Ancient Rome
The Romans have had almost every type of government there is. They've had a kingdom, a republic, a dictatorship, and an empire. Their democracy would be the basis for most modern democracies. The people have always been involved with and loved their government, no matter what kind it was. They loved being involved in the government, and making decisions concerning everyone. In general, the Romans were very power-hungry. This might be explained by the myth that they are descended from Romulus, who's father was Mars, the god of war. Their government loving tendencies have caused many, many civil wars. After type of government, the change has been made with a civil war. There have also been many civil wars between rulers. But it all boils down to wanting to be involved in government. When the Greeks finally entered Troy after ten long years of siege, a man named Aeneas escaped the city with his father, Anchises, and his son, Ascanius. They went to Mt. Ida, where they were to meet! Aeneas' wife, Creusa, but she never showed up. Saddened, Aeneas acquired a boat and sailed around the Mediterranean. He bounced around from Asia Minor to Greece to Crete looking for a place to found a new Troy, but he couldn't find a satisfactory place. A
his son Ascanius took over. Ascanius founded a new city, which he called Alba Longa, and made it his capital. Now we advance four centuries. The king of Alba Longa is Numitor. He had a jealous brother named Amulius, who seized the throne and drove out Numitor. To prevent Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, from having children who could claim the throne, Amulius made her a celibate priestess. While she was a priestess, Mars, the god of war, came and visited her and she had twin boys named Remus and Romulus (Burrell 7). When Amulius found out about the twins, he was furious. He ordered Rhea imprisoned and the boys drowned on the Tiber. The slave who was ordered to drown them felt pity for them, and instead sent them down the river in a basket. When they landed, a she-wolf found them and nursed them because her cubs had just been killed and she was still fertile. Romulus and Remus were found by a shepherd named Faustulus, who took them home to his wife to raise them. As they grew u! vived and escaped back to Egypt with Cleopatra. Antony received a false rumor and killed himself by falling on his sword. Upon hearing of his suicide, Cleopatra killed herself with an asp, which was a symbol of the eye of Ra, the Egyptian sun god (Gibson). After the war was over, Octavian closed the Roman temple to Janus, the Roman god of beginnings of wars. This showed that the world was at peace. In 28 BC, Octavian and Agrippa became consuls. After one year, they turned the state over to "the free decision of the Senate and People of Rome" (Adcock 74). The Senate and people of Rome gave Octavian ten years of complete control. Octavian named himself the princeps, which is Latin for emperor. He ran the Empire as a monarchy, although it was disguised as a Republic. They still had a senate, but senators only made it into office with Octavian's approval. Those citizens who weren't fooled kept quiet, because Octavian kept things peaceful and governed fairly. Octavian ended the Rom! ate, with himself, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. According to Nardo, this was just a dictatorship of three. They ruled the Republic with terror, using the army and their henchmen as muscle.(77-78) The only person who continually voiced his opposition to the triumvirate was the famous orator, Cicero. The triumvirate chased him into hiding. In 58 BC, Caesar et al.'s term ended, but they kept power. Caesar boosted hispopularity by conquering Gaul and Britain. In 53 BC, Crassus died in battle in Asia, leaving a triumvirate of two. While Caesar was away in Britain, the senators tried to pit him against Pompey by naming Caesar a public enemy and Pompey protector of the state. The senators were hoping that the two would get rid of each other. Caesar was ordered to disband his army, but he instead marched on Rome. He was just bringing his soldiers home, but it was taken as an invasion (Nardo 83-84). In 48 BC, Caesar crossed to Greece, where Pompey had escaped to. Pomp! guard, with people keeping their day jobs. When Romulus died in 717 BC, the two main tribes, the Romans and the Sabines, couldn't decide how to pick a king. Finally it was decided that the Romans would pick a Sabine king. They picked Numa Pompilius. This is what Plutarch had to say about him: "He banished all luxury and softness from his own home, and... in private he devoted himself not to amusement... but to the worship of he immortal gods." (Nardo 19) One of Pompilius' notable achievements was rearranging the calendar so it had twelve months instead of ten. The third king, Tullus Hostilius, was a war monger. He believed his subjects would grow soft if they weren't engaged in a war. Conquering neighboring people, including Alba Longa, he extended Rome's rule out to twelve miles. Supposedly the gods got angry with him and killed him with a lightning bolt (Burrell, 12). The fourth king, Ancus Martius, was a Sabine. He extended Rome's boundary to the sea and built the Pons Subl! ey escaped to Egypt,
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Approximate Word count = 4405
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)
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