Rome's experiment is sometimes called Graeco-Roman civilization because
Greece and Italy were close geographical neighbors and also because
Greek culture, which reached its zenith by 500 B.C. and was closely
paralleled by the rise of Roman culture, had a profound effect in
determining the total character of Roman civilization. In a very real
sense Graeco-Roman civilization was the parent of western civilization.
Among the many completed civilizations of which we have fairly adequate
records, those concerning Rome are most complete and most available.
The story of Roman civilization begins in the Eastern Mediterranean
Basin in an era when Greek and Phoenician cities, together with segments
and fragments of the Egyptian-Assyrian-Babylonian civilizations were
competing for raw materials, trade and alliances. Egyptians had been
supreme in the area for centuries. The Sumerian, Aegean, Chinese,
Hittite, Assyrian and Indian civilizations had enjoyed periods of
dominance but had never reached the level of supremacy enjoyed by the
Egyptians.
When Rome came on the scene as a first-rate power, circa 300 B.C., the
crucial land bridge joining Africa, Europe and Asia was being passed
from hand to hand, with no power strong enough to succeed Egypt as the
dominant political-economic-cultural force in the region. Historically
speaking it was an interregnum, a period of transition. Egypt had ceased
to dominate the public life of the area.
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