even in India.
Roman society
Roman society was mostly divided into two well -differentiated groups:
- The patricians. They were the privileged group, constituted by a minority group of traditional noble families (Gens) that traced their origins to the Foundation of Rome. They were full Roman citizens and occupied the highest political and military positions. At the beginning they also controlled the Senate, although they later joined this representatives of the commoners.
- The commoners. They were most of the population, and they could be small owners of land, merchants, artisans or peasants. Some were customers of some patrician, from which they received protection or means of subsistence in exchange for working their lands and supporting it military or politically. The commoners were free citizens but never had the same level of political decision as the patricians, despite the fact that some revolts caused the creation of the office of the tribune of the plebel and that the commoners could join the Senate.
In addition, they existed slaves, who were generally captive of war and they could be released if they bought their freedom or if their masters granted it. In this way, they became Roman citizens, although they retained the status of Libertos (that is, liberated slaves) that established limits to their possibilities of social ascent. Over time, the cessation of conquests, fear of slave rebellions and the dissemination of Christianity seem to have caused the decrease in slave labor.
During the imperial era, The granting of Roman citizenship (and the rights associated with it) was extended In the provinces, as part of the process of Romanization of the conquered regions and consolidation of imperial domination (which guaranteed that there were less resistances or rebellions against the Roman authority).
Roman architecture
Roman art was very influenced by Greek art. However, it managed to have its own characteristics. The Roman architecture of the times of the Republic and the Empire turned out One of the most significant contributions of Roman civilization to the cultures that happened.
In the years of the ancient Roman civilization They built more civil buildings than religiouscharacterized by its solidity, practicality and monumentality. Engineering works such as aqueducts, bridges, hot springs and roads were highlighted, as well as structures with various functions such as amphitheaters, circuses, arches, basilicas, temples, forums and commemorative columns. He Coliseumbuilt during the Roman Empire (it was inaugurated in the year 80 AD), it was one of the most majestic constructions of antiquity.
Roman aqueducts were especially importantbecause they allowed to supply water to urban areas. The roads were also important, because they facilitated transport and communications. The use of a kind of concrete, along with other materials, gave solidity to its constructions, which explains that some buildings are currently preserved (such as the Colosseum). The Roman arches (which were used in the construction of bridges and large buildings) resulted in an important advance in architectural techniques, because they allowed the weight of the rest of the structure to be uniformly distributed.
Roman religion
Roman religion He was polytheistic and played a very important role in everyday life of the Romans. They worshiped divinities that were protective of households, which they called Laresand the ancestors, whose domestic cult was in charge of the father of the family. There was also a public cult, which celebrated priests in temples, sanctuaries and public ceremonies, and whose head was the high pontiffposition that the Emperors held during the years of the Empire.
A large number of temples were built in Rome and its provinces, to worship their gods and, at the time of the Empire, also its emperors (to whom a sacred character was attributed). In the temple of the goddess Vesta, in Rome, The priestesses vestals They kept the sacred fire of the city.
As they conquered land or traded further, the Romans incorporated the cult of divinities of foreign regions, such as Isis of Egypt and Mitra of Persia. However, the most characteristic of the Roman religion was the adoption of aspects of the Greek religion and of Etruscan religious practices. The Roman pantheon is largely made up of divinities closely related to the Greek gods.
The most important God was JupiterFather of the gods and men who, together with his wife, the goddess Juno, ruled the rest of the deities, including:
- Mars. God of war.
- Mercury. Messenger of the gods and God of commerce.
- Neptune. God of the sea.
- Diana. Hunting goddess.
- Vesta. HOME DIE.
- Minerva. Goddess of healing, wisdom and military strategy.
- Venus. Goddess of love and beauty.
- Bacchus. God of wine, fertility and fun.
- Vulcano. God of fire.
With the dissemination of Christianity, the freedom of worship established by Emperor Constantine I (who ruled between 306 and 312), after years of persecution of Christians, and the subsequent adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire by order of Emperor Theodosius I (in the year 380)the public cult of the ancient gods in the territories of the Roman Empire was prohibited.
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References
- Cornell, T. and Matthews, J. (1993). Rome. Legacy of an empire. Folio.
- Garnsey, P. and Saller, R. (1991). The Roman Empire. Economy, Society and Culture. Criticism.
- Macmullen, R. et al. (2022). Ancient Rome. Britannica Encyclopedia. Britannica
- UNRV (SF). Ancient Roman Economy. UNRV Roman History. UNRV
- UNRV (SF). Roman Taxes. UNRV Roman History. UNRV
