What were some of the critcal problems face the republic?

Answer 1

The Roman Republic was brought down by the weight of imperial expansion. The central government had become dysfunctional, and lost control over the provinces (conquered territories). The governors of the provinces became unruly and treated their provinces as if they were their personal fiefs. Tax collection in the provinces was carried out by private collectors who 'farmed' the taxes to line their pockets. Corruption was rampant. There was mass poverty. The army was professionalised. This made the soldiers loyal to the commanders of their legions who could use them to obtain what they wanted through the threat of or the use of military violence. In 71 BC Crassus and Pompey encamped their troops outside Rome to have themselves elected as consuls (the two annually elected heads of the Republic). Pompey was not even eligible on the grounds of being below the required age and of not having served some public offices which were required before the consulship. In 88 BC Sulla entered the city of Rome with his troops during his first civil war against forces of Marius, even though Roman religion forbade the bearing of arms within the city walls. The senators were seen as being concerned with the interests of the aristocracy, rather than those of the poor and were unpopular among the middle and lower classes. They were also seen as being corrupt.

Another problem in the Late Republic was the increase in the number of dispossessed peasants who lost their land to the expanding landed estates which used slave labour. These people flocked to Rome to try to eke out a living, swelling the masses of the poor in the city. The problem of poverty became a political hot potato which led to the conflict between the populares and the optimates. The former was a political faction which championed the cause of the poor and tried to introduce reforms to help them. The latter was a conservative political faction which favoured the aristocracy and opposed reforms. The clash between these two factions was a major factor which led to civil wars.

In the last 64 years of the Republic there were 12 civil wars. Most of them were related to clashes between strong military leaders and the conflict between populares and optimates spilling into violence. These civil wars eventually led to the fall of the Republic. It was replaced by absolute rule by one man: the emperor.