What civilization was ancient Rome?

The first section of ancient Roman civilization: Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean; Rome's political history is dominated by Rome's conquest of Italy and even the whole Mediterranean region. In this process of external expansion, Rome developed from a city-state to an empire, and its political system also evolved from an aristocratic country to an autocratic monarchy. The law and administration of Roman countries have also changed accordingly. The geographical environment of the Mediterranean region and Italy Rome is located in the Tiber Valley in the middle of the Italian peninsula, while Italy is located in the center of the surrounding areas of the Mediterranean. This geographical position was very beneficial to the subsequent expansion of Rome. There is little difference in climate and vegetation in the Mediterranean basin, and the surrounding three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, are connected by the sea. In summer, the trade winds are strong but not crazy, which is convenient for ships to sail. Coastal islands are good navigation marks. The Mediterranean Sea was called "our sea" by the Romans and was an important means of transportation for the Roman Empire. Plenty of sunshine and dry summer are beneficial to the growth of three main local fruit trees: olives, figs and grapes. Olive oil is an important food and daily necessities. Relatively poor soil promotes intensive cultivation, but animal power, water power and wind power are not well utilized, and farming basically depends on manpower. Italy is a superior part of the natural environment in the Mediterranean region. Summer here is cooler and wetter than other places; Apennine mountains cross the entire peninsula, and valleys and volcanic ash-covered areas are fertile; Mountain grassland is rich and animal husbandry is developed. Compared with France and Britain in northern western Europe, the proportion of arable land in Italy is smaller. Copper and iron are the main mineral resources to meet the needs of tool and weapon manufacturing. The mountainous terrain hindered land transportation and forced the Romans to pay attention to road construction later. There are many passes in the Alps in the north, through which migrating nationalities can enter, but large-scale foreign invasion will not happen until the late Roman Empire. There was no deep-water port in ancient Italy, but the long coastline, the position in the middle of the Mediterranean and the political center of the Roman Empire still made it a hub of maritime transportation. Italy before the rise of Rome The history of Italy before the rise of Rome can only be roughly understood through archaeological excavations. Human footprints appeared here 200,000 years ago. In 5000 BC, Neolithic farmers began to settle here. After experiencing bronzes and bronze culture, Italy entered the Iron Age after 1000 BC, when Indo-European peoples from the north had entered Latin America in the middle. In the first half of the 7th century BC, about 40 city-states gradually appeared in Latin America. These city-states take the patriarchal clan system as the basic unit, and besides the king, there are also meetings of elders and citizens composed of chiefs. There are alliances and religious celebrations between the city-States. The Roman city-state on the Tiber River gradually became the leader of the Latin city-state. The growth of Rome is largely due to the influence of Idalagria culture in northern Latin. The origin of the Lagerians in Ida is unknown. Since Herodotus, there has been a debate about whether they are indigenous or from Asia Minor. Some modern scholars speculate that the rulers of the Lagurians in Ida may be warriors from Asia in the late 7th century BC. They have a high level of culture and management, and they married the Villaneau Uighurs of the original Indo-European language family, forming a new civilization. Idalaglia is roughly equivalent to Tuscany today, with many forests and swamps; Many settlements isolated by natural barriers later developed into independent city-States, and the tendency of political unity was weak. The religious ceremony in Idalaglia is basically a kind of divination, and there is also something similar to China's view of Feng Shui. Most of the gods they believe in are dark and cruel, which is very different from the bright and happy gods in Greece and Rome. Living people are often sacrificed to the gods to kill each other in duels, which is the origin of watching gladiator performances in Rome later. The monarchies of the city-states were replaced by aristocratic oligarchs in the 6th and 5th centuries, and the status of the middle class also rose. Ida Laglia has autonomy, but there is a loose alliance between them. Up to now, the characters of Ida Laglia have not been interpreted, and it is difficult to have a detailed understanding of the social and economic relations at that time only by archaeological materials. The nobles obviously let some lower classes work for them and live a luxurious life, but we don't know the details of the production relations. The Lagerians in Ida are good at water conservancy projects, smelting copper and iron, and making metal utensils. They also maintain active trade with Greece and Asia. The Greeks began to emigrate to southern Italy on a large scale at the end of the 8th century BC. They brought olive trees and grapes. The Greek alphabet is the prototype of the Latin alphabet. Greek bronzes, pottery, architectural styles and sculptures were all loved and imitated by ancient Italians. Greece's military strategy and urban