Was the fall of the Roman Republic an inevitable consequence of Roman expansion?
Since it happened, yes. The major reason is the way the Roman army worked. All male citizens of a certain property status had to serve in the army. It was a drafted army. But people (a.o.) out of sense of citizenship served happily in it. However, the pay was very little. Booty had to make up for it. The problems started when the Roman empire expanded outside of Italy. The backbone of the army were small farmers. They had enough property to buy the necessary army gear. As long as the army operated close to home, they could go home and manage their farms. Once the army had to stay in the field for much longer periods, that was no longer possible. The small farms went bust. The senate and leading class as a whole never realized this or wanted to realize it. Individuals did. Notably the Crachii brothers. But every effort do do something about it was squashed. Too many important people would loose on it. Small farmers in effect worked towards their own downfall: the longer they were away f
