Title: How the Roman Republic Transformed Into the Roman Empire | by Tyler Piteo-Tarpy | Medium
Headings: How the Roman Republic Transformed Into the Roman Empire
How the Roman Republic Transformed Into the Roman Empire
From The Gracchi’s Riots to Caesar’s Civil War
Introduction
The Gracchi
Julius Caesar
Conclusion
Bibliography

Content: Julius Caesar, on the opposite end of this supposedly revolutionary period, proves Flower and Osgood right along with Gruen. Julius Caesar
Before Caesar though, there was another important example of class division: the civil war between Marius, backed by the Populares, and Sulla, backed by the Optimates. This period was still consistent with the division seen throughout Roman history; however, it is also a smaller example of the adaptation and transformation that lead to the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. Notably, it is in this period that the Roman army became a professional force, an adaptation to fit the needs of an expanding empire with more enemies, and it is in this period that the armies became loyal to generals over the state, a consequence of Roman expansion and transformation into a world state. These changes and their implications are what allow the Caesarian civil war to ultimately have the largest impact on Rome’s development into an Empire. Julius Caesar, like the Gracchi, came from a patrician family with his father’s lineage going back to the founders of Rome and his mother’s lineage going back to the kings of Rome. However, his family hadn’t been in positions of power for some time, so Caesar took it upon himself to restore power to his name. Again, like the Gracchi, Caesar’s motivations weren’t revolutionary, just driven by Mos Maiorum and Dignitas, and he also looked to the plebians to gain that prestige.