Why did Rome come before Greece?

Why not Greece?

As we all know, the Roman Empire was a large global empire that spanned the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe and turned the Mediterranean Sea into a "lagoon". In fact, before the rise of Rome, there was a nation in the Mediterranean region that was already very active, and its footprints were all over the Mediterranean coast. This was Greece. Given its inherent advantages, why didn't Greece become a world empire? Before answering why Rome became a world empire, let’s answer why Greece did not become a world empire.

To become a world empire, it needs to meet the corresponding conditions in terms of political system, economy, culture, religion and military. The following will analyze the reasons why Greece did not become a world empire.

1. Politics

Greece is a trading nation. The footprints of the Greeks are all over the Mediterranean coast. There are colonies established by the Greeks everywhere, as far away as the current Marseille area of ??France, Spain and Portugal. There are Greek colonies in the region. These colonies all speak Greek, worship the same gods, have close economic and trade exchanges with each other, and are members of the Pan-Hellenic cultural circle. Logically speaking, it is easy to form a powerful empire, but The actual situation is that each colony operates independently and is not subordinate to each other. Even the relationship between the colonies and the mother country is not a subordinate relationship. What is the reason for this phenomenon?

a. Lack of a strong core

Historically, Germany was in a similar situation to Greece before unification. Before the reunification of Germany, there were more than 300 principalities, large and small, in the country. They were all independent, with numerous barriers and poor transportation. According to records, a ship carrying 65 tons of grain had to be transported from Dresden to Hamburg via the Elbe River. , 35 tariffs were paid on the way, and the total tax payment was equivalent to 62 shi of grain. This shows that there are many counties and heavy taxes. However, Germany with Prussia as the core and under Bismarck's iron-blooded policy formed a unified German Empire. Similar to ancient Greece, the entire Greek region lacked a strong core like Prussia. There are two giants in Greece who have been fighting for a long time. This is Athens and Sparta. Neither of the two most powerful city-states in Greece can conquer the other. They each unite the city-states of their own alliance to form the Delian League (Athens) and the Peloponnese League respectively. The Pennesian League (Sparta) fought for a long time. This was the famous Peloponnesian War in history. Although the final result of the war was that Sparta defeated Athens and became the overlord of Greece, but his overlord status also quickly It declined and was replaced by emerging forces, because the entire Greece was exhausted during the internal fighting between Athens and Sparta. Not only could it not form a unified empire, it could not even guarantee its own security. Only during the Persian invasion war did the entire Greek region unite for a short period of time to fight against the enemy. The rest of the time, it was plunged into long internal strife. Why did Greece not establish a unified empire after a long war, but instead both sides were exhausted in the war? This was determined by the political system of the Greek city-states.

b. A political system with limited control

There are two typical representatives of Greek city-states: Athens and Sparta, which represent commercial countries and agricultural countries respectively. Other city-states are both. The allies or servants of each city-state also have the same political system. The entire political system of Greece is direct democracy, and the Citizens' Assembly is the highest authority and directly participates in the management of the country. Although Sparta was a serfdom country, the political power was in the hands of the ruling class, that is, the citizens of Sparta. Although there were two kings in the form of dual rule, the king's duty was to be the supreme commander of the army in wartime. Being fully responsible for political affairs is not the same as the power of kings in Eastern countries. The highest power is in the hands of the citizens' assembly, and the same is true in Athens. Take Athens as an example. The total number of citizens in Athens is around tens of thousands. Only adult male citizens can participate in national politics. The total number is around 6,000. Matters concerning the country, including the appointment and removal of consuls, military diplomacy and other major matters are all decided by a direct vote of the citizens' assembly. This direct democratic system is the birthplace of Western democracy and electoral systems. Direct democracy can prevent people from being abused by dictators, but its disadvantages are that it is inefficient, prone to endless debates, and it is difficult to reach consensus when the number of people is large. Therefore, in a city-state, the number of people with citizenship rights cannot be too large, otherwise the citizens' assembly cannot reach an effective resolution. Therefore, city-states have very strict restrictions on the granting of citizenship rights. Taking Athens as an example, only if both parents are Athenian citizens, Only their children can obtain citizenship rights, and citizens must be of the property-owning class and must be able to bear the full cost of equipping a hoplite, because citizens are the main source of military service, and military expenditures are borne by soldiers. Correspondingly, since citizens are the ruling class of the country, they enjoy various welfare rations, including sharing of spoils, etc., which allows citizens to support themselves and their families without having to work. This is why Socrates has nothing to do all day long, just talking to people on the street. debate. As can be seen from the above, the direct democracy of ancient Greece was aimed at citizen groups rather than the general public. In addition to the citizen class, there were also civilian classes and slave classes in the entire society. It has significant differences with the democratic system and universal suffrage system of modern society. Difference is essentially a political system in which a few people rule the majority, but the number of this "minority" is in the thousands.

