Starting from middle republic, the patrician class (1% if you will) started concentrating large tracts of land in their hands in gigantic latifundias. These sta

Starting from middle republic, the patrician class (1% if you will) started concentrating large tracts of land in their hands in gigantic latifundias. These started spamming the farm produce economy with cheap, slave-labor produced grain. That bankrupted small farmers and they sold out to patricians and went to cities (Rome etc) or became slaves or indentured servants in latifundias. That made decline of Rome accelerate geometrically. Much of the middle to late republic conflicts stem from that discontent with patricians and their rising power. Populares faction tried to set things right starting with Gracchi brothers, who tried to limit max wealth and redistribute excess land, however they got murdered by patricians. From then on there was no way to save Rome. Patricians won. Caesar represents the last but weak attempt by the populares to change some things. Which Caesar did even if he wasnt able to dare impose wealth caps or redistribute land. Even for that, he was killed by patricians too. Patricians won the ultimate victory while ensuring the fall of Rome. It wasnt 100 years before the privatized Roman army started getting undone by rising barbarians despite Rome's technological superiority. (which was waning too) The reason for that military decline is simple - Rome's power always resided in its large population who believed in Roman society enough to fight and die for it. After patricians made Rome into an entirely slave based society after destroying the free Rome and what power free, working class Romans had in Roman society, and even going to the extent of privatizing the army to not pay for it in taxes, the manpower and logistical advantage of Rome was lost. Private armies paid by rich strongmen are incompatible with democracy (civil wars era, rich patricians vying for power with their privately-raised legions leading to triumvirate and ending with octavian), and the privately funded army of a hierarchical empire is prone to not preferring to die for the sake of their society and instead fighting for their pay and loot. So the rapid decline. Rome went down crashing when it forfeited its people. It deserved its fall.