Changing Cultural Traditions — History STD 11 Humanities — Question

The late Roman bureaucracy, both the higher and middle echelons, was a comparatively affluent group because it drew the bulk of its salary in gold and invested much of this in buying up assets like land. There was of course also a great deal of corruption, especially in the judicial system and in the administration of military supplies. The extortion of the higher bureaucracy and the greed of the provincial governors were proverbial. But government intervened repeatedly to curb these forms of corruption - we only know about them in the first place because of the laws that tried to put an end to them, and because historians and other members of the intelligentsia denounced such practices. This element of 'criticism' is a remarkable feature of the classical world. The Roman state was an authoritarian regime, in other words, dissent was rarely tolerated and government usually responded to protest with violence (especially in the cities of the East where people were often fearless in making fun of emperors). Yet a strong tradition of Roman law had emerged by the fourth century, and this acted as a brake on even the most fearsome emperors. Emperors were not free to do whatever they liked, and the law was actively used to protect civil rights. That is why in the later fourth century it was possible for powerful bishops like Ambrose to confront equally powerful emperors when they were excessively harsh or repressive in their handling of the civilian population.
Questions:

1. What was the main reason of corruption in administration of the Roman Empire?
2. What was the role of the Roman government in handling corruption that was widespread among the higher bureaucracy and provincial governors?
3. What do you know about law system of the Roman Empire?

"The script of Mesopotamia helped the historians to throw light on this ancient civilization". Justify the statement.

What is the political importance of the feudal system?

What do you understand by ‘Open Door Policy?

Describe in brief the role of foreign trade in the growth of civilisation.

Why do you think that the condition of slaves in Roman empire was better than daily wages labourer? Justify accordingly.

Industrialisation was a natural step in the progress of mankind. Why?

‌Write‌ ‌in‌ ‌brief‌ ‌about‌ ‌the‌ ‌contribution‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Arab‌ ‌civilisation‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌field‌ ‌of‌ ‌science.

How is the division of labour believed to be the main factor behind the growth of urbanisation? Explain with an example.

Of the new institutions that came into being, once city life had begun which would have depended on the initiative of the king?