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Who Did What in the Roman Republic By Vickie Chao
1
Democracy, by definition, means rule by people. Both the word and the concept
itself came from Greece a long time ago. When the Romans revolted and expelled the
Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, in 510 B.C. (some say 509 B.C.), they vowed never
to be governed by emperors again. Thus, they borrowed the Greek idea of democracy
and created the Roman Republic.
2
In the Roman Republic, power was in the hands of two consuls. Once a year, the
Romans gathered together and elected two capable men to be their consuls. The
election was open to all Roman male citizens. Women, slaves, foreigners, and people
born in provinces were not allowed to vote.
3
Though in theory consuls had a lot of say on state affairs, their actual authority
was quite limited. There are several reasons for it. First, the term of consuls lasted only one year. The
short serving period made it hard for any one person to gain enough influence. Second, before any
action was taken, the two consuls must attempt to reach an agreement. If one opposed an idea, he
could simply say "veto" ("I forbid") and have the matter dropped. Third, after their one­year stint as the
top officials, consuls became members of the senate. Senators in the Roman Republic were not law­
makers. They were consuls' advisors. They normally served for life. Because of this special
"retirement benefit," consuls almost always did what the senate wanted them to do. After all, they
would not want to anger their future co­workers by refusing to listen to them.
4
Of course, despite the enticement of being future senators, having two consuls agree on
everything was impossible. To avoid one abusing his veto power, a Roman law gave the senate the
right to choose a dictator in the event of an emergency. The law specified the term of a dictator to be
six months.
5
Consuls were not the only publicly elected officers. As the Roman citizens voted for their ideal
candidates for consuls, they also voted for other bureaucrats.
6
Once a year, they chose 8 praetors, 4 aediles, and 20 quaestors. Praetors were judges. They
would assume consuls' administrative duties in their absence. Aediles were the organizers of public
games. They were also the supervisors of public places. Quaestors were the financial administrators
or treasurers.
7
Once every five years, they chose 2 censors. Censors served a term of 18 months. Their primary
responsibilities were to remove any unworthy senators and to enroll the new ones. They were also in
charge of assessing property tax, granting contracts for public works, and conducting census of
citizens.
8
Under the Roman law, dictators, consuls, or praetors had the right to exercise imperium. Imperium
was the utmost form of power. It included the right to command armies, to interpret and carry out the
law, and to give out death sentences. As a show of their status, dictators, consuls, or praetors were
permitted to wear purple­trimmed robes and sit on ivory folding chairs. Both privileges were
traditionally reserved for emperors only. Censors and the two most senior aediles could wear purple­
trimmed robes and sit on ivory folding chairs, too. But they could not exercise imperium.
9
In the early days of the Roman Republic, only patricians could become senators or hold senior
government posts. Patricians were nobles or people from affluent families. They represented the
Roman society's upper class. Their tight grip on power made the commoners or plebeians very
uneasy. After rounds of strikes and protests, plebeians set up their own assembly and elected tribunes
to see to their welfare. Their struggles paid off gradually. The first plebeian consul was appointed in
366 B.C., the first plebian dictator 356 B.C., the first plebeian censor 351 B.C., and the first plebeian
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praetor 337 B.C. Later in history, plebeians' assembly consolidated legislative power from all other
assemblies. The laws made by its 10 tribunes became the laws that all Roman citizens ­ no matter if
they were patricians or plebeians ­ must follow. As impressive as those improvements appeared to be,
plebeians never managed to outdo patricians. Therefore, their share of control in administration
remained insubstantial.
10
The Roman Republic came to a halt in 27 B.C. when Octavian won the civil war that had been
raging for more than a decade. The victory won him both fame and support. The senate gave him the
title of Augustus, which means "highly respected." It also gave him full control over Rome, effectively
making him an emperor. Though Augustus never coined the term "Roman Empire," historians all
agree that he was the first king of this new era. After nearly 500 years, Rome came full circle and
returned to the hands of monarchy.
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
Who Did What in the Roman Republic
1. Which position in the Roman Republic had
the most power?
Censor
Dictator
Praetor
Consul
2. Which of the following positions in the Roman
Republic had the longest term?
Praetor
Consul
Censor
Dictator
3. Which government official in the Roman
Republic was in charge of organizing public
sports?
Praetor
Aedile
Censor
Quaestor
4. The senate could appoint a dictator if the two
consuls disagreed with each other.
False
True
5. Who in the Roman Republic had the right to
vote and become a consul?
All Roman male citizens
Foreigners
Everybody
All Roman female citizens
6. For how many years did the Roman Republic
last?
920 years
483 years
392 years
271 years
7. Which of the following government officials in
the Roman Republic did not have the right to
exercise imperium?
