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As Rome headed into the 1st Century BC, its power continued to expand, they had destroyed its rival in the Mediterranean, the Carthaginian Empire and various Greek Warlords who attempted to keep their independence. But with tremendous success came costs as a series of civil wars and unrest transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. But Rome had a well functioning representative democracy for centuries, so how did it all come to an end? To help explain we interview Dr. Edward Watts; he is a professor of History at UC San Diego focusing on the intellectual and religious history of the Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. He has written several books including City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria, Riot in Alexandria: Historical Debate in Pagan and Christian Communities which was a 2010 PROSE Award Honorable Mention. He also wrote The Final Pagan Generation which was awarded the 2015 Phi Alpha Theta Best Subsequent Book Prize and Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny. We also explore how the Roman government function and how Roman society was transformed as a result of this transition.