Ancient history

7. Moral Decline of the Roman Republic

Roman disillusionment with the Republic

After the fall of Carthage, the capture of slaves from the defeated countries intensified. Huge herds of slaves began to be transported in ships to Rome. These were bought by the wealthy landowners of Rome and put to work in their fields.

Thus the rich of Rome became even richer while the people of Rome still stood there. His pockets were empty, his heart was sad, and he had a feeling of scorn and hatred for the Roman Republic. The Senate did not like him at all and he had lost faith in the council. Bribery and corruption in the Senate elections were no longer hidden from the public eye.

Earning from Gladiators

Rome's armies captured negroes from the African shores, who sold them as slaves to earn a lot of money for the Republic of Rome. They were entrusted with heavy tasks ranging from working in the fields to carrying stones for large buildings, pounding the road, chopping wood from the forests, grazing cattle and hunting wild animals.

After the fall of Carthage, slaves arrived in Rome in such large numbers that not all of them could be employed. So he was put on the job of entertaining. Rich people would give arms to their slaves and set them in front of each other and get sword fighting between them.

In these fake battles, the slaves would have suffered real injuries, shed real blood, and even died. These slave warriors were called gladiators. Every warrior fought till his last breath to save his life. Because of this, these matches were extremely gruesome and terrifying.

Hundreds of Romans gathered to watch these competitions. This crowd used to pay money to the owners of the gladiators to watch these bouts. Gradually this game got so much fame in Rome that it became the main game of Rome. The slaves on either side, with swords, spears and bridles in their hands, were ruthlessly beaten to death like pedestrians in a game of chess, and the Romans would rejoice at their cries.

The maneuvers performed by the gladiators to save their lives and kill the opponent used to reach the peak of the excitement of the spectators. Thus now gladiators fighting became a business rather than a sport and adventure. Many people started getting rich by taking off their gladiators in this sport. In a way, it became a game like earning by fighting chickens and goats, in which humans fought instead of animals and birds.

Earlier, when the slaves were captured and brought to Rome, they were satisfied with getting enough food, shelter and clothes and despite working hard they did not try to run away but when they started being made gladiators, they often got the opportunity and ran into the jungles. . Very few of them were able to be captured and brought back.

So gladiators were kept locked in strong cells. They were given good food in the chambers so that they could stay fit and win the playground and fill their master's vault with money. On the other hand, gladiators who fled to the forests often became food for wild animals.

Gladiators Rebellion

One day the riots started in the Republic of Rome. These disturbances were perpetrated by slaves and gladiators brought from African shores. Hundreds of Gladiators 'Spartak' Revolted under the leadership of a gladiator named These people broke into the streets of Rome by breaking the doors of the closed cells and started killing the 'patricians' of Rome, that is, the rich people.

The revolt of the gladiators was ruthlessly suppressed by the Roman armies. They were found and killed. 'Epion' in the city of Rome Six thousand slaves, most of whom were gladiators, were crucified together on a road called

Civil War in Rome

There was no peace in Rome even after the suppression of the gladiators. Violence and riots continued on the streets of the capital as before, but this time their command was in the hands of powerful wealthy landlords fighting for nomination to the Senate. The common man of Rome was still sitting quietly in their homes with sadness in their hearts and hatred in their hearts.

He probably didn't even have the capacity to make a revolution. Bloody battles broke out in the streets between the armies of rivals seeking entry into the Senate. Rome's power was not spent in suppressing the enemies, but in killing each other. Due to this, the Roman armies began to appear scattered and soon they had to taste defeat on the fronts outside the country, which was completely new to the Roman warriors.

Massive defeat of the Republic of Rome in Parthav

The Romans believed that the republican system they had established in their kingdom to run the system is the best among all the systems in the world. No one can ever defeat it, but at the time when the rich-landlord class of Rome was bleeding each other on the streets for the nomination in the Senate, the armies of Rome were fighting a big war in a country called Parthav.

'Battle of Kaire' The armies of Rome were badly defeated. The Roman army in Parthav was completely destroyed and its tents were looted. This shameful defeat was a great blow to a powerful republic like Rome. Due to this defeat, the illusion of the Romans being invincible was shattered. This was one of the major events of the Senate's rule and was considered a major failure of the republic.

Ruler of Egypt's authority over Rome

About 325 years before the birth of Christ, the Greek general of Macedon Ptolemy Soter (I) founded the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was an assistant to the Macedonian king Alexander, and after the death of Alexander, he established an independent kingdom in Egypt. Since then his dynasty has been ruling Egypt.

After the earthly defeat of Rome, the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy (XII) took control of Rome. This defeat proved very fatal for the Roman Republic. Rome, which had known only to conquer and rule other countries, now became its colony after being overthrown by Egypt. The Egyptian governors came and sat on the Roman Ganapatis.

Therefore, in the Roman Republic, there was a belief that the rich-landlords who were competing with each other in the republic system could not protect Rome. Many Romans were beginning to feel that monarchical rule was better than a republic which could fight with full force against the country's enemies.