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Caesar's death quickly lead to the domination of Rome by Caesar Augustus after a few years of fighting. Going forward, Rome would have emperors who would almost always be backed by the Roman Legion. In other words, they were no longer a functioning Republic except by the leave of the military and the emperors they backed. The result being that people were increasingly poor as selfish degenerates ruled more often than wise and benevolent men and the few with wealth were increasingly distracted by their degenerate lifestyles and so hardlt ameliorated poor rule if they were involved at all. Eventually, the senators were hardly better than the Plebeians except they got to hobnob with the emperor and his bureaucrats. It is typical for historians to refer to the era before the rule of Augustus as the Roman Republic and the era starting with Augustus's rule as the Roman Empire.

Marcus's own diary, the Meditations, is mostly about improving himself but also highlights the degenerate behavior of the political elite of the time. Definitely worth a read. I'd also count The City of God as a reliable contemporary account and good defense of the Christians from the exact era you're talking about. It refutes many of the claims made by the pagan elite. This is a large topic and to place the blame squarely on any one group is silly. I'd say that the Christians are to be thanked for salvaging as much as they could, not blamed for the downfall. The Roman pagans bear their share and the jews... well, wherever there's trouble there's jews.