How was it possible that the Roman republic fell under the dictatorship and after the deification of Julius Caesar, which had been structurally sound four centuries earlier? When the republic was established around the end of the 6th century BC, the Romans made it clear that they wished to avoid any semblance of the monarchy that had governed two centuries earlier. (TJ Cornell, The Beginning of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995; p. 215) The government of the Republic was to be divided into powers of the Senate and the Consuls, a system that functioned for over four centuries. The republic would face problems with the rise of the first triumvirate in 60 BC, involving Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey. The triumvirate gained the power that should have been in the hands of the Roman Senate and assembly. This paved the way for a situation in which a single man could seize the political power that previously belonged to the entire Senate. Julius Caesar used this tactic, following his campaigns in Gaul and Brittany, to assume sole dictatorship over Rome. While there were previous cases where individuals had been appointed dictator, usually by the Senate to serve for six months in times of war, Caesar was appointed dictator three separate times. After rejecting his first dictatorship, Caesar achieved two more reigns as dictator for one and ten years respectively. By this time Caesar had been praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded numerous prizes and honors by the Senate. After conquering much of the surrounding territory, from North Africa to Greece, and implementing numerous reforms, Caesar was in the pro phase... halfway there... he would remain standing for a few years after Caesar's death, the praise would not they would stop and the Republic would soon fall seventeen years later to the man who inherited Caesar's name and fortune. Works Cited TJ Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995 Stefan Weinstock, Divus Julius, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus, Yale University Press, 2006The Metamorphoses of OvidDivus Julius of SuetoniusEclogue of Vergil the Fifth "Daphnis"Parallel Lives of PlutarchPlutarch. Caesar. and. by Christopher Pelling (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) JFC Fuller, Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier and Tyrant, James Sabben-Clare, Caesar and Roman Politics 60-50 BC, London: Oxford University Press 1971 http://www. theoi .com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15.html#6