The Persian and the Roman Empires

The Persian Empire and the Roman Empire are among the greatest empires the world has ever seen. The Persian Empire featured a sequence of dynasties that were centered in Persia. The dynasties were formed as a result of conquest by ancient rulers such as the conquest of Babylonia, Lydia and Medina and later other dynasties followed to form the great Persian Empire. The vast empire spanned large geographical area which featured Turkey to its northern side and Egypt to its west and also ran through Mesopotamia. The Roman Empire was also a large empire that featured governance that was led by emperors. The Empire had large territories in places like Europe, Asia, and Africa. This paper is going to compare the Roman and Persian empires in relation to highlighting their successes and the assimilation of their conquered subjects into a centralized government. The two empires feature some similarities in the way they were run and on other fronts.

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Similarities

Both empires had governments that run similar to monarchies. The Persian Empire had kings like Darius and Cyrus while the Roman Empire had a senate, consuls, and tribunes. These forms of government in both empires gave the people some autonomy and can be likened to some democracy (Daniel et al., 260). This is what made both empires such a success.

Expansion was a central theme in both empires. Persia expanded its empire through war as the kings waged war and conquered territories in their expansion bid. The Roman Empire also expanded by conquering civilizations one by one to create a great empire. Through these expansions, the empires took in regions with diverse cultures and religion and what made the empires stand was the fact that both the empires were tolerant to these differences.

Both the Persian and Roman empires progressed due to their tolerance of peoples religion. The two empires never forced any particular religion on their subjects, which created less strife. This aspect ensured the successful assimilation of the subjects that both empires conquered and in this way, the empires achieved success in centralizing their governments. It was then easy to centralize their governments as they let their subjects practice freedom of religion.

In achieving success in relation to centralizing their governments, both the Roman and the Persian empires fostered cooperation with the local rulers of the regions they conquered. This meant that the rulers tried to minimize interference in local issues that were not directly affecting their reign. This also means that the empires had respect for local customs and cultures. This created harmony and ensured the progress of the empires. It also helped in centralizing the governments and enabling assimilation of the subjects.

Differences

In as much as the two empires had similarities, there are also some differences to be noted. The Roman Empire had access to civilization something that lacks in the Persian Empire. Another difference in the advancement of both empires is the fact that the Roma Empire had a republican system of governance while the Persian Empire was a complete monarchy. The Persian Empire also had an elaborate taxation system that ensured people subjected to the central government while the Roman Empire did not have this feature.

Conclusion

The Roman and Persian empires had great success in bringing their subjects to a centralized government due to their respect for the traditions of their subjects. The empires were too big and hence let local leaders rule the provinces as they realized it is easier to lead people who feel respected for who they are. It is also notable that the two empires succeeded in a feat that would be hard to achieve in the modern day. Such a large expansion of an empire as featured in the two empires is bound to fail as people and countries have gained independence and are ruled in different ways.

Work Cited

Svyantek, Daniel J., Kevin T. Mahoney, and Linda L. Brown. "Diversity and Effectiveness in the Roman and Persian Empires." The International Journal of Organizational Analysis 10.3 (2002): 260-283.