What If Rome‘s Republic Survived? | Alternate History
While the Imperial era of Rome is perhaps best remembered by us today, it’s sometimes forgotten that the quote unquote “Roman Empire”, wasn’t always an empire. What began as a kingdom housed within the confines of a city quickly grew to encompass nearly all of the Italian peninsula under the command of what had become the Roman Republic, a state which would exist for over five centuries before it was finally succeeded by the Empire we all know.
According to legend, the Roman Kingdom had eventually come under the rule of Etruscan descendant kings for three generations, and it was during the reign of the excessively tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus that the Roman populations finally had enough. Lucius and his son, Sextus Traquinius’s actions would see him deposed, and for centuries, tarnish the very concept of a king throughout the Roman world.
What followed was the establishment of the consulship with Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus serving together as Rome’s first consuls, the highest elected office in the new Roman Republic.
While the Republic took on a more democratic character, the greatest political power remained exclusive to families of high-birth, who historically had demonstrated exceptional capability in leadership, skill in combat, and overall richness in wisdom, making up an elite class known as the Patricians. According to legend, these families who would make up the Patrician class were descendants of the first 100 senators that Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, had appointed based on their exceptional merit.
On the other side existed the Plebs, commoners of the Roman Republic. Alternatively to the legend of the 100 Senators, some have suggested that the distinction between Patricians and Plebs had been along ethnic or tribal lines, Patricians being direct descendants of the original Roman settlement, while those newly integrated by Rome came to form the Pleb class.
Despite the divides between the two classes, some Plebs did succeed in going above and beyond their contemporaries, achieving notable government and military positions, joining the aristocracy, but the key word is “some”; see, the early Republic only conscripted property-owning, tax-paying citizens between the ages of 16 and 46, sending it’s recruits off on what were typically brief campaigns in relatively nearby areas: Farms would be left behind, and expected to be picked back up once the campaign ended, but land-owning Plebs found it increasingly difficult to maintain and hold onto their property as Rome grew larger, and campaigns took longer, consequently, as these Plebs were now landless, they were also disqualified from military duty, leading to a shortage of soldiers.
This loss of property paired with a lack of representation drove the Plebs to make a series of demands to be delivered upon by the Patricians; the Plebs, in an act of protest, abandoned their work-posts, grinding both production and commerce to a halt. This would be done a number of times until finally additional rights, powers, and concessions were provided to the Plebs at great cost to the nation’s funds, fraternity, and future. Even still, given this additional opportunity, only a handful of Plebs managed to achieve a degree of actual progress for the republic, whilst the majority, in great part, merely contributed to it’s collapse, having done little to better the their own lot, whilst dragging down the once speedy and pragmatic Patricians.
To be fair, come the later era of the republic, said Patricians weren’t much better. As we addressed, Rome had historically engaged in warfare relatively close to home, and did so fairly regularly; this constant warring kept the participating elites disciplined, humble, and virtuous. Loyalty to the republic above all else was deeply ingrained in this population, as by being surrounded by hostile opponents, and fighting for the very survival of Rome on a regular basis, a strong sense of solidarity was fostered that hammered home the Roman identity, and a sense of oneness with the empire itself…but that wouldn’t last.
Campaigns in ever further lands brought a bounty of slaves and wealth for the Patricians, slaves so abundant in number that present patrician lands had more than they could use, fortunately for them, Pleb soldiers returning home to destitute farms were now desperate for income, some seeking financial support they couldn’t pay back, others selling outright, soon seeing their lands bought up, and added to the ever growing property of a select few families eager to exploit such circumstances for personal gain.
We went over how the Plebs responded to this, but on the opposite side, those Patricians who indulged in their wealth ultimately became greedy, lazy, or gluttonous; as Rome conquered it’s traditional rivals, and made for itself a secure home no longer under serious outside threat, so did many come to adopt a dangerous sense of security, something which would only increase as Rome toppled Carthage, Macedonia, and Egypt in later years. Like a sickness spread this belief that Rome’s enemies were far away, that life could be easier, and that the solidarity which once held the Romans together as a unitary people could subside in favor of the self. Some patrician families grew comfortable with their legacy and property, slowly withdrawing themselves from ambitious pursuits for the sake of leisure instead of fulfilling their duties, and making pragmatic use of their natural and inherited privileges, as such, many of these familial lines would go extinct or fade into obscurity. Others families developed ruthless ambitions which, in some instances, transcended the welfare of Rome, and led to wide-spread corruption in the government, or in other instances, rightly brought them to view the government as increasingly flawed, setting the stage for several men to attempt to seize control of the state by force, not merely during the Republican period, but following into the Roman Imperial age as well.
