Download A Summary of Roman Government

A Summary of Roman Government
According to ancient historians, Romulus was the first king of Rome, taking the throne
in 753 B.C.E. After Romulus, Roman records list 7 different kings who ruled the city. However,
not all of the kings were Roman. Rome’s last three kings were Etruscans. The Etruscans were a
group of people who lived north of Rome. Even though the Etruscan kings were not Roman
they still made great contributions to Roman society. They built huge temples, efficient sewers,
and they also developed the Roman alphabet and number systems. However, the last Etruscan
king was said to be a very mean and cruel ruler. He had many
people killed including his own advisors (helpers). A group of
Roman nobles (rich and powerful leaders), known as patricians,
overthrew the evil king and then decided they wanted to create a
whole new form of government that did not have kings.
The government that the Roman nobles created in 509
B.C.E. was called a republic. In a republic people elect leaders
to
govern and make laws for them. The Romans elected officials to
rule the city. These officials had many powers but they only
stayed in control for one year. This system was supposed to keep
any one person from becoming too powerful in the government. But Rome was not a
democracy, where anybody could rule. The city’s elected officials nearly all came from a small
group of wealthy and powerful men known as patricians.
Shortly after Rome became a republic they found themselves at war. For about 50 years
the Romans were continuously fighting with some other region for power. During these
particularly difficult wars the Romans chose a dictator to lead the government and most
importantly the war effort. A dictator is someone that rules with absolute or complete power.
But the Roman republic only allowed its dictators to rule for only six months. They did not
want the dictators to abuse their power and take total control.
Many people thought that this system of government with dictators and patricians was
unfair because only a few rich people had most of the power. The plebeians or common people
of Rome wanted a change in the government. The plebeians greatly outnumbered the patricians
but they could not take part in the government. In 494 B.C.E. the plebeians decided to form
their own government and elected their own council from the common people. The patricians
soon realized that Rome would fall apart if the two groups did not cooperate. Once again the
Romans changed their form of government. The patricians decided to create new government
jobs that could be held by the plebeians. The Roman government was split 3 ways between the
magistrates (judges and legal advisors), the senate (controlled finances and advised consuls), and the
assemblies and tribunes (represented the common people, declared wars, and could reject laws made
senate and magistrates).
In 387 B.C.E. a tribe known as the Gauls attacked Rome and took over the city. The
Romans had to pay the Gauls a huge amount of gold to leave the city. After the Gaul invasion
Rome built up its army. This force became very powerful and was able to defeat Rome’s
enemies and acquire (take) new land. As the army grew the military generals began to gain more
and more power in the government. A general by the name of Julius Caesar became very
powerful around this time. In 50 B.C.E. the Roman senate ordered Caesar to give up his army
A Summary of Roman Government
because they thought he was too powerful. Caesar refused and marched into Rome with his
army. Caesar then forced the senate to make him dictator for 10 years. Later his term as dictator
was extended for life. Caesar became a dictator that had control of all Roman land. Many
members of the senate didn’t want a dictator so they conspired (secretly planned) to kill Caesar.
He
was assassinated by this group of senators on March 15, 44
B.C.E.
After Caesar’s death power was split between
Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son, Marc Antony, Octavian’s
brother in law, and Marcus Lepidus. This form of rule was
known as a triumvirate. Lepidus was excluded (kicked out)
from the triumvirate in 32 B.C.E. Around 42 B.C. Mark
Antony met Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, and the two fell in
love. Mark Antony then divorced his wife who was Octavian’s
sister. This angered Octavian so much that he started a civil
war with Marc Antony. A civil war is when 2 groups from
the same country or empire fight each other for power. Octavian later defeated Marc Antony at
the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E.. After the battle Marc Antony and Cleopatra both lost power
and eventually committed suicide.
After Marc Antony’s death Octavian became the sole (only) ruler of Rome. In 27 B.C.E.
Octavian tried to give up being a ruler. He wanted to give all his power to the senate. But, he
was such a good leader that the senate refused to take power from him. Instead the senate made
Octavian into an emperor, a supreme ruler. Octavian had absolute control over Rome and all its
territories. When Octavian became emperor it marked the end of the Roman Republic, where
many people ruled, and the beginning of the Roman Empire, where one man had supreme
power. When Octavian became emperor he changed his name to Caesar Augustus. He chose
the name Caesar to honor his assassinated uncle, Julius Caesar, and Augustus means the
“magnificent one”. Augustus was considered to be the one of the greatest leaders in Roman and
world history.
As you can see Rome had many different forms of government which ranged from kings,
rich people, commoners, generals, and emperors sharing or having supreme and total control of
Rome and all its territories. Throughout its long history all of these different governments were
important in Rome becoming one of the most powerful empires in all of world history.
A Summary of Roman Government
NAME:
(Answer in complete sentences)
1. When was Rome founded?
2. What contributions did the Etruscans make toward Roman society (Name at least 3)?
3. Why did the Roman nobles overthrow the last Etruscan king?
4. When was the First Roman Republic created?
5. What is a republic?
6. What did the Romans do that prevented the leaders of the republic from gaining too much power?
7. What was the name of the social group that the Romans got its leaders from?
8. What is a dictator?
9. Why did the Romans decide to have dictators in their government?
10. How did the Romans limit the power of the dictators?
11. Who were the plebeians?
12. What did the patricians do when the plebeians formed their own councils?
A Summary of Roman Government
14. What were the names of three groups of Roman government the patricians created?
15. What did the Romans do after the Gaul invasion of Rome?
16. Name two jobs that Julius Caesar had?
17. How did Julius Caesar die?
18. Which 3 people were given power after Caesar’s death?
19. What is it called when power in the government is distributed between three people?
20. What kind of war was fought between Octavian and Marc Antony?
21. Who was the sole ruler of Rome after Marc Antony’s death?
22. What did the senate do when Octavian wanted give up all his power?
23. When Octavian became the emperor Rome’s government changed from being a republic to what other form
of government?
24. What did Octavian change his name to?
25. What does Augustus mean?