10e: Conclusions

1. Reigns of Terror
In its last century the Roman Republic experienced terrorism, organized and unorganized, from without and within. King Mithridates's 88 BC murder of 80,000 Romans in the province of Asia ended one civil war (the Social War), and set off another one between Marius and to see which of them would lead the Roman army.  Sulla's victory in the civil war he fought on his return to Italy (83-82 BC) was followed by mass murder of wealthy citizens and a three-year dictatorship. During the time of the First Triumvirate, rival gangs roamed the streets of Rome, sometimes in the pay of politicians and sometimes not. Even the triumvir Pompey had to stay home sometimes - and this in a time of supposed peace. When Caesar and Pompey began their civil war in 49 BC, Romans justifiably expected things to get even nastier, but Caesar's remarkable policy of clementia limited the collateral damage. But Rome was not out of the woods just yet. Caesar's death in 44 led to yet more public suffering. It would take a rare leader to extract Rome from this mess.

2. Men versus Society
Since the first Western historians were affluent upper-class men, Western history has all too often been fixated on the military and political antics of upper-class males. No argument there. The Roman Republic was constructed in a way that restricted effective political power to wealthy citizen males, and in its dying years it was controlled by a very small circle of them: three, to be exact. Yet the interplay of these three men at the end of the Roman Republic is not only crucial to understanding its demise, the flaws in their personalities set off the virtues of the Principate which followed. Their personal interactions, even on the family level, could cause political shock waves. For example,  Pompey was the very loving husband of Caesar's daughter Julia; her untimely death helped lead to a split between Pompey and Caesar. In situations like this, democracy is definitely broken.

3. What are the external signs of a broken government?
This is a pretty tough one. But it's important to isolate some warning signs, because we're going to break a few governments before the semester is over.

1. The old Cursus Honorum was great for running a large city-state or a small empire, but not for administering almost the entire Mediterranean world. The flexibility demonstrated during the Conflict Of The Orders was sadly lacking.
   
2. The [Small Farmer Class], backbone of the Roman state and the Roman volunteer army, had either been killed off during the centuries of warfare or put out of business by rampant agribusiness. The result was the growth of an Urban Mob at Rome.
   
3. The penalty for attempting to restore the Small Farmer Class was death, as the Gracchi found out in the 2nd Century BC.
   
4. As the poor grew poorer and more numerous, the already wealthy grew wealthier due to military commands, political considerations, and control over Ager Publicus, which resulted in the proliferation of [latifundia].
   
5. As the political stakes grew higher and the leading political families became wealthier, the [Senate] grew ever more powerful and the political process itself became more and more corrupt.
   
6. The downfall of the Small Farmer Class made it necessary for Roman military to recruit soldiers from the Urban Mob and pay for their training and upkeep, leading to the [Warlord Phenomenon].
   
7. The absence of any consistent policy for assimilating Italian conquests led to the nasty Social Wars of 91-88 BC, in which subject Italians fought Romans for the right to become citizens.
   
8. The Social Wars were merely the first of ten civil wars fought in the years between 90 BC and 31 BC, ending in the ascendancy of Augustus.
   
9. Individuals like Marius, Sulla, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus Licinius Crassus find it possible to ride roughshod over the Roman constitution.

4. Fixing the Republic?

1. Be very careful who you forgive and who you trust - as Caesar discovered on the Ides Of March.
2. Even when you have to brag about your personal accomplishments, respect the traditions of the almighty Mos Maiorum.
3. Maintain your reputation as a great military leader while at the same time trumpeting your commitment to [Maintaining Peace].
4. Pay scrupulous attention to your propaganda. It's a great big imperium out there and different people will have different expectations of you.