ipl-logo

Roman Republic Research Paper

693 Words3 Pages

The Roman Republic was an ancient Roman civilization that was created after the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the creation of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was created in order for the rich men named aristocrats to gain even more power by removing kings from the Roman government. Soon after, the Roman upper class turned politics into a violent competition in their strive for power. Gaius Marius’ creation of “client armies” led soldiers to become more loyal towards their commander than the republic. This resulted in a commander named Lucius Cornelius Sulla overtaking Rome with his client army and establishing himself as a dictator. Finally, the civil war between Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey ended …show more content…

They abused an oath known as sacrosanctitas, or the right of tribunes to not be physically harmed, to take control of Rome. With this oath in place, Tiberius bypassed the Senate and instead used the Plebian Assembly to issue land and farms to those without them. Both brothers ignored the tradition of tribunes being only elected once by announcing they will run for the next election, resulting in Tiberius being killed by angry senators. When Gaius tried to instate new courts to put senators on trial for political corruption, the senators advised the consuls to defend the republic by killing him. This ultimately resulted in two factions being created, the “supporters of the people” in the populares faction, or supporters of the “best” whom belonged to the optimates …show more content…

Using a “client army”, or hired mercenaries, he seized Rome’s highest offices and forced the Senate to support him. Notably, Sulla’s army consisted of commoners that did not own land or weapons. This ended up being crucial in Sulla’s capture of Rome, where his “officers except one deserted him … but his common soldiers followed him” (Hunt, 166). Sulla killed his opponents and anyone that dissented him, leading to the senate to become terrified of him. The senate, aiming to avoid execution, allowed Sulla to become a dictator, an act that was supposed to be only temporary, which gave him permanent immunity from prosecution. Sulla’s career revealed that war went from defending the republic to acquiring wealth and social

Show More
Related
626 Words | 3 Pages

Simon Baker's Ancient Rome, Tiberius Gracchus realized that the Senate was not in the best interest of the people and therefore tried to address one of Rome's biggest problems by become tribune and give the people back there land. He appealed to the common people by promising that he would get back what was rightful there's. This lead to him being voted in as tribune, and from there the problems of Rome, attempted solutions, and obstacles he faced only spiraled him down faster. Tiberius was well loved by the people, but not so much by the Senate. Simon Baker's Ancient Rome says it best by saying "As Tiberius left the Senate House in disgrace, he received a very different reception from the Roman people" (86).

Read More
934 Words | 4 Pages

(Appian, Civil Wars 100) Despite the tribunes losing much power to initiate legislation, Cicero implies the government was more stable, and therefore strengthening the Roman Republic. Despite the huge changes he made to the Roman political sphere, Sulla abdicated as dictator and retirement from Roman politics in 81 BC along with restoring the people’s right to elect consuls. Rev. Hubert A. Holden writes that Sulla was ‘proud of his uniquely faithful fortune’ and that he gave up his power willingly. This showcases Sulla’s attempt to revert Rome back to more conservative Republican values, exemplifying the interpretation that Sulla’s march on Rome did not seal the fate of the Roman Republic.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

Septimius Severus exemplified qualities that, by far, made him the greatest military emperor Rome had ever witnessed after coming to power in 193 CE. After decades of weak rulers that resulted in Roman vulnerability, Severus seized the position of emperor with the aim of returning Rome to its former glory. He was a man of the people, continually appeasing the Romans with numerous sacrifices and gladiatorial games. He even greatly represented the army through his countless military reforms and expeditions. Unfortunately, Severus was continuously undermined by a jealous Senate, who never understood the plans Severus had for the empire.

Read More
1474 Words | 6 Pages

This demonstrates one of the reasons for the outbreak of the war. The Senate did not want to relinquish its power or authority to Caesar and so opposed his actions. Plutarch tells us that at a time, Pompey was willing to grant Caesar some of his demands but was actually denied the chance by Lentulus, the consul. This suggests that the optimates, if they wanted peace at all, wanted it on their own terms and not those of Caesar.

