Download The Rise of the Roman Republic

The Rise of the
Roman Republic
33.1 Introduction
In the last chapter,you learnedaboutEtruscanand Greekinfluenceson
Rome.Early Rome was ruled by Etruscankings fiom northernltaly. In this
you will learnhow the Romansoverthrewthe Etruscansand created
chapter,
a republicaround509 s.c.e.A republic is a fbrm of government
with
electedleaders.
AncientRomanstold an interestingstory aboutthe overthrowof their
Etruscan
masters.One day,two Etruscanprinceswent to seethe famous
oracleat Delphi, in Greece.A RomannamedLuciusJuniusBrutustraveled
withthem.
At Delphi,the princesaskedthe oraclewhich of them would be the next
ng of Rome.The oracleanswered,"The next man to haveauthorityin
will be the man who first kisses
mother."Hearingthesewords,
tus pretendedto trip. He fell on his
, and his lips touchedthe Earth,
motherof all living things."
Backin Rome.Brutusled the revolt
droveout the Etruscankinss. He
one of the first leadersof the
republic.In this way,the oracle's
riouswords cametrue.The
ns were now free to sovernthemves.But not all Romanswereequal.
r in the early republicbelonged
richmencalledpatricians. The
iorityof Romans,the plebeians,
no say in the government.In this
, you will seehow a long strugbetweenpatriciansand plebeians
the governmentof Rome.
The Riseof the RomanRepublic317
33.2 Patricians and Plebeians Under
Etruscan Rule
Senate a groupof 300men
elected
to governRomeinthe
Ro m an
Republic
consul oneof two chief
le a d e rs
intheRoman
Republic
0neof theheroes
of theearly
Ro m a Republic
n
wasLucius
JuniusBrutus.
Here,Brutusis
promising
to support
thenew
r e p u b lic.
Between616 and 509 s.c.e.,the Etruscansruled Rome.
During this time, Romansocietywas divided into two classes,
patriciansand plebeians.
Upper-classcitizens,calledpatricians, came from a small
group of wealthy landowners.Patricianscomesfrom the Latin
word patres,which means"father." The patricianschosethe
"fathersof the state,"the men who advisedthe Etruscanking.
Patricianscontrolledthe most valuableland. Thev also heldthe
importantmilitary and religiousoffices.
Lower-classcitizens,calledplebeians,were mostly peasants,
laborers,craftspeople,and shopkeepers.
The word plebeians
comesfrom plebs, which means"many." Plebeiansmadeup
about95 percentof Rome's population.They could not be priests
or governmentofficials. They had little say in the government.
Yet they still were forced to servein the army.
33.3 The Patricians
Create a Republic
Over time, the patricianscameto resent
Etruscanrule. In 509 n.c.e.,a groupof
patriciansrebelled.They drove out thelast
Etruscanking. In place of a king, theycre
ated a republic. In a republic, electedofficials work for the interestsof the people.
To the patricians,"the people"meant
patriciansthemselves,not the plebeians.
They put most of the power in the hands
the Senate.The Senate was a groupof
300 men that the patricianselected.The
senatorsservedfor life. They alsoappoi
ed other governmentofficials and served
asjudges.
Two electedleaderscalled consuls
sharedcommandof the arrnv.The Senate
was supposedto advisethe consuls.In
the Senate'sdecisionswere treatedas
The creationof the republic gave
a more democraticgovernment.But only
the patricianscould participatein that
government.
318 Chapter
33
I
I
(
I
(
t
I
tr
c
li
A
fz
ir
fc
bt
iti
be
th
th
cc
cri
wi
qu
ne
ha
wl
to
wc
sei
pal
33.4The
PlebeiansRebel
Rome was now a repubic, but the patriciansheld all
thepower. They made sure
thatonly they could be part
of the government.Only
:liliji
iiltriiriil
'HJi!i
theycould becomesenators
consuls.Plebeianshad
obeytheir decisions.
use laws were not writdown, patriciansoften
ged or interpretedthe
to benefit themselves.
a result,a small group of
ilies held all the power
Rome.
The plebeianshad to fight
what they wanted.They
to demandmore pollrights. The struggle
n the plebeiansand
patricianswas known as
\\
Conflict of the Orders.or
ss
.\.
ict betweenthe classes.
