"There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands." -Plato
Roman Politics
![]() During the republic, Julius Caesar was a governor who managed to take control of nearby territories. The senate started to fear him and ordered him to resign, but he had other plans. He fought for control of the republic and won, which made him become the dictator of the Roman world ending the republic. Less than a year after this happening, a group of senators stabbed Julius to death. Julius' death caused a mass civil war outbreak in Rome. Almost twenty years later, Octavian, Julius' adopted son became the first roman emperor.The empire was the successor of the republic. The empire lasted about 500 years and brought some major changes in those 500 years. He took the name Augustus Caesar. The first two centuries after the republic were politically unstable, but after Augustus' victory, the roman empire drastically grew. Their whole philosophy that preached good citizenship was called Stoicism. Stoicism stressed how to be a good citizen.Roman laws stressed fairness and common sense. They used the innocent until prove guilty in their court systems. Rome was the political capital of the Roman Empire, and many buildings in the city showed this. Roman towns were centered around the forum, an open space in the center of town. When there was a republic, this was the center for all things judicial and legislative. As a result of military victories, Caesar became very popular in Rome. He launched large scale building projects in Rome to provide employment to the unemployed. He extended Roman citizenship so people could be citizens in the imperial provinces. Rome lived in peace for two centuries, and this period of time was called Pax Romana. During this period, trade increased with olive oil, grain, and marble. Lighthouses were constructed to help the ships get into the docks. After two centuries, the Roman empire started to weaken because it got to large. This caused extreme problems for the government as they could not keep up with everyone. The Roman Empire was eventually overthrown by the Byzantiums in 476 AD.
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This is a picture of Augustus Caesar (Octavian). This was a statue made out of marble, which was a major exporting item Rome had.
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The Senate |
During the republics rule, the roman senate was its chief administrative body. The senate's purpose was to advise the lesser assemblies and magistrates. At first only people who could get elected into the senate were patricians. Patricians controlled the law because they were the only citizens that were allowed to be judges. Now during Augustus' reign, he decided to change it to where if you were born into a noble family you were automatically in the senate. Augustus came in to power, he decided to overhaul the senate. After almost three centuries, the senate reformed again. After their military equestrians, people who formed the cavalry of the Roman army, were permitted to join the senate. In the fourth century, senators and equestrian merged together creating much larger senates. After Constantine I's reign, the senate had very little control again. Then by the sixth century, the senate dissolved completely.
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