The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction

For nearly five centuries, Rome was governed without a king, developing political institutions and social practices that enabled a city-state to become the dominant power of the Mediterranean. David M. Gwynn traces the Roman Republic from its traditional foundation in 509 BCE through expansion in Italy and overseas conquest to the political violence and civil wars that culminated in the rise of Augustus.

Gwynn explains the Senate, magistracies, assemblies and competitive aristocratic culture that shaped republican government, while also considering citizenship, social conflict, military expansion and Rome’s treatment of conquered peoples. He places figures such as the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar within the larger pressures acting on the Republic rather than treating its fall as the work of individuals alone. This Very Short Introduction offers a concise framework for understanding both Rome’s extraordinary expansion and the breakdown of its republican system.