Read More
371 Words | 2 Pages

Sulla also marked his opponents for death, seized their property, and declared their children ineligible for public office during his reign of Rome. Before retiring, Sulla increased the memberships of the Senate to six hundred in the attempt to reduce

Read More
148 Words | 1 Pages

Walter Spencer, an eminent classics professor at the University of Illinois, examines the use of conspiracy rhetoric in Cicero’s orations of the Verrines and In Catilinam. To portray Verres and his sociatas as a group of conspirators, Cicero separates Verres from the Roman republic by emphasizing his repeated repudiation of Roman authority, customs, and laws. Additionally, Cicero characterizes Verres’ comrades as criminal conspirators through the word choice manus and by describing their subversion of the republic. Spencer notes that Cicero convinces the jury that a vote for acquittal would facilitate the conspiracy. Cicero employs pathos to present Verres as a heinous menace to the Roman people.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

Two consuls who were elected yearly and shared executive authority as well as the right to override one another's decisions were the foundation of the political structure of the Roman Republic. The richest and most powerful men in Rome made up the Senate, which worked alongside the consuls to advise them and approve the legislation. A popular assembly made up of citizens also existed in the Roman Republic, and it had the authority to elect officials and enact laws (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023). It was the goal of the power distribution among the consuls, Senate, and popular assembly to

Read More
951 Words | 4 Pages

Many of the reliable valid sources that describe Marius and Sulla comes from the writings of Plutarch. He is a biographer and philosopher in his ancient Greek time, who was fortunate enough to experience and describe the downfall of the roman republic and key political figures in roman times. He will be the main source of evidence for these sources. I will also be further questioning the reliability of this source and if there is any case of him being biased towards one or another. Firstly I will discuss the lives of both Marius and Sulla briefly, then I will discuss the main differences between these two against each other and against other key political figures before their time in office.

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

The Plebeians were protesting peacefully. Until the Conflict of Orders started the plebeians had little to no effect in the government of Roman Republic. The Plebeians were corrupt and their money was getting into their heads. ¨At first only Patricians were allowed to stand for election to political office, but over time these laws were revoked, and eventually all offices were opened to the Plebeians¨.

Read More
157 Words | 1 Pages

When Pompey faced Caesar, Caesar refused, causing the two to begin a civil war which left Pompey dead. Caesar then was faced by an army led by Pompey’s sons, in which he defeated and returned to Rome to be met with a group of conspirators for his death on the ides of March. Among the

Read More
215 Words | 1 Pages

The political impact of Sulla's dictatorship was also significant. He used his position as dictator to strengthen the Roman state and centralize power in the hands of the Roman elite. This included measures such as increasing the power of the Roman Senate and strengthening the military.

Read More
261 Words | 2 Pages

As the politics in the Roman Empire began to shift around 50 B.C., Julius Caesar’s action of crossing the Rubicon, an act of war, tipped the Roman political situation. At this specific moment, Roman politics tipped in a whole new direction. Prior to this movement the Roman people were governed by a republic, meaning the Roman Senate had the majority of the power along with two consuls, similar to American Presidents, who served one-year terms. Caesar at the time was essentially a governor in Gaul, current day Spain, and disagreed with the Senates’ direction. The majority of the Roman Senate was made up of rich aristocrats, who were determined to further empower themselves and ignore the needs of the general public.

Read More
1932 Words | 8 Pages

Furthermore, Sulla’s perverted and arrogant character is revealed through his actions once he gained full power. According to Dowling's “The Clemency of Sulla”, Livy implied in his writings about Sulla that “the moment Sulla took control of Rome he lost every Republican virtue he possessed and was transformed into a tyrant, overwhelmed and distorted in his very nature by power beyond what any man should bear” (Dowling 328). From this, it reflected how he abused his position as dictator, even though he started with a lot of power and influence that could have contributed to the rise of Rome, but he let his arrogance get to him. From his influence in the senate as a leader of armies, he abused his power of dictator by creating proscriptions and reforming the government that led to the downfall of the

Read More
1608 Words | 7 Pages

The fundamental basis for Sulla’s rise to power was his success in the military, through his military ability he was able to win various wars for Rome gaining him favour from the senate leading to his rise to power. Sulla showcased his military ability in the Mithraic war, the social war and the civil war. In the Mithraic war Sulla was sent by the senate to defeat the Mithridates as they had extended in the Roman province of Asia.

Read More
300 Words | 2 Pages

Rome was different before Caesar came to control. The Roman Republic was, in theory, suppose to be ruled by the citizens of Rome. The citizens would elect representatives for the government to rule on their behalf. Aristocrats were known as patricians and the citizens were known as plebeians. The senate was made of patricians and they were the group of people to pick the consuls.

Read More

More about Roman Republic Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document