It was meant to define the republic’s constitution, emphasizing a balance of power between the Senate and the Roman people. Over time, however, the meaning of SPQR has changed.

A couple of decades later, when the Roman republic had placed unprecedented political power in the hands of three men, Cicero again deployed the figure of the gladiator as a troubling symbol.

The use of fasces by alt-right groups is another attempt to commandeer the insignia of ancient Rome to connect their movements to the bygone power and legitimacy of the Roman empire.

According to ancient Roman writers, the Roman Republic emerged in 509 B.C., after the last king of Rome was deposed. Modern-day historians often consider the official end of the Roman Republic to ...

Although he privately disapproved of Caesar’s power, Cicero publicly supported him and Cicero also directly contributed to the end of the Roman Republic and the reign of Caesar’s nephew Augustus.

The Fall of the Roman Republic. By Mary Beard Last updated 2011-03-29. In the space of a hundred years, ... Rome in the Late Republic by M Beard and M Crawford, (2nd ed, Duckworth, 1999) ...