Julius Caesar is often credited with taking down Rome’s republican structure. While he played a pivotal role in dismantling the government, he was not the sole or even primary reason for the Roman Republic’s collapse. The Roman Republic ultimately ended due to the decay in Mos Maiorum and the subsequent changes in the Roman military. The shift in allegiance, as demonstrated by Sulla’s March on Rome and by Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon River, irreversibly undermined the foundations of the Roman Republic and paved the way for a rise of autocratic rule, beginning with Augustus. Rome had been shifting away from Mos Maiorum, and as corruption was increasing in the Senate, the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer and the wealth gap widened. …show more content…
This marked a significant departure from Mos Maiorum, Rome’s traditional rules and values. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were both assassinated, each in their own time, by members of the Senate. They were each killed inconspicuously in mobs, orchestrated by Senators. This marked further decay of the traditional Roman values of Mos Maiorum, and increased corruption among the elites. Gaius Marius set the stage for future military leaders to overthrow the Roman Republic. Through his military reforms around 107 BCE, Gaius Marius helped to shift soldiers’ loyalty from the state to their generals. He expanded the Roman military into the realm of more common people and offered benefits to those who were enlisted. This move created a standing army whose allegiance was primarily to Marius, instead of the state. His success in military campaigns demonstrated the growing power of military leaders, and set the stage for future generals to use their troops’ loyalty for political gain, a trend that was exemplified by figures like …show more content…
Sulla’s actions showed that military strength could be used for political gain. Eroding the foundations of the Republic, the shift in military power and loyalty became a tool for future leaders, such as Caesar, to gain political power and ultimately contributed to the Republic’s transformation into an Empire. Following the precedents set by Marius and Sulla, Julius Caesar further exploited the loyalty of his troops to dominate politics, resulting in the final downfall of the Roman Republic. In 49 BCE, facing prosecution and loss of command, Caesar defied orders from the Senate and crossed the Rubicon river with his legions, challenging the authority of the Senate and sparking a civil war. As Caesar famously said, “Alea iacta est.” The die is cast. There was no coming back from this moment, as he had turned Sulla’s precedent into a pattern, leading Rome to become autocratic. Caesar was victorious and was appointed dictator for life, concentrating power in his
From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
Gaius Julius Caesar ( 100 BCE – 44 BCE) contributed to the breakdown of the roman republic through his political military by decreasing senate power, dismissing Rome’s aversion to monarchy, and his attempt to remove senate, military and religious authority, as well as his civil war; in which he overthrew the government and walked on the Rubicon river. The Roman Republic’s degeneration is Europe’s first case of the downfall of a constitutional system. The previous consuls and dictators of Rome during the republic also influenced the republics destruction however, these actions collaboratively impacted towards the end of the republic by Caesars anti-republic like methods and leadership role.
The Fall of the Republic was more than a single man, but Julius Caesar was definitely to blame for being a large part of the destruction of the Roman Republic. Caesar was responsible for the fall of the Republic for several reasons, the the civil war from which the Republic never really recovered in January of 49 BC, Caesar 's appointment as dictator for life in 44 BC, and bringing into power the many of the men who would be important in the next set of civil wars.
The hypothesis of this report is that the military reforms instituted by Gaius Marius ultimately paved the way for the fall of the Roman Republic.
Rome's Republican era began after the overthrow of the last Roman King Tarquin Superbus by Lucius Brutus in 509 BC(1), the Senate was ruled the by the people of Rome. The Roman Republic was governed by a largely complex constitution, which established many checks and balances, so no man could have complete control. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians and the other prominent Romans who were not from the nobility. Early in Rome’s history, the patricians controlled the republic, over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a the republic which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. This is similar to the creation of the American system of government. Starting with the over throw of t...
How was it possible that under the dictatorship and after the deification of Julius Caesar the Roman republic fell, when it had been structurally sound for four centuries before? When the republic was established around the end of the 6th century B.C.E., the Romans made clear that they wished to avoid all semblance of the monarchy that had ruled for two centuries before. (T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995; p. 215) The rule of the Republic was to be split into powers of the senate and consuls, a system that worked for over four centuries. The republic would face problems with the rise of the first triumvirate in 60 B.C.E., involving Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. The triumvirate gained power that was intended to be in the hands of the senate and Roman assembly. This paved way to a situation in which a single man could sweep up the political power that previously belonged to the entire senate. Julius Caesar would use this tactic, following his campaigns of Gaul and Britton, to take sole dictatorship over Rome. While there were previous cases which individuals had been appointed as dictator, usually by the senate to serve for six months in a time of war, Caesar was appointed dictator three separate times.. After declining his first dictatorship, Caesar was awarded two more reigns as dictator for one and ten years, respectively. At this point Caesar was praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded several awards and honors by the senate. Having conquered much of the surrounding territories, spanning from northern Africa to Greece, and enacting several reforms, Caesar was in the pro...
During the last century of the Roman republic, the system of government was drastically changed and eventually fell apart, not only because of Marius and his military reforms, but also because of the dictatorship and proscriptions of Sulla, seven consulships of Marius, political alliances of the first and second triumvirates and the growing corruption and ineptitude of the senate.
The Failure of the Roman Republic was inevitable as it was an unjust system of government and it was left vulnerable after the attempted changes instigated by the Gracchi as the Gracchi exposed the weaknesses in the political structure allowing future politicians to manipulate the system. The changes made by the Gracchi left the Republic in a state of pandemonium as it destroyed political stability as well as creating opportunities for future individuals to rise above and challenge the system.
Julius Caesar emerged. He was able commander who led many conquests for Rome. In 59 B.C. Caesar set out for a new conquest. After nine years of constant fighting, he finally conquered Gaul. Pompey grew jealous of his achievement and had the senate order him to disband his forces and return to Rome. Caesar secretly crossed the Rubicon and killed Pompey then entered Rome. After crushing many rebellions, Caesar forced the senate to make him a dictator. Caesar launched many reforms such as public work programs and giving land to the poor. According to legend those in the senate murdered Caesar on March 15. Caesar's Grandnephew, Octavian, and Marc Anthony joined forces to capture his killers. However bitter feuds grew it soon became a battle for power.
Crossing the Rubicon was the first act of war against Pompey. By crossing the Rubicon, Caesar no longer had an option but to attack Rome. Caesar tried to collect a fleet quickly to cross the sea and beat Pompey before he was able to strengthen his ships (Civil Wars by Julius Caesar). Once Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the Civil War officially started, leaving Caesar with no option but to continue fighting against Pompey and attacking Rome. However, the war was not only about who would remain in power, but also how the state would be ran, and everything about its future. The soldiers and citizens were not only continuing to fight because Caesar crossed the Rubicon, but also to support the leader whose political views were similar to there’s. Thus, creating an army of troops and supporters behind each leader, forcing them to continue
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
THESIS STATEMENT: The assassination of Julius Caesar was due to his increased power and the Senate's fear of losing their political relevance. PURPOSE STATEMENT: Through critical analysis and research, it has been shown that Caesar's gain in power worried the Senate. INTRODUCTION: On July 13, 100 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a family that was proud of being patrician.
“He is said to have been tall of stature… except that towards the end.” What was it that really led to the fall of the Roman Republic? There are a lot of different factors to consider when trying to determine what caused the collapse. By examining The Rubicon, The Life of Julius Caesar, and some accompanying handouts from class, this paper will discuss how the Roman Republic did not collapse because of one factor. The collapse of the Roman Republic was like that of a game of Jenga. Factors were pulled out of the Republican system just like a game of Jenga until the Republic could not stand anymore.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...