The Decline of the Roman Republic

By achieving their goals through protesting against the senate, the Romans learned they could achieve whatever they wanted if they put enough pressure on the senate, and with a consul who supported this type of behavior nothing could stop the non-aristocratic roman class from getting what they wanted, or what they were tricked into wanting.

The other two triumvirs agreed to grant Julius Caesar the office of consul in 59 BC. He was appointed the governor of Roman Gaul in 58 BC and built up an army there. Caesar marched north into Gaul and defeated the Helvetii. Caesar's military contributions to the empire were significant, but he destroyed the Republic with his civil wars. His march on Rome exploited the precedent of Sulla, whose own march was due to far more legitimate political issues. Caesar simply didn't want to be prosecuted for the innumerable laws he broke during his consulship, and so refused to lay down his arms when ordered by the Senate and People of

The expansion of Rome, the ruling of Julius Caesar and his death, and the civil war that followed his death all led to the collapse of the Roman Republic.

This new republic was plagued by tension arising from the class differences of the patricians and plebeians. The Gracchi brothers attempted to equalize things, Gaius Gracchus proposed a redistribution of farm land that would benefit the plebeians. The end result was rather unfortunate as he was killed; his other brother was also killed ten years later for similar reasons.

The preceding events and conditions that allowed for the Republic to fall. Because of internal turmoil Roman citizens started to lose satisfaction in the government. The first reason for this turmoil came from economic issues and stagnation. Though wealth from Roman conquests poured into Italy it wasn't being evenly distributed, it was all bubbling to the top giving patricians more wealth while the average Roman citizen saw almost none of it. Then on top of that around 146 B.C. Roman conquests slowed down and so did the profits which led to economic stagnation leading to an unhappy

However, this influence that the Senate had on the magistrates and popular assemblies was meant to protect the Republic from “popular whims” or the stupidity of the commoner (Gwynn, 24) . Although one could argue this made Rome an aristocracy, this in no way downgrades the justice of the government. The system of checks and balances ensured that the Senate could never be in complete control. More importantly, “the People, who by their votes, bestow honors on those who deserve them” (Tingay and Badcock, 45). The Populus had the right to reject or pass laws or choose war or peace.

A consistent measure throughout all history has been that all great empires fall. Many theories have been given to why the empire fell, but Gibbons famous book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, provides reasoning for what we consider as why Rome fell. Even though there was an inconsistency of leadership, the main reason for the decline of the Roman Empire was due to the size of the empire. Supporting Gibbons reasoning, Rome fell because the immense size was too large to control, leaders too intensely desired conquest and there was little protection of the land.

Some policies and institutions of the Roman Republic were useful to help them succeed in conquering first Italy and then the Mediterranean world. Before of the institution of the republic, the romans were a monarchy since their beginning and they were basically a pastoral people. Rome suffer several changes and improvements under the control of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscan were civilization settled north of Rome in Etruria, and they once had control over almost all the Italic peninsula. The Etruscans influences in Rome were profound, they transformed Rome from a pastoral community to a city (91). The Etruscan built the street and roads that help the development of temples, markets, shops, streets, and houses. They basically brought urbanization to Rome. It is fairly to say that the Rome republic was a fusion between the elements of the Etruscan civilization and the Rome elements. The combination of the different political institutions and policies made the Romans succeed in their conquest territories.

The decline of the Roman Empire marked an end to an age of peace and prosperity. Between the years 121 AD to 161 AD, Roman society was ruled under the “five good emperors” Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Embodied with a wealth of wisdom and competence, the emperors brought Rome to its height of territorial expansion and stability. As the third century rolled around, the empire succumbed to a state of chaos and instability. Under the rule of the barrack emperors, Roman society was weakened by the greed and corruption of the leaders, as well by the ineffective public policy that was implemented. Aside from internal affairs, Rome also struggled with foreign pressures. Having one of the longest borders in history,

Three ideals and traditions of the Roman Republic, lust for power, greed, and loyalty, each contributed to the collapse of the Republic. Desire for power played a major role in the collapse of the Republic because Caesar, the man who arguably began the Republic’s downfall, marched on Rome because he wanted power. The second ideal that led to the Republic’s collapse was greed and the power of money, for example bribing officials in Rome, Crassus’ shocking alliance with Caesar, and Pompey’s strategy to fight Caesar during the first civil war. The last ideal that aided the downfall of the Republic was loyalty, specifically citizens’ loyalty to political leaders or military generals, loyalty between generals and their veterans, and loyalty between political leaders.

Chalking up the fall of the Roman Republic to a decline in traditional Roman morality, while not false, sells the events and changes that were the causes for the fall of the Republic short. At the end of The Third Punic War with Carthage we arguably see the Republic at its height. However in only a decade things begin to change, we see events that send Rome as a Republic past a point that Rome could not recover. Gaius Marius’s military reforms, specifically that of allowing for the captive cencsi, men who owned no property, and the creation of professional soldiers is the true catalyst for the downfall of the Republic. By enacting these reforms Marius opened up military duty to Rome’s largest group of citizens, however it created unforeseen issues, such as what to do with these men once they returned from battle. These reforms opened the door for military generals like Sulla and Caesar to gain the unquestioned support of their troops, in many instances gaining more respect from the soldiers then they had for the Roman state itself. These military reforms are a constant through line through the fall of the Republic, touching large political issues such as the conflicts between the Populares and the Optimates, or the rise of The First Triumvirate; socioeconomic issues such as the rise of Roman aristocracy, development of a slave based agriculture system to the profits from war. The complexity in which these reforms help lead to this immoral Roman state is complex and has been

Ancient Rome was an empire so dominant, wealthy and economically- stable which came to a dramatic fall in the period of 250AD- 500AD. Ancient Rome faced unexplained unfortunate events which crumbled the Great Empire from the affluent empire to a impoverished society. For centuries historians have timelessly theorised and analysed many debates and research in relation to the Fall of the Roman Empire. What really caused the predominate Roman Empire to fall? Did Rome fall naturally? Was disease, such as malaria a major contributor to the Fall of the Empire, Was man -made infrastructure a problem during Ancient Roman times? Was the fall a natural event? Was the climate changing causing natural disasters? Maybe, perhaps, all the theories interweaved with each other at the same time causing a catastrophic downfall, defeating the Ancient Roman Empire. Edward Gibbon (Gibbon, 1909, pp 173-174.) quoted,

While the fall of the Roman Empire is well known, the exact causes of why it fell can be difficult to pinpoint. Many historians believe that Rome 's downfall was due to poor leadership, weakened economics, or perhaps a combination of the two along with other seemingly unrelated factors. However, there is a string of evidence suggesting that there were three main components that took place to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. These determinant attributes did not happen all at once, and there was a domino effect with each one directly influencing the others. The fall of Rome occurred after a series of preventable events, including unacceptable emperors, the heavy reliance on slaves, and the increasingly uncontrollable borders of Rome.

The Roman Empire is known as one of the strongest empires in history, due to their advanced technology, strong military leaders, and republican government. As the empire started to expand, so did their power. However, after years have gone by, the Roman Empire started to fall. Their fall may have been caused by political reason, such as the empire being just too much to handle, Diocletian splitting the territory in half, and their government corruption.

The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.