Rome was never a democracy. A democracy is a political system whereby the people rule directly - the mob rules and there are no intermediators between the people and the outcome of the vote. Rome instead was a republic. This is a type of political system whereby the people vote for and elect intermediaries or representatives to office (empower them) who then vote on the issues or otherwise exercise the powers of their office according to established laws.
Rome's contribution was therefore a form of government where the people can still express their desires or choices, not directly but through elected representatives. This is the only form of democratic, rule by the people, government practical for ruling large groups of people.
Rome went through three major phases of government across its existence and contributed to the modern idea of democracy in a variety of ways. Ancient Greece, Athens in particular, is traditionally credited with establishing the first democratic community, and Rome adopted parts of the Athenian model for their own government.
As a foundling kingdom, Rome utilized a non-traditional monarchy in which kings were nominated by the Senate to the Curiate Assembly, reviewed and proposed by the Curiate Assembly to the citizens, and finally either accepted or rejected by the citizens as their new king. Obviously, this form of monarchy utilizes democratic ideas by distributing power across the kingdom's governing bodies and their people. When the monarchy eventually failed, Rome moved into the era of the Republic, where even more democratic idea were utilized to allow their growing territories better representation in government.
During the republic, Rome was governed by the Senate, two consuls, and several lesser magistrates and tribunals. The two major parties, the patricians and the plebians, were each given a specific number of seats in each branch. The Roman Republic was continually changing and evolving, and many of its mandates were based in bias and opinion. By the time Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus formed the first triumvirate, the majority of Rome was poised to accept a singular leader to control the governing bodies and maintain a more stable system of law. As is chronicled in art throughout history, the mounting pressure on the Senate to allow Caesar a more powerful role in government ended in war and the dissolution of the Republic.
After Augustus Caesar, Julius Caesar's adopted son, took control of Rome and began establishing its empire, several tenants from the Republic remained, though with severely diminished influence and power. The Senate remained in place, but served mostly as advisors and generals for the emperor. During the last several centuries, Rome had amassed a vast amount of land and territories across the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and the British Isles. The emperor mainly relied on his generals and appointed magistrates to maintain control and order. Although it survived for several centuries more, the Roman empire was notoriously unstable and the lack of democracy represented in its politics resulted in frequent murders and betrayals.
Although Rome utilized democracy in every phase of its government, several groups of people were never allowed representation. Women, slaves, and outlying territories were not given consideration as citizens of any Roman government despite contributing to the survival of the kingdom.
Rome contributed to democracy by creating a government where the people ruled. While Rome was a republic and not a democracy, the Romans established the framework for future democratic governments. Rome had senators and tribunes elected by the people to represent their interests. Like the United States freeing themselves from Britain to become an independent, free nation, Rome freed themselves from the oppressive rule of Etruscan conquerors to create the first nation where the citizens governed the nation. Not everyone was a citizen of Rome. There were slaves and people considered noncitizens. In a modern democracy, all citizens are equal under the law and have the right to vote. When the founding fathers established the US government, they based it partly on the Roman style of government and divided the government into different branches, including the Senate, the House of Representatives, and a judicial system.
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