The Relationship between Architecture and Politics: A Case Study of Ancient Roman Architecture

Abstract

Politics cannot exist independently of architecture, and to a particular extent, architecture also serves politics. This paper examines the relationship between politics and architecture in ancient Rome through a study of the relevant academic literature, starting with the relationship between politics and architecture in the Etruscan period, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire, and combining the resulting theories with contemporary architecture. The relationship between politics and architecture can be summarised as inherited, social and national. The application of these three relationships in the present era has produced several representative buildings. There is a specific inheritance of architecture from the Etruscan period, architecture from the Roman Republic served the needs of society, and architecture from the Roman Empire became a symbol of state power. These elements are all reflected in architecture all around the world nowadays.