Roman Republic
Infobox Former Country
native_name = Res Publica Romana
conventional_long_name = Roman Republic
common_name = Roman Republic
national_motto = Senatus Populusque Romanus
continent = Afroeurasia
region = Mediterranean
era =
government_type = Republic
year_start = 508 BC
date_event1 = 44 BC
event_start = Rape of
event1 = Caesar proclaimed perpetual dictator
event2 =
date_event2 =
event_end = Octavian proclaimed Augustus
year_end = 27 BC
date_end =
p1 = Roman Kingdom
s1 = Roman Empire
flag_s1 = Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg
image_map_caption =
capital =
latd= 41 |latm= 54 |latNS= N |longd= 12 |longm= 30 |longEW= E
common_languages = Latin (imperial), Greek (administrative)
religion =
leader1 =
year_leader1 = 509–508 BC
leader2 = Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus,
year_leader2 = 27 BC
title_leader = Consul
legislature =
stat_year1 = 326 BCcite journal|journal=Social Science History |title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D. |first=Rein |last=Taagepera |volume=3 |issue=3/4 |year=1979 |pages=125 |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0145-5532%281979%293%3A3%2F4%3C115%3ASADOEG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H |doi=10.2307/1170959]
stat_area1 = 10000
stat_year2 = 200 BC
stat_area2 = 360000
stat_year3 = 146 BC
stat_area3 = 800000
stat_year4 = 100 BC
stat_area4 = 1200000
stat_year5 = 50 BC
stat_area5 = 1950000The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a
The Roman Republic was governed by a complex constitution, which centered on the principles of a separation of powers and checks and balances. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the aristocracy and the average Roman. Early in its history, the republic was controlled by an aristocracy of individuals who could trace their ancestry back to the early history of the kingdom. Over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a new aristocracy which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. Thus, only a revolution could overthrow this new aristocracy.
Rome also saw its territory expand during this period, from central Italy to the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries, Rome expanded to the point of dominating Italy. During the next century, Rome grew to dominate North Africa, Spain, Greece, and what is now southern France. During the last two centuries of the Roman Republic, Rome grew to dominate the rest of modern France, as well as much of the east. By this point, however, its republican political machinery was finally crushed under the weight of imperialism.
The precise event which signaled the transition of the Roman Republic into the
Constitution
The Constitution of the Roman Republic was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent.Byrd, 161] The Roman constitution was not formal or even official. It was largely unwritten, uncodified, and constantly evolving. The Senate The Senate's ultimate authority derived from the esteem and prestige of the Senate.Byrd, 96] This esteem and prestige was based on both precedent and custom, as well as the high caliber and prestige of the Senators.Cicero, 239] The Senate passed decrees, which were called "senatus consultum". This was officially "advice" from the Senate to a magistrate. In practice, however, these were usually obeyed by the magistrates.Byrd, 44] The focus of the Roman Senate was directed towards foreign policy.Polybius, 133] While its role in military conflict was officially, the Senate was ultimately the force that oversaw those conflicts. The senate also managed the civil administration in the city and the town. Legislative Assemblies It was the People of Rome - and thus the assemblies - who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates,Polybius, 134] the enactment of new laws,Polybius, 135] the carrying out of capital punishment, the declaration of war and peace, and the creation (or dissolution) of alliances. There were two types of legislative assemblies. The first was the "comitia" ("committees"),Lintott, 42] which were assemblies of all citizens. The second was the "concilia" ("councils"), which were assemblies of specific groups of citizens.Abbott, 251] Assembly of the Centuries Citizens were organized on the basis of centuries and tribes. The centuries and the tribes would each gather into their own assemblies. The Comitia Centuriata ("Century Assembly") was the assembly of the centuries. The president of the Comitia Centuriata was usually a consul. The centuries would vote, one at a time, until a measure received support from a majority of the centuries. The Comitia Centuriata would elect magistrates who had "imperium" powers (consuls and praetors). It also elected censors. Only the Comitia Centuriata could declare war, and ratify the results of a census.Abbott, 257] It also served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases.Cicero, 241] Assembly of the Tribes The assembly of the tribes, the Comitia Tributa, was presided over by a consul, and was composed of thirty-five tribes. The tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather geographical subdivisions.Lintott, 51] The order that the thirty-five tribes would vote in was selected randomly by lot.Taylor, 77] Once a measure received support from a majority of the tribes, the voting would end. While it did not pass many laws, the Comitia Tributa did elect quaestors, curule aediles, and military tribunes.Taylor, 7] Plebeian Council The Plebeian CouncilAbbott, 196] was an assembly of plebeians, who would gather into their respective tribes. They elected their own