The fall of the Roman Republic

This blog was written by listening to an audio book on the fall of the Roman Empire. I wanted to learn more about the Roman Empire, which is why I got this book. I have approximately 20 books on the Roman Empire.

The Roman Republic became a land of dictators. The Roman Republic was the victim of rampant corruption right before the rise of dictators in Rome. Democracy was taken for granted in ancient Rome during the very end ; which was one reason for its downfall. The end of the Roman Republic was caused by wannabe dictators; that took control over the republic. The fall of the Roman Republic was caused by rampant corruption, democracy being taken for granted, and the rise of dictators.

The fall of the Roman Republic was because of rampant corruption, private armies and slave labor. Senators votes in the Roman Senate were bought by wealthy landowners which lead the people to distrust the senate. In Rome- there was rampant crime which caused wealthy citizens to hire private armies. These armies were sometimes controlled by private individuals and owed allegiance to private individuals. Sometimes private armies killed people and stole their land - all because there was no police force. Slave labor on the noble plantations drove small landowners to bankruptcy this caused them to sell their land which led to high amounts of economic inequality. The fall of the Roman Republic was driven by rising inequality.

              One of the Roman Republics issues was that its citizens had been ruled as a Republic for so long that some Romans took it for granted. The Roman Republic had a constitution, laws and senate. It lasted for over 500 years until Julius Ceasar declared himself dictator. Big name Senators like Cato blocked the government from voting on a resolution for three years- an example of extreme dysfunction. Other dysfunction included calling every single day for a whole year a holiday- because the gods were mad. The Roman Republic was taken for granted. It finally fell apart when Augustus Ceasar said, (I am the only person that can fix Rome.),

              The fall of the Roman Republic continued with the rise of dictators. The fall of the Roman Republic was started by Gaius Marius and Julius Ceasar’s ancestors. Gauis Marius led a war against the Roman Senate and Marise’s leaders.[1] It was the start of a civil war- and the era of the Roman Dictator- which ended with Augustus changing the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. The beginning of the Roman Republic started with the defeat of Carthage. Afterward- the next big kingdom to beat was the defeat of Pontus- a massive post-alexander defeat of Greece.

              The ancient Roman Republic was a bastion of democracy, many of its ideas and culture were taken from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of democracy, but the Romans incorporated religion, philosophy, military and government concepts from the Greeks. The Roman religion was an edited version of the Greek religion which had a more war-like angle to it. The fall of the Roman Republic was caused by internal and external pressures that caused an end- that some see as better then what could/should have happened.

“The Decline of the Roman Republic,” Students of History. Accessed July 22, 2025. https://www.studentsofhistory.com/the-decline‑of‑the‑roman‑republic.

Little, Becky. 2018. “How Rome Destroyed Its Own Republic.” History. Published November 5. Last updated June 30, 2025. Accessed July 22, 2025. https://www.history.com/articles/rome-republic-augustus-dictator.

Duncan, Mike. The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic. New York, NY: PublicAffairs, 2017.

·       [1] Mike, Duncan, The Storm Before the Storm (New York: Public Affairs, 2017).