People Will Do Anything For Power

Julius Caesar was a very arrogant man. He thought very highly of himself. Although, everyone in Rome respected him. They didn 't care what he did. I ii 273 He claimed he was not scared of anything. Calpurnia had nightmares, they were thought as representations of signs of Caesar´s death. Caesar wanted to go to the capitol, Calpurnia told him it was not safe because of her nightmares. In her dreams, there were dead men walking, a statue running with blood like a fountain, while many smiling Romans bathed their hands in the blood. She also had a dream of ghosts wandering the city, a lioness giving

power was quick and it was believed by many on his senate that concerning the good of Rome,

However, very few citizens in Rome stood fully behind Caesar and all of his glory. Even though Caesar is perceived today as a strong and powerful leader, society overlooks the fact that his people disliked him so much they had the audacity to murder the so-called loved leader. His controversy echoed throughout the streets and his name was feared throughout Europe. Thus, Julius Caesar was disliked by his own people which, in the end, led to his own demise.

Julius Caesar was a popular dictator of the Roman Republic. He was a successful leader of the military who grew the republic into parts of Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. He was also well known for writing about his travels, theories, and political views. Alongside Caesar was the Senate, a group of politicians who were not elected and helped shape the government and Roman policy. They resented Caesar’s increasing power and popularity. They called themselves the “Liberators” and invited Caesar to a sporting event where they stabbed him to death 23 times. The Liberators who killed Caesar initially thought they were saving the Roman Republic, but instead, the majority of the Roman public ended up hating them and a long civil war ensued. The conflict arose between Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, and his general, Marc Antony, with the help of Cleopatra. The winner of the war would gain ultimate control over Rome. The civil war ended when Octavian seized the weak Roman Republic. He went on to rule Rome as its first emperor under the title Caesar

The Roman's executive branch, had two consuls and they were elected by the assembly for one year to be the chief executives of the government and the commanders-in-chief of the army. In the judicial branch, the Praetors and the eight judges are chosen for one year by the Centuriate Assembly. Both the Praetor and the eight judges oversee the civil and criminal courts. To become a citizens you have to be an adult male landowner. The citizens had the right to vote, to make legal contracts, to have a lawful marriage, and to have a trial. A common citizen would vote to elect tribunes and to make laws. The Romans had the Twelve Tablets which, were a list of rules that was the basis of the Roman legal system. The laws in the Twelve Tablets talked about property, crime, family, theft, and inheritance.

was a betrayer or patriot to Caesar. After creating the outline I considered it might only be

When Caesar first became the ruler Cassius and Brutus weren't very approving. They tried to make the citizens stop celebrating the death of Pompey, because the citizens loved and adored him while he was their ruler. Then Caesar killed him, and everyone started to praise and adore Caesar

Name: ________________ Hum 8/ Ms. Gill Rome at its Height Julius Caesar played a critical role in the events that led to the fall of the Roman Republic, which was governed by a Senate, and the rise of the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic was run by the Senate. The senate passed all laws and collected taxes.

In 132 BCE, Tiberius Gracchus was elected tribune of the plebs. Tiberius proposed massive land reform that would break up some plots owned by the wealthy and powerful and give it to poor and landless Roman landlords. Naturally, this legislation was supported by the plebeians and opposed by the wealthy patricians. The Senate was especially opposed to this proposal. Therefore, there was a large clash (relatively unheard of in the past) between the Senate and a tribune. The other consul, Octavius, blocked Tiberius’ proposal using his power as tribune to block any business. Tiberius was able to use his power as tribune to extraordinarily remove Octavius from office. This was unprecedented to use these powers for this purpose and it purported to open the Pandora’s box for other politicians to use their powers in extraordinary ways to subvert Roman republicanism. Tiberius was killed but his brother Gaius came to power as tribune nine years later to carry the mantle for populism. Gaius expanded his populism past land reform into cheap grain and making juries in corruption trials come from the equestrian and not senatorial class. Because

brilliantly, all leaders of Rome used the title, Caesar, to honour him. Because of all these factors,

Julius Caesar is thought of as the most powerful and glorious ruler to step foot in Rome. The only thing

They claimed that their ancestry gave them authority to make laws for Rome. The plebeians were citizens of Rome with the right to vote. However, they were barred by law from holding the most important government positions. In time, Rome’s leaders allowed the plebeians to form their own assembly and elect representatives called tribunes. Tribunes protected the rights of the plebeians from unfair acts of patrician officials. (page 156)

The beginning of the third century BCE saw a new elite emerging in Roman society—the nobiles (nobles).These people were a mixture of patricians and plebeians who had held the highest office (the consulate), or whose fathers or forefathers had done so. This new hereditary ruling class of nobilitas (nobility) controlled the senate and, thanks to their array of clients and their own prestige, the popular assemblies as well .

Power is a natural desire for humans. It is what structures society, makes the world turn, and to get more of it, people will do almost anything. Yet society often follows whoever is in power without a second thought. Because the Romans follow whoever is in power without considering that person’s morals and ideals, they are responsible for the anarchy that ensues after Caesar’s death.

Finally, we come to the focus of this report, that is, the Roman Senate. The Senate represented the aristocratic and elitist element of Roman government and was a collection of patrician citizens (the patrician/plebian conflict will be described in more depth later) who served as the legislative branch of the government as well as an advisory body. In the beginning of the Republic, the Senate contained 300 members, the members themselves were chosen from the patrician class, ex-consuls, and other officers who served for life. By the time that Julius Caesar gained power, the Senate's membership had increased to nearly 800 people.