Fractures: Political identity in the fall of the Roman Republic

Abstract

This academic thesis examines the development and changes in Political Identity in the Late Roman Republic. After an overview of the Roman institutions and societal patterns among Roman citizens, the work goes on to examine the events of the Late Republican period and how political identities for both powerful and ordinary individuals developed and changed during its course. The main argument of this thesis is that during the Late Republic, the more divisive notion of political identity became the most important factor in the identities of individual Romans, replacing the older, broader “national” identity which had been so prevalent during earlier periods. This shift, coupled with the highly competitive nature of Roman politics, self-perpetuated, and fostered the conditions for the end of Republican rule. The time period being examined is from 133 B.C to 44 A.D The major events examined include the Tribunates of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, the seditions of Sulpicius and Saturninus, the Social War, the Consulships of Gaius Marius and the subsequent civil wars between him and Sulla, the revolts of Lepidus and Sertorius, the conspiracy of Cataline, and the assassination of Julius Caesar.