This is more of a book/author recommendation request than anything. I’m just beginning to return to school after ten years off and I’m going to major in history. I have my first course this summer on western civilization and I plan to write my first paper on class structures and struggles in the Roman Republic, especially right before the rise of Caesar. So I’d like to read a book or some articles on the topic and I hope I’ll be able to get some recommendations on titles or authors. Thanks. I’m looking forward to reading more about the topic but I really have no idea where to start! I hope it’s alright to post this request here. If there’s a better subreddit, I’d appreciate the help. Thanks again!
When you get library access at your new institution, you will want to check out Rosenstein and Morstein-Marx (eds), A Companion to the Roman Republic (Blackwell 2006). It should be available online via the library. In it you will find a variety of chapters (all by different authors) pertaining to your area of interest, including a basic narrative of the historical events, especially the "final crisis" of 69 to 44 BCE; chapters on the constitution and on the interface between the Late Republican army and society; a chapter on social structure and demography; on aristocratic values; on popular power; patronage; and some excellent over-arching discussions at the end by the editors and others.
Morstein-Marx also has Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge 2004), which is much more hefty but very important for your topic.
If you are still hungry after that, move to Mouritsen, Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge 2001) for a slightly different take.
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