Roman Republic Period (509 to 27 BCE)
A Roman Republic Period (509 to 27 BCE) is a historic period in ancient Rome that established republican governance through elected magistrates (spanning from the overthrow of Roman Kingdom to the rise of the Roman Empire).
- AKA: Republican Rome, Pre-Imperial Rome, Roman Commonwealth.
- Context:
- It can establish Political Institutions through elected offices.
- It can develop Legal Systems through roman laws.
- It can maintain Social Order through class hierarchy.
- It can expand Territorial Control through military conquests.
- It can create Administrative Structures through provincial governments.
- ...
- It can often balance Political Power through checks and balances.
- It can often resolve Social Conflicts through political reforms.
- It can often manage Military Campaigns through consular commands.
- It can often regulate Economic Activity through state policy.
- ...
- It can range from being a City State to being a Mediterranean Empire, depending on its territorial expansion.
- It can range from being a Patrician Oligarchy to being a Mixed Constitution, depending on its political evolution.
- It can range from being a Local Power to being a Regional Hegemon, depending on its military dominance.
- ...
- It can integrate with Greek Culture for cultural synthesis.
- It can connect to Mediterranean Trade for economic exchange.
- It can support Provincial Administration for territorial management.
- ...
- Example(s):
- Early Republic Periods (509-265 BC), such as:
- Patrician-Plebeian Conflicts, such as:
- Italian Expansions, such as:
- Middle Republic Periods (265-133 BC), such as:
- Punic Wars, such as:
- Eastern Campaigns, such as:
- Late Republic Periods (133-27 BC), such as:
- Internal Crisises, such as:
- Civil Wars, such as:
- ...
- Early Republic Periods (509-265 BC), such as:
- Counter-Example(s):
- Roman Kingdom, which emphasizes monarchical rule rather than elected magistracy.
- Roman Empire, which centralizes imperial power rather than republican institutions.
- Carthaginian Republic, which focuses on commercial empire rather than territorial expansion.
- Greek Democracy, which implements direct citizen rule rather than senatorial governance.
- Hellenistic Kingdoms, which maintain dynastic succession rather than annual elections.
- See: Roman Consul, Lictors, Roman Province, Julius Caesar (100BC-44BC), Mediterranean, Classical Antiquity, Republic, Tarquinius Superbus, Lucretia, Battle of Actium.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic Retrieved:2016-6-6.
- The Roman Republic was the period of ancient Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. By the following century, it included North Africa, Spain, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of civil wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar, which led to the transition from republic to empire. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation. Historians have variously proposed Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, Caesar's appointment as dictator for life in 44 BC, and the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. However, most use the same date as did the ancient Romans themselves, the Roman Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian and his adopting the title Augustus in 27 BC, as the defining event ending the Republic.
Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. As Roman society was very hierarchical by modern standards, the evolution of the Roman government was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians, Rome's land-holding aristocracy, who traced their ancestry to the founding of Rome, and the plebeians, the far more numerous citizen-commoners. Over time, the laws that gave patricians exclusive rights to Rome's highest offices were repealed or weakened, and leading plebeian families became full members of the aristocracy. The leaders of the Republic developed a strong tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military and political success inextricably linked. Many of Rome's legal and legislative structures (later codified into the Justinian Code, and again into the Napoleonic Code) can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states and international organizations.
- The Roman Republic was the period of ancient Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. By the following century, it included North Africa, Spain, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of civil wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar, which led to the transition from republic to empire. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation. Historians have variously proposed Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, Caesar's appointment as dictator for life in 44 BC, and the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. However, most use the same date as did the ancient Romans themselves, the Roman Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian and his adopting the title Augustus in 27 BC, as the defining event ending the Republic.