Public Administration
AMGSPRITE
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Big palaces and buildings were used as places for rulers to have audiences that they would give commands to. These palaces also had lots of decoration in them, which can be seen inside the Apadana Palace in Persepolis. Many major cities in ancient civilizations were near the center of their territory. This allowed them to easily distribute their law. This can be seen with the placement of Rome. The military was used to enforce laws and actions that the government dictated. Rome is a prime example of this; while under the reign of Augustus, the empire was divided into seven “wards” which were each given 1000 men for protection as well as to keep order. At the top of all ancient civilization’s social hierarchies were the rulers and politicians; anyone that made big decisions for their empire. In some places, these elites were chosen by birth, such as in the Mauryan city of Pataliputra. Other places, like Rome, elected their government officials. Public administration completely revolves around a cities political structure. The Persians used a system of representatives to govern their empire. These “satraps” were each in charge of a different area, and would all report back to the emperor. Rome also used representatives in their republic.
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The political structure in Teotihuacan was completely based on religion. Their religious leaders were their political leaders. Public administration was carried out by these leaders, and was completely influenced by religion. Intelligence also had a big influence on public administration. Elites were put into political positions, and were better educated than the other people in the empires. Pericles, who ruled Athens from 461 to 429 BCE, was educated by two very intelligent philosophers: Anaxagoras and Zeno of Elea. Pericles used his knowledge to bring in a lot of revenue, a large part of which was spent on creating public works projects. Technology allowed for rulers to communicate their laws and decrees more effectively. This can be seen with Rome’s paved roads. Technology also made some things possible for governments to do, such as the defensive wall Pericles had built. They required a lot of material, which had to be transported in carts to be able to construct something that large. Part of public administration was collecting taxes. Alexandria was home to the central bank of Egypt, and had records of all the transactions of the various grainery banks throughout the empire. This allowed the rulers to easily tell how much they had collected in taxes.
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