The Roman Empire

Rome initially emerged as a powerful city-state and subsequently spread to become a large empire. The authority of the emperor was understood in terms of the conception of dominium, which meant the right of ownership of land and people connected with it. Unlike the other city-states, which were democratized, the Roman Empire gave birth to the res republica. The republic was dominated by the aristocratic power and the Senate was the arm of this aristocratic power, though, subsequently, its base was broadened. The main characteristics of the Roman Empire in the context of the emergence of the State were a systematized code of Roman law that helped to distinguish between state and society, a citizenship defined by law and not by strict territoriality, the concept that state power was founded in law leading to the development of the ‘rule of law. The population was divided into two major classes, the patricians and the plebeians. Unlike Greek slaves, the plebeians enjoyed greater privileges. As the Roman Empire continued its expansion east and northward, its downfall started. Rural unrest and slave rebellions on the one hand and barbarian invasions from the north by Germanic tribes weakened the Roman Empire.²¹