Transcript Fall of the Roman Republic

I came…
I saw…
I had a salad.
Julius Caesar
1. Rome needed tax money to run the
Republic.
2. Elected officials were using their positions
to get rich.
3. Rome did not have a police force.
• The government needed to pay the legions
(military), and build roads, sewers, aqueducts,
and arenas
• Many poor plebs result in social welfare
programs that need funding
• Response: Tax Farmers!
• Pay a flat fee (albeit a high fee) to the
Senate of the Roman Republic
– Poof…You’re a “tax farmer”
• No rules on how much a tax farmer
could charge, or even that the charges
had to be fair, or based on income or
earnings
– If you did not pay the taxes you owed,
according to the amount set by the tax
collector in your region, you could be sold
into slavery.
• No law against buying votes, so
if you had enough money, you
could get elected to government.
• Also, many elected officials
accepted bribes to change the
laws or to add new ones.
– Result: Nepotism, and a poorly
functioning government
Don’t tell..I’m
peeking!
• Rome's streets were not safe during
the day; they were deadly after dark.
• Wealthy had their own personal armies
to escort them throughout Rome
• Desperately poor people = rise in
crime rates
• No money for government to fund a
police force
Hello, my
name is
Rome…and
I’m a mess!
• Julius Caesar, a highly
respected and famous
general, told the people, "I
can solve Rome's
problems.“
• Becomes dictator and
creates an empire
I got this
guys…
• Held just about every important title in the
Roman Republic including consul, tribune of
the people, high commander of the army, and
high priest.
• He suggested new laws, most of which were
approved by the Senate.
• He reorganized the army.
• He improved the way the provinces were
governed.