Roman Economic and Social Development

The Romans were one of the greatest civilizations in the history of the world, The Roman Empire lasted over two thousand years from eight century B.C. to 1453. Not only are the Romans known for their architectural feats but also for their historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Spartacus, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Caesar Augustus. In the article The Making (7an Empire one of the major themes discussed is the development of economic systems and social structure.

The development of economic systems and social structure is exemplified by the government, currency, and social classes of the Roman Empire The Roman government demonstrates the theme of the development of economic systems and social structure through their code of laws and political structure. As stated in the text on page thirty, “The single code of law was a crucial force in unifying the far-flung Roman world”. The Roman code of laws is important because it maintained order; this is crucial because order promotes economic growth Order is necessary because without order people would simply steal instead of purchasing items which would eliminate economic growth.

For example, look at the modern day countries of The United States and Somalia Since The United States maintains order through laws The United States has one of the highest economic growth rates and one of the strongest economies in the world; whereas Somalia does not maintain order as a result their economy is among the worst in the world Furthermore, as the text states on page thirty, “But it was not a rigid instrument 7 and this point was key to Roman success.

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Within the broad sweep of uniformity, Roman administration at the local level was flexible, tolerant, and open Having a flexible and tolerant government was necessary for the Roman Empire to succeed because the empire was made up of so many different cultures and religions that flexibility was necessary to maintain the social integrity of the empire.

For example, if the Roman Empire required their citizens to have one religion then the people may riot or rise against the empire and ad a result Roman civilization might not have lasted for as long as it did, In short the Romans code of laws and political structure gave order and tolerance for diversity which were both important in boosting economic growth and for the survival of the Roman Empire. The Roman currency exhibits the theme of development of economic systems and social structure through their economic growth and exchange of goods. As stated in the text on page five, “The Roman denarius was accepted as coin of the realm.” if the Roman Empire did not have a single currency and allowed each of its provinces to have its own currency 3 direct result would be the decrease of economic growth because one currency would not be valid in another province.

Therefore having one currency boosted economic growth and allowed further development of economic systems Furthermore, as stated in the text on page thirty six, “The whole empire was a free-trade zone.” Free-trade allowed one province to trade directly with one another, which promoted the exchange of goods between cities within the Roman Empire Free- trade ultimately contributed to the fall of Roman civilization because free—trade caused less and less money to return to the capital and as the empire grew Rome did not have to money to support a large bough military to protect its borders in conclusion, a single currency and free- trade greatly improved economic growth and the exchange of goods and allowed Rome to expand at the rate it did. A byproduct of the economic prosperity of the Roman Empire resulted in the creation of three distinct social classes.

The Patricians who were decedents of the original ruling families of Rome and served in the Roman senate which was one of the world’s greatest governing bodies. The Patricians would be the equivalent of the modern day upper class. Next there were the slaves who would be equal to today‘s lower class. Last is the plebeians made up of freedmen, or eX-slaves, Plebeians are basically the present-day middle class, As stated in the text on page twenty one, “The right to vote was so firmly established among the plebeians that Rome developed a vigorous political system ione that would not be unfamiliar to citizens of a modern democracy,” Due to the economic growth that the Roman Empire was undergoing the Plebeians grew in numbers and in power as well. As a result, the Patricians had to create political parties and a more democratic system in order to retain power. In short Rome’s economic growth caused social classes to be more visible and as a result of the growth of the middle class the Patricians had to create political parties which created more social structure.

The Roman Empire was able to prosper because the strong Roman government maintained order throughout the empire which created an environment of economic stability therefore promoting economic growth. The Roman Currency, promoted unity throughout the expansive Roman Empire, which as a result championed free trade all over the empire once again constituting a healthy economy. The social structure of the Roman Empire also contributed to a sturdy economic system because the citizens of the empire all knew their place in society and the job that they had to perform. All of these Roman entities of one profound government, one unified currency, and one organized social class, became an integral part of the success of the empire and even to this day exhibit the qualities necessary to foster the development of economic systems and social structure within a country.