Fall Of The Roman Republic

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.

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

The roman republic came into existence at the termination of the Roman kingship in 507 B.C.E. The last king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was expelled by Collatinus and Brutus, as a result of his arrogance involving the matter of one of his relations raping the wholesome Roman matron Lucretia and her subsequent suicide. The rape of Lucretia was really a representation of the frustration that the roman citizens felt regarding the kingship. The later kings had little regard for roman values and the roman populus, which they used as something of a slave labor force. Brutus and Collatinus became the first Roman Consuls, elected by popular vote.

The fall of the Roman Republic was caused by the expansion of Rome, and it’s class tension, the ruling of Julius Caesar, and all things that followed Julius Caesar’s

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.

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.

Finally the roman republic and the roman empire were similar in their downfall and collapse. In the roman republic landed aristocrats took over state owned land and bought out small peasant owners to develop large estates (latifundia). Because the number of small farmers decreased the number of men available for the military decreased as well. This then led to the army recruiting poor that hadn't owned property. When they decided to take advantage of this military system a civil war broke out... 35 years later Caesar was stood as dictator of Rome. He ruled for three years but was quickly

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

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,

Rome was growing and it was becoming incredibly wealthy after the Punic wars, but the republic was facing serious problems during this time. Many Roman politicians took bribes and they would encourage the forming violent mobs to aid them in rising to power. Soldiers returning home from the wars were unable to find employment because wealthy landlords were utilizing slaves to get work done instead of hiring Romans. During this period of time the republic was part of several civil wars. Many of the Romans wanted a strong leader to take them to glory; therefore, the way was paved for Julius Caesar.

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.

The Roman Republic was a very successful system, but it had a number of challenges which would ultimately spell its downfall. The fall of the Roman Republic is said of having taken place across a couple of centuries. The fall was caused by some internal and external factors.

The term “all great things must come to an end” is commonly associated with the decline of empires, dynasties, and rulers. When an empire with the capability of conquering nearly the entire Mediterranean area starts to see a decline in their republic after hundreds of years of gaining power and land, something must kick start such an event. One event that caused great turmoil in Roman history was the end of the Roman Republic. The focus of this paper will be on three events that contributed to the decline of the Roman Republic, which arguable came to an end in 49 BCE. Drawing from the works of Sallust, Cicero, lecture presentations, and various other authors, this paper will specifically focus on the decline of the Roman Republic from the

Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West, Combined Volume: Peoples and Cultures. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-4576-8143-1

The Roman Republic was established in around 500 B.C.E following their successful campaigns against the Monarchical Etruscan rule which had reigned over them for hundreds of years. Once liberated, a republic government was formed to try and maintain stability and power within Rome. The Romans adaptability was a key feature in its ability to rise to power as a Republic. Both luck and intelligence led to the rise of the Republic. Luck came into play with Rome's geographical location, and Roman leaders brilliantly used a combination