How do the stresses on the Republic in the late second and early first century BCE seem to play themselves out in the formation of the first and second Triumvirates?

Answer 1

Good day, Leslie. My name is Francis, and I work as an independent Wyzant history, geography, and math tutor. To answer your question, it was political intrigue aimed at gaining the power that came with the consular title. Julius Caesar was an ambitious man whose goal was to be Rome's sole ruler, but he acknowledged that he would need political allies to support his rise to power, so Caesar formed the First Triumvirate in the second century BCE with Roman general Pompey the Great and Marcus L. Crassus. Octavian established the Second Triumvirate for the same reasons in the following century. He desired to inherit the influence that his great-uncle wielded as a Roman dictator. Octavian, like Caesar, recognised how difficult it was to climb the political ladder without allies to rely on, so he formed his own coalition called the Second Triumvirate with two powerful men named Marcus A. Lepidus and former Caesarian general Marc Antony.

I hope this answers your question, Leslie.

Francis.