HIST 2100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Scipio Aemilianus, Gaius Gracchus, Hellenistic Greece
19 Nov 2014
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Lecture 4: how did the political system work in the roman republic: polybius and the republican constitution, kingly element. 3rd quarter of the 2nd century, some members of rome"s governing elite began to base their position in the city more on their ability to court popularity and less so on their standing with fellow senators. Some of these men wanted to reach new heights of power and glory. The shift they initiated represented a return to an older style of leadership, before the reforms of the late 4th and early 3rd centuries began to elevate the senate above individual officeholder. Officeholders, by law, possessed considerable powers of self-assurance, and there was nothing the senate could do if these people chose to pursue popular support through that power. Because of the nature of the roman political order, there was even more of a divide or gap between the rich and the poor which became more noticeable.
