Monarchy is defined as ‘a form of government with a monarch at the head’ and was the first arrangement of power in Rome after its founding by Romulus, who reigned from 753-715BC.1 However, by 510BC, the despotic actions of Tarquinius Superbus marked the end of a succession of increasingly tyrannical kings, and the ‘Roman Republic’ was established. This system was based on a sharing of power between, foremost, two consuls who were elected by the people and held office for only one year, then 300 senators, and two popular assemblies, the comitia curiata and the comitia centuriata. With such a spread of auctoritas, the Roman state would be at less risk from corrupt men with their aims set on an autocratic rule. The precepts of the Roman republic were honourable and upheld, in the most part, until the civil wars of 91BC onwards disturbed it, culminating in what many would consider the fall of the Republic, and thus the establishment of a monarchy, with Augustus at the battle of Actium on 2nd September 31BC.…
As Sallust stated, “Greed destroyed honor, honesty and taught men to be arrogant and cruel. Ambition made men false. Rome changed.” The Roman Republic was critically weakened between 78 and 49 BC. The underlying flaws within the structure of the Senate and the republic itself, political corruption and violence and the formation of the first triumvirate, which should not have been permitted under the democratic state, all contributed to its decline. Manipulating these decaying social and political conditions were significant individuals, who, despite the efforts of the senate, rose to prominence and power, which culminated in Civil war.…
The Gracchi brothers, both Tiberius and Gaius rose to being prominent figures by certain motives and state in which Rome was. There were social, economic and political problems which Tiberius hoped to solve in which Gaius could continue.…
Most of the topics of reading had to deal with four mean. Pompey, Crassus, Cicero, and Julius Caesar. Pompey used his military fame to move up in government while Crassus used his fortune to be moved up in government. Cicero had a great ability to rally people,and in one case he stopped a war from occurring just by using his words. After Pompey beat the pirates with the help of Julius Caesar he got authority over the east side and won many wars that helped Rome gain territory. After this occurred Julius Caesar seemed to become more popular over time.…
The Roman Empire, one of the biggest empires of the ancient world, was a strong and growing empire. However, it fell after many years of glory. Why did it fall? Was it because of attacks, failing economy, many unemployed? These all lead to one point, expansion. Or was it struggles over power? Even though the Roman Empire got more land, resources, and labor from expanding, the expansion led to the thinning out of resources and power, as well as a failing economy due to unemployed plebeians; lastly Rome’s defenses were weakened.…
The Romans began a republic which had a 2 consuls, a senate, assemblies, and officials. The consuls were similar to modern day presidents but stayed in office for only a year. The Senate led religious events and foreign policy. It also was in control of the revenue. Roman senate consisted of the wealthy men. The assemblies were created so the people other than the wealthy could have their say in the government. However the people in the assemblies had to be full citizen males, meaning no foreigners or slaves. Roman republic officials did have decent authority but there laws were made to ensure they did not get too much power, leaving more of it to the wealthy. Rome was also centralized, because of its location and saw many migrations and invasions, from Po River people and those in Sicily. At 44 B.C. Rome became an empire, led by an emperor, with senators, advisers, and of course the massive army. Over time, the Roman army became more and more powerful. When Romans would conquer and expand they would normally devastate that area. Eventually, Rome became a military monarchy. Rome then split its empire in two, having a emperor in the west, and another in the east.…
The Roman empire, what is now modern day Italy, was one of the largest and most powerful empires of the ancient world. Their accomplishments shaped politics, religion, and culture around the world. However, when the empire started to decline, Diocletian split the empire into western Rome and eastern Rome in 200 A.D.. While eastern Rome continued to thrive, western Rome collapsed in 400 A.D.. There were many reasons to why western Rome collapsed including military, economy, and religion. First, there were loyalty problems in the military. The economy was also down because of labor shortages. Finally, a new religion was spreading, which changed the morals of Rome.…
Rome: “republic” based on citizenship of free men; citizenship ensured loyalty to the state and brought taxes into the state treasury; emperor-dictators had to support the idea of the republic and pretend to follow what the Senate, council of elder wealthy men, decreed. Development of bureaucracy helped run empire.…
Some years into the republic age of Rome, Marcus Cato was born into a less-than-impressive, but honorable home. Over time, Cato would prove to be a great statesman as well as earn many other titles and honors. However, before one can understand the great man, one must understand the society that shaped him. At this time in its history, Rome had formed its republic by vesting the power in the people, represented by the senate. Despite there being instances of corruption, the republic naturally defended against corruption by keeping too much power away from just one man and dispersing it to the many. Under Roman tradition the citizens lived praiseworthy family lives, and ancestry, as well as different traditions, shaped those lives. On top of those two sorts of body politic, the republic and the family, a true Roman citizen had a balanced and temperate form of self-government. Each of these three traits of Rome helped to shape not just Marcus Cato, but all of its inhabitants. Being well versed in Greek tradition as well as very knowledgeable in Roman history and politics, Cato came to be a very prosperous political figure, war hero, and most of all a well-rounded model for a republic even today. It was mostly his moderate combination of all of these traits through temperance and a strong code of morals that allowed Cato to achieve this status.…
