HIST 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Roman Citizenship, Publican, Social Mobility
Document Summary
Republic to empire 1: five crises of the late republic. The roman republic isn"t able to solve these 5 problems, and it causes the political system to break down over time. 133 bc is commonly seen as the beginning of the breakdown of the roman republic system. Already kind of hinted at economic crises - profound economic change in italy as a result of roman conquest. The introduction of great amounts of wealth (manubia - plunder, loot) stimulated the system - they made monuments and spaces for the public. However, land is also bought by powerful aristocrats and farmed by slaves. This consequence leads to a real economic crisis. More and more disposed poor romans and italians. Poor people losing out as a result of the empire"s conquests. These people are also the ones who served in the legion. The romans are having a harder and harder time getting enough people to serve in the military.