- how do you keep the plebs happy (at least keep them from revolting)?
- the poet Juvenal said the people “anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses”
- bread (free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet
- Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)
- military general worked that angle - lead an army the conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
- soldier' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic
Julius Caesar
- 100 - 44 BCE
- a highly successful general
- he conquered the huge territory of Gual
- made common folks happy
- made friends in high places (Pompey, a general who conquered Syria and Palestine; Crassus, the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history)
- theses three men formed the First Triumvirate (means "rule of three men")
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