It existed for over a thousand years from its founding as a kingdom, if you believe the founding myth founded by Romulus in 753 BCE. Most historians don't accept that founding myth. But then it became, they overthrew their last king in 509 BCE, Tarkin the Proud, and then they established the Roman Republic, which was eventually then turned into an empire by Julius Caesar and Augustus. And so whenever you have something this long lasting, you can imagine the social and the political structures evolved over time. But let's begin with the period when it was a kingdom. Because even then, there were some things that were noteworthy, and some social and political structures that continued into the Republic period and even when it was an empire. So one interesting thing is that when we typically think of kings, we think of it as being dynastic, that if I am king, then my oldest son, or maybe in certain cultures, my oldest daughter might become king or queen.