As Rome conquered nations, the country exerted its influence against the natives by spreading its power, a process referred to as Romanization. The Emperor of the Roman Empire took control of the conquered nations, assigning duties to governors to facilitate administration within cities. While the main objective of Rome was to secure new resources for its economic activities, the spread of power across the conquered nations led to the development of new architecture and citizenship policies, which influenced the economic and social life of the natives.
The process of Romanization impacted the architectural culture of the Roman world. In particular, it influenced how roads were built in conquered cities. Prior to the invasion of Rome, the majority of Europe lacked well-developed infrastructure. However, Romanization set the pace for an architectural culture that would later be absorbed across major provinces. According to Curchin (2004), the Romans introduced a new way of building roads, referred to as viae glarea stratae, which consisted of a base of compacted sand, crushed rocks, gravels in cement mortar, sand, and large stone slabs, with a drainage ditch on either side. The same approach of architecture was utilized in the majority of the nations where Rome spread its power, including France and Belgium. The fact that advanced ways of building roads rose during Rome’s rule implies that Romanization had a significant impact on the architectural culture.
Romanization also impacted citizenship policies across Roman-conquered cities. Before Rome conquest, citizenship laws were limited in the majority of the European nations. However, studies show that during the process of Romanization, new policies were established, such that becoming a citizen of Rome in some of its colonies required individuals to either enlist in the army or serve in the auxiliary units for 25 years (Renee, 2011). In others, people could become citizens by providing any form of service to the governors of the provinces. Evidently, Romanization had impacted the cultural citizen policies within the conquered cities.
In addition to being foreign to the natives, the above cultural structures greatly impacted people’s economic and social life in both positive and negative ways. For instance, the cultural structure of architecture brought positive economic changes in the conquered cities. As noted by Renee (2011), the well-developed roads offered safer transportation for goods and troops coming into the provinces. The changes in infrastructure following Romanization facilitated trade and brought economic growth within the provinces. However, there were also adverse effects of Romanization, especially concerning citizenship policies. The new policy confined citizenship to members of the army and others who could offer services in the cities. Therefore, while some cultural changes were economically beneficial, others introduced multiple limitations to the process of citizenship.
While the process of Romanization may have ended years ago, the event is commemorated today through various artifacts. An example of such artifacts is the Arch of Titus located in Rome. According to scholars, the Arch of Titus is a Roman Triumph Arch, which honors the victory of Rome in the Jewish war (McFayden, 1915). Although the Arch is a site of admiration for many, it marks a major event in the history of Rome. While other artifacts are evident in present times, the Arch of Titus is just an example of how historical events, such as Romanization, is memorialized in the cultural context.
Overall, Romanization greatly impacted the cultural structures of the natives. The process changed the architectural structure and citizenship policies across its conquered cities. Some of the changes brought economic growth while others restricted the process of citizenship to certain groups of people. For years now, Romanization is commemorated in the cultural context through artifacts such as the Arch of Titus.
References
Curchin, L. (2004). The Romanization of Central Spain: Complexity, Diversity and Change in a Provisional Hinterland. New York, Routledge.
McFayden, D. (1915). The date of the Arch of Titus. The Classical Journal, 11(3), 131-141.
Renee, W. (2011). On the back of the army: A comparative study of Romanization in Britain and Egypt. UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. Retrieved from http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2291&context=thesesdissertations.
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