Rome 05: The Institutions of the Roman Republic

After the Rome's regal period, they entered into what is known as the Roman Republic. The word republic comes from the Latin words res publica, which literally translates to "the public thing." The republic was, by definition, a system that belonged to the people. In this lecture we are going to explore what a republic is, what it meant to the Romans, its strengths and weaknesses, and some of the important institutions and social structures that constituted the Roman Republic. While our chief concern will be the offices of the government and military, we will pay special attention to the ways in which the Romans categorized and classified their people. Because we are dealing with Roman terms, many of the key words you encounter in this lecture will be Latin. There is, unfortunately, no way around this. Nevertheless, I will try to keep these terms to a minimum.