Why Did Roman Republic Fall?
Why Did The Roman Republic Fall?
Gabriel Feldzamen
“The disintegration of the Roman Republic is the first example in European history of the collapse of a constitutional system.” Before the Roman Republic, the Roman Kingdom existed, and in 509 BC the kingdom was replaced by the republican government. At 27 BC, the Roman Republic collapsed, and the Roman Empire was formed on the republic’s foundations. The early Roman Republic was greatly influenced by the Etruscans. “The Roman model for their Republic was based in part on the Etruscan Monarchy and hierarchical structure.” The Republic’s main principle was that they did not want a dictatorship through blood lines, but that the mass chooses their leaders. The ideology of the Senate was that, “… it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors.” The republican government was a complete mess that arose out of practical need; there also was no account of a written constitution made by the Republic. The Roman Republic’s origin was located in the city of Rome, Italy. At that time, Rome was considered the center of the Mediterranean world. The true fall of the Roman Republic is the result of too many problems for the romans to handle.
In the Roman Republic there were four offices of ordinary magistrates, the office …show more content…
of Quaestor, the office of Aedile, the office of Praetor, and the office of the Consul. The Roman Republic was led by two Consuls, who were the elected leaders of the Roman state and the commanders of the army. The two Consuls were only elected for two years. The main role of consuls was to prepare and propose new laws. After their term had finished, they could not be re-elected for another 10 years, in order to prevent tyranny. The Praetor had either the job of being the commander of an army, or be in charge of many functions in Rome. In the city, any leadership functions of a corporate body can be considered praetorial. The Aedile was responsible for the maintenance of public buildings, and organizes public festivals. The Quaestor supervised the financial affairs of the Republic, and conducted audits. The founding principle of the Republic is that not one person could hold too much power. Inside the Republic, there were still wealthy individuals which were corrupt. “The system of voting was weighted to give more influence to the votes of the wealthy”. They gave the general mass a small amount of their money, in order to receive their vote to become a counsel.
Julius Caesar in the republic empire is an outstanding general. He was born in 100 BCE, and died in 44 BCE. During his campaign he conquered present day France using brilliant battle strategies. When Caesar completed his destruction of the Gauls, the Roman Republic’s senate, sent notice for Julius to return to Rome, and disband his troops before he crossed the Rubicon River. Julius Caesar and his army attacked Rome and allies, resulting in Rome to have a dictator. He was accused for fighting for himself, but in reality the senate was fearful that when Caesar returned he will take over Rome and extend his time in power. His only nemesis was a consul named Pompey, which conquered the entire eastern Mediterranean. As a result, Caesar ordered his army into Italy to attack Rome. Slowly Julius and his army marched south conquering town after town, wide spread panic swept through the city of Rome. The plebeians deserted the city seeking refuge from the incoming army. Caesar faced Pompey in a few battles, which was considered a civil war. In the last battle Caesar was victorious and the Roman Republic changed forever. “In the end, the Romans, despite the deepest possible reluctance, would resurrect the program of Alexander the Great: the rule of a god king over a multiracial, multiethnic empire.”
“Many of the problems that brought down the Roman republic can be described in terms of the senate and military relations; in other words, the senate lost control of the Roman military.” The soldiers, who fought hard to protect the republic from its enemies, were deprived of their domicile after returning from duty. Secondly, the soldiers were payed very poorly, minimum wage of their time. Many have fallen into poverty when returning overseas from wherever they were stationed. They fought for years, and had nothing to show for it. “The consequences of Rome’s growing empire were crucial. Many of the poor had fallen into poverty after serving for long periods with armies overseas, and returning to Italy to find their farmland taken over by wealthier neighbors.” In conclusion, the fall of the Roman Republic, is because they had many flaws, in the interior and the exterior.
With the increasing problems the Republic could not stay afloat and had to revert to become an empire, under Julius Caesar. I found this topic very interesting as it shows the link how Rome formed into the greatest empire of all time. The rise and fall of the Roman Republic is not as widespread as the Roman Empire, which all students study. I learnt that, even how great an empire is, it will still collapse on itself and another will replace it. Secondly, that the corruption the senate was made to stop was not able to follow
through.
