Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of ancient Roman civilisation when the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 509 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate. The Roman Republic was destabilised by an extended period of political instability, including several civil wars, from circa 133 BC to 30 BC. As the Roman Republic was never formally abolished, the exact date of its transition into the Roman Empire is a matter of interpretation but the most commonly accepted date in 27 BC, when Octavian adopted the title of "Augustus."


 * Note: This article applies to most of Harry Turtledove's timelines where the point of departure came after 27 BC.

Roman Republic in In High Places
In an alternate known to Crosstime Traffic, the Roman Republic was defeated in the Samnite Wars in either the 4th or 3rd Century BC. Consequently, Rome was left no position to continue its plans of conquest and never created an empire in the Mediterranean. No other European culture filled the gap left by Rome's defeat. Although sophisticated urban cultures existed in the Middle East and Greece at the time of the Samnite Wars, they never spread west and north respectively. Technology in that alternate remained at a Bronze Age level in the late 21st Century.