All Roads Lead to Rome

The Roman Empire was one of the largest in world history. Rome started as a single city-state in the Central Italy and grew to be an empire ruling the entire Mediterranean coastal region. Its long history can be divided into the Republican and the Empire period. The Roman Republic was a confederation of states under the control of a representative central authority, but the disintegration of the Roman Republic caused the collapse of a constitutional system since it was designed to govern a city-state. It was well adapted for Italy, but not to govern an overseas empire. Moreover, Rome's brilliant conquests ultimately weakened its political and social structure. The principles of duty, self-discipline, and devotion, which had governed Romans in the past, caused love of money, power, and pleasure. If Rome had stopped its conquests, the Republic might have developed but corrupt and limited thoughts of individual generals and would-be dictators like Julius Caesar and Pompey, destroyed the traditional political system of Rome through ruthless ambition. Successful generals eclipsed the power of the Senate and other republican institutions. At this page of the history, Marcus Tullius Cicero came into philosophical fame. Cicero rose from modest circumstances to the highest rank of consul. Cicero's year as a consul was one of acute danger for the Republic, but in truth, the Republic was becoming uncontrollable. Institutions designed for a city-state could not be adapted to the new empire of Rome. They could not manage the wealth that poured into the city or the power of successful generals. Cicero fought valiantly for 20 years to stabilize the government and preserve the republic. Cicero hoped to bring senators and equities together in an alliance that represented responsible citizens against dangerous fanatics. If we explore to understand who Marcus Tullius Cicero was, we can see that he was the eminent late Republican politician, as an ancient art historian. In his