Bibliography
Beard, M. (2011, 03 29). BBC History. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from The Fall of the Roman Republic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/fallofromanrepublic_article_01.shtml
Fall Of The Roman Republic I. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2013, from South Utah University: http://www.suu.edu/faculty/ping/pdf/falloftheromanrepublici.pdf
Herodotus ' Corner. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2013, from MusesRealm: http://www.musesrealm.net/herodotus7.html
Lecture 26: Fall of the Roman Republic, 133-27 BC. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Purdue University: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/fall_of_republic.htm
Senate of the Roman Republic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2013, from Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Senate_of_the_Roman_Republic.html
Gabriel Feldzamen
“The disintegration of the Roman Republic is the first example in European history of the collapse of a constitutional system.” Before the Roman Republic, the Roman Kingdom existed, and in 509 BC the kingdom was replaced by the republican government. At 27 BC, the Roman Republic collapsed, and the Roman Empire was formed on the republic’s foundations. The early Roman Republic was greatly influenced by the Etruscans. “The Roman model for their Republic was based in part on the Etruscan Monarchy and hierarchical structure.” The Republic’s main principle was that they did not want a dictatorship through blood lines, but that the mass chooses their leaders. The ideology of the Senate was that, “… it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors.” The republican government was a complete mess that arose out of practical need; there also was no account of a written constitution made by the Republic. The Roman Republic’s origin was located in the city of Rome, Italy. At that time, Rome was considered the center of the Mediterranean world. The true fall of the Roman Republic is the result of too many problems for the romans to handle.
In the Roman Republic there were four offices of ordinary magistrates, the office …show more content…
of Quaestor, the office of Aedile, the office of Praetor, and the office of the Consul. The Roman Republic was led by two Consuls, who were the elected leaders of the Roman state and the commanders of the army. The two Consuls were only elected for two years. The main role of consuls was to prepare and propose new laws. After their term had finished, they could not be re-elected for another 10 years, in order to prevent tyranny. The Praetor had either the job of being the commander of an army, or be in charge of many functions in Rome. In the city, any leadership functions of a corporate body can be considered praetorial. The Aedile was responsible for the maintenance of public buildings, and organizes public festivals. The Quaestor supervised the financial affairs of the Republic, and conducted audits. The founding principle of the Republic is that not one person could hold too much power. Inside the Republic, there were still wealthy individuals which were corrupt. “The system of voting was weighted to give more influence to the votes of the wealthy”. They gave the general mass a small amount of their money, in order to receive their vote to become a counsel.
Julius Caesar in the republic empire is an outstanding general. He was born in 100 BCE, and died in 44 BCE. During his campaign he conquered present day France using brilliant battle strategies. When Caesar completed his destruction of the Gauls, the Roman Republic’s senate, sent notice for Julius to return to Rome, and disband his troops before he crossed the Rubicon River. Julius Caesar and his army attacked Rome and allies, resulting in Rome to have a dictator. He was accused for fighting for himself, but in reality the senate was fearful that when Caesar returned he will take over Rome and extend his time in power. His only nemesis was a consul named Pompey, which conquered the entire eastern Mediterranean. As a result, Caesar ordered his army into Italy to attack Rome. Slowly Julius and his army marched south conquering town after town, wide spread panic swept through the city of Rome. The plebeians deserted the city seeking refuge from the incoming army. Caesar faced Pompey in a few battles, which was considered a civil war. In the last battle Caesar was victorious and the Roman Republic changed forever. “In the end, the Romans, despite the deepest possible reluctance, would resurrect the program of Alexander the Great: the rule of a god king over a multiracial, multiethnic empire.”
“Many of the problems that brought down the Roman republic can be described in terms of the senate and military relations; in other words, the senate lost control of the Roman military.” The soldiers, who fought hard to protect the republic from its enemies, were deprived of their domicile after returning from duty. Secondly, the soldiers were payed very poorly, minimum wage of their time. Many have fallen into poverty when returning overseas from wherever they were stationed. They fought for years, and had nothing to show for it. “The consequences of Rome’s growing empire were crucial. Many of the poor had fallen into poverty after serving for long periods with armies overseas, and returning to Italy to find their farmland taken over by wealthier neighbors.” In conclusion, the fall of the Roman Republic, is because they had many flaws, in the interior and the exterior.
With the increasing problems the Republic could not stay afloat and had to revert to become an empire, under Julius Caesar. I found this topic very interesting as it shows the link how Rome formed into the greatest empire of all time. The rise and fall of the Roman Republic is not as widespread as the Roman Empire, which all students study. I learnt that, even how great an empire is, it will still collapse on itself and another will replace it. Secondly, that the corruption the senate was made to stop was not able to follow
through.
Bibliography
Beard, M. (2011, 03 29). BBC History. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from The Fall of the Roman Republic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/fallofromanrepublic_article_01.shtml
Fall Of The Roman Republic I. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2013, from South Utah University: http://www.suu.edu/faculty/ping/pdf/falloftheromanrepublici.pdf
Herodotus ' Corner. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2013, from MusesRealm: http://www.musesrealm.net/herodotus7.html
Lecture 26: Fall of the Roman Republic, 133-27 BC. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Purdue University: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/fall_of_republic.htm
Senate of the Roman Republic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2013, from Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Senate_of_the_Roman_Republic.html