Perception of Roman Empire

Based on the the videos, Frontiline and Roman City, and the readings on Romen women in regards to marriage and divorce, my image of the Roman Empire would be negative.  Despite the Romans' advances in the organization of city-building and its striking similarity to the cities of modern times, their negative actions far outweigh any of these positives.  The Roman government was brutal and used force to take down any belief systems or religions that seemed to belittle their power.  For example, according to the Frontline video, one relgious group was completely killed by Roman soldiers following governmental orders.  They were not exiled or placed in prison, but were enitrely annihilated and executed.  In addition, women were heavily mistreated and their rights were substanially limited.  The readings on both divorce and marriage favored men much more than women.  They did not have consent in being married and punishments for a wronged divorce were much higher for females than for males.  As a result, my perspective, in respects to this empire, leans towards the negative side because of these issues.