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The rising and falling of Rome
The rising and falling of Rome
The rising and falling of Rome
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The transition between a monarchy and republic for the ancient city of Rome was a long process filled with endless power struggles (Spielvogel 88). As Rome grew, more people wanted a piece of this newly great world power. Military was a huge part in ancient Rome because it provided all of Rome’s wealth needed for sustention. Accordingly, great military leaders were popular with the Roman people because they brought in the money. A lot of people gained power this way, but some were just born into a powerful family. However, during this time of unrest, people were desperate to gain power even if it meant murder. By this method many leaders died even if they did not gain power through the military. In the Roman Republic, many leader either gained power through unorthodox measures, or they were terminated to be stopped from attaining ultimate power and support.
According to legend, Romulus founded the great city of Rome (Spielvogel 87). Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the god Mars and Rhea Silva (Hughes 16). They were orphaned and raised by a she wolf. In disagreement over the city, Romulus killed Remus for having objections about the city (Hughes 17). Furthermore, Romulus became the first leader and king of Rome. Romulus abruptly disappeared from the face of the earth, and no one knows for sure what happened to the first king of Rome. Needless to say, a precedent was set by Romulus because he killed his brother in order to obtain supported power (Hughes 19).
Due to the growing evidence that Rome was having economical problems in 130 B.C., the Gracchus brothers believed Rome’s problem was the decline of small farmers and wanted change (Spielvogel 101). Tiberius Gracchus was a member of the aristocracy and a new tribune. He s...
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...ple would do whatever it took to stop it. This is why Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus were murder, because they offered a solution for the poor in Rome and the senators did not approve. From the beginning with Romulus, murder was a common method to get to power. Another common method was through military. As you can see in the case of Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar and Octavian, a strong military in the time of Rome can get you far in the world of politics. Rome was a time that leaders arose and crumbled because of selfish ambition.
Works Cited
Bingham, Jane, Fiona Chandler, Jane Chisholm, Gill Harvey, Lisa Miles, Struan Reid, and Sam Taplin. Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. London: Usborne, 2002. Print.
Hughes, Robert. Rome. New York: Knopf, 2011. Print.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: A Brief History. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: Volume I: To 1715, 8th Edition, (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012), 90.
Upon expansion of the Roman Empire, lie trials and tribulations for the government to rule the foreign lands and keep the population in check. The Gracchi brothers grew up during a time when the Roman Empire was still under civil unrest. The Roman people were divided, lands were unevenly distributed, the government was disorderly, patriotism ceased to exist, and slave labor made it harder for citizens to uproot themselves from poverty. Tiberius, the elder brother, was the first to bring up the agrarian laws, and was followed after his death by his younger brother, Gaius Gracchus. The brothers knew of the significance of winning the side of the commoners to assert their power over the empire. By ways of the agrarian laws, and other reforms, the two brothers were able to win control of the masses, leaving the senate to fear what could happen if these two rise in power. According to Gaius Gracchus, “in a certain pamphlet, has written that as Tiberius was passing through Tuscany on his way to Numantia, and observed the dearth of inhabitants in the country, and that those who tilled its soil or tended its flocks there were imported barbarian slaves, he then first conceived the public policy which was the cause of countless ills to the two brothers.” (Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 8.7)
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
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
As Rome became independent from the Etruscan ruling, its government walked away from having a monarch and transformed into a Republic as a way to avoid the tyranny that many times comes with an absolute autocrat. Rigorous precautions were taken from the start in order to keep the power balanced. Moreover, the structure of the government was meant to be resilient to bad judgment. The structure of the Roman Republic with its government and law provided for a more just system.
Julius Caesar is the leader of Rome and is seeking to become king in a matter of time. Though he is a good military strategist, he lacks knowledge in running government and is too greedy to have any concern for the peasants when he is alive. Caesar is all about conquering and power and he is afraid of nothing. Before he is murdered, he says “The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (II, ii, 575). Th...
Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.
Rome's Republican era began after the overthrow of the last Roman King Tarquin Superbus by Lucius Brutus in 509 BC(1), the Senate was ruled the by the people of Rome. The Roman Republic was governed by a largely complex constitution, which established many checks and balances, so no man could have complete control. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians and the other prominent Romans who were not from the nobility. Early in Rome’s history, the patricians controlled the republic, over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a the republic which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. This is similar to the creation of the American system of government. Starting with the over throw of t...
middle of paper ... ... Ultimately Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times, his opponents wanted him dead, and in fact stabbed many of their co-conspirators in the fight. They were not honorable at all in killing him. Ultimately, the Roman Republic’s downfall lay in its lack of major wars or other crises, which led to a void of honor and leadership. War united all of Rome’s people, and provided the challenge to its leaders to develop honor and leadership through their causes and actions.
The Roman Republic was one of the three phases of the ancient Roman civilization that began with overthrowing the monarchy and ended with the imperial period from 509 B.C.E to 29 B.C.E. It was the biggest civilization at the time (Roman republic, 2014). Starting from First century B.C.E., the Republic’s complex constitution and laws started to weaken as the Republic grew. Because of its size and population, corruption and a continuous power vacuum are more likely to occur (M. Beard, 2011). The Republic was constantly expanding because the Romans needed slaves from wars (V. Gossack, 2012). The social inequality began to widen due to slavery and led to severe conflicts between different social classes (History.com, 2014). With its economy and agricultural production in decline, the Republic lost its grip on the empire and led to Octavian’s turnover in 27 B.C.E. Problems including social inequality, debt problems, deflation, slavery, urban decay and unemployment interconnected and pushed the Roman Republic to an imperial period.
The assassination of Julius Caesar was due to his increased power and the senate’s fear of losing political relevance. They were losing their freedoms and thought the only way to resolve this problem was to kill Caesar. Killing Caesar never really did anything to help make the government a democracy like the senate had wanted. Marcus Brutus and Cassius ended up leaving Rome, so their plot did not do anything to help them. Caesar was the leader of Rome, the top of the Roman Empire. The people he thought he could trust most, his so-called friends, took him to the bottom of the Roman Empire, to his grave.
Nagle, Brendan D. The Ancient World: A Cultural and Social History. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Duiker, William J. , and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History . 6th. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co, 2010. print.