Octavian

well there is the active military...then some branches have reserve units from all over the country which amount to a very large force...on top of that there is the national guard from every state, both of which can be activated at any time to serve full time.

1) augustus 2) cato major 3) scipio africanus 4) julius caesar it seems like many people have completely different combinations of people on their lists...did anyone try to take the quiz to get a certain person on purpose? does it work?

well at julius caesars death it was probly almost 1000 then the power struggle reduced it to about 700 (the ones left on octavians side) and then augustus would reduce the number a couple of times to about 5-6 hundred...i think this is close to the number during most of the years of the republic-550ish. correct me if im wrong

i dont think religion is bad necessarily, everyone needs something to believe in, whether it is religious or not. the fact of the matter is that religions are all created by people, unfortunately often for personal gain. it is almost always used to someones advantage. i dont believe, nor have ever believed in any religion and i still try to hold myself to high morals and virtue. i am suprised whenever i hear people say that religion is necessary to be a good person, etc but this is absolute bs. its every individuals choice what they believe in.

i would love to learn latin but i dont really know how to go about doing it...i often need things translated for my own amusement

i agree...without marius's actions rome may have lost a lot more than the republican form of government but he did pave the way for legions who would always side with the richest and strongest. -but this also prevented much bloodshed in the "revolution". Many people had an enormous influence in the fall of the republic which seems to be in agreement. But instead of looking at who may have had the crucial role in its fall, look at individuals who could have prevented the fall but did not. When people like sulla, caesar, and augustus had the power available, they could not refuse to push for more. its this nature of the roman aristocracy that led to the fall of the republic but it seems to me rome never really had a legitimate trace of democracy and may have been better off without it.