[infowarrior]

The Republic was real enough that it was the basis of much of the thought of our founders, and did not collapse into tyranny and chaos until more than a century after Hannibal.

While this is true, as far as it goes, I believe I could reasonably contend, that the sudden influx of wealth into Rome, after having won their bid for supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea, was the root cause of the chaos, corruption, and tyrrany that lead to the destruxction of the Republic, and the establishment of the Empire. Just as the continued influx of wealth from the Empire's far-flung conquests lead to the chaos and corruption which lead to the fall of the Western portion of the Empire, similar to what happened to the newly united Spain post 1492...

the infowarrior

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I agree with the idea that the influx of wealth, and its unequal distribution, lead to the corruption of the Republic, but my understanding is that the later West Roman Empire had a shortage of wealth, not an excess.