Final answer:
The Roman Republic and Empire contributed to Western civilization through the concept of a republic, adoption and adaptation of Greek culture, advances in governance, and the spread of the Latin language, leading to the Romance languages. Roman ideas influenced later Western legal and political systems, and even after the Empire's fall, the Latin Church preserved the Roman cultural and intellectual legacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Roman Republic and the subsequent Roman Empire are pivotal in defining Western civilization, providing a foundation upon which many modern western institutions and ideas are built. The adoption and adaptation of Greek culture and intellectualism by the Romans, coupled with their own advances in government organization, engineering, and language, laid the groundwork for what is known today as Western civilization. One of the key contributions of the Romans was the concept of a public government as embodied in the term 'res publica', from which the modern idea of a republic is derived. This signified governance conducted openly and for the public's view, contrasting with the private rule of the past. Additionally, the Latin language spoken by the Romans evolved into the Romance languages: French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish.
Roman influence famously spread throughout its vast empire, which spanned from England to Turkey and from Germany to Spain, clutching the ideals of citizenship and public governance. Even after the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire, its ideological and spiritual legacy continued, especially through the Latin Church, which preserved Roman culture and learning. Moreover, Roman legal and political ideas greatly influenced the American system of government and the wider Western political discourse.