officers, plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles. Usually a plebeian tribune would preside over the assembly. This assembly passed most laws, and could also act as a court of appeal. Since it was organized on the basis of the tribes, its rules and procedures were nearly identical to those of the Comitia Tributa. Executive Magistrates Each magistrate was vested with a degree of "maior potestas" ("major powers").Abbott, 151] Each magistrate could veto any action that was taken by a magistrate of an equal or lower rank. Plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles, on the other hand, were independent of the other magistrates. Magisterial powers, and checks on those powers Each republican magistrate held certain constitutional powers. Only the People of Rome (both plebeians "and" patricians) had the right to confer these powers on any individual magistrate.Lintott, 95] The most powerful constitutional power was "imperium". "Imperium" was held by both consuls and praetors. "Imperium" gave a magistrate the authority to command a military force. All magistrates also had the power of coercion. This was used by magistrates to maintain public order.Lintott, 97] While in Rome, all citizens had an absolute protection against coercion. This protection was called "provocatio" (see below). Magistrates also had both the power and the duty to look for omens. This power would often be used to obstruct political opponents. One check over a magistrate's power was his collegiality. Each magisterial office would be held concurrently by at least two people. Another check over the power of a magistrate was "provocatio". "Provocatio" was a primordial form of Consuls, praetors, censors, aediles, quaestors, tribunes, and dictators The consul of the Roman Republic was the highest ranking ordinary magistrate. [Byrd, 20] Consuls had supreme power in both civil and military matters. While in the city of Rome, the consuls were the head of the Roman government. They would preside over the senate and the assemblies. While abroad, each consul would command an army.Polybius, 132] Byrd, 179] His authority abroad would be nearly absolute. Praetors would administer civil lawByrd, 32] and command provincial armies. Every five years, two censors would be elected for an eighteen month term. During their term in office, the two censors would conduct a Since the tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the plebeians, they were sacrosanct. Their sacrosanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the plebeians, to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a tribune during his term of office. All of the powers of the tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One obvious consequence of this sacrosanctity was the fact that it was considered a capital offense to harm a tribune, to disregard his veto, or to interfere with a tribune.Byrd, 23] In times of military emergency, a dictator would be appointed for a term of six months.Byrd, 24] Constitutional government would dissolve, and the dictator would become the absolute master of the state.Cicero, 237] When the dictator's term ended, constitutional government would be restored. Political history The constitutional history of the The patrician era (509-367 BC) According to legend, the last king was overthrown in 510 BC. While this story may be nothing more than a legend which later Romans elaborated on in order to explain their past, it is likely that Rome had been ruled by a series of kings. The historical monarchy, as the legends suggest, was probably overthrown quickly. The constitutional changes which occurred immediately after the revolution were probably not as extensive as the legends suggest. The most important constitutional change probably concerned the chief executive. Before the revolution, a king would be elected by the senators for a life term. Now, two consuls were elected by the citizens for an annual term.Abbott, 25] Each consul would check his colleague, and their limited term in office would open them up to prosecution if they abused the powers of their office. His political powers, when exercised conjointly with his colleague, were no different from those of the old king.Abbott, 26] In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the senate and the assemblies were as powerless as they had been under the monarchy. In the year 494 BC, the city was at war with two neighboring tribes. The plebeian soldiers refused to march against the enemy, and instead seceded to the Aventine hill. The plebeians demanded the right to elect their own officials. The patricians agreed, and the plebeians returned to the battlefield.Abbott, 28] The plebeians called these new officials "plebeian tribunes". The tribunes would have two assistants, called "plebeian aediles". In 367 BC a law was passed, which required the election of at least one plebeian aedile each year. In 443 BC, the censorship was created, and in 366 BC, the praetorship was created. Also in 366 BC, the curule aedileship was created.Abbott, 37] Shortly after the founding of the republic, the Comitia Centuriata ("Assembly of the Centuries") became the principle legislative assembly. In this assembly, magistrates were elected, and laws were passed. During the fourth century BC, a series of reforms were passed. The result of these reforms was that any law passed by the Plebeian Council would have the full force of law. This gave the tribunes (who presided over the Plebeian Council) a positive character for the first time. Before these laws were passed, the only power that the tribunes held was that of the veto. The Conflict