construction technology also spread to Italy. The Greek city-states fought fiercely with each other, and their colonies in Italy did not form a strong political and military force. In the first half of the 7th century BC, the Lagerians in Ida had great cultural and political influence in Latim, but they lacked a unified political system, so they could not establish a form of rule that could be called an empire there. In 524 BC, the Lagerians in Ida were frustrated when Kumi attacked the Greek colonists, and the Latin American city-states took the opportunity to rebel. The rise of Rome ended Ada Laglia's rule in Latin America. The origin and growth of Rome The city of Rome is located on the east bank of the Tiber River, near the junction of Latim and Idaraglia. The surrounding land is fertile enough to feed a large population. The Tiber River leads to the sea, which facilitates trade with foreign countries. Rome is also at the crossroads of the river, so it also controls the land transportation hub in central Italy. There are many legends about the origin of Rome, and the true story can only be understood through archaeological evidence. According to local folklore, the name "Rome" comes from romulus. He and his twin brother Remus are related to Mars. Romulus was thrown into the Tiber River because he was an illegitimate child. The gods saved him and let a female wolf nurse him. When he grew up, romulus established the city of Rome. This legend existed at the latest in the 4th century BC. Horan, a Greek writer in the 5th century BC, provided another explanation for the origin of Rome, holding that Troy Delysiania was the founder of Rome. In the 3rd century AD, the Romans also accepted the idea that Trojans built cities, and combined the two legends of romulus and Aeneas. According to this romanized Greek legend, Ignace drifted to Italy after the fall of Troy, was entertained by the local king Latinus, and married his daughter lavinia. Their son canas was followed by 65,438+02 kings, and the two grandchildren of the last king Numito were romulus and Lemos. Modern archaeological excavations have proved that there were stable and dense farming and pastoral settlements in Rome until the Iron Age (after 1000 BC). In the first half of the 7th century BC, the culture of Idaraglia was dominant in the area. It is said that the legendary first king of Adalaglia, who ruled Rome, took the throne during this period. The Roman writer Varo in the middle of BC 1 century calculated that the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC. This day was generally accepted by the Romans. The Romans believed that they were ruled by seven kings at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic, and the last three of them came from Idaraglia. The reform carried out by Seville Turius, the second king of Idaria (in the middle of 6th century BC) is considered to be of great significance to the political governance and social structure of Rome. His reform began with the reorganization of the Roman army. The earliest Roman army was provided by three Tribbe 1 infantry; Each commander has 1 cavalry, and each has 100 men. Each thousand-man team consists of 10 hundred-man teams, corresponding to each tribe 10 library. There are 10 clans in each library. At that time, there were many foreigners engaged in commerce and handicrafts in Rome. They had no civil rights and no obligation to perform military service. Seville abolished three old tribes, and established 265,438+0 new tribes according to the region, including those foreign residents. By 24 1 year BC, there were 35 tribes in Rome's cities and villages, and all newly conquered territories were included in the existing tribes. Tribbe replaced curia as the administrative unit. Around this period, the infantry also changed from using square shields and spears to using round shields and daggers, and were also equipped with helmets and breastplates. After the reform, the Roman army had 193 hundred troops. Citizens are divided into five classes according to their property. The first-level wealth provides a team of 80 100 people. Above the first level, there are 18 knight centaurs. A new type of citizens' assembly consists of groups of 100 people: each group of 100 people first draws its own majority opinion, and then votes at the assembly, with one vote for each group. Knight and the first rank have 98 votes, accounting for the majority of the total votes 193. The rich enjoy political privileges, but they do bear heavy military obligations. Not all the above reforms were completed during Seville's administration, but perhaps he did the main work. In 5 10 BC, the last king, the arrogant Takvin, was expelled by the Roman people, and the city-state monarchy ended, and * * * was replaced by the state. The reasons and details of this social change are not very clear. To be sure, the status of kings in the era of kingship was originally weak, and the monarchy itself was primitive and underdeveloped. The Roman Republic was founded by nobles, and its political system served them to a great extent. Fifty aristocratic clans account for only one tenth of the freemen, but their members have strong economic strength, close marriage and political relations with each other, and control the main organs of state power. In the early Republic, the political system was relatively simple, and the real power was held by the consul and the Senate. The two consuls served for one year, inherited the power of the original king, sat in ivory chairs with purple edges on their official uniforms, served as commanders in the war like the original king, and kept "fascism" as a symbol