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In the chaos after the assassination of Caligula, the Senate supposedly tried to declare the end of the Principate, and the revival of the actual republic. However, the Praetorian Guards wanted an emperor to dominate and cadge favors from, and, if we believe the legend, found Claudius hiding in the bushes, and immediately raised him to the purple. Was the Senate actually serious about wanting a restoration? How could the Praetorians have been mollified or overpowered? How would the regular army and provincial governors react? Could the restoration have been successful long-term, or would the same factors that caused the fall of the First Republic doom the Second?
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