Broughton's main scholarly work was his massive, three-volume
Magistrates of the Roman Republic (commonly abbreviated
MRR), published from 1951 to 1986 and requiring more than 30 years to complete. The project provides an unparalleled accounting of the names of men elected to office during the
Roman Republic and has become a standard reference work. It provides a year-by-year list of all known office-holders, including not only the magistracies of the
cursus honorum from
consul to
quaestor, but also promagistracies and military commands in the
provinces,
legates (both official and ad hoc), military prefects, priesthoods, and special commissions. Each entry is documented with ancient sources and selected works of modern scholarship. An index by name, listing each man's known offices, appears in volume 2. In 1953 the
Magistrates of the Roman Republic were recognized with the
Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit from the
American Philological Association. ==Achievements and awards==