Ch 8, Sec 3: The Fall of the Republic

Problems in Rome Gov’t officials stole money Problems b/t rich and poor were never solved Farms destroyed Food was scarce in some areas Cities were overcrowded and dangerous

Farmers were ruined Farms were ignored while men were at war Farms destroyed by the army of Carthage Rich farmers were becoming poor

Latifundias Large farms in Rome Poor farmers were competing against rich Romans who bought up the land Used war prisoners as slaves-worked cheaper than Roman citizens Further increased the divide between rich and poor

Poor Farmers and City life Sold land to latifundias and moved to cities Could not find work easily Slaves took most city jobs for the plebeians Took jobs for little pay Caused the rich and poor to fight Politicians started given food/entertainment to distract the poor

Tiberius and Gaius Brothers and gov’t officials Saw the problems in the cities Wanted to give land back to the poor farmers Seen as threats and killed for their ideas by the rich senators Proved the rich could break the law and get away with it

Marius takes office Roman military leader became a Consul Hired poor farmers/soldiers and paid them with money and land Changed the army from volunteers for Rome to loyalty to Marius Needed to gain political power to pay off land promises

Sulla takes office Army generals started fighting each other for power Sulla took over Took away the power of the Council of Plebs Gave power to the Patricians/Senate Caused 50 years of Civil War

First Triumvirate Takes Power Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey shared power of Rome Military leaders turned political allies Each man took control of a different area of Rome: Crassus-Syria Pompey-Spain Caesar-Gaul (France)

Rise of Caesar as Top Ruler of Rome Caesar became powerful and was loved by the poor Caesar took over Britain Senators feared Caesar and told him to return home and made Pompey top ruler of Rome Caesar ignored their order and brought his army into Rome to take over as top ruler

Caesar Takes Over Declared himself dictator for life (not 6 months) Got rid of senators who tried to ruin him Hired loyal people to become senators Gave out citizenship to anyone in Rome’s territory Created jobs and gave out land for the poor Created a new calendar

Some People Feared Caesar Thought Caesar wanted to become a king Some senators plotted to kill him including Brutus and Cassius March 15, 44 B.C.-Caesar was stabbed at the Senate building Led to a civil war between the senators who killed Caesar and Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus

Second Triumvirate Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus won the civil war and created the second triumvirate Could not agree on how to rule Lepidus forced out of office Octavian ruled the west Antony ruled the east

Antony and Cleopatra Created an alliance with each other Fell in love Antony wanted to become the only ruler of Rome Octavian declared war on Antony

Battle of Actium 31 B.C.- off the west coast of Greece Octavian’s army/navy destroyed Antony’s military Antony/Cleopatra forced to hide in Egypt Results: Antony/Cleopatra killed themselves and Octavian created the Roman Empire as it’s only ruler

Octavian becomes Augustus Octavian set up a republic form of gov’t Believed the republic form of gov’t had problems that could not be solved Gave some power back to the Senate Octavian took the position of imperator or “emperor” He changed his name to Augustus-means “the revered or majestic one”