It has been more than two thousand years since the Roman Republic collapsed, to be replaced by a de facto monarchy. Its legacy is still with us today in the form of governmental institutions that pay homage to Republican Rome, such as the US Senate, or the idea of mixed government with separation of powers. Below are sixteen fascinating facts about the men who founded and sustained the Roman Republic from a small and insignificant city state, until it established itself as the era’s superpower.
16. The Res Publica Romana
The Res Publica Romana, or the Roman Republic, was the nearly five centuries between the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC and the establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. That period saw the expansion of Rome from an insignificant city in central Italy into the world’s most powerful state, that ruled or exerted hegemonic power over the entire Mediterranean world. The evolution of government during the Republic was strongly influenced by a struggle between the patrician class, the landed aristocracy who traced their lineage to Rome’s founding, and the far more numerous plebeians, or common citizens. Initially, the patricians monopolized the Republic’s high offices, but gradually, their exclusive control was weakened and repealed, and powerful plebeian families joined the aristocracy.