Perhaps ironically, as Rome became geographically larger, militarily stronger, and more populated than ever, it’s unity and morality began to decay; the body may have kept running, even faster than it ever had, but beneath the surface, it’s soul was dying.
The extensive but lucrative campaigns which put many Plebs out of work, and corrupted the minds of the Patricians, had further changed the very way by which Rome prepared for war, and in turn, deeply impacted the national psychology, as well as traditional roles which previously maintained balance within the state; while once the Republic held a firm standard of who was fit to serve, as Rome obtained lands so distant in geography and foreign in character, it became necessary to station soldiers away for years on end in order to pacify and control these realms, something far contrary to what was previously in essence an “I’ll be home for dinner” mentality. Even with citizenship extended to essentially the whole of Italy, it was still difficult to meet military demand by former standards, to force men away from their homes and families for so long, and so, the opportunity was opened up for all willing volunteers; no longer was joining the Roman legion purely a matter of duty to the Republic, but a promise of wealth to be seized from conquered lands. This would set a catastrophic standard for Rome, as in later years, loyalty came to belong to the individual military generals responsible for the legion’s payment.
All these factors would come together in around 80 BC, when Lucius Cornelius Sulla became the first man to successfully seize power in the republic by force. Though some might see his actions as those of a power-hungry, self-interested tyrant, in reality, Sulla had been of the breed which recognized the decline of the republic, the neutering of the senate, the growing tyranny of the masses, and ultimately, the death of Roman democracy. He’d witnessed the tendency of the Pleb institutions to veer policy and support toward any figure who’d promise them more power and concessions, even at expense to stability and order. It was under him that Rome instituted a number of reforms to undo the damage done to traditional government functions, to reduce the influence of the Plebs on Senatorial decisions, to reinforce the role of the senators in all matters of government, and protect the meritocratic values of the republic, for while the Plebs and Patricians, lower and upper classes, each came from distinct creeds, at the root of Roman culture the reverence of duty, honor, and skill: the patricians, through virtue of their ancestors, remained ahead of the Plebs, who’s blood had yet to prove itself, and while ascending higher than the common folk was difficult, such was not beyond achievement for those Plebs who possessed true virtue.
With Rome seemingly brought back onto course, Sulla willingly resigned the dictatorship, disbanded his legions, and quietly retired to his villa in the countryside, leaving power back in the hands of the reformed Senate so that the Republic could carry on as it always had, however, Sulla’s actions set a terrible precedent for others, who now saw how easily Rome could be taken by force. Despite Sulla’s best efforts to discourage such a thing reoccurring in the future, his march on Rome would directly inspire both Caesar and Pompey’s ambitions, leading to the Great Roman Civil War which would finally drive the republic to a state so desperate in the wake of Caesar’s assassination and the Last Republic War, that Caesar’s heir, Augustus, was left few options but to assume the role of Emperor to restore order to Rome…but what if that changed?
What if in an alternate timeline, the Roman Republic never fell, and the Roman Empire…never existed?
We might suppose a reality in which Rome is able to keep it’s newly acquired wealth and prosperity in check, use it responsibly, and adapt properly to it’s now wide-reaching domain.
While the Plebs, for the most part, proved incapable of self-governing, they are the gears which keep the Roman machine moving, and so, Rome can’t afford to neglect this population, it can, however, placate them to the point that acts of disobedience are too inconvenient or not worth the effort, thus keeping them in check; this could mean assurances that their property remains tended to while they’re away, the creation of greater job security, or increased financial support for returning veterans. The Patricians, in turn, can’t be allowed to consolidate the vast wealth and slave resources acquired through campaigning, leading them into corruption, decadence, or greed; slaves and wealth could be handed directly to the state, who would then divide earnings proportionately among the soldiers based on rank and accomplishment, whilst the majority of slaves are not left in the possession of a few individuals, but made property of Rome itself. This concept of the “servus publicus” or public servants did exist during the Republic, and saw slaves put to use in offices, construction, but in most part, serving as assistants to government officials; in this alternate world, we might propose the use of public slaves as something of a utility: Working on imperial lands, building additional infrastructure, and serving as a labor reserve whenever soldiers left their farms behind. These slaves, like the Servus Publicus of our world, also become more likely to earn their freedom through demonstration of exceptional talent, civility, and loyalty to the Republic.
