10. The Death of the Republic¶
Core Argument¶
Caesar’s return to Rome in August 46 BC, after nine months in the East, was marked by a spectacular triumph financed by the booty of conquest. He replenished the treasury, paid his soldiers, and adopted moderate measures to conciliate the aristocracy, avoiding Sulla’s reign of terror. He banned unauthorised clubs, restricted the grain dole, and used looted wealth to pay the army and establish colonies for veterans in the provinces, without expropriating Italian slave-owners. On debt, he offered limited relief but refused general cancellation, which would have destroyed private property. He packed the Senate, increasing it from 600 to 900 with loyal supporters, bankers, and provincials, while fixing elections years ahead. Having himself declared dictator for life, he appeared in a purple toga and consorted with Cleopatra. A conspiracy led by Brutus and Cassius assassinated him on the Ides of March 44 BC, believing his removal would restore the Republic. Yet the Republic was already dead, for the old economic and class relations that sustained it had vanished. Individual terrorism expressed the conspirators’ weakness, and their actions only ushered in the Empire.
After Caesar’s murder, the conspirators were isolated and crushed, accelerating the Republic’s destruction. Mark Antony initially led the Caesarists, but faced rivalry from Octavian, Caesar’s legal heir. After defeating Antony at Mutina in 43 BC, Octavian formed the Second Triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. They defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in 42 BC and divided the provinces via the Brundisium Agreement. The Triumvirs launched proscriptions, described by Syme as a levy on capital, targeting the rich regardless of political alignment, with freedmen profiting from confiscated estates. Octavian secured backing from wealthy bankers. He sidelined Lepidus, then turned public opinion against Antony using his will, which promised legacies to Cleopatra’s children and requested burial in Alexandria. Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC. Augustus then concentrated all power, retaining imperium over the legions while maintaining republican pretence as princeps. Tacitus notes the nobility accepted slavery for wealth and office. The state was transformed: the destruction of the free peasantry, reliance on a mercenary army, and a mass lumpenproletariat created deadlock. Neither class could prevail, so the state imposed absolute rule to prevent society’s self-destruction. The ‘Roman Revolution’ altered only the political superstructure, preserving the slave system and private property. Under Augustus, the rich flourished in extravagant luxury, while the imperial state remained a machine for holding down slaves and extracting provincial plunder.