Topic 3 Summary — Key Takeaways

📚

What You Need to Know

The essentials from Topic 3 (78-60 BC)

This lesson summarises everything from Topic 3 in simple, scannable format. Perfect for revision or getting the big picture before exams.

🔄 From Crisis to Chaos: The Journey from Topic 2 → 3 → 4

📖

Topic 2: The Precedents (133-78 BC)

The Gracchi (133-121 BC)

✓ Showed tribunes could bypass Senate
✓ Used popular assemblies for reform
✗ Both killed — violence became acceptable

Marius (107-86 BC)

✓ Army reform → soldiers loyal to generals, not state
✓ Showed military success = political power
✗ Broke norm of holding office multiple times

Sulla (82-78 BC)

✓ Proved armies could march on Rome
✓ Showed dictatorship could "fix" Republic
✗ Proscriptions → mass political murder normalised

What Topic 2 Taught Everyone:

Constitutional limits can be broken. Military force works. Popular support works. Violence is an option. The Senate can't stop you if you're strong enough.

⬇️

This creates...

📘

Topic 3: The New Generation (78-60 BC)

Five ambitious men learn from Topic 2's lessons. Each finds their own path to power:

Cicero → Oratory & Law

Proves talent can overcome birth. No army = vulnerable.

Pompey → Extraordinary Commands

Bypasses normal rules through military glory. Unprecedented power.

Crassus → Wealth & Patronage

Buys influence. Funds others' careers. Still wants glory.

Cato → Moral Authority

Refuses all compromise. Blocks everything. Creates deadlock.

Caesar → Everything

Learns from everyone. Combines all methods. Complete package.

The Problem by 60 BC:

Senate can't accommodate them. Pompey blocked from rewards. Crassus wants respect. Caesar needs advancement. Cato refuses compromise. Constitutional deadlock — no legal solution.

⬇️

This leads to...

📕

Topic 4: Collapse of Concordia (59-50 BC)

If the Senate won't accommodate them individually... they work together.

The First Triumvirate (60 BC)

Pompey (prestige) + Crassus (money) + Caesar (political skill) = private agreement to bypass Senate entirely. Three men control Rome outside constitutional system.

Why This Matters:

The Republic was designed to prevent exactly this. But Topic 2 showed it was possible. Topic 3 created five people capable of it. Topic 4 is when they actually do it — and the Republic can't survive.

🎯 The Big Picture

Between 78-60 BC, five major figures rose to power through different methods. By 60 BC, the Senate couldn't control any of them.

The Republic's institutions were designed to prevent any one person from having too much power. But by 60 BC, multiple people had found ways to bypass those limits — and the Senate couldn't stop them working together.

What This Topic Covers

Lessons 3.1-3.3

Cicero's rise through oratory and the Verres trial

The Synthesiser

How he rose:

Through mastering everything. Won Pontifex Maximus (63 BC), governed Spain successfully (61-60 BC). Combined military skill, wealth, oratory, popular support, and elite connections.

✓ Strength

Complete package. All skills.

✗ Weakness

None yet. That's the problem.

⚡ Key Events to Remember

The 70s BC

78 BC — Pompey Crushes Lepidus

First extraordinary command to someone outside normal offices.

73-71 BC — Spartacus Rebellion

Crassus defeated it but Pompey stole credit, creating rivalry.

70 BC — Joint Consulship

Pompey and Crassus elected despite not meeting requirements. Had armies.

70 BC — Verres Trial

Cicero prosecuted corrupt governor. Made him Rome's top orator.

The 60s BC

67 BC — Lex Gabinia (Pirate Command)

Pompey given unlimited power over Mediterranean. Precedent-setting.

66 BC — Lex Manilia (Eastern Command)

Pompey now controlled Rome's East. Most powerful man alive.

65 BC — Caesar's Games

320 gladiator pairs. Massive debt. Built popular support.

63 BC — Cicero's Consulship

Consul as novus homo. Stopped Catiline. Illegal executions.

63 BC — Caesar = Pontifex Maximus

Lifelong religious authority. Gambled everything on bribes.

62 BC — Cato Blocks Pompey

Refused veteran land. Created deadlock that set up Topic 4.

61-60 BC — Caesar in Spain

Military success. Gained wealth, glory, veteran loyalty.

🎯 Four Big Themes

1️⃣

Extraordinary Commands

Lex Gabinia and Lex Manilia gave Pompey unprecedented power over entire regions. Once granted, these created precedent for bypassing normal constitutional limits.

2️⃣

Tribunician Power

Restored in 70 BC, tribunes could bypass the Senate through popular assemblies. Caesar (following the Gracchi) used this extensively — but with elite backing unlike his predecessors.

3️⃣

Senate Lost Control

The Senate couldn't accommodate ambitious men. Cato's inflexible opposition (blocking Pompey in 62 BC) forced enemies to work together. Constitutional limits became irrelevant.

4️⃣

Military Force in Politics

Pompey and Crassus won consulships (70 BC) because they had armies outside Rome. Force could override rules. Made military success essential for real power.

Why 78-60 BC Matters

The Republic's institutions couldn't contain ambitious individuals. Each of the five figures found ways to circumvent traditional limits:

• Pompey through extraordinary commands

• Crassus through wealth and patronage

• Cicero through oratory and law

• Cato through moral authority (ineffectively)

• Caesar through systematic mastery of everything

By 60 BC, the Senate couldn't accommodate these ambitions. Cato's obstruction had created political deadlock with no constitutional solution. Topic 4 covers what happens next.