The Rise of the Roman Republic

Lesson 2

The Big Picture

By 509 B.C Romans had overthrown their king, Tarquinis. They began to set up a new government where the people had more of

a say

Divisions of the rich and poor, powerful and not so powerful, would affect the shape of the government

The Citizens of Rome

Like Greece, society in Rome was divided into 2 groups: Those who were citizens and those who were not

Plebeians: men who farmed, traded, and made things for a livingPatricians: members of the noble family. They owned large farms and had

the plebeians work for them

At first, Rome had few slaves The city did have many women, but none of them were citizens

Plebeians Protest

After Rome’s last king was overthrown the patricians took power The remade the city’s government Only patricians could belong to a ruling assembly or become

government leaders

Rome’s many plebeians reacted with protest (According to the Roman historian Livy) They demanded changes in the government

A New Government

According to Livy, at this time, both sides decided to work together to improve Rome’s government

The new government was called a republic (which means “public things” in Latin) In a republic citizens choose their leaders

Governing the Republic

Unlike the democracy of Athens, not all Roman citizens participated in the assembly that ran the city. Instead the elected representatives (people who acted for them)

Government of the U.S is often called a republicUnlike the U.S, not all votes of the Roman citizens were equal.

In Rome the more powerful a man was, the greater the influence his vote had

3 different government branches ran the city’s affairs:Each branch had decision making powers that allowed it

to have control over the actions of other branchesThe oldest most powerful branch was the senate

The senate was controlled by Rome’s patriciansLike the senate of the U.S, the Roman senate determined how

Rome would act toward other governments.It also had control of all money collected and spent by the

Roman republic

Power for the Assembly

Plebeians formed a citizen assembly Beginning in 494 B.C the citizen assembly elected tribunes who

worked to gain rights for the plebeians The tribunes were leaders of the large citizen assembly

The Consuls

Tribunes worked to make sure plebeians got fair trials They brought plebeian complaints before the Senate and the

consuls Consuls: the 3rd branch of Rome’s republic

Each year the citizen assembly elected 2 men to become consuls Consuls served as Rome’s army commanders and the city’s most

powerful judges They could: arrest anyone and propose new laws The citizen assembly, could veto, or stop, any of the consuls’

actions

Plebeian Influences Grows

The assembly met to vote in a large field along the Tiber river. The field was also headquarters for the plebeian army

The plebeian army protected both the city of Rome and its patrician leaders This role gave plebeians added power to change Rome’s government in an important

way

Patrician leaders had ruled Rome according to unwritten laws. Patrician leaders were the only one who knew of these laws.

It was hard for the plebeians to know what was and was not against the laws. If brought to trial, the plebeians had to hope the judge was going to be fair

450 B.C plebeians protested the unfairness of the unwritten laws. The Patricians agreed to write a collection of laws on Twelve Tables

The Laws of the Republic

The twelve tables governed everything from marriage to slavery Example: People who did not pay their debt could become slaves

Like Hammurabi’s Code in Babylon, the twelve tables were an important development for written laws

The twelve tables were posted in the city’s forum the forum was a gravel clearing (not bigger than a soccer field)

This was the center of life in Rome Here senators met and citizens pleaded their case in front of a judge

Women sometimes joined the debate, in the hopes of influencing the vote

The Republic Expands

The roman army moved out across the peninsula to conquer other areas

By 265 B.C Rome controlled all of the Italian peninsula

A Rival Across the Sea

In 264 B.C roman soldiers landed on the island of Sicily. This sparked a long conflict with the empire of Carthage Carthage was a city based in present- day Tunisia (located in Africa)

Since, Carthage had once been a colony of Phoenicia, Romans named their conflicts with the city the Punic Wars.

After more than 20 years of fighting, Carthage surrendered control of Sicily to Rome Rome continued to conquer more land that Carthage had conquered

The leaders of Carthage were outraged! They asked Hannibal to seek revenge

Hannibal's Plan

Rome controlled the waters around Italy Hannibal planned to attack from land He marched from Spain to Rome with 90,000 men and elephants (which

scared the Romans)

Hannibal won many of the major battles but did not win the war Scorpio (Rome's 25 year old general) defeated Hannibal outside of

Carthage in the battle of Zama The defeated gave Rome Carthage’s empire.

Rome became the most powerful nation in the Mediterranean

The Changing Republic

All of these changes upset the workings of the Republic Patrician and plebeians struggled for government control Slaves and conquered people revolted against the Roman

leaders By about 100 B.C the republic of Rome was fighting for its life