Why the Roman Republic Broke Down
At the height of the Roman Republic, Roman society flourished with the Empire constantly expanding its borders. By around the time of 100BCE loyalty to the state began to erode, which eventually brought about the birth of one man rule in Rome. Cornell (1982) argued in his book that the Republic broke down because of moral corruption and the ambition of great men, while Lintott (2000) believed that the size of the Empire was too great for any type of collective rule. By analyzing many resources on the subject this essay will prove that the Republic broke down due to the selfish aristocratic ruling, social upheaval between Patricians and Plebeians as well as the struggle for absolute power between great generals, all of which happened throughout the Republican era. Problems concerned with the needs of the people in Rome were often ignored, as the Roman Aristocratic government was preoccupied with personal interests. In this period of Roman society, the aristocrats controlled the government and weren't affected by problems concerning the majority of society, so were content to keep a government system that was advantageous to them. The government tended to focus more on the wars happening to extend the empire than issues actual
Since no buildings, water ways, roads or other projects were being built by the government and farmers were being forced off their land, the amount of unemployed people increased, causing the majority of lower class society to be only concerned with surviving in the unsettled community. They chose to disregard the Republic laws, causing civil unrest and law and order to break down in Roman society. Gracchus wanted to take the away this monopoly power of the Senate and try and solve the economic and social problems in Rome by giving power to the people. The struggle for power after Caesar assassination lasted for thirteen years, once again another period in which great generals fought. He was assassinated by aristocrats who wanted to revive the republic, although the conspirators did not think about the effect his murder would have on society. The soldiers were therefore dependent on Generals personally for support and income. Patricians who controlled the government could no longer rely on conventional voting patterns as Equites, who usually cooperated with the senate now had their own interests to protect due to the changing social conditions. Cicero, 'To Atticus' (cited in Williams) explains why the Republic was not kept after Generals took control. "Among the laws which he procured( Caius Gracchus), to increase the authority of the people, and lessen that of the Senate" was extracted from "Plutarch", (cited in Koutsoukis, 1989). This in turn affected the condition of the state in which unsanitary conditions and diseases were created. As the voting conventions changed, friction among Patricians was created, as they were now unsure if they would be kept in power. Consequently, by forming the Triumvirate the league became uneasy as all three generals wanted sole control of Rome. After four years of civil war, Pompey was defeated and Caesar ruled the Empire for a short period of time before being assassinated in 44BCE. This struggle eventually caused Rome to lose its Republic government.
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