Roman Republic The first of the civilizations known as Ancient Rome had a democratic and republican form of government. For this reason, the first of the ancient Roman civilizations is referred to as the Roman Republic. This civilization later changed to a dictatorship and became the Roman Empire. Rome The city of Rome was established on the Tiber River in modern-day Italy in 753 B.C. It was built on many hills and had little soil for farming. People were farmers, traders, and road builders. Romans traded throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Roman Government The Roman Republic existed from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. Before Rome became a republic, it had been controlled by a king who was a tyrant. The Roman Senate developed during the Republic; senators were the aristocracy and politically influential in the state. The Roman Constitution was based on 12 written laws and ancient traditions. The creation of a written law code in the Roman Republic was important. It meant that the laws would be applied fairly. In times of military emergencies, a single dictator was chosen to control the Roman state for a term of 6 months. Governmental power in the Roman Republic was divided among three branches: the senate, the legislative assemblies, and the executive magistrates. Civic duty was an important part of life for Roman citizens. Serving as a judge when asked to hear a legal case was an example of the moral obligations of all Roman citizens during the Republic. The Roman Republic fell apart after the death of Julius Caesar. Soon after that, the Roman Empire came into being. Octavius, Caesar's nephew, inherited Caesar's wealth and was able to stay in power as emperor. When he became emperor, he took the name Caesar Augustus. Many of the elements of the government of the Roman Republic are used by democratic governments today. Some of those elements include checks and balances, the separation of powers, vetoes, filibusters, term limits, impeachments, and regularly scheduled elections. Civil Law, which is based on written rules, developed in Ancient Rome. The legal systems used in many European and Latin American countries today are based on this system. Ancient Rome was a republic before it was an empire. The Roman Republic was formed in 509 B.C. and lasted for hundreds of years before becoming an empire. The republic had many important leaders, some historical and some mythical. The lesson below explains in more detail about some important figures of the Roman Republic. Romulus and Remus Romulus and Remus are the traditional founders of Rome. They appear in Roman mythology as twin sons fathered by Mars, the god of war. According to legend, Romulus killed Remus in a dispute over which brother had support of the local gods to rule the city and give it his name. Romulus served as the first king of Rome, created the Roman Legions and Roman Senate, and added citizens to his city by abducting women of the neighboring Sabine tribes. Aeneas Aeneas, another figure in Roman mythology, was the son of the goddess Aphrodite and was a hero of the Trojan Wars. His journey from Troy is told in Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid. He is one of the few survivors of Troy's fall to the Greeks. His journey leads him to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome. Cincinnatus Cincinnatus was a Roman political figure who is at the center of a famous legend. According to the story of Cincinnatus, the Roman people called on him to save them during an invasion. The people made him a military leader (known as a dictator), and he was able to defeat all of Rome's enemies. Rather than stay in power, however, Cincinnatus returned to his farm and simple way of life after he defeated the invaders. Hannibal Hannibal was one of Rome's most famous enemies. He led an invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War fought between Rome and Carthage in 218 B.C. Hannibal's army included war elephants from Africa. The army traveled through Spain and crossed the Alps during their invasion of Italy. He won several victories against the Romans, but he was unable to capture the major Roman cities. Hannibal was defeated when the Romans began their own invasion of Carthage, forcing him to retreat. Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was a Roman military and political leader who played an important part in the transformation of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. While in power as a military leader, he conquered the lands of Gaul (modern-day France) so that Rome stretched to the Atlantic Ocean. In 60 B.C., Caesar fought for control of the government with Gnaeus Pompey, causing a civil war. Once Pompey was defeated, the Roman Senate recognized Caesar's power and declared him dictator for life in 44 B.C. Caesar brought about many changes to Rome, including offering citizenship to more people and giving public lands to veterans of the military. He was murdered in 43 B.C. by members of the Senate who believed he was trying to destroy the Republic. Cicero Cicero was an orator and statesman of Rome and is considered the greatest Latin orator and prose stylist. Many of his books and speeches have survived and are famous today. He was exiled from Rome for putting Roman citizens to death without a trial and returned over a year later. He worked to earn favor with Julius Caesar during Caesar's rise to power. Augustus During his rise to power, Julius Caesar adopted his nephew Octavian as his son and heir. When Caesar died, Octavian took control of the government with two men: Lepidus and Marc Antony. Lepidus was soon pushed aside and tension grew between Octavian and Antony. These tensions eventually gave way to actual fighting, and Rome was again part of a civil war. Octavian's forces were able to defeat Antony's, and Antony killed himself. Octavian took the name Caesar Augustus and established a new form of government, the Roman Empire. During his long and peaceful reign, Augustus had many accomplishments, including expanding the empire and extending trade routes to India and China. .