The Romans rose from a backwater colony to being the dominant city on the Italian peninsula due to the superiority of the political institutions of this state in comparison to others. One reason explaining this occurrence is that the Romans extended their citizenship to all the nations they conquered. Moreover, the Romans elected their rulers; more specifically, they had two consuls instead of a king, which was typical for other states (Gramah and Kamm 30). The idea of this approach was to ensure that one person would not gain too much power since each console had a right of veto. Therefore, the advanced structure of the Roman political system allowed them to become an empire after being a backwater colony.
The Roman society’s structure also contributed to the advancement of the state. Specifically, there were two classes, the elites, and the common people, and at the early stages, only the elites could become politicians and contribute to the decision-making on the national level (Graham and Kamm 30). However, the Plebian Council, which was established later on, also gained some influence in the state’s politics. This allowed the citizens to participate directly in the development of the state.
The Roman’s conquests also resulted in the state expanding into an empire. Although there were no plans to build an empire, the conflicts with the neighboring kingdoms resulted in the Romans conquering other kingdoms. Since the laws required the extension of the citizenship rights to the conquered, the number of citizens has increased substantially over time. In summary, Romans became the dominant state on the peninsula due to the superiority of their political institutions when compared to those of the other states, as well as the policy of granting citizenship to the conquered nations.
Work Cited
Graham, Abigail and Antony Kamm. The Romans. Routlege, 2020.