Cicero: Important Roman, provided account of collapse of Roman Republic [like Edward Gibbon], invented Ciceronian style: Latin style of writing which humanists followed • [Even though they weren’t in Rome, Humanists did as the Romans do]…
By 200 BC, Rome was quickly becoming one of the world’s greatest empires with their excellent military conquering territory from modern day Scotland to Spain. After the Punic Wars and the defeat of Carthage, Rome had full control of the Mediterranean region, establishing colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. Julius Caesar became Rome’s first emperor using his military influence. Under his reign, Rome shifted from a republic to an empire under the rule of an emperor and the military. Rome steadily increased in stability, power, and wealth, reaching Pax Romana (the time of Roman peace) under Emperor Augustus Caesar. Rome was forced to discover, as many other large empires throughout history have, that size can create complications. Political strains developed and Rome eventually morphed into a government similar to a dictatorship. Believing their goal of a “perfect empire” had been reached, leaders in Rome began to become lazy. Romans developed a thirst for luxury and a lack of work ethic, which resulted in a decline in the quality of products made by the empire. Around the 5th century BC, Rome began to have constant invasion attempts by Germanic tribes at their borders. There was a multitude of factors contributing to the fall of Rome, the most impactful being the frequently changing leadership, the increasing negligence of the Roman army, and foreign invasions along Rome’s borders.…
The hit list was set as the Second Triumvirate rose to its power of a three man dictatorship to hold power over Rome. The select three, Octavian, Antony and Lepidus, had handpicked the group that was to face punishment for speaking out against them. Among this group of the damned, an orator named Cicero stood proudly. Previously having spoken out against Caesar for fear of the loss of liberty, this great speaker felt the need to call out Antony on the same charge. As the Second Triumvirate rose in Rome, it was determined that Cicero would die. While he potentially could have escaped, it was with courage and dignity that he perished at the hands of Antony’s men in the year 43 BCE. (Everett) However, while an exciting part of his life, Cicero was known for much more than his death at the hands of this new regime. Aside from being a well-known orator, he was involved in politics and literature of the time which placed him in the center of Roman life. Cicero was a monumental figure of his time, and even though he came from somewhat humble beginnings, he ultimately became one of the largest impacts on Rome that can still be seen today.…
Rome, one of the world’s greatest empires, was able to prosper in the Mediterranean world for centuries, yet, Rome’s downfall was inevitable. As Rome ascended into to power, the amount of territory they had became immensely vast. The Roman army had seized land from modern-day Scotland to Spain, and the entire Mediterranean Sea, along with colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. Rome was able to harmoniously sustain their reign throughout the first two centuries, but they had slowly started staggering downward throughout the next three centuries. Rome’s problems had notably increased, they had started losing power, and eventually were overthrown. The primary cause for the Roman Empire’s fall was political instability.…
Between 200 B.C.E. – 200 C.E. The Roman Empire ruled with an iron fist controlling mostly and if not all of the Mediterranean. This was due to two main factors, these are it military power and the political system it was able to develop. However most of the Romans accomplishment didn’t happen as an empire, but a republic. While as a republic, Romans created a political system that heavily influenced many to move to the Rome. In the article Ways of the World by Robert W. Strayer he states that the political system created “a written code of law offered plebeians (the poor class) some protection from abuse” from the upper or elite classes. Also this provided a better “system of public assemblies [that] provided an opportunity for lower classes to shape public policy and a new office of tribune” that would represent them in these assemblies. This was a huge part of Rome popularity and its growing number. This was the first time were the poorer classes had any kind of support from a political system. The Romans had get deal of pride with their newly developed system that benefited everyone. They also believed that the political system gave them a “greater freedom than did many of their more autocratic neighbors.”…
The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world. The nation was a colossus; at its height, the empire controlled most of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. However, the empire’s vast territory proved to be difficult to maintain; groups from all over the world began to move into the empire and invade the nation. More problems in addition to heightening conflicts began to proliferate as the empire crumbled. The deterioration and collapse of the Roman Empire was the result of the failure of its political system, depreciation of traditional Roman values, and growth of slavery as well as the advance of Christianity, destruction of the plague, and lead poisoning.…