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Justification of Roman Aggression for the Glory of an Empire

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The Mind Behind the Machine: The Justification of Aggression for the Glory of an Empire

The Roman Empire is one that has historically been shown in a positive light to the western world. We think this way despite the fact that we have a very limited knowledge of this empire that began to flourish over two-thousand years ago. What we do have are beautiful works of art and architecture that have stood the test of time, as well as books from famous writers such as Cicero and Plutarch who have told grand tales of Roman life and the powerful men who ruled and waged battles on a grand scale. Even with our vague knowledge of the Romans we still know leaps and bounds more about them than those who they conquered and due to their sheer power and our sense of wonderment learning more about their culture and the morals they tried to uphold, we find ourselves taking the Roman side since this is the one side of the story that most of us know. Roman conflict and the wars that they waged are explained in detail by historians and texts but interestingly enough, not much is given in the way of the thought process or motive behind the wars, nor about the people whom the Romans conquered. So what truly lay behind the Roman war machine then and how did they justify their actions as they fought with different people one after the other? Despite all the awe and wonder the Roman image seems to project in modern times, the way they justified their wars to themselves and to their people tells the tale on the what truly lay at the root of the empire. Rome was an empire that since its beginnings had rooted itself in conflict. As a result of all of the conflict that resulted from the line of king’s (especially the idea of just one ruler having so much power) the move was made towards a republic that would better serve

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