Download Social Studies 9R – Mr. Berman Aim #6: Why did the Roman

Social Studies 9R – Mr. Berman
Aim #6: Why did the Roman Republic weaken in the centuries after the Punic Wars?
Conflicts after the Punic Wars:
The Punic Wars against Carthage were an enormous victory for Rome, and paved the way
for the Romans to become the dominant power along the Mediterranean. By 44 B.C., the
Romans had conquered all of Italy, Northern Africa, Spain, Gaul (modern day France and
parts of Germany) Greece and Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). However, these wars also
paved the way for the destruction of Rome’s republic. Most of the soldiers who fought in
these wars were plebeians, who were the small farmers of Rome. While the plebeians were
away in Carthage fighting for Rome, many greedy patricians (wealthy landowners) bought
up much of the farmland that the plebeians worked on. The patricians combined these
landholdings into large estates called latifundias, which made them extremely wealthy.
When many plebeians returned from the war, they found themselves with little land, no
way to compete with the enormous latifundias (which could produce far more crops than
their tiny farms), and no way to support themselves. Thousands of them were forced to go
to the cities looking for work, but since so many plebeians were competing for a limited
number of jobs, unemployment remained extremely high. Additionally, thanks to all the
people Rome had captured during the Punic Wars, 1/3 of the Roman population was now
made up of slaves. Slaves took up many of the farming and laboring jobs in Rome since their
owners didn’t have to pay them, and plebeians found it even more difficult to get jobs.
1. What did many patricians do to increase their wealth during the Punic Wars? What
effect did this have on the plebeians?
2. Why was the unemployment rate for plebeians so high in Rome after the Punic Wars?
Marius vs. Sulla
It was clear that the Roman republic needed to do something to help the plebeians and
reduce the unemployment rate. Two brothers named Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus who
served as tribunes suggested that some of the land and wealth controlled by the patricians
be taken away from them and redistributed to landless plebeians. However, the Senate
opposed this idea, and ultimately had Gaius and Tiberius assassinated to prevent their
reforms from happening. Eventually, the Senate decided to give the plebeians jobs by
putting them back in the military. Powerful generals like Gaius Marius and Lucius
Cornelius Sulla promised to give the plebeians food and land in return for their military
service. The problem with this was that when plebeians joined Marius’s army or Sulla’s
army, they pledged their loyalty to Marius and Sulla, NOT the Roman republic itself. Marius
and Sulla quickly realized that they had so many soldiers loyal to them that they didn’t need
to take orders from the Senate any more, and could seize power for themselves. Marius and
Sulla fought a civil war against each other, which resulted in Sulla’s victory in 82 B.C. After
Sulla won, he made himself a dictator and started executing anyone he saw as a threat to his
power. He eliminated many parts of the legislature like the Centuriate Assembly and the
Tribunal Assembly, which took away the right of ordinary Roman people to elect
government representatives. By the time Sulla died in 78 B.C., democracy in Rome was close
to being dead.
1. What plan did the Gracchus brothers have to help the plebeians? Why do you think the
Senate opposed this plan? What ultimately happened to the Gracchus brothers?
2. Do you think the plan of the Gracchus brothers would have solved Rome’s economic
problems? Would you support a plan like this to help reduce the gap between the rich and
the poor in the United States today (for example, would you agree that the rich should pay
higher taxes to support government programs like Obamacare that provide health care to
working class Americans)? Why or why not?
3. What plan did the Senate ultimately support to help the plebeians? How did generals
like Marius and Sulla take advantage of this plan to increase their own power?
4. Why could Sulla’s reign be viewed as the beginning of the end of Roman democracy?
First Triumvirate:
After Sulla died, Rome was in a state of chaos and needed strong leaders. To restore order
and stability, three powerful Romans joined together and took control of the government.
These men were Pompey (a military leader under Sulla who had many loyal soldiers under
his command), Crassus (a prominent Senator who was also the wealthiest man in Rome),
and Julius Caesar (a military leader who brought influence over the common people
because his family had for many years supported democratic causes, and as magistrate he
had lavished money on public games and public works projects which employed common
people). Together, they formed an alliance called the First Triumvirate and ruled Rome’s
government from 59 B.C. – 53 B.C. Caesar was given command of Gaul (what is now France
and Germany), Crassus was given command of the army in Parthia (modern day Iran and
Pakistan) and Pompey stayed at home in Rome. Although this alliance worked for several
years, each of these men was ambitious and dreamed of taking complete control over Rome.
1. What was the alliance that Pompey, Crassus and Caesar formed to rule Rome? What
strengths did each of them bring to the alliance?
Concluding Question: If there was ever a battle for power between these three men, who
do you think would win and gain control over Rome? Why?