Roman Republic

Roman Republic Res publica Romana
509 BC–27 BC
Denarius of Brutus, 54 BC, showing the first Roman consul, Lucius Junius Brutus, surrounded by two lictors and preceded by an accensus.
Roman provinces on the eve of the assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC
Capital	Rome
Common languages	Latin (official) Etruscan, Greek, Osco-Umbrian, Venetic, Ligurian, Rhaetian, Nuragic, Sicel, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Punic, Berber, Illyrian, Iberian, Lusitanian, Celtiberian, Gaulish, Gallaecian, Aquitanian (unofficial, but commonly spoken)
Religion	Roman polytheism
Government	Constitutional republic
Consuls
• 509–508 BC	Lucius Junius Brutus, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (first)
• 27 BC	Octavian, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (last)
Legislature	Legislative Assemblies Roman Senate
Historical era	Classical antiquity
• Overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus	509 BC
• Dissolution of the Latin League	338 BC
• Caesar proclaimed dictator	47 BC
• Battle of Actium	2 September 31 BC
• Octavian proclaimed Augustus	16 January 27 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Roman Kingdom Roman Empire
Today part of	France Spain Portugal Italy Albania Greece North Africa Turkey

The Roman Republic was a phase in history of the Ancient Roman civilization. According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus in c. 750 BC. It was a kingdom until 510 BC, when the last King, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown. Then began the Roman Republic.

The Roman Constitution was mainly an oligarchy but with some democratic features. The Roman people elected various officials including consuls, who ruled for about a year, from among a few noble families. Many of the ideas of the Roman Republic are still used today.

The Roman Republic got most of its wealth from trading and taxation. The Roman army was the strongest in Italy. It was constantly battling the Gauls, who were later conquered by Caesar. The Punic Wars against Carthage were fought all over the Mediterranean coasts, mainly because of disputes over Sicily and trade. The third enemy was the Germanic tribes or other barbarians (uncivilized people).

The Roman Republic suffered many disasters, including Spartacus (the leader of a slave revolt) who defeated one consul's army before he was captured. Also, Hannibal crossed the Alps and then defeated the Roman army at Cannae and many other battles, which saw Rome greatly fear being destroyed by Carthage.

The end of the Roman Republic is still a matter of dispute, and different scholars will give different dates for it. Usually, the dates of the start of either the First Triumvirate or the Second Triumvirate are given. The triumvirates were groups of three men who had much power.

The end of the Roman Republic is often said to be Gaius Julius Caesar's appointment as dictator (single ruler) by the Roman Senate. That happened after a series of civil wars lasting from about 49 BC to 44 BC.

Some people say the Roman Republic ended with the naval Battle of Actium between Marcus Antonius and Octavian. Both had been in the Second Triumvirate. The battle was fought on 2 September 31 BC in which Octavian won. Later, he was proclaimed Roman emperor. The end date could also be when Octavian was given the title of the first Augustus by the Senate, on 16 January 27 BC.

Those are modern views, however. In the view of the early emperors, the Res Publica (Republic, literally "Thing of the People") still existed but was simply "under their protection". They promised that some day that the Republic would restored to its original form. That never happened and so scholars divide the Roman Empire and the Roman Republic as two different and distinct periods in the history of Rome.

Government and Law

The Romans did not prefer to see one individual possess all the authority similar to a king. They instead formed a Republic (in Latin: Res Publica, or the thing of the people).

How it Worked

• The Consuls: Every year, two men were elected to command the government and the army. They needed to make decisions mutually. In case one replied no, the other could not do anything. This was called a veto.
• The Senate: It consisted of a number of experienced leaders, around 300 in number who advised the Consuls. They were highly potent and as a rule belonged to wealthy families.
• The Assemblies: These were assemblies of normal citizens who voted the laws and also elected the officials.
• Dictators: During periods of high risk (such as a war), the Romans could make an individual a so called Dictator who would rule the country only half a year.

Social Classes

The Roman society was differentiated into two groups:

• Patricians:The rich and noble families that initially possessed the majority of the power.
• Plebeians: The ordinary citizens e.g. farmers, traders, and craftworkers. Hundreds of years they had to struggle in order to obtain more rights.

The Twelve Tables

The first laws of the Romans were written in a series of twelve bronze tablets in 451BC. This mattered as it was to the extent that the laws were universal and could not be manipulated under the carpet by the wealthy.

Wars and Expansion

The Republic was nearly in constant warfare. The more they conquered more land as they won.

Conquering Italy

By circa 275 BC, Rome had conquered its neighbors and brought almost the entire Italian peninsula under its rule.

The Punic Wars

Rome itself waged three major wars with Carthage who was a mighty city of North Africa.

• Hannibal: It was the renowned general Hannibal who crossed the Alps in the Second Punic War accompanied with elephants and invaded Rome.
• Victory: Rome eventually emerged victorious in all three wars and in 146 BC it destroyed Carthage thus becoming the most powerful state in the Mediterranean.

The End of the Republic

As Rome increased in size it became difficult to control. Many things contributed to the downfall of the Republic:

• Civil Wars: Generals started to struggle with each other to control the power by means of own faithful armies.
• Julius Caesar: A general who conqueror Gaul (modern France). He grew too strong and was declared to be a life-long Dictator. He was supposedly desiring to be king, which was the reason why many senators killed him in 44 BC.
• Augustus: Caesar adopted a son called Octavian who defeated his opponents after further battles. In 27 BC, he renamed himself Augustus and the Republic came to an end and the Roman Empire began.

Key Vocabulary

Term	Meaning
Veto	Latin for "I forbid." The power to stop a law.
Forum	The main square in the center of Rome for business and politics.
Legion	A large unit of the Roman army, made of about 5,000 soldiers.
Tribune	An official elected to protect the rights of the plebeians.