Rome as a Republic

Beginnings and Beliefs

• The Romans kicked out the last Etruscan king in 509 BC, which marks the beginning of the Roman republic

• The Romans chose to have a system of government in which no one person had all the power but instead one that had “checks and balances”

• The Roman Republic is a representative democracy, which is what America’s founders based the American system of government on

Structure of the Republic

• 2 types of people– Patricians: land-holding upper class– Plebeians: farmers, merchants, and artisans that make up most

of the population• Early Version of the Republic:– the Senate (made up of 300 patricians) made all the laws and

controlled the government– Each year, the Senate picked 2 consuls from the patrician class

that supervised the government and commanded the armies. Each consul had to approve the other and could only serve one term.

– If there was a war, the Senate could pick a dictator to serve for up to 6 months, but he had to give power back

Plebeians Change Things

• Plebeians had citizenship in the early republic but little governing power (which they didn’t like, so they demanded and won change)

• Changes:– Plebeians elected their own officials, tribunes, that could

veto laws that they thought were harmful to plebeians– Plebeians forced the Senate to make one of the consuls be

from the plebeian class– Plebeians asked for laws to be made public, so that they

could defend themselves in court if they were accused of breaking a law; the “12 Tables” were inscribed and posted in public

Examples of Laws • Whoever is in need of evidence, he shall go on every third day to

call out loud before the doorway of the witness• "Marriage shall not take place between a patrician and a plebeian.“• "There are eight kinds of punishment: fine, fetters, flogging,

retaliation in kind, civil disgrace, banishment, slavery, death."• "A dreadfully deformed child shall be killed.“• "If a father surrender his son for sale three times, the son shall be

free.“• Marriage by `usage' (usus): If a man and woman live together

continuously for a year, they are considered to be married; the woman legally is treated as the man's daughter.

• "If any person has sung or composed against another person a SONG (carmen) such as was causing slander or insult.... he shall be clubbed to death."

Roman Republic Grows• Roman armies conquered the Etruscans and the Greek city-states

in the south of Italy and therefore controlled most of Italy by 270 BC

• Carthage was a city-state on the northern coast of Africa with settlements in Spain and parts of Mediterranean islands. Rome fought 3 wars with Carthage over land called the Punic Wars– 1st Punic War: Rome defeated Carthage and won the islands of Sicily,

Corsica, and Sardinia– 2nd Punic War: Carthage wanted revenge; Hannibal (Carthaginian

general) led his army and war elephants into Italy from the North and surprised Rome. For 15 years, Carthage won many battles but never captured Rome itself. Finally, Rome sent an army to Carthage and Hannibal had to go and defend it. Rome finally defeated Carthage and won its land outside of Africa

– 3rd Punic War: Rome still saw Carthage as a rival and wanted to destroy them completely, so they went ahead and did that.

More Growing• Imperialism: establishing control over foreign lands and

people• Rome focused on imperialism; they didn’t conquer and

destroy the lands they overtook (unless they had a personal issue with them, like with Carthage) but rather used the resources there and incorporated the people in the new lands into the Roman empire…some even gained Roman citizenship

• Rome continued to grow and added Macedonia, Greece, and parts of what is now Turkey (then Asia Minor) to its control

• Egypt allied itself with Rome• By 133 BC: Roman power went from Spain to Egypt

But Back at Home…• The rich people got even richer: Generals, government officials,

and traders made up a new, super wealthy class• They bought huge farms that were like plantations, called

latifundia, and bought up smaller farms around them• People captured from war were brought in as slaves and people

who couldn’t pay off their debts could sell themselves (or family members) into slavery to work on the latifundia… 1/3 of Rome’s people lived in slavery near the end of the Republic!

• Smaller farmers who went out of business moved to Rome and other cities hoping to find jobs, joining other unemployed and unhappy people there: OCCUPY ROME! (riots and slave revolts)

• 2 plebeian brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, tried to inspire and initiate reforms, but they and thousands of their followers were killed in the midst of street violence (encouraged by corrupt senators)

Roman Republic Declines• Many citizen-soldiers became hired-out professional soldiers that were loyal

to commanders rather than the republic (they needed a job!)• Julius Caesar was a military commander that had been given the job of

conquering land for Rome, which he was great at. (France and Belgium)• He was getting powerful, so Pompey, another politician/leader, told him to

return and was going to disband his army…but Caesar wouldn’t. • Instead, he crushed Pompey and suppressed rebellions• He came, he saw, he conquered (veni, vidi, vici)!• He really did do good things:

– Started a program of public works to employ jobless people much like FDR– Reorganized the government of outlying areas & gave more people citizenship– Introduced the calendar we still use today

• He returned to Rome and demanded that the Senate declare him to be a dictator for life… which didn’t last long, because his friends and enemies plotted together to kill him to save the republic.

• This led to civil war and confusion… eventually, Caesar’s grandnephew, Octavian, came to power and established the Roman Empire