Why I Think About the Roman Empire

There’s been this debate on how often men think of the Roman Empire and after being asked a few times, I felt that it warranted a post on why I think about the Roman Empire and also how often men generally think of the Roman Empire. Here we go.

Do Men Often Think of the Roman Empire?

On my part, yes I do. Which is strange because there are literally millions of things to think of from the worsening global economy, climate change, AI, etc. Even so, the Roman Empire is one of those things that just pop up in my mind. In my view, I think this shows how enduring the empire turned out to be.

Most empires exist in tactile form but the Roman Empire like other great empires, like the Egyptian Empire, has withstood the sands of time and endured in our thoughts. This, I think is something to admire about the empire and its contemporaries. We men think of the Roman empire for many reasons, and I elaborate on these in this post.

Read about what made Ancient Egypt so great.

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Why I Think About the Roman Empire

Conquest

The biggest reason why I think about the Roman Empire, for me, is their conquest and how good an empire they were at conquering other empires. I shared recently that I believe that men have an “ingratiated need to conquer” and probably that’s why they look to great empires, like the Romans, to learn about what made them such good conquerors.

Therefore, I think of the Romans mainly because they were so good at conquest, albeit not in full agreement with their means of conquest. The Romans pillaged their way into becoming a great empire and snuffed anything and anyone that got in their way. Despite the crude methods, I feel that they were very effective in conquering what and who they wanted to conquer, and did it with a show of strength.

Psychologically speaking, the Romans believed in themselves and their abilities. Yes, they faced a lot of challenges, like the incredible Hannibal who almost took down their empire, and eventually the rise of Christianity, but they did know that they could do whatever they set their minds to and that is what I admire most about them.

The Confluence with Christianity after Centuries Accepting and Accommodating the Religions of their Conquered

Another thing that I really admire about the Romans, leading to my thinking of them, is how they accepted and accommodated the religions and beliefs of their conquered, and eventually how they confluenced with Christianity.

In ancient times, empires would often conquer a people, and then impose their religion and beliefs on them. The Romans, however, opted to let their conquered keep their religions and beliefs and worship freely. This, to me, was such a revolutionary way of looking at religion and the Romans knew that one of the best ways to keep their conquered conquered was to allow them freedom of worship, a stance that they sometimes went back on, especially when it came to Jesus and Judaism.

The End of the Fight with Judaism

Even so, after the initial push and pull with Judaism and the emergence of Christianity as the world’s most popular religion (which can also be argued as Christianity was in some parts forcefully inflicted), the Romans, through the coming to power of Christian emperors, started supporting the religion and merged it to be part of their own. This eventually led to the Roman Catholic church and the Vatican which we now appreciate as the Roman heart of Christianity.

The way the Romans realized that they needed to be part of the Christian community, despite violently fighting it in the past, and their eventual confluence with it, is what I admire about the Romans. They were ‘woke’ or ‘enlightened’ enough to realize that for their empire to endure the sand of time, in one way or another, they needed to be, feel, and look Christian.

Art and Infrastructure

A major reason why men think of the Roman Empire is Roman art and infrastructure.

For the art, I personally do not think the Romans were very artsy in terms of things like paintings and whatnot. Where the Romans flourished was in sculpture and mosaics to adorn their buildings. Now, I also feel a little hesitant to go heaping praise on them, cognizant of the fact that the Romans borrowed heavily from some of the empires they conquered, including the Greeks and Egyptians. Moreover, in some instances, objects were taken from these places and brought to Rome and other places in the empire to adorn the sites.

When it comes to infrastructure, yes, the Romans were quite good. I am most impressed by how they channeled their water supply via aqueducts. The intricate system of sometimes several-story-high aqueducts and how far some of these went, is very impressive to me. It is almost unimaginable today, to think that we could depend on aqueducts for our water supply. The Romans loved their leisure time and most of this was spent having hot baths, necessitating the need for lots of water.

It would not be right for me to also not talk about roads, which is another thing that often triggers thoughts about the Roman empire for men. The Romans had a huge empire and needed to find a way to connect it, and built roads and passageways that could be used to channel information and also the supply of goods and services. Like in modern times, the machine of empire, for the Romans, depended on connectivity and the Romans did their best to connect their world, mostly via roads and also by sea. The Mediterranean had for centuries been the easiest way to traverse the empire but the Romans did recognize that increased connectivity would allow them to adequately rule their burgeoning empire.

The Foundations of Governance and Commerce

Another thing I think the Romans also did quite well, albeit having borrowed heavily from the Greeks and other empires, was their contribution to the foundations of governance and commerce. The Romans were in many ways a bureaucracy that also delegated leadership to governors of certain regions who, in turn, run their own little bureaucracies. The system of governance employed by the Romans and its effectiveness is something I feel is admirable.

Commerce, moreover, is another thing I would give some credence to the empire for. The Romans wanted and promoted commerce knowing very well that it was the foundation of a taxable population. As money moved around via commerce, the people got incomes, part of which the Roman Empire could collect as tax. We even envisage tax greatly via the Roman lens with adages like “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”. Ancient commerce in the Roman empire, which was also borrowed from the Greeks and others, contributed greatly to the foundations of commerce that we partake in today.

Festival and Celebration

The Romans really loved a good time. They were masters in festivals and celebrations, something that I also think was admirable in the sense that through such spectacle, they managed to create a sense of community in their empire.

Remember that the empire constantly conquered other empires and imbibed peoples from numerous backgrounds and regions. As such, through festivals and celebrations, the Romans not only kept themselves happy, but they also kept their people happy, something that I think was ingenious. You can imagine if the Romans were like the Spartans, all war and no play. The empire would have imploded prematurely.

Thanks for reading about the various reasons why I think of the Roman Empire. This is a broad topic, with a wide range of views from different parts of the world. We would like you to contribute and answer the following questions:

• Do you often think of the Roman Empire?
• How often do you think of the Roman Empire?
• How often do men think of the Roman Empire?
• Do women think of the Roman Empire?
• Do women think of any empires at all?
• Why do/don’t women think of the Roman empire?
• Why do/don’t women think of any empire?

Answer any and as many questions as you’d like in the comments below. The comments on this post will be open to everyone, so feel free to contribute.

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