Constitution of the Roman Republic
Ancient Rome
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Politics and government of
Ancient Rome
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Roman Kingdom
753 BC – 509 BC
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508 BC – 27 BC
Roman Empire
27 BC – AD 476
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Roman Constitution
Constitution of the Kingdom
Constitution of the Republic
Constitution of the Empire
Constitution of the Late Empire
History of the Constitution
Senate
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Precedent and Law
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Mos maiorum
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The Constitution of the Roman Republic
or also known as mos maiorum (Latin for
"customs of the ancestors") was an unwritten
set of guidelines and principles passed down
mainly through precedent.[1] The constitution
was largely unwritten, uncodified, and con-
stantly evolving. Rather than creating a gov-
ernment that was primarily a democracy (as
was ancient Athens), an aristocracy (as was
ancient Sparta), or a monarchy (as was Rome
before and after the republic), the Roman
constitution mixed these three elements, thus
creating three separate branches of govern-
ment.[2] The democratic element took the
form of the legislative assemblies, the aristo-
cratic element took the form of the senate,
and the monarchical element took the form of
the many term limited executive magistrates.
The ultimate source of sovereignty in this
ancient republic, as in modern republics, was
the demos (people).[3] The People of Rome
gathered into legislative assemblies to pass
laws and to elect executive magistrates.[4]
Election to a magisterial office resulted in
au