Download Unit 7 Lesson 2 The Republic and Roman Expansion

Unit 7
Lesson 2
The Republic and Roman Expansion
Lesson 2 – The Republic and Roman Expansion
1.
2.
3.
4.
checks and balances
civic duty
consuls
forum
5. Latin
6. Palatine Hill
7. Senate
8. tribunes
9. tripartite
10. veto
a. A government with three parts
b. The most powerful elected officials in Rome
c. Held office for one year to prevent abuses of power
d. A council of wealthy and powerful Romans that advised
the city’s leaders
e. The Roman language
f. To prohibit actions by other government officials
g. Responsibility to ensure the prosperity of the city
h. Keeps one part of a government from becoming too strong
i. Rome’s public meeting place
j. Where Rome’s richest people lived
Generalization: Conflict between social groups often results in new developments in
governments.
Big Idea – Rome’s tripartite government and written laws helped create a stable society.
Questions
- explain – How did the government keep tribunes from becoming
too powerful? They were limited to serving for only one year
– drawing inferences – Why did many people want a written law
code? They did not want to be accused of breaking laws they
didn’t know existed
- describe – what kinds of activities took place in the Roman
Forum? Religious ceremonies, speeches, social gatherings,
shopping, gladiatorial combat
The Roman Republic
- Etruscan Kings – 616 to 509 BC
- developed a Republic
- patricians only ruled at first
- plebeians demanded more rights
- 287 BC – became equal citizens
- served on the Assembly of Tribes and the Assembly of
Centuries
- voted on issues and passed laws
- draw conclusions – how was civic duty
demonstrated in Rome?
People participated in government by
attending meetings and voting; the wealthy
felt it was their duty to serve.
Consuls
- highest official – usually 2
- elected by the assemblies for two years
- enforced the laws
- city administration
- commanded the army in times of war
Magistrates
- assisted the consuls
- elected by Assembly of Centuries
Praetors
- judges
- elaborate – how do
you think the Roman
Senate gained power?
The Senate
- most powerful group
- consuls appointed 300 members for life
- originally only patricians
- later plebeians, but they just turned into patricians
- proposed laws, foreign affairs and the money
Tribunes
- 10 men elected by the Assembly of Tribes to protect the rights of the
plebeians
- could veto decisions of the consuls and the senate
- in theory, if not always in practice
Government of the Roman Republic
Magistrates
Senate
- Consuls led the
government and army,
judged court cases
- Advised the consuls
- Served for one year
- Gained control of
financial affairs
- Had power over all
citizens, including other
officials
- Served for life
Assemblies and Tribunes
- Represented the common
people, approved or
rejected laws, declared
war, elected magistrates
- Roman citizens could take
part in assemblies all their
adult lives, tribunes served
for one year
- Could veto the decisions of
consuls and other
magistrates
The Republic worked well for
about 500 years
- began to break down
- civil wars caused by
conflict between patricians and
plebeians
- changes added to
these problems
- expansion of the
empire
need to govern different types of
peoples
Roman Law
- the Twelve Tables
- recorded law so that everyone could see them
- children had to memorize them
- incorporated the some of the ideas of conquered peoples
- recorded their decisions to help in later cases
- became the next step in the development of Law Codes
Code of Hammurabi
- laws based on religion and morals
Twelve Tables
- draw conclusion- why did Romans want their
laws written down?
So people wouldn’t be accused of breaking
laws they didn’t know existed
- explain – why did the Romans display the Law
of the Twelve Tables in public place?
So they would be accessible to everyone
- make inferences – despite the laws’ changing
over time, how did the Law of the Twelve
Tables remain important?
It continues to be a symbol of how Roman
society was governed by laws
Primary Source
Law of the Twelve Tables
The Law of the Twelve Tables governed many parts of Roman life. Some laws were
written to protect the rights of all Romans. Others only protected the patricians.
A Roman who did not
appear before a government
official when called or did
not pay his debts could be
arrested
Women – even as adults –
were legally considered to
be children
No one in Rome could be
executed without a trial
[from Table I] If anyone summons a man before the
magistrate, he must go. If the man summoned does
not go, let the one summoning him call the bystanders
to witness and then take him by force.
[from Table III] One who has confessed a debt, or
against whom judgment has been pronounced shall
have thirty days to pay it. After that forcible seizure of
his person is allowed … unless he pays the amount of
the judgment.
[from Table V] Females should remain in guardianship
even when they have attained their majority.
[from Table IX] Putting to death of any man,
whosoever he might be, unconvinced is forbidden.
Roman Forum
- heart of Rome
- site of government buildings and temples
- Twelve Tables posted there
- popular meeting place for citizens
- public speaking area
- shop and merchants
- early gladiator combats
- public ceremonies
- located between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills
– How was the Forum
the heart of Roman
society?.
It was the location of
important government
buildings and temples.
It was also a popular
meeting place for
citizens
Changes in power structure as Rome Expands
- the more conflict with neighbors the larger and more skilled the army
became
- all male citizens (17 to 46) could be called to service
- army leaders become more important and powerful in public affairs
- Roman officials ruled conquered lands with the aid of the army
- Latin became the main language
- roads were built to connect the empire
- Roman navy became the most powerful in the Mediterranean
The Punic Wars cause even greater expansion
- against Carthage (Phoenician colony in North Africa)
- fight for control of trade routes in the Mediterranean
First Punic War
- summarize – what led to the beginning of the
Punic Wars?
Carthage sent armies into Sicily
Second Punic War
-Dominated by Hannibal
-- led armies into Italy from the north
-- less men, but better general
- destroyed an entire Roman army at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC
-Rome sent new general to face him
-Cornelius Scipio
-Drove Carthaginians out of Spain in 206 BC
-Moved to Africa and attacked Carthage
- Hannibal forced to return home to defend his city
- defeated at battle of Zama in 202 BC
-Renamed Scipio Africanus
-- Hannibal flees to Asia where he dies
Third Punic War
-- Carthage was completely destroyed during
the Third Punic War in 146 BC
- Pergamon left to the Romans by its king in
133 BC
Roman victory gained Rome
- Spain
- Sicily
- Sardinia
- Corsica
- coast of North Africa
- built a new Carthage as a naval base
- evaluate – Some historians say that Rome and
Carthage were destined to fight each other.
Why do you think they say this?
The Decline of the Republic – mostly caused by Roman expansion
- Patricians got richer
- slaves and wealth poured in
- gained more land and power
- Plebeians – got poorer
- lost jobs to slaves
- lost farms to patricians after returning from the wars
- moved to the cities
- became the unemployed mob
- many sold their votes to politicians
Dealing with the plebeian problem
- tried to buy them off
- policy of Bread and Circuses
- used by ambitious leaders for their own gain
- led to civil wars
- The people wanted peace and security
- became willing to accept dictators
- these became more permanent
- ignored limits
- many leaders began to rule by force
- began killing each other