The world during the first century CE

¶ … political, social and economical processes of the first century AD, it's important to distinguish main superpower, which dictated its values and spread its influence on other nations and ethnic groups. If to look on the problem from these perspective the problems that arose from such interaction will become obvious and clear. That's why we have to describe the processes that took place in the Roman Empire, the only super state on the world's map of that epoch.

At the beginning of the first century the power of Roman empire had expended over the territories of Mediterranean region: Romans had conquered Britain, Spain in the West and reached eastern borders of their possessions on the territories of modern Armenia, Northern Mesopotamia in the East, Romania in the North and Sarah in the South. Roman emperors starting from Julius Caesar expanded and empowered Roman Empire, its territories, increased army and turned into slavery tribes and the whole nations.

The results of Roman influence on conquered people were great, as they united new people whom Romans considered to be "barbarians" to the achievements of Roman culture, civilization and innovations associated with Greeks and Romans.

Romans rationalist approach to reality, their logics and consistence were later adopted by the nations they had conquered: Britons, Gaels, Celts, tribes of Balkans and Middle Asia. The interaction that Roman Empire brought to the ancient world was the result of clever politics and masterful management and government.

We cannot say that all conquered people and tribes had a variety of liberties, liberties that would be common for a modern man; they were alienated from Romans, were considered to be "barbarians," primitive and uncultured and were taxed unfairly. It created inequality and hatred to Romans, at the same time it was that had a very meaning of assistance to oppressed peoples not to assimilate and not to dissolve in the multi-national empire. Even though Romans didn't encourage assimilation and the discrimination, which was created already in Rome in the 4th century BC, laid into the fundamentals of Roman state- the division of society on patricians and plebeians, assimilation could take place.

Roman empire in general and its conquered nations in synthesize have to show the vivid example of the relations of colonies with metropolis; moreover it was the first case in world history of a colonial superpower and its unique and relatively effective political management. Emperor's representatives in provinces executed the role of procurators and just observed the proper functioning of Roman laws, but in general the conquered nations had saved the right to some sort of autonomy. These provinces were turned into agricultural and raw material donors of the center, Rome, they funded and supplied Rome with food, gold, labor and services.

The first century of Christian era can be also characterized by general stability and absence of external aggression. It was the golden age of Roman civilization, as Roman emperors encouraged the development of cultural life, development of empire's infrastructure: urban construction, construction of roads; development of trade relations, economical growth and development of crafts.

The ineffectiveness of Roman model of management was based on the advantageous position of Romans, on the class or even national inequality and ineffective system of economics. These resulted in the success of the Roman state just for a few decades more than a century, later all the achievements of Caesar were turned against Romans. Roman civilization, which united nearly all antique world, which brought civilization and culture to the conquered people (the remains of this influence are observed in modern languages, modern civil law which goes back all the way to Roman law and in logical perception of the world, rather than sensual which is similar to all eastern civilizations).

During the reign of emperor Octavian Augustus new state policies of Rome encouraged resettlement of Romans, landless peasants and former soldiers to provinces, in order to strengthen Roman presence, keep order to prevent Italy and particularly the capita from threat of social unrest. It resulted not just in interaction with native population but I n the spread of roman culture and achievements of Roman civilization on those territories. Roman architecture all over the former Roman Empire, witnesses the high stage of development of technology and scientific approaches into practical applications. Romans were first to introduce and use concrete in construction, it was rediscovered again only in the 16th century, Romans were the first to build centralized transportation system, to build aqueducts for water supplying of urban areas, they used water pipes made of zinc and lead and had first prototypes of canalization systems as well.

The brightest example of Roman provincial technological projects is aqueduct at Pont du Gard, (45 miles from the town of Arles). It was constructed to supply with water twenty thousand population of the area. The grandiose project is one hundred fifty feet high, crosses a rocky canyon of the Gardon River. The brightest feature of the complex construction is that it was build from huge six-ton blocks urged tightly to one another without using concrete. It's important to mention that Romans and inhabitants of provincial territories widely used the mechanical principles of lever in construction and transportation of weights. They were acquainted with basic principles of hydraulics (used primitive pumps), automatics and pyrotechnics.

The development of two great civilizations Roman in the West and Chinese in the East during the first centuries of our era came into interaction as trading routes from China to Middle Asia and from Middle Asia to the Mediterranean were established. It brought into existence unseen interaction and goods exchange which had not existed earlier. The isolation of Ancient China was broken after the military campaign of Jang Zang against Huns in 125 BC. After eliminating the external threat- Huns, Chinese merchants and military men were able to establish economical relations with Middle Asian states of Khoresm, Bactra and others. Romans were able to import Chinese silk, porcelain and paper.

Besides Great Silk trading route, there existed economical ties with Germanic tribes, which inhabited the coast of the Baltic Sea. Romans traded with them as well. The main item of the trade was teen (which was valued more than gold) and amber (or, as Romans called it, electrum). Economical and trading relations of Roman Empire were more than simply developed. Equal opportunities, single currency (issued by Rome), nearly equal taxation created favorable conditions for establishment of long time goods exchange. Mediterranean had determined and specialized markets and looked like economically developed multinational infrastructure, a unique one for the ancient world.