HIS 103 Ashford University Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire Discussion

Answer the 1 question below and reply to each student.

Student Reply must be over 150 words.

Make sure all student replies you start it with Hello (Student Name),

Question 1:

Prior to completing your post, please review the The Anatomy of a Discussion Board (Links to an external site.) and the Critical Thinking: A Guide to Skillful Reasoning (Links to an external site.) supplementary web pages. It is recommended that you consult the HIS103 State Consolidation in the Classical Age Tour (Links to an external site.) for additional sources. In addition, the HIS103 Research Guide: Library Resources and Primary Sources supports all assignments for this course; it provides links to relevant books, articles, and primary sources.

You are a visitor from a foreign land. You are taking notes on your trip, trying to identify characteristics of the place you are visiting in terms of how they compare to and contrast with your own society.

First, create an identity for yourself based on a historically-informed character from one of the societies in this week’s reading in Chapters 3 and 4:

Next, decide where you are visiting, choosing from among the societies in this week’s reading in Chapters 3 and 4:

After you have established who you are, where you are from and where you are visiting, choose three of the following categories as the basis for comparing your home society and the one you are visiting:

Social structure (What are the different social classes or groups in each society? Are the life experiences similar or different for these groups based on their wealth or social status? How does each society determine what elevates or lowers social status? Is it possible for people in each society to change their social status?)

Political organization (How does government work in each society? Who participates in governance?)

Cultural or technological achievements (What are major cultural or technological accomplishments in each society?)

Legal system (What are the principles of justice in each society? How are they upheld?)

Religious or spiritual systems (What are key religious or spiritual principles that dominate in each society?)

Gender roles or ideals (What roles or behaviors are seen as appropriate or ideal in each society? Be sure to explain if they the same or different for women and men.)

Your initial post due by Day 3 should be a minimum of 300 words. Write up a report detailing who you are, where you are from, where you are visiting, along with your observations on the categories of comparison you have selected from the list above. What details and examples will make your report of interest to your people? What details and examples would fascinate someone reading your report many years later? Capture attention by supplying specific examples drawn from course materials or sources produced by your own research. Cite and format all sources according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center, using both in-text citation and providing full references at the bottom of your post.

Student Reply 1: Andrew

I am Marcus Octavius, a common from outside of the city. I was born a Latin. I served in the military and acquired land through a series of business deals. I am a Roman. My wife is of Latin class. Her father agreed to let her marry me 3 years ago.

I am on a fact finding mission. I have travelled to a far-away place called the Yucatan peninsula to the home of a people called the Mayans. For as far away from the center of the world as these people are, I have noticed we seem to share similarities. They have many gods. Different gods, governing different things. This is the Roman way as well. These people are of the notion their king is something of a god. It is good and right to have many gods. I have heard of places with only one god. Such people must be considerably weak to only be graced by one god. Even hundreds of years in the future, Rome would sooner split in two than have only one god for the empire. Although they are accurate in their worship of many gods, they have barbarous tendencies, like the Germanic people. These peoples’ gods are very hungry for human blood. It is one thing to burn a goat for the gods, it is another to take the heart of a human. It is not a noble way for a man to die. A man should die at the hands of his enemy; either for combat or sport. A sacrifice to Caesar is also acceptable.

These people seem to have a social order, much like that of Romans. Again, they are doing things correctly. It is not an order quite as fleshed out as that of Rome. But they do believe different rules apply to different people. Their classes are more jumbled together and a touch less nuanced than that of the empire. I give them marks for trying.

Where I am most impressed is with their knowledge of the heavens and the cycles of the year. It is very complex. We too have this, but theirs seems to be more exhaustive. I am by no means saying their system is more advanced or accurate than the system of the Romans, but I do point out that Caesar in his glorious and magnanimous wisdom replaced the old Roman calendar with that of the Egyptian’s.

In summation of the findings of my journey, I do believe with the proper motivation, these people are worthy of being conquered and brought into the embrace and fold of the empire.

References

Gregory-Abbot, C. & Mahdavi, F. (2018) World History: The Human Experience to 1600 [Electronic version.] Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/

Student Reply 2: Harley

My name is Dacey. I am a Mayan artist. I am considered middle class and live inside the city of Cobá. I am traveling across the world to Rome on an adventure. The Early Republic is a culture shock. It is different than anything I expected. So, I have quickly learned that we have some similarities.

Similar to my people, the Mayans, the Romans have a social order. However, there is a big difference. They have a Patronage system, “in which patricians provided protection and support to plebeians in return for respect and political support.” (Gregory-Abbot, C. & Mahdavi, F. 2018, 4.2). This is a big deal for their whole system as it allowed the patricians to help the plebeians during war or tragedy. The difference is the plebeians have more rights and power than the lower class of the Mayans. It got even more complicated as this system could be used by the plebeians for others in the same class. This is unlike my people who stayed in their said class without help from the others. For example, farmers live outside of the central city and only had help from their wives. The last class in most civilizations is slaves. This is the same in my city, and it is the one exception. Slaves did live in the city but under those that they served. Something we do have in common is our marriages. The Mayans and The Romans have arranged marriages. This was set up by the parents, and it allows for certain types of relationships to flourish. This is important for political power.

Women still have some authority in Rome. In areas, the property could get passed down. Women are still considered to be under their father’s control. At least until he passed that authority onto the new husband. However, “a Republican woman could retain her property and independence.” (Gregory-Abbot, C. & Mahdavi, F. 2018, 4.2). This is unlike my people, The Mayans. The treatment and expectations of women are based on their social status. However, this did not give those women of high social status any political power. In fact, the only reason a woman is able to hold a high position is that her son is too young to be in control yet. They are basically place holders until their son is of age.

Religion is an essential part of many civilizations. This is an area, as separate societies are the same. We are both polytheistic and believe in multiple gods. The Romans worship the gods Mars, Minerva, Jupiter, and Juno. Which are similar to my people, “Among the most important of these deities were the gods of the sun, agriculture, crops, rain, and thunder and lightning, and the goddess of the moon and marriage.” (Gregory-Abbot, C. & Mahdavi, F. 2018, 3.4). We both believe that sacrifices are essential to please the gods. This will, in turn, create a happier life for our people. The Romans take their religion seriously and even though they tolerate those that believe differently. The Romans stay alert and suspicious of those people.

In the end, this trip has been more than art. It has been an awakening. One that truly shows that the world offers more then anyone could have imagined. I cannot wait until my next trip.

Reference

Gregory-Abbot, C. & Mahdavi, F. (2018) World History: The Human Experience to 1600 [Electronic version.] Sect. 3.4 & 4.2 Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/