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What Was The Role Of The Military In Ancient Rome

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The ancient Romans of the later empire claimed to be a republic, meaning that they claimed to be a government where the power was held by the people and their elected representatives rather than a monarch with unlimited power. In reality, that was only somewhat true in ancient Rome. Technically all male citizens had a say, but in reality, only the opinions of the rich men mattered. This brings up the question, who are considered rich men? The people who fit this category were mostly made up of the generals and high-ranking soldiers of the military. This was why the Roman military played such a major role in the election of the later emperors in ancient Rome. The military made up a vast majority of the Roman citizens who were eligible to vote, …show more content…

In the later empire, the emperor needed the army’s full support. For this reason, the bonuses for the soldiers increased greatly. All of this proves that the emperor knew that he needed the full support of the army to even get into office, and then to be an effective ruler. In the magazine article, “Byzantine Empire-Or Republic?” Brian Patrick Mitchell writes, “Historians call the republic's later, third phase the Dominate--during which military emperors, ruling from wherever military necessity demanded” (51). Therefore, if the candidate was popular with the military, it was most likely that he would win the …show more content…

In the book, Roman Politics Frank Frost Abbott he writes, “The choice of senators in Rome was not made directly by the people” (30). This indicates that the people who were not senators had even less of a say. But also these senators were the best and the brightest of Rome, so, therefore, most of them were worthy of having that power in their possession. Stephen Goode says in his magazine article, “Decline and Fall of Roman Empire,” “Rome had evolved a system of government that prized civic virtue and the participation of the best men and women in politics and society” (18). The government of Rome had a very strong system, but it was not always the best for the entire

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