In this episode we’re looking at the early days of the Roman Republic, before it all fell apart.
When Rome got rid of her last king, one aftereffect was that Rome had a long-lasting hatred of tyrants, and so the government they set up was designed to prevent any one man from taking power.
Not to say that their original government was completely fair and just – at first the government of the Republic was completely run by the patricians. The plebeians were left out. When they got rid of Tarquin the Proud, the Senate just took over running Rome. To be in the Senate, you had to be a patrician. So the Senate was biased towards the patricians, and the plebeians felt left out. That will become a problem in a bit.