Why Did the Roman Republic Collapse? Keven Johnson Professor L. Reams History-1 70006 10 December 2012 Why Did the Roman Republic Collapse? The Roman republic was founded following the deposition of the last king of Rome. It was said that the Romans, tired of the tyranny of a monarchy, vowed that a king would never again rule Rome. This occurred sometime around 509 BC, and led to the creation of a new form of government called a republic.1 However, as the centuries passed, the republican dream slowly began to fade.
He was a great military leader and he was assassinated by some of his own people. Julius Caeser was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. A politician of the populares tradition, he formed an unofficial triumvirate with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus which dominated Roman politics for several years, opposed in the Roman Senate by optimates like Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. His conquest of Gaul extended the Roman world to the
Max Brazelton Int. Latin 1 Gallic Wars Paper When Caesar's year as consul expired in 58 BC, he assumed the proconsulship of Cisalpine Gaul and Gallia Narbonensis, or, as it was originally known, Provincia, after which the Provençal region in southern France is named. There, removed from Rome and the intrigues of his opponents in the Senate, Caesar commanded an area that extended from the Alps to the Pyrenees and north almost to Lake Geneva, as well as the provincial legions that would give him the wealth and fame that came of conquest, and the military support upon which his political survival depended. Narbonensis became increasingly Romanized under Caesar and, when he writes in the Bellum Gallicum that Gallia est omnis
This shift in alliance resulted in what is known as Caesar's civil war, obviously leading to a Caesarian victory. Pompey's death in 45 BC left Caesar sole ruler of the Roman
| 61 BC | Caesar was sent to govern a Province in Spain as Propraetor. | 60 BC | Caesar returned from Spain to join Pompey and Crassus in a loose coalition known to us as ‘The First Triumvirate.’ | 59 BC | Caesar was elected Consul against heavy Optimate opposition by Marcus Porcius Cato. Caesar married his only daughter, Julia, to Pompey to seal their alliance. Caesar also married too, this time Calpurnia, the daughter of a leading member of the Popular faction. Caesar pushed Pompey's measures through, helped Crassus' proposals, and got for himself a five-year term as Proconsul of Gaul after his consulship was over.
Gaius Marius was significant with his life and career helping the evolution of Rome from a Republic to an Empire. Through him challenging the Senate, his role as a successful general, revealing Senatorial incompetence and his proposal of military reforms, Marius was well known for his improvements to the structure and organisation of the Roman legion. Marius was elected consul in 107BC during the war with the African ruler Jugurtha, King of Numidia. According to Southern “Marius was the first man in his family to reach the consulship so he was a Novus homo”. He was elected consul for a second time in absentia for 104BC as well.
Acquiring this absolute power however, was no easy feat, and Caesar had well equipped himself through previous expeditions of Europe and the ancient world with all the resources necessary to gain power in Ancient Rome. One such "expedition" was Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. On this expedition, Caesar went to great lengths to write a thorough book about his conquest, and to justify his expenditures to the Roman public and Senate. Through Gaul, Caesar found a way to acquire power and prestige for himself within the Roman political arena. It is debated however as to why Caesar wrote about Gaul, whether it be to bask in his glory of his nine-year campaign or to use as propaganda for the political upheaval he would soon mount against Rome.
In the Roman Republic, this was an honorary title assumed by certain military commanders. After an especially great victory, an army's troops in the field would proclaim their commander imperator, an acclamation necessary for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph. After being acclaimed imperator, the victorious general had a right to use the title after his name until the time of his triumph, where he would relinquish the title as well as his imperium. As imperator, Caesar was entitled to a triumph. However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior magistracy in the republic.
Through the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, many civilizations across the globe documented and recorded primary sources declaring the almightiness off a dominant man known as Octavian Caesar. Being the nephew of the notorious Julius Caesar, Octavian finds himself being put into political power after the historical murder of his uncle, thus being obligated to finish and win the civil war previously started by his dear Uncle Julius. After countless warfare victories throughout the remainder of this civil war, Rome would come to encounter the sole rule of one man; Octavian Caesar. Through his sole rule, Octavian became the first Emperor of Rome, ultimately gaining the renowned name, Augustus. With his new name, Augustus would proceed to write his own conceited “deeds” called none other than “Deeds of the Divine Augustus” .
The Roman Empire had a very different foundation from the Persian’s monarch grounds. The Republic of Rome began in 509 BCE when the last Etruscan king was overthrown. The Republic was governed by the Senate, a form of oligarchy. The Republic lasted until 49 BCE, when Julius Caesar, a consul of the senate, betrayed Pompey, another consul, marched into Rome and proclaimed himself Emperor. After the third civil war and Caesar’s grandnephew, Augustus Caesar, names himself dictator and emperor for life, the Roman Empire went through Pax Romana, where the empire flourished during a time of