of the Orders (367-287 BC) After the plebeian aedileship had been created, the patricians created the curule aedileship.Abbott, 42-43] After the consulship had been opened to the plebeians, the plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship. In 337 BC, the first plebeian praetor was elected.Abbott, 42] In 342 BC, two significant laws were passed. One of these two laws made it illegal to hold more than one office at any given point in time. The other law required an interval of ten years to pass before any magistrate could seek reelection to any office.Abbott, 43] During these years, the tribunes and the senators grew increasingly close. The senate realized the need to use plebeian officials to accomplish desired goals.Abbott, 44] To win over the tribunes, the senators gave the tribunes a great deal of power and the tribunes began to feel obligated to the senate. As the tribunes and the senators grew closer, plebeian senators were often able to secure the tribunate for members of their own families. In time, the tribunate became a stepping stone to higher office.Abbott, 45] Around the middle of the fourth century BC, the Concilium Plebis enacted the "Ovinian Law". During the early republic, only consuls could appoint new senators. The Ovinian law, however, gave this power to the censors. It also required the censor to appoint any newly-elected magistrate to the senate.Abbott, 46] By this point, plebeians were already holding a significant number of magisterial offices. Thus, the number of plebeian senators probably increased quickly. However, it remained difficult for a plebeian to enter the senate if he was not from a well-known political family, as a new patrician-like plebeian aristocracy emerged.Abbott, 47] The old nobility existed through the force of law, because only patricians were allowed to stand for high office. The new nobility existed due to the organization of society. As such, only a revolution could overthrow this new structure. By 287 BC, the economic condition of the average plebeian had become poor. The problem appears to have centered around wide-spread indebtedness. The plebeians demanded relief, but the senators refused to address their situation. The result was the final plebeian secession. The plebeians seceded to the Janiculum hill. To end the secession, a dictator was appointed. The dictator passed a law (the "Hortensian Law"), which ended the requirement that the patrician senators must agree before any bill could be considered by the Plebeian Council.Abbott, 52] This was not the first law to require that an act of the Plebeian Council have the full force of law. The Plebeian Council acquired this power during a modification to the original Valerian law in 449 BC.Abbott, 51] The significance of this law was in the fact that it robbed the patricians of their final weapon over the plebeians. The result was that control over the state fell, not onto the shoulders of voters in a democracy, but to the new plebeian nobility.Abbott, 53] The plebeians had finally achieved political equality with the patricians. However, the plight of the average plebeian had not changed. A small number of plebeian families achieved the same standing that the old aristocratic patrician families had always had, but the new plebeian aristocrats became as uninterested in the plight of the average plebeian as the old patrician aristocrats had always been.Abbott, 48] The supremacy of the new nobility (287-133 BC) The great accomplishment of the Hortensian Law was in that it deprived the patricians of their last weapon over the plebeians. Thus, the last great political question of the earlier era had been resolved. As such, no important political changes would occur between 287 BC and 133 BC.Abbott, 63] The critical laws of this era were still enacted by the senate.Abbott, 65] In effect, democracy was satisfied with the possession of power, but did not care to use it. The senate was supreme during this era because the era was dominated by questions of foreign and military policy.Abbott, 66] This era was the most militarily active era of the Roman Republic. The final decades of this era saw a worsening economic situation for many plebeians. The long military campaigns had forced citizens to leave their farms to fight, only to return to farms that had fallen into disrepair. The landed aristocracy began buying bankrupted farms at discounted prices. As commodity prices fell, many farmers could no longer operate their farms at a profit.Abbott, 77] The result was the ultimate bankruptcy of countless farmers. Masses of unemployed plebeians soon began to flood into Rome, and thus into the ranks of the legislative assemblies. Their economic state usually led them to vote for the candidate who offered the most for them. A new culture of dependency was emerging, which would look to any populist leader for relief.Abbott, 80] From the Gracchi to Caesar (133-49 BC) The prior era saw great military successes, and great economic failures. The patriotism of the plebeians had kept them from seeking any new reforms. Now, the military situation had stabilized, and fewer soldiers were needed. This, in conjunction with the new slaves that were being imported from abroad, inflamed the unemployment situation further. The flood of unemployed citizens to Rome had made the assemblies quite populist. The ultimate result was an increasingly aggressive democracy. The Gracchi tribunates Tiberius' brother Gaius was elected tribune in 123 BC. Gaius Gracchus' ultimate goal was to weaken the senate and to strengthen the democratic forces.Abbott, 97] In the past, for example, the