Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Key Dates from Roman History
- To the Reader
- Introduction: Why Rome?
- 1 Anacyclosis: No Regime Is Exceptional and Democracy Is Not Inevitable
- 2 Mighty Republics Can Fall Because of Slow Corruption Rather Than Dramatic Revolutions
- 3 A Revered Tradition of Liberty Can Be Exploited by Authoritarians
- 4 Economic Inequality Drives Civil Strife
- 5 Political Violence Can Become Normalized
- 6 Strongmen Do Not Save Republics
- 7 The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Need to Be Shared and Extended
- 8 Civic Virtue Is as Important as the Constitution and Laws
- 9 A Reckoning with the Oppressed Cannot Be Denied
- 10 Elections Only Work When Everyone Is Willing to Lose
- 11 Disregard for The Civil Liberties of Some Erodes the Legal Rights of All Citizens
- 12 Military Misadventures Abroad Lead to Instability at Home
- 13 Organized, Armed Gangs Tear Apart a Political System
- 14 Institutions May Not Be Able to Save the Republic
- 15 A Tyrant Backed into a Corner Is a Danger to the Republic
- 16 The Real Problem Is Not Simply a Tyrannical Leader
- 17 Free Speech Can Disappear
- 18 The Crisis Can Be Manufactured to Continue
- 19 The Revolution Can Be Advertised as a Restoration
- 20 Freedom Lost Cannot So Easily Be Regained
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliographic Note
- Index
18 - The Crisis Can Be Manufactured to Continue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 March 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Key Dates from Roman History
- To the Reader
- Introduction: Why Rome?
- 1 Anacyclosis: No Regime Is Exceptional and Democracy Is Not Inevitable
- 2 Mighty Republics Can Fall Because of Slow Corruption Rather Than Dramatic Revolutions
- 3 A Revered Tradition of Liberty Can Be Exploited by Authoritarians
- 4 Economic Inequality Drives Civil Strife
- 5 Political Violence Can Become Normalized
- 6 Strongmen Do Not Save Republics
- 7 The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Need to Be Shared and Extended
- 8 Civic Virtue Is as Important as the Constitution and Laws
- 9 A Reckoning with the Oppressed Cannot Be Denied
- 10 Elections Only Work When Everyone Is Willing to Lose
- 11 Disregard for The Civil Liberties of Some Erodes the Legal Rights of All Citizens
- 12 Military Misadventures Abroad Lead to Instability at Home
- 13 Organized, Armed Gangs Tear Apart a Political System
- 14 Institutions May Not Be Able to Save the Republic
- 15 A Tyrant Backed into a Corner Is a Danger to the Republic
- 16 The Real Problem Is Not Simply a Tyrannical Leader
- 17 Free Speech Can Disappear
- 18 The Crisis Can Be Manufactured to Continue
- 19 The Revolution Can Be Advertised as a Restoration
- 20 Freedom Lost Cannot So Easily Be Regained
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliographic Note
- Index
Summary
The fifteen years following Caesar's assassination were a period of continued instability for Rome, as his successors fought among themselves for supremacy. The Roman people learned a difficult truth—Caesar was not the last tyrant. The Republic was in its last gasps, and if it were to survive it would be dependent on the armies of Brutus and Cassius, but even their victory was uncertain to secure the future of the Republic given all that had happened. In their absence from Rome, Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus formalized their alliance, often called the Second Triumvirate by modern historians. In November 43 BCE, this triumvirate received official status when a law was passed through the assembly of the people granting them a five-year period to put the state in order, which included the authority to make laws, appoint public officials, and allot provinces to governors. There were still elections in Rome, but they were merely affirmations of candidates put forward by the triumvirs, who designated public officials several years in advance, following Caesar's precedent. Even the consuls were now under their authority. One of their first orders of business was to draw up the proscription lists that allowed their opponents, such as Cicero, to be killed without penalty and their property confiscated. Julius Caesar was declared a god by the senate on January 1, 42 BCE, which made Octavian, his adopted son, the son of a god. Caesar's divinization was unprecedented; not since Rome's dim origins had any Roman been made a god, but the Romans would get used to the idea of emperors becoming divine upon their death. Octavian had his own aspirations.
Cassius and Brutus were still in the east with a great many legions, which they had built up over the course of two years. The Triumvirate would need to confront them, which they did at Philippi in the autumn of 42 BCE. Antony and Octavian narrowly emerged victorious. Octavian showed no mercy against his defeated enemies and even had Brutus decapitated, sending his head to Rome as an offering to Caesar. One could argue that the Republic stopped functioning in 49 BCE, but the defeat at Philippi certainly sounded its death knell. The battle of Philippi in 42 BCE represented the final time public armies would fight on behalf of the Republic.
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- On the Fall of the Roman RepublicLessons for the American People, pp. 81 - 84Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022