The Roman Republic lasted for about 482 years, traditionally from 509 BCE to 27 BCE.

Core timeline

  • Start: Overthrow of the Roman kings and establishment of the republican system in 509 BCE.
  • End: Rise of Octavian (later Augustus) and the formal establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE.
  • Total span: Roughly five centuries, often rounded to “about 500 years.”

Why those dates?

  • 509 BCE is when Romans later said they expelled their last king, Tarquinius Superbus, and created a republican constitution with elected magistrates and a senate.
  • 27 BCE is when Octavian received the title “Augustus” and reorganized power, marking the shift from republic to empire in most modern histories.

Some scholars and sites use slightly different end dates (like 31 or 29 BCE), but the standard answer in textbooks is 509–27 BCE.

TL;DR: When people ask “how long did the Roman Republic last,” the usual answer is “about 500 years, from 509 to 27 BCE.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.