Download Trouble in the Republic

THE FALL OF
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Coach Crews
World History
Section 2 Vocabulary Review – 10 Points
1.
2.
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5.
In early Rome, the ____ were wealthy landowners.
The top officials in the early Roman republic were
the two____.
The main job of the ___ was to interpret the law as
judges.
Most of Rome’s people were ___ who included
artisans and shopkeepers.
A Roman ___ had complete control but ruled on a
temporary basis.
Vocabulary Review
1.
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5.
Patricians
Consuls
Praetors
Plebians
Dictator
Trouble in the Republic
1. Rome began facing problems at home
- Officials began stealing money
- Growing gap between the rich and the poor
- Farmers in ruin
- Cities became overcrowded and dangerous
Trouble in the Republic
2. Rich vs. Poor
- Many unhappy with the power of the Patricians
- Farmers in debt
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Unable to farm because they were fighting
Farms damaged by Hannibal
Latifundia – large farming estates
Slaves were used to farm these new estates
Farmers sold their land and moved to the city looking
for work
“Bread and circuses” – cheap food and entertainment
for the poor to win their votes
Trouble in the Republic
3. Why Did Reform Fail?
- Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
- These brothers asked government to buy the land
and divide it among the landless
- Many senators owned the land in question, both
brothers would eventually be killed by bands of
senators
Trouble in the Republic
4. The Army Enters Politics
- Marius becomes consul in 107 B.C.
- Recruits soldiers by promising them land
- Soldiers now paid, not volunteer, making them loyal
to the general rather than the republic
- Generals now into politics to get laws passed to
benefit their soldiers
Trouble in the Republic
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A general named Sulla drove out other armies and
declared himself dictator in 82 B.C.
Sulla changed the government
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Weakened the Council of the Plebs
Strengthened the Senate
50 years of civil wars
Men raised armies to seize power as Sulla had done
The stage is set for a military hero named Julius
Caesar to seize power
The Fall of the Republic
Prove-It:
1.
Give three reasons why Roman farmers were
sinking into poverty and debt.
2.
How did Marius change the Roman army?
3.
How did the general Sulla change the Roman
government when he became dictator after taking
power in 82 B.C.?