Roman Empire, Essay Example

Question 1: Consider the wide variety of cultures from which Rome was able to draw as it created Roman laws—which many historians deem Rome’s most valuable and enduring contribution to Western culture.

Roman law was an adaptation of different laws from different cultures. Roman laws were almost directly driven from the Etruscan culture and religion. However, in creating them Romans as well copied quite a lot from Greeks, and some legal aspects of Egyptian and Phoenician cultures.

Question 2: Consider the potential management problems that must have accompanied the vastness of the Roman Empire in the early 2nd century.

There were a couple of management problems due to the vastness of the Roman Empire in the early 2^nd century AD. First of all, it was the necessity to constantly defend such a vast territory. Secondly, it was the necessity to communicate effectively and on time with governors of all the provinces of the Empire. And thirdly, there were problems connected with management of various cultures and nationalities that were brought under the control of the Empire, but were preserving their tendency towards separation.

Question 3: Respond to the contention that the Romans were not necessarily creative and original, but were extremely talented at borrowing, modifying, and improving.

It’s true that Romans were borrowers, not creators, but more importantly they managed not simply to borrow, but to develop and broaden the most effective procedures of various cultures. It seems to me that the fact that today we know quite a lot about the Greek, Etruscan and some other ancient cultures is absolutely due to the Romans’ ability to take and preserve the best practices of different cultures and not simply to destroy them.

Question 4: Discuss three significant examples present today illustrating ancient Rome’s enduring influence on Western culture.

The influence of the Roman Empire on the Western Civilization can be observed through contemporary presence of such things as: 1) Roman law – even though it’s no longer applied by itself, majority of modern legal codes are based on the Roman law tradition; 2) Roman language – even though Latin by itself is considered to be a dead language, still all the languages of the Western countries (Romance languages) originated from it; 3) Public administration – modern systems of tax collection, civil service, provinces’ administration (including the position of province governor) all came from the Roman Empire.

Question 5: Discuss Caesar Augustus’s major accomplishments that contributed to Rome’s stabilization.

Major accomplishments of Caesar Augustus that contributed to the stabilization of the Roman Empire included: 1) introduction of salaries for provinces’ governors; 2) a census of taxes – they became fixed and the same for everyone; 3) introduction of tax inspectors; 4) creation of Praetorian Guard to maintain the peace in the Empire; 5) granting control over local affairs to the individual provinces; 6) strengthening of the economy; 7) building of new roads, establishment of the postal service; 8) reduction of the number of Roman legions.