Rome: from Marius to Caesar

This video transcript discusses the Marian reforms and their impact on the Roman Republic, which eventually led to its downfall. These reforms included a permanent standard of quality for the legions, a shift from a limited militia army to a mass peasant army, and the granting of land to retired veteran soldiers. This caused a shift in the legionaries' loyalty and goals, and was exploited by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who used the legions as a political weapon. The episode also discusses the economic shift towards large slave farms and the failed attempts of the Grekkie brothers to reverse it, as well as Marius Livius truceus the younger's attempt to extend citizen rights to all inhabitants of Italy, which was met with opposition and eventually led to the Social War. Sulla attempted to reform the Roman Republic by strengthening the power of the Senate and creating a constitution to prevent a reoccurrence of his own behaviour, but his reign showed other ambitious commanders how to use their army for their own gain, and his veterans went into debt due to their inexperience, leading to the Catalan conspiracy. Ultimately, Sulla's dictatorship ended the days of loyalty to the State and left Rome vulnerable to instability.