Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Historical Julius Caesar leadership
Exam the fall of the Roman Republic
Exam the fall of the Roman Republic
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Historical Julius Caesar leadership
The end of the third and final Punic War in 146 BCE, marked Rome’s successful conquest of the Mediterranean world. Although Rome’s victory expanded the Roman Empire, the victory most certainly came at a cost. The postwar political and social landscape was filled with chaos that required government response to solve. The Gracchi Reforms resulted directly from the unrest of the common people and weakening roman military power, the rise of Julius Caesar correlated with aftermath of Gracchi reforms and distrust with government, and the second triumvirate was a temporary solution to the unrest after Caesars’ assassination. These three revisions to Roman government structure also contributed to cause the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of …show more content…
It was clear to the people of Rome that the concerns of the common man were now of little importance to the aristocrats that held positions in government. Additionally, new policies paid the army with gold and land instead of it being a public service for the good of the Roman Republic leading soldiers to be more loyal to the generals than the republic itself. Julius Caesar, a successful military leader, utilized the control he had over his soldiers to rise to prominence in Roman politics in 78-60 BCE. Caesar joined the 1st triumvirate, a mutual split of power between himself, Pompey, and Crassus for control of Rome, but after the death of Crassus and the defeat of Pompey in Northern Italy was the only remaining leader. Caesar then focused on social and economic reforms that addressed the class inequality that resulted from the aftermath of the Gracchi brothers, subsequently making him very popular with the commoners. Caesar most likely saw his popularity as an advantage, knowing that having the people of Rome on his side would make it much more difficult for him to be stripped of his title. Unfortunately, popularity would prove not to be enough to keep Caesar in office. Because Caesar’s initiative was focused around the concerns of the common man, some of Caesar’s senate did not approve of the way he was utilizing his power. In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar would be stabbed to death while in a senate meeting. Upon hearing that Caesar had fallen to the aristocrats, his followers, mostly commoners, were enraged and caused the Roman Republic to go into a state of disarray once
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...
Plutarch writes of Caesar’s character, “He had an ability to make himself liked which was remarkable in one of his age, and he was very much in the good graces of the ordinary citizen because of his easy manners and the friendly way in which he mixed with people” (Plutarch 257). By examining Caesar’s character, one can understand how he used his love of the people to gain power and to keep it with his military victories which had brought a vast amount of wealth and land to Rome. Caesar embarked on creating Rome’s biggests debts in order to achieve friends. Plutarch remarks on Caesar’s enemies who “thought that this influence of his would soon come to nothing, once he stopped spending money, and they stood aside and watched it grow among the common people. Later on it had become too great for anything to be done about it, and was plainly aimed at a complete revolution in the state” (Plutarch 257). Caesar relied on friendship, and used his friends tactically in forming the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, and he was able to gain their followers while also establishing his own name. Caesar learned from Sulla’s decree of proscriptions on one’s enemies and instead pardoned his enemies to make them his friends. This ultimately would turn out be disastrous for Caesar, as those whom he pardoned would switch sides at the last minute and stab
His first contribution to Rome’s downfall came in the form of the formation of the First Triumvirate, which enabled him to illegally take Gaul, and further undermine the senate. Caesar made his way to power by gaining important alliances. Unlike Marius, he was born into a fairly important high class family in Rome. The First Triumvirate, formed in 60BC was composed of himself, Crassus and Pompey. Crassus was the wealthiest man in Rome at the time, and Pompey had just been awarded his third Triumph. The mere existence of such a group undermined the ideals of the senate, as it worked on the basis that no one man could have enough power to do anything without the support of the senators. The Triumvirs worked to achieve their own individual goals, whilst simultaneously supporting one another. Caesar was consul in 59BC, with Marcus Bibulus, and made the sheer influence of the three men public with the introduction of his land redistribution law. Crassus and Pompey supported this proposal, and Pompey filled Rome with his soldiers. Bibulus tried to void the law but Caesar’s armed supporters drove him out of the senate and forced him into house arrest. This meant that Caesar essentially had a sole consulship and gained enough power and support to overturn his proposed governorship and allowed himself
Although the Gracchi brothers were driven by a genuine concern for the welfare of their city, ultimately their actions (and the events surrounding these) contributed to the decline of Rome, but was not the cause of it. They had real reasons to contribute to Rome and attempt to rectify its problems, and though their reformist ideas were not mild in the greatest, they ultimately did not count towards to collapse of the Roman republic. These ideas were mainly centred around the redistribution of land in order to recruit the shrinking army. Thus because these were unprecedented and furthermore, set by wealthy aristocrats who would’ve otherwise had no reason to be concerned, this made the Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus the initiators of the Roman Revolution.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the first example in history on the collapse of a constitutional system which was caused by the internal decay in political, military, economics, and sociological issues. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. Commanders of the Roman army turned their own army inward towards their own Constitutional systems, fueled by their own ruthless ambition. This paper will talk about how the violence and internal turmoil in 133B.C.-27 B.C. was what provoked the economic stagnation in the city of Rome and to the end of the Republic and the many corrupt politicians and generals who only thought of nothing more than personal gains and glory. The senate lost control of the Roman military and the reason they rose against the senate was because the senate were no longer able to help manage the social problems or the military and administrative problems of the empire. The economics of the Roman Empire soon hit rock bottom due to the high taxation to support the army. Gold was also eroding since Rome was no longer bringing new resources through the expansion. Emperors then tried to mint coins out of silver and copper instead and the end result was inflation and dramatic rises in
With the problems starting with the dissolution of the first triumvirate and the actions of Julius Caesar, it seemed almost inevitable that the Republic would become an Empire. With the death of the true republican, Cicero, and many not remembering what the republic was like, giving power to the capable and honorable man seemed as if the best answer. Furthermore, if the Rome continue to remain a Republic the Senate could not have maintained the success or power that the Empire held. The ambition of one man made it easy to continue the growth whereas, many of the policies and disputes the country faced had face might have taken to long or complicated had the republic
Caesar was popular among the citizens because he had created a stable government and did a lot for the city of Rome. Roman senators were scared that Caesar was beginning to have too much power so they murdered him. Following his death, Caesar’s friends and family wanted revenge. His cousin, Marcus Antonius, friend, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and nephew, Gaius Octavius Thurinus, also known as Octavian, joined forces to form the Second Triumvirate. Similar to the men in the First Triumvirate, these three men were also aggressive and seeking more power. Immediately after they rose to power, Lepidus was granted Hispania and Africa to rule over, which made him satisfied and out of the affairs in Rome. Octavian and Antonius agreed that Octavian would rule the west and Antonius the east but because of Antonius’ connection with Queen Cleopatra, Octavian was disappointed with the unbalance. This feud eventually led up to another civil war when Antonius, along with Cleopatra’s army, went into war with Octavian and his army. Octavian came out victorious and Antonius and Cleopatra both decided to commit suicide. With Octavian in power, he send Lepidus into exile and changed his name to
The Roman Empire was the most powerful Empire during Antiquity. It is traditionally considered to have “fallen” in 476, when Rome’s last emperor was deposed. Many theories have been presented as to why it fell, from unsound economic and social policies to mass lead poisoning. The actual cause of Rome’s fall is the result of many factors, but was mainly caused by Rome’s poor economic policies.
