An Empire Across The Three Continents (11 history CBSE Board)

An Empire Across The Three Continents (11 history CBSE Board)

          QUESTION ANSWER 

Q1. Write down some basic features of Roman society and economy..

Ans. Basic features of Roman Society.

1. Widespread prevalence of the nuclear family.

2. Wife did not transfer to her husband's authority but retained full rights in the property of her natal family. 

3. The considerable legal rights women enjoyed in owning and managing property.

4. In law married couple was not one financial entity but two. 

5. Divorce was relatively easy and needed no more than a notice of intent to dissolve the marriage by either husband or wife.

6. Prevalence of vast diversity in religious cults.

7. Plurality of languages that were spoken, the styles of dress and costume, the food people ate, and even in their forms of social organisation and patterns of settlement. 

8. The concept of amusement. 

Basic features of Roman Economy.

1. Preference to live in urban centres.

2. Cities as bedrock of the imperial system

3. Cities better provided for.

4. Disputes between the rich and the poor.

5. Constant exchange of commodities between various regions. e.g., wine from Campania, wheat from Sicily and Byzacuim, olive oil from South Spain.

6. Diversified application of water power around the Mediterranean.

7. Use of hydraulic mining techniques in Spanish silver and gold mines.

8. Working on mines on a gigantic scale so much so that the levels of output were not reached till the 19th century. e.g., silver and gold mines of Spain.

9. Existence of well organised commercial and banking networks.

10. Widespread use of money, e.g., silver denarius, and gold solidi.

11. Competition amongst regions for control of the main markets. e.g. olive oil.

Q2.List four important changes undertaken by Diocletin in the structure of the state.

Among the important changes undertaken by Diocletin (284 to 305 AD) in the structure of the state are.

(i) Gave up the pretence that the Roman state was theoretically a republic. He projected himself as a "divine monarch" The emperor was no longer called "princeps" but addressed as "dominus et deus" (divine lord and master).

(ii) Policy of cut back i.e., abandoning of territories with little strategic or economic value.

(iii) Fortified frontiers, reorganised provincial boundaries and made administrative units more compact.

(iv) Separated civil and military functions of the governors, granted greater autonomy to the military commanders (duces) and expanded the imperial bureaucracy by opening it to the middle class which had litherto been excluded.

Q. 3. Briefly discuss the sources which help reconstruct Roman history. 

Ans. Sources which help reconstruct Roman history can broadly be divided into three groups.

1. Texts: Include histories of the period written by contemporaries. Examples: "Annals", letters, speeches, sermons laws and so on.

2. Documentary sources: Include mainly inscriptions and papyri. Large numbers of inscriptions in (Greek and Latin) survive because they were usually cut on rock. Papyri too survive in thousands. They relate to contracts, accounts, letters and official documents

3. Material remains : Include an assortment of items unearthened by archaeologists Examples: buildings, monuments, other kinds of structures, pottery, coins, mosaics and entire landscapes.

 Q. 4. Give some of the major differences between the two superpowers Rome and Iran.

Ans. The empires of the two superpowers Rome and Iran lay next to each other separated only by a narrow strip of land that ran-along the river Euphrates.

1. Rome dominated the Mediterranean and all regions around the sea in both directions

north as well as south. Iran controlled the whole area south of the Caspian sea down to eastern Arabia, and sometimes large parts of Afghanistan as well.

2. The Roman Empire was culturally much more diverse than that of Iran. It was a mosaic of territories and cultures that were chiefly bound together because all were subjects of a single ruler, the emperor, regardless of where they lived and what language they spoke. In contrast in Iran, the Parthians and later the Sasanian dynasties in this period ruled over a population that was largely Iranian.

3. The Romans had a paid professional army where soldiers had to put in a minimum of 25 years of service.In contrast the Iranians had a conscripted army i.e., which was forcibly recruited. Military service was compulsory for certain groups or categories of the population 

Q.5. Discuss the crisis of the 3rd century.

Ans. The crisis of the third century can be viewed from two angles. 1. Increasing control of the aristocracy of the countryside deprived the Roman state of revenue of these areas, weakened the authority of the state and promoted growth of localised centres of power.

