The Golden Age of the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon and the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon claimed that the Roman Empire in the second century A.D. was a true golden age. However, there is evidence that can give credence to his argument and evidence that can refute the same argument. To credit his argument, it is notable that during the second century A.D., the Roman Empire had become firmly established and had perfect and singular coalitions of its various members. The nations that were subject to Rome rule lost their hope to be independent and embraced the Roman culture as their own. Therefore, the Roman Empires ambitious conquest design was successful as they were able to conquer and bring to subjugation many nations during this period.

The Decay and Destruction of Rome

However, the prosperity of Rome was also what ripened its decay and destruction. This disputes Gibbons since as the Roman Empire continued its conquest of cities, they gradually multiplied their chances of destruction. The reason for this was that they incorporated strangers and mercenaries who ultimately led to the collapse of the Empire as they begun to challenge its sovereign rule.

Therefore, because of the power that this empire held, the Romans became ignorant of the various dangers that strangers and other neighbors of the empire posed. This meant that there was a lax of security on their part which led to them being attacked and overpowered by their neighbors who had planted spies in the midst of their empire. Eventually, the Roman Empire disintegrated and fell during this period. Therefore, refuting the argument that this period was a true golden age for the Roman Empire.

The Spread of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity

Around the world, there are various religions practiced but the main ones include Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. Buddhism was started by Siddharta where through concentration, he sought enlightenment. He practiced intense meditation and after 40 days he was able to reach the ultimate goal which is Nirvana. After attaining Nirvana which was an enlightened state, he was now known as Buddha which means the awakened one. Buddha set out on a journey to share as well as teach others his experience and for several decades, he spread his philosophy to those that were interested. Soon after his death small communities of nuns as well as monks sprung up and spread these teachings which made them reach far and wide. Unlike other religions such as Christianity, the spread of Buddhism was very peaceful. This religion was characterized by tremendous civilizing impact towards its adherent’s social-religious life. Whenever this religion spread, cultures were impacted as the religion brought a liberating influence on the actions as well as thoughts of individuals.

Christianity began after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The efficiency of the Roman Empire made the spread of Christianity easier. Initially, there were a lot of persecutions for the early Christians from the Roman Government. However, over time, the religion became accepted and was even adopted by the Roman government. There were several social and cultural implications that were brought about by the spread of Christianity. Specifically, the religion stood opposed to women degradation, infanticide as well as called for the worship of a sole deity. This forced those that adopted the religion to change their way of life and adopt the Christian values.

Essentially, Hindus are of the belief that Hinduism is a way of life rather than being a structured religion. Compared to Christianity and Buddhism, the spread of Hinduism was facilitated by the migration of Hindus from place to place. Everywhere they went, they took their religion with them and it thus spread to many countries. The religion is polytheistic in nature thus everywhere it was spread, the way of life changed in regard to who was worshipped. The Hindu way of life swallowed up other ways of life where Hinduism was practiced.