The hypothesis of this report is that the military reforms instituted by Gaius Marius ultimately paved the way for the fall of the Roman Republic. The reforms instituted by Marius were designed as a way to strengthen the Republic by professionalizing the Roman military, but instead resulted in long term political consequences that contributed to the decline of the Republic and the creation of the Empire. In this report, the decline of the republic specifically refers to the loss of the Senate’s authority over Rome’s generals. From 112 – 106 BC, a Numidian king called Jurgurtha was engaged in a war with Rome due to an attempt to seize power from his half-brother, Adherbal. The Romans arrived due to the request of Adherbal, and the potential of profit, a claim pressed by the equites, with the aim of dividing the country between the brothers, and Marius found himself under the command of Quintus Caecilius Metellus, who he was under patronage of. When Mettelus scornfully refused Marius’ request to return to be allowed to return to Rome in an attempt of gaining Consulship in 108, Marius intrigued to get the African command transferred upon himself by stating that “Mettelus was prolonging the war on purpose” (William G. Sinnigen, p. 131), after which Mettelus allowed him to return to Rome to gain the Consulship in 107. After becoming Consul in 107, he was then given the African command the following year, and before he let Rome he was ordered by the senate to raise a new army in an attempt to make him unpopular with the people due to the senate’s negative opinion of him. After receiving this order he created the foremost of his Reforms, described by Sallust as “he himself in the meantime enrolled soldiers, not according to the cl... ... middle of paper ... ... middle men between the troops and the Senate, and were looked on by their soldiers as looking out for their best interests. The soldiers relied on their general to give them what they needed, be it arms and armour, pay or land to retire on, and in return the generals wanted loyalty from their troops. As the legions were firmly in control of their generals, they were content to become a threat to the Republic and willing to become akin to private armies, following Generals such as Sulla to march on Rome or other generals. The continued fighting resulting from these bonds between the generals and the armies, who used them as political tools, which ultimately weakened the republic. Marius set the stage for ambitious generals to use their soldiers to help advance their own political careers, but Marius did not use his soldiers to help him gain his seven consulships.
The Roman Republic (Res Pvblica Romana) was a form of republican government that was established in 509 BCE to replace the monarchy government that had reigned over Rome since the founding in 753BCE (Steele, 2012). The Failure of the Roman Republic was inevitable as it was an unjust system of government and it was left vulnerable after the attempted changes instigated by the Gracchi, as the Gracchi exposed the weaknesses in the political structure allowing future politicians to manipulate the system. The sources used throughout the essay, which include Plutarch, Appian, Florus and Velleius, will need to be examined closely as each source will demonstrate different views on the Gracchi, as the authors purpose of writing will differ. The Gracchi had set out to change Rome for the better, however in the process; they exposed the internal flaws of the government which resulted in the beginning of the decline of the Roman Republic.
From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
Sulla’s earlier career had not been that of an orthodox Optimate. Though he belonged to an old patrician family, it had long slid into obscurity and poverty. Plutarch suggests that a legacy from his step-mother and another from a mistress helped him, somewhat late, to a public career (Plutarch, p. 327). Plutarch was a Greek historian who wrote more than a century after Sulla’s death. Some of his pieces are polemical, that is, his writings possibly arise from scurrilous tracts, written by political adversaries of his subjects. As Marius’ quaestor, he had captured Jugurtha and won the loyalty of his fellow soldiers, sparking a later brutal animosity between the pair. This talent for winning the loyalty of soldiers never deserted Sulla, and that fact would have terrible consequences for Rome (Williams, p.139).
After the assassination of Caesar, his nephew and adopted Son took it upon himself to bring to justice those who had murdered his great-uncle. In the quotation above, we see that the young Augustus , who did not yet have his own military command, had to raise his own army and fund them himself. Though the
By allowing more people into the army, giving them a personal reason to join, and forcing them to grow stronger, Marius made the military considerably more effective, which naturally lead to the swift gaining of territory and the transition of Rome from republic to empire, and
...ult of the senate's inactivity, selfishness and negligence. This resulted in the Senate's hostile reaction to the Gracchi, which therefore allowed the Gracchi to make revolutionary changes to the face of Roman politics, as a direct and indirect result of their actions, including the notion of a tribune as an instrument of initiative and reform, and more importantly, the introduction of violence in Roman politics. These changes could be felt long after the death of the Gracchi, which is evident in the powerful political armies of Marius and Sulla. In conclusion, The Gracchi were significant figures in Roman history for the short and long term consequences that resulted from their actions, acting as perceptive idealistic men who were concerned for the greater good of Rome at a time when it was atypical to do so.
