Crisis of the Roman Republic
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The Crisis of the Roman Republic refers to an extended period of political instability and social unrest that culminated in the demise of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire.
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[edit] Background
The Crisis of the Roman Republic began in the late 3rd century BC, when Hannibal devastated Italy, during the Second Punic War. Although the Romans ultimately prevailed, the war left many small landowners deeply in debt. In many cases, the wealthy bought their farms and ran them with slaves acquired during Rome's post-Punic conquests.
[edit] Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Beginning in 133 BC, Tiberius Gracchus tried to redress the grievances of displaced smallholders. He bypassed the Roman senate and passed a law limiting the amount of land belonging to the state that any individual could farm. This would have resulted in the breakup of the large plantations maintained by the rich on public land and worked by slaves. The oligarchic nobles responded by murdering Gracchus.
About nine years later Tiberius's younger brother, Gaius, passed even more radical reforms. In addition to settling the poor in colonies on land conquered by Rome, he passed the Corn Laws, which gave the poor the right to buy grain at subsidized prices. Other laws allowed tribunes of the people, like himself, to serve multiple terms, and replaced the senators' authority over the courts with that of the knights. Gaius was also murdered by the oligarchs.
[edit] Gaius Marius and Sulla
The next major reformer of the time was Gaius Marius. Like the Gracchi, Gaius Marius was a populist. Unlike them, he was also a general. He abolished the property requirement for becoming a soldier. The poor enlisted. Following the Roman clientela system, they were often more loyal to their generals than to the Roman state. Marius employed his soldiers to defeat an invasion by the Germanic Cimbri and Teutons. His political influence and military leadership allowed him to obtain many successive terms as consul.
Sulla, one of Marius's subordinates, contested with him for supreme power. After the senate awarded Sulla the lucrative and powerful post of commander in the war against Mithridates, Marius's politicking resulted in his being appointed commander in Sulla's stead. Sulla seized power and marched to the east with his soldiers. Marius himself launched a coup in Sulla's absence and put to death some of his enemies. He instituted a populist regime, but died soon after.
When Sulla returned from the wars, his victorious army defeated the forces of Cinna, Marius's populist successor. He began a dictatorship and purged the state of many populists. A reign of terror followed in which some innocents were denounced just so their property could be seized for the benefit Sulla's followers. Sulla's coup resulted in a major victory for the oligarchs. He reversed the reforms of the Gracchi and other populists, stripped the tribunes of the people of much of their power and returned authority over the courts to the senators.
[edit] Aftermath
The conflict between the masses and the populists, on the one side, and senatorial oligarchs, on the other, continued. Julius Caesar, although a patrician senator, championed the cause of the commoners. He led his armies, hardened in war against the Gauls, to victory in the Roman Civil War. He instituted a dictatorship and passed laws that favoured commoners and his soldiers. In 44 BC, he was assassinated by disgruntled senators.
In the aftermath, more civil wars ensued. Ultimately, Octavian, Caesar's nephew and adopted son, won power and became the first Roman emperor. From then on, power rested with the emperor, who was backed by armed forces loyal to him.
