The Roman Republic, where did it all go wrong?

[CountArach]

you can add to that also the soldiers would influence the people back home while away on conflict, therefore the enlarged family would do the generals bidding while he was away. Putting presure on the peoples tribunes etc.,

I think that is a rather interesting reading of the Tribune's roll. In reality they were looking out for their own Senatorial future and those to whom they were also personally loyal. Yes, there were a number of reformist Tribunes, but these were in the minority compared to those such as Marcus Antonius, who was there to look out for Caesar's interests and their own future. Their future was not in the hands of the people, but rather in the hands of those who could bankroll future political campaigns.

I personally believe that there is no single reason the Republic fell, simply a confluence of circumstances that added together to reach some sort of critical mass. Personal armies played a huge part, but the Marian and Sullan 'party' politics of the 1st Century BCE and the subsequent use of the Dictatorship as a viable political position above and beyond the Consulship are also both issues that can't be ignored. Marians and Sullans both sought out constant waves of revenge upon each other for proscriptions and political wrongs that in turn created an endless spiral of violence that ultimately created a rupture that could never truly be healed (Cicero tried to heal it by seeking an alliance between the Patricians and Equestrians, but this came too late in the death spiral and as such no one was willing to ultimately agree to it - it was all or nothing). Once proscriptions and the Dictatorship became more mainstream politics there would always be those who were willing to exploit the opportunities they created.