After Rome’s final Etruscan king was deposed in 509 BCE, the Roman Republic was established. The following system of administration in Rome was a republican representative democracy. At first, only the wealthiest families in Rome, known as the patricians, had the right to assume positions of authority in politics or religion (Taylor 166). Everyone else was regarded as plebeian, and none were eligible to hold office. However, the plebeians struggled for and ascended to power inside the state over about 200 years. As a result, the Senate was the key to the formation of the Roman Empire.
The Senate served as the center of the Roman Republic. It guided on issues about the population and the city’s governing laws. The Senate had enormous influence over Rome’s legislative bodies despite not having the constitutional authority to do so due to the status of its members. From the republic’s formation in 509 B.C.E. until a strike organized by the plebeians resulted in the creation of the Concilium Plebis, or the Council of the Plebs, the Senate only served as the republic’s sole governing body for a brief while (Ramos 2). The plebeians now had a say in the administration. The outcome was the formation of new legislative or judicial organizations for the Roman Republic.
The republic maintained its stability for several centuries. However, internal disputes arose as people and families fought for control as Rome’s power and realm grew. For instance, within the first century B.C.E., the renowned Roman orator Marcus Cicero discovered a scheme to destroy the Roman government by a Roman senator named Lucius Catiline (Ramos 3). Several citizens—including the Gracchus brothers—tried to enact political and social changes to aid the underprivileged. Eventually, factions began to form, fighting broke out, and the republic was torn apart by several civil wars. Julius Caesar, a well-known general and statesman, started accumulating much authority throughout these civil conflicts (“The Roman Empire: A Brief History”). After capturing the French region of Gaul, he could command the allegiance of the men in his army and gain access to a sizable amount of money.
The Senate insisted that Caesar relinquish military control and return to Rome as a civilian out of concern for his authority. Caesar declined and instead led his army right into Rome in the south. As a result, a new civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompey, his main political adversary. Caesar won the battle and was enthroned as dictator for life. In the past, a temporary leader selected during a military emergency received the moniker “dictator” (Taylor 167). With this new title, some republican leaders worried Caesar would turn into a despot. A gang of senators planned his murder in order to stop this. After Caesar passed away, his nephew and successor, Augustus, overcame the plotters. He then established the first Emperor of Rome.
With the emperor wielding the most power, the Roman Empire moved away from representative government and toward consolidated imperial rule. Emperors, for instance, were given the power to command the army and to propose and reject legislation during Augustus’ rule (Taylor 168). The emperor also had considerable control over people who held lower managerial posts. Without the emperor’s approval, no citizen could occupy public office. The public assemblies active throughout the republican era lost influence due to this power shift.
As a result, Rome’s expansion put it in contact with a wide range of cultural traditions. Greek culture in the eastern Mediterranean was the most significant with its highly developed literature and scholarship. Rome’s reaction to it was conflicted: although Greek doctrine was alluring, it also represented the culture of the oppressed and conquered. Many aspects of Greek culture were introduced to Rome following military successes when Roman troops came home with artworks and educated Greeks that had been sold into slavery. Despite the ambivalence, the Greeks significantly impacted almost every aspect of Roman society, and the Roman empire left a Greco-Roman culture for subsequent European civilization.
Within the first century B.C.E., Rome had surpassed all other nations in power thanks to its military might, political adaptability, economic growth, and more than a small quantity of luck. Rome itself, as well as the Mediterranean region, were both altered by this development. In order to manage the empire, new institutions, like the provincial government, were established. Additionally, Rome’s culture changed as foreign influences, particularly those from Greece, became popular.
Works Cited
“The Roman Empire: A Brief History.” Milwaukee Public Museum, Web.
Ramos, P. L., et al. “Power Laws in the Roman Empire: A Survival Analysis.” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 8, no. 7, 2021.
Taylor, Michael J. “The Development of the Roman Empire.” The Classical Review, vol. 71, no. 1, 2021, pp. 166–168.