Roman Republic's Territorial Expansion Essay
The Impacts of Roman Republic’s Territorial Expansion
Rome, the country with constant wars, expended from a small state which was poorly documented to a glorious empire which dominated Mediterranean during five hundred years. As a great amount of wars went on, Rome’s territory enlarged at a fast speed and increasing number of people became under her control. The huge changes in territory and population resulted in tremendous transition in Roman politics and society.
After continuous wars, such as Pyrrhic War, Punic War, Macedonian War, Rome came to rule the entire Mediterranean world. In order to rule such a huge country, Rome developed a new system-- provincial system, under which each province governed by magistrates from Rome was relatively independent from one another. According to N.S. Gill, the provinces might support Rome with food, soldiers and money. Due to different cultures and …show more content…
However, the conquered people were not recognized as Roman citizens, who had a wide range of rights; the ius civile, the law specific to a particular state, excluded foreigners from protection. The rulers gradually realized that it was impossible to govern such a diversified country without acknowledging the partial rights of those noncitizens and providing them with basic legal protections. Thus, after a long time practice, jus gentium, national laws which can be applied to all people in Rome’s territory, were developed by absorbing a large sum of foreign regulations. This new set of law broke the limitation of the ius civile and was more simple, flexible and practical. It focused on solving problems in properties, trade and other economy issues, which made it more suitable to the new situation. For example, the fundamental concept in the ius civile is that all men are equal in the eyes of law.
Rome, the country with constant wars, expended from a small state which was poorly documented to a glorious empire which dominated Mediterranean during five hundred years. As a great amount of wars went on, Rome’s territory enlarged at a fast speed and increasing number of people became under her control. The huge changes in territory and population resulted in tremendous transition in Roman politics and society.
After continuous wars, such as Pyrrhic War, Punic War, Macedonian War, Rome came to rule the entire Mediterranean world. In order to rule such a huge country, Rome developed a new system-- provincial system, under which each province governed by magistrates from Rome was relatively independent from one another. According to N.S. Gill, the provinces might support Rome with food, soldiers and money. Due to different cultures and …show more content…
However, the conquered people were not recognized as Roman citizens, who had a wide range of rights; the ius civile, the law specific to a particular state, excluded foreigners from protection. The rulers gradually realized that it was impossible to govern such a diversified country without acknowledging the partial rights of those noncitizens and providing them with basic legal protections. Thus, after a long time practice, jus gentium, national laws which can be applied to all people in Rome’s territory, were developed by absorbing a large sum of foreign regulations. This new set of law broke the limitation of the ius civile and was more simple, flexible and practical. It focused on solving problems in properties, trade and other economy issues, which made it more suitable to the new situation. For example, the fundamental concept in the ius civile is that all men are equal in the eyes of law.