Title: FC31: The Fall of the Roman Republic (133-31 BCE) - The Flow of History
Headings: FC31:
The Fall of the Roman Republic (133-31 BCE)

FC31: The Fall of the Roman Republic (133-31 BCE)
Pattern of decline
First attempts at reform: the Gracchi
Marius and the Roman army
Sulla and the First Civil War
The rise of Julius Caesar
Octavian, Antony, and two more civil wars (44-31 B.C.E.)

Content: Marius took the final steps of making it just that, with volunteers serving instead of peasants hauled off their farms. Marius' recruits came largely from the unemployed mob lured by the promise of land after their service was over. This had three main effects. For one thing, since these recruits were too poor to supply their own equipment, the state had to supply it, thus making equipment and training more regular and the army more efficient. Along these lines, professional soldiers could devote all their time to training which, combined with the proverbially tough Roman discipline, also made for a very effective army. The third effect had to do with getting recruits. The main inducement to serve was that after his term of service, a veteran would receive a plot of land on which to start his own farm. However, since each general had to get a separate land bill passed by the Senate for his particular army, the soldier looked to his general for a land settlement. Therefore, the troops' loyalty tended to belong to the individual generals rather than the Senate. This meant that a new element, generals backed by their own armies, had become a factor in Roman politics.