What's so "ancient" about Rome?

Rome was one of the most powerful empires in ancient times. It started as a small community in Italy that was based on agriculture. This civilization was started around the 10th century. Ancient Rome contributed to many great advances like war, technology, law, architecture, and religion. Its innovation will continue to affect the modern world to this day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome).

The story of Rome begins when twin brothers named Romulus and Remus are born. Their mother is Rhea Silvia and their father is the God Mars. The twins are the descendents of the ancient Trojan worrier named Aeneas. The king believed that the twins would one day take his thrown so he had them drowned. The twins were then saved by a mother wolf (picture #1 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg). The brothers were raised until they could return and take back the thrown. They founded a new city, Rome, and then Romulus killed Remus over who would rule the new city. The city grew with an increase of trade in the area (http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/legend_of_rome.htm).

In about 504 B.C. the Roman Republic was founded (see picture #2 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_Empire_Map.png). After its founding the struggle of the orders began. It occurred when the Plebeians who are the commoners and Patricians who are the aristocrats have a political struggle in the Roman Republic. The commoners wanted to have an equal amount of power as the upper class. In 494 B.C. the commoners got what they wanted. They were given one seat in the senate called the Plebeian Tribune. The commoner in this seat was elected by the other Plebeians and was given the power to veto. Over time this resulted in more Plebeians receiving seats in the senate. The Patricians now had to make laws that the Plebeians would like or they wouldn’t get passed. The Plebeians gained more power and were not only those who fallowed the laws. Now they helped to create fairer laws for everyone. This uprising would lead to the modern democratic systems still in place today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_the_Orders).

The Roman Republican political and legal systems are still present in modern democracies today after being founded in 509 B.C. The Romans made many major advances in law. The roman government was a based on a system of checks and balances. Also it employed separation of powers. This new system depended on the structure of society not laws to maintain peace and order. The roman republic had its own constitution. This was a set of guidelines and was not official. It was mostly unwritten but it was still known by all. The roman republic also had a powerful senate. The senate’s duty was to oversee foreign policy and to take care of civil administration in the city. The roman republic also had a legislative assembly. This was made of us two groups of civilians. It was the people who had the main power. These elements listed are the basis for most of the modern democracies that function today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic#The_Senate).

The Romans were also advanced in there combat formations. During a time when the main combat formations used hoplite tactics the Romans used a variety of soldiers. The roman legions were broken down into about 5 parts, each of which had a different type of weapon. This was much more maneuverable then the old formations used by the earlier civilizations. The Romans had cavalry, light infantry and heavy infantry. Also the Romans made technology similar to what we have today. They had roads, baths, aqueducts for supplying water, and theater. Also they build building that had domes and arches and after the collapse of the roman civilization much of this technology disappeared. Many of the roman building and monuments are still standing today (http://www.crystalinks.com/rome.html).

Ancient Rome was a large and powerful empire. Its influence has reached thought the ages and effect us to this day. Rome was changed the world of politics and law. They created a strong system of checks and balances and their own constitution hundreds of years before the United States did. They also created aqueducts and successfully constructed domes for their buildings. The roman civilization is not as ancient as we all thought. They were far ahead of their time and constantly teach us more about how to create a successful modern civilization.

Sources:

Ancient Rome. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome.

Ancient Rome. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. http://www.crystalinks.com/rome.html.

Conflict of the Orders. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_the_Orders.

The Romans. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/legend_of_rome.htm.

Roman Republic. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic#The_Senate

Picture sources:

Roman Empire Map.png. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_Empire_Map.png.

She-wolf Suckles Romulus and Remus.jpg. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg.