Roman Republic
Rome: Transition from Republic to Empire
Paul A. Bishop
Introduction________________________________________________
Since its collapse, historians have attempted to explain the struggle for power and control over both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire that followed. To explain the complexities of the Roman Republic, the Empire, and their political complexities can be a daunting task. For nearly ten centuries Rome would rule most of the known world before the fall of the Western Empire (Byzantine) in 476 C.E. Before that fall occurred, a fundamental change would take place that would transform the original Republic into the Roman Empire. Many factors would be directly and indirectly responsible for this transition. These would lead the Romans from civil war to intrigue and back again as the Republic evolved and was transformed into an empire.
ROMAN FACTIONS and OFFICES
Republic – government of elected representatives of the people with no monarch. Patricians – elite families or aristocracy who made up the members of the Roman Senate. Plebeians – general body of Roman citizens distinct from the privileged aristocracy who made up the assemblies. Senate – main governing body of both the Republic and the Empire made up of noble aristocrats with appropriate financial and property qualifications. – highest elected Roman official acting as both civil and military magistrate
Consul
Tribune – official of the Plebeian assembly and magistrate to protect the peoples rights. Dictator – Senate appointed extraordinary magistrate to act in times of crisis. Imperator – originally equivalent to title of “commander”, in English – “emperor”. Princeps – official title of a Roman emperor, meaning “first citizen”. Augustus – title of authority over humanity, religious title meaning “the illustrious one”. Censor – high ranking magistrate responsible for the census and public morality.
Optimates – pro-aristocratic faction in favor of extending the power of the
Paul A. Bishop
Introduction________________________________________________
Since its collapse, historians have attempted to explain the struggle for power and control over both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire that followed. To explain the complexities of the Roman Republic, the Empire, and their political complexities can be a daunting task. For nearly ten centuries Rome would rule most of the known world before the fall of the Western Empire (Byzantine) in 476 C.E. Before that fall occurred, a fundamental change would take place that would transform the original Republic into the Roman Empire. Many factors would be directly and indirectly responsible for this transition. These would lead the Romans from civil war to intrigue and back again as the Republic evolved and was transformed into an empire.
ROMAN FACTIONS and OFFICES
Republic – government of elected representatives of the people with no monarch. Patricians – elite families or aristocracy who made up the members of the Roman Senate. Plebeians – general body of Roman citizens distinct from the privileged aristocracy who made up the assemblies. Senate – main governing body of both the Republic and the Empire made up of noble aristocrats with appropriate financial and property qualifications. – highest elected Roman official acting as both civil and military magistrate
Consul
Tribune – official of the Plebeian assembly and magistrate to protect the peoples rights. Dictator – Senate appointed extraordinary magistrate to act in times of crisis. Imperator – originally equivalent to title of “commander”, in English – “emperor”. Princeps – official title of a Roman emperor, meaning “first citizen”. Augustus – title of authority over humanity, religious title meaning “the illustrious one”. Censor – high ranking magistrate responsible for the census and public morality.
Optimates – pro-aristocratic faction in favor of extending the power of the