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Military conquest has a remarkable tendency to spread and even meld cultures. There are few better examples of this than Alexander the Great, whose invasion of the lands to the south and east of the Mediterranean introduced Egypt and Persia to Greek art, literature, philosophy, and science. The result was a unified Mediterranean culture, one which fused Greek practices with those of the peoples they conquered. Yet even as Greece was attempting to rule as much of the world as its soldiers could reach, a new power was rising to take its place—Rome. The Romans began a program of conquest in the fourth century B.C.E., at first merely to defend themselves against their neighbors. However, after lengthy Punic Wars with Carthage gave Romans access to the wealth of the Mediterranean and North Africa, they discovered the advantages of empire. The Romans eventually controlled the entire Mediterranean. However, like the Greeks, their culture did not remain unaffected by contact with other ways of life and by the lure of financial gain. Romans had an unusual society, with a republican Senate rather than a king. Even ordinary Roman citizens had a voice in the government. But as their empire grew, the power of the republican assemblies was replaced by that of the general Julius Caesar and his descendents. Moreover, Romans had fostered a sense public virtue, which was supported by an emphasis on family obligations, but the preeminence of the new imperial government undercut these older values. Religious practices, which had focused on individual ancestors, increasingly centered on the state, and the devotion that Romans were supposed to show their relations was channeled into devotion to the empire.
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