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The Roman Republic
World History/Napp
“Italy is a long, narrow, boot-shaped peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea.
Rome was a city-state located on a fertile plain in the middle of Italy near the west coast.
To the north, the Alps Mountains protected Rome and the rest of Italy from most invaders.
The sea provided further protection against invaders, while serving as a route for Roman
trade and expansion.
The early Roman city-state contained two main social classes: patricians or wealthy
landowning families and plebeians or small farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. In early
times, the Romans made Rome into a republic. In a republic, citizens vote to elect
representatives, or people who will speak and govern for them. The Roman Republic
lasted from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. – almost 500 years. The Romans had two consuls. The
consuls managed the government for a one-year term. Each consul could veto, or say to no,
a decision by the other consul. Serving only one year and being vetoed kept the consuls
from becoming too powerful. The Roman senate, made up of 300 patricians, helped the
consuls’ rule. It had the power to pass laws. In times of war, it could choose a dictator for
six months. The Roman Republic was not a democracy because it allowed only patricians
to vote.
Most Romans were plebeians or ‘common people.’ As citizens, the plebeians paid taxes
and served in the army. But they had little power. They could not marry out of their class.
Also, the patricians could sell plebeians into slavery if they did not pay their debts.
However, the plebeians had one important power. They were citizen-soldiers. The
patricians needed them to defend Rome against its enemies. In 494 B.C., the Roman
Republic gave the plebeians the right to elect two tribunes or representatives of the
plebeian class. The tribunes could veto any law that they did not like. Finally, the Roman
senate eventually wrote down the laws of Rome. The Twelve Tables were Rome’s written
laws. These laws included such important legal concepts as equality under the law and
innocence until proven guilty. ~ World History
A major contribution of the Roman
Republic to Western European culture was
the
(A) concept of government by laws
(B) belief that political power should be
controlled by the military
(C)establishment of agricultural communes
(D) rejection of the concept of slavery
To veto is to
(A) pass a law
(B) say no to a decision
(C) imprison a person
(D) extend citizenship
The Code of Hammurabi of
Babylon is most similar to the
(1) ziggurats of Sumer
(2) map projections of Mercator
(3) Great Sphinx of the Egyptians
(4) Twelve Tables of the Romans
One contribution of ancient Roman culture
was the development of
(1) the concept of zero
(2) the process of making silk
(3) a republican form of government
(4) the printing press
Patricians, Plebeians
and Twelve Tables
- Patricians were
wealthy landowners
who held most of the
power in Rome
- Plebeians were the
common farmers,
artisans, and
merchants who
made up the
majority of the
population
Government
Army
- Rome had two
officials called
consuls
- The Romans placed - For hundreds of
great value on the
years after the
military
founding of the
republic, Rome
- All citizens who
sought to expand its
owned land were
territories through
required to serve in
trade and conquest
the army
- By 265 B.C., the
- Roman soldiers
Romans were
were organized into
masters of nearly all
large military units
Italy
called legions
- Rome’s location
- The Roman legion
gave it easy access to
was made up of some the riches of the
5,000 heavily armed lands around the
foot soldiers
Mediterranean Sea
(infantry)
- However, other
- A group of soldiers large and powerful
on horseback
cities interfered with
(cavalry) supported
Roman access to the
each legion
Mediterranean
- Consuls
commanded the
army and directed
the government
- But a consul’s term
was only one year
long and one consul
could always
- Patricians inherited overrule, or veto, the
their power and
other’s decisions
claimed that their
ancestry gave them
- The senate had
the authority to
both legislative and
make laws for Rome administrative
functions in the
- The plebeians were republic
citizens of Rome
with the right to vote - Its 300 senators
but could not hold
were chosen from
the most important
the upper class of
government
Roman society
positions
- Later, plebeians
- In time, Rome’s
were allowed in the
leaders allowed
Senate
the plebeians to form
their own assembly
- In times of crisis,
and elect
the republic could
representatives
appoint a dictator –
called tribunes
a leader who had
absolute power to
- The written laws of make laws and
Rome were called
command the army
the Twelve Tables
and established
- A dictator’s power
the idea that all free lasted for only six
citizens had a right
months
to the protection of
the law
- Legions were
divided into smaller
groups of 80 men,
each of which was
called a century
- The military
organization and
fighting skill of the
Roman army were
key factors in
Rome’s rise to
greatness
Expansion
- One such city was
Carthage, once a
colony of Phoenicia
- Carthage was
located in North
African
- Rome and
Carthage fought
three wars known as
the Punic Wars
- When Rome finally
defeated Carthage,
it set the city afire
and its 50,000
inhabitants were
sold into slavery
Identify and explain the following terms:
Patricians
Plebeians
Tribunes
Twelve Tables
Consuls
Legions
Cavalry
Punic Wars
- What limits were there on the power of the Roman consuls?
- What was the significance of the Twelve Tables?
- Do you think the Roman Republic owed its success more to its form of government or its
army? Why?
- Do you agree with claims that early Rome had achieved a “balanced” government?
- How and why did geography turn Rome and Carthage into rivals?
- Why did the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, enter Roman territory by crossing the
Alps? Mountains are difficult to cross. What was his motivation for such a daring move?
The benefit of written laws is that
A) A ruler in a bad mood cannot simply
change the punishment to satisfy his anger
B) consistency is the hobgoblin of small
minds – there is no benefit
C) Create punishments that are never
harsh
D) None of the above
Rome and Carthage battled over the
Mediterranean Sea because
A) the best beaches in the world are
located on the Mediterranean coast
B) by controlling the sea, the victor
controlled a very profitable trade route
C) none of the above – the sea is not as
important as the land