Rome and Us #3: Size and Mercy
As Rome began to expand and the empire became larger and larger, it sowed the seed for newer problems, writes Mary Beard in SPQR . Transportation and communication systems being what they were in that age, it meant that moving troops and information across the vast expanse of the empire took far too long. At times of war, or when a rebellion had to be put down, there was simply no time to wait for instructions, troops or money from Headquarters (i.e., Rome): “The demands of defending, policing and sometimes extending the empire encouraged, or compelled, the Romans to hand over enormous financial and military resources to individual commanders for years on end, in a way that challenged the traditional structures of the state.” It was almost inevitable that at one point or the other, a super-successful general like Pompey and Julius Caesar would come to be. Their enormous success brought them wealth and influence. It also made them a lot of enemies. It was such enemies, bot...