2. Mounting military and bureaucratic costs of maintaining the empire. The expansion of the empire had yielded resources required for maintaining a huge army, but by 2nd century the possibilities of expansion were exhausted.

3. On the other hand the empire had to pursue a defensive policy with regards the new dynasty the Sasanians of Iran, which was aggressive and expansionists in the direction of the Euphrates. e.g., Shahpur.

4. A whole series of the Germanic tribal confederacies most notably the Alamanni, the Franks and the Goths mounted increasing pleasure against the Rhine and Danube frontiers. 

5. The protection of the empire became costlier as the emperors of the period were constantly in the field against the "barbarians".

6. To top it, the 3rd century saw a rapid successions of emperors-25 in 47 years. This was both the symptom and cause of the crisis.

Q.6. Roman Empire was a mosaic of cultures. Discuss by giving examples. 

Ans. This Roman Empire was culturally diverse, band together by a common system of governent diversity was reflected in many ways and at many levels. Examples:

1. In the vast diversity of religious cults and local dieties. For example they worshipped Jupiter, Mars, Diana and Minerva. 

2. In the plurality of languages that were spoken. For example Coptic was spoken in Egypt Punic and Barber in North Africa, Celtic in Spain and the North West. It was only for the purposes of administration that Latin and Greek were most widely used.

3. In the styles of dress and costume. 

4. The food people ate.

5. In their forms of social organisation-tribal/non-tribal and patterns of settlement.

Q. 7. Give some of the methods adopted for the management of labour. Give names of three writers who say something about how the Romans treated their workers.

Ans. Among the methods used for management of labour were: 

1. Keeping a reserve stock of implements and tools so that production could be continuous for loss in slave labour time exceeded the cost of such items.

2. Various methods for constant supervision of workers both free and slave were devised. It was a general presumption that without supervision no work would ever get done

Examples:

(i) Workers were grouped into squads of 10.

(ii) Slaves who worked in gangs were usually chained.

(iii) A seal was put on workmens aprons in frankincense factories of Alexandria.

3. Workers were branded to enable retreval if they ran away and tried to hide.

4. Many private employers made agreements with workers in the form of debt contracts to ensure tighter control over them. However not all labour was troubled in these ways. Many a times labour was attracted from all over the East by offer of higher wages. 

Writers: 

(i) Columella (Ist century Roman agricultural writer). 

(ii) Tacitus (Historian of the early empire). 

(iii) Elder Pliny (Author of the famous "Natural History").

Q8. Give a brief account of religious culture in the Roman period.

Ans. The brief account of religious culture in the Roman Period are

1. The traditional religious culture of the Roman Empire was polytheist. It involved multiplicity of cults that included Roman/Italian gods like Jupiter, Juno, Minerva and Mars as well as numerous Greek and eastern deities worshipped in temples, shrines and sanctuaries throughout the empire.

2. The other religious tradition in the empire was Judaism. Within the Jewish communities there was a great deal of diversity.

3. The 4th century Rome was marked by momentous development in religious life. Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity. He made it the official religion of the state. 

4. The christanisation of the empire was a gradual and complex process. Polytheism did not disappear overnight. Christian bishops had to wage a running battle against traditional beliefs and practices. Largely because of their efforts the Church was able to rein in their followers and enforce a more rigid set of beliefs and practices.

Q9. Briefly discuss the causes for the decline of the Roman Empire. 

Ans. Among the various causes which led to the decline of the Roman empire were: 

1. Highly exploitative Roman social formation.

2. Crisis in slave mode of production.

3. Exploitative methods of surplus extraction.

4. Mounting military and bureaucratic costs.

5. Parasitic nature of city of Rome-imperial court, oligarchy, government officials. 

6. Decline in political and administrative importance of the city of Rome leading to displacement of all economic activity centred on the city. 

7. Monetary crisis-silver denairus reform of currency by Diocletian and Constantine not very successful.

8. Internal crisis of Roman empire coincided with external pressure from barbarian tribes.

Fragmentation of the west and establishment of kingdoms by Goths, Vandals, Lombards, completed the process of the empires downfall.

