Parallelism Roman Empire-United States of America

**Alex Khan** · July 26, 2015, 04:14 PM

Republicanism:

After removal of the last king Tarquinius, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC
British North American colonies declared their independence against the British Empire, and after winning the Revolutionary War, the colonies declared themselves a constitutional federal republic and voted to never again allow to submit a king.

Two-party system

The political system in Roman Republic had two parties, Populares and Optimates, that in US have two main parties, Republicans and Democrats

Rise as a power:

Rome became a mediterranean power after defeating Carthage in the two Punic Wars.
US became a global superpower after defeating Germany in two World Wars.
Romans annihilated celtic tribes as the americans proceeded with native tribes.

Politics:

As during the Roman Republic, elections for a limited time in the US are expensive, and many politicians are indebted to interest groups.
Patricians greatly influence the election as US corporations influence elections today.
As ancient roman politicians, American politicians aim for high public office to accumulate a personal wealth.
Roman Consuls were elected for a limited period, American presidents are elected for a limited period
Rome had a Senate, US have a Senate/Parliament

Profitable wars:

Roman Empire getting rich after wars in Macedonia, Gaul, Hispania, Dacia or Britania.
American military industry earned huge profits from a recent local wars like Vietnam War, Korean War, War in Afghanistan or Iraq War
50% from roman treasury was invested in the army , as much like US military & defence budget
Both have great professional armies

Preventive war:

In 149 BC, Cato the Elder has called for the destruction of Carthage for its rise commercial represent a potential threat.
In 2003, the Bush administration initiated the invasion of Iraq because Saddam Hussein had WMD hidden.

Civil War

As Roman Republic which was devastated by a series of civil wars in first century BC, in 1860-1865, US it went through a secessionist war.

External influences:

Like the Roman Empire, the US role in foreign relations and diplomacy is high to ensure their interests and maintain stability.

Selfless Leadership

Rooted in agrarian societies, commitment to family and mutual citizen interdependence were basic in each society. Cincinnatus, a Roman farmer, saved the republic from invading Aequi tribes in 458 B.C. and again in 439 B.C. when a conspiracy threatened the government. In both cases, he was named dictator, but shortly thereafter resigned his commission to return to farming. George Washington, a Virginia farmer who led the fight against the British, resigned after his second term as president to return to his Virginia estate. Both men are examples of leaders who put the needs of their country before their personal interests.

Eternal Cities

Rome and Washington DC have much in common in terms of urban and arhitectural planning.

Middle class

In the period before the fall of the Republic, the middle class was ruined by cheap labor of slaves.
Differences between rich and poor increased.
Today, thanks to the financial crisis, the middle class stagnated because many Chinese are willing to work efficient for low wages and fewer rights.

Tolerance

With rare exceptions, Rome was an open society for many ethnicities and religions as USA today.Rome welcomed other people – particularly its vanquished enemies – into Roman citizenship, even accepting the gods of the newcomers.

Infrastructure

Like the Roman Empire, the US benefits from an advanced sewage system,swimming pool like roman public baths, pipeline like a roman aqueduct, roads, bridges, concrete buildings with floors and windows glasses and Shopping Malls like oldest roman forums

Language

Latin was dominant in the Mediterranean as global English in present.

Entertainment

If the Romans builded circular amphitheatres for battles between gladiators , americans build circular arenas for football matches.

The threat from outside

Migratory populations as Vandals, Huns, Visigoths posed a great threat to the borders of the Roman Empire
Islamic terrorists pose a threat to US security and interests.

Conflict with Persia

Parthian Empire and the Roman Empire have been in continuous rivalry as the US and Iran

Religion

Religion Christian, mostly in the US, have many traditions and holidays taken by Roman paganism: example- Christmas / Saturnalia, Valentine's Day / Lupercalia
Roman Empire face off with the spread of Christianity, the US faces the spread of Islam.

Ascension of China

In the roman empire period, Han dynasty flourish.
Recently, China aims to become a global economic power.

Other comparisons?

**Sir Adrian** · July 26, 2015, 06:05 PM

If we follow that rationale every country on earth can be compared to the Roman Empire

**Hobbes** · July 26, 2015, 08:56 PM

Cincinnatus and Washington were not farmers lol

**Caligula's_Horse** · July 27, 2015, 10:34 AM

The parallels are thin to a point you could apply them to just about any country of any real influence on world affairs.

**diegis** · July 27, 2015, 11:32 AM

Other parallels

- both were/are the superpowers of their time
- both have great professional armies, arguably the best in the world (anyway, nobody is invincible obviously)
- the political system in Roman Republic had two parties, Populares and Optimates, that in US have two main parties, Republicans and Democrats
- Roman Consuls were elected for a limited period, American presidents are elected for a limited period
- Rome had a Senate, US have a Senate/Parliament
- both had/have client states around the world (or the world back then, ancient Rome obviously lacked the logistic and technological development to reach every part of the globe)
-see as well Romanization vs globalization, Roman Arenes and games vs American Hollywood (lets not compare the sports, US is lacking here a lot, especially by lacking in football department, is like Rome lacking in Gladiatorial games, they are really not a world attraction point here)

**Magister Militum Flavius Aetius** · July 27, 2015, 01:07 PM

Well we do have an intense rivalry with Iran, and an immigration problem, just like the Romans did.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Wulfburk** · July 27, 2015, 01:10 PM

All those are thin similarities, which a lot of other countries have, and a major difference is the USA has NEVER had any hegemony for a extended period of time, unlike the Roman Empire, and Britain 1815-1922, and the Mongols, and etc etc etc.