Theconflict grew espeheatedduring times of
. The new republic frey fought _warsagainst
ing tribes.Plebeians
Formanyyears,plebeians
strugto fight in the arrny even though the patriciansdecided
gledto gaina shareof thepolitical
to go to war. Plebeiansresentedthis.
by patricians.
Thestruggletook a dramaticturn in 494 s.c.E.By then, Rome powerenjoyed
a city of between25,000 and 40,000 people.Most of the
ion were plebeians.Angry over their lack of power, the
iansmarchedout of the city and campedon a nearbyhill.
refusedto come back until the patriciansmet their demands.
Romewas in crisis. Work in the city and on the farms came
halt.Without the plebeians,patriciansfearedthat the army
be helplessif an enemy struck at Rome. "A greatpanic
thecity," wrote Livy, a famous Roman historian.The
ns had little choice but to compromise.
The Rise of the Roman Republic 319
veto to refuseto approve
pr o p o sals
of government
made
33.5 The Plebeians Gain
Political Equality
The plebeians'revolt led to a major changein Romangovernment.The patriciansagreedto let the plebeianselectofficials
bytheSenate
calledTribunesof the Plebs.The tribunes spokefor the
tribune anofficialof the
plebeiansto the Senateand the consuls.Later,they gainedthe
R om a Republic
n
elected
by
ple b e ians
to protect
theirrights power to veto, or overrule,actionsby the Senateand government officialsthat they thoughtwere unfair.Over time, the
numberof tribunesgrew from 2 to 10.
Plebeianscould alsoelecta lawmakingbody,the Council
Ple b e ia ns
wona majorvictory
of Plebs.However,the councilmadelaws only for plebeians,
pa
tricians
wh e n
agreed
to post
not patricians.
Rome's
lawsontheTwelve
Tables. The plebeianshad gainedsomeimportantrights.But they$ill
had lesspower than the patricians.
Over the next 200 years,thepleto
beiansuseda seriesof protests
graduallywin political equality.
First, they demandedthat the
laws be written down. That way,the
patricianscouldn't changethemat
will. Around 451 B.c.E.,thepatricians agreed.The laws werewritten
down on tabletscalledtheTwelve
Tables.
Next,in 367 e.c.e.,a newlaw
said that one of the two Romanconsulshad to be a plebeian.Former
consulsheld seatsin the Senate,
so
this changealso madeit possible
fot
plebeiansto becomesenators.
Finally,in 281 B.c.E.,theplebeiansgainedthe right to passlaws
for all Romancitizens.Now,assemblies of all Romancitizenscould
approveor rejectlaws.Theseplebeianassemblies
alsonominated
th
consuls,the tribunes,andthemembers of the Senate.More andmore
plebeiansservedalongsidepatriciansin the Senate.After 200yean
of struggle,the plebeianshadwon
their fight for equality.
320 Chanter33
E
b
a.
ai
rt
ir
St
is
E
re
o\
p(
el,
th
Pl,
of
dir
sfi
Rome'srepublicanform of governmentinspiredfutureagesln
ruled
EuropeandAmerica.Rome set an exampleof a government
a writtenc',rtstituti7n(setof basiclaws).Futurerepublicans
citizenship,
alsopointedto Romanidealsof electedassemblies.
bodies
andcivic duty.They adoptedthe modelof governmental
could checkeachother'spower.Above all, they were
Cicero.a famousRoman
ired by the spirit of republicanism.
sman,capturedthis spirit when he wrote."The people'sgood
thehiehestlaw."
6 Ghapter Summary
In this chapter,you learnedhow the Romans overthrew the
ns and createda republic' Romanswere proud of their
lic. Sometimes,during times of war, they handedpower
to a dictator.Dictatorswere men who were given special
for a limited period of time. But for the most part,
leadersruled Rome for 500 Years.
Becauseof the conflict betweenpatriciansand plebeians,
RomanRepublic becamemore democraticover time' The
ianseventuallywon more political power' In time, most
theimportantdifferencesbetweenpatriciansand plebeians
In the next chapter,you will learn how Rome grew from a
republicinto a mightY emPire.
, ma sne n a t o rs
ln t h eS e n a t eRo
d e b a t eimP
d o rt a dn et c is io n s
facingthecitY.
.Ph",'
The Rise of the Roman RePublic
321