The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, Rome grew from an unremarkable Italian city-state to the dominant superpower of the Mediterranean world. Through it all, the Romans never allowed a single man to seize control of the state. Every year for four hundred years the annually elected consuls voluntarily handed power to their successors. Not once did a consul give in to the temptation to grab absolute power and refuse to let it go. It was a run of political self-denial unmatched in the history of the world. The disciplined Roman republicans then proceeded to explode out of Italy and conquer a world filled with petty tyrants, barbarian chieftains, and despotic kings.
But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome …
The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, Rome grew from an unremarkable Italian city-state to the dominant superpower of the Mediterranean world. Through it all, the Romans never allowed a single man to seize control of the state. Every year for four hundred years the annually elected consuls voluntarily handed power to their successors. Not once did a consul give in to the temptation to grab absolute power and refuse to let it go. It was a run of political self-denial unmatched in the history of the world. The disciplined Roman republicans then proceeded to explode out of Italy and conquer a world filled with petty tyrants, barbarian chieftains, and despotic kings.
But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome ruled. Bankrolled by mountains of imperial wealth and without a foreign enemy to keep them united, ambitious Roman leaders began to stray from the republican austerity of their ancestors. Almost as soon as they had conquered the Mediterranean, Rome would become engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later.
The Storm Before the Storm tells the story of the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic--the story of the first generation that had to cope with the dangerous new political environment made possible by Rome's unrivaled domination over the known world. The tumultuous years from 133-80 BCE set the stage for the fall of the Republic.
The Republic faced issues like rising economic inequality, increasing political polarization, the privatization of the military, endemic social and ethnic prejudice, rampant corruption, ongoing military quagmires, and the ruthless ambition and unwillingness of elites to do anything to reform the system in time to save it--a situation that draws many parallels to present-day America. These issues are among the reasons why the Roman Republic would fall. And as we all know, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Review of 'The Storm Before the Storm' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Qué decepción, con lo que me gustan los podcasts de este hombre. Lo achaco al período elegido (entre los Gracos y Sila, más o menos del -170 al -70), demasiado extenso para un libro de este tamaño. Eso hace que la acumulación de nombres y sucesos sea excesiva pero superficial, en lugar de detenerse en unos pocos y en las causas, consecuencias, etc. Mike Duncan hace un buen trabajo de narrador, pero no puede hacer milagros. A lo mejor para los americanitos esos personajes son desconocidos, pero para un europeo de nivel medio-bajo como un servidor hay que profundizar algo más para aprender algo. Habría sido muy preferible una biografía de cualquiera de los personajes principales.
Review of 'The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Despite struggling with the usual problem with Roman History - the sheer number of characters to try and recall, I enjoyed Duncan’s eminently readable focus on the period when the Roman Republic first started to shred - culminating in the first Civil War. I did however yearn at times for a history that was even more focused, so that rather than rushing through Sulla’s wars in Asia or Gaius Marius’ defeat of the Teutons and Cimbrans, a more in depth study could be made of them. For example, how the wars with Jugartha were described. Also, isn’t it past the time to stop quoting obviously invented numbers of the dead in each battle? It’s a wonder there was anyone left, if you added them all up and considered the impact on the ability for people to grow food and make children for the future!
Review of 'The Storm Before the Storm' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It is impossible to read this without finding parallels to the present-day U.S. republic, and difficult not to get caught up in depressing ruminations of where we’re headed, but that’s not fair: this is a great book in its own right, well written and informative and enjoyable, and it’s worth the effort to leave the present behind and focus on what Duncan has to say.
Review of 'The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I enjoyed this book, the recount of the story prior to the end of the roman Republic is full of intrigue and magnificent characters. I found it very interesting.
Review of 'The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
As a narrative it holds up well, but I left the book wishing there was a bit more theory. What really caused the end of the Roman Republic? Was it the decline of mos maiorum? Was it too much power accumulating in the aristocracy of the senate? These things are mentioned but never really wrapped up into a tight package. I did enjoy the voice and the tone of the book. Many authors writing about ancient history manage to make war, political infighting, and social revolution out to be the driest material, but Mike Duncan makes this story out to be an engaging narrative. Inspires me to finish his podcast, The History of Rome.
