Complex Society In Ancient China

In this essay, I will compare and contrast two different sculptures from two different contexts of art. The first being an Olmec Colossal head (monument 1), from the context of “Art of the Americas,” and the second sculpture being ahead from Rafin Kura. The head from Rafin Kura comes from the context of “Art of Africa.” Both sculptures come from two different time periods and parts of the world. They also are both made with natural materials and have their own symbolic meaning.

By the late sixth century Rome had a republic government, but through a series of civil wars, the roman republic turned into the Roman Empire under a military control. Republics have been able to create empires, they have all, fallen prey to the ambitions of the strongest and most influencial among them. This is what became of the Greek city-states, and it is what finally became of roman when the empire had grown too big.

Rome had so much land they needed to create an efficient way to make laws. Each part of Rome would vote for one of their men citizens to become a representative. The man voted to be the representative would move closer to Rome and vote for laws their people would want. In document D it says , “And the law is as follows: Each citizen wrote the name of the man who in his opinion had the greatest power to destroy the democracy; the man who got the largest number of ostraka was obligated to go into exile from his native land for a period of ten years.” In Ancient Greece, there was a direct democracy. They would have 500 men come together to vote for new laws for their city-state. Rome had the more efficient type of government because it was more fair and fewer people had to vote. Lastly, Rome had a social class and Senate. The Senate would be made up of 300 Patricians. The Patricians are wealthy nobles in the upper class. The Plebeians would vote for the Patricians to become part of the Senate. The Plebeians we part of the common class. The Patricians would have to impress the Plebeians to try to get their vote to become part of the consul. If men were picked to become part of the Senate they served for

As Rome became independent from the Etruscan ruling, its government walked away from having a monarch and transformed into a Republic as a way to avoid the tyranny that many times comes with an absolute autocrat. Rigorous precautions were taken from the start in order to keep the power balanced. Moreover, the structure of the government was meant to be resilient to bad judgment. The structure of the Roman Republic with its government and law provided for a more just system.

From 509 BC to about 27 BC, Rome was considered a republic. During this time there was no single leader of Rome and the government was run by elected officials. The main leaders of the Roman Republic were the consuls. There were always two consuls in power at a time. Each year new consuls were elected to serve for a one-year term. This kept any one man from becoming too powerful in the government. At the time the Senate was the most powerful governing body in Rome. The Senate had control of the state’s finances and foreign policies. Senators were elected by the people to represent them in government. The Senate was made up of 300 of the most elite and wealthiest of the Roman Republic. One of the most important roles of the Senate to undergo the checks and balances of the Roman government. Checks and balances are the “principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power” (The Editors). The checks and balances of Rome helped to stabilize the government and allowed the power to be distributed somewhat equally between the consul, the Senate, and the people. However, the fall of the Roman Empire eliminated this type aspect of government in Rome (Kagan 101-103).

Throughout the rise and fall of the Roman empire, the government was a combination of a democracy and republic. Starting with Romulus, Rome was first ruled by a series of seven kings until 509 BCE when Rome constructed itself a Republic til

As mentioned earlier, the Roman Empire was initially being ruled by Etruscan kings and as many people were not in an accord in being ruled by a king, the last king called Tarquinius Superbus was thrown out through a revolt led by a man named Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 B.C and a new type of government had started. Like many countries today, The Roman government became a republic. In a republic, citizens in the empire vote to elect representatives to rule on their favor; this way, things were fairer in some ways. In the Republic, both men and women were considered citizens, however, only men could vote. Along the structure of the Republic were magistrates who were two consuls who worked together. These ran the government and led the army in wartime (Grolier Online). Consuls were selected every year in assemblies in which adult male citizens voted. There was also the Senate, which was made up of wealthy aristocrats, the heads of noble families, and hereditary priests (Ward). The Senate offered advise to the

The Roman Republic was established in 509 B.C. BC after overthrowing the Etruscan kings. As democracy was getting started in Athens, the Roman aristocrats (the rich) wanted to get rid of Etruscan kings so they can get more power. They needed the poor men to fight for them. So they promised the poor men that they would be given power in the new government, if they can help get rid of the Etruscan kings. The poor men decided to help, and together the king was threw out in 510 B.C. But once the kings were out, the rich did not give the poor men what they had promised. So the poor men protested and went on strike. The Roman aristocrats had to make a concession, and they let the poor vote. People in Roman Republic voted for representatives who express their opinion like the way United States does. But the only people who could be elected to the Roman Senate were the rich people. Then the poor made the aristocrats agree that the poor men could also elect tribunes, who can say no to any

Concomitant with the Athenian system, in the city of Rome popular government was introduced as well, albeit under a different name, respublica (from "res" – thing and "publicus" – public). Consequently the republic was similar with Greek demokratia. At the beginning only aristocrats or patricians were allowed to participate at the governing act, but "after much struggle the common people [….] also gained entry" (Dahl, 1998: 13). Only male patricians, later lower castes as well, were able to govern, meaning that women, same as in Athens, were denied any political rights. Starting as a city-state, the Roman Republic conquered territories far beyond its initial borders and gave Roman citizenship to the conquered people. Even though this system might seem sturdy, the impossibility to adjust the institutions of popular government to the increasing number of citizens and the ever-growing Republic is a major flaw. In order to exert their political rights, the conquered people turned into Roman citizens had to participate in meetings in the city of Rome, a tedious and expensive effort, which corroborated with the increase in

Ancient Rome consisted of two main forms of government, the Republic and the Empire, each of which lasted about five centuries. At first, Rome was a republic, governed by members of wealthy classes. As the Republican form of government continued, a series of civil wars led to the breakdown of the system, and a new form of government, the Empire, was established in its place. The Empire began with a prolonged period of peace, the Pax Romana. However, like the Republic, the Empire also turned foul and collapsed after the Pax Romana. Still, a citizen of the Empire was better off than a citizen of the Republic. Health problems were less severe in the Empire than in the Republic. Moreover, the Empire was more peaceful and better able to provide necessities for average citizens than the Republic was. The political situation was also better in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire generally provided a healthier and higher quality of civic life than the Roman Republic.

After being mistreated by their last king, Romans didn’t want to be controlled by one supreme ruler. So, they formed a republic, where each citizen has the right to vote to pass laws and elect officials. This system worked for centuries, in such a way that no one person or group of people was more powerful than another. Rome’s government had many ways to balance power.

The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.

Slavery has played a strong role in African society from as early as prehistoric times, continuing to the modern era. Early slavery within Africa was a common practice in many societies, and was very central to the country’s economy. Beginning around the 7th century, two groups of non-African slave traders significantly altered the traditional African forms of slavery that had been practiced in the past. Native Africans were now being forced to leave the country to be used as slaves. The two major slave trades, trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic, became central to the organization of Africa and its societies until the modern era. Slavery and the slave trade strongly affected African society, and

Roman government is the origin for all of our current government system. The Romans has three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The executive had two councils that decided on pretty much every affair within the empire. In the legislative branch was a senate, which advised the executive branch. Lastly in the judicial they had a Supreme Court. Also there was a written law consisting of twelve tablets that gave allowed the citizens to know their rights. As one can tell, the Roman system of government is much like the one currently residing in the United States of America.

     A pattern that was common among the ancient civilizations of China, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India was that most of them started as a dictatorship, a monarchy, or a dynasty. Eventually, most of them changed to a democracy, republic, or to class systems. Almost all of the civilizations had one or two great leaders. For example, Egypt had King Tut, Greece had Alexander the Great and Rome had Julius Caesar.