133-49 BC
The decline and fall of the Roman Republic

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Rome is traditionally thought to have been founded by Romulus in 752 BC. It is the capital of the Latins, one of the many tribes that then occupy Italy, each ruled by a king. Following the overthrow of the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus – an Etruscan adventurer – in about 509 BC, it is governed as a republic, with power in the hands of the Senate, whose members are drawn from the Roman aristocracy (see Politics). However, Rome's institutions – established for a state made up primarily of citizen farmers – are ill-equipped to cope with the consequences of the defeat of Carthage at the end of the 3rd century BC and the 2nd-century BC conquest of most of the rest of the Mediterranean.

The newly rich, who have prospered with the extension of trade and empire, resent their exclusion from power by the old aristocracy. The urban poor, who have been gathering in Rome in growing numbers as large estates and slave labour displace free peasant farmers, are increasingly discontented. And the army, now more numerous, independent and powerful than ever, is giving birth to new generations of military leaders, who are happy to use the personal loyalty of their troops to pursue their political ambitions.

The first major crisis for the Republic occurs in 133-132 BC, when the tribune Tiberius Gracchus uses the previously dormant Popular Assembly to get approval for a programme of food distribution and land grants to the poor. He is murdered by a group of senators, angered by the threat this poses to their power and wealth. It is the first such murder in the political life of the Republic; there will be many more.

Key events in the decline of the Republic

123 BC Tiberius Gracchus's brother Gaius proposes a new round of reforms to benefit the urban poor and to extend citizenship rights to Rome's Italian allies. He commits suicide when his followers are massacred on the Senate's orders.

107 BC Gaius Marius is given command of the army, which he reorganises into a professional force drawn mainly from the urban proletariat and owing loyalty to its military leaders.

91 BC Drusus, another tribune proposing reforms, is murdered in Rome, triggering the Social War, through which Rome's Italian allies achieve citizenship rights.

88 BC Sulla, a former lieutenant of Marius who has been given command of the army to fight Mithradates VI in Roman Asia Minor, refuses to give up his command when the Popular Assembly appoints Marius in his place. Instead, he marches on Rome.

82 BC Sulla, returning victorious from Roman Asia Minor, gets himself appointed dictator 'to save the state'. His reign of terror lasts until his retirement in 80 BC.

77 BC Even before Sulla's death in 79 BC, one of Marius's followers, Sertorius, establishes a breakaway republic in Spain. In 77 BC, Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey) is appointed to deal with the rebels. Not until after Sertorius's assassination in 72 BC is he finally successful.

73-71 BC A slave uprising led by Spartacus, from the gladiators' school at Capua, is eventually crushed by Crassus, with Pompey arriving from Spain just in time to join in the slaves' final defeat. Crassus and Pompey become joint consuls in 70 BC.

63 BC The orator Cicero exposes a conspiracy to overthrow the Republic by the senator Catiline.

62 BC Pompey returns to Rome after campaigns during which he rids the Mediterranean of pirates and defeats Mithradates in the east. He disbands his army but, without it, is forced into an alliance with Crassus and the increasingly powerful Julius Caesar.

60 BC Pompey, Crassus and Caesar form the First Triumvirate, with effective control over the Republic.

58-51 BC After becoming consul in 59 BC, Julius Caesar is engaged for most of the decade in the Gallic Wars, eventually defeating and capturing Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, in 52 BC. He is hugely popular with his troops and is prepared to use this popularity for his own advantage.

53 BC Crassus is killed, along with most of his men, in battle against the Parthians at Carrhae.

52 BC Following riots in Rome, during which the Senate House is burned down, Pompey is appointed sole consul and restores order. Over the next two years, he emerges as the guardian of senatorial power against Caesar's perceived ambitions. As Cicero puts it: 'Pompey is determined that Caesar shall not become consul unless he hands over his army and provinces; Caesar is convinced that he will never be safe if he relinquishes his army.' He is right to be afraid: the Senate issues a senatus consultum ultimum, an emergency decree of the kind that led to the deaths without trial of Gaius Gracchus, Catiline and others.

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