[ANSWERED 2023] Discuss the impact of the process of Romanization on the Roman world

Written By: Dan Palmer, RN

Edited By: Ethan Green, MSN-FNP

Discuss the impact of the process of Romanization on the Roman world

Rome and Romanization

This assignment gives you the opportunity to practice determining the purpose and function of artifacts in order to create your interpretation of a specific historical development—Romanization.

Discuss the impact of the process of Romanization on the Roman world. Identify at least two examples of cultural structures that were patterned across Roman-conquered cities. Cultural structures can include physical features of Roman-ruled cities, practices, policies, ideas, or any artifact that was used to shape the conquered religions.

Discuss how these structures impacted daily life, which may include politics, economics, or social roles. Describe how and with what intent these events were “memorialized” or used in the cultural arena.

Step 1: Choose two appropriate sources. At least one source must come from the CSU Online Library. The Academic Search Complete and eBook Academic Collection databases in the CSU Online Library would be good places to start your search. If you need additional help with using or locating information in the online library, there are library video tutorials available on the main page of the online library under the heading “Research Guides.” Resources from outside of the library should be credible and peer-reviewed and cannot include Wikipedia, Biography.com, History.com, any type of message board, or other similar encyclopedias.

Step 2: Complete your research. Choose one interesting development that illustrates the main point that you want to make about your chosen physical structures, practices, or ideas. Gather details about your choice. For example, what types of buildings were first introduced in Rome, and why were they purposely replicated in other, smaller cities?

Step 3: Draw conclusions from the details you found, and prepare your thesis. A thesis is prepared after you have completed your research and gathered enough information about the chosen structures. You should sit back to think about what it means to see the influence on culture. Your thesis statement should offer your reader the overall insight into the use and impact of the structure on Roman development.

Use the following guidelines to help decide on your thesis.

Ask yourself about how the cultural element (idea, practice, or structure) was shaped by its time period and environment.
Ask yourself how the structure impacted the lives of the people around it, the general public, and the immediately following period in the history of Rome.
Find the perfect specific example to demonstrate the qualities of the structure you would most like to show.

Step 4: Write your essay. Your essay must be at least 500 words in length. All sources must be referenced and cited according to APA guidelines.

Be sure to consider the following guidelines in your essay.

The introduction should engage the reader and clearly present the essay’s thesis and summarize the main points that clarify your point of view. The last sentence of the introductory paragraph should be your specific thesis.
Organization should clearly present points arranged to illustrate your opening thesis. Paragraph order and organization should clearly present points arranged to illustrate your opening thesis rather than to narrate the chronological story.
Writing should be clear and concise with no spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors.
The number of sources should meet or exceed any expressed assignment requirements, and the sources should be peer-reviewed or academic in nature. At least one source must be from the CSU Online Library.
APA guidelines should be used for reference entries and in-text citations.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Rome and Romanization

Ancient Roman civilization is a journey which transformed how the world viewed Rome as a leading superpower during that era. Ancient Rome was viewed in light of its military, economic and political might which made its neighbors respect and even fear its strength. Its thriving period was mainly during the republic period and the imperial era after transitioning of the republic to become an empire.

There are various structures which made Rome thrive and used as a model nation in terms of development. This paper will first discuss the impact of the process of Romanization on the Roman world and consider the governance and physical structure and cultural artifacts as some of the main components during the romanization process

Impact of Romanization of the Roman world

Romanization involved changing the culture of the conquered cities to conform to the Roman culture. It was a process which some consider having happened by design, while others believe it to have occurred naturally. The romanization process first changed the predominant language used in the concurred territories to become Latin (Champion & Goldberg, 2014). This made Latin become one of the most spoken languages during that era.Romanization of Rome also introduced new policies of governance which aimed to improve efficiency in service delivery which was not as vibrant in native regions which were conquered by Rome.

There are other features like advanced sanitation (due to the construction of aqueducts), improved sense of patriotism through inclusivity in governance and enhanced economic stability for Rome, which can as a result of the Romanization process (Stek, 2014). Ultimately, the entire romanization process started diluting the cultures of the natives replacing it with the Roman culture, with cultural features such as Roman cultural games being practiced even by the conquered regions.

Cultural structures patterned in Roman conquered cities

Just before, and during the reign of Julius Caesar as the Roman emperor one of the structures he put in place was to have an inclusive governance structure where ordinary Roman citizens (Plebeians) were considered part of; that was exclusive of the women. During that period, in as much as women were considered to be ordinary citizens, they had lesser rights of participation as compared to men (Dench, 2018).

