When did invading/conquering people begin to care about the people they conquered?

by sandman8727

I guess my biggest example is how the United States treats the native people of America. When the Roman Empire/Mongols/any other large empire was expanding did they give the people they invaded some sort of "reservations?" Did they just kill everyone or expect the people to forget their culture and assimilate to the new way?

camstadahamsta

The Ancient Roman Empire was an excellent example of how conquerors interacted with those they conquered. When the Romans would conquer a town or city, they would allow those members of the city to continue on as they normally would, albeit with a population of legionnaires, the number of which was determined from the city or town's strategic importance, as well as their probability to rebel. The Romans even allowed these conquered citizens to have some Roman technology, such as aqueducts, bathhouses, amphitheatres, and other public works. These were all built to induce the feeling that life would be better under Roman rule, and thus, suppressing the urge to rebel against them. While the Romans did like their conquered citizens to embrace Roman culture and religions, there is no concrete evidence that the Romans forced their religions on any group. Of course, during the initial invasions of these settlements, the Romans usually killed anything carrying what even moderately looked like a weapon. One thing that may interest you is reading into how the Romans dealt with the Conquered Phoenicians, in Carthage. If so, this article may interest you. http://www.heritage-history.com/?c=read&author=tappan&book=roman&story=carthage Follow up questions are accepted