Abstract
This chapter asks what civil war does to a republic, arguing that civil war destroys not only people and property but the whole social contract that gives a republic coherence. It identifies the first real civil war at Rome as that of Sulla, and maintains that it destroyed the Republic as traditionally defined. The various constitutions that replaced one another with ever greater frequency between Sulla and Augustus were different republics, destroyed by their own civil wars, until the "restored republic" of Augustus was created from the ruins.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Citizens of Discord |
Subtitle of host publication | Rome and Its Civil Wars |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780199866496 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780195389579 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2010 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Arts and Humanities
Keywords
- Civil war
- Constitution
- Republic
- Sulla