Gaius Julius Caesar, born 100 B.C.E. in Rome to the impoverished patrician Julian Clan, knew controversy at an early age. Nephew to Populare Gaius Marius, he was earmarked by the Optimate dictator Sulla for prosciption after his refusal to divorce his Populare wife, Cinna. Fleeing Rome, and not returning until after Sulla’s resignation in 78 B.C.E, upon his return he gained a position as a pontificate, an important Roman priesthood. Slowly but surely throughout his lifetime he worked his way up the political ladder, eventually becoming Consul, and finally Dictator Perpeteus – Dictator for life. One of the most influential political and military leaders of all time, Caesar was also a highly intelligent man and an exceptional orator. However, acquiring this absolute power was no mean feat, and Caesar had well equipped himself through previous expeditions with all the resources necessary to gain power in Ancient Rome.
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
During his early adult live, he worked as a personal aide for Marcus Thermus, who at that time was the governor of the Asian Province. He was then later sent to King called Bithynia by Thermus, to fetch a fleet. And was later suspected of having a false deal with the king of Bithynia. In his early political life he served for Serviliys Isaricus in Cilicia. His exposure to the military made him popular and made him...
Politically, the fall of the Roman Empire as from 410 C.E is regarded as one of the largest and pivotal events in the history of the world. As from the time Edward Gibbon finished his works in 1788 on the Decline and Fall of the Roman empire, there has been large debates on the cause of the of the fall of the roman empire. However, it should be noted that despite the roman empire might have fallen politically, their culture and heritage still persisted in the west through the mid ages and in altered methods the culture still exist in the modern periods. However, a large number of causes attributed to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. This paper will look into the major causes of the decline of the Roman Empire and the periods in which the Roman Empire came to decline and completely fall politically.
This new Republican government, which was administered by the consuls, was not the easiest to transform. Because of the expansion in Italy, the government began to initiate political institutions. These institutions enforced laws and provided authority which were very similar to imperium. “The Romans had a clear concept of executive authority, embodied in their word imperium, or “the right to command” (Spielvogel 117). Since the Romans were very sensible in their actions, they made and implemented them only as needed. The most essential positions held were the few elected magistrates and the two consuls who were “chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle” (Spielvogel 117). If the consul was otherwise occupied, either a dictator or praetor would assume responsibility for the time being.
While these problems existed to a greater of lesser degree, since the end of the 2nd century, their effects were accelerated by the reforms of the emperors Constantine and Diocletian. These reforms changed Roman life as well as the face of the Roman army, moving it away from its classical infantry-based structure to a more cavalry-based system. The army was reorganized into lightly armed troops called "limitanei" who defended the border, and large mobile armies composed of troops called "comitatenses". The border troops were given land to live on around forts they protected. This structure led to farming becoming the job of the border troops so that they could feed as well as protect those on the frontier. Over time, this in turn led to out of date weaponry and neglect in training. The weakness of these troops meant that more mobile troops were needed to compensate, and an easily penetrable border as a result of the weakness led to the need for highly efficient mobile armies. Since the cavalry were the most mobile unit of the army, they began to be the favored military unit. With forces strung along the border and concentrated large mobile armies, an increased number of recruits were required; however, land owners were reluctant to let themselves or their kin be recruited because that left less workers for their farms. At the same time, the division of the empire into outer imperial provinces and inner provinces controlled by the Senate had its own effect. Since the armies largely remained in the outer imperial provinces, the people of the inner provinces were out of touch with the army and were no longer attracted to service, again reducing the available pool of recruits. One reason that many avoided Army service was because Roman citizenship was now offered freely, where in prior times military service had been a path to citizenship. The result was less manpower available for Rome. The Roman army was left with no choice but to recruit barbarians, who could in this way both find employment where they had no skills, and hope to obtain Roman citizenship.
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
Unfortunately, he is not allowed to have any important positions in the military, but that keeps him safe from the front lines. Corinthus has told me the military is incredibly well organized and this contributes to their success. There organization is kept by having specific groups within the military. The structure of the army starts with a tent group which consisted of 8 soldiers. Then, a century combines 10 tent groups which then has 80 soldiers. Century’s are commanded by a centurion. Then there are Cohorts which usually combine 6 Cohorts and 480 infantry. Finally, Legions consist of 10 Cohorts and they are the largest group in the Roman Military. The system used is very complicated and groups often have a different number of soldiers depending on the rank or experience of each soldier. For example, Cohort 1 had the most respected and elite troops, but Cohort II was usually the newer and weaker troops. This organization is a huge factor to the Roman expansion success and although Corinthus does not fall in any of these groups he is always excited to tell me about the work they’re