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Summary The fall of the republican government
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HIST 2211:Ancient Rome (classnote summary) The fall of the republican government
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Fall of the republican governmentAt the end of the sixth century BC. In 300 BC. AD, the tiny city-state of Rome
threw off the shackles of monarchy and established a republican government that
in theory, if not always in practice, represented the wishes of its citizens. From this
base, the city will conquer the entire Italian peninsula and large parts of the
Mediterranean world and beyond. The republic and its governing institutions
would last for five centuries, until, broken by civil wars, they were transformed
into a principality ruled by the emperor. Even then, many political bodies created
during the Republican era, notably the Senate, would remain, but with a reduction
in power.
Myth and Legend
The years before the rise of the Republic are lost in myth and legend. No
contemporary written history survives from this period. Although much of this
history has been lost, the Roman historian Livy (59 BC - 17 AD) was still able to
write a remarkable history of Rome - 142 volumes - spanning the years of the
monarchy until the fall of the republic. However, much of its history, especially in
its early years, was based solely on myths and oral tales. Contrary to some
interpretations, the fall of the monarchy and the birth of the republic did not
happen overnight. Some even claim it was anything but bloodless. Historian Mary
,Beard wrote in her SPQR that the transition from monarchy to republic "took place
over a period of decades, if not centuries".
Before the fall of the last king, Tarquin the Superb or Tarquin the Proud in 510
BC. J.-C., the history of the city is full of exploits and wars. Even the founding of
the city is largely a legend, and anyway, many people preferred myth to reality.
Rome had for years admired the Hellenistic culture of the Greeks, and so easily
assimilated the story of Aeneas and the founding of Rome told by the Roman
author Virgil in his heroic saga The Aeneid. This story gave the Romans a
connection to an ancient, albeit Greek, culture. This mythical tale is about Aeneas
and his followers who, with the help of the goddess Venus, fled the city of Troy
when it fell to the Greeks in the Trojan War. Jupiter's wife, Juno, has constantly
interfered with the story's hero throughout the story. After a brief stay in Carthage,
Aeneas eventually heads for Italy and Lazio, finally fulfilling his destiny. His
descendants were the twins Romulus and Remus - the illegitimate sons of Mars,
the god of war - and Princess Rhea Silvia, daughter of the true king of Alba Longa.
Saved from drowning by a wolf and raised by a shepherd, Romulus eventually
defeated his brother in battle and founded the city of Rome, becoming its first king.
So goes the legend. In the first years
, After Tarquinio's departure, Rome suffered from both external and internal
conflicts. Much of the 5th century BC he spent struggling, not thriving. From 510
BC by 275 BC, as the government struggled with a series of internal political
issues, the city grew to become the dominant power over the entire Italian
peninsula. From the Battle of Regallo (496 BC), where Rome triumphed over the
Latins, to the wars of Pyrrhus (280-275 BC) against Pyrrhus of Epirus, Rome
emerged as a dominant and warring superpower in the West. Due to this
expansion, the social and political structure of the Republic has progressively
evolved. From this simple beginning, the city would create a new government, a
government that would one day rule a region from the North Sea south through
Gaul and Germany, west to Hispania and east to Greece, Syria and North Africa.
The great Mediterranean has become a Roman lake. These lands would remain
under Roman control throughout the Republic and into the founding years of the
Roman Empire.
government of the republic
However, before it could become this dominant military power, the city needed to
have a stable government and it was paramount that it avoided the possibility of a
single takeover. Ultimately, they would create a system that presented a real
balance of power. Initially, after the fall of the monarchy, the Republic passed
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