Empire Comparison: The Roman Empire, British Empire, and Ghanaian Kingdoms

1 Empire Comparison In ancient civilization, an empire was a political construct that comprised a group of states whose ruler was known as an emperor. Empires expanded and became more powerful from conquering other states and dominating them. The Roman Empire, British Empire, and Ghanaian Kingdoms represent three of the most renowned ancient civilizations in the world today. Each had its unique features, yet they were also strikingly different. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the Roman Empire, British Empire and Ghanaian Kingdom. It also establish which among these three has the greatest influence on today’s society. It focuses on the factors that led to the rise and fall of these empires.

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2 The Ghanaian Kingdom The Ghanaian Kingdom existed from 6th to 13th CE. It grew due to the abundance of precious minerals like gold, copper, iron and ivory (McKissack, & McKissack, 2016). In addition, the kingdom bordered the Senegal and Niger rivers and their tributaries, thus providing trade routes for sub-Saharan trade. The Ghanaian Kingdom’s stability of trade and immense wealth made it known across the Europe and North Africa. It also severed as a hub for education in Africa. However, by the end of the 12th century CE, the kingdom had begun to collapse due to civil wars, drought, and the discovery of alternative trade routes (Gomez, 2019). The rise of the more powerful Sosso Kingdom and Mali Empire also accelerated its fall. It is worth noting that the Kingdom of Ghana was not located in the same geographic location as the present day Republic of Ghana. It was located within present-day Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.

The Roman Empire The Roman Empire existed from 8 BCE to 14 CE. It began as a small town in central Italy and grew vastly to encompass continental Europe, Britain, Northern Africa, the Mediterranean Islands and a large and social structures. Its wealth also grew immensely as a result of its trade relations with India, China, Northern Africa and several other countries (Saller, & Garnsey, 2015).

The British Empire The British Empire existed from the 16th century to the 20th century. It was made up of Britain, and its colonies, protectorates, dominions and other territories that were under the administration of the United Kingdom. At the peak of its rule, it spanned across every continent in the world, and was the greatest empire in history. The British Empire traces its roots to the 16th century, when Britain began to seek colonies overseas, beginning with the colonization of the

3 Americas and Asia. After it lost its hold on North America in 1783, it shifted its attention to the Pacific, Asia and Africa.

Similarities The Roman Empire, Ghanaian Kingdom, and British Empires were dominant world powers that had a lot of wealth, control and influence. Each of them was vast in size. Their success could be attributed to an areas they excelled in. The Romans had advanced architectural knowledge and were the leaders in road and building construction (Halperin, & Palan, 2015).

The British controlled trade and had a powerful navy, while the Ghanaian Kingdom had significant control of the gold trade.

The expansion of kingdoms and empires required both tact and force, and this is evident in the growth of the British Empire, the Roman Empire and the Ghanaian Kingdom. They increased their wealth, size and control by conquering foreign lands and territories. The Ghanaian Kingdom for instance, conquered the neighboring provinces, seizing their wealth and bringing them under the rule of the Ghanaian king.

The Roman Empire, on the other hand, began as a minor city-state and grew vastly over time by conquering Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Britain and a portion of North Africa. The British Empire, at the height of its power, was in control of 24% of the world. Its expansion was made through conquering and colonizing foreign lands, a practice it continued well into the 20th century. Some of its former colonies include Australia, New Zealand, North America, several African countries and India (Saller, & Garnsey, 2015). The wealth, reputation and prestige of these empires and kingdom grew from their ability to take control of other states. They all believed that they were superior and their conquering of other states was also for the purpose of spreading culture and civilization.

4 Although the three empires and kingdom grew as a result of exploration, conquest and accumulating wealth, they all eventually had to cede control and they are no longer in existence.

Each of them had become a burden to the states it controlled, and eventually there were revolts, and wars as they sought to get their power back.

Differences Though there are numerous similarities among the three empires and kingdom, there are also various differences that makes each of them unique. One of the differences that stands out the most is the time period which they existed. The Ghanaian Kingdom existed from 6th CE to 13th CE (Gomez, 2019). The Roman Empire existed from 8 BCE to 14 CE, while the British Empire is the latest, existing from the 16th century to the 20th century. They were also different in their religiosity and secularity. The British Empire was secular. It focused mainly on colonizing countries and amassing its wealth. The Ghanaian and Roman Empires, on the other hand, injected religion into their rule.

Evidence of the Roman Empire’s use of religion as a tool of control is the spread of Christianity such that it is now the world’s main religion. The Ghanaian rulers were considered to be demi-gods, so much so, that they were the only ones allowed to have stockpiles of gold.

The use of the idolization of rulers and religion by the Roman Empire and the Ghanaian Kingdom was used to make the followers subservient. Another of the main differences among these three empires is the extent of their control (Halperin, & Palan, 2015). The British Empire was the largest empire in the history of the world, followed by the Roman Empire. The Ghanaian kingdom had the least control, and unlike the other two, it did not attempt to spread beyond the continent. Thus, at the time of its fall, it was easy to seize.

5 At the height of its power, the British Empire was much larger than the Ghanaian and Roman empires. It conquered and colonized distant lands, and in effect, ended up ruling a significant proportion of the world. The level of technological advancement also differentiates these Empires and Kingdom from each other. The Roman Empire was particularly talented in architecture and construction, while the British Empire was known for its Royal Navy and scientific advancements. The Ghanaian Kingdom was talented in trade, wealth creation and administration.

The Greatest Legacy The Kingdom of Ghana focused solely on amassing wealth and it did not spread its culture or religion to the states and provinces it captured. This, in addition to the fact that it did not conquer many foreign lands, has made its influence on modern day society minimal.

However, one of its most prominent legacies is that the republic of Ghana is named it, despite the fact that they are not in the same geographic location.

In sharp contrast, the reign of the Roman Empire left an impactful legacy that is still evident in the modern world. This can be attributed to its longevity and its wider span of control.

One of these legacies is that it influenced the languages used in the world today. Romance languages; that is, English, Italian, French, and Portuguese, are the most commonly used languages globally (Halperin, & Palan, 2015). It also has a significant influence on world religion; Christianity originated from Rome, and through the spread of the Roman Empire’s authority, it developed into the largest religion in the world. Additionally, the western calendar and alphabet that are used to date originated from the Roman Empire.

The British Empire occurred more recently than the two and had the most influence on modern-day society. At the height of its power, it claimed ownership of 25% of the world. One

6 of these influences it that from the 1800s, it fought for the abolishment of slavery and this helped to end the atrocious trade in the world (Kwarteng, 2012). As a result of the British Empire’s rule, English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. The Empire is also responsible for the spread of science, technology, medicine, legal and political infrastructure, trade and transport.

References Gomez, M. (2019). African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. Princeton University Press Halperin, S., & Palan, R. (2015). Legacies of Empire. Cambridge University Press Kwarteng, K. (2012). Ghosts of Empire: Britain's Legacies in the Modern World. A & C Black McKissack, P., & McKissack, F. (2016). The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. Square Fish Saller, R., & Garnsey, P. (2015). The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture. Univ of California Press.

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