Via Pintsofhistory.com:

This is the first of a six-post series called Star Wars and History. (See below for the six posts’ titles.)

In Revenge of the Sith, the evil Palpatine transforms the Galactic Republic from the top, creating the Empire without overthrowing the state. Palpatine is already Chancellor of the Republic, though he’s held office longer than normal, thanks to a civil war. He simply switches his title to Emperor. He also centralizes power in his own hands, at the expense of the elected Senate, but he leaves the Senate in place, along with the rest of the republican government.

The story parallels ancient Roman history. The first emperor, Augustus, led the Roman Republic as its most powerful magistrate, starting in 27 BCE — with an ever-repeating term of office, thanks to victory in a civil war. Like Palpatine, he centralized power in his own hands at the expense of the Senate, but he didn’t disband the Senate. In fact, he carefully preserved the forms of republican government. Augustus was called imperator, but back then the Latin word for “emperor” was more an honorific than a title, essentially meaning commander. It wouldn’t clearly refer to a king-like ruler until generations later. In fact, Rome’s early emperors looked more like banana republic dictators than kings (as I point out in The Jericho River).

History turns to urban myth, however, if we imagine Augustus snuffing out democracy, like Palpatine. The Roman Republic was more an aristocratic oligarchy than a democracy. And the switch to an emperor ended decades of predatory rule by the aristocrats and brought the common people peace and security.

Below are the six posts in this series, Star Wars and History. Numbers 3 through 6 are coming soon.
1. Roman Republic and Empire (above)
2. Fall of the Knights Templar
3. Joseph Campbell and the Urban Myth with a Thousand Faces
4. Son vs. Father and Incest
5. Divine Conception
6. Samurai and Nazis