Initially, governance was considered a privilege of the upper-class citizens in the society (nobles) with the senate and the higher military officials be entirely composed of those from a noble lineage. Julius Caesar advocated the inclusion of plebs in governance, which made him quite popular with the citizenry (Dench, 2018). The inclusion of plebeians in governance made the entire romanization process to be swifter. It was also one of the factors which aided the transition of Rome from a republic to an empire.

The second cultural structure involved the use of architectural designs and artifacts to propagate the Roman culture. As opposed to the round building designs used during that period, Romans came up with the rectangular design which facilitated easy city planning and management. While contracting, the use of carvings and other cultural artifacts used to idolize Roman gods and other symbolic figures was very prominent (Roselaar, 2015). This ingrained the Roman culture to the conquered regions. Putting in place structures such as aqueducts to improve sanitation also promoted the prestige of the Roman citizenry, thereby facilitating the Romanization process.

Conclusion

Based on the process of Romanization, propagating the Roman culture to inhabitants of the conquered region was a vital element. This allowed the entire conquest of Rome to move swiftly with little resistance from the citizenry as would have otherwise been. This paper, therefore, highlighted the use of cultural structures as one of the tools which was actively used by the Roman empire to achieve its conquest.

References

Champion, C. B., & Goldberg, C. (2014). Roman Imperialism. Oxford University Press.

Dench, E. (2018). Empire and Political Cultures in the Roman World. Cambridge University Press.

Roselaar, S. T. (2015). Introduction: Processes of Cultural Change and Integration in the Roman World. In Processes of Cultural Change and Integration in the Roman World (pp. 1-19). BRILL.

Stek, T. D. (2014). Roman imperialism, globalization and Romanization in early Roman Italy. Research questions in archaeology and ancient history. Archaeological Dialogues, 21(1), 30-40.

Alternative Answer and Explanation

Introduction

Rome was among the early civilization whose economic and military success made it possible for it to increase its sphere of influence. The regions that were under the direct rule and influence of the Romans adopted their ways through a process that was referred to as Romanization. The roman ways of life, behavior, politics, culture, architecture, and religion were taught to the people of all the regions that the Roman military had conquered. The main intention was to make the roman culture dominant and subdue all other cultures so that they could remain to be superior. Roman practices and politics were among the primary aspects of Romanization.

Cultural Structures

In the modern days, there are many historical remains that are evidence of the presence of Roman practices in other parts of the world. The most obvious one is the widespread use of the Latin language that originated in the roman empire and spread to other parts of the world. Today many countries in Europe still use the Latin language due to the many years that these countries were under the influence of the Roman rule; some of these countries include Portugal, Spain, and France (Wiesner-Hanks et al., 2020).

The Roman culture is also evident in the countries that initially were close to Rome, and this is due to the evidence of archeological remains, dominant roman religious traditions, native names that were transformed to Latin. Most of the architecture in the regions that neighbored Rome were roman. The primary reason that made the Roman culture to dominate in most regions in Europe was that it was taken by the natives as a path to civility. Romans were advanced in many things that their neighbors admired, and therefore, they had to be on good terms with them so that they could also share the benefits associated with the supremacy of Rome.

Politics

The politics of the Roman empire were always superior to those of their neighbors. In fact, their neighbors opted to take the roman culture so that the Romans would help them in advancing their military and politics to repel their enemies. Citizens of other empires were allowed to serve in the Roman army since, after the end of their service time, they would be assimilated into the roman society and become full citizens (Pieterse, 2018). The Romans knew that there was a need for having royal people so that instead of destroying towns and cities of their neighbors that would be costly to rebuild, it was necessary to lure and win them to their side.

This helped in preventing long-lasting wars with their neighbors as their political approach was to have mutual benefits and understanding with any kingdom that was willing to be on their side. This method has been used by a number of European powers after the collapse of the Roman empire to win their adversaries in a manner that would not be destructive and one that would establish lasting relations that can help in building and improving the economies and might of the parties involved.

Conclusion

Rome and Romanization helped the Romans maintain their supremacy and be the most feared but at the same time the most admired empire. Their cultural practices such as language, architecture, and politics are still evident even today in most countries that were formed as a result of the collapse of the roman empire.

References

Pieterse, J. N. (2018). Ancient Rome and globalisation: decentring Rome. Globalization and the Roman world: world history, connectivity and material culture, 225-237.

Wiesner-Hanks, M. E., Crowston, C. H., Perry, J., & McKay, J. P. (2020). A history of Western society: From antiquity to the Enlightenment (13th Concise ed., Vol 1.).