The Great Emperors

Its the emperors commission to govern the country, but only some can really bring
greatness to the country and make contributions that will last exceed beyond their
lifetime. Ancient Greece and Roman featured two of the greatest rulers in early
recorded history. Starting with the remarkable conquest done by the emperor of
Macedonia. Cities were conquered, lands were ruled, a kingdom stretching as far as
from the Mediterranean to the border of India; across three continents, covering
about 2 million square miles. Such an enormous empire could only be established
by a determined and vigorous ruler. Luckily for Greece citizens, they have one such
ruler named Alexander The Great. He was the only one in the Ancient Greece
history known to united Greece as well as vastly expand the empire. As for the
ancient Roman, they were living upon a period of peace and prosperity or Pax
Romana, which was granted by the first emperor of Rome, Augustus Caesar. The
country was enjoying its peak in term of economic political and social development.
Many achievements were made during this period which hugely impact the later
civilization as well as the present time.
Alexander the great is a great king of Greek. He was the son of Philip.
Alexander was tutored and taught by Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers in
the history. He had a lot of accomplishments. He helped his father, Philip to take
over lands and areas. Even though he died at the age of 33, he left so many things
behind. He was also a role model for Napoleon, a French military leader that
conquered Europe. Alexander never lost a single battle. He is a very smart and
talented guy, he fought with Darius III, king of Persia in three battles and never lost
once even though, he had lower amount of soldiers in his army. He won the battles
because of the Phalanx formation that he used in his army. He named most of the
lands Alexandria which is from his name. Alexander became the king when he was
just twenty years old.
The fact that he conquered many lands such as Asia and Persia, this is the
way to spread Greek culture to other areas around the world. Alexander married
Roxanne, a daughter of Bactria noblemen from Persia. Alexander also had other
Macedonian men take Persian wives which is a way to adopt Persian culture in
Greek, such as their dress. By marrying Roxanne, it is also a way of sending a
message and showing that Alexander is the king of Persia too. Alexander is a very
smart guy, he is also talented in battles and wars. He fought three times with King
Darius III and never lost once. During the battle in Gaugamela, the number of
Persian soldiers were a lot more than his army but he was able to win the battle
because of the Phalanx formation that his army used which was trained and
perfected under his leadership. Alexander usually choose the cities that he wants.
He chose the ones that have good locations such as trading routes, and ones that
can be defended. Some cities that he took over lasted a century after his death.
Alexander also has influences on Roman military. His achievements and
accomplishments in military and battles inspired the Romans which can maybe be
one of the reasons that the Romans are very strong in the army. Alexander spread
Greek language and culture to many places and they are passed down to the
modern world too.
Gaius Octavius or Octavian, the first emperor of Rome, was arguably the greatest
ruler in the history of Roman civilization. After the assassination of his great-uncle,
Julius Caesar, he formed the second triumvirate with Marc Antony and Marcus
Lepidus and took back the control of Rome. Then, he won the battle with Marc
Antony and rose to power. He adopted the name Augustus, and led the
newfounded Roman Empire into a period of relative peace called Pax Romana. As
the emperor, he used his authority wisely by building roads and seaways and
uniforming currency to enhance trading. Moreover, he ordered the construction of
buildings like the aqueducts, reform the tax system, and made the laws called
Twelves Tables. Not only was he the first emperor, he was also certainly one of the
best emperors Rome has ever had.
Augustus didnt just have impacts on Rome, in fact, his contributions greatly affect
our history. First of all, his reformed tax system is the basis of todays tax system.
His system was named Honest Tax, because many considered it to be fair to every
social classes. Citizens would be taxed based on their earnings which is much like
todays system. Also, there were people working as a tax collector or Breaton to
ensure that citizens are taxed fairly. Secondly, today's property, marriage and
contract laws concept are based of form the Twelve Tables. Not only did it impacted
modern days laws, it also greatly influenced the laws of later civilizations such as
the Byzantines Code of Justinian and the Salic Law of the Carolingian Empire.
Lastly, many of his building projects greatly shaped todays engineering and
construction. From the uses of marble to the built-to-last road, they can all be
founded in current days. His contributions to the world is so great that his name,
Augustus, became the name of a month and Caesar literally means emperor in
many modern languages like German.
In conclusion, Both Alexander the Great and Augustus Julius had a very significant
roles during the ancient time. Their contributions are known to have major effects
on the world we are living in. It was obviously shown that a huge change took place
in Ancient Greece due to Alexander the Great. Without him, Greek culture would not
spread as far as it actually was. Who knows we might be speaking Persian language
and adopt their civilization instead of Greeces. Greek civilization and culture might
be gone forever and not be known by modern humans. Democracy which was
originated in Greece might not be known to us, instead we could have severe and
harsh ruling system ruling our countries. Everything would differ. Alexander had
opened the gates for Greece culture, ideas and value to spread widely around the
world, which also made the world the way it is today. Now on to Augustus Caesar,
the greatest king of Rome, we can concluded that peace and prosperity was brought
throughout the empire by him. In addition, he also influence construction, trading
system and most importantly, laws. The present law of owning property, marriage
as well as contract laws are all derived from the Twelve Tables. Also without
Caesars contribution toward construction, we may not have pathway like roads for
transportations. In this case, Tarzans vine might be useful for us. Life would be very
difficult. Lastly, Ive learned that the capability of two emperors are widely
recognized by the world, as their contributions have impacted and incredibly
influenced the world to be what it is today.

Bibliography:
Alexander the greats legacy - the Dougernaut digest. Retrieved February 19, 2017,
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essay
Bos, C. (2016, November 4). Alexander the great - summary. Retrieved February 19,
2017, from
Retrieved February 19, 2017, from https://youtu.be/9wf4I4QwjkQ
BBC. (2011, July 1). History - Augustus. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from BBC,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/augustus.shtml
Matthew Rossettini (2014, November 5). WHI lec 6 5 pax Romana Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfjIO2reHu4&feature=youtu.be
Terms, P. I. (2017). The impact of Augustus. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from
https://prezi.com/xovppjyohnmc/the-impact-of-augustus/

By :
Parewa Pichayamarin (Mai) 5961225 10/01
Kittitat Prutthiworamongkon (Peem) 5961169 10/01
Nutchanon Charnwutiwong (Nont) 5961217 10/01
Jirachaya Mahatongkum (Bow) 5961168 10/01
Chanika Poopattayakorn (Mind) 5961182 10/01