COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
SUCCESS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
STORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
In 49B.C., Caesar tried to maintain his position legally, but when he was pushed to the limit he led his armies across the Rubicon River (the border of his province), which was automatic civil war. Pompey's legions were in Spain, so he and the Senate retreated to Brundisium and from there sailed to the East. Caesar quickly advanced to Rome, set up a rump Senate and had himself declared dictator. Throughout his campaign, Caesar practiced—and widely publicized—his policy of clemency (he would put no one to death and confiscate no property). In a bold, unexpected move, Caesar led his legions to Spain, to prevent Pompey's forces from joining him in the East; he allegedly declared, “I am off to meet an army without a leader; when I return, I shall meet a leader without an army.” After a remarkably short campaign, he returned to Rome and was elected consul, thus (relatively) legalizing his position.
Caesar
Map of where Rubicon is.
Caesar crosses the Rubicon river
EDITORIAL
One Opinion That Celebrates The Success Of The Roman Republic
This is the earliest attempt by the Romans to create a CODE OF LAW; it is also the earliest (surviving) piece of literature coming from the Romans. In the midst of a perennial struggle for legal and social protection and civil rights between the privileged class (patricians) and the common people (plebeians) a commission of ten men (Decemviri) was appointed (ca. 455 B.C.) to draw up a code of law which would be binding on both parties and which the magistrates (the 2 consuls) would have to enforce impartially.
The commission produced enough statutes (most of them were already `customary law' anyway) to fill TEN TABLETS, but this attempt seems not to have been entirely satisfactory--especially to the plebeians. A second commission of ten was therefore appointed (450 B.C.) and two additional tablets were drawn up. The originals, said to have been inscribed on bronze, were probably destroyed when the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in the invasion of 387 B.C.
The Twelve Tables give the student of Roman culture a chance to look into the workings of a society which is still quite agrarian in outlook and operations, and in which the main bonds which hold the society together and allow it to operate are: the clan (genos, gens), patronage (patron/client), and the inherent (and inherited) right of the patricians to leadership (in war, religion, law, and government). The twelve tablets basically ended the confusion between the Plebeians and the Patricians.
Christianity Religion in Rome
One of the groups whose land was taken into the empire was the Jews. Many Jews wanted to rid their land of the Romans. Others hoped for the coming of the Messiah—the savior. According to tradition, God promised that the Messiah would restore the kingdom the Jews. In this time, Jesus was born. At age 30, Jesus began to travel the countryside preaching his message of the love of God. Jewish church leaders did not believe that his teachings were those of God. Roman leaders feared his hold on the people. Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death. After his death, his followers said that he had appeared to them again and then gone to heaven. They said this proved he was the Messiah. They called him “Christ,” which is Greek for “savior,” and his followers came to be called Christians. At first his followers were all Jewish. Later, under one follower, Paul, the Christians began to look to all people, even non-Jews, to join the church. The leaders of the early church traveled throughout the empire spreading the teachings of Jesus. The Romans began to kill the Christians but a Roman emperor who came into power ordered that Christians should not be killed anymore. This led to the rise of Christianity.