The Gracchi Brothers: The Roman Political System

While the system of government employed by the Roman Republic may appear to be democratic in theory, there is some debate as to whether one can consider the manner in which it functioned practically as being truly democratic. The main debate centres on the issue of whether the Roman Republic was a democracy or an oligarchy. Issues such as unequal distribution, a political structure that favours the elites, and the power of individuals, make an argument in favour of oligarchy, while the system of election by popular vote, the time limitation on holding office, and the sharing of power at every level of government, combine to make a case for democracy. All of these structures were exploited and manipulated

Rome had seen many leaders step up to the plate in order to rule over Rome with absolute power. There were many who only wanted to exercise their power over the people, those who only wanted the army’s strength, and those who only wanted to advance the senate and laws than help the people or watch the army. However, there were a few emperors who were able to rise above these issues and bring about a seemingly peaceful time in Rome. I have chosen the three, in my opinion, best emperors of Rome, who were able to take command of Rome and make a huge impact. The three emperors that I chose were Trajan, Hadrian, and last but not least Augustus.

politician’s typical autobiography. Discuss how it is different: what does the emperor include, emphasize, and omit. What can we learn about his personality from this formal document?

Gaius Julius Caesar was a general, dictator of Rome, and a man of the people. His upbringing molded him into a great leader, who understood the needs of the people of Rome. During the height of his power, he worked to reform and better Rome. His life had a lasting effect on both Rome and the continent of Europe. Julius Caesar strived to do what was best for Rome and all its citizens, before thinking of himself.

Caesar had many victories and soon became the dictator of Rome. Not only did Caesar eliminate all his enemies and conquer places but he was kind to his defeated rivals. Without a son of his own, he needed an heir. Caesar then adopted Augustus. He reformed the Roman calendar and made the Senate more representative.

During the decline of the Roman Republic , the Senate became the effective governing body of the Roman State. A certain circle of powerful or wealthy families, which consisted of patricians and plebeians, controlled the Senate. The patricians were a group of people who were known to be the wealthiest and most favored by the kings. The plebeians, on the other hand, were people who were typically poorer, but in some cases gained more wealth than the patricians. Cicero, a man also known as a “novus homo” or “new man”, was a patrician. Catiline, on the other hand, was a man who came from a long established family, meaning his family had wealth for all of his life, which also was a common trait of those within the Senate. This paper will prove the actions of both Cicero and Catiline through the use of examples from Cicero’s Orations Against Catiline.

Throughout history, many incredible civilizations have risen and fallen. Among them was Ancient Rome. The Roman Republic started in Italy in around 800 BC, and became a grand and powerful civilization. It was ruled by the people and they voted for leaders. Ancient Rome would go on to dominate much of the Mediterranean. Although the Roman Republic was a magnificent place, it didn’t always meet the common good. In order to meet the common good, a few things it would have to do are provide public services, promote the rule of law, and prepare for a common defense. Overall, the Roman Republic somewhat met the common good.

The Roman Republic government contributed to the development of the democratic principles because the romans developed and its government eventually dividing into three branches. The Roman Republic had three main groups, patricians, Magistrates/Consuls Censors/praetors. The three main groups were like the democratic principle separation of powers. The Roman Republic had its “Rule of Law”, but the Romans called it the Twelve Tables. The democratic principle Representative government was also in the Roman Republic government, but was differently portrayed. The Plebeians did not have any say in the government but the consuls and the upper class

Ancient Rome left tremendous legacies such as technological advancements, religious beliefs and governmental structures that shaped the world today. The Romans conquered many territories and took on their cultures as well, in particular the Ancient Greek culture. Ancient Greek civilizations played a major role in the history and development of the Ancient Rome civilization. The Ancient Greeks influenced the social structure, religion and military strength of Ancient Rome. The Ancient Greeks’ renowned use of democracy influenced Ancient Rome’s government structure. The strong belief in Gods and oracles in Ancient Greek shaped the religion of Ancient Romans. The Spartan-like training and leadership style of Ancient Greek war heroes formed the

“Veni, vidi, vici” – Julius Caesar by this he meant “I came, I saw, I conquered”. (www.brainyquote.com) These are three things Julius Caesar did in Rome. Julius Caesar was significant in Rome because he was instrumental in ending the Roman Republic and beginning the Roman Empire, he created job programs for poor romans and took power away from the senators who hated him for it. He is one of the most famous people in ancient Rome. Julius Caesar was a soldier, “Roman general and dictator”. (www.ducksters.com) He took power from Rome using force. He was hated by some of the Roman senators. “Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by the Senators who assassinated him”. (www.dkfindout.com)

Julius Caesar was a politician, general, and dictator. He once said, “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” He was an incredible speaker of the time and was very well liked by most citizens. He brought a lot of change to Rome and was a very strong leader.

Roman citizens had come to consideration that they, indeed, did have a poor government. The Roman government gave an unjust life to people based on their social rank (Document E). This led to the citizens not appreciating the government as well as the Empire. Most of the emperors in Rome were assassinated so it gives the citizens the intention that if you did not like the emperor you can just kill them (Document A).This tells the reader that it was hard to govern Rome because they constantly kept replacing emperors.Considering that Rome did not have a stable ruling system, citizens of Rome began to doubt and not depend on their government.

He wanted revenge for is brother after he was illegally murdered. Bradley states that “…according to the aims [Gaius] wished to achieve (to avenge Tiberius’ death, to alleviate unemployment and to weaken the senate)” (1990). Undoubtedly, he wished to undermine the senate after what they did because the should have been persecuted, but were not. Furthermore, Bradley suggests that Gaius’ motives for his reforms were to relive the suffering of the urban unemployed and poor people, as well as to further the agriculture law that Tiberius re-enacted (1990, p.251-255). By doing this, he is helping the plebeians by letting them have more opportunities, but especially to make Rome fairer. This corroborates with Williams when he comments that “On [Gaius’] return to Rome, he campaigned for the tribuneship and emerged in 123BC as tribune to take on Tiberius’ mantle” (1996). Hence, he wished to continue his brother’s reforms to help the lower classes, like his brother did. After the death of Tiberius, the senate resorted to unethical ways to keep their position and

Tiberius was well loved by the people, but not so much by the Senate. Simon Baker's Ancient Rome says it best by saying "As Tiberius left the Senate House in disgrace, he received a very different reception from the Roman people" (86). Tiberius built on this trust with the plebs, and told them he could get their land back, and that he wanted to help. This is prompted him to become tribune. After achieving this status, he chose to identify one of Rome's biggest problems, the distribution of land. He claimed that the upper class had too much and the lower class had too little. Therefore he proposed a new law to be passed. The law where you could keep 300 acres and the rest would be distributed to who needed it the most. He hit many obstacles when trying to get it passed for voting such as Octavius, Roman people, Senate, and even fear of leadership. When faced with this

In the year 44 BC the powerful empire of Rome had lost its ruler due to the assassination led by the senators and Julius Caesar’s brother Brutus. Caesar’s death was a huge setback for Rome and its people and the whole empire was in utter chaos.