Jerry Carroll-Parks
History of Ancient Rome
I have chosen the topic: “What caused the fall of the Roman Republic?” and so in this essay I will highlight the history of the Romans and briefly explain the events that led up to their destruction. In the history of Europeans, the collapsing of the Roman Republic was seen as an example of the failure of constitutional system.
Civil war between Caesar and Pompey became inevitable when the senate ordered Caesar to surrender command of his army and return to Rome as a private citizen. Caesar could not do so, because such a move would have made him completely vulnerable to his enemies. In this way, Julius Caesar justified his decision to cross the Rubicon River and he marched through Rome alongside …show more content…
In theory, the Senate remained supreme. But Caesar increased its size from 600 to 900 members and the new members were not just Caesar loyalist, but also solid businessmen and Italian municipal politicians. When senators protested that the new members seemed to lack the proper family bloodlines, Caesar commented “even if bandits and cutthroats had helped to defend my position in the state, I would have rewarded them with the gratitude they deserved.” (Grant, p. 43) Caesar knew the former governing class did not love him but he hardly seemed to care. In 46 B.C. he was appointed dictator for 10 years and in the next year, dictator for life. His enemies concluded that he was aiming at monarchy. In the past the dictatorship had always been circumscribed by a time limit or had been granted for a specific purpose such as Sul a's writ for reorganizing the constitution. By accepting an emergency office for life, Caesar made it clear that his goal was nothing less than domination of the Roman state. It is hard to imagine that Caesar did not understand the depth of his enemy's hatred. “What made Caesar most openly and mortally hated,” wrote Plutarch, “was his passion to be king.” (Grant, p. 48) Suetonius states he was overheard describing the Republic as mere form without substance and that Sul a was a fool for resigning his office. He also hinted that people ought to be more careful in how they approached him. One of the biggest
History of Ancient Rome
I have chosen the topic: “What caused the fall of the Roman Republic?” and so in this essay I will highlight the history of the Romans and briefly explain the events that led up to their destruction. In the history of Europeans, the collapsing of the Roman Republic was seen as an example of the failure of constitutional system.
Civil war between Caesar and Pompey became inevitable when the senate ordered Caesar to surrender command of his army and return to Rome as a private citizen. Caesar could not do so, because such a move would have made him completely vulnerable to his enemies. In this way, Julius Caesar justified his decision to cross the Rubicon River and he marched through Rome alongside …show more content…
In theory, the Senate remained supreme. But Caesar increased its size from 600 to 900 members and the new members were not just Caesar loyalist, but also solid businessmen and Italian municipal politicians. When senators protested that the new members seemed to lack the proper family bloodlines, Caesar commented “even if bandits and cutthroats had helped to defend my position in the state, I would have rewarded them with the gratitude they deserved.” (Grant, p. 43) Caesar knew the former governing class did not love him but he hardly seemed to care. In 46 B.C. he was appointed dictator for 10 years and in the next year, dictator for life. His enemies concluded that he was aiming at monarchy. In the past the dictatorship had always been circumscribed by a time limit or had been granted for a specific purpose such as Sul a's writ for reorganizing the constitution. By accepting an emergency office for life, Caesar made it clear that his goal was nothing less than domination of the Roman state. It is hard to imagine that Caesar did not understand the depth of his enemy's hatred. “What made Caesar most openly and mortally hated,” wrote Plutarch, “was his passion to be king.” (Grant, p. 48) Suetonius states he was overheard describing the Republic as mere form without substance and that Sul a was a fool for resigning his office. He also hinted that people ought to be more careful in how they approached him. One of the biggest