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Roman Empire

 

The senate couldn't pass laws but could give strong advice to the consul who did pass the laws. This kept a balance between the two groups and also allows the common people to vote for their leaders (McKay, 141).
             Military was another key factor in the success of the Roman Empire because of the size of their armies. The Romans had to start off slowly by conquering and or making alliances with the surrounding cities. This helped them gain more power, land and resources and helped them get more men into the army. After many years the army became one of the strongest aspects of Rome(Lecture Notes).
             One way the Romans recruited so many men to join the army was by telling them about the glory and recognition they would get. If men joined the army they could go through this "course of Honor" and climb the ladder to become a political leader. Men also wanted to achieve two things; Dignitus, or reputation, and Gloria, glory. There were also rewards for soldiers who have done something heroic(Lecture Notes). According to Polybius, if a man does something heroic he is honored by praises from their generals, given gifts from their leaders or from someone they have helped. These kinds of rewards helped Rome's military to grow in numbers, which in turned helped, the Empire to grow. Polybius also talks about how severe punishment was a big part of being in the military. For example, if a man were to run away from his post he could be killed. Polybius goes on to say that there are just as many rewards as there are punishments(Perry, 102).
             The Romans also invented many things that helped them to maintain such a large empire and to also meet the needs of the citizens. The most important thing that the Romans built were roads. Roads made it much easier to send troops to other cities to keep the peace and at the same time it encouraged many people to travel and go to different places in the empire. Romans also loved entertainment and the government wanted to keep their citizens happy so they also created huge stadiums that were used for gladiator games, or other types of entertainment.


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