Consul
Dictator
Praetor
Censor
8. A senator in the Roman Republic could never
lose his seat in the senate.
False
True
9. Who in the Roman Republic were responsible 10. Who ended the Roman Republic?
for making laws?
Augustus
Quaestors
Alexander the Great
Consuls
Julius Caesar
Tribunes
Genghis Khan
Praetors
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
Who Did What in the Roman Republic
Compare and contrast the Roman Republic senate and the United State Senate.
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Who Did What in the Roman Republic By Vickie Chao
aediles
stint
command
emperors
outdo
census
imperium
co­workers
enticement
insubstantial
enroll
unworthy
purple­trimmed
emperor
quaestors
consul
consuls
Directions: Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.
Democracy, by definition, means rule by people. Both the word and the concept itself came
from Greece a long time ago. When the Romans revolted and expelled the Etruscan king,
Tarquin the Proud, in 510 B.C. (some say 509 B.C.), they vowed never to be governed by
(1) _______________________ again. Thus, they borrowed the Greek idea of democracy
and created the Roman Republic.
In the Roman Republic, power was in the hands of two consuls. Once a year, the Romans
gathered together and elected two capable men to be their consuls. The election was open to all
Roman male citizens. Women, slaves, foreigners, and people born in provinces were not
allowed to vote.
Though in theory (2) _______________________ had a lot of say on state affairs, their actual authority
was quite limited. There are several reasons for it. First, the term of consuls lasted only one year. The short
serving period made it hard for any one person to gain enough influence. Second, before any action was taken,
the two consuls must attempt to reach an agreement. If one opposed an idea, he could simply say "veto" ("I
forbid") and have the matter dropped. Third, after their one­year (3) _______________________ as the top
officials, consuls became members of the senate. Senators in the Roman Republic were not law­makers. They
were consuls' advisors. They normally served for life. Because of this special "retirement benefit," consuls
almost always did what the senate wanted them to do. After all, they would not want to anger their future
(4) _______________________ by refusing to listen to them.
Of course, despite the (5) _______________________ of being future senators, having two consuls agree
on everything was impossible. To avoid one abusing his veto power, a Roman law gave the senate the right to
choose a dictator in the event of an emergency. The law specified the term of a dictator to be six months.
Consuls were not the only publicly elected officers. As the Roman citizens voted for their ideal candidates for
consuls, they also voted for other bureaucrats.
Once a year, they chose 8 praetors, 4 aediles, and 20 quaestors. Praetors were judges. They would assume
consuls' administrative duties in their absence. Aediles were the organizers of public games. They were also the
supervisors of public places. (6) _______________________ were the financial administrators or treasurers.
Once every five years, they chose 2 censors. Censors served a term of 18 months. Their primary
responsibilities were to remove any (7) _______________________ senators and to
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(8) _______________________ the new ones. They were also in charge of assessing property tax, granting
contracts for public works, and conducting (9) _______________________ of citizens.
Under the Roman law, dictators, consuls, or praetors had the right to exercise
(10) _______________________ . Imperium was the utmost form of power. It included the right to
(11) _______________________ armies, to interpret and carry out the law, and to give out death sentences. As
a show of their status, dictators, consuls, or praetors were permitted to wear purple­trimmed robes and sit on
ivory folding chairs. Both privileges were traditionally reserved for emperors only. Censors and the two most
senior (12) _______________________ could wear (13) _______________________ robes and sit on ivory
folding chairs, too. But they could not exercise imperium.
In the early days of the Roman Republic, only patricians could become senators or hold senior government
posts. Patricians were nobles or people from affluent families. They represented the Roman society's upper
class. Their tight grip on power made the commoners or plebeians very uneasy. After rounds of strikes and
protests, plebeians set up their own assembly and elected tribunes to see to their welfare. Their struggles paid off
gradually. The first plebeian (14) _______________________ was appointed in 366 B.C., the first plebian
dictator 356 B.C., the first plebeian censor 351 B.C., and the first plebeian praetor 337 B.C. Later in history,
plebeians' assembly consolidated legislative power from all other assemblies. The laws made by its 10 tribunes
became the laws that all Roman citizens ­ no matter if they were patricians or plebeians ­ must follow. As
impressive as those improvements appeared to be, plebeians never managed to
(15) _______________________ patricians. Therefore, their share of control in administration remained
(16) _______________________ .
The Roman Republic came to a halt in 27 B.C. when Octavian won the civil war that had been raging for
more than a decade. The victory won him both fame and support. The senate gave him the title of Augustus,
which means "highly respected." It also gave him full control over Rome, effectively making him an
(17) _______________________ . Though Augustus never coined the term "Roman Empire," historians all
agree that he was the first king of this new era. After nearly 500 years, Rome came full circle and returned to the
hands of monarchy. Copyright © 2016 edHelper
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________ (Key 1 ­ Answer ID # 0148842)
Write a paragraph using all of the words that are given.