senate would eliminate political rivals either by establishing special judicial commissions or by passing a "senatus consultum ultimum" ("ultimate decree of the senate"). Both devices would allow the senate to bypass the ordinary due process rights that all citizens had. Gaius outlawed the judicial commissions, and declared the "senatus consultum ultimum" to be unconstitutional. Gaius then proposed a law which would grant citizenship rights to Rome's Italian allies. By this point, however, the selfish democracy of Rome deserted him. He stood for election to a third term in 121 BC, but was defeated and then murdered. The democracy, however, had finally realized how weak the senate had become.Abbott, 98] The "populare" party and the "optimate" party In 118 BC, King Several years later, a new power had emerged in Asia. In 88 BC, a Roman army was sent to put down that power, king The "populare" record was not one to be proud of.Abbott, 103] They reelected Marius consul several times without observing the customary ten year interval between offices. They also transgressed democracy by advancing unelected individuals to magisterial office, and by substituting magisterial edicts for popular legislation. Sulla soon made peace with Mithridates. In 83 BC, he returned to Rome, overcame all resistance, and captured the city again. Sulla and his supporters then slaughtered most of Marius' supporters. Sulla, who had observed the violent results of radical "populare" reforms was naturally conservative. As such, he sought to strengthen the aristocracy, and thus the senate.Abbott, 104] Sulla made himself dictator, passed a series of constitutional reforms, resigned the dictatorship, and served one last term as consul. He died in 78 BC. Pompey, Crassus, and the Catilinarian Conspiracy In 77 BC, the senate sent one of Sulla's former lieutenants, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great"), to put down an uprising in Spain. By 71 BC, Pompey returned to Rome after having completed his mission. Around the same time, another of Sulla's former lieutenants, Around 66 BC, a movement to use constitutional, or at least peaceful, means to address the plight of various classes began.Abbott, 109-110] After several failures, the movement's leaders decided to use any means that were necessary to accomplish their goals. The movement coalesced under an aristocrat named The most important result of the Catilinarian conspiracy was that the "populare" party became discredited. The prior 70 years had witnessed a gradual erosion in senatorial powers. The violent nature of the conspiracy, in conjunction with the senate's skill in disrupting it, did a great deal to repair the senate's image.Abbott, 111] The First Triumvirate In 62 BC, Pompey returned victorious from Asia. The senate, elated by its successes against Catiline, refused to ratify the arrangements that Pompey had made. Pompey, in effect, became powerless. Thus, when Caesar became consul in 59 BC. His colleague, The end of the First Triumvirate Clodius formed armed gangs that terrorised the city and eventually began to attack Pompey, who in response funded counter gangs formed by Titus Annius Milo. The political alliance of the triumvirate was crumbling. Domitius Beginning in the summer of 54 BC, a wave of political corruption and violence swept Rome.Abbott, 114] This chaos reached a climax in January of 52 BC, when Clodius was murdered in a gang war by Milo. On January 1 of 49 BC, an agent of Caesar presented an ultimatum to the senate. The ultimatum was rejected, and the senate then passed a resolution which declared that if Caesar did not lay down his arms by July of that year, he would be considered an enemy of the republic.Abbott, 115] On January 7 of 49 BC, the senate passed a "senatus consultum ultimum", which vested Pompey with dictatorial powers. Pompey's army, however, was composed largely of untested conscripts. Caesar then crossed the The period of transition (49-29 BC) The era that began when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, and ended when Octavian returned to Rome after Actium in 29 BC, saw the constitutional evolution of the prior century accelerate at a rapid pace. By 29 BC, Rome had completed its transition from being a city-state with a network of dependencies, to being the capital of a world empire.Abbott, 129] With Pompey defeated, and order restored, Caesar wanted to ensure that his control over the government was undisputed. The powers which he would give himself would ultimately be used by his imperial successors. He would assume these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Caesar would hold both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but alternate between the consulship and the proconsulship.Abbott, 134] In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers. This made his person sacrosanct, gave him the power to veto the senate, and allowed him to dominate the Plebeian Council. In 46 BC, Caesar was given censorial powers,Abbott, 135] which he used to fill the senate with his own partisans. Caesar then raised the membership of the senate to 900. This robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made it increasingly subservient to him. While the assemblies continued to meet, he submitted all candidates to the assemblies for election, and all bills to the assemblies for enactment. Thus, the assemblies became powerless, and were thus unable to oppose him.Abbott, 138] Near the end of his life, Caesar began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his absence from Rome would limit his ability to install his own