of their compulsory authority. It turned out that the King's Advisory Council became the Senate of the Republic of China. The governor is responsible for appointing members of the Senate, calling their meetings and submitting questions to them. Due to the short term of the consuls, the Senate gradually changed from an advisory body to a supervisory body, stipulating the scope of the consuls' power and influencing their choice of successors. The nobles monopolized the positions of consul and Senate. In theory, two consuls can veto each other's decisions, but in fact, because they are both representatives of aristocratic interests, the relationship is very harmonious and there are few conflicts. Civilians outside the aristocracy refused to tolerate their exclusion from the ruling power. In the 5th-4th century BC, Rome experienced a storm of power struggle between nobles and civilians. There is no reliable record about the process of forming two groups of nobles and civilians in Roman society. Like nobles, civilians also attend civic meetings and perform military service in wartime. The contradiction between them and the nobility involves economic interests and political power. Economically, state-owned land and creditor's rights law are the two problems that the common people complain most. State-owned land is sometimes distributed to citizens free of charge, sometimes sold to them and sometimes used by them. The aristocratic-controlled * * * countries no longer distribute land to civilians, and they have no money to buy it. State-owned land acquired through conquest is generally far away from cities, and civilians have no financial and human resources to occupy and use it. Nobles not only enjoy the right to use a large number of state-owned land, but also rarely pay negligible land rent, which actually turns these lands into their hereditary property. Civilians are obliged to perform military service, and only the latter can enjoy the land they conquered with the blood of nobles. The burden of military service often leaves civilians in debt; According to Roman debt law, indebted civilians can be killed by creditors or sold as slaves by creditors. Politically, the positions of consuls and temple priests were monopolized by nobles; Resolutions passed by the civilian's own parliament have no legal effect; The marriage between a commoner and a noble is considered invalid in law, and the children born to a commoner woman and a noble man can only be civilians. Civilians cannot join aristocratic groups through marriage. A considerable part of the history of the conflict between civilians and nobles has long been legends and myths. The results of the struggle of civilians for their own rights and interests have been consolidated by becoming a legal and political system, thus being known to future generations. The political activities of civilians take a peaceful and orderly way. They first elected five tribunes (later increased to 10) as spokespersons, and successfully asked the Senate and the consul to recognize the inviolability of tribunes and have the right to veto the consul's legislative proposals. Therefore, the tribune can not only protect civilians, but also influence legislative activities. The Law of Twelve Bronze Tables (finally compiled in 450 BC) was an early political victory for the common people. This written code limited the lawless and tyrannical behavior of the nobility. The Kanurea Law in 449 BC allowed civilians and nobles to legally marry. In 367 BC, the Lexini-Sykes Act restricted large-scale real estate and allowed debtors to calculate the interest paid as the cost of paying off debts, but the Creditor's Rights Act was still not abolished. The bill also stipulates that one of the consuls must be a civilian, and some priests must also be civilians. The ancient and ruthless creditor's rights law was not abolished until 40 years later. According to Hortensia Act of 287 BC, the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are as valid as those of all citizens' assemblies. In fact, before 339 BC, the resolutions of the people's assembly could have this nature. Because of the above-mentioned bill, the upper class of civilians gained the status of nobility, and the two gradually merged into new noble. The victory of civilians expanded the social foundation of the Republic, strengthened the military strength of Rome, and helped the city-state establish hegemony in Italy and the Mediterranean region through war. Rome established its dominance in Italy and the Mediterranean. The first stage of Rome's external expansion was the conquest of Italy, and the second stage was the conquest of the western Mediterranean and the eastern Mediterranean. In the second half of the 4th century BC, Gaul and the Celts in northern Italy attacked Rome and left after destroying the city and demanding ransom. After this disaster, the Romans gradually established their hegemony in the Italian peninsula by force or negotiation. They first controlled the Latin cities on the south bank of the Tiber River and conquered the Samoans in the middle, and then extended their influence to the cities of Idaraglia in the north and Greece in the south. