The ramifications of Rome’s expansions and rise to power were the inevitable fall of the republic and rise of the empire. Although other factors contributed to the fall of the republic, such as the reign of Julius Caesar, most of the reasons for this monumental switch are rooted in the Punic Wars. As the boundaries of Rome’s jurisdiction spread over the Mediterranean in the second and third century BCE, the senate proved to be inept at adjusting its method of governing. Richard Edwin Smith explains in The Failure of the Roman Republic that Rome, by means of the Punic Wars, became a powerful state in the Mediterranean world without fully realizing it. While Rome may have grown during this period, he says, “there was no change in her mental outlook to correspond to her changed position” (Smith, 50).
During the third century the Roman Empire went into chaos. Tyrants desperately wanted power and money, so they all started fighting for the position of emperor. Within less than fifty years, over twenty men were emperors. The majority of the emperors stayed in position for a few months before being assassinated and replaced by the others in line. Around the same time, other internal and external problems caused the empire to decline.
There was massive instability in the Empire when the Octavian forces defeated Mark Antony. However wars seemed to be happened all over the continent at this time. As instability occurred there was a fight for power. The Republic would eventually collapse and enter a coalition government run by Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey. They would lead until Caesar had enough military experience out of France to come in and defeat both their armies to become dictator.
The Roman Republic was facing internal problems that would cause it to ultimately collapse into the Roman Empire. Including social unrest between the classes and military entering into politics, among other reasons, the Roman Republic crumbled under itself and gave way to the beginning of new government. A second triumvirate ended with civil war and the Republic was over; however, Octavian created the Roman Empire in its place. Because of the stabilizing government, strong legal system and increasing trade, the Pax Romana was able to remain tied together for about 210 years. The Roman Republic was struggling to remain in power but the social unrest was a not a helping factor in helping the Republic to last for a while longer.
Because of these things, the empire became ever-increasingly unmanageable. The emperor Diocletian, who ruled the empire from 284 - 305 C.E., tried to fix the problem of the empire's manageability by dividing the empire into two separated governmental districts, or, portions; there was an eastern portion, which embraced the wealthy lands of Syria, Egypt, Anatolia, and Greece; the western portion included Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and north Africa. A co-emperor and his lieutenant ruled each district. These four people, collectively known as the tetrarchs, could, theoretically, rule the empire with a greater efficiency than a single emperor. While Diocletian was co-emperor, there was a general order and a quick response to military threats.
That wasn't right and had to change, yes. But a constitutional monarchy would have been the best option. That way, the King would only have been king in name but keep his stature, and the country would have been reigned by cabinets formed of the bourgeoisie, nobility and clergy. Unfortunately, the French chose the most violent way imaginable, and murdered everybody that stood in the way (or even dared to think differently) of the revolution. Absolutist power is always dangerous in the hands of a monarch as well as in the hands of a movement (in this situation, the National Assembly).
By the time of Julius Caesar's dictatorship and subsequent assassination at the hands of the Senate, the Roman Republic was in a virtual free-fall of corruption and struggle for power. The Roman people were tired of the turmoil brought on by decades of war and needed a leader that could and would restore peace, order, and prosperity. Nonetheless, thirteen years of civil war followed Caesar's assassination and during this time Octavian, the grand-nephew and heir of Caesar, came into his sizable inheritance. He entered into a military-dictatorship (the Second Triumvirate) of Rome with supporters of his late great-uncle, was given a senate seat, and was elected consul and granted imperium, all before the age of twenty. Before he was 32 years
He spent the year 335 subduing restive people to the north and west of Macedonia, and crushing an Athenian-endorsed uprising at Thebes. Now mistrusting the Athenians, Alexander the Great declined to employ their fleet against Persia. He crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor with his substantial army of thirty-five thousand Macedonians and Greeks overwhelming the Persian army and gaining enough spoils to restore the meager Macedonian treasury. The key to Alexander’s success there was timing, and one of his great abilities was knowing when and where to strike defensively. Then, he would pursue the retreating enemy, who more often than not, could not regroup after Alexander’s strikes.
The Fall of Rome and it’s Reasoning The primary reasons for the “fall” of Rome were factors such as foreign invasions, several natural disasters, and the rulers. The Roman Empire was the most powerful Empire during the classical era. It is traditionally considered to have “fallen” in 476 CE, when Rome’s last emperor had died. Rome wasn’t destroyed in a day. The fall of the Roman Empire was partially caused by foreign invasions.
The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire June 17, 2012 Liberty University HIEU 201 The Roman Empire was at one time the most powerful empires in the world. Although this empire was once powerful, many events took place that caused the fall and decline of the Roman Empire. Rome’s republican institution which was designed for city-state, proved incapable of coping with the problems that were created by the conquest of a world empire (Perry et al, 2009). According to the presentation “Roman Empire,” the decline and fall of the Roman Empire was a long slow process with one problem leading to another in a downward spiral. The downward spiral began with the degeneration of the army that weaken the defenses and made them more vulnerable to Germanic invasions.