RomanMemo Salma,Samiha,Marie&Shannon

DearMembersoftheUnitedNations, IthascometoourattentionthatGreecehasbeenspendingitsmoneyinanexcessiveway.Their governmenthasbeenindeficitduetotheinconsiderateamountofspendingthathasbeentakingplace overthepastfewyears.Greecehadaparticularlyhardtimeaftertheeconomywentbad.Citizensare beginningtoriot,andcausemayhem..ModernGreeceisinaweakenedstatebecauseofthewaythat theirgovernmenthasbeenrun,resultinginthembeinginafinancialcrisis.TheUNhopeforGreeceto beattentiveandusethisasanadvantagetosucceedinhavingtheircountryatagreatpeak.

GeographicandEconomicsaffectingtheculture

TheuseofmoneyintheRomanEmpiregreatlyaffectedhowtheylived.Theyfacedmany politicalchallengesandwerestrugglingfrominvasionsfromtribesinthenorth.AstheRomanborders wereunderbarbarianattack,pressurewashighontheunpreparedarmiesandtheneedforsecuritywas high.Thiscausedalotoftheirbudgettogotothemilitary.However,becauseoftrading,theromans becamemorepowerfulandmorewealthy.AccordingtoRomanEmpirefromWorldHistoryin Context,WithmajorareasofAsia,particularlywithIndiaandChina,theirrelationswereindirectand

basedprimarilyontrade...Romantradewascontrolled,theRomanreceivedconsiderablequantitiesof silkfromChinathemaintradingpartnerswereSpain,France,theMiddleEastandNorthAfrica. Thisquotefromthedocumentshowshowtradingaffectedthewaytheylivedandthegoodthatthey received.Itshowedtheirincreaseinwealthaswellbecauseofhowmanypartnerstheyhadandhow muchtradingtheydid.Theirnewfoundwealthcouldhelpthemtoprovideforastrongermilitaryand hopefullyastrongerempire.Theromansusedresourcessuchasthetiberrivertotheiradvantagewhile gainingtheirwealth.AccordingtoMcDougalLittell:GlobalHistoryandGeography,builton sevenrollinghillsatacurveontheTiberRiver.Theriverprovidedwaterforcropsand transportationformovinggoods.Thelandwasfertileandthegeographicfeaturesofflatplainsandfew mountainsmadefarmingeasier.Romealsohadsaltflats.Saltwasextremelyvaluablesotheamount theyhadwasagreatfactorintheireconomy.BecauseoftheaccessRomehadtootherareasthe empirewasabletoexpandgreatly.

Riseoftheempire RomewasbuiltonsevenrollinghillsatacurveontheTiberRiver,midwaybetweentheAlps andItalyssoutherntipandnearthemidpointoftheMediterraneanSea.Itwashardatfirsttotraveland getaround.Then,sincetheygotclosertothewater,theygainedmoreresourcesandwereabletotravel tonearcountrieswithboatsandshiptotrade.Romegrewfromacollectionofhilltopvillagestoacity thatcoverednearly500squaremiles.Theywereexpandingtheirempirerapidlyandtheirgainofland

andincreaseinpowercausedtheriseoftheempire.AccordingtoWorldHistoryinContext, Formedrepublicformsofgovernmentduetoallthesettlement...LatinsandGreekssettledinthis region.Thisexcerptfromthetextindicatesthatculturaldiffusionplayedabigroleintheriseofthe empire.Thegeographyimpactedthewaytheytradedandthesettlementsborderingtheircitystates. WhentheLatinssettledinthisregion,theywereabletogainthelanguageandsomeoftheirculture,also fromtheGreeks.Italsostartedtheformationofarepublictypeofgovernment.Evenifitwashardfor themtotravelwithallthewatertheyweresurroundedby,itwasmadeiteasierforthemtotradeand gaincultureandlanguage.

Centripetalforces
BeforeRomecouldcollapse,manycentripetalforceswerethatwereusefultothisempire.Accordingto HolyRomefromWorldHistoryinContext,Romeformedarepublicformofgovernmentafterharsh rulerswhocouldnotbringRometoagreatpeak.Thisgovernmentallowedallthecitizensofthisempireto gettogetherandvoteforwhattheywantsintheirgovernment.Thiswassuccessfulinbringingtogether everyforceinthisempirebecauseitallowedasetoflaws.AccordingtoAncientGreeceandRomefrom WorldHistoryinContext,1998,In510B.C.,afteroverthrowingthelastoftheirkings,theRoman patricianswerefirmlyincontrolofthegovernment...referredtothemassoftheRomanpopulationall thosebelongingtothelowerclassesofRomansociety.AtthebeginningoftheRomanRepublic, plebeianswereexcludedfromallimportantpositionsinthegovernment.Afteracenturieslongstruggle, whichwasknownastheConflictoftheOrders,plebeianslargelyattainedpoliticalequalitywith

patricians.Theplebeianswereeverydaypeoplesuchasfarmersandcraftsmen.Thesuccessin plebeiansforcedawrittenlawandpromisedforprotectionofcitizenssuchasthemselves,underthelaw. Moreforcesunitingtheempirewereinfluenceinculture.AnothercentripetalforceintheRomanEmpire wastheinfluenceofcultureandlanguagefromothercountries,Theseculturalinfluencesoriginatedfrom theGreekandHellenisticcultures.creatingaculturecalledtheGrecoRoman.AccordingtoIconography WorldReligions1987,Romanreligionseemstohaveremainedrootedinnaturetoamuchgreaterextent thancivicGreekreligionhad...RomeborrowedandadaptedculturalelementsfromGreekand

Hellenisticculturefreely.TheRomanswereinfluencedbyGreekcultureandreligionandtweakedthe
culturestomakeittheirown.Thiswasaveryimportantforcethatbroughttogetherthepeopleofthe RomanEmpirebecauseitwasthestartofacultureeveryonecouldfollow.Italsoaffectedtheway peoplelived.TheseweresomeofthecentripetalforcesoftheRomanEmpire.