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, Rome unified Italy south of the Po River by means of merger or alliance, and established Roman colonies in various places to consolidate its control over vast areas. On the Italian peninsula, Rome and its earliest allies are in the middle, cutting off the connection between southern Italy and northern Italy, and its strategic position is very superior. Politically and militarily, Rome also has some advantages. Rome, Italy's most populous city, has enough soldiers to bear heavy casualties, and other cities allied with it also sent troops to help in wartime. Roman soldiers were superior in quality to many of their opponents. They received strict military training since childhood and formed the habit of obeying orders. Dozing off on duty or being a deserter in war will be sentenced to death; In some cases, the whole detachment will be punished by "one tenth" for collective violation of military discipline (one in ten soldiers will be killed by lottery). Roman nobles attached great importance to military tactics and strategies, paid attention to studying the enemy's movements and weapons, and tried their best to provide their own troops with the latest and best equipment. Romans' hobbies and skills in road construction were mainly developed for military purposes; The smooth road facilitates the rapid movement of the army. In the wild, the Roman army had to camp in front of each camp to guard against the enemy's sneak attack The combat capability of the Roman army and the whole Republic was severely tested in their three Punic wars with Carthage (the Romans called the Carthaginians whose ancestors came from Phoenicia "Punic people"). These three wars took place from 264 to 24 BC1year, from 2 18 to 20 1 year, and from 149 to 146 year respectively. By the time of the third Punic War, Rome's economic and military strength had greatly surpassed Carthage. Carthage, located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa (now Tunisia), was founded by Phoenicians from Tirol in the early 8th century BC. From around 600 BC, Carthage pushed out other businessmen and colonists on the west coast of the Mediterranean through war. By the 3rd century BC, it controlled the southeast of Spain, Sardinia, Corsica, the coast of North Africa and the west of Sicily, limiting the influence of the Greeks to the east of Sicily. The Carthaginians had a powerful army and navy, monopolized the trade in many parts of the Mediterranean and established a commercial empire with strong financial resources. The Carthaginian army against the Romans was mainly composed of mercenaries with weak fighting spirit, but the commander was a professional soldier, much more experienced than the Roman consul who changed frequently. The government of Carthage is dominated by businessmen and nobles, with two consuls, a Senate composed of 30 nobles and a Supreme Court composed of 104 judges. Civilians can participate in the discussion of state affairs, but they have no real decision-making power. Archons and elders Yuan are not responsible for commanding troops, but full-time generals are closely supervised by them. Carthage has always pursued a cautious foreign policy and was wary of the increasingly powerful Rome, but he did not hesitate to use force to defend his commercial interests. Rome did not deliberately plan to provoke a full-scale war with Carthage, but its expansion in the Mediterranean region will inevitably lead to conflicts with the latter. The direct cause of the Punic War was that Rome and Carthage competed for Messina, the eastern city of Sicily, in 264 BC. In the first Punic War, Rome lost more than 600 warships, but forced the Carthaginian government to give up Sicily and pay huge reparations. Hannibal the Great Carthaginian led less than 30,000 people to invade Italy in the Second Punic War, and defeated the Romans and their allies in three famous battles: Trevor (265,438+08 BC), MINO, Tracy (265,438+07 BC) and Connay (265,438+06 BC). However, Rome and its allies in Italy dominate an army of 650,000 people and will not be weakened by several disastrous defeats. On the one hand, Rome dealt with Hannibal in Italy, on the other hand, it sent troops to Spain and Carthage, and finally defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in North Africa in 202 BC, destroying Carthage's military strength. The Romans' fear of Hannibal didn't disappear because of his death and Carthage's submission. Fifty years later, the Roman Senate hawk used this fear to incite the people, launched the third Punic War, completely destroyed Carthage, and all the remaining 50,000 residents were sold as slaves. During the three Punic Wars, Rome conquered the Po River valley in northern Italy (Gaul north of the Alps), Sicily, Spain, Syria, Macedonia and most of Greece, and became the hegemon in the surrounding areas of the Mediterranean. The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt also surrendered to Rome. Gaul north of the Alps is roughly equivalent to France today. Celts became the main residents before 500 BC, and formed some powerful tribal alliances in 1 century BC. Celtic agriculture is relatively developed; In the 6th century BC, the Greeks established a colony in the Rhone Valley, which promoted commercial and trade activities. From 125 BC to12 BC1year, Rome conquered the south bank of the Gaul River in northern Shaanxi, gained a certain foothold on the north bank of the river, and later established Gaul province in northern Shaanxi. The Germans in northern Europe began to move south in the first century BC, oppressing the Celtic tribes north of the Rhone River and threatening the Romans there. Caesar, who served as governor of Gaul from 58 BC to 49 BC, defeated the Gaul tribes, pushed Roman rule to the Rhine, and stopped the Germans from advancing southward in the following centuries. Caesar once marched into Britain, but did not build a Roman fortress there. In the 1 th century, the emperors of the Roman Empire completed their conquest of Britain. In the East, the sphere of influence of the Roman Empire