"There once was a dream that was Rome." That's what Gladiator keeps telling us. But, after 482 years, the dream, the republic, was murdered.

In the season 2 finale, it's time to investigate, hold a trial, and determine a verdict: Who killed the Roman Republic?

Julius Caesar is dead. Who will replace him? Allies turn into rivals as Rome descends once more into civil war. This time, the winner plots a final end to the ancient republic.

Sources:

• Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, Adrian Goldsworthy
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

Caesar has defeated Pompey and become the most powerful Roman in the republic. Will he use that power to reform and save the republic, or make himself a king?

Sources:

• Caesar: Life of a Colossus, Adrian Goldsworthy
• Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, Adrian Goldsworthy
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

After Sulla "saved the republic," (his words, not ours), a new generation of Roman leaders rose who thought, hey, if Sulla could become dictator for life, why not me?

Before long, they were all killing each other and pushing the republic toward the brink.

Sources:

• Caesar: Life of a Colossus, Adrian Goldsworthy
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

Best friends become best frenemies as Marius and Sulla come to blows and a whole lot of Romans get caught in the middle. Can the republic survive?

Sources:

• Storm Before the Storm, Mike Duncan
• Caesar: Life of a Colossus, Adrian Goldsworthy
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

The Gracchi are dead and the Roman senate has reasserted its power, which is to say, everything is for sale and bribery is rampant. When a Numidian prince exposes the rot within the system, an unlikely pair rise to oppose him, and accumulate unprecedented power in the process.

Sources:

• Storm Before the Storm, Mike Duncan
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

What if I told you the collapse of the Roman Republic began with a housing crisis, 2nd century BC style? Expansion will bring economic pain for the poor, and the Gracchi brothers will try to help them, or die trying.

Sources:

• Storm Before the Storm, Mike Duncan
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan

The founders of Rome were raised by wolves. Or were they survivors of Troy? Or 7 tyrant kings? Whatever the mythical origins, they eventually founded a Democratic Republic of checks, balances, and traditions designed to prevent any one man from ever accumulating too much power. Rome would never be ruled by a King again.

Sources:

• The Constitution of the Roman Republic: A Political Economy Perspective (https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1300&context=public_law_and_legal_theory)
• Storm before the storm, Mike Duncan
• History of Rome podcast, Mike Duncan