Competition without immediate civil war in Republican Rome

Was Rome's internal political competition new, and did it help drive conquest?

Competition itself was not new; Rome's advantage was that several commanders could win honors within one system while citizen-soldiers retained a stake in that system.

Internal competition was already familiar in the ancient world. Rome differed in its ability to reward more than one successful commander, so the usual contest was to become the greatest figure within the Republic. Kings elsewhere had to be cautious about entrusting large armies to possible rivals, while Roman generals and troops generally remained part of the civic order. Soldiers faced strict discipline in the field and many returned home as citizens with votes in Roman elections. Several military careers could therefore advance inside the same political arena without every successful general becoming an immediate threat to a monarch.