Caesar and the end of the republic

The murder of the Gracchi brothers in 133 and 123 BC began the prescient of political violence in the late Roman republic

This instability was furthered when Rome got involved in two costly wars abroad in terms of soldiers, money, and trust of the population

One of Rome's allies, Numidia, descended into civil war in 111 BC

Rome allied with onside in the civil war which ended in 104 BC with Numidia as a split country

Despite large Roman casualties, the war ended in a stalemate. This, in addition to the successful bribing of Roman leaders during the war created more resentment in Roman society

In 113 BC, Rome faced incursions from multiple Germanic tribes on their northern border

These clashes escalated into a 12 year long war which saw Rome depleting their resources in tandem with the Jugurthine War

The war ended with the complete destruction of the invading Germanic tribes

Roman allies in Italy became disgruntled after not being rewarded from serving alongside Rome

They demanded the benefits of being full Roman citizens, but they were rejected

They revolted in response, in 91 BC

After revolting, the former Roman allies focused on defending their territory

By 89 BC, the rebels had been completely defeated and their territories fully incorporated in to Rome

Despite losing, Rome still granted them citizenship to prevent further insurrections

He was an important General in the Social War, which lead to him attaining the position of consul

He set out to conquer Pontus, a nation in Asia Minor, but was recalled due to revolts in Rome

Sulla defended Rome, but was unable to capture the leaders of the revolt

Following his defense of Rome, he returned to Anatolia resulting in the Mithridatic War

During this war, Sulla fully subjugated Pontus, resulting all of Anatolia falling under the rule of Rome

However, as Sulla was away, the leaders of the former revolt returned and took over the city of Rome in 83 BC and installed leaders who saw Sulla as a tyrant (he was)

Sulla returned to Rome and fought the revolt at the battle of the Colline Gate in 82 BC, which he won

Out of fear, the senate proclaimed Sulla dictator, thus giving him vast amounts of power

This began the reign of Sulla which saw him permiantly change the republic

Sulla began his office of dictator with a reign of terror, demanding that all who opposed him, or helped those opposed him, to be executed. In total, nearly 10,000 were butchered

Then, Sulla banned all those who were related to those who opposed him from holding political office, in addition to doubling the size of the senate to fill it with his own supporters

Sulla continued his reign as dictator by reducing the power of the Tribune of the Plebs

He resigned in 79 BC to retire, thus disbanding the dictatorship, leaving Rome in the hands of his supporters

After Sulla's retirement, there vas a vacuum of power from the position he held

In addition, the entire republic and senate was weakened from Sulla's reforms, which allowed ambitious people to try and take the place of Sulla

The first triumvirate was a political alliance between Crassus, Julius Caesar, and Pompey in order to further their political careers

The three of them realized that in order to gain complete power in the republic, they would need each other's support, even if they had different goals

He was a Roman General who served initially under Sulla, but became loyal to primarily Caesar later in life

He played a role in the Triumvirate by providing money, due to being extremely wealthy, to fund their campaigns

Crassus would die early early on in 53 BC in a war against the Parthian Empire

Pompey was a member of the aristocratic elite in Rome, a consul, and served as a general

For his victories in battle and in politics, he was both feared and respected by both citizens and lawmakers alike

Serving under Sulla, and later as a general of his own, Pompey conquered, and put down a revolt in Pontus, in a addition to conquering Syria and Judea

In addition, his actions to defend Rome during slave revolts allowed them to be crushed and order restored quickly

Caesar was born into a wealthy patrician family and served as both consul and general; much like Pompey and Crassus

However, Caesar and his family had amounted a massive debt, which caused him to pursue his military career more than his political career

Julius Caesar was one of the greatest generals in both Roman and world history

Some of his crowning achievements include conquering Gaul, gaining rulership over Egypt with Cleopatra, and winning battles brilliantly such as Alesia

His conquest lasted from 58- 50 BC, resulting the annexation of almost all of the Gallic tribes in modern day France

This is where Caesar began to amass wealth and prestige from his time as a general

In Caesar's conquest of Gaul, he came across the city of Alesia, in 52 BC, which was protected by a large wall

Caesar, knowing that another Gallic army was nearby, ordered his troops to build two walls around the city and his soldiers

Caesar defeated the Gauls on both sides, crushing their armies and capturing the city

Seeking to expand Rome into Egypt, Caesar allied with Cleopatra take over Egypt

In 47 BC, they lead a coup against Ptolemy XIII which succeed and saw Cleopatra, Caesar's ally, on the throne

This would be a starting point for Rome to take over Egypt entirely

Despite their differences, the three of them were able to elect each other into high positions within the Roman Republic, such as Caesar as consul

From these positions, laws that suited their needs could be passed, such as Caesar's land reforms which aimed to keep the plebeian class happy and loyal to him

The first clear issue was when Crassus died in 53 BC in a war against Parthia

In addition, Pompey became weary of Caesar's popularity and military victories

The senate, under the control of Pompey, ordered Caesar to return to Rome and give up all of his power as a result

Caesar, naturally did not, thus causing a civil war

Caesar refused to surrender his power to Pompey and the senate, and marched on Rome, crossing the Rubicon with only one legion in 49 BC

Pompey retreated out of fear, and Caesar entered Rome and proclaimed himself a dictator

Caesar chased Pompey's armies around Rome, beating him at every battle, forcing Pompey to retreat into Egypt

In Egypt, Pompey and his supporters were assassinated, thus ending the civil war

After the assassination of Pompey, Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, and remained as dictator

In order to appease the population, Caesar pardoned the families of his enemies, and passed land and agrarian reforms that favored the plebeian class

These actions made Caesar appear as a monarch, which angered many in Rome

In 44 BC, 60 assassins who opposed Caesar confronted him outside of the forum, and assassinated him by stabbing him to death

In the eyes of the assassins, they were saving the republic from dictatorship, however, the public saw it as a grab for power

The death of Caesar created a massive power vacuum, similar to when Sulla retired

Caesar's reforms and dictatorship left the republic in a state that could not be repaired, paving the way for the founding of Rome as an empire

In addition, the public turned on Caesar's assassins, allowing Augustus Caesar, Julius's nephew, to later become Rome's first emperor