Roman Republic
Res publica Romana
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Capital
| Rome
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Common languages
| Latin
(official)
Etruscan
,
Greek
,
Osco-Umbrian
,
Venetic
,
Ligurian
,
Rhaetian
,
Nuragic
,
Sicel
,
Hebrew
,
Aramaic
,
Syriac
,
Punic
,
Berber
,
Illyrian
,
Iberian
,
Lusitanian
,
Celtiberian
,
Gaulish
,
Gallaecian
,
Aquitanian
(unofficial, but commonly spoken)
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Religion
| Roman polytheism
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Government
| Constitutional
republic
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Consuls
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? 509?508 BC
| Lucius Junius Brutus
,
Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus
(first)
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? 27 BC
| Octavian
,
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
(last)
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Legislature
| Legislative Assemblies
Roman Senate
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Historical era
| Classical antiquity
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| 509 BC
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| 338 BC
[2]
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| 47 BC
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| 2 September 31 BC
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| 16 January 27 BC
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Today part of
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The
Roman Republic
was a phase in history of the
Ancient Roman
civilization
. According to
legend
, the
city
of
Rome
was founded by
Romulus
in
c.
750 BC
. It was a
kingdom
until 510 BC, when the last
King
,
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
was overthrown. Then began the Roman
Republic
.
The Roman Constitution was mainly an
oligarchy
but with some democratic features. The Roman people elected various officials including
consuls
, who ruled for about a year, from among a few noble families. Many of the ideas of the Roman Republic are still used today.
The Roman Republic got most of its wealth from
trading
and
taxation
. The
Roman army
was the strongest in Italy. It was constantly battling the
Gauls
, who were later conquered by Caesar. The
Punic Wars
against
Carthage
were fought all over the Mediterranean coasts, mainly because of disputes over
Sicily
and trade. The third enemy was the
Germanic tribes
or other
barbarians
(uncivilized people).
The Roman Republic suffered many disasters, including
Spartacus
(the leader of a slave revolt) who defeated one consul's army before he was captured. Also,
Hannibal
crossed the
Alps
and then defeated the
Roman army
at
Cannae
and many other battles, which saw Rome greatly fear being destroyed by
Carthage
.
The end of the Roman Republic is still a matter of dispute, and different
scholars
will give different dates for it. Usually, the dates of the start of either the
First Triumvirate
or the
Second Triumvirate
are given. The triumvirates were groups of three men who had much power.
The end of the Roman Republic is often said to be
Gaius Julius Caesar
's appointment as
dictator
(single ruler) by the
Roman Senate
. That happened after a series of
civil wars
lasting from about
49 BC
to
44 BC
.
Some people say the Roman Republic ended with the
naval
Battle of Actium
between
Marcus Antonius
and
Octavian
. Both had been in the Second Triumvirate. The battle was fought on 2 September 31 BC in which Octavian won. Later, he was proclaimed Roman emperor. The end date could also be when Octavian was given the title of the first
Augustus
by the Senate, on 16 January 27 BC.
Those are modern views, however. In the view of the early emperors, the
Res Publica
(Republic, literally "Thing of the People") still existed but was simply "under their protection". They promised that some day that the Republic would restored to its original form. That never happened and so scholars divide the Roman Empire and the Roman Republic as two different and distinct periods in the history of Rome.