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The Decline of the Republic

The Decline of the Republic. Mass of unemployed landless men allowed for the rise of ambitious men No trust in Senate to resolve the issues Romans were no longer dedicated to civic duty, hard work and simplicity Now Rome was guided by corruption, greed and personal gain.

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The Decline of the Republic

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  1. The Decline of the Republic • Mass of unemployed landless men allowed for the rise of ambitious men • No trust in Senate to resolve the issues • Romans were no longer dedicated to civic duty, hard work and simplicity • Now Rome was guided by corruption, greed and personal gain

  2. The Gracchus Brothers: The Republic’s last hope • Plebian brothers who became Tribunes and attempted reform in the late republic • Socialism? • Fixed grain price • Redistribute land • They were both murdered by the Senate because they were a threat

  3. The First Triumvirate • Pompey, Crassus and Caesar • Pompey (GnaeusPompeius) • Was only 28 when he was given command of an army in Spain (77 BC) • Marcus LiciniusCrassus • An ambitious Senator who gained power and fame by defeating the slave army of Spartacus in 73 BC • 70 BC both of these men demanded special honor and election to Consulship • Opened the floodgates for attacks on the power of the Senate

  4. The First Triumvirate • Gaius Julius Caesar • Noble birth (Venus?) • Allied with Crassus in the 60’s BC to gain military commands (Governor of Spain) • Upon his return he strikes up the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus • Elected Consul in 59 BC and then moves on to rule Gaul for 5 years

  5. The Rise Julius Caesar • By 50 BC JC had 13 legions • After the death of Crassus in 53 BC Pompey (now sole Consul) began working against JC in Rome • The Senate cut short his appointment and asked him to return to Rome without his armies • When he crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC he began a civil war against Pompey’s army • By 45 BC he is victorious and ruled Rome as dictator

  6. The Reforms of Julius Caesar • Julian Calendar • Relocated 80,000 poor, cancelled loan payments for a year, Public works to create jobs, land to the poor and to veterans • Reorganized local government • Increased Senate to 900 (plebs, gauls etc) • Extended citizenship off the peninsula • All power was his (consul, tribune, priest, military, the courts)

  7. The Death of Julius Caesar • March 15, 44 BC JC was assassinated by the Senate (Cassius and Brutus) • They had no real plan and all they created was 13 years of civil war that will lead the end of the Republic • They were jealous of Caesar and guarding the traditional powers of the Senate • Antony and rabble rousing

  8. ….Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral …He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man….He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason….

  9. The Second Triumvirate • Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus • Goal: To avenge the death of Caesar • They are eventually victorious in Macedonia • No real plan either split the Rome 3 ways • Lepidus (Africa) • Antony (East) • Octavian (West)

  10. Antony and Cleopatra • Antony married Cleopatra in 37 BC (divorced Octavia) • She claimed that her son was the heir to JC not Octavian • Antony and Cleopatra are defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC • Octavian: now controls Rome

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