Essay on The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic - 517 Words

The roman republic came into existence at the termination of the Roman kingship in 507 B.C.E. The last king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was expelled by Collatinus and Brutus, as a result of his arrogance involving the matter of one of his relations raping the wholesome Roman matron Lucretia and her subsequent suicide. The rape of Lucretia was really a representation of the frustration that the roman citizens felt regarding the kingship. The later kings had little regard for roman values and the roman populus, which they used as something of a slave labor force. Brutus and Collatinus became the first Roman Consuls, elected by popular vote. This new political ordering was the republic. The Greek historian Polybius defines the†¦show more content†¦This new republic was plagued by tension arising from the class differences of the patricians and plebeians. The Gracchi brothers attempted to equalize things, Gaius Gracchus proposed a redistribution of farm land that would benefit the plebeians. The end result was rather unfortunate as he was killed; his other brother was also killed ten years later for similar reasons. The republican period was also characterized by seemingly ceaseless warfare. These wars were for the most part successful in that Rome was able to further expand her borders. At this point Rome had already subjugated and absorbed its closest neighbors and began now to fight with more distant peoples such as Greeks and Gauls and Carthaginians. At this time the Romans even took to the seas, crossing first to Sicily, and eventually all the way to Spain and Africa. As a result of the Punic wars, Rome acquires its first province, Sicily and military leaders arise as a force more powerful than the consuls. The generals are more powerful than the consuls because they have rabidly loyal soldiers. What can a consul do when he has no armies to fight for him? One of these generals was Marius. He won great popularity among the Romans while fighting in Africa against Jugurtha. As a result of this newfound popularity, Marius left Africa to go back to Rome where he was elected consul. He left the armies in control of hisShow MoreRelatedThe Rise and Fall of Rome Essay1409 Words   |  6 PagesThe rise and fall of one of the greatest empires known to man, the Roman republic, were caused by several key factors. Three of which were the decline of monarchy within the empire, foreign conquests and expansion of the growing empire, and political battles between powerful officials. The decline of monarchy which caused the rise of the republic was caused by the expulsion of the last Etruscan king. 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