The Romans have always been known for their vast empire and ravishing obsession with taking over half the world. This had not only been bad for the Jews, but also bad for anyone that was not a Roman. Huge taxes were laid upon the Jews and everyone else. I'm here to tell you about their government and tax.

The Roman government was an odd mix between democracy and a republic. As a matter of fact, the people of Rome took many of their laws and government from the ancient Greeks.

The government was considered as the republic. Basically there was the emperor, and some men below the emperor. This made it so there was not only one man making all the laws. But this really organized government only lasted until the first century BC.

How miserable paying taxes were in Roman times depended on who you were and where you lived. By 163 B.C the Roman government made itself so much money that it no longer had to throw tax upon its own people, but it was different for the provinces. The hated publicani were private tax farmers hired to go to the houses and collect money above the normal rate and pocketing a lot of the extras, They were hired by the provincial governors. Many people didn't have the money and tried to argue with the Romans. These people were crucified.

Today we have learned about how the Roman government works and how the tax messed with the every day people's lives. We learned about the publicani and how they collected more than the share of tax. We also learned that the Romans got many of their laws and government from the ancient Greeks.