The Strengths of the Roman Empire

In short, more time could be spent making improvements to the systems already in place, and Rome was able, in the beginning of the empire, to improve itself, rather than prove itself. In addition, the first emperor Augustus, laid the plans of moving from a republic to an empire by establishing many of the powers which proceeding emperors would have. While the rule of Augustus was based on military power, he gained the support of the Senate and the aristocrats by convincing them that they were equal partners with the emperor in ruling the empire. This smart thinking enabled future rulers to take and effectively use these powers, especially when they followed the same pattern of behavior by catering to the 'ruling' class. also, Augustus started making changes which was important for the future of Rome. One of these was to reposition the Germanic border to the Danube River so that the empire could be more easily defended from aggravating attacks by barbarian tribes. In addition, he established a fire department and police force for Rome. This was to show the prosperity of Rome.

Rome had to standardize to keep the peace of so many different cultures. Several different cultural aspects played an important role in the long run survival of the Roman Empire. In many of the colonies, both those conquered before the start of the empire and those conquered after, Rome allowed the people of the conquered territory to maintain certain of their cultural uniqueness's. By standardizing other aspects across all of its territories, Rome guaranteed that the empire was made a more cohesive unit. For example, whether or not it was imposed upon them, Latin became the commerce language in the new territories, especially those in the West. This was typically due to the presence, or even settling, of Roman soldiers in that territory and the proximity of Rome. Another important standardization that the empire brought to its colonies was the extension of citizenship to many of its conquered peoples. Roman citizens were traditionally proud of what they viewed as their long and fierce heritage, claiming descent from both Trojan royalty (Aeneas) and from two boys suckled by a she-wolf as children (Romulus and Remus). By extending citizenship to conquered lands, the people in those lands were able to share in this heritage. In addition, the people often felt more like a part of Rome, and as Roman citizens, many of the people in the colonies were more willing to accept the enforcement of new Roman laws, and to accept the Roman culture in other areas as well. Additionally, Roman law and administration was generally enacted throughout these territories. Roman law allowed people in the colonial aristocracy who had been granted citizenship, regardless of their geographic origins, to join the Roman ruling class. Typically they did this either by joining the Senate or by serving in positions of leadership in their home colonies.

Rome had several strong assets to make it a great empire. Another reason was the use of strong leaders. These strong leaders were usually able to use two vital assets as mentioned before. Manipulation of the upper class and Senate and management of the military. Rome began with a strong leader, who was able to form the system of government which is used in the new empire. Emperor Augustus set the stage for later emperors by undermining and manipulating the Senate to give up much of their power to him as the lone ruler. This largely succeeded by convincing the Senate that they were equal partners with the emperor in ruling the empire. However, due to the fact that Augustus controlled the military, the Senate was merely no more than a puppet. Successful future emperors typically followed the example of Augustus by maintaining this image of joint rule between the Senate. Those emperors who didn't maintain this facade, but rather openly abused the power which they had, such as Caligula, often found the empire much harder to rule. Also, successful emperors had to be able to utilize the true strength behind their power, the military. Augustus himself utilized the military, professionalizing much of it and extending Roman borders. The power which was held by the military was clearly seen in the ruling of several weaker emperors, such as Caligula and Nero, both of whom had their power snatched away when legions of the army revolted. When emperors were chosen for their ability rather than because of their heritage, most were able to utilize these important resources and rule effectively as emperor.

There were several strengths of the Roman Empire which allowed it to survive as long as it did. These strengths were a strong foundation, standardizing Rome and its citizens across the empire, and strong leaders who were able to effectively rule and lead the Empire to success. The loss of these strengths would be the lead to the downfall of the Roman Empire. As time passed, the empire grew further from what made it great in the beginning. In addition, they grew over-extended as an empire, making standardization very difficult if not virtually impossible. As future emperors attempted to extend aspects of the empire to these outlying areas, their power to do so was challenged by external influences. All of this caused an erosion of the cohesion which the standardization had brought, especially when the empire was divided between East and West. Lastly, as emperors stopped effectively using the strengths which had been used by past emperors, specifically the manipulation of the upper class and the Senate, the empire grew gradually weaker. Unable to manage such a massive empire virtually alone, even strong emperors were often left in weak positions, unable to deal with the frequent Germanic intrusions and military revolts. In short, many of the things which enabled the Roman Empire to survive for over 400 years were also the things which ultimately led to or enabled its downfall.