Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ANCIENT (06/04/20)
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TITLE: Empires Come; Empires Go... | Previous Challenge Entry
By Noel Mitaxa
06/10/20 -
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Some leaving little trace.
But let’s check out ancient Rome, which has left its mark in roads and buildings across Europe; and in relics that fill museums the world over.
Having spent time exploring the amazing time-capsule of Pompeii, and seen remnants of Roman architecture and engineering in Europe and Israel, Hadrian’s Wall was a must-see for me as we headed for Scotland last year.
Begun in 122AD, this wall crossed northern England from the Tyne River to Solway Firth, marking the Empire’s northwest frontier for three centuries and protecting its colony of Britannia from violently-unpredictable Scottish clans.
Northbound, we saw remnants of its western end near Carlisle; but for our return trip, a tiny hamlet at its eastern end called Heddon-On-The-Wall, promised much more
Alas - promise unfulfilled...
Arriving to find no sign of a wall, I asked one of the locals where it had gone. He gestured around us. “It’s in those cottages, that pub, that barn and those stone fences – they’ve all been borrowed from the wall,” he explained, with an expansive smile.
True, the Romans were not still around to complain, or to protect Hadrian’s honour, but I had to ask, “So why isn’t this village called We’ve Hidden the Wall?
He politely – and understandably – ignored this comedic pearl, to point behind me. I turned to see a straight road running west. “That road followed the wall,” he said. “In fact, the Romans built all the straight roads in England, because we like our beer too much to build anything straight!”
Engineers were embedded within Roman troop legions, to assemble catapults or siege engines, but mainly to build roads to ensure supplies of food and reinforcements; and to handle messages for their generals. For the Romans only ever fought to win and to consolidate their gains.
And consolidate they did – in a rule that combined pragmatism with harsh brutality.
Pragmatism came to seduce its subjects through increased living standards that included a continent-wide network of all-weather roads, and engineering projects – somehow based around a numeric system of I, V, X, L, C, D and M - like aqueducts, gymnasiums, libraries and arenas.
Trade and prosperity increased, facilitated by using a common language of koine Greek; a single legal system and piracy-free shipping across the Mediterranean.
It ushered in Pax Romana - two hundred years of peace and security, which enabled subjects from any nation to enlist in the word’s first professional army; become Roman citizens; and even be appointed as local governors.
Could rebels improve on such benefits?
That’s where brutality and resentment enter the picture; for any insurrection was swiftly met with vicious reprisals: death by crucifixion; in gladiatorial blood-sports; or in wholesale massacres. And even where people weren’t rebellious, anyone could be picked on at any time to carry a soldier’s pack for a mile!
Let’s fast-forward to April 21st, 2014, and the spectacle and excitement of Rome’s 2767th birthday – having been founded according to legend in 753 BC.
In the shadows of the Palatine Hill, we’ve joined with cheering crowds that line the plaza between the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine, as cohorts of uniformed Roman soldiers and white-robed vestal virgins are parading past us. it’s all so impressive, but it belongs to ancient times – long gone.
But then, a relic of the “brutality” revives…
After the parade, I take a photo of a soldier, who runs over and snatches my camera. He gives it to a friend who snaps us both. Then I get hit for five euros before he’ll hand my camera back!
But let’s backtrack again to Pax Romana, when the church took root, releasing a new message of love and compassion – armed only with grace and respect, even for those who tried to stamp it out. Not based on any armed might that wielded the fear of death; but offering anyone from anywhere an equal and ultimate hope for eternal life, to remove any fear from death – whether it came naturally or violently.
This grace ultimately overtook Rome’s mighty empire; so now - in a twist that shows God’s sense of humour - we call our sons Peter or Paul, and use names like Caesar or Nero for our pets…
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