Centrifugalforces AlthoughasofnowitseemsthatRomehasreacheditshighestpeak,itdoesnottakelongfor

thesocietythatwassogreattoimmediatelystartcrumbling.AccordingtoAncientGreeceofRome, 1998,fromWorldHistoryincontext,Asprosperitygrew,sodidthesizeandpowerofthecentral government,especiallythepoweroftheemperor.AfterAugustusdied,therewasnowayforRometo getbacktheiroldrepublicformofgovernment.Theirnewleaderswerepowerlessandwerenot effectivetothegovernment.Thedocumentstates,Therulerswhofollowedwereunabletohaltthe economicandmilitarydeclinethatsignaledtheendofthegreateraofpeace.Thesenewrulerswere

notabletokeeptheempirerising.Militaryandgovernmentstrengthhadnowgrownweakwhichmade iteasierforbarbarianstoattack.TheRomanshadgrownweak,butthetribesaroundthemwere strong.WhereastheRomanswerecowardly,thebarbarianswerebrave.Theyvegottenextremely weakasasocietyatthispointandsurroundingterritoriestookthistotheirfulladvantageconsidering howmuchpowertheynowhadoveraoncethrivingempire.Notonlyweretheygrowingweak,butthe economywasgettingsobadandtaxeswereextremelyhigh.Povertywasincreasinggreatlyandthere wasnosenseofmiddleclass.Peoplewereeitherextremelyrichorextremelypoor.Thiscauseda decreaseinpopulationwhichisalsoanexampleofacentrifugalforceofthisempire.Accordingto MiddleAgesReferenceLibrary2001,AncientRome,Neithergroupwashavingchildren,therich becausetheycouldnotbebothered,thepoorbecausetheycouldnotaffordthem.Thisrevealshow intensetheseconditionswerefortheempire.Whensomanypeoplearepoor,theirwillendupbeingno peopleleft.

Goldenage

Thesecondcenturywonasagoldenage.ItwasduringthetimeofthePaxRomana,whichin otherwordsmeansRomanPeace.Duringthisgoldenage,Romewasruledbytheirfirstemperor,Caesar Augustus.Hewasverywellknownduringhistime.AccordingtoGlobalEvents2013fromWorldHistory inContext,AugustustookseriouslyhisnewroleasleaderoftheRomans.Helivedinamodestbut

wellappointedtownhouseandconcernedhimselfwithethicalquestions.Hepassedlawsmakingadultery acrimeandofferingincentivestocoupleswithlargefamilies.HeknewthegloryofRomeshouldbe reflectedinitsappearance,sohestartedtheimperialtraditionoffundingambitiousbuildingandcivic improvementprojects...AlthoughtheRomanshadlostintheirrepublicansystemofgovernmentwiththe riseofAugustus,theygainedpeaceandprosperity.Hewasthereasonforsuchculturalsuccessduring thisperiodoftimeforRome.Peaceandeconomywasquicklyrestoredbecauseofhishubris.Artsand agriculturethrivedfromhisreign.Notonlythat,butduringhistime,formaleducationstartedandmore peoplelearnedtoreadandwrite.Romestartedtobemorerecognizedfortheirartsandachievements signifyingagoldenageforthem.

Internal/externalfactorsleadingtothecollapse

Inthisempire,theyhadmanyinternalandexternalfactorsthatledtoitscollapse.Accordingto thearticle,MiddleAgePreference2000,FromWorldHistoryinContext,itsstatesTheRomans hadgrownweak,butthetribesaroundtheirborderswerestrongandwhereastheromanswere cowardly,thebarbarianswerebrave.Inmanyways,thebarbarianswho,despitetheirbrutality,were oftenhonestandnobleintheirbehaviormostresembletheancientromanswhohadbuiltthegreat societythatwasnowcrumbling.Thisisaconflictwithintheempireandoutsideofitbecausetheroman becameweakduetothedecreaseinpopulation.Theycouldntfightbacksothebarbarianshadaneasy advantagetoattackthem.Atfirsttheromanshadbuiltagreatsocietythatwasnowfallingapart.They

thoughttheywerethegreatest,butendedupbecomingveryweak.Thescholarthatwrotethisis romanticizingthebarbariansbecauseinhistone,itshowsthathegoingagainsttheromansalongsidethe barbariansheiswritingabout.Hedirectlystatesintext,theRomanswerecowardly,thebarbarians werebrave.ThisshowsthatpeopleeventodaybelievedthattheRomanEmpirewasweak.According tothearticle,TheDeclineoftheRomanEmpireFromWorldHistoryinContext,FromAD96to 180,aseriesofemperorsruledRome,butthequalityinthenexthalfcenturywouldbeuneven...and severalwereassassinated.ThisquoteshowshowtherulersthatleadtheRomanEmpirewere powerlessandwereunabletoleadtheempiresuccessfully.Taxwasincrediblyhighandpovertywas increasing,causingthepopulationwhichisamainfactorinacivilizationtodecreaseimmensely.Many poorpeoplecouldnotaffordtohavechildren,andtherichpeopledidnotevenbother.Therewasgreat amountsofabortionshappeningcausingconflictwithintheempire.Withtheeldersdyingandnomore babiesbeingborn,itseemedthattheempirewascrumbling.