Research
Note II
The Leadership That Changed the Future
Overcome the Limitations of Empire
They Made Rome, and Rome Became History
All histories and all leaders in the histories have both merits and demerits, which have affected us in the past and in the present as well. The book, They Made Rome, and Rome Became History, reviews the history of Rome through Caesar, Augustus, Diocletian and Constantine, the four leaders who made Rome, and presents the leadership that can overcome limitations and change the era.
Written by Professor Kim Deogsu of the Department of History Education
There is a famous saying, ‘Rome was not built in a day.’ The saying, made in the Middle Age France, is used in English and translated into various languages to mean ‘great things need to time to create.’ Rome, which began with seven small hilly towns in Latium in the Midwest of Italy in mid-8th century B.C.E., united the Italian Peninsula 800 years later and then became a great empire that conquered the Easter and Western Mediterranean regions and parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
It’s a question if we have to view the success story of the Roman Empire, as Siono Nanami did. The discussion is particularly important to Korean people, because we still have the pains of the colonial domination by Japan, the ‘close yet far’ country that established the Great Japanese Empire in Korean Peninsula, Northeastern Asia and Southeastern Asia under the slogan of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in the first half of the 20th century.
However, it is a historical fact that after the (Western) Roman Empire was broken up in the 5th century, the Romanized (civilized) countries, for example, France, British and Spain have developed until now, and they became the members of the Western civilization under the Roman reign. People living in the countries at present also consider the Roman domination as a part of their ancient history. It is quite different from the historical war between China and Korea regarding the history of Goguryeo. It is true that the growth of Rome as a Mediterranean empire is the accomplishment by the entire Roman people, but it is also undeniable that the leaders who had excellent leadership played significant roles.
Among the many Roman leaders, the book focuses on leadership and accomplishments of four leaders: Caesar, who expanded the power of Rome to the central Europe, corresponding to today’s France, and greatly contributed to the growth of the Roman civilization to the Western civilization; Augustus, the final winner of the civil wars and the first empire who took the first step of ‘pax romana’; Diocletian, who overcome the confusions inside and outside the empire during the military anarchy in the mid-3rd century and prepared the foundation of the long-term development of the Roman Empire; and finally, Constantine, who officially approved Christianity and opened the way for Rome to be a Christian state.
Like all other leaders, their accomplishments also include not only merits but also demerits. Caesar ignored the Senate, the tradition and symbol of the Roman republic, and enforced tyranny. Augustus delivered Cicero, who had helped him to emerge into the Roman political scene, to Antonius to be killed; took Livia, the wife of Tiberius Claudius, making her his own wife; used his only daughter Julia in three marriages of convenience to appoint a successor from his own blood, confined her on Pandateria island with the charge of adultery, and gave in his will the instruction that she should not be buried in his Mausoleum of Augustus. Diocletian carried out the very final Great Persecution on Christians. Constantine, as an empire, intervened with the church issues, after the official approval of Christianity, and mixed various pagan traditions with the Christian rituals and festivals.
Nevertheless, their accomplishments in the public sector have affected the Roman society, the world history, even us today, although they passed away a long time ago. Therefore, it will be an interesting experience to look into the Roman history of 12 hundred years from a different angle through the four leaders who made Rome: Caesar, Augustus, Diocletian and Constantine.
Although the living environment 2000 years ago was very different from now, the roles played by great leaders cannot be overemphasized. A single leader can make a country prosper or fall. In that sense, the history teaches that what is important is not only the great leaders themselves but also the community that supports them. The book highlights the lessons to leaders from the history. We hope that this book can provide help to those who desire to be a leader of a country or a community as well as those who are responsible to select a leader.