Fall of the republic
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM BETWEEN THE RICH AND POOR?Most people who ruled over Rome were Patricians. They handled Rome's finances and wars. The others suffered still from the damage Hannibul's attack. Small farmers could not compete with the expansion of large farming estates that were being bought and built. These large farms used prisoners from war as their slaves. Many small farmers sold their farms and sought jobs in the city. However, jobs were hard to find since the enslaved did most of the work. This caused widespread anger. Politicians were worried that there would be an outbreak of riots. To win poor people votes, they began giving out cheap bread and entertainment to the poor.
WHY DID THE ARMY ENTER POLITICS?Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were two prominent officials when they tried to solve Rome's growing problems. They would take back land from the rich and divide it between the landless Romans. The senate owned much of that land though. Against the fact of what was best for the civilization, they fought the brothers. They went as far as killing Tiberius in 133 BCE. Twelve years later, Gaius died the same way. These days were dark for the Roman Republic. The fact that the senate made and uphold the law but also could violate them shocked everyone.
HOW DID JULIUS CAESAR BECOME FAMOUS?Julius started out as a successful military leader. Julius, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance called the First Triumvirate. A triumvirate is a political alliance between 3 people. They decided that Crassus would have military command over Syria, Pompey over Spain, and Julius over Gaul. While ruling over Gaul, Caesar battled tribes and invaded Britain. He became a hero to the Roman's lower class. Senators and others feared that Caesar's growing popularity would let him seize power like Sulla. After Crassus was killed in battle in 53 BCE, the senate decided that Pompey would return to Italy and rule. In 49 BCE the Senate commanded Caesar to relinquish his army and come home. He decided to hold on to the 5000 loyal soldiers he had and marched into Italy to create a civil war. Pompey tried to stop him but Caesar was a more powerful and clever military leader. Caesar drove Pompey's army away from Italy and destroyed them in Greece in 48 BCE.
WHAT TYPE OF RULER WAS JULIUS CAESAR? In 44 BCE Caesar declared himself dictator for life Caesar filled the senate with new men who were loyal to him. He granted citizenship to those who lived outside of Italy but still in Roman territory. He created colonies to provide land to the landless and work for the jobless. He ordered the landowners that used slaves to hire more free workers. This made Caesar even more popular to the poor. He also created a 12 month, 365 day, and a leap year calendar. This was called the Julian Calendar. his supporters believed that Julius was bringing peace and and order to Rome. His enemies believed that Julius Caesar wanted to be king. These adversaries, led by the senators Brutus and Cassius, plotted to kill him. Caesar ignored the famous warning to " Beware the Ides of March." On that date in 44 BCE, Caesar's enemies surrounded him and stabbed him 27 times.
HOW DID ROME BECOME AN EMPIRE?Another civil war broke out when Caesar died. Caesar's grandnephew ,Octavian, and two of caesar's top generals, named Antony and Lepidus, created the Second Triumvirate in 43 BCE. They began to quarrel instantly. Octavian soon forced Lepidus to retire. Antony and Octavian then divided Rome between themselves. Octavian took the West and Antony the East. Antony then fell in love with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII. Octavian told the romans that Antony and Cleopatra were planning to make Antony the sole ruler of the Republic. This enabled Octavian to declare war on Antony. In 31 BCE during the Battle of Actium Octavian destroyed Antony's army and navy. The couple fled back to Egypt. They killed themselves a year later when Octavian was closing in on them. 32 year old Octavian started to create the Roman Empire. WHO WAS AUGUSTUS? Octavian did not want to become dictator but instead wanted to create a democratic government because many Romans wanted this. One such person was a political leader, writer, and Rome's greatest public speaker, named Cicero. hough cicero did not get to see Octavian rule, he had supported him, and hoped that he would restore the republic. Octavia did just that in 27 BCE. He knew though that the republic had been too weak . He did give the senate some power, but gave himself most of it. His title was the Emperator, which means "Commander in Chief." It later came to mean emperor. octavian then took the title of Augustus, which means " the revered majestic one." He became Augustus Caesar.