The Roman Republic was a plutocratic oligarchy. As is generally true of republics, it was a mixed constitution with a monarchic component, the Consuls, and aristocratic component, the Senate, and a democratic component, the Assemblies of the Plebes. The plebes had their representatives, the Tribunes of the Plebes who could veto proposals of the Senate. […]
Social and Economic Factors Leading to the End of the Roman Republic
April 17, 2023 By Leave a Comment
The severe erosion of the small landholding class during the second century B,C. These small farmers were the bulwark of the Roman Republic. This led to a movement, led by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus to redistribute public lands (ager publica) to the many landless who had been kicked off their land by wealthy people buying up […]
What Happened to the Roman Aristocracy?
April 9, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Cornelius, Aemilius, Fabius, Claudius, Julius, Junius, Sempronius, and Livius were all prominent Romen gens until the first century B.C. What happened to them and why did they fade from prominence in Rome? Beginning with the conflict between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome experienced intermittent civil wars throughout the first seventy years of the […]
Why Did The Roman Republic Transition to a Monarchy?
November 16, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Roman Republic was born in 509 B.C. when the Romans, under the leadership of Lucius Junius Brutus drove out the last King, Tarquin Superbus. The Republic was not very democratic, even though the leadership was elected. The aristocracy had far more say in affairs of state than the common people. It was, essentially, a […]
Quora Question: Is the Roman Republic Similar to the Modern American Republic
February 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment
No. It is a very dicey proposition to compare any modern republic to the pre-industrial society of Rome. The founding fathers of the U.S. had some admiration for Roman political forms and took some of the ideas of the Greek historian Polybius in account in establishing the political institutions of the new republic. Polybius pointed […]
A Tale of Two Republics
May 12, 2017 By 2 Comments
A Tale of Two Republics. Rome, during the early and middle Republican periods actually had a better system for choosing their leaders than we do in the modern United States. Anyone who aspired to the highest political position had to go through the Cursus Honorum. An ambitious young Roman, usually of patrician or equestrian background, […]
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