Early Government
Roman Republic
Consul Titus Manlius Torquatus Orders the Beheading of His Son, oil on canvas by Ferdinand Bol, 1661–64. The painting depicts the execution of the consul’s son for disobeying a standing order while in combat against the Latins.
The two consuls, who replaced the king, primarily served as generals leading Rome’s armies in war. In times of military emergency requiring unified command, Rome appointed a dictator to replace the consuls. However, this dictator could not hold supreme military command for longer than six months.
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
A woodcut shows Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (left) accepting the position of dictator of Rome from the Senate.
The Senate, which likely existed under the monarchy as an advisory council to the king, now advised both magistrates and the Roman people. Although, in theory, the people were sovereign and the Senate only advisory, in practice the Senate wielded enormous power due to the collective prestige of its members.
During the Republic, there were two popular assemblies:
-
The centuriate assembly, which was military in nature, voted on war and peace, and elected magistrates who exercised imperium (military power).
-
The tribal assembly, a civilian, nonmilitary assembly that elected magistrates without imperium, did most of the legislating, and acted as a court for serious public offenses.
In 451 BCE, Rome received its first written law code, inscribed on 12 bronze tablets and publicly displayed in the forum. The Law of the Twelve Tables covered legal procedures, debt foreclosure, paternal authority, property rights, inheritance, and funerary regulations. It became the foundation of Roman private law.
The Expansion of Rome
Distribution of peoples of ancient Italy c. 500 BCE
During the 6th century BCE, Rome rose as a significant state in Latium, largely due to its Etruscan rulers. Other important Latin states included Tibur (Tivoli), Praeneste, and Tusculum. Though these Latin towns were politically independent, shared language and culture led to cooperation in religion, law, and warfare, known as the Latin League. While the Latin states sometimes fought each other, they united for mutual defense in times of danger.
Toward the end of the 5th century BCE, Rome began expanding at the expense of the Etruscan states, possibly driven by population growth. Its first major wars against organized states were with Fidenae (437–426 BCE), a nearby town, and Veii, a key Etruscan city. However, before Rome could solidify its strength, a Gallic tribe invaded via the Po River valley and sacked Rome in 390 BCE. The Gauls left after receiving a ransom in gold.
It took forty years of intense fighting in Latium and Etruria to restore Roman power. When Rome grew dominant in the Latin League, the Latins revolted to preserve their independence. The Latin War (340–338 BCE) ended quickly in Rome’s favor.
Now master of central Italy, Rome spent the next decade expanding its frontier through conquest and colonization. After three wars with the Samnites in the north (the last from 298–290 BCE) and the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BCE) against Greek towns in the south, Rome became the unquestioned ruler of Italy.
The Western Mediterranean and the Punic Wars
Soon Rome’s success led to conflict with Carthage, a powerful commercial state in northern Africa, over control of the Mediterranean. The Punic Wars, fought between 264 and 146 BCE, involved two great military leaders. Hannibal commanded Carthaginian forces from around 220 to 200 BCE, famously defeating Rome at the Battle of Cannae. However, he was eventually defeated by the Roman general Scipio Africanus the Elder. The Romans occupied and destroyed Carthage in 146 BCE.
This victory fueled Rome’s expansionist momentum. The Romans turned their attention to the eastern Mediterranean, defeating Syria, Macedonia, Greece, and Egypt—all parts of the declining Hellenistic empire. They also destroyed the Achaean League and burned Corinth in 146 BCE.
Governing these newly acquired lands and their diverse populations proved challenging. Rome organized the conquered peoples into provinces, each governed by an appointed governor with absolute power over non-Roman citizens and backed by stationed troops.
Rome’s Internal Challenges
Back in Rome, many citizens faced hardship as the nation focused on overseas expansion. Roman farmers struggled to compete with produce from the provinces, prompting many to migrate to the city. Authorities tried to distract the common people with “bread and circuses” to mask the growing gap between their standard of living and that of the aristocracy. Slavery powered the Roman economy, enriching the wealthy but worsening conditions for working classes.
These tensions led to civil wars and unrest, marking the transition from Republic to Empire.
Cesare Maccari’s painting Cicero Denounces Catiline (1888) depicts the consul Cicero accusing the aristocrat Catiline of plotting to overthrow the government.
Notable figures in these civil wars included Gaius Marius, elected consul seven times, and Sulla, a military officer. Later, Pompey, the orator Cicero, and Julius Caesar shaped the conflict. Caesar eventually seized full power as dictator but was assassinated in 44 BCE. His successors—Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian—formed the Second Triumvirate. Octavian defeated Antony at Actium in 31 BCE and became Rome’s first emperor, Augustus.
