Roman Empire

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At the peak of his political career, Gaius Julius Caesar justifiably usurped the autocratic power held by the Senate. To that date in the Roman History, the reforms implemented by Caesar were the most significant (Lazar, 2013, p.429). The removal of the autocratic regime paved the way for the realization of economic, political and social gains in the whole of the Roman republic.

Caesar was justified in taking power from the senatorial government. According to Galasso (2012, p.177) during the rule of the autocratic regime led by the Senate, there was an increase in domestic violence, corruption, and bribery. The senatorial government had failed in its mandate in the sense that the Roman Republic had gradually become chaotic and dysfunctional. Under the weight of the Senators, the Republican machinery had crumbled due to the increasing influence of imperialism. As a result, Caesar was motivated to seize power from the autocratic regime so that to give more authority to the central government that was already powerless (Lazar, 2013, p.430). Among the many failures of the Senate was the transformation of the different Roman provinces into self-governing territories that were under the total power of the respective governors. Caesar took power off the Senate because he had the intention of formulating a powerful central government that could have a significant mandate over the army. At that point, the military had already amassed so much power that it had replaced the rule of law considering it was often used as a means for attaining selfish political gains. The presence of the senatorial-led autocratic regimes had further weakened the central government a situation that had aggravated the rate of political corruption. The inefficiency in the Senate led to the establishment of a corrupt aristocracy that was focused towards maintaining the status quo characterized by zero motivation of changing the faulty system of governance. Majority of the senators managed to acquire more wealth due to the presence of the corrupt aristocracy. Through the establishment and implementation of the new constitution, Caesar intended to achieve distinct goals and objectives. For example, he wanted to bring order to the Roman Republic by suppressing all armed resistance as well as creating a stable central government.

Caesar found justification for taking power from the senatorial government based on the actions of the Senate itself (Canfora, Hill, & Windle, 2007, p.27). The senators, most especially the optimates had proved to be hostile towards the popularis ideas championed by Caesar. They were also threatened by his growing popularity that had earned him unprecedented political success. The optimates through their leaders Cato during the Dyrrachium in 48BC issued a speech to the military with the aim of destroying Caesar. Cato in his capacity wanted to anger the troops by arguing that by going to war against Caesar they would be fighting for a better course which was the attainment of the virtue of freedom. The feeling of being challenged by the senators resulted in a situation where Caesar felt it was justified to take away their power. According to Canfora, Hill, and Windle (2007, p.27), after Cato had issued his speech, Caesar was incensed by their perceived jealousy against his political achievements as he felt they were doing a disservice against him. Before this incident through different avenues, he had made various attempts to reach out to the senators so that to find a middle ground but all his efforts had proven to be futile. This circumstance reveals that Caesar had on numerous occasions attempted to establish peace...