Summary Of Rubicon: The Last Years Of The Roman Republic

Meritocracy is where there is a ruling of the educated and skilled, the power held was equal to the ability of a person. Within the book Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland there were some instances where it highlights such things being portrayed, as there were common men who would come into higher power through their skills and abilities. As there were some Romans who had a thirst for power and an unending ambition, that eventually leads to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Republic of Rome was a meritocracy as people would gain power depending on their skills and abilities, the Emperors that would come into power gave less opportunity of such things occurring. Within the Roman Republic there were many competitions and the rewards that could be achieved tend to be great, coming with power and wealth. The goal for most of the people in Rome was to gain the power to become part of the consulship and Senate (Holland 125). One could gain their power through either their brains or their brawns. …show more content…
Pompey proved to be one of the very lucky men amongst his peers, most of whom were otherwise (Holland 108). Marius was a commoner who had changed himself in the long run through the military career. He had shown that a simple commoner can climb the ladder to become something great with a name and wealth (Holland 122). Marcus Tullius Cicero is another example of a common man, filled with ambition, turning into something great, just as Marius. He was no way going to be capable of being a soldier as he did not have the body for that, but he wanted to become the best orator there was in Rome (Holland 125). Of which he had achieved successfully. Cicero had gained his power through the law courts of the people he won against within the courts, so his ultimate prize was not too far off (Holland