Gone was the Cincinnatus image of the Roman farmers trading their hoes for swords. Before the Punic Wars one had to own property in order to serve in the army. The soldiers in the Roman army would be farmers by day and soldiers by night. They would sow their crops, go to the front lines, and then come back in the fall to harvest the crops. Unfortunately for them, when they left their farms for the battlefields during the Punic Wars it was the last time they saw it. During the years of the Punic Wars Hannibal and his elephants ravaged the land beyond belief and destroyed the countryside farms. When the farmers returned home after the wars they found their farms totally destroyed and unsalvageable and were forced to sell their farms to the Senatorial Aristocracy. The aristocracy in turn setup laitfundias with their new land and u

The aforementioned Marius and Sulla used violence for political gain and power. Marius was a self-made man who made his name and reputation on the battlefield. He defended Rome on numerous occasions against the barbarians. He was elected to consul five times during his time defending Rome, 104-100 B.C.E. His soldiers were extremely loyal to him because he promised them fame, riches, and land. He eventually came to butt heads with the consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Sulla defeated Marius in the civil war for Rome and became dictator. Sulla used violence and physical force to get his resolutions pasted. He did not think too highly of the traditional Roman value of peaceful reform through compromise. After Sulla's rule it was clear in Rome that the man with the largest army held the most muscle.

Another traditional value that was thrown by the wayside during the decline of the republic and creation of the empire was the practice of treating conquered people as equals and allies. During the time of the republic conquered people were allowed to keep their own governments, traditions, and laws. To be allowed to do this all Rome asked for was military support in return. By doing this Rome made its conquered people feel that they had a stake in the empire and extinguished any thoughts of rebellion.

The three touched on values of the republic that were destroyed led not only to the destruction of the republic, but also to the bloody creation of the empire. By destroying these values Rome changed forever. Also the wrong values were instilled in the creation of the republic. These values were the love of money and the use of violence and force to gain and secure political power. However, the saddest thing is that these values are still in place today and are leading to wars around the globe.

The political leaders of the time attempted to address this problem in the same way they addressed the problem of the Cincinnatus farmer-soldier. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus led the land reforms to make the land distribution fairer and to even the playing field for everyone. As mentioned above violence ensued because the aristocrats in power did not want

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Senatorial Aristocracy, Punic Wars, Life Caesar, Marius Sulla, Life Suetonius, BCE Italian, War Rome, Sulla Sulla, punic wars, conquered people, love money, tiberius gracchus, civil war, italian allies, violence political, creation empire, economic power, roman republic, republic creation empire, led destruction republic,
Approximate Word count = 1473
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)