It is precisely because of the many benefits of citizenship that Greece cannot implement the policy of assimilation of the defeated. The defeated can only become slaves of the victor. Therefore, they will fight to the death in the war. At the same time, because the main body of the army, the heavy infantry, is mainly composed of citizens, the number is small. There are also restrictions on wars. The warring parties will not have a huge disparity in strength. Therefore, the outcome of the war will not be an annihilation battle, but a defeat battle. Like the Trojan War described in Homer's epic, because it is about the life and death of a city-state, even if The whole of Greece united to fight for ten years, and finally won by luck with a Trojan horse trick. It can be seen that the war pattern between the city-states in Greece at that time made it almost impossible for one city-state to annex another city-state. This also explains why the scale of the city-state is limited to the city and the surrounding rural areas of tens of kilometers. Effective control cannot be exercised beyond this scope. This is limited by the direct democratic political system and the technical conditions at the time.

2. Economy

The colonies of ancient Greece were different from the colonies of Western European countries in the Age of Discovery. First of all, it was not a national act or an official-led colonial act. Secondly, colonies There is little economic feedback to the mother country, and the benefits generated are not directly transferred back to the mother country, unlike the colonies of Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries. (The emergence of colonial activities was due to the increase in population and the country's inability to handle the excessive population.) The construction of various colonies in ancient Greece was mainly due to the high domestic survival pressure and population expansion. Many people cannot obtain citizenship at home, or have difficulty making a living, and turn to the colonies for development. Therefore, investors and colonial populations mostly stay in the colonies in the form of settlement. From this perspective, it is the mother country that exports capital to the colonies. After the colonies developed, they also established their own countries based on the political model of the mother country. For example, Syracuse on the island of Sicily was a colony of Corinth, and Taranto was a colony of Sparta. However, these colonies basically have nothing to do with the mother country. Established by immigrants from the mother country, they were independent countries in terms of politics, military and economy, so the expansion of colonies was just a copy of city-states. It did not enhance the strength of the Greek world, but made it more difficult to build a unified empire.

3. Military

Since the number of troops is limited by the total number of citizens, the military scale of Greek city-states is not large. Sparta, which is famous for its military force, has a total army of 10,000 In order to maintain suppressive control over the domestic slave class, a considerable number of troops need to be left at home for each battle. Therefore, the number of troops in each battle is roughly around 6,000. Even if the entire army is equipped with elite soldiers, it can only carry out a rout battle, and it is difficult to carry out a annihilation battle. Even Alexander, the best general in history, and the Macedonian hoplite legion, which was unmatched at the time, did not complete the unification of Greece. Since then, no one has been able to complete the task of unification.

From the above, it can be seen that even though Greece was more civilized and developed than Rome, it could not establish a large global empire like Rome.

Why Rome

After analyzing the reasons why Greece could not become a world empire, let’s talk about why Rome can become a world empire. The reasons are exactly the opposite of Greece.

The reason why Rome was able to become a world empire was destined in its genes. Let’s start with the history of the founding of Rome.

