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# Roman Republic and Empire

## Overview
Rome evolved from a small Italian city-state through a kingdom, republic (509–27 BCE), and empire (27 BCE – 476 CE in the West) that dominated the Mediterranean world. Roman law, engineering, and governance profoundly shaped Western civilization. @t[~753 BCE..476]

## Key Facts
- Region: Mediterranean basin, Western Europe, North Africa, Near East
- Kingdom: ~753–509 BCE @t[~753 BCE..509 BCE]
- Republic: 509–27 BCE @t[509 BCE..27 BCE]
- Empire: 27 BCE – 476 CE (Western), continued as Byzantine Empire in the East @t[27 BCE..476]
- Capital: Rome; later Constantinople (from 330 CE) @t[=0330]
- Language: Latin
- Writing: Latin alphabet
- Territory at peak: ~5,000,000 km² (under Trajan, 117 CE) @t[=0117] [^3]
- Population at peak: ~55–75 million (scholarly estimates) [^3]

## Major Periods
- Roman Kingdom (~753–509 BCE): Legendary founding by Romulus @t[~753 BCE..509 BCE]
- Early Republic (509–264 BCE): Expansion in Italy, Conflict of the Orders @t[509 BCE..264 BCE]
- Late Republic (264–27 BCE): Punic Wars, civil wars, Caesar's assassination (44 BCE) @t[264 BCE..27 BCE]
- Principate (27 BCE – 284 CE): Augustus through the Crisis of the Third Century @t[27 BCE..284]
- Dominate (284–476 CE): Diocletian's reforms through the fall of the Western Empire @t[284..0476]

## Government and Constitution
The Roman Republic operated under a "mixed constitution" praised by the Greek historian Polybius (*Histories*, Book VI, c. 150 BCE) as combining monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements [^4]:
- Consuls: Two annually elected magistrates holding executive and military authority (monarchic element)
- Senate: ~300 members drawn from former magistrates, controlling finances and foreign policy (aristocratic element)
- Assemblies: Popular legislative bodies (Comitia Centuriata, Comitia Tributa) holding formal legislative power (democratic element)

The Conflict of the Orders (494–287 BCE) gradually secured equal political rights for plebeian citizens, culminating in the Lex Hortensia (287 BCE), which made plebiscites binding on all Romans @t[494 BCE..287 BCE] [^5].

Under the Empire, the Senate retained formal prestige but real power shifted to the emperor (princeps). Diocletian's Dominate (284 CE) formalized autocratic rule, abandoning the republican fiction of the Principate @t[=0284].

## Achievements
- Roman law: Foundation of Western legal tradition [^1]
- Engineering: Aqueducts, roads (~400,000 km network), concrete, the Colosseum
- Pax Romana (~27 BCE – 180 CE): ~200 years of relative peace and prosperity @t[27 BCE..180]
- Latin language and literature: Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus

## Fall of the Western Empire
The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus @t[=0476]. Contributing factors included barbarian invasions, economic decline, military overextension, and administrative fragmentation [^2].

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[^1]: Jolowicz, H.F. *Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law* (Cambridge, 1972)
[^2]: Heather, P. *The Fall of the Roman Empire* (Oxford, 2006)
[^3]: Harper, K. *The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire* (Princeton University Press, 2017)
[^4]: Polybius. *Histories*, Book VI (c. 150 BCE). Trans. W.R. Paton (Loeb Classical Library, 1922)
[^5]: Cornell, T.J. *The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars* (Routledge, 1995)