The Roman Republic, A Period Of Ancient Rome

There is a document taken from the book “The Histories” written by a Greek historian named Polybius, who believed that Rome was democratic. This document talks about the Roman Constitution which consists of the three elements we use today. These three important elements are the Consuls, Senate, and the Assemblies , which equally had different powers. The Consuls lead the military and were the supreme masters of the government. The Senate proposed laws and had control over the treasury. The final part is the Assemblies which was the power of the people. The Assemblies got to vote and grant office to those who deserved it. Everyone had an equal part in the government which shows that Rome was democratic.

The later Roman Republic and early Roman Empire controlled most of modern day Europe through Northern Africa to Asia Minor. This time of complete dominance over much of the known world propelled Rome into a new era of wealth and prosperity that allowed Romans to look past military expansion. The Roman state now turned towards betterment of society and the “craving for a good education.” Education was seen not only as a tool for the furthering of personal careers, but as a way to improve Rome. Education passed along virtue and the skills necessary to run the Republic and early Empire. This knowledge began in the home, transferring from father to son through the role of fathers as paterfamilias or head of household. Fathers were in charge of ensuring the best possible education for their sons in hope that they would further the ideals and goals of a glorious Rome. Education, through the different steps of the informal Roman education structure and through the influence of the father, furthered the ideal of Roman virtue and ensured generations of virtuous leaders.

Some policies and institutions of the Roman Republic were useful to help them succeed in conquering first Italy and then the Mediterranean world. Before of the institution of the republic, the romans were a monarchy since their beginning and they were basically a pastoral people. Rome suffer several changes and improvements under the control of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscan were civilization settled north of Rome in Etruria, and they once had control over almost all the Italic peninsula. The Etruscans influences in Rome were profound, they transformed Rome from a pastoral community to a city (91). The Etruscan built the street and roads that help the development of temples, markets, shops, streets, and houses. They basically brought urbanization to Rome. It is fairly to say that the Rome republic was a fusion between the elements of the Etruscan civilization and the Rome elements. The combination of the different political institutions and policies made the Romans succeed in their conquest territories.

Over a long course of time the Romans had many different forms of government. From oligarchies to dictatorships Rome had experience with most forms of government. With all of these happening so far in the past many questions are asked today. One of the most talked and quested forms of Roman government is the Roman Republic. The Republic of Rome is normally thought to be a democracy. But an extremely common question still arise. This questions is whether the Roman Republic was truly democratic. In a simple answer the Roman Republic was a democratic government.

From the fall of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, in 509 BCE, to the beginning of the principate in 27 BCE, the Roman Republic thrived as a strong and relatively stable government. This was despite its two major issues that eventually led to its downfall- the class struggle between plebeians and patricians as well as the autonomy the military had that allowed for armies to become loyal to its commander rather than the Roman state. For centuries, these issues were kept under control and the Republic was able to grow throughout the Western world. However, starting with more radical figures such as Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi and continuing to Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, these

Arthur Erickson said that, “Ancient Rome was as confident of the immutability of its world and the continual expansion and improvement of the human lot as we are today”. In Rome got two kinds of government, and there were Roman Empire and Roman Republic. Both of them had different structures to development on many aspects in Rome such as laws, equality and rights of life’s Roman where Rome wanted a democratic system. Although, it has helped later to now, in that time was a conflict where it created a war.

The Roman Republic is a government that began in 509 BC and ended in 27 BC. First of all the Romans were trying to overthrow their Etruscan king (Tarquin the Proud). Etruscan kings had ruled for 100’s of years. After overthrowing the last king the Roman Republic formed. It’s a government in which citizens and representatives were to rule. The Republic was quite different from a democracy.

Roman Republic, one of the most famous republic in ancient time, established a form of government comprising three main parts: a few magistrates, a Senate, and several assemblies. Roman Republic was the period of ancient Roman civilization starting with the collapse of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and ended in 27 BC with the founding of the Roman Empire. The government had representatives selected by citizen and ended because of the civil war between powerful generals including Antony and Brutus.

“Tiberius and his brother Gaius were regarded in Roman tradition as the initiators of the revolution which led to the breakdown of the Republic.” (Roebuck, 1966:506)

The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.

The key feature of almost all lasting, successful military establishments is a professional base of soldiery. Having this in place is the gateway to repeatable military triumph. The first state to universally construct a professional military was the Roman Republic, beginning in 107 BC. Gaius Marius, Praetor and later Consul of the Republic, was the main figure in bringing about these changes. He, among other reformations, eliminated the requirement of land ownership as a prerequisite of army service, along with large scale standardization of equipment. These were some of the ways that Marius was able to establish one of the best and longest lasting military forces in all history. As the professional soldiery of the Roman Republic grew, so too did the ease with which it subjugated and conquered its neighbors.

Many aspects of the United States of America can be traced back to roman history. One of these aspects is the main city. Rome was the main city of the Roman Empire and the population back then was once 1.2 million and growing. Just like in the United States there is N.Y. where it is very populated. It also shares the aspect of crime because in both cities it is dangerous to walk around in the streets because of the muggings and robberies that took place all over the cities.

The base of the Roman Republic’s political system was the Assemblies in which Roman males would pass laws, elect Magistrates, and perform ceremonial duties. They had the power to approve or disapprove the Senate’s policies. In the empire, Augustus became a perpetual Tribune. He alone had the power to approve or veto laws.

After the fall of Tarquinius Superbus’ reign of Rome, the Brutus and Collatinus led patrician revolution leads to the beginning of a new era in Roman history: the republic. The early republic is mostly a patrician favoring institute and created it in order “to restore power and privileges that popular royal tyrants had usurped from them” and to make it “difficult for any one aristocrat to acquire too much power at the expense of the rest” (Ward 59). Greek historian, Polybius, in his book, Histories, talks about the greatness of this Roman republic and its constitution by claiming: “Now the elements by which the Roman constitution was controlled were three in number, … and all aspects of the administration were, taken separately, so fairly

Since its collapse, historians have attempted to explain the struggle for power and control over both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire that followed. To explain the complexities of the Roman Republic, the Empire, and their political complexities can be a daunting task. For nearly ten centuries Rome would rule most of the known world before the fall of the Western Empire (Byzantine) in 476 C.E. Before that fall occurred, a fundamental change would take place that would transform the original Republic into the Roman Empire. Many factors would be directly and indirectly responsible for this transition. These would