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The Cause Of Caesar's Defeat Of The Roman Republic

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After the civil war had ended with Pompey’s defeat, Caesar quickly gained political power and control over the Roman Republic, becoming a temporary dictator in 49. During his reign he was seen as an effective leader implementing a number of reforms in Roman society and earning the people’s unwavering support and admiration. Unfortunately, on March 15, 44 BCE Caesar was assassinated by conspirators and marked one of the most significant turning points in Roman history. The cause to conspire against Caesar was a combination of both political fear and personal animosity. By gauging the accounts written by Suetonius and Nicolaus it was clear that Caesar’s surge in power had given him too much leverage over the governance of Rome to the extent that the senate could no longer compete with him. Coupled with, Caesar’s contemptuous attitude towards the senate and to those who supported the republic institutions, there was a growing fear that a ruler was becoming too powerful and supercilious. On the other hand, an analysis done by Marcel Renar shows that conspirators who conspired against Caesar did so out of jealousy or indignation due to the lack of political promotions. Even his former enemies, despite his generosity decided to …show more content…

On several accounts, Caesar acted contemptuous towards the supporters of the republic and many senators took this as an insult to their dignity, which resulted stronger resentment to form a conspiracy against him. “Caesar was showing a constantly increasing scorn for republican institutions. The republic he was quoted as saying, was but a name without substance or form.” Caesar simply did not respect the republic as a functioning system of government, but instead considered that the government structure was barely in existence. He simply believed that the senate, the tribune, and any other republic institution was inferior to his

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