History of Europe

Both primary and secondary! I will explain about the Triumvirate!

In world history textbooks, Triumvirate always mentions both primary and secondary.

Triumvirate is a coined word translated from the Latin word "Triumviratus" and is recognized as a concept that is paired with the Senate, which was the highest institution in Rome. ??

First Triumvirate

The Roman republic is considered to be the founder of modern parliamentary democracy, and even in modern times, the English translation of the Senate is a sentate that represents the Senate.

The role of the Senate changed significantly during the 1000th year of Rome and changed its character.

Originally a non-decisive institution, it was responsible for giving advice to the king during the Roman kingdom.

Eventually the king was overthrown in Rome, and the Senate became the supreme decision-making body.

The actual administration is carried out by two consuls, but the popularity was one year and re-election was basically prohibited. In some cases, he continued his military activities as a Proconsul (experienced consul) if absolutely necessary, and as the number of provinces increased, Proconsul became the governor of the province.

This system also had its drawbacks. The ancient Romans are more familiar with the shortcomings of democracy than we Japanese. The drawback of being able to produce rigidity when a radical response is required can be seen in the country of Japan, where no drastic reforms can be made even though nothing can be done so far.

Therefore, in an emergency, a dictator was appointed. However, the term of office is half a year, and overwhelming power that even a tribune or a consul cannot exercise the right of veto.

A wave of corruption rushed to the Senate after winning the Punic Wars and becoming the Mediterranean champion. The gap between rich and poor has widened due to the increase in the number of large land owners, such as high-interest lenders and pin honeys who have taken power.

It was the Gracchi brothers who put the scalpel in there, but his reforms were completely crushed by the Senate, who became a vested interest.

However, something that inherited the intention of the reform appeared. Julius Caesar is said to be the greatest hero in Rome.

Born into a prestigious aristocratic class, unlike the Gracchi brothers, he decided to reform the Senate from within. For that reason, the Gracchi brothers wanted to enact the failed "Agricultural Land Law," but the Senators, who have become vested interests like Japanese bureaucrats, are only thinking about protecting their own interests, and the bill. It just doesn't hold.

So Caesar had his influential Pompey slaughter his daughter, and his creditor, Crassus, was also brought into his ranks.

Triumvirate has a flashy image, but at first it had a strong secret society character, and its existence was not made public for half a year after it was formed in 60 BC.

After all, Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus were ostensibly bad friends. Caesar had an affair with both wives, and Pompey was divorced for that reason.

Pompey and Crassus were even worse off, and one was white and the other was black.

Pompey made a fool of Crassus having only money, and Crassus was always jealous of Pompey's talent and popularity.

In the first place, Caesar was a member of the ordinary people, and the other two were members of the Senate who belonged to the sect, so there was no reason to notice it.

And when I noticed, it was already late. A large number of influential people were on the triumvirate side, and the three had decided on the people who would hold important positions such as Consul and Praetor as kingmakers.

Eventually, Caesar was assigned to the northern Gaul region, Pompey to Spain, and Crassus to North Africa and Syria. / strong> The unity was strengthened again, and the political struggle between the Triumvirate and the Senate sect continued. It became a state that could be said to be the originator of party politics that produced consuls and praetors from each other's factions, and the forces were in opposition, but Caesar's daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, died, and one of the three, Crassus, was Partia. When he died in the war, the Senate sect successfully summoned Pompey to Rome and entwined him.

The triumvirate VS Senate dispute becomes a composition of Caesar VS Senate + Pompey, and the Senate announces Caesar the final notice of the Senate, and if Caesar crosses the Rubicon River without disbanding the army as it is It was a civil war.

Pompey abandons the groundless Rome and greets Caesar in his own ground, Greece.

Caesar won the first battle, but Senate members demanded an aggressive offensive against Pompey, who insisted on endurance, and he headed for the final battle with Caesar, but was defeated by Caesar.

Pompey went into exile in Egypt but was assassinated by the Egyptian people, and other lawmakers obeyed Caesar, who apparently later assassinated Caesar.

The First Triumvirate, formed in 60 BC, ended completely with the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC.

Second Triumvirate

Caesar had left a will.

Mark Antony, who was active as Caesar's right arm, triumphantly read the will, but his successor was named Octavian, an unheard-of 18-year-old man. ..

Like Antonius, Lepidus, who was under Caesar's control, initially teamed up to eliminate Octavianus, but when Octavianus chanted to overthrow the Caesar assassins, the three began to form an alliance.

Neither Lepidus nor Antonius had any political beliefs, and Caesar would have seen such a place.

The enemies of the Second Triumvirate were Caesar assassins such as Casius and Brutus.

Casius and his colleagues fled to Syria, imposing heavy taxes in the east and strengthening their power.

Antonius and Octavian teamed up to counter this, and in the land of Filippo, Greece, Antonius defeated Casius, but Octavian, who had no military talent, was defeated by Brutus, and it was decided to win overall.

After that, Octavianus ruled the west, Antonius ruled the east, and Lepidus ruled North Africa. , It was completely settled in the Battle of Actium.

The oligopolistic triumvirate eventually leads to the dictatorship of one of the best.

As Greek historian Bolibios pointed out, democracy may soon be destined to be swallowed by dictatorship.

Thinking about Triumvirate

In history, there have been quite a few people in power standing side by side. However, in each case, someone eventually becomes influential and begins dictatorship.

Even if you think about it on a country-by-country basis rather than on a person-by-person basis, the Yalta Conference, for example, can be seen as an alliance between the three countries of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, but in the end it entered the Cold War.

Considering that no one who participated in the First Triumvirate could complete his life from there, I think that the nation may not be able to operate unless it is dictatorship or oligopoly.

In modern society, which is reaching the limits of democracy, the failure of the Triumvirate can be said to be a historical fact that is often learned.