ABSTRACT
The establishment of the Roman Republic was due either to revolution or evolution; it was either the effect or the cause of the fall of the monarchy. The traditional view after the sudden fall of Tarquinius Superbus the monarchy was abolished and two annual magistrates named consuls were established in its place. The kings may have tried to temper the power of the nobles by giving consideration to the people, but in the Republic the plebeians had no protection against the consuls, and their political disabilities were numerous. The comparative facility with which the plebs established their own assembly and officers was due to the recent 'Servian' organization of the whole people into tribes. Legislation was reserved for the Comitia Centuriata, but the Concilium Plebis passed its own resolutions which bound the plebs only; if confirmed by the centuries they became laws. When the Gauls sacked Rome in 390, therefore, a fair unanimity had been established in domestic affairs.
