To answer a couple of history questions on the Romans

After posting about Hadrian’s wall.
Link
I was asked a couple of questions.

I have decided to make a post so others can see the answers to two very good questions by @britishknights

Question one asked

Interesting. I've often wondered though, the might of the Roman Empire conquered many lands and people yet could not conquer the scots and instead built a wall? The energy used to build that wall and it's fortresses and the resources in both men and supplying those men could of been used to defeat them many times over, yet it wasn't. Was the wall to stop those to the North from going South, or was it so that others could not go North? What was in that area (Scotland) that was being protected?

My answer.
Unlike other European communities the Scottish highlanders lived in a very different society. They didn’t have a hierarchy system. No clan or tribe leaders and everyone, including the women (normal in Iron Age Britain) were equal. They even lived in one big house and all worked the land together.

The system of rule by the Romans started during the republic in the 6th Century BC. The small areas of the republic were run by a governor or military leader and answered to central Rome. This didn’t change much until Julius Caesar’s time when it changed to an Imperial system run by an emperor.

The system of conquering lands and setting the local leader up to continue running the district with the threat and ultimate rule by Rome under the guidance of a governor was the normal method of rule.

Although the Scottish did fight each other over land, they didn’t work together and Rome would have needed a governor for each clan.

This is why the Roman system didn’t work. The British tried a similar system 1000 years later and had similar problems, although by this time, the small clans had become large clans and things worked better. The British bought loyalty with coin and land.

The second question asked.

How many others did the Romans conquered that also did not have a heirarchy system? Did they build walls to keep them out of other lands too?

My answer
They only built two major walls. Hadrian’s Wall the The Antonines Wall, both on the Scottish border. Hadrian’s Wall worked for about 300 years with the use of the Antonine wall on several attempted invasions.

I do not believe the Romans built any other walls to separate the Empire from the Barbarians.

The other Barbarians causing major problems and eventually the end of the Western Roman Empire were the Germanic Peoples of Northern Europe. These migratory people were not made of one group, but many, with a common language. They were born fighters and even refrained from carnal pursuits until into their 20s so not to interfere with their training and warrior life.
They did very well at being led, but only when it came to defence or conquest, and did not do well at being ruled. Being migratory meant putting in place a system of tax collection and establishing a government didn’t last because they moved as the food and weather dictated.

Eventually the Germanic people in the form of the Angles and Saxons migrated to England and either conquered or integrated to form the English.

The Romans did built lots of walls, but normally around cities. The one around Rome was huge, but was still breached in 410AD by the Visigoths during the sack of Rome.

The Western Roman Empire lasted until 410AD but the Eastern Roman Empire managed another 1500 years.

The above answers are my own