Download Decline of Roman Republic

AP World History
Chapter 5
Name_____________________________________ Per_____ Date_______________________
Fall of the Roman Republic (509-49 BCE)
Historians have often asserted that the Republic of Rome was gone long before the assassination
of Julius Caesar. The purpose of this task is for you to interpret (as a historian does) which
events were most critical to the decline of the Republic. Follow these steps to complete the task:
1. Individually read all ten cards.
2. As a group, divide the ten events into three piles:
a. Events that hastened (sped up) the decline of the Republic
b. Events that had no effect one way or the other
c. Events that preserved or strengthened the Republic
3. Record the letters under the appropriate category below:
Hastened the Fall of the Republic
Had No Effect
Preserved the Republic
4. Select the two most important events leading to the decline from the “hastened” pile and
the two most important events that “preserved” the Republic. Write the corresponding
letter next to the #1 and #2 below.
5. Below, justify the placement of the top two in each category. Your justification must
include concrete details, as well as a clear explanation as to the reason for the placement.
Top Two That Hastened:
1.
2.
Top Two That Preserved:
1.
2.
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A. 485 BC: Cincinnatus named dictator to fight enemy threatening to destroy Rome. He
gathers an army, defeats the enemy, and returns to Rome victorious in fifteen days. He
resigns post of dictator immediately, and returns to his plow.
B. 450 BC: In response to plebeian demands, Roman laws are collected and written down
on Twelve Tables, making it possible for all to know and understand the law.
C. 450-250 BC: Plebeians gradually gain more rights. Tribunes obtain veto power,
assembly gains right to pass laws, plebeians eventually win the right to hold any office.
D. 264-146 BC: Punic Wars for expansion cause problems: land devastated by war,
conquests increase number of slaves in Rome, which leads to revolts.
E. 134, 101, and 73 BC: Slave revolts, specifically the revolt by Spartacus, devastated
much of central and Southern Italy and had to be put down by the Roman army.
F. 133 and 123 BC: Gracchus brothers elected tribune. Tiberius proposes latifundia reform
taking land away from large landowners and returning it to peasants; reforms pass. Gaius
proposes to extend citizenship and set up juries outside of Italy. Reforms cause riots in
the Senate.
G. 107 BC: Military leader Gaius Marius elected consul. Eliminates land requirement to
join army, forming instead a volunteer army of landless poor. Shifts loyalty of legions
away from republic to the military leaders who pay them.
H. 88 BC: Sulla, a rival of Marius, marches against Marius in a bloody civil war. In 82 BC,
after several years of fighting, Sulla assumes the emergency office of dictator, but refuses
to give it up after the legal time limit of six months.
I. 60 BC: Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey establish a partnership to rule Rome, known as the
First Triumvirate. The three divide the rule of the republic among themselves.
J. 44 BC: After fighting among the First Triumvirate, Caesar defeats Pompey and returns
to Rome to name himself dictator. His reforms make him popular among the people, but
much resented by Senators, who conspire against him. He is stabbed to death on March
15.
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