9. Unification of the Arabian peninsula and emerging Islamic state. de 

Q. 10. The Age of Augustus is regarded as the golden period of the Roman Empire. Give reasons.

                             Or

Give some of the salient features of the Augustian age.

Ans. Augustus ruled over Rome as "princeps" from 27 BCE till his death in AD 14. 1. His reign ushered in a period of peace, and prosperity after decades of internal strife and centuries of military conquest. He concentrated on consolidation of the empire rather than on conquering new territories. 

2. Augustus was successful in ensuring a proper balance between the three centres of power the emperor, the aristocracy and the army put on and to the long period of instability of the last few decades. 

3. While keeping, alive the fiction that he was only the leading citizen (Princeps), his reign led to establishing a permanent dictatorship which developed into a monarchy. 

4. Developed an imperial bureaucracy "equites" answerable solely to the emperor and dependent upon him for its authority.

5. Period was marked by gradual expansion of Roman direct rule by absorbing of dependent kingdom's into the Roman provincial territory.

 

6. Establishment of peace and unification in the empire facilitated exchanges between different parts of the Mediterranean long distance seaborne trade and growth of new

urban centres in Spain and Gaul. 

7. The "Augustan age led to Latinization of the western provinces of the empire.

8. It was the golden age of Latin writing and produced the most outstanding poets of the language.

Q. 11. List at least eight important features of the late Empire which set it apart from the early Empire. Ans. Features of Late Empire which set it apart it from the Early Empire

1. In the Early Empire the main title of the emperor had been princeps with Diocletian, the pretence that Roman state was still theoretically a republic was given up. The emperor

was no longer called princeps but addressed as "dominus at deus" (divine lord and master).

 2. Emperors gave up the simple dress, projected himself as a divine monarch started the practice of wearing richly adorned regal dress, and introduced court ceremonials (eg, prostration).

3. Not only was the character of the Roman state was transformed but in the late empire its geographical focus moved from Italy to eastern Mediterranean. Constantine founded the second capital at the city of Constantinople.

4. In the Late Empire a parallel senate was established in Constantinople. These members unlike the senate at Rome were drawn from the provincial elites of the east. They were totally subservient to the emperor. Legislative powers were now concentrated in the hands of the emperors. 

5. In the Late empire the imperial bureaucracy was opened to the middle class (local gentry,

petty traders, urban professionals) which had been excluded in the Early Empire. 

6. The traditional religious culture of the Early Empire was polytheist. Under emperor Constantine of the Late Empire Christanity was made the official religion.

7. The Late Empire was marked by strong urban prosperity, as the ruling elites were wealthier and more powerful than ever before. Papyri which survive from these later centuries show a relatively effluent society, where money was in extensive use, and rural estates generated vast incomes in gold. 

Q.12. Briefly discuss the social hierarchies in the Early and Late Empire and their salient features.

Ans. There are different types of social hierarchies in the Early and Late Empire and their salient features are as follows:

1. The leading social groups of the Early Empire were the senators followed by equestrians, respectable people, unkempt lower class and finally the slaves. By the Late Empire significant developments were that the senators and equestrians had merged into a unified expanded aristocracy. While in the Early Empire half of the senators were of Italian origin, by the Late Empire half of all families which constituted the aristocracy were of African or eastern origin signifying shift in centre of power from Italy to the eastern provinces.

2. The social hierarchies were marked by great disparities both in relation to power and economic well being. The late Roman aristocracy was enormously wealthy but in many ways less, powerful than the purely military elites who came from non-aristocratic backgrounds.

3. In the Late Empire the middle class consisted of those connected with imperial service the bureaucracy and the army, prosperous merchants and farmers. This class drawn largely from eastern provinces for its sustenance depended chiefly on government service, and the state.

4. Below the middle class were the vast mass of the lower classes known collectively as "humiliores". They comprised apart from labour force; workers in industrial and mining establishments, migrant workers, self employed artisans and slaves.

5. The late Roman bureaucracy along with the aristocracy were affluent groups. Bulk of the salary was drawn in gold consequent to founding of the new monetary system based on gold by Emperor Constantine.

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