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Empire VS Republic


Hicari

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so, which one is better in your opinion? the roman empire, or the roman republic?

 

(and it would be REALLY nice for people to respond to this, i need views and reasons..)

 

The Republic was better because it has the word "Pub" in it. Hard to beat that.

 

All joking aside, I will assume that this is for a school assignment/paper of some sort. I'm sure several people would be willing to share their thoughts, but it would much more engaging if you were to offer some of your own views and reasons first.

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When I was younger, I always thought the Republic represented the continuation almost of Hellenistic social and political development in ideals, but in reality I now very much doubt that.

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I actually prefer each of them for different reasons.

 

I like the Republic because of it's ideals and form of government (when the Republic actually worked, that is).

 

I like the Empire because of its grandeur and military strength (I have a thing for the Roman Legions lol)

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That's a very hard question, in my opinion unanswerable, each era has it's own pro's and con's.

 

My particular favorite period is the late republic / early principate so in my opinion its 50/50.

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Late Republic/Early Principate.

 

That is THE era!

 

I hoped to to gather a basic knowledge of all Roman history but keep getting sucked back into Sulla/Marius to the Flavians, with a special concentration on Caesar v Pompey to Actium.

 

If there is a half a century as important as this to Western history I am unsure what it is.

 

BTW. This time zone is the physical and idealogical battle ground of REPUBLIC v PRINCIPATE.

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so, which one is better in your opinion? the roman empire, or the roman republic?

 

(and it would be REALLY nice for people to respond to this, i need views and reasons..)

 

Two sides of the same coin. Neither was better than the other. The republic, faced with the same decisions as the empire, would have crumbled too. The empire after all was living off the wealth of the republics gain.

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Most people will approach the question from a strictly politico-military perspective. The discussion then becomes an argument over whether an increasingly dysfunctional city-state oligarchy defended by a citizens militia is better than an increasingly tyrannical pseudo-monarchy backed by professional soldiers.

 

Another perspective might be a socio-cultural one. Which paradigm better laid the foundations for what we call Western Civilization? Certainly both epochs have their triumphs. But it was under the empire an ever increasing segment of the population began to assimilate into what we now call the Greco-Roman heritage. This to me is what gives credence to the empire over the Republic. Rome gradually spread out from a city-state ruled by a small clique of oligarchic families into a cultural ideal encompassing a wider spectrum of people. As a Modern Westerner with the benefit of hindsight this is what is most meaningful to me.

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I heard of many theories of how the Roman Republic was the same as the Greek democracy. I also heard that the Roman Empire was similar to the Eastern ways of ruling, since one man ruled over the entire empire and had all the power.

 

Any validity, or just a bad comparison?

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I heard of many theories of how the Roman Republic was the same as the Greek democracy. I also heard that the Roman Empire was similar to the Eastern ways of ruling, since one man ruled over the entire empire and had all the power.

 

Any validity, or just a bad comparison?

 

Its a bad comparison. Roman democracy wasn't entirely based on the greek model. It was after all a plutocracy - government by the wealthy. Rule by one man isn't limited to eastern culture. Thats normal human behaviour which the weakened senate was unable or unwilling to curb. The empire was Rome living on borrowed time in one sense.

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I heard of many theories of how the Roman Republic was the same as the Greek democracy. I also heard that the Roman Empire was similar to the Eastern ways of ruling, since one man ruled over the entire empire and had all the power.

 

Any validity, or just a bad comparison?

 

Its a bad comparison. Roman democracy wasn't entirely based on the greek model. It was after all a plutocracy - government by the wealthy. Rule by one man isn't limited to eastern culture. Thats normal human behaviour which the weakened senate was unable or unwilling to curb. The empire was Rome living on borrowed time in one sense.

 

Polybius has an interesting take on this subject. He proposed that the Roman Republican system was the best because it incorporated all three elements (Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy) and had checks and balances to ensure that neither branch was too strong. The Monarchy was the Consuls, the Senate was the Aristocracy, and the Concilium Plebis/Tribunes represented the will of the people.

 

As far as the origional question, I think it is a matter of personal interest. Neither one was "better" than the other entirely. All in all, I enjoy the Late Republic the most, from Marius to the Early Principate. After Actium I loose some interest.

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