Final exam- Anch1250

Joel Richards

S4698742

Part B essay 1

The population data with relevant hoards on the period. This hoard data is a very good way for historians
to be able to accurately record and know when wars or other issues facing the Roman people occurred.
This hoard data and census data spike and dip respectively in the year 215 BCE roughly is when
Hannibal managed to cross the Alps and enter the Italian peninsula which shows as unsurprisingly the
number of hoards increased drastically as many families would have been at risk of being plundered
and this also shows in the sudden dip of population due to the toll on war it had on the population.
During this time Romans were very uncertain about the future of the state due to Hannibal’s multiple
victories and the famine that was brought from the war as well is what would have led to such a sudden
and drastic population decline during that period of Rome. Subsequently directly after the 2nd Punic war
there is a large lack of hoards found and the population increases quite quickly compared to the previous
century this lack of hoard data can however be just that there is a lack of hoards of that time period
being found by historians. Though the great drop in hoards during the period can still be attested to the
wars end and a time of relative peace with the next spike not occurring for another fifty years in 150
BCE. This period during 150 BCE one major war the Rome fought in that is the most likely cause for
the small population drop and the rise in hoards once again is the Numentine war in which tribes in
Hispania fought against the Roman Legions1 however this war was not as large as the Punic war and
due to therefore the population only dropped slightly and the hoard data is only a fraction of the Punic
war period. After this war the Hoards begin to increase in prevalence again possibly due to the rising
instability of the Roman republic and many issues becoming apparent such as the third Punic war
occurring and then Gracchi agrarian land reform in the late 2nd century BCE began to plateau Romes
population. This can be seen as just after the 2nd century BCE the number of hoards sky rocketed which
cannot be just due to the number found by historian but shows the current setting of Rome during that
period as the Republic began to faulter as more issues became apparent. The years leading up to 50
BCE saw the decline in population and a surge in hoards due to the number of wars occurring at these
times. This period was also a period of many political assassinations and destabilised the Roman
republic, other factors such as the climate also effected the population but would have had less impact
on the hoards this is due to the decrease in temperature changing growing times for crops in the
Mediterranean. During these years the hoards remained reasonably high but surged again along with a
sudden drop in population not observed since the Punic wars. This sudden change would have been due
to Caesars civil war which occurred at the same time and would have led Romans to hoard their gold
during this time of strife.

1
Lusitanian War — Google Arts & Culture
Part B part II:

Answering question: the history of the Roman Republic the story of the decline of the influence of the
Senate?

The Roman senate was established in 753 BCE the same time Rome was established according to the
tradition of Rome’s founders, but this was during the period of Rome’s monarchy. They did not gain
full power until around 500 BCE where Rome no longer had a King and they obtained absolute power
over all aspects of Rome. The Roman republic only lasted around 500 years before the empire took its
place but the senate lost its influence long before that. The Roman republics history is an accurate
summary of how the senate declines in power and influence over the years. The 2nd Punic war is a good
example of the initial decline of the senate as they could not solve the crisis on their own and needed to
elect a single person to be consul then dictator. This was only the beginning of the decline of the senate
as political power became more and more important to the individual senators. As is the case with
Gracchus when he attempted the Agrarian law reforms which would have solved many of Rome’s
current problems and solved a lot of the homelessness facing Roman citizens was revoked. This was
duet to many of the senators feeling threatened of losing their estates of land.2 Both of the Gracchi
brother who were set to help and assist Rome’s citizens were both killed by what is essentially the
senate as they sanctioned both their murders. This period of the Republic begins to show the cracks
within the senate as they begin to put their own interests above that of the Republics people and the fear
of losing such power is what drives many murders sanctioned by the senate showing their losing
influence as they try hold onto to this power. This begins to show over the course of the 1st century BCE
with the creation of the second Triumvirate consisting of Antony, Julius Caesar and Pompey who all
began to gain power and influence throughout Rome very quickly and this marks the end of much of
the Senates influence as in their attempt to hold onto power and get rid of Caesar he gains all their
power and influence as they lose all of it to one man. This decline of influence is most observable during
this period as they become more and more desperate to hold onto power and this leads them to kill
Caesar to uphold their own powers. The last 40 years of the 1st century BCE is where all the influence
of the Senate fades as Augustus Caesar is given more and more power and influence over Roman
politics all given to him by the waning senate. The senates influence was always going to decline due
to its many internal problems that it faced, these problems is what led to the rise of the dictators of the
first century BCE and the creation of the Roman empire. This is largely due to the senators putting their
own agenda instead of the issues that plagued the Roman republic and they actively tried to subdue
those that opposed the republic such as the Gracchi that ultimately led to the loss of all their influence.

2
10000 years of economy - Failure of the Gracchi's reforms (citeco.fr)