The Bonds of the Roman Empire

The Emperor

The title of the Emperor signified the head of every department in the Empire. E was the head of the army, the chief of the Senate, as well a Pontifex Maximus High priest. Although the Senate exercised nominal power, the Emperor was in practice an absolute sovereign with the army as the foundation of his power.
There was the high regard of profound respect for the Emperor. This regard was significant because it was the outward sign of unity and most of the Emperors were able to command respect. The Emperor position then became a source of power and as well political control.



Christianity
Notwithstanding prosecutions, the Christian church grew and later became a very important bonding force in the Empire. The force became very important that Constantine the great (306-337) made it a religion for the whole Empire. Christianity later grew and helped in pushing the Empire forward.
The teaching of submissiveness of Christianity to authorities helped to generate great loyalty for the ruling class by the Empire’s subjects. This teaching was drawn for the teaching that God ordains leaders and as well gives powers. The doctrine of unity under God was another factor that Christianity brought to the Empire.


Roman Citizenship

The citizenship of the Roman Empire was spread to all the areas covered by the Empire. Although the practice was not there before but under Caracalla (211-217) the provinces were given the position of Roman citizenship. Although this move by Caracalla was for the sake of taxation which he intend to shift to the provinces. The move ended up as a very great bonding factor for the Empire.

Other Important Factors

All Roman citizens were allowed to carry out commercial activity with other Roman citizens and other parts of the Empire.
Latin as a language also helped in the unification of the Empire. It was majorly used in the west that it was later to be part of the Spanish language, French and Italian.