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Who Ruled The Roman Republic

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At the end of the monarchy in 509BC, Rome expelled the old kingship and introduced the new political system, the Roman republic. (Zetzel) argues that in a monarchy “there is no holy bond or trust” and because of the importance of popular sovereignty there was no appeal to maintain the monarchy and therefore resulting in the rise of the mixed constitution. The mixed constitution allowed a balanced government which resulted in the combination of the monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. The constitution of the Roman republic was not a written document but rather a system of constant change, evolution and development (Lackoff). The Roman republic comprised of two classes: the patricians class who derived from their aristocratic families and the plebeians who were everyone else in the state. The combination of all three constitutions provided a share of power among both classes in order to lessen the difference of wealth between all the citizens in the Roman society (Lackoff). In this essay I aim to show who ruled the Roman republic by looking at the three most important institutions. Firstly, we will look at the importance of the legislative assemblies and how it relates to a democracy. Secondly, we will look at how the aristocratic senates play a major role in the ruling of the state and the influence they have within the mixed constitution. Thirdly, we will look at the highest ranked institution, the consul and see how they relate to the monarchy and the powers they possess as

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