The Fall Of The Roman Empire

2 Pages 412 Words

The downfall of the Roman Republic is not attributed to a single event; I believe it was becoming too large and complicated for a Republic to cope with. In principal a breakdown in the distribution of wealth, the subversive behavior of individual leaders, and the emergence of violence as a political means. For these reasons, it brought the empire to its knees resulting in the fall of the Roman Republic and the berth of aristocracy and a new Empire.

Roman conquests brought powerful generals who had the support of their armies and used it to seize power. Each leader was greedy for glory and power, demanding triumphs and ovations for military and political victories. One instance of this was Marius, he had changed the laws that once only allowed landowners to join the army. He made it possible for poor men who had nothing to volunteer. By serving him, the men came to expect a grant of land that they could farm upon discharge from service. This gave Marius an army of loyal poor men to use in obtaining his objectives in North Africa.

The behavior of many individuals, mainly the wealthy warlords caused an increase in slave labor, forcing many of the small farm owners to sell their farms for survival. With many wars taking place throughout the Republic, the wealthy found themselves increasing their riches from the spoils of war, thus causing the increase in poverty. Usually, the loosing armies of war became slaves and forced wages down causing many of the poor to loose their loyalty to society and the republic. This caused many to become loyal to the Warlords for their survival.

Because of the many fractions in the Republic It became common to use violence as a way of solving political issues. Many politicians were drug away and butchered by angry mobs. An example of this was Gaius Gracchus, killed by a mob formed by the Senate. This form of violence would ultimately result in the death of Caesar himself.

In conclusi...