Ancient Roman Government PBL ~ Driving Questions

1. What types of political structures were used in the development of Ancient Rome?
In 500 B.C., the Ancient Romans developed a government and a republic that in many ways
resembled a democracy (www.historylearning.org, 2014). Much of this government was based on the
government Ancient Greece (UNRV History, 2015). There were two leaders or rulers in the Roman
Republic called consuls. Consuls were voted in by the citizens of Rome and ruled for one year. The
consuls were responsible for ruling the country and for taxing Roman citizens, but they were advised
by the Senate. The Senate was made up of 600 top Roman citizens and they discussed things
related to Rome and the needs of its citizens (www.historylearning.org, 2014). This was a time where
Roman society saw much advancement to their way of living, culture, and society in general. The
Roman Republic successfully ruled Rome for a very long time (Dr.Carr, 2015).
2. Who were the leaders of these governmental movements in Ancient Rome?
During the 500 years of the Roman Republic there was no one single ruler, but that changed during
the second 500 years. The first three leaders to officially and singularly govern Rome were Caesar
Augustus, Claudius, and Trajan (www.ducksters.com, 2015). Caesar Augustus was the first Roman
Emperor who brought Pax Romana (Roman peace) to Rome after many years of civil war. He rebuilt
the city and created roads, as well as the Roman Army. Claudius expanded Rome during his many
conquests and continued to build roads, canals, and aqueduct systems in Rome. Trajan was one of
the best leaders who continued to expand the Empire and build architecture (www.ducksters.com,
2015). The rich Roman people thought that these rulers were very fair. On the other hand the slaves
did not approve. They always were the people that got the shaft. These rulers thought slaves were a
wonderful idea. There were also many benefits to them being rulers. After all they did not get taken
over. They had to have been good also because they started the Roman Empire and helped to build it
up from nothing. They could have fallen very easily they definitely worked hard.
3. How and why did these forms of governmental develop?
They developed their government for power and to be a civilized society (www.historylearning.org,
2014).The main thing that the government created for their civilization was their military. This was for
protection and so they did not get taken over. They had a lot of power in their gates and they did not
want to fall to any other nation, especially the Carthaginians, so they knew they had to protect it
(www.historylearning.org, 2014). The army also helped the leaders of Rome expanded their territory.
The Romans conquered all the land around the Mediterranean Sea. They conquered the whole of
Europe from the British Isles to Greece. They conquered part of the African continent around the
Mediterranean Sea. They also conquered part of Asia Minor (www.mainvision.com, 2015). Caesars
goal at the end of his ruling time was to have the country as pleasing as possible so that it looked
better than any other country or state. This is an example of how much he cared for his country and
that he was a good leader.
4. How do the political structures impact the development of the Roman government?

The political structure of Rome was a democracy. This allowed the citizens to vote for who their
leaders would be. They chose people who they felt would be the most fair and represent their true
needs. These political leaders would help to make and enforce laws, protect the country, and to help
build and maintain the city of Rome through taxes. Most decisions made by the Roman government
would have to be reflective of the Roman citizens. If a leader such as a consul were to no longer work
in the best interests of the citizens they could be removed from office (www.historylearning.org,2014).
The political structure of the Roman government was therefore, shaped largely by the citizens of
Rome due to their way of voting.
5. What caused the growth and longevity of the Roman Empire?
The growth and longevity of Rome's Empire is because of its government, the success of the Roman
Army and its Emperors, and growing economy (www.historylearning.org, 2014). The government of
the Roman Empire allowed the citizens to participate through the Senate which helped to make sure
their needs were met by the government. The Roman Army and its Emperors played an important
role in expanding Romes territory as well as offered protection to the citizens. The Emperors also
created some important architecture to make the living conditions better for the citizens. The growing
economy allowed many people to get jobs that they otherwise would not have been able to get. The
city of Rome became a strong nation that protected and took care of its citizens making it a great
place to live.
6. What caused the decline or fall of Rome?
There were many reasons why the Rome fell such as political instability, heavy taxation of its citizens,
and military failures. In fact, most of the reasons for Romes greatness also because reasons for its
failure. Rome was once a great empire was a strong political structure, economy, and military, but
once these strengths were no longer functioning as they had, Rome fell. The western part of Rome
was the first to fall in 500 C.E. Then later came the eastern, northern, and southern sections of Rome
(Andrews, 2014). Political instability occurred in both the Senate and with the many Roman Emperors
throughout Romes history. The job of the Emperor became very dangerous because many people
wanted the job and to get it they would kill the Emperor. Over the span of 75 years nearly 20 different
Emperors had taken the throne often at the hands of their own personal body guards (Andrews,
2014). The Senate failed to keep the Emperor under control, because they were corrupt themselves.
As a result of this political instability, citizenship decreased and Roman citizens no longer trusted their
government. Heavy taxes were another negative impact on the stability of Rome's government. The
citizens of Rome did not like that the government collected such high taxes to pay for their military
and to support the operations of the government, even though the city itself had become wealthy
through its many conquests. Yet another reason for Romes failure was due to its military failures to
outside invaders. Much like the citizens of Rome the military was losing faith in their government and
did not want to fight. Their overthrow by the Germanic tribes revealed just how weak the Romans
were and brought the position of the Roman Emperor down by initiating a revolt in Rome (Andrews,
2014).
7. What influence did the Roman government have on the world historically and presently?

There are many aspects of the Roman government that influenced the world historically and
presently. To begin they were one of the first nations to create a democratic government. The citizens
of Rome were able to vote for their leaders and had the power to make changes within their society.
The Romans were also one of the first to create a set of laws to protect its citizens. The Senate in the
Roman Republic was designed to make sure the Emperor did not have too much power and take
advantage of its citizens (Danaxter, 2015) Today in America we also have a democratic form of
government where citizens vote for its leaders, we have laws to protect us, and there is a division of
power within our government to keep one person from making all the decisions and possibly
becoming corrupt. The Roman government also created a military to protect its citizens and the
United States is thought to have one of the strongest in the world!