consuls, he passed a law which allowed him to appoint all magistrates in 43 BC, and all consuls and tribunes in 42 BC. This, in effect, transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people, to being representatives of the dictator.Abbott, 137] Caesar's assassination and the Second Triumvirate Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. The motives of the conspirators were both personal, as well as political. Most of the conspirators were senators, and many of them were angry about the fact that he had deprived the senate of much of its power and prestige. The grievances that they held against him were vague, and as such, their plan against him was vague. This fact was plainly obvious by the subsequent course of events.Abbott, 133] After his assassination, Culture Life in the Roman Republic revolved around the Most Roman towns and cities had a forum and temples, as did the city of Rome itself. Aqueducts were built to bring Beginning in the middle of the second century BC, Greek culture was increasingly ascendant, in spite of tirades against the "softening" effects of Hellenized culture. By the time of Augustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Roman young (sometimes even the girls). Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic landscape gardening on the Palatine or in the villas, and much Roman cuisine was essentially Greek. Roman writers disdained Latin for a cultured Greek style. ocial history and structure Many aspects of Roman culture were taken from the Greeks.Scott, 404] In The center of the early social structure was the family,Abbott, 1] which was not only marked by blood relations but also by the legally constructed relation of Clothing and dining The cloth and the dress distinguished one class of people from the other class. The tunic worn by Even Romans had simple food habits. Staple food was simple, generally consumed at around 11 o’clock, and consisted of Wine was considered a staple drink,Phillips pg 46-56] consumed at all meals and occasions by all classes and was quite cheap. Education and language Following various military conquests in the Schooling in a more formal sense was begun around 200 BC. Education began at the age of around six, and in the next six to seven years, boys and girls were expected to learn the basics of reading, The native language of the Romans was The arts Roman literature was from its very inception influenced heavily by Greek authors. Some of the earliest works we possess are of historical epics telling the early military history of Rome. As the republic expanded, authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy. In the 3rd century BC, Greek art taken as booty from wars became popular, and many Roman homes were decorated with landscapes by Greek artists. Portrait sculpture [cite journal |last=Toynbee |first=J. M. C. |year=1971 |month=December |title=Roman Art |journal=The Classical Review |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=439–442 |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-840X%28197112%292%3A21%3A3%3C439%3ARA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O |accessdate= 2007-12-11 ] during the period utilized youthful and classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism. Advancements were also made in relief sculptures, often depicting Roman victories. Music was a major part of everyday life. The word itself derives from Greek "μουσική" ("mousike"), "(art) of the Over time, Roman architecture was modified as their urban requirements changed, and the ports and entertainment The city of Rome had a place called the Religion Roman religious beliefs date back to the founding of Military tructural history The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of the Roman armed forces. The Roman military was split into the Manipular legion (509–107 BC) During this period, an army formation of around 5,000 men (of both heavy and light infantry) was known as a legion. The manipular army was based upon social class, age and military experience. [Boak, " A History of Rome to 565 A.D.", p. 87] "Maniples" were units of 120 men each drawn from a single infantry class. The maniples were typically deployed into three discreet lines based on the three heavy infantry types. Each first line maniple were leather-armoured infantry soldiers who wore a brass breastplate and a brass helmet adorned with 3 feathers approximately 30 cm (12 in) in height and carried an iron-clad wooden shield. They were armed with a sword and two The three infantry classesSantosuosso, "Storming the Heavens", p. 18] may have retained some slight parallel to social divisions within Roman society, but at least officially the three lines were based upon age and experience rather than social class. Young, unproven men would serve in the first line, older men with some military experience would serve in the second line, and veteran troops of advanced age and experience would serve in the third line. The heavy infantry of the maniples were supported by a number of light infantry and cavalry troops, typically 300 horsemen per manipular legion.santosuossoP18] The cavalry was drawn primarily from the richest class of equestrians. There was an additional class of troops who followed the army without specific martial roles and were deployed to the rear of the third line. Their role in accompanying the army was primarily to supply any vacancies that might occur in the maniples. The light infantry consisted of 1,200 unarmoured skirmishing troops drawn from the youngest and lower social classes. They were armed with a sword and a small shield, as well as several