According to Roman legend, the ancestors of the Romans are descendants of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and descendants of Prince Paris who escaped from the Trojan War. Although the origin is unknown, it shows that Rome Humans are also immigrants from the Greeks, not descendants of natives or barbarians. The founders of Rome were the Romulus brothers, who were legendary children who were raised by she-wolves. They united with the local nomadic tribes and established the Roman state. The pioneering work of Romulus, the founding king of Rome, was the establishment of a system of separation of powers between the king, the Senate, and the Assembly of Citizens. The king is the highest authority in the country and is responsible for religious ceremonies, military affairs and politics. The king is not hereditary, but elected by a vote of the citizens' assembly. The Senate only has one hundred seats at the beginning, and its main members are the elders of various tribes at the time of the founding of the country, which is equivalent to aristocrats. Their job is to advise the king. Members do not need to be elected by the Citizens' Assembly. They are lifelong, but they are not inheritance. To become a member of the Senate, certain conditions need to be met; the Citizens' Assembly is composed of Roman citizens, and their duty is to elect The king and government officials do not have decision-making and legislative powers, but they have the power of veto. They can review the policies formulated by the king after accepting the advice of the Senate. War and peace also need to be voted by the citizens' assembly before they can take effect. Therefore, the foundation of the founding of Rome is law. The three major power structures need to abide by the law in order to function normally. Rome is a complete country governed by the rule of law.

Another achievement of Romulus was the creation of Rome's policy of assimilation of the defeated. The so-called assimilation policy of the defeated means that Rome provides the defeated with the same treatment as its own citizens, admits the nobles of the defeated countries to become members of the Roman Senate, and the defeated peoples become Roman citizens, and there is no difference in treatment from its own citizens. During the royal period, Several kings were born from the nations that were defeated by Rome. This shows the openness of Rome. It is for this reason that Rome, an emerging country, can become stronger as it fights in the wars of surrounding countries. Otherwise, in a world where there are many strong ones, In central Italy, it was impossible for Rome to rise.

This policy was an important gene for Rome to become a world empire. Although this policy was considered a great initiative by the Romans, it actually had practical considerations. Because Rome was too weak to completely annex the other party, it could only open up citizenship and Senate positions and fully accept the other party as one of its own. At this stage, except for the political right to vote, Roman citizenship had no advantages in other aspects. This is why Rome was able to generously donate citizenship to other parties. According to the regulations at the time, except for the slave class, anyone only needed to live in Rome. After a period of time, one can have Roman citizenship, which was almost a free right at that time. By the time of the Roman Revolution, citizenship had many rights such as being exempt from paying taxes and enjoying judicial justice. It had become an important means for Rome to win over foreigners. It is also an important means to maintain the stability of all strata in the country. Due to Rome's policy of assimilation of the defeated in the early days of its founding, its territory and people expanded rapidly, laying the foundation for becoming a world power.

2. Economy

When it comes to Rome, it is natural to think of the famous proverb: All roads lead to Rome. The Roman roads were the arteries of the Roman Empire, ensuring the healthy development of the entire country. The Romans had a habit. After conquering a place, the first thing they did was not to build monuments or luxurious palaces, but to pave roads. The reason why the Roman army was able to sweep across the Mediterranean and be invincible was because of its perfect logistical support system. Relying on a steady stream of supplies and logistical support, the Roman army flattened every enemy country like a bulldozer. As the saying goes, food and grass go first before the troops and horses are moved. The key to the logistics support system lies in road transportation. Therefore, after conquering an area, the first thing Rome did was to build roads to ensure that in the event of a rebellion, the army could reach the area as quickly as possible. The construction specifications of the Roman Avenue are quite high. They are paved with stones, have a complete water drainage system, and are easy to maintain. Therefore, they are not only convenient for the rapid movement of the army, but also used by business travelers in peacetime. The completion of the Roman Avenue not only had a military effect, but more importantly, it promoted the economic development of the occupied areas, improved people's living standards, and reduced the possibility of rebellion.

When it comes to the economy, an important aspect is taxation. Roman taxation was relatively light throughout history, and Roman tax composition and related systems will be specifically mentioned in subsequent chapters. Roman citizens did not have to pay taxes because they paid taxes through military service, so military service was also called the "blood tax." Those who need to pay taxes are provincial residents, and the provincial tax rate they pay is not high, accounting for about 10% of total income. Rome's allies did not need to pay tribute. Their obligation was to provide reinforcements to Rome in the event of war and to bear the military expenses of the reinforcements. The rest fell under local autonomy. Rome's policy of low tax rates was also based on practical considerations. If the tax rate was too high, it would easily lead to rebellion among the subjects. The cost of suppressing the rebellion would be enough to offset the benefits of the high tax rate, and it would also introduce instability factors, because no one can guarantee it. Victory in every battle. In contrast, Rome adopted a very wise policy. Although the tax rate was only 10%, the areas under the protection of Rome were exempted from the threat of war and could fully devote themselves to economic construction. Moreover, the Roman Avenues built by the Roman army were also used for business. It provided great convenience. The economy of various regions under the Roman Peace has been greatly developed. The whole cake has become bigger. Even if the tax is only 10%, it is enough to maintain the normal operation of the country. I have to praise the Romans. political wisdom!

