2.) Describe the crisis of the Roman Republic and the reform attempts to consolidate it. [angoltortenelem]

2.) Describe the crisis of the Roman Republic and the reform attempts to consolidate it.

-Expansion of Rome:

-the city state of Rome developped to be an empire

-positive side: economic growth

-negative side:

-tons of grain were poured to Rome –> dorve down the prices –> small farmers could not compete, went bankrupt, and were forced to sell their land –> big landowners bought their land and created latiphundia

-landless farmers moved to Rome, created a restless mob, and joined to the unemployed soldiers

-Military crisis: earlier free peasants made up the army, but as they lost their land they became unemployed

-lots of slaves were used as cheap labour –> On the one hand it caused competition between the smallholders, who could not buy them, and went bankrupt. On the other hand it also caused slave rebellions. (household slavery –> ˝classical˝ slavery – slaves were involved in production too)

-Political crisis:

-corruption: poor citizens sold their vote

-the city state grew to an empire but its offices were not able to serve the needs of the empire

-Cultural crisis: There was a conflict between the traditionalists and the supporters of Helenistic ideas.

-Reforms:

-Tiberius & Caius Gracchus (133 B.C.):

-land reforms: limitation of the size of latiphundia

-wanted to extend political rights

-121 B.C. –> Caius wanted to extend the land reform to the provinces

-Licinius´ law (364 B.C.) :biggest land could be 500 jugerum

-unsuccessful, but 60000 peasants got land

-Marius (108 B.C.):

-reformed the army –> established the mercanary army –> landless peasants could serve, and after 16 years of service they got land and became veterans

-he was a consul for 5 years

-Sulla (88 B.C.):

-became a dictator, had a bloody rule, and was finally chased away

-doubled the number of the members of the Senate from 300 to 600

-Livius Drusus:

-land reform –> gave land and citizenship to the Italian allies

-Julius Caesar:

-60 B.C.: first triumvirat (three-men-comission –> Pompei, Crassus, Caesar)

-land reform –> gave land to landless peasants

-reform of the Senate –> increased the number of the members of the Senate to 900 (from 600), and put his own men into it

-calendar reform: leapyear, 12 months

-money reform

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