light javelins. A small navy had operated at a fairly low level after about 300 BC, but it was massively upgraded about forty years later, during the The extraordinary demands of the The distinction between the heavy infantry types began to blur, perhaps because the state was now assuming the responsibility of providing standard-issue equipment. In addition, the shortage of available manpower led to a greater burden being placed upon Rome's allies for the provision of allied troops. [Santosuosso, "Storming the Heavens", p. 11] Eventually, the Romans were forced to begin hiring mercenaries to fight alongside the legions. [Webster, "The Roman Imperial Army", p. 143] The legion after the reforms of Gaius Marius (107 BC – 27 BC) In a process known as the Unlike earlier in the Republic, legionaries were no longer fighting on a seasonal basis to protect their land.hcref|η| Instead, they received standard pay, and were employed by the state on a fixed-term basis. As a consequence, military duty began to appeal most to the poorest sections of society, to whom a salaried pay was attractive. A destabilising consequence of this development was that the proletariat "acquired a stronger and more elevated position"Gabba, "Republican Rome, The Army and The Allies", p. 25] within the state. The legions of the late Republic were, structurally, almost entirely heavy infantry. The legion's main sub-unit was called a "cohort" and consisted of approximately 480 infantrymen. The cohort was therefore a much larger unit than the earlier "maniple" sub-unit, and was divided into six centuries of 80 men each.Luttwak, "The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire", p. 14] Each century was separated further into 10 "tent groups" of 8 men each. Legions additionally consisted of a small body, typically 120 men, of Roman legionary cavalry. The cavalry troops were used as scouts and dispatch riders rather than battlefield cavalry. [Webster, "The Roman Imperial Army", p. 116] Legions also contained a dedicated group of artillery crew of perhaps 60 men. Each legion was normally partnered with an approximately equal number of allied (non-Roman) troops.Luttwak, "The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire", p. 15] However, "the most obvious deficiency" of the Roman army remained its shortage of cavalry, especially heavy cavalry. [Luttwak, "The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire", p. 43] As Rome's borders expanded and its adversaries changed from largely infantry-based to largely cavalry-based troops, the infantry-based Roman army began to find itself at a tactical disadvantage, particularly in the East. After having declined in size following the subjugation of the Mediterranean, the Roman navy underwent short-term upgrading and revitalisation in the late Republic to meet several new demands. Under Caesar, an invasion fleet was assembled in the Campaign history The core of the campaign history of the Roman Republican military is the account of the As with most ancient civilisations, Rome's military served the triple purposes of securing its borders, exploiting peripheral areas through measures such as imposing tribute on conquered peoples, and maintaining internal order. From the outset, Rome's military typified this pattern and the majority of Rome's campaigns were characterised by one of two types. The first is the territorial Roman armies were not invincible, despite their formidable reputation and host of victories. Over the centuries the Romans "produced their share of incompetents" [Goldsworthy, "In the Name of Rome", p. 15] who led Roman armies into catastrophic defeats. Nevertheless, it was generally the fate of even the greatest of Rome's enemies, such as Early Republic (458 BC - 274 BC) Early Italian campaigns (458-396 BC) The first Roman republican wars were wars of both expansion and defence, aimed at protecting Rome itself from neighbouring cities and nations and establishing its territory in the region. [Grant, "The History of Rome", p. 33] Initially, Rome's immediate neighbours were either Latin towns and villages,Florus, "The Epitome of Roman History", Book 1, ch. 11] or else tribal Sabines from the Apennine hills beyond. One by one Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local cities that were either under Etruscan control or else Latin towns that had cast off their Etruscan rulers.Grant, "The History of Rome", p. 38] Rome defeated Latin cities in the Celtic invasion of Italia (390-387 BC) By 390 BC, several Gallic tribes had begun invading Italy from the north as their culture expanded throughout Europe. The Romans were alerted of this when a particularly warlike tribe [Florus, "The Epitome of Roman History", Book 1, ch. 13] invaded two Etruscan towns from the north. These two towns were not far from Rome's sphere of influence. These towns, overwhelmed by the size of the enemy in numbers and ferocity, called on Rome for help. The Romans met them in pitched battle at the Battle of Allia River around 390-387 BC. The Gauls, under their chieftain Brennus, defeated the Roman army of around 15,000 troops and proceeded to pursue the fleeing Romans back to Rome itself and sacked the city [Livy, "The Rise of Rome", p. 329 See also: Lane Fox, "The Classical World", p. 283] before being either driven off or bought off. Now that the Romans and Gauls had blooded one another, intermittent warfare was to continue between the two in Italy for more than two centuries. The Celtic problem would not be resolved for Rome until the final subjugation of all Gaul by Roman expansion into Italia (343-282 BC) After recovering