From Civilizations to Empires

The role of empires in the second wave era reveals a shift in emphasis towards ruling political parties, distinguished hierarchies, predominantly patriarchal values emboldened with masculinity, and for some empires an exchange and embracing of differing cultural ideologies. One of the empires that I found intriguing was that of Rome. Many aspects of the Roman Empire can be found in popular culture. For example, in researching how a Republic transforms in to an Empire, George Lucas studied the Roman Empire and this influence can be seen in his Star Wars films; Lucas establishes a Republic and ruling Senate similar to patricians along with a Jedi council acting as an advisory board. Once power is handed over to Senator Palpatine, due to war the Republic is pushed to expand and police farther regions which in turn leads to the transformation of Senator Palpatine to Emperor Palpatine. This is similar to the power granted to Augustus in Rome, who would become the emperor to what once was a Republic. The intriguing notion is that many viewers today see parallels between the events in Star Wars to political events occurring today, even though the political backdrop of the films were influenced by the Roman Empire amongst others.

Furthermore, it is interesting to compare Rome to China regarding cultural assimilation. In China, non-Chinese or “barbarians” (Strayer, 2013) were actively assimilated in to society through the adoption of China’s culture, language and intermarriage. The Roman Empire in contrast did not force cultural assimilation, but allowed for citizenship status for those who “provided service to the empire or in recognition of their adoption of Roman culture.” (Strayer, 2013). Rather than force a citizen of Greek or Egyptian origin to assimilate culturally, Rome displayed respect for other cultures and in many ways was influenced for example by Greek literature and art. This concept is further conveyed in a formal speech which Aelius Aristides delivers during the pax Romana where he proclaims “there has arisen a single harmonious government which has embraced all men.”(Strayer, 149). While his speech could be considered a primary source, one should also question how much exposure did Aristides have to the numerous non-Roman citizens and their experiences, or was he simply attempting to gain leverage by showering emperor Antonius with compliments?

In addition to the concept of societal cultural identity, second wave civilizations also introduced the concept of religion. With its “mandate of heaven” (Strayer, 2013), China’s initial philosophy of Legalism and its rigid approach along with Confucianism reveal that religion was directly used as a political means in understanding how to govern. And while Daoism in many ways “urged a withdrawal into the world of nature,” Confucianism was associated with the elite ruling body. In contrast with Legalism and Confucianism, other religions established such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity in many ways sought to understand the meaning behind life and suffering, referencing higher powers and states of being. In a portrait account, an upper class Roman citizen named Perpetua was executed for her refusal to denounce her Christian belief, which gave “expression to Egyptian resistance against Roman or Byzantine oppression” (Strayer, 2013).

Along with the concept of religion, social inequality was further developed through not just a caste and class system, but also with gender. A more patriarchal society was established for example in China, where women were defined by the “three obediences”(Strayer, 2013) to the father, husband and son. In Athens, women were not allowed to be involved in political assemblies and were referred to as an “infertile male” (Strayer, 2013). There were some civilizations such as Sparta, which allowed women to participate in sporting events and did not enforce segregation. So while the formation of certain empires allowed for the creation of cultural and religious ideals, and a strong cultural identity, they also led to the establishment of more social inequality with an emphasis on the patriarchal role.

Strayer, W. (2013). State and Empire in Eurasia/North Africa, Culture and Religion in Eurasia/North Africa, Society and Inequality in Eurasia/North Africa, Commonalities and Variations, 19-141, 167-183, 233-240.