How was the roman republic transformed into the roman empire?
Originally the Romans were a republic, much like the Greeks, governed by an elected senate. However, many Roman generals had strong support from their soldiers, and those soldiers were often strong enough to sway the public, even to the point of getting their generals elected as senators of Rome. One such general was Julius Caesar. He was so popular among the soldiers that they crowned him emperor. Members of the senate were outraged, and assassinated Caesar. But at Caesar’s funeral, Marc Antony was able to sway the public to support a triumverate (threesome) of Caesar’s successor’s to rule. One was Augustus, the nephew of Caesar, and another was Marc Antony (a third was assigned to eastern Rome and quietly killed). Augustus managed to defeat Marc Antony and grab leadership of Rome as the first true emporer of Rome. Many of the most evil emperors were descendants of Augustus, including Nero and Calligula.
