Influence of the Western Roman Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Influence of the Western Roman Empire - Essay Example Initially, Rome was a single city but later expanded to a great empire that controlled the Mediterranean coastal region. Roman period had two entities, the Republican Period and the Empire; each lasted for half a millennium. The empire was divided into Principate that lasted from 27 BCE to 180 CE and autocracy from 284 to 395CE (Damerow Web). The Roman Empire began with Augustus. Emperors were the ruler of the empire. Christianity rose during the autocracy period and replaced paganism. In addition, monotheistic belief replaced polytheist cult system. The rise of the medieval period was because of Roman influence. Furthermore, the foundation of Roman Civilization was on Roman values and existed even before the rise of Christianity. Romans people were successful in various fields such as art, government, military organization, and public. They borrowed ideas from Greeks and Hellenistic world. This paper seeks to focus on the influence of the Western Roman Empire within the period from 200 BCE to 476 C. Many aspects of society that exist today have been influenced by ancient Rome. They range from law, democratic government practices, influence in language, literature, art, infrastructure, and city planning. The Western Roman Empire had a tremendous influence in law, religion, architecture, and culture. This was largely important within the period from 200 BCE to 476 CE. This influence was usually perpetuated during the Romans territorial expansion. This influence especially was based on areas it controlled the western Mediterranean. They also established legal code that formed part of western legal code. Moreover, their institutions, technology, and infrastructure continue to influence their successors in this region. The legacy of Western Roman Empire influence on culture was great. The significance of this transformation cannot be ignored as it ushered in the medieval period of history. There was a complete change of culture from the way people married, raised t heir children, and died. Actually, it resulted in a trans-valuation of all values. The most important aspect of culture was the transmission off Greek (Hellenistic) culture to the west. The Roman's were at their peak of cultural influence between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Romans were known of copying cultures and adopting them as their own. They adopted Latin as their language and were majorly used in the western world during this period. As a result, Latin became the official language of the Western Roman Empire. Latin formed the basis for Romance language after Germanic invasions in 4th and 5th centuries. The Romance Languages composed of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. At the time of decline of Western Roman Empire, the Catholic Church (monks) continued to preserve and transmit Greek texts and ideas. Latin also remained the language for the Roman Catholic Church and the second half of 20th century. Moreover, this language developed between 200 BCE to 476 CE continued to be us ed by the educated later in the centuries such as educated people. At this period, several other language adopted Latin words. Most of the medical, legal, philosophical, and scientific terms are based on Latin language. Additionally, Roman law dominated western side. This was based on the twelve tablets through the Corpus Juris Civils and was famous in 200 BCE to 476 CE. The Roman Catholic