About two millenniums ago, the Roman Republic was one of the largest and most powerful empires in the whole world. The Roman republic covered vast European lands and extended into some parts of Asia. The republic had numerous crises which eventually saw its fall. However, the fall of the great Roman Republic did not occur at once. The empire had a lot of crisis throughout the decades. The demise of the Roman Republic started as early as the time of its expansion. As the kingdom became too big, it was divided into smaller sections which were then governed by governors. Corruption in the Senate and the whole Roman Republic made it difficult for most people to survive. The rich practically bought votes in order to get elected to senate positions.
The republic became so extensive and large that governors had to be appointed to rule on behalf of Rome. Soldiers under their generals at different parts of the republic became more aligned to the generals. The soldiers lost touch with Rome and became more loyal to their generals than to Rome. This ultimately led to the rise of powerful generals such as Magnus Pompey. Some generals who rose to absolute power started fighting others, commanding that they show loyalty to them. This created a lot of wars and even revolts against the Roman Republic. Most Republic Emperors became assassinated as a result of the numerous and constant revolts and civil wars as asserted by Ridley (2016).
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Some historians, however, point at the time when the republic started fighting its neighbors as the beginning of its fall. The Republic launched social wars around 90 BC against its nearby Italian neighbors, which is believed to be the start of the demise of the Roman Republic. Other scholars say, that the crisis of the republic begun at around 72 BC during the Spartacus War. The war brought a lot of consequences to the republic as many of its soldiers were killed, others captured, while the Republic also lost some of its provinces. Other issues which caused problems in the Roman republic included the numerous slave revolts and its corrupt system. The republic did not only face revolts from regional generals. Earlier around the 120 BC, two brothers known as the Gracchi brothers attempted to reform the system. This was greatly denied by the corrupt Senate who then murdered the brothers. Violence and bribery then emerged throughout the empire.
The rise of Pompey and Gaius Julius Caesar greatly aided the demise and the fall of the republic. Pompey rose and became so powerful that he created himself a name, Magnus, which means ‘the great.' He conquered the current-day Turkey as Caesar controlled the current-day France. These two powerful individuals practically divided the republic into two. The two, (initially allies) had become bitter enemies after conquering vast territories. Caesar promoted the radical reforms proposed by the Gracchi brothers while Pompey believed in the olden corrupt ways. Pompey was later beheaded during one of the civil wars. The assassination of Caesar by the Senate also followed shortly. Caesar had tried to change the system and brought better reforms in order to keep the republic united and free from civil wars (Stevenson, 2014).
The Republic was doomed with people constantly fighting against themselves until Octavian rose to their aid. Octavian was the adopted son of Caesar. He fought brought an end to the civil wars and fought off Roman enemies. He dismantled the government, brought new reforms, brought an absolute collapse of the republic and united the Romans to create a new Roman empire. He became the first Roman emperor in the history of the Roman Empire.
References
Ridley, R. T. (2016). The fall of the Roman Republic. Agora , 51 (1), 63.
Stevenson, T. (2014). Julius Caesar and the transformation of the Roman Republic . Routledge.
