The Roman Republic in Decline

The Roman Republic in Decline

Poll

So if the republic was powerful and controlled the western Mediterranean after the Punic Wars, what do you think could have caused it to fall?

• bad leaders

• natural disasters

• unemployment

• inflation

• civil war

Several of those answers apply! Let's see how.....

After the Punic Wars, wealth from trade began to pour into Rome. At the same time, slaves were taken to Rome from the captured territories. Most of them were put to work on farms.

More farm workers!! That can't be bad, right??

WRONG! The influx of farm workers who had to work because they were slaves meant that people looking for jobs as farm workers were out of luck. :( Because of that, small farmers lost their farms and went to the cities looking for jobs. You can guess what happened next.........

NOT ENOUGH JOBS = UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

Cities filled with unemployed people with nothing to do.

Poll

How should Roman leaders try to fix the unemployment problem?

• lower taxes

• create jobs

• give people food

• raise value of Roman money

Some leaders tried taking land from the wealthy and giving it to the poor. You can imagine THAT wasn't very popular with the wealthy!

Roman leaders began to fight with each other in a series of civil wars. A general named Julius Caesar rose to power along with two others, Crassus and Pompey, in the First Triumvirate.

Crassus lost power. Julius Caesar's success in war and popularity with the people set the stage for conflict with Pompey. The two men and their supporting armies fought, and Caesar emerged victorious.

Poll

What do you think happened next?

• Caesar became emperor

• Caesar declared himself dictator for life

• Caesar died in a later battle

Caesar took power and declared himself dictator for life. Many senators didn't support him because they were allies of Pompey. In 44 BCE, Caesar was stabbed to death in the chambers of the Senate.