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. […]
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 […]
Book Review: The Death of Caesar, by Barry Strauss
March 17, 2016 By Leave a Comment
The assassination of Julius Caesar was a critical event in western history. It led to the end of the oligarchic Roman Republic and to the establishment of a monarchy as Rome continued to expand and dominate much of Europe and the Middle East. Barry Strauss has examined all of the near-contemporary literature about the assassination […]
“Don’t Know Much About History”-Art Garfunkle
February 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
This was a line in a popular song in the late 1960s. Art Garfunkle was not alone. The fact is, huge numbers of Americans really don’t know much about history. When I was writing The Death of Carthage, people would ask me what the book was about and I would say “The Second and Third […]
Book Review: Eve of Ides by David Blixt
February 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Eve of Ides is a two-act play in which the author, David Blixt marries William Shakespeare and Colleen Mc Cullough. William Shakespeare, of course, wrote the play Julius Caesar, which, as Blixt points out, was more about Marcus Junius Brutus than it was about Caesar. In his playwright’s notes, Blixt states: “It is hard to […]
Notable Woman of the Roman Republic: Fulvia Flacca Bambula
July 30, 2012 By 9 Comments
In the days of the late Roman republic, it wasn’t wise for a woman to involve herself in politics. (It probably wasn’t wise for a man to involve himself in politics either, but that’s another matter.) Fulvia Flacca Bambula was married to three politically prominent Romans at successive times and she was wielded more […]
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