The first territory they conquered was Italy. -as Romans took over more places and people they adjusted their Institutions to the task of ruling an imperial capital city and distant places. Rather than having kings they installed 2 consuls or chief magistrates who would hold office for 1 year. This radical move from kingship to republic was accompanied by measures designed to prevent a return to one-man rule.
Personal authority in the republic was constrained by a strict term limit on magistrates. -to govern outside their capital, Romans developed strategies that would enter the repertoires of later empire builders. One of these was the enlargement of the sphere of roman rights. The closest towns in titillate annexed, free males became roman citizens and elites could become roman nobles.
The extension of citizenship beyond Rome was an innovation of enormous consequence. Romans also extended their realm by founding what they called colonies which were typically established areas that needed defense -by the time the Romans completed heir conquest of Italy they had produced three different ways of attaching land and people their empire 1) annexation, limited citizenship and eventual assimilation 2) limited galvanometers for non-Latin cities and tribes 3) colonies of Latinist displaces to frontier regions In 3 centuries the Romans spread their empire over the whole of the Mediterranean and its European and near Asian hinterlands By the 2nd century BCC the tasks of Imperial gobo began to overwhelm the republics minimalist Institutions.
Struggles over power In republican Rome took a violent turn In BOCCE when the tribune Tuberous Gracious was assassinated by sensors. There were wars between rival leaders, Julius Caesar emerged victorious. He was seen to be trying to make himself a king and was assassinated his heir Octavia managed to masterful the first emperor. (changed name to Augustus) Augustus lived for 41 years which helped bring peace and stability.
Augustus was granted the final say In all matters of public business. – he was very powerful. -army: the standing arm was composed of colleens and a new elite corps- the praetorian guard protected the emperor. There was also a standing Ana.
Augustus sent roman legions to the borders which spread roman not a thought system -wealth of the system depended on agriculture , precious metals and other natural resources and the ability to treat, transport and exchange these goods -taxation was key to the whole operation -came up with mechanisms to count, tax extract and distribute over 2000 years ago – starvation was rare in the roman empire, people were well fed and the economy ran relatively well Culture: -empire was able to absorb and integrate earlier cultures into a synthetic roman way -roman improvements included water and sewage systems, public baths, sports facilities, amphitheaters. Ring the mid 2nd century BCC started employing people to draw up legal documents, advising magistrates, litigants and Judges and passing on their learning to their students. Religion: -the Romans at first with polytheists (believers in many gods) -they often conquered an area and then brought its gods to Rome. -monotheism was a problem for Romeos inclusive religious regime.
They allowed Jews to practice their religion but conflicts between Jews and roman authorities led to a revolt in Palestine in 66-CE New politics of the late empire: -citizenship was central to roman politics from the republican days The institution of distension was also connected to the most basic mechanisms of imperial rule- military service, law, taxes. CE enlargement of citizen ship. If all free males in the empire were made citizens they could be called to serve in the army, to submit compensation if they didn’t serve and pay inheritance taxes imposed on citizens. -by the 3rd century Christianity had spread to many parts of the empire and during hard times people turned to Christianity with its promises of solace and salvation.
Constantine made Christianity one of the empires legalized religions. He took his opportunity to align sacred and secular universalism under a single god in attempt to reunite the divided empire. Over the next century Christianity was established as the state religion.
Connecting the state to a single monotheistic religion narrowed possibilities for inclusion the polity even as it defined a universalistic vision of imperial culture Humanists- the idea that civilization was both a human capacity and the distinguishing possession of insider with the right to rule barbarians.
The roman empire had a huge legal of language, culture and law Gin king made himself emperor in 221 BCC Han rulers consolidated the Sins territorial, administrative and ideological achievements and over the next 4 centuries developed an imperial political culture that outlives dynastic failures, periods of disintegration, civil wars and even revolution.
The Gin ruled one of the several kingdoms that competed for space and remembered power of empires past. Keys to Sins success were their conscious adaptation of strategies designed to enhance central control and their rigorous, brutal efforts to prevent fragmentation from happening again. The Gin eliminated the nobility so that they wouldn’t attempt to seize power -war among competing tastes spread military technology and state craft along what we know think of as Chinese space. -sashaying reforms- enforced a political system based on 3 pillars; the sovereign, his law and regulated society.
-also proposed that the people themselves could become the enforces of law, could report crimes and be punished if they did. The regime was deeply suspicious of regional nobles, officials and cultural specialists. -all social status was made dependent on military performance. -the Gin dynasty unified language, currency, weights, measurements etc Point of this was to alp collect revenue service and information The life blood of the empire was taxation which was assessed unequally on different groups. Under gin powerful families were required to move to the capital so they could keep an eye on them – after the death of the 1st emperor civil war broke out After 8 years Lie bang declared victory over the empire Became Gauze first Han emperor and took a less centralized view to administration he established a second tier on nobles.