world powers 2. The sixth king, the Roman Republic

Democracy:

The oldest known democracy was that of Cleisthenes in Athens in ancient Greece, although it did not strongly resemble of that what we now propose by the word democracy. So were women, slaves, metoiken (strangers, “inmates”) and poor in Athens not decision-making. Source: Wikipedia

Organization of the Roman Republic:

The Roman Republic was originated in 509 BC according to tradition, when the last king of Rome was expelled. To make sure that from that moment a person could never have a long period the power of Rome, the Senate was chosen. The Senate consisted of patricians (aristocracy), the original families from the city-state Rome.

At the time of the Roman Republic, from the Latin “res publica” what something means like the public realm (nation), the Senate was at the height of his power and was the only administrative and governing body. Besides the Senate there was also a People’s Assembly needed, the Comitium. Laws had to be made by the Senate and approved by the Comitium. Since then, every measure and law came with the abbreviation SPQR: Senatus Populus Que Romanus: The Senate and People of Rome (decided ….).
It was decided to choose annually two consuls. These consuls were no longer than one year in power. The consuls were a kind of uncrowned kings for one year. Over time difficulties arose: The farmers and the common people (the plebs or the plebeians) were tired of their fights for Rome, while their farm work was neglected.

It was decided that the interests of the people were defended in the Senate. There came a number of tribunes, tribuni Plebis in the Senate who had to speak for the people. They had the right of veto. During the “civil wars” in the first century BC, the Senate lost much of its power and status to the warring generals, and especially when they, more or less forced, named Julius Caesar as “dictator for life” . (Partly from source Wikipedia)

Classification of the Roman Empire:

In the Roman Empire was already a cultural divide between the western, Latin part and the by Greek dominated Eastern part. This was partly the cause of the split of the Roman Empire in 395 in the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, where after  these areas would grow further apart culturally. In the spread of Christianity in Europe outside the (former) Roman empire, areas that became Christianize from Rome – namely Western Europe, most of Central Europe and Scandinavia –  were counted to ‘the West’  and countries that were converted from Constantinople  – such as Russia and Bulgaria – were counted to ‘the East’ . The Western Roman Empire stopped to exist  in 476. (Source Wikipedia)

The imitation of the Roman Republic:

Following the (classical) Roman republic with a representative of the people, this political form of government would be mirrored around the world. In the 18th and 19th centuries the ancient Roman republic served as a model for setting up a republic and is still to be found among others in the United States, where the president is not directly elected by the people but by the electors. These electors are a sort of equivalent of the Roman assembly, and of course, there is the  Senate in the United States. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, this democratic government is also introduced in several countries in Central and Eastern European countries. (Source Wikipedia)

Read more at: 3. The seventh king, the American Empire

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