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: 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. While Caesar was plagued by conflict with the Optimates throughout his life, what’s interesting is that his greatest rival, Pompey, was not a member of the Optimates, and this is where Flower’s adaptation thesis and Osgood’s transformation thesis prove themselves. Pompey rose to power without going through the Cursus Honorum, partially because of the support of the people, but also because of how Marius’ military reforms gave him a loyal private army; the power balance between classes had been broken by the interjection of this new way to gain power. As Flower believes, “ There was…no single ancient Republic that became fossilized and outlived its usefulness or its historical mission. Rather a series of republics, some more stable and successful than others, reflected the intense political culture after the end of the monarchy ” (Flower, Roman Republics, 22).