Camille Sicat #26 3/16/16 Writing/Social Studies Power of the People: Athens vs. Rome Essential Question: Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which Was the Better System? Prior to the idea of people being “citizens” of a nation, people were subjects, with no rights and forced to serve under the iron fist of their ruler. The idea of people having rights and responsibilities to their country originated in Athens, Greece circa 500 B.C. (Background Essay). Rome, however, far surpassed the Greeks in their social contract theory of citizenship (Background Essay) for the following reasons: 1) More people were considered citizens i.e. females and sons of freed slaves; 2)
According to the background essay “ … a Roman citizen was judged more by how he behaves with his family, his neighbors, and his property.” This means that instead of doing work and manual labour to become a citizen, you simply had to respect and honor each other and their space. However, this thought can be countered by saying that instead of simply respecting one’s space, you should have to endure military training, and prove that you respect your country. But, if you have a disability, or are unable to serve, that would mean that you can’t become a citizen. Therefore, Rome had a better government system.
What needs to be taken into consideration is, that Rome’s Senate size was smaller, allowing for more efficient decision-making processes compared to Athens’ direct democracy. This categorization system was an essential part of Roman society, helping maintain order and allocate resources fairly. Without it, chaos would have ensued, and the city would not have been able to function properly. As such, we should recognize the crucial role that the censors played in the development of ancient Rome and its lasting impact on history. A brilliant move by the Roman leaders was their creative approach to granting citizenship to foreigners, by using unique methods.
Athen’s leader Pericles once said “ Athenians Who did not fully participate in voting, political debate, and holding office were “useless”. This just shows how harsh they were if you were not a citizen who participated in everything and was some amazing angel or whatever you were no good. Rome had a more positive outlook then this they were still kinda strict but not harsh there is a difference. “ A Roman citizen who did not participate in local government would not have as most likely been called a beast”. Rome did not call their people useless for this in other words.
Document C gives examples of how the Romans' citizenship was granted in these "measured amounts". One example was how the Foederati, or people of states with treaty obligations with Rome, were given limited rights for serving in the military. 4a. Unlike in Athens, citizens' rights would not have reduced the level of organization during political events. 4b.
Only Political The establishment of the Roman Republic is important because it enabled the lower class citizens to have a say in the governing of the state. The creation of the laws on the twelve stone tablets approved the idea that all citizens are entitled to be protected by the law and be treated equally. The establishment of the tribunes allowed for the majority of the empire to be treated with equity.
Priscus, a Roman ambassador for the Huns, writes about how he prefers his new life with the Huns to his old life in Rome. He talks about how expensive the taxes are and how the rich are able to pay for justice. (Doc E) The fact that a person who has lived in the Roman Empire their whole life criticizes their home country like that and says they prefer their new life shows how even Romans did not like the way the Empire was being run. This illustrates how unstable things had gotten in Rome, to the point where their own people wanted change.
As a Roman citizen, your citizenship varied. Some Roman citizens were full citizens, others had limited rights. Examples of citizen rights would be the right to vote, hold government careers, and indulge in business. However, this varied depending on the citizen. The Roman Republic is further demonstrated by the fact that becoming a citizen and enjoying the privileges that go along with it were more of a privilege than a fundamental human right.
For many people, imagining a world where few people read is relatively difficult. Today, literacy is widespread, and that's how it has been for quite a long time. Who made it that so many people have access to books? The answer is Johannes Gutenberg.
The insights that can be found about early Roman culture from the story of Romulus and Remus is that early Roman culture was much like its founding. The Romans were a fierce nation and “Rome’s savagery was matched by its size, when the colosseum was built Rome was a city if a million people and growing” (The Rise of Rome). In the story of Romulus and Remus, Remus attacks his brother and is killed by him too. For Remus to attack his brother required savagery, and for Romulus to kill Remus also required this same type of savagery.
This law was exclusively made for Roman citizens and was derived from custom and legislation. Eventually, Rome developed its main legal code called the jus gentium (law of nations), which applied not only to Roman citizens, but also to foreigners within the borders of Rome. This system of laws was not founded through legislation, but was enacted by magistrates as a flexible alternative to the jus civile. These system of laws impacted the Roman Empire by establishing order and having flexible restrictions for all people entering or living in Rome.
For example, if an invasion was occurring in Egypt. But the bulk of their armies were stationed in the city of Rome the general could load them into ships and send them by sea which is much faster than traveling by foot which any land-locked countries like Mongolia would have to do. Fully surrounding the Meditteranean was also very useful in creating trade routes between major cities throughout the empire. Eventually, the empire grew so big that it had to be split in two, the Western Roman Empire being controlled by Rome, and the Eastern by Constantinople.
These obligations included exporting goods to the city of Rome for the welfare of the city and its people. If a territory did not comply, the Romans
The government was a tripartite government. That means that they have 3 parts, and those three parts were the senate, magistrates and the assemblies. How did the laws get enforced to the people? The assemblies were held. At assemblies, Roman citizens elected officials who would soon enforce the law.
This time would be difficult for citizens as Rome began to fall. Expansion became the enemy of Rome because they couldn’t keep all of the cities in
