PODs For A Prolonged Roman Republic
- Thread starter Pericles
- Start date
I'd say the breaking point would be around the time of the Marian reforms, which modernized the structure of the military without doing the same for the government. There were some efforts by other politicians to reform the system in various ways, but nothing was achieved prior to the Social War, which, while it did reform the relationship between the city of Rome and the other cities of Italy, it did not reform the structure of the government itself.
UNRV has a satisfactory overview of the political troubles prior to the social war here:
http://www.unrv.com/empire/political-turmoil.php
UNRV has a satisfactory overview of the political troubles prior to the social war here:
http://www.unrv.com/empire/political-turmoil.php
Can I have the Roman Empire last until the modern day and then just have it gradually in modern times return to a better and more stable republic?
I specifically said that was out of the question. You can have the Republic survive into the modern-day as a prosperous democracy though.
I think the crucial time period is the decade before the Social War. If the reforms of Drusus had been pushed through- even if Drusus died shortly afterwards once his personal gains from the law had been dsicovered- then the incredibly damaging Social War might have been avoided. Moreover, with those reforms the Republic would have been much stronger constitutionally. It would still have needed to reassert control of the military, but so long as the legions aren't fighting on Italian soil that's easier to do.
birdboy2000
Banned
Save the Gracchi. Their reforms would've given the common Roman a much greater stake in the Republic, instead of letting it devolve into an optimate senate who couldn't care less about the poor vs. populist dictators.
On the other hand, the Gracchi also revived the old "plebs vs aristocracy" conflict that had long been kept quiet.
birdboy2000
Banned
I got the sense it was revived before the Gracchi - their policies were a response to the deteriorating position of the plebs. Their murder certainly made it clear that these policies could not be addressed through democratic means, however.
I concur, save the Gracchi! But with so much force arrayed against them how can they be saved without ripping the Republic we are trying to save wide open along the Patrician/Plebeian Divide?
The reforms of Marius built an army that was intended for fighting northern barbarians but ended up being primarily used to fight other Roman Legions. So no Marian reforms as others have suggested?
Hero of Canton
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
I've tended toward the idea that Pompey winning Pharsalus can, with the right (though still plausible) subsequent reforms, keep the Republic going for more than a century. Though this is not, I should note, without it's controversy.