In addition, the reason why low tax rates can maintain the normal operation of the country is that Rome's state expenditures only include a few items such as military expenditures and administrative staff salaries, while public construction expenditures, such as roads, account for the bulk. Construction, social welfare expenditures, and large-scale public projects, such as the construction and maintenance of the Colosseum, theaters, and baths, are not borne by the national finance, but by the local wealthy and nobles. This is not forced, but voluntary. Yes, because the custom of the Romans is to regard donation of public projects as a kind of family honor. The Latin people regard honor as more important than life, so many world-famous projects, such as Pompeii Theater and Appian Avenue , Trajan's Square, etc., were all donated by individuals, which is also the main reason why the Roman state expenditure was low. As for military expenditures, in the era of war and the early days of the Empire, the size of the army was strictly controlled to ensure a balanced fiscal balance. In the later period, when the military emperor came to power, the expansion of the army became uncontrollable, and military expenditures collapsed This was also an important reason for the final demise of the Roman Empire. The details will be discussed later.

3. Military

There is not much difference between Rome and Greece in military terms. Since the stirrup has not been invented yet, the cavalry only plays the role of reconnaissance and long-distance shooting in the army and cannot be used as The main force charged into battle. The main force of the army was heavy infantry, and its members were mainly composed of Roman citizens. The rest of the light infantry, archers, etc. were composed of civilians or auxiliary troops provided by the Allies. One of the pioneering achievements of the Roman army was the centurion. The centurion was the core of the army, numbering about 80 people, and was the smallest unit for combat. Centurions are the backbone of officers, and many famous generals grew up from centurions.

In terms of combat, what the Roman army was good at was not surprising tactics, but strong logistical support and camp construction. The army's marching route, camping specifications, etc. all had strict standards, which made the Roman army invincible in combat. The ground, and then waiting for opportunities to win, is very consistent with what Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: "Become invincible first, then be victorious." Moreover, there are a lot of opportunities in the army that allow ordinary soldiers to become generals. Promotion is based on strength rather than connections. This attracts a large number of talents to join the army and improves the overall quality of the army. Moreover, Rome was very tolerant of defeated generals and subordinates, and would not execute them for losing the battle. In their concept, defeat itself was a punishment for the generals, so they had to give the defeated generals a chance to wash away their humiliation and let them fight on the battlefield. to regain the honor. This allows generals to use their talents without scruples on the battlefield without having to worry about handling problems after defeat, and it is easier to achieve results. Moreover, those who had the power to command the legions at that time were people with the qualifications of consuls or former consuls. There were a large number of members with the above qualifications in the Senate. This allowed the Roman army to not have to worry about the echelon training of talents, so that it could grow in hundreds of years. It has always maintained the honor of a victorious army, instead of being like the monarchical countries in the East where the death of a certain genius general led to a sharp decline in the combat effectiveness of the entire army and a sluggish military strength. This was also an important reason why Rome defeated the genius general Hannibal in the Second Punic War.

4. Religion

The state religion of Rome is polytheism, which believes in gods such as Zeus, Athena and Apollo. It has the same origin as the gods of Greece, although the names are different. different. Rome, which believes in polytheism, also has a very tolerant attitude towards the religious gods of other nations, and even accepts the patron saints of other nations into the temple and worships them together. This shows the degree of openness of Rome. Religious identification also enabled Rome's policy of assimilation of the defeated to be implemented more thoroughly. From the perspective of the defeated side, there was nothing to lose by joining Rome. Even religious beliefs and aristocratic status were retained, and even Roman citizenship was obtained, and Rome's own people were no different, which is why there were so few local rebellions in Rome.