The Fall of the Roman Republic

Latin And Rome team up

509 BCE

The Treaty of Cassius was a treaty which formed an alliance between the Roman Republic and the Latin League in 493 BC after the Battle of Lake Regillus

The Gauls invade Rome and Destroyed it

390 BCE

The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homelands against an aggressive Roman campaign.

The First Punic War

264 BCE

The First Punic War was a conflict between Rome and Carthage. This was a long war, beginning in 264 BC and not ending until 241 BC. Most of the conflict took place on the island of Sicily, or in the waters surrounding Sicily.

The Patricians and Plebeians in a fight After the Punic War

241 BCE

Many of the plebeians who were farmers before the war came back and found themselves in debt and living in poverty. The farmers had been unable to maintain their farms because they were off fighting in the war and other farmers' land was damaged when Hannibal invaded Italy in the second Punic War. Small farmers could not compete with wealthy Romans who were buying up land to create latifundia, or large farming estates.

The Second Punic War

218 BCE

The Second Punic War was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean

The Third Punic War

149 BCE

The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia.

Politicians organizing entertainment and cheap food helped dishonest rulers come to power

107 BCE

Politicians organizing entertainment and cheap food helped dishonest rulers come to power. One of the rulers who comes to power is named Marius. Marius begins to include the Roman army in the government. Before Marius, the Roman army stayed out of government affairs. Marius recruited soldiers from the poor (since they had all quit farming), and he paid them wages and promised them land.

The Roman army went from citizen volunteers to paid professional soldiers under Marius.

107 BCE

These soldiers were motivated by money and land instead of a sense of duty. They felt loyal to their general and not to the Roman Republic. This let army generals gain more influence and become involved in politics. This new system causes power struggles.

A man named Sulla takes over the government from Marius and makes himself dictator

82 BCE

This went against Rome’s idea of a dictator. Republic ideals slowly start to fade from Rome’s government. Sulla ruled for three years and weakened the government during that time. He eventually steps down hoping Rome can bounce back, however people saw how Sulla had taken power and tried to do the same thing. This leads to a series of civil wars for the next 50 years.

Caesar Takes Control Over rome

49 BCE

He took control of the Roman Empire under the First Triumvirate in 59 B.C.E., eventually assuming sole dictatorship in 46 B.C.E. He held this position until his death at the hands of conspirators in 44 B.C.E.

Caesar Stabbed

44 BCE

Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC.

The Fall of Rome

476

The most straightforward theory for Western Rome's collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire's borders.