The Fall Of The Roman Republic

It is believed by archaeologists that sometime around 1000 B. C. E. to 800 B. C. E. , Rome became a settlement built in the hills near the Tiber River. There are many different myths about the founding of Rome, the most popular being the story of the twins Romulus and Remus. Historians of Rome tell of there being seven kings of Rome, of which the last three were Etruscan. While the Etruscan king theory is now largely discredited, there is no doubt that the Etruscans had major influences in the growth of Rome. (McKay, John P. , et al. A History of Western Society. 12th ed. , Bedford/St. Martin's, 2017. 124)The Etruscans were responsible for many of the advances in Rome that later helped them to become a superpower. The Etruscans brought large structures to Rome, drainage systems, paved roads, and Romans adopted their alphabet. (McKay, et al. 124)

However, it does seem that Rome was ruled by kings who were not Etruscans, and they had a hereditary monarchy. In the 6th century B. C. E. the kings were overthrown by a group of aristocrats who staged a revolt and established a government, thus setting the stage for the Roman Republic to rise. The government the aristocrats set up consisted of a Senate, which had two leaders called consuls who served a term of one year. This governing style is what made Rome a republic. (p. 124) Early on in the republic, patricians, those with wealth and status, held most of the power, but there is some evidence that a few of the plebeians, the common people, served as consuls. (McKay, et al. 128)Many different assemblies were put together by the Romans through the years where men of high standing were elected to high offices where they passed legislation. The Centuriate Assembly placed citizens into groups called centuries based on his wealth and status. In 471 B. C. E. , the concilium plebis was established to allow plebeian men to have their own assembly in which they could pass ordinances. (McKay, et al. , 128)The Senate was, by far, the most important governing body in Rome. While the republic flourished, the Senate grew to several hundred members. It was a stable force in the republic, and while they could not pass legislation during the republican period, they could give advice and issue formal decrees. (McKay, et al. , 128)While Rome was making historical strides with their way of governing, they were also engaged in many wars.

The Gauls sacked Rome in 387 B. C. E. but were more interested in loot and were essentially bribed to leave Rome. The Romans were able to conquer Latium and the Latin allies and to conquer Etruria. They also engaged in three major wars with Carthage, referred to as the First, Second, and Third Punic wars. (McKay, et al. , 130)As they engaged in these wars and conquests and increased the territories that they ruled, Romans spread their customs and religious traditions throughout the region. They adopted gods from their conquered peoples and put them to use when calling on the pantheon of gods for help. Roman roads were built and those who had been previously allied with Romans were offered citizenship. Rome was by no means a place without conflict. There was the Struggle of the Orders in 494 B. C. E. where plebeians insisted on electing their own officials to run the concilium plebis or they would not serve in the military. The plebeians wanted Roman laws codified and published. In 449 B. C. E. , the patricians gave in and produced the Laws of the Twelve Tables, which covered a very large number of legal issues. (McKay, et al. , 129)

The downfall of the republic began with the cost of the wars it was pursuing. With their need for conquest, the Romans overlooked the fact that it costs money to wage war. It needed money to pay soldiers, but also for the upkeep of the city. The seemingly endless fighting had prevented men from being at home to work their farms and while the women attempted to run the farms, they didn’t have enough labor to do that. Those who were made wealthy by the wars wanted to buy land. The war veterans who had come home from war to find their farms in shambles, sold their land for little money and moved on. When Tiberius Gracchus made suggestions to reform land ownership laws, some were suspicious of his motives. However, he had some supporters and his ideas became law.

Still, he made questionable decisions, and some saw him as a tyrant who exploited his powers within the tribune. When he made a bid to be re-elected to the tribune, he was beat to death. Political violence had come to Rome. (McKay, et al. , 140)Rome declared war on the king of Numidia in 112 B. C. E. but were not getting anywhere until Gaius Marius led troops into the kingdom in 107 B. C. E. Marius’ assistant, Sulla, was able to persuade a family member of Jugurtha to betray him. Marius was also sent to fight the Cimbri and Teutones. Marius became a popular general who attempted to get land for retired soldiers. When that failed, the military knew who had their backs. It was at this time that Rome began dividing into two political factions, the populares, who supported the plebeian assembly, and the optimates who were in favor of the Senate-based government. Marius was backed by the populares and was elected consul every year for 4 years.

The power of Rome now belonged to a military commander. (McKay, et al. ,141)This began a political back and forth between Marius and his associate Sulla involving civil wars and power struggles. Sulla was elected consul. Marius kills Sulla’s supporters. Sulla is elected dictator, and in 79 B. C. E. , Sulla abdicates. After Sulla’s abdication, Pompey and Crassus, who had both served in the military under Sulla and were elected consuls in 70 B. C. E. Julius Caesar was a well-educated and intellectual man who was considered a military genius. In 60 B. C. E. , Caesar and Pompey came back to Rome from military campaigns and together with Crassus formed a political alliance called the First Triumvirate. It didn’t last. Caesar drove Crassus and his supporters out of Rome and defeated Pompey in battle in Greece. Caesar served in various positions in Rome and was revered leader.

Unfortunately, there were those who still preferred that Rome be a republic and on March 15, 44 B. C. E. Caesar was stabbed to death by the patricians Brutus and Cassius. Caesar’s nephew, Octavian had been named Caesar’s successor. More civil wars ensued after Caesar’s murder, but Octavian was triumphant and given the name Augustus in 27 B. C. E. This is the date now used to indicate the end of the Roman Republic. (McKay, et al. , 144)With so much power and so much to offer the world from their exceptional society, Rome still managed to fall prey to that which has taken so many others down; greed, envy, and a thirst for power.