surprisingly swiftly from the sack of Rome, [Pennell, "Ancient Rme", Ch. IX, para. 4] the Romans immediately resumed their expansion within Italy. The The Seven years after their defeat, with Roman dominance of the area looking assured, the Samnites rose again and defeated a Roman army in 298 BC, to open the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC) By the beginning of the third century, Rome had established itself as a major power on the When a diplomatic dispute between Rome and a Greek colony [Lane Fox, "The Classical World", p. 294] erupted into open warfare in a naval confrontation, the Greek colony appealed for military aid to Pyrrhus, ruler of the northwestern Greek kingdom of Epirus. Motivated by a personal desire for military accomplishment, Pyrrhus landed a Greek army of some 25,000 men on Italian soil in 280 BC. Despite early victories, Pyrrhus found his position in Italy untenable. Rome steadfastly refused to negotiate with Pyrrhus as long as his army remained in Italy. [Cassius Dio, "The Roman history", Vol. 1, VIII, 3] Facing unacceptably heavy losses with each encounter with the Roman army, Pyrrhus withdrew from the peninsula. In 275 BC, Pyrrhus again met the Roman army at the Battle of Beneventum. While Beneventum was indecisive, Pyrrhus realised his army had been exhausted and reduced, by years of foreign campaigns, and seeing little hope for further gains, he withdrew completely from Italy. The conflicts with Pyrrhus would have a great effect on Rome. Rome had shown it was capable of pitting its armies successfully against the dominant military powers of the Mediterranean, and that the Greek kingdoms were incapable of defending their colonies in Italy and abroad. Rome quickly moved into southern Italia, subjugating and dividing the Greek colonies. [Lane Fox, "The Classical World", p. 307] Now, Rome effectively dominated the Italian peninsula, [Pennell, "Ancient Rome", Ch. XI, para. 1] and won an international military reputation. [Grant, "The History of Rome", p. 80] Mid-Republic (274 BC - 148 BC) Punic Wars (264-146 BC) The The first few naval battles were catastrophic disasters for Continuing distrust led to the renewal of hostilities in the In three battles, the Romans managed to hold off Hannibal but then Hannibal smashed a succession of Roman consular armies. By this time Hannibal's brother Carthage never managed to recover after the Second Punic War [Pennell, "Ancient Rome", Ch. XV, para. 24] and the Macedon, the Greek poleis, and Illyria (215-148 BC) Rome's preoccupation with its war with Carthage provided an opportunity for Philip V of the kingdom of Macedon began to encroach on territory claimed by several other Greek city states in 200 BC and these states pleaded for help from their newfound ally Rome. Rome gave Philip an ultimatum that he must submit Macedonia to being essentially a Roman province. Philip refused, and Rome declared war against Philip in the Rome now turned its attentions to another Greek kingdom, the In 179 BC Philip diedGrant, "The History of Rome", p. 120] and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne and showed a renewed interest in Greece. [Goldsworthy, "In the Name of Rome", p. 75] Rome declared war on Macedonia again, starting the The Fourth Macedonian War, fought from 150 BC to 148 BC, was the final war between Rome and Macedon. The Romans swiftly defeated the Macedonians at the Second battle of Pydna. Another Roman army besieged and destroyed Corinth in 146 BC, which led to the surrender and thus conquest of the rest of Greece. [ History of Rome - The republic, Isaac Asimov.] Late Republic (147 BC - 30 BC) Jugurthine War (111-104 BC) The The Celtic threat (121 BC) and the new Germanic threat (113-101 BC) In 121 BC, Rome came into contact with two Celtic tribes (from a region in modern France), both of which they defeated with apparent ease. The Internal unrest (135-71 BC) The extensive campaigning abroad by Roman generals, and the rewarding of soldiers with plunder on these campaigns, led to a general trend of soldiers becoming increasingly loyal to their generals rather than to the state. [Santosuosso, "Storming the Heavens", p. 39] Rome was also plagued by several slave uprisings during this period, in part because vast tracts of land had been given over to slave farming in which the slaves greatly outnumbered their Roman masters. In the last century BC at least twelve civil wars and rebellions occurred. This pattern did not break until Octavian (later " Between 135 BC and 71 BC there were three "Servile Wars" involving slave uprisings against the Roman state, the third and final uprising was the most serious. [Matyszak, "The Enemies of Rome", p. 77] involving ultimately between 120,000 [Appian, Civil Wars, 1, 117] and 150,000 [Santosuosso, "Storming the Heavens", p. 43] Additionally, in 91 BC the Social War broke out between Rome and its former allies in Italy over dissent among the allies that they shared the risk of Rome's military campaigns, but not its rewards. Although they lost militarily, the allies achieved their objectives with legal proclamations which granted citizenship to more than 500,000 Italians. The internal unrest reached its most serious state, however, in the two civil wars that were caused by the consul Conflicts with Mithridates (89-63 BC) and the Cilician pirates (67 BC) The The Mediterranean had at this time fallen into the hands of Caesar's early campaigns (59-50 BC) During a term as praetor in Iberia (modern Spain), Pompey's contemporary Caesar defeated large armies at major battles 58 BC and 57 BC. In 55 and 54 BC he made two expeditions into