From kingdom to republic
Early Rome was ruled by kings. Around 509 BCE the Romans drove out the last king, Tarquin the Proud. They decided that power must never again sit with one person for life. The new system was called res publica, which means "the public thing" or "the business of the people".
Two big ideas guided it: collegiality (every top job was shared by at least two people) and annuality (most jobs lasted only one year).
The three parts of government
Magistrates (officials)
The two consuls led the army and the government for one year. Each could block the other. In a deadly emergency the Senate could ask for a dictator, who had full power for at most six months.
The Senate
About 300 men (later 600), mostly former officials, who served for life. The Senate did not pass laws itself, but its advice (senatus consultum) carried huge weight. It controlled money, foreign affairs and the provinces.
The assemblies
Adult male citizens met in assemblies to elect officials, vote on laws and decide on war and peace. Votes were counted by groups, and in the Centuriate Assembly the richer groups voted first, so the rich had more weight.
Tribunes of the plebs
Ten tribunes were elected by plebeians only. A tribune could shout "veto" ("I forbid") to stop an action that harmed a plebeian. Hurting a tribune was a crime against the gods.
Roman society: patricians, plebeians and others
Patricians were old, rich families. Plebeians were everyone else among citizens: farmers, traders, craftsmen. At first only patricians could hold top offices.
In the Conflict of the Orders (about 494–287 BCE) plebeians walked out of the city several times, refusing to work or fight. They won: tribunes, written laws (the Twelve Tables, about 450 BCE, so judges could not twist the rules), the right to become consul (367 BCE) and laws from their own assembly binding everyone (287 BCE).
Below citizens were women (citizens but with no vote), foreigners and enslaved people, who had no political rights. Rich men acted as patrons to poorer clients, trading help for votes and support.
The ladder of offices (cursus honorum)
An ambitious Roman climbed offices in a fixed order, with minimum ages:
- Quaestor – looked after money.
- Aedile – looked after streets, markets and games (optional step).
- Praetor – judge, could lead armies.
- Consul – the top job.
Former consuls could become censor, who counted citizens and checked senators' behaviour. Romans honoured mos maiorum, "the way of the ancestors". Heroes like Cincinnatus, who left his farm to save Rome and then went back to ploughing, were role models of duty over power.
Why the Republic fell (the Late Republic)
Rome's wars (for example against Carthage, 264–146 BCE) brought land, slaves and wealth. Rich men bought big farms worked by slaves; many small farmers lost their land.
- The Gracchi brothers (133 and 123 BCE), tribunes, tried to give land to poor citizens. Both were killed, and political violence became normal.
- Marius let landless men join the army. Soldiers now depended on their general for pay and land, so armies became loyal to generals.
- Sulla marched his army on Rome (88 BCE) and made himself dictator.
- Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river with his army (49 BCE), won a civil war and was named dictator for life. He was killed in 44 BCE.
- Octavian defeated his rivals and in 27 BCE took the name Augustus. The Senate and offices still existed, but one man held real power: the Empire had begun.
Legacy and links to today
Modern ideas from the Roman Republic: a senate, fixed terms of office, separation and balance of powers, the veto, written law and the idea that no one is above the law. The founders of the USA and of many modern constitutions read about Rome. The story of its fall is also a warning: when the army, money and violence matter more than rules, a republic can die.
Try it: build the Roman government
Take three paper cups and label them Consuls, Senate and Assemblies. Write on slips: "lead army", "advise on money", "elect officials", "vote on laws", "veto". Drop each slip in the right cup (tribunes get "veto"). Then remove two cups and put everything in one: that is what happened under Augustus. Check with step 6 in the 3D.
Key formulas and definitions
- Republic: 509–27 BCE
- Consul: 2 at a time, 1 year, each can veto the other
- Senate: about 300 members for life; advises, controls money and foreign policy
- Assemblies: citizens elect officials and pass laws
- Tribune of the plebs: protects plebeians, can veto
- Cursus honorum: quaestor → (aedile) → praetor → consul
- Dictator: emergency ruler, max 6 months
Worked examples
1. A consul wants to start a war that the other consul thinks is foolish. What can happen?
Because power is collegial, the second consul can say "veto" and block the plan. Both had equal power, so neither could act alone against the other.
2. Why did plebeians want the laws written down as the Twelve Tables?
Before, only patrician priests and judges knew the laws, so they could twist them. Written laws, shown in public, let everyone know the rules and made judges follow them.
3. Explain how Marius's army reform helped destroy the Republic.
Marius took landless volunteers. They needed their general to get them pay and land after service. So soldiers obeyed their general, not the Senate. Sulla and Caesar later used such loyal armies to march on Rome.
4. In 27 BCE the Senate still met. Why do we say the Republic ended?
Augustus controlled the army, the money and the choice of officials. The old institutions stayed as a front, but decisions were made by one man for life. That is rule by one person, which the Republic had promised never to allow.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the Republic was a democracy like today: women, slaves and foreigners had no vote, and the rich had more voting weight.
- Mixing up the Senate and the assemblies: assemblies passed laws and elected officials; the Senate mainly advised and controlled money.
- Thinking Julius Caesar was the first emperor: he was dictator; Augustus (27 BCE) was the first emperor.
- Thinking tribunes were army officers: tribunes of the plebs were elected protectors of ordinary citizens.