If anything the british were much more similar to the roman empire, using colonial troops extendedly, and how both empires fell completely (the western roman empire that is) in a small time schedule. (though unlike Rome, the british core territories were never really threatned).

And another major difference is that the USA never fought a war against a major power by itself

And when it fought major powers with the help of other major powers, it wasnt the one who held the blunt. Spain in 1880 wasnt even a secondary power. Unlike Carthage, the Seleucids, Macedons...

AND another major difference is the extended conquests outside of its core regions. (Italy for rome, north america for the USA). Which after taking the already few spanish colonies they had (philippines, puerto rico etc), it stopped. Unlike all the major european colonial powers of the time, Portugal, Spain, France, Britain...

**Roma_Victrix** · July 27, 2015, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Shuu

If we follow that rationale every country on earth can be compared to the Roman Empire

Originally Posted by Caligula's_Horse

The parallels are thin to a point you could apply them to just about any country of any real influence on world affairs.

You guys beat me to it!

Seriously, though, the US does not spend 50% of its national budget on defense and maintenance of the military. The US annual national budget managed by the Congress is about $3.02 trillion, of which $521 billion is delegated to defense spending. That means roughly 17% or almost one-fifth of the budget is tied up in defense spending, not one half. Also, OP, you mention the word "Romanian" several times, which does not refer to Romans, but to the modern-day country of Romania. Many of your points could be applied to various countries of various periods of world history. For instance, China has been the most populous and most prosperous country in the world several times in global history (when it wasn't politically fractured between competing dynasties in nationwide civil war). For that matter, comparing ancient Han-dynasty China to the current People's Republic of China is almost as odd as comparing the USA to the Roman Empire.

Other comparisons that the OP could have made:

1) The Romans had hands, the Americans have hands
2) The Romans had feet, the Americans have feet
3) The Romans had hair, the Americans have hair
4) The Romans had eyeballs, the Americans have eyeballs
5) The Romans had expensive armies, the Americans have expensive armies
6) The Romans had big cities and trade hubs, the Americans have big cities and trade hubs
7) The Romans had merchants and business owners, the Americans have merchants and business owners
8) The Romans produced tons of glasswares, the Americans produce tons of glasswares
9) The Romans had skilled musicians and songwriters, the Americans have skilled musicians and songwriters
10) The Romans used flush toilets, the Americans use flush toilets

etc. etc. etc.

We could go on all day, really.

**Magister Militum Flavius Aetius** · July 27, 2015, 03:00 PM

The Romans didn't use flush toilets, you sat on a bench over running water. The flushable toilet wasn't invented until the 19th century.

the Americans have skilled musicians and songwriters

Haven't had any new ones since the 1980's.

**Cyclops** · July 27, 2015, 04:38 PM

Rome was many things, a glorious republic, a pagan empire, a Christian monarchy, decadent, vital, innovative, hidebound, secular, priest ridden, defended by citizen soldiers, raped by foreign mercenaries, and so on. As stated its possible to find parallels in almost any society in there somewhere.

If OP has noticed some nods to Roman culture in the US that would be because of the self-conscious way the founders of the US appealed to an idealised form of the Roman past. A gaggle of states based on the British and French constitutions bound together with an 18th century re-imagining of late republican forms is not a city state that carved a path of glory over two millennia.

It would be more convincing to list French Republican/Napoleonic state and cultural forms to late republican/Imperial Roman ones (eagles! eagles everywhere!), both are a rather meaningless exercise.

Originally Posted by Magister Militum Flavius Aetius

...

Haven't had any new ones since the 1980's.

Maybe Han China is a better model for OP to appeal to?
edit dammit I was going to link to a Wang Chung video, cos its from the 1980's and it is a vaguely Chinese soundling name. I
It would've been hilarious, trust me.

**Roma_Victrix** · July 27, 2015, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by Magister Militum Flavius Aetius

The Romans didn't use flush toilets, you sat on a bench over running water. The flushable toilet wasn't invented until the 19th century.

Well, the Roman toilet system used rushing water, so it's kind of a flush toilet.

You're right, though, about the flush toilet in the modern sense with a mechanically-operated tank and valve. However, the origins of that actually precede the 19th century, with Alexander Cumming's S-Trap pioneered in 1775 (thanks for throwing me a life raft there, Wikipedia! I was drowning in a rebuttal).

Haven't had any new ones since the 1980's.

I take it you're not a fun of the whole grunge/alternative rock music scene of the early to mid 1990s, although the big bands of that movement like Soundgarden and Nirvana started in the 1980s, so I guess even then you could argue that they are a product and result of the 80s.

Nothing beats 80s thrash metal, though. I dare you to defy that statement.