The End of the Republic

Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus joined forces to form a triple leadership called the First Triumvirate. The rulers of Rome’s states and colonies suspected that one man would soon emerge as the complete ruler. Antipater, ruler of Idumea, played one ruler against the other to seek favor. Crassus invaded Jerusalem and stole the temple treasure while war broke out between Pompey and Caesar. Antipater sided with Pompey until Pompey was defeated, and then switched his loyalty to Caesar. Caesar abolished the five districts and named Antipater procurator of all.

Caesar became governor of the southern strip of Gaul, which Rome had annexed some sixty years earlier. He defeated the Celtic Gauls, conquering a huge area corresponding to modern France and Belgium. Caesar also crossed the English Channel to punish the Celtic Britons for helping their fellow Celts in Gaul, though he made no effort to conquer Britain permanently. While Caesar was fighting in Gaul, the German tribes from east of the Rhine often crossed the river and made trouble. Caesar massacred two entire tribes of them, building a bridge across the Rhine for a quick punitive raid into the territory on the east bank and destroying his bridge after his return. He temporarily taught the Germans the lesson that they should stay on their own side of the river. (Winks) On the Gallic side, his victories meant the spread of Roman language and civilization.

Caesar defied an order from the Senate to give up his command and stay in Gaul, and he led his loyal troops south across the Rubicon River boundary, beginning a civil war. Within a few weeks Caesar was master of Italy. He then won another in Spain, and he defeated Pompey’s troops in Greece, to which most of the Senate had fled...

... middle of paper ...

...litical hotbed of rival classes and contenders for power. Augustus had seen Caesar’s rise to power and the awful way in which Caesar’s rule was ended. So Augustus gradually transformed the structure of Roman government to assure his control. First, he introduced a system called the principate, which seemed to follow the old republican order and the power of the Senate. It really brought the republic under the personal control of Augustus. The principate provided the basic structure of the Roman Empire for almost two hundred years.

Under the empire, Augustus ruled only a few provinces directly. One of these was Judea. Romans saw Syria and Palestine as a small but troublesome part of their empire. Augustus brought the Pax Romana (Roman peace) to all provinces within the borders of the empire. (Packer) But the emperor still relied on his army to keep the peace.