Emperor Africanus

By historical accounts, Scipio Africanus was one of the Roman Republic's greatest generals, the man who defeated Hannibal and who laid the foundations for the later expansion of the Roman Empire (not to mention the path to power for Julius Caesar.)

With this in mind, is there any way for Scipio to become the first Roman Emperor? Granted it was against his nature, as he refused to become Dictator or Consul in OTL...but what if things had been different?

What would an earlier Roman Empire have looked like, would it have lasted as long, etc?
 

Typo

Banned
I don't see it happening.

The Punic war era was at the time before the Republican institution was irreparably damaged by the Marian reforms, Gracchus' political violence and Sulla's coup. He could have became one of the most powerful men in Rome, but he couldn't have pulled a Caesar.

Actually come to think of it, maybe if something during the Punic war "fast forwards" Rome's history...
 
By historical accounts, Scipio Africanus was one of the Roman Republic's greatest generals, the man who defeated Hannibal and who laid the foundations for the later expansion of the Roman Empire (not to mention the path to power for Julius Caesar.)

With this in mind, is there any way for Scipio to become the first Roman Emperor? Granted it was against his nature, as he refused to become Dictator or Consul in OTL...but what if things had been different?

What would an earlier Roman Empire have looked like, would it have lasted as long, etc?

How does he maintain his power? If he takes over by force, his armies and thus the backbone of his power disappear next growing season. He'll have to fall into a ton or more of money in order to hire mercenaries. That's the main obstacle - making sure he has the troops to back any takeover attempt. And if he does take over by force, at a time when the Roman people aren't accustomed to that sort of thing (as Typo mentioned) he probably loses popular support as well. At that point he becomes a tyrant, ruling by a precarious weight of force, with lots of angry and wealthy nobles forced to the side by his takeover. That's not a recipe for longevity at any point in history.
 
Simple answer--no, not really.

Long answer--the Republic was still pretty strong then. In point of fact, Scipio wound up a virtual exile because he was suspected of being a potential king of Rome.
 
I don't see it happening.

The Punic war era was at the time before the Republican institution was irreparably damaged by the Marian reforms, Gracchus' political violence and Sulla's coup. He could have became one of the most powerful men in Rome, but he couldn't have pulled a Caesar.

Actually come to think of it, maybe if something during the Punic war "fast forwards" Rome's history...

Then the true question is: WI those three things (or something that resembling them) happened earlier in Roman Republic, so that Scipio can seize the state for himself...?
 
Well, seeing as the Punic Wars set the stage for all those things happening, you'd basically change history so much that it's unlikely that Scipio would have the achievements that made him famous in the first place.
 
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