Roman Dictatorship

Roman Dictatorship

In the confusion caused by various attempts at social reform by the Republic, dictatorship began to take shape. Military men who had the support of an army took over Rome and its colonies. Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla were the first two military dictators of Rome. It became clear that anyone with sufficient military backing could overthrow the constitutional government. In this manner Rome lost its democratic roots. In 60BC, Gnaeus Pompeus, Licinius Crassus, and Julius Caesar took over. They formed The First Triumvirate. This was an agreement between the three of them to rule jointly over the Empire. Each man dominated sections of Rome's vast land holdings. As the first two died in battle, eventually Julius Caesar,captured in this marble bust, was left alone to rule over Rome as self appointed dictator. He was assassinated by citizens attempting to recover the constitutional government. After Caesar's death , his son, Octavian became Rome's first Emperor. He officially gave power back to the Senate, but retained ultimate power by keeping a position of highest authority and power for himself. [JG] {OT}