The Roman Republic and Empire
What is a republic?
To modern people,a republic is a type of government in which citizens can vote to elect their leaders. In Rome, only free-born male citizens had the right to vote. The word republic is a word that comes directly from the Latin term Res Publica, which meant "Public Affair". Romans believed that the republic was something all citizens should be involved in somehow or another.
The Roman Republic was constructed in order to resolve a conflict between the two major social classes in ancient Rome: The Patricians, who were comprised originally of the Roman aristocrats and later came to include prosperous merchants and traders; and the Plebeians, by far the majority of Romans, who had citizenship but lacked wealth or political power.
In theory, Rome was a democracy in which every citizen had the right to vote. In reality, the Republic was heavily influenced by an oligarchy in which different factions feuded for power and used their wealth to influence the outcomes of elections. This oligarchy would later be replaced by the single power of the Emperor, who's authority superseded that of the Senate, which was relegated to regional and urban administration.
Ideas of citizenship began in Rome long before Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in 509 B.C. Romans had started to adapt Greek cultural practices, like the idea that citizenship should be limited to very few people who would get say in government and the practice of tracing citizenship through bloodlines. Citizens of Rome were citizens of the city itself, and a citizen was expected to be loyal to the city of Rome above all other ties.
Later on in history, Rome would become an Empire. The word empire is also something directly from Rome. Imperium basically meant "Power" to Romans, usually in reference to military power. So the Roman Empire was by definition the power Rome exerted over its territories, thus they stationed Legions throughout their territory.
Rome's size would eventually work against it, as they lacked enough citizens to guard their territory adequately and had to resort to mercenaries in the form of tribal groups from Germania or other parts of Europe. Rome unfortunately had a tendency to renege on payments to those groups, which would lead to the mercenaries using Roman arms and tactics to carve their payment out of the Empire in the form of land or tribute.
This in turn lead to a cascading collapse of Roman society, and their Imperium faltered because they did not have a large enough citizen base. They rarely would give those rights to foreigners after all, so the pool of recruits for the army continually dwindled from constant war. Thus the Roman Empire ended in the West, leading to a very chaotic period in Europe that lasted centuries.
To modern people,a republic is a type of government in which citizens can vote to elect their leaders. In Rome, only free-born male citizens had the right to vote. The word republic is a word that comes directly from the Latin term Res Publica, which meant "Public Affair". Romans believed that the republic was something all citizens should be involved in somehow or another.
The Roman Republic was constructed in order to resolve a conflict between the two major social classes in ancient Rome: The Patricians, who were comprised originally of the Roman aristocrats and later came to include prosperous merchants and traders; and the Plebeians, by far the majority of Romans, who had citizenship but lacked wealth or political power.
In theory, Rome was a democracy in which every citizen had the right to vote. In reality, the Republic was heavily influenced by an oligarchy in which different factions feuded for power and used their wealth to influence the outcomes of elections. This oligarchy would later be replaced by the single power of the Emperor, who's authority superseded that of the Senate, which was relegated to regional and urban administration.
Ideas of citizenship began in Rome long before Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in 509 B.C. Romans had started to adapt Greek cultural practices, like the idea that citizenship should be limited to very few people who would get say in government and the practice of tracing citizenship through bloodlines. Citizens of Rome were citizens of the city itself, and a citizen was expected to be loyal to the city of Rome above all other ties.
Later on in history, Rome would become an Empire. The word empire is also something directly from Rome. Imperium basically meant "Power" to Romans, usually in reference to military power. So the Roman Empire was by definition the power Rome exerted over its territories, thus they stationed Legions throughout their territory.
Rome's size would eventually work against it, as they lacked enough citizens to guard their territory adequately and had to resort to mercenaries in the form of tribal groups from Germania or other parts of Europe. Rome unfortunately had a tendency to renege on payments to those groups, which would lead to the mercenaries using Roman arms and tactics to carve their payment out of the Empire in the form of land or tribute.
This in turn lead to a cascading collapse of Roman society, and their Imperium faltered because they did not have a large enough citizen base. They rarely would give those rights to foreigners after all, so the pool of recruits for the army continually dwindled from constant war. Thus the Roman Empire ended in the West, leading to a very chaotic period in Europe that lasted centuries.