The Storm Before the Storm

Posted on 07 November 2017 by Mike Duncan

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. Download The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan – kino-fada.fr We truly live in an amazing age when someone can go from releasing a podcast about history before people really knew what podcasts were 2007 to getting a book publishing deal on the subject If you have not been clued into Mike Duncan s amazing Roman History podcast series The History of Rome or his current one on various Revolutions you are truly missing out on some of the best audio experiences out there and for the low, low price of free Ever since he announced he was getting a Roman His We truly live in a...This is a solid popular history of the generation and a half before the First Triumvirate the period from the Gracchi brothers to the death of Sulla, which is usually simplified in popular forms or skipped in order to get to Julius Caesar or Augustus Instead, this is an easily digestible account of the Lex Agraria, the changes to the Roman military, the Roman involvement in the breaking down of the Hellenistic kingdoms in Asia Minor, ramifications of limiting or increas...These echoes could be mere coincidence, of course, but the great Greek biographer Plutarch certainly believed it possible that if, on the other hand, there is a limited number of elements from which events ...4.5 stars At the time, everyone thought that just onepush for their personal agenda would win the day Collectively, they ended up pushing the republic over the edge.Oh, I m sorry This is Ancient Rome, not modern America But here is the story of the fall of a republic as it gallops towards oblivion The threads of the constitution fray and fray and fray and snap as simple reform bills turn into battles for personal glory which turn into riots in the forum which turn into civil war.This 4.5 stars At the time, everyone thought that just onepush for their personal agenda would win the day Collectively, they ended up pushing the republic over the edge.Oh, I m sorry This is Ancient Rome, not modern ...The shocking story of the Oligarchy ruthlessly cracking down on populists Tribunes considered traitors , who advocated for the poor and disenfranchised masses via the Lex Agraria.The next era would bring the rise of Caesar and the virtual elimination of the middle class, with the reduction of most of the Roman population to plebeian status.I should note how the massive inequality came about in Rome As Rome becameinvolved in foreign wars and defeated the likes of Carthage and other enem The shocking story of the Oligarchy ruthlessly cracking down on populists Tribunes considered traitors , who advocated for the poor and disenfranchised masses via the Lex Agraria.The next era would bring the rise of Caesar and the virtual elimination of the middle class, with the reduction of most of the Roman population to plebeian status.I should note how the massive inequality came about in Rome As Rome becameinvolved in foreign wars and defeated the likes of Carthage and other enemies, huge spoils were reaped and appropriated by the Roman oligarchy back home Meanwhile, the farmers who were sent off to fight these wars were gone much longer than before Their farm...This was an exceptionally well written and concise outline of the history of the Roman Republic from the period of the Gracchi brothers to the death of Lucius Sulla The author did a masterful job of describing to the reader in an organized fashion the myriad of events, personalities and issues The Roman Republic was an extremely bloody, dynamic and complicated place where political questions were often settled through assassination and war It would be very easy for a reader to get lost especi This was an exceptionally well written and concise outline of the history of the Roman Republic from ...Aside In prepping for this review to liken it negatively to Dan Carlin s Hardcore History podcast on The Roman Republic, I noticed that all the HH podcasts that I had rated and reviewed were NO LONGER IN MY BOOKS The book pages seem to have all been recreated on Dec 27th.WTF, Goodreads NOT COOL This doesn t exactly encourage review writing or even rating, you know And if non book items are going to be deleted, then let s get rid of the book pages for ONLINE FANFICTION Arrgh Anyway.B Aside In prepping for this review to liken it negatively to Dan Carlin s Hardcore History podcast on The Roman Republic, I noticed that all the HH podcasts that I had rated and reviewed were NO LONGER IN MY BOOKS The book pages seem to have all been recreated on Dec 27th.WTF, Goodreads NOT COOL This doesn t exactly encourage review writing or even rating, you know And if non book items are going to be deleted, then let s get rid of the book pages for ONLINE FANFICTION Arrgh Anyway.Before my concentration was trashed unexpectedly, I was going to say that I enjoyed Carlin s multi hour podcas...I am endlessly amazed at the amount of detail uncovered from events that took placethan 2,000 years ago Mike Duncan managed to piece together an entire narrative, introducing us to the main players in a society whose climb to greatness seemed to be its undoing I ve read a lot about this period of history, but Duncan s unique approach gave me a different perspective on the unraveling of the empire While academic, in the sense that this is not light reading, Duncan s writing style is enjo I am endlessly amazed at the amount of detail uncovered from events that took placethan 2,000 years ago Mike Duncan managed to piece together an entire narrative, introducing us to the main players in a society whose climb to greatness seemed to be its undoing I ve read a lot about this period of history, but Duncan s unique approach gave me a different perspective on the unraveling of the empire While academic, in the sense that this is not light reading, Duncan s writing style is enjoyable and engaging This is absolutely not a dry, textbook kind of read.We here in the U.S often draw parallels between our nation and the Roman Empire Those parallels are certainly here in this story Duncan does not point t...The late Roman Republic is one of the most studied and most familiar periods of history Even the average American famously ignorant of history could probably tell you what happened to Julius Caesar or the name of Cleopatra s lover thanks in no small part to Shakespeare s plays But there s surprisingly little attention paid to the period before Caesar, the events that set the stage for the fall of the Republic Mike Duncan, host of the excellent History of Rome Podcast, takes a stab, writ The late Roman Republic is one of the most studied and most familiar periods of history Even the average American famously ignorant of history could probably tell you what happened to Julius Caesar or the name of Cleopatra s lover thanks in no small part to Shakespeare s plays But there s surprisingly little attention pai...Everybody know the story of the Fall of the Roman Republic Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cicero, Cato, Octavian, Brutus, civil war, assassination, the last grasp of liberty, and the foundation of both tyranny and centuries of peace and prosperity Roman politics are a common metaphor for our own times In The Storm Before the Storm, veteran history podcaster Mike Duncan Revolutions, The History of Rome , writes about one of his favorite periods, the Roman Republic between the Second Punic War an Everybody know the story of the Fall of the Roman Republi...

English
07 November 2017

Mike Duncan