The Start of the Roman Empire

Rome’s armies were consistently victorious, but troubles were growing back home. Dishonest officials stole from the poor, and the gap between the rich and the poor was growing. Most people who ruled Rome were patricians-wealthy landowners who handled finances and directed wars. Many of the poor farmers began to fall in debt because they were unable to farm due to fighting in the army. In addition, the rich landowners enslaved people to work on their farm, putting small farm owners out of business. Instead of trying to help them, Roman politicians tried to win their votes by providing cheap food and entertainment. This policy became known as “bread and circuses”, and helped many dishonest rulers come into power.

Two officials began to work for reforms to fix the problems in the Roman Republic. They were brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. They believed many problems were caused by the loss of small farms. They asked the Senate to take back land from the rich, and divide it among the poor. However, many senators fought this proposal. Eventually, Tiberius was killed and later Gaius.

Matters worsened as the Roman army joined in government affairs. Military leader Marius began to recruit soldiers from the poor. In return, he gave them money and land. Marius changed the army from volunteers to paid professionals. However, the new troops were motivated my material rewards instead of duty. They were loyal to their general, not the Roman Republic. This gave generals much influence and reason to get involved in politics. They needed laws passed to provide the land they promised. Before long, rival general Sulla drove enemies out of Rome and made himself dictator. Over time, Sulla weakened the Council of the Plebs and strengthened the Senate. He then stepped down, hoping Rome could recover. However, Rome plunged into war for the next 50 years. Ambitious men saw how Sulla used an army to gain power, and they decided to do the same.

Eventually, after the battles three men rose to power. One of these men was Julius Caesar. Caesar had military command of Gaul (modern France). He battled foreign tribes and invaded Britain. The lower classes looked up to him, but Senators and others at home feared he would seize power like Sulla. The other two men that shared Caesar’s power soon fell-one in battle, the other from defeat by Caesar. Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome for life. To protect himself, he filled the Senate with members loyal to him. Caesar’s reforms included granting citizenship to people living in Rome’s territories outside of the peninsula, starting new colonies to provide land and create work, and using slave labor to hire more free workers. This made him popular with the poor.

While many Romans supported Caesar, others did not. Some feared Caesar would want to be king and abuse his power. His opponents were led by senators, and they plotted to kill him. Caesar was warned to be careful on “the Ides of March”, but he didn’t listen. On March 15, Caesar’s enemies surrounded him, and stabbed him to death. Caesar’s death caused another Civil War. After many years, Caesar’s grandnephew, Octavian, rose into power. He defeated the army and navy of top general Antony, as well as Cleopatra. Octavian paved the road for a new system of government-the Roman Empire. Under Octavian’s rule, Rome became one of the greatest empires in the world.