reached the Tigris River. The lack of geographical knowledge gave the Romans an illusion that they could enter China by expanding eastward a little. * * * and the decline of the country when it conquered Sicily, Rome's military strength is strong enough, and there is no need to add new allies. So the conquered Sicily and other regions were divided into provinces and ruled by the Roman governor. Residents from other provinces have no civil rights and do not need military service, but they are obliged to pay taxes to Rome. The establishment of the provincial system made it impossible for cities allied with Rome to immigrate to conquered areas and establish colonies. These cities participated in the war in Rome, but now they can't share the important achievements of this war. Rome entrusts private tax banks to collect taxes in various provinces, which has many disadvantages and increases the burden on the people there. Many Roman rulers took bribes in various provinces and made a fortune. Most of the benefits of the war were gained by Rome and his generals. The wealthy nobles of Rome and its allies also benefited greatly by providing equipment and materials to the army. The war brought poverty and bankruptcy to the free small farmers in Rome. In the battle with Hannibal, they took their own weapons to defend their country, but their own small farms were destroyed by the war or deserted because of unattended. The competition between cheap food from various provinces and the big slave-owner economy developed by a large number of prisoners of war has made the economic situation of small farmers more and more difficult. Bankrupt small farmers left the land and joined the growing proletariat in Rome. Most members of the Roman Senate are slave owners who own a lot of real estate. Their families monopolized key positions such as consul and governor, and paid attention to protecting the upper-class aristocrats in various provinces, and began to gradually integrate with them. Members of the Senate were not interested in commercial activities, so that in 2 18 BC, they agreed to pass a decree prohibiting them from owning sailboats and allowing trade and taxes to become other levels of monopoly. The knight class among Roman citizens greatly enhanced their economic strength by participating in provincial taxation and commercial activities developed due to the expansion of Rome. Anthony forced him and Cleopatra, who married him, to commit suicide, killing Caesar and the latter's son. Heavily armed Octavian carried out a series of political system reforms in Rome, ending the * * * and political power once and for all. * * * and the early citizens' meeting of the country and empire, but its role in the era of kingship was quite vague. After the consul of the Republic of China is elected, it must be confirmed by the parliament of Guria, but this procedure has no practical political significance and is only a form. The rich dominated the Centennial Congress for a long time, but in the middle of the 3rd century BC, Rome reorganized the Centennial Team. Of the 193 Centennial Team, only 88 were knights and ranked first. Tribal assembly has existed since around 450 BC at the latest. The citizens' assembly was also held in Tribbe. After the victory of the struggle between civilians and nobles, the resolutions of the civilian assembly have the same legal effect as other civic assemblies, and civilians have joined the new aristocratic group. The civilian assembly and the original tribal assembly are still two different meetings in the constitution, but the boundary between them has become blurred for many people. In the late period of * * * and China, the participants of the Centennial Team Conference and the Tribbe Conference were actually the same person; * * * At this time, the number of the old nobles in the early Republic of China was insignificant, and the composition of the civilian parliament was almost the same as that of the previous two parliaments. The function of the citizens' assembly is to pass laws and elect administrative officials, and the most important officials are elected by the 100-member assembly; The chairman of the civilian parliament is the tribune, and the chairman of the centennial parliament is the consul. They are often busy with military affairs and have no time for meetings, so many legislative work is undertaken by the civilian parliament. The Roman citizens' assembly did not have the power to propose official candidates and amend bills, which seriously weakened the democratic rights of the masses. This problem is inseparable from the characteristics of the Roman Senate and administrative system. The Senate is only an advisory body of the consul in form, and it has neither legislative nor executive power. * * * The consuls in the late Republic of China had to obtain the consent of the Senate on all major issues, and the latter became a de facto administrative agency, reflecting the nature of aristocratic oligarchy. The Senate consisted of 300 members, which was later expanded to 600 in BC 1 century. Civilians entered the Senate after the end of the royal era, but at first they were only a minority there. The patriarch was originally appointed by the consul, but was appointed by the inspector during the struggle between civilians and nobles. These civilians later became a part of new noble. Traditionally, the members of the Senate must be retired consuls, chief executives and senior builders, and they can also be former civilian builders and financial officials in the late China. These officials are all elected by the citizens' assembly, but often only nobles can be elected.