Who were the most famous or influencial Republican Romans?

Well, we all know the Emperors but not a lot of light is shed on the Pre-Imperial Romans. Less drama I suppose. Anyway, who are the most influencial or famous Republican Roman figures in Roman History?

Marius and his reforms I would put forward forwmost for he revolutionized the Roman army that would eventually cause the rise of the Imperial period.
 
Well, we all know the Emperors but not a lot of light is shed on the Pre-Imperial Romans. Less drama I suppose. Anyway, who are the most influencial or famous Republican Roman figures in Roman History?

Marius and his reforms I would put forward forwmost for he revolutionized the Roman army that would eventually cause the rise of the Imperial period.

The so called Marian reforms developed over a timeframe of about 100 years. Marius himself did not contribute that much. The cohort structure, the standardized equipment and training and even the recruitment of proletarians was introduced by other romans.

But looking to his political life, he surely belongs to the most important republicans.
 
Well, we all know the Emperors but not a lot of light is shed on the Pre-Imperial Romans. Less drama I suppose. Anyway, who are the most influencial or famous Republican Roman figures in Roman History?

Marius and his reforms I would put forward forwmost for he revolutionized the Roman army that would eventually cause the rise of the Imperial period.

a reasonable selection would certainly include Marius and also include Sulla, Scipio Africanus, Fabius, Crassus, Pompey and of course, Julius Ceaser himself.
If fame is the key and not power/influence one would include Cicero, Brutus, and Cato the Censor, and possibly the Grachae.
 
a reasonable selection would certainly include Marius and also include Sulla, Scipio Africanus, Fabius, Crassus, Pompey and of course, Julius Ceaser himself.
If fame is the key and not power/influence one would include Cicero, Brutus, and Cato the Censor, and possibly the Grachae.

Brutus the leader of the Optimates in the Caesarian Civil War was descendant from Lucius Junius Brutus, considered the "founder" of the Republic for leading the revolt that ouster the Etruscan Kings. Even late in the Principate there were Emperors who refered to Brutus as the father of the Republic.

There were figures who became almost legendary in the time when Rome was but a city-state struggling against other polities in Latium, such as Marcus Furius Camillus, honored as the "Second Founder of Rome" (after Romulus). The Cornelli Scipiones - Africanus who defeated Hannibal and Asiaticus who wrecked the remaining influence of the Seleucids in Anatolia.

Other famous figures were already mentioned - Fabius Maximus (whose name led to the expression "Fabian strategy"), L. Cornelius Sulla, C. Pompeius Magnus, G. Julius Caesar... the Gracchi brothers were instrumental in the political reforms that granted a lot more status to the so-called Plebeians (which, in reality, meant the increasing influence of the Equestrian class, whose apogee came in the late stage of the Principate).

Really, what we know as "the Roman Empire" was actually built within the timespan of the Republic.
 
Caesar. Everybody knows Ceasar. Even people don't knowing anything about Augustus, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian etc. know that Caesar was that Roman general fighting against the Gauls.

Problem is that most of such people believe that Caesar was an emperor, so there is a contradiction with the republic-part in your question.

Well, we all know the Emperors but not a lot of light is shed on the Pre-Imperial Romans.

Ask a child of your choice about the Romans - he will remember his comics and name Caesar.
 
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