ABSTRACT
Considerably more is known about the late republic than about the earliest history of Rome because the sources are more numerous and more reliable. Our knowledge about this period is based mainly on literary sources; for instance, the Greek historian Polybius and the Roman historian Livy, mentioned in Part I, supply us with very valuable information. Works by writers such as Caesar and Sallust contain important information about political developments, particularly during the last few decades of the republic; because these authors write about events that occurred within their own lifetime the information they give is fairly reliable. Of course, the comprehensive works of Cicero have to be mentioned in this connection: his philosophical and rhetorical works and his speeches are important for our knowledge of the political situation in the first century BC and for our knowledge of the law in those days.
