How Caesar contributed to the breakdown of the Roman republic

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Gaius Julius Caesar ( 100 BCE – 44 BCE) contributed to the breakdown of the roman republic through his political military by decreasing senate power, dismissing Rome’s aversion to monarchy, and his attempt to remove senate, military and religious authority, as well as his civil war; in which he overthrew the government and walked on the Rubicon river. The Roman Republic’s degeneration is Europe’s first case of the downfall of a constitutional system. The previous consuls and dictators of Rome during the republic also influenced the republics destruction however, these actions collaboratively impacted towards the end of the republic by Caesars anti-republic like methods and leadership role.
During the Republic, the people of Rome had a major disinclination towards any sort of Royalty, which is why when Caesar attempted to lead undemocratically indefinitely, he disrupted one of the core stances that romans shared communally. Caesar over indulged in power when he retitled himself as ‘dictator in perpetuo’. “And as Caesar was coming down from Alba into the city they ventured to hail him as king. But at this the people were confounded, and Caesar, disturbed in mind, said that his name was not King, but Caesar, and seeing that his words produced an universal silence, he passed on with no very cheerful or contented looks…..But the most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power.” Caesars egotism and self-importance made him uncherished by members of the senate. “Everybody knew that Caesar's ego would never allow him to play second fiddle to another senator, and it was equally well-known that another famous military leader, Pompey the Great, had similar ambitions. In January 49, more or less at...

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...allow senate to have an active role in his leadership, a notion which had been a fatal mistake for past censors of the Roman republic. Julius Caesar, the last leader of the Roman republic was conclusively at fault for the demolition of the constitutional society. His dictatorship and lack of respect for the democratic system lead to his death and the death of the republic. “The most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power” (Plutarch)

Works Cited

Plutarch: The Life of Caesar (http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t08.html) http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t08.html Fall of the Roman Republic I: http://www.suu.edu/faculty/ping/pdf/falloftheromanrepublici.pdf
The first Triumvirate http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/First_Triumvirate.html
http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/vipsanius/agrippa.html

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