리스닝

The rise of the Roman Empire is a truly remarkable historical event which has garnered the
attention of various analysts, each of whom has differing views on just how the Empire
came about. However, the theories put forward in the reading passage do not stand up to
much scrutiny.

To begin with, the fact that the Roman army was mostly mercenaries directly contributed
to the collapse of the Roman army and empire. Because these mercenaries valued money
over loyalty, they held very limited allegiance to the Emperor. In fact, they were more likely
to be loyal to specific commanders and generals. For example, if a military general or
commander had a change of heart and switched loyalty away from the Empire, his militia
would typically switch loyalty as well.

This is one weakness of the Roman army. Another way in which the reading passage fails
to appropriately explain the rise of Rome is the authoritarian power that the emperors
wielded. Many of Rome's latter emperors made terrible decisions which weakened the rule
of Rome. For example, one emperor built many palaces in a selfish desire to appease the
gods. Because government officials were lax to go against the emperor's edicts and
actions, poor decisions were never questioned. This had the effect of weakening Roman
strength and stability through abuse of power and misuse of state funds.

Lastly, the tax system of Rome unfairly placed the majority of burden on the lower class
farmers and peasants. They were taxed heavily and thus struggled to survive and provide
for their families. As a result of these high taxes during Rome's rise to power, these
farmers developed hatred towards the Roman Empire and the unceasing taxes. This unrest
led to an eventual revolt which toppled the Empire.