With those factors checked, we’d still need to solve for the matter of the evolving military, and how it impacted dynamics of loyalty and discipline within Rome. The Republic needed a motivator for soldiers to spend possible years away from home, while maintaining high standards for quality of men, and ensure loyalties remain to the republic. We could, for the sake of simplicity, just propose that the Republic play a more direct role in paying it’s soldiers, perhaps withholding funds until certain criteria were met by a certain deadline, or something of the sort. Alternatively, we could propose the military reforms of Gaius Marius, which initiated this military shift, are never put into practice, this would put a halt to all further Roman expansion from 107 BC onward, unless some refined alternative was developed.
Conveniently, the events which triggered the Marius reforms may not even occur in this world, as if we assume both the appeasement and pacification of the Plebs succeeds, as well as the deterring of greed and corruption through the senate, senatorial and military decisions are far less motivated by the promise of wealth, as had been the decision which sparked the first Punic War; in our world there was a great divide within the senate as to if Rome should even involve itself in Sicily, the island, after all, wasn’t considered a part of Italy, and the Carthaginians, who’d historically been on fair terms with Rome, did have their eyes on the island, so to begin a Roman intervention there would be to threaten a war between the two. Eventually a decision was made partially on account of the island’s strategic value, but overwhelmingly due to the promise of loot, and commercial opportunity if a foothold was gained; that never occurs in this world, and consequently, neither do the Punic Wars as we knew them, thus Rome never conquers North Africa, never bringing it into the conflict which drove the military reforms in the first place.
Odds are Rome and Carthage would develop a healthy trade relationship, the Carthaginians focusing on domination of the sea, whilst the Romans remained land-based, although it’s really rather likely rivalry and lesser conflicts will erupt between the two at some points, perhaps as Roman domain began spreading into Gaul while Carthage extended it’s claims in Iberia.
The Romans would likely still direct their attention to Gaul in response to continued raids by the region’s tribes, notably the 387 BC attack on the city itself. Roman conquests not carried out for monetary or strategic purposes, often occurred in response to foreign aggression, and served the purpose of pacifying these potential threats. This would the case for Rome’s approach to the Greeks as well, who, by sinking a fleet of Roman ships, had give Rome just cause to invade Greek domains in southern Italy, and in doing so, brought them to the attention of the Greek world. War broke out with the Greek state of Epirus, whilst Greek Egypt later opened up diplomatic and trade relations with the Romans. It’s possible that Carthage and Rome may cooperate as allies against the Greeks, as while the Romans recognized them as a capable military threat, the Carthaginians perceived the Greeks as economic competitors, the two vying for various trade routes, and commercial dominance of the Mediterranean.
The use of public servants to maintain the lands of on-duty soldiers encourages additional young individuals to make something of a career for themselves in the field by demonstrating skill in battle, rising up the ranks, and utilizing this prestige to enter into politics. While some of these individuals may merely hope to improve their lot in life, others would still maintain strong ambitions of glory, but this time, channeling their capabilities into a Rome much too stable for drastic reform; the strong-men who would have violently pulled Rome one way or another either for their own benefit, or attempting to save the declining Republic, now bring onto Rome years of dedicated development, reinforcement of order, and wider-opportunity, without any destabilizing effects.
The slave uprisings of this world, on account of the greater chance for emancipation, are reduced in severity. Given that the first two servile wars occurred in Sicily, which in this world remains under Carthaginian control, they may not even occur this time around, further impacting the support behind the third servile war led by Spartacus.
While this alternate Roman Republic would certainly continue it’s course longer than it had in our world, there’s no telling precisely how long it would survive as it has without developing into something more akin to the empire, being conquered by a much stronger neighbor, or, in a less severe outcome, breaking up into smaller divisions once it’s military became overstretched in a constantly expanding domain. Many forget that much of Rome’s growth had occurred not during it’s time as an Empire, but rather under the direction of the Republic. Given it’s sheer military might, and expansionist tendencies, it doesn’t seem far fetched for the Republic, in any number of alternate worlds, to simply conquer and conquer until it’s domains are just too overwhelming to manage. The solution to this issue, again, presents itself in the old Roman virtue of moderation, even still, limited expansion could leave the Romans susceptible to conquest by much larger opponents, yet in the case of foes like the Carthaginians, whose ranks comprised of disorganized mercenaries and warriors of several different backgrounds with only a leader of assured Carthaginian heritage, Rome held the distinct advantage of unity and cohesion, even when it’s army comprised of little more than a self-supplied militia of Roman men. If the Republic were to survive in the long-term, and kept pace with ever larger opponents, it’s own expansion would need to be slow and gradual, the Roman nation assimilating it’s neighbors, first in Italy, then in Greece and Gaul, and so on, until the population was thoroughly one people with their hearts and minds dedicated to one land.