Britain, becoming the first Roman to do so. Caesar then defeated a union of Gauls at the Triumvirates and Caesarian ascension (53-30 BC) By 59 BC an unofficial political alliance known as the By the spring of 49 BC, when Caesar crossed the Rubicon river with his invading forces and swept down the Italian peninsula towards Rome, Pompey ordered the abandonment of Rome. Caesar first directed his attention to the Pompeian stronghold of Iberia (modern Spain) [Goldsworthy, "In the Name of Rome", p. 217] but decided to tackle Pompey himself in Greece. [Julius Caesar, "The Civil War", 81–92 See also: Goldsworthy, "In the Name of Rome", p. 218] Pompey initially defeated Caesar, but failed to follow up on the victory. Pompey was then decisively defeated at the Pompey's death did not result in an end to the civil wars since initially Caesar's enemies were manifold and Pompey's supporters continued to fight on after his death. In 46 BC Caesar lost perhaps as much as a third of his army, but ultimately came back to defeat the Pompeian army of Despite his military success, or probably because of it, fear spread of Caesar, now the primary figure of the Roman state, becoming an autocratic ruler and ending the Roman Republic. This fear drove a group of senators to assassinate him in March of 44 BC.Cantor, "Antiquity", p. 170] Further civil war followed between those loyal to Caesar and those who supported the actions of the assassins. Caesar's supporter Mark Antony condemned Caesar's assassins and war broke out between the two factions. Antony was denounced as a public enemy, and Caesar's adopted son and chosen heir, Gaius Octavian, was entrusted with the command of the war against him. At the Octavian came to terms with Caesarians Antony and Lepidus in 43 BC when the However, civil war flared again when the Second Triumvirate of Octavian, Lepidus and Figures of the Republic Early Republic * Late Republic * ee also * References ources *citebook|author=Abbott, Frank Frost|year=1901|title=A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions|publisher=Elibron Classics|isbn=0-543-92749-0 External links * [http://books.google.com/books?id=za4NAAAAYAAJ The Roman Republic] by Horace Moule (London: Bradbury & Evans, 1860)
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* Appius Claudius the Censor
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* Cato the Censor
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* Gaius Julius Caesar and
* Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis
* Prominent assassins of Julius Caesar:
* Marcus Tullius Cicero
* Octavian and Mark Antony
*Roman Republican moneyers
*citebook|author=Byrd, Robert|year=1995|title=The Senate of the Roman Republic|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office Senate Document 103-23
*citebook|author=Caesar, Julius|year=58-50 BC|title=The conquest of Gaul|isbn=0-14-044433-5
*citebook|author=Cicero, Marcus Tullius|year=1841|title=The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws|edition=Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis Barham, Esq|location=London|publisher=Edmund Spettigue|volume=vol. 1
*citebook|author=Eck, Werner|year=2003|title=The Age of Augustus|publisher=Oxford: Blackwell Publishing|isbn=0-631-22957-4
*citebook|author=Flower, Harriet I.|year=2004|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic|publisher=Cambridge
*citebook|author=Goldsworthy, Adrian|year=2003|title=The Complete Roman Army|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=0-500-05124-0
*citebook|author=Hart, B. H. Liddell |year=1926, reprint 2004|title=Scipio Africanus — Greater than Napoleon|publisher=DA CAPO Press|isbn=0-306-81363-7
*citebook|author=Holland, Tom|year=2005|title=Rubicon : the last years of the Roman Republic|publisher=Doubleday|isbn=0-385-50313-X
*citebook|author=Lintott, Andrew|year=1999|title=The Constitution of the Roman Republic|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-926108-3
*citebook|author=MacDonald, W. L.|year=1982|title=The Architecture of the Roman Empire|publisher=Yale University Press, New Haven|isbn=
*citebook|author=Matyszak, Philip|year=2004|title=The Enemies of Rome|publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=0-500-25124-X
*citebook|author=Owen, Francis|year=1993|title=The Germanic people; their Origin Expansion & Culture|publisher=Barnes & Noble Books|isbn=0-19-926108-3
*citebook|author=Palmer, L. R.|year=1954|title=The Latin Language|publisher=Univ. Oklahoma|isbn=0-8061-2136-X
*citebook|author=Polybius|year=1823|title=The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek|publisher=Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter|edition=Fifth Edition|volume=Vol 2
*citebook|author=Taylor, Lily Ross|year=1966|title=Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar|publisher=The University of Michigan Press|isbn=0-472-08125-X
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=iJg2AAAAMAAJ The fall of the Roman Republic] by Charles Merivale (London: Longman Brown Green and Longmans, 1853)
* [http://www.roman-empire.net The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire]
* [http://www.caius-ebook.com/TheEndofTrust.htm The Late Roman Republic: The decline and fall of trust] , An essay on the loss of trust in societies both ancient and modern
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20041230.shtml The Roman Republic] from
* [http://novaroma.org/nr/Main_Page Nova Roma - Educational Organization] a working historical reconstruction of the Roman Republic
* [http://www.unrv.com Roman Empire History]
* [http://romanum.historicus.pl/ Polish Portal of Ancient Rome]