How Rome Changed as it became an empire?

Answer 1

The institutions of the Roman Republic, which were created before the empire, became unable to deal with having an empire, became dysfunctional and collapsed. The Republic was torn apart by a series of civil wars and was replaced by rule by emperors. Rome grew into the biggest city in the world. The empire created a lot of wealth, but this made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The rich lived an ostentatious lifestyle, while the poor relied on a free grain dole to survive. Greed and corruption became a big problem. The poor joined the army for a career and a pay and on discharge they were granted a plot of land to farm and were settled around the empire, where their legions were stationed. Thus, a great number of Romans left Rome. From the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD , during the wars of imperial expansion, many slaves, who were war captives, were taken to Rome. After this the supply of slaves dwindled. At one point the majority of the population of the city of Rome were the descendants of slaves and freedmen. Rome imported massive quantities of grain and olive oil for its massive copulation. Half of the grain came from Egypt, the rest was mostly from Tunisia, Sicily and Sardinia. Spain was the biggest exporter of olive oil. Rome also imported many other goods, including luxury goods. Thus she stimulated the growth of thriving trading networks around the empire. It became an overcrowded city where the majority of its people were poor and lived no the top floors of up to seven floor-high blocks of apartments in overcrowded rooms with no water or sanitation.