The republic continued to expand through both wars and alliances, and the early empire included a mix of Greek, Italic and Etruscan settlements. At its height, the Roman Empire covered 3,540,557km², expanding its territory across England and Wales, Spain, France, Greece, the Middle East and the coastal areas of North Africa.
Changing Beliefs and Religion
But Roman culture was not averse to change as the empire expanded. One example of this was the addition of gods from other civilisations into their established beliefs. This was not an unusual occurrence, as the Romans believed that all gods were real, and those that were worshipped in other parts of the world were watching over those people, and they had simply not heard of them before.
This shared religion even continued when, in AD 312, the emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and ordered that the entire empire should follow suit. The legacy of this decision is that the majority of countries in Western Europe are still Christian.
Roman Technology and Innovations
The Roman way of life was also imposed in other ways besides religion. The Romans bought with them public baths, roads, water supplies and housing designs – although the latter was only used by officials and the elite in their house building. The common people would have continued to live in the same type of accommodation as they did before Rome.
In Pompeii, which was conquered in BC 89, changes were made to some of the larger public buildings, a new measurement system was introduced to the city, and Latin was adopted as the city’s official language. The city also benefited from improved trade routes, especially over long distances, but aside from these changes the culture was not altered.
The Roman Army
Despite the vast size of the empire, the Roman army was rarely needed to keep the peace within its boundaries. Instead, the army was probably partly responsible for the continued push to gain new conquests for the empire, as military success was often rewarded with political authority, and the greatest political leaders were almost always great military figures, like Marc Antony.
Trade was also a major part of the empire, with trade routes stretching to all parts of the empire. Roman historian Cavazzi (2003-2009) claims that the elite in Rome itself would import the finest sauces for their table from Spain, illustrating that the trade routes were not only in existence but that they operated on a large enough scale for food to be brought in from hundreds of miles away within days of being processed.
A Common Language - Latin
Communication within the empire was aided by the use of a common language, Latin, for all official proceedings. While the common people of the conquered lands still spoke in their native tongues, all officials would be expected to be Latin-speakers. Since the majority of officials across the empire would have been Roman this was merely a reinforcement of the unity of the empire, ruled by one emperor and governed by one set of laws. The Romans also had a common currency, which also helped establish a common economy across the empire.
In a similar way, Roman citizens were for the most part allowed to continue with their lives according to their own cultures, with only the law, census and taxes being imposed by the local Roman rulers. This meant that one part of the Roman Empire may have appeared very different to another part even thought it would be ruled by the same laws and have been influenced to a certain extent by the introduction of Roman ideas, architecture and technology.
Sources
- Alcock, S.E. and Cherry, J.F. (2009) ‘The Mediterranean World’ in C. Scarre (ed.) (2009) The Human Past, London, Thames and Hudson, pp.472-517
- Cavazzi, F. (2003-2009) The Roman Empire (accessed November 25, 2009)
- Perkins, P. (2009) A251 World Archaeology Study Guide, Totton, Hobbs the Printers Ltd
- Trueman, C. (2000-2008) History Learning Site (accessed November 27, 2009)
Pam Griffin - Pam Griffin is a journalist working in Shropshire, UK. She is interested in first aid, singing and playing music, history, and ...