As the Roman Republic began expanding further and further, land distribution issues arose within the society. Rich aristocrats acquired lands from their plebeian neighbors, creating expansive latifundia throughout Rome, while the voiceless plebeian class shrunk smaller and smaller. Amidst the unrest, two brothers, each elected as tribune, arose to give the lower class a voice against the wealthy aristocrats. Both Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, fought so persistently that their opposition of the Roman government led to their respective assassinations. The assassinations of the impactful brothers led to a period of unrest and civil war in Ancient Rome, forever impacting the history of Rome. The Gracchi brothers were historically significant
Finally his sudden death was the result of various personal factors that insulted the senators and created hate between Caesar and them, believing his death was expected. His death then led to a domino effect, which ends in the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire. Caesar was assassinated by his own Senate. Julius Caesar had many men conspiring against him with a plot to assassinate him. Among the 60 men plotting to murder him, many were senators, which included Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Brutus Albinus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Brutus believed the death of Caesar would bring the return of the old Roman spirit unfortunately, the city was in shock, and people became increasingly more aggressive, because Caesar was popular with the people of Rome. Unfortunately, peace was impossible and the conspirators fled to
Caesar was sole consul and at times acted like a king. The senate did not like this because the Romans held the tradition of a hatred of kings. It was then that the senate believed that Julius Caesar was a threat to the Republic. The senate and everyone liked Caesar, but they had decided that the best way to save the Republic was to assassinate Caesar. This was yet another piece of the game that was pulled out of the structure of the Roman Republic. Yes, the Romans were able to destroy the person that they thought was the threat to the Republic, but it was the position not the person that was the threat. With Julius Caesar gone, the void was still there for someone to fill.
Julius Caesar was a unique military leader and a devoted Roman. His loyalty and dedication to his country was demonstrated through his conquests throughout his reign. Caesar was one of the three men who made up the First Triumvirate and he came out on top. Pompey and Crassus completed the Triumvirate. Pompey was a successful military general and Crassus had great power and wealth in Rome. However, Crassus was killed in his attempt to conquer Parthia and Pompey was executed in Egypt under the rule of King Ptolemy. King Ptolemy feared offending Caesar and sent him Pompey’s head. The plebeians loved and respected Caesar and wanted him as their king. However, Caesar was noble and declined the offer. The citizens of Rome would not take no for an
Much ink from the historians’ pens has been spilled seeking to explain the reasons behind the fall of the Roman Republic. As Gruen notes, “from Montesquieu to Mommsen, from Thomas Arnold to Eduard Meyer…the Republic’s calamity has summoned forth speculation on a grand scale. How had it come about?” (1) Certainly, from one perspective, it can be said that the attraction of this event is to a degree overstated: it is based on the belief of the stability of political systems, of the deterrence of the possibility of radical changes in political worldviews and general social arrangements and structures. Furthermore, it marks a decisive shift, in the political arrangements of a grand civilization of Ancient Rome: in other words, it marks an instance where even within the continuity of a singular civilization, such as that of Rome, there can be the presence of political turbulence and abrupt changes of directions regarding the form which political power and hegemony ultimately assumes. Yet, what is perhaps more important from the perspective of the historian is the precise sense in which the events of the collapse of the Roman Republic still remain ambiguous, arguably because of the multi-faceted manner in which this fall occurred. Hence, Gruen writes: “the closing years of the Roman Republic are frequently described as an era of decay and disintegration; the crumbling of institutions and traditions; the displacement of constitutional procedures by anarchy and forces; the shattering of ordered structures, status and privilege; the stage prepared for inevitable autocracy.” (1) In other words, the collapse of the Roman Republic is complicated because of the multiple dimensions in which such degeneration ultimately happened: it was not mere...
Over time, ever-increasing taxation placed a massive burden on the Roman people with the majority of these taxes falling on the poorest members of society. The plight of the masses slowly ate away at the foundation of the Roman economy, especially following the final division of the empire in 395. The Roman economy in the West simply lost the ability to function in the face of overwhelming exterior and interior pressures”. This shows that to the author of this article, the economy played one of the bigger roles in the collapse of the Roman Empire. It also shows that the failing of the military, and the economic downfall were linked, the military gradually declined, and thus so did the economy of
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...