1. dictator, quaestors, census, co­workers 2. imperium, plebeian, welfare, status, enroll http://www.edhelperblog.com/cgi­bin/vspec.cgi
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Who Did What in the Roman Republic ­
Answer Key
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dictator
Censor
Aedile
True
All Roman male citizens
483 years
Censor
False
Tribunes
Augustus
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Who Did What in the Roman Republic
By Vickie Chao
Answer Key
Democracy, by definition, means rule by people. Both the word and the concept itself came from Greece a
long time ago. When the Romans revolted and expelled the Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, in 510 B.C. (some
say 509 B.C.), they vowed never to be governed by (1) emperors again. Thus, they borrowed the Greek idea
of democracy and created the Roman Republic.
In the Roman Republic, power was in the hands of two consuls. Once a year, the Romans gathered together
and elected two capable men to be their consuls. The election was open to all Roman male citizens. Women,
slaves, foreigners, and people born in provinces were not allowed to vote.
Though in theory (2) consuls had a lot of say on state affairs, their actual authority was quite limited.
There are several reasons for it. First, the term of consuls lasted only one year. The short serving period made it
hard for any one person to gain enough influence. Second, before any action was taken, the two consuls must
attempt to reach an agreement. If one opposed an idea, he could simply say "veto" ("I forbid") and have the
matter dropped. Third, after their one­year (3) stint as the top officials, consuls became members of the
senate. Senators in the Roman Republic were not law­makers. They were consuls' advisors. They normally
served for life. Because of this special "retirement benefit," consuls almost always did what the senate wanted
them to do. After all, they would not want to anger their future (4) co­workers by refusing to listen to them.
Of course, despite the (5) enticement of being future senators, having two consuls agree on everything
was impossible. To avoid one abusing his veto power, a Roman law gave the senate the right to choose a dictator
in the event of an emergency. The law specified the term of a dictator to be six months.
Consuls were not the only publicly elected officers. As the Roman citizens voted for their ideal candidates for
consuls, they also voted for other bureaucrats.
Once a year, they chose 8 praetors, 4 aediles, and 20 quaestors. Praetors were judges. They would assume
consuls' administrative duties in their absence. Aediles were the organizers of public games. They were also the
supervisors of public places. (6) Quaestors were the financial administrators or treasurers.
Once every five years, they chose 2 censors. Censors served a term of 18 months. Their primary
responsibilities were to remove any (7) unworthy senators and to (8) enroll the new ones. They were also
in charge of assessing property tax, granting contracts for public works, and conducting (9) census of citizens.
Under the Roman law, dictators, consuls, or praetors had the right to exercise (10) imperium . Imperium
was the utmost form of power. It included the right to (11) command armies, to interpret and carry out the
law, and to give out death sentences. As a show of their status, dictators, consuls, or praetors were permitted to
wear purple­trimmed robes and sit on ivory folding chairs. Both privileges were traditionally reserved for
emperors only. Censors and the two most senior (12) aediles could wear (13) purple­trimmed robes and
sit on ivory folding chairs, too. But they could not exercise imperium.
In the early days of the Roman Republic, only patricians could become senators or hold senior government
posts. Patricians were nobles or people from affluent families. They represented the Roman society's upper
class. Their tight grip on power made the commoners or plebeians very uneasy. After rounds of strikes and
protests, plebeians set up their own assembly and elected tribunes to see to their welfare. Their struggles paid off
gradually. The first plebeian (14) consul was appointed in 366 B.C., the first plebian dictator 356 B.C., the
first plebeian censor 351 B.C., and the first plebeian praetor 337 B.C. Later in history, plebeians' assembly
consolidated legislative power from all other assemblies. The laws made by its 10 tribunes became the laws that
all Roman citizens ­ no matter if they were patricians or plebeians ­ must follow. As impressive as those
improvements appeared to be, plebeians never managed to (15) outdo patricians. Therefore, their share of
control in administration remained (16) insubstantial .
The Roman Republic came to a halt in 27 B.C. when Octavian won the civil war that had been raging for
more than a decade. The victory won him both fame and support. The senate gave him the title of Augustus,
which means "highly respected." It also gave him full control over Rome, effectively making him an
(17) emperor . Though Augustus never coined the term "Roman Empire," historians all agree that he was the 9/10
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(17) emperor . Though Augustus never coined the term "Roman Empire," historians all agree that he was the
first king of this new era. After nearly 500 years, Rome came full circle and returned to the hands of monarchy.
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