Was the Roman Republic the first republic?

Answer 1

Rome was probably the first recorded republic in the sense of government by elected representatives, which is what republic means. Ancient Greece had the most well known democracies in what we consider the ancient world, with Athens being the most powerful one. Unlike a republic, a democracy involves government by all the citizens gathering to vote directly on all legislative questions.

On the other hand, almost all simple hunter-gatherer societies are small scale democracies, so the basic concept goes back thousands of years.

A republic is a political system not governed kings, emperors, princes, dukes and the like. The term is derived from the Latin Res publica "public matter." Government is not considered the private property of the ruler and public office is directly or indirectly elected or appointed and not hereditary (though in some modern republics it is treated as such). Non-hereditary a key word. It does not have to involve elections. It can occur through appointment. Therefore it can apply to authoritarianism and totalitarianism. It can apply to indirect or direct democracy, the voting system is not what matters. It can involve oligarchy (by the mid-republic Rome had become an oligarchy).

Athens had the oldest record of republican institutions (though the Greeks did not use the term republic) even before democracy because it had been ruled by nine archons. Sparta also become a republic, but it is not clear when. Carthage became a republic in the 6th century BC (before Rome). At the time of the establishment of the Roman Republic (509 BC) several Latin cities and the Samnites had republican institutions.

Answer 2

Yea