05-26-2015, 09:02 PM
No. There was too much money/too much power at stake and the Senate did not have a means of controlling it. The 2-year consul system was inefficient for making executive decisions. Also, you had the cultural system of patronage ingrained into the political system, which meant a few rich, powerful individuals were the only "players" and were in constant competition with one another. Add to that, the founding mythology of Roma was based on obtaining political power through violence and murder. Once people accepted murder as a legitimate means of solving internal political problems (murder of Gracchi & Cicero's handling of the Cataline conspiracy), the system was bound to disintegrate.
It is surprising the "republic" lasted as long as it did.
Read Rubicon, which does a good job of detailing all of the various cultural forces at play.
And, as a matter of political history, republics are not generally long-lasting and tend to fall apart quickly once there are major wars and/or the polity winds up controlling an empire.
It is surprising the "republic" lasted as long as it did.
Read Rubicon, which does a good job of detailing all of the various cultural forces at play.
And, as a matter of political history, republics are not generally long-lasting and tend to fall apart quickly once there are major wars and/or the polity winds up controlling an empire.
There are some who call me ......... Tim?
