Download The Roman Republic

At the head of the Roman Republic were two consuls, administrators and military
leaders, who were chosen each year. As each had the power to veto, or say no to,
the acts of the other, both had to agree before any law was passed.
Next in importance was the Senate. Three hundred senators were chosen for life to
handle daily problems and advise consuls.
Judges, assemblies, and tribunes, or government officials who protected the rights
of plebeians, were also part of the Roman government.
In 450 B.C., Roman laws were carved on 12 bronze tablets
known as the Twelve Tables and placed in the Forum.
The election of tribunes and recording of laws were the
first steps to a more democratic government.
FOCUS QUESTONS
for
The Roman Republic
1. Where did all roads of the Roman Empire lead?
2. What was the one outfit worn by common Romans?
3. In what type of housing did most Romans live?
4. Where did Romans go to buy goods or listen for
news?
5. What two methods did Romans use for writing?
The Early Republic
The Romans worked to protect their republic
because they were afraid that the Etruscans
would try to get back control of Rome. To
protect their new boundaries, the Romans
either conquered their neighbors or made
alliances with them.
By 146 B.C., Rome ruled most of the Mediterranean world.
The Romans gained territory because their
strong army was organized into legions. Each
legion contained some 5,000 soldiers called
legionaries and was divided into groups of 60
to 120 soldiers. The Romans were mild rulers,
and as a result many enemies of Rome
became loyal Roman allies.
Questions for Rome’s legions:
1. How long did it take Rome to expand its borders
throughout the Mediterranean?
2. Why did foreigners fight for Rome?
3. Who did Romans borrow the battle helmet from after
they were conquered by Rome?
4. What was the pilum?
5. Which weapon did the Romans borrow from Greeks?
6. How was a ballista used?
7. How many men in a legion? Why were they sucessful?
The Roman Legion
FOCUS QUESTIONS
for
Rome’s Military
1. Which empire first threatened Rome’s control of the
Mediterranean?
2. Who served in the Roman army?
3. What was the primary goal of early Roman warfare?
4. What military inventions are the Romans credited
with?
5. What were 2 secrets to Rome’s military success?
Rome’s Military
By 264 B.C., the Romans had conquered some Greek city-states in southern Italy,
bringing them into contact with the Phoenician city of Carthage.
The Romans felt threatened by the Carthaginians, and
they also wanted Sicily’s granaries. In 264 B.C., the
Romans and Carthaginians clashed in a war that lasted
for 23 years. It was the first of three wars between
Rome and Carthage that came to be known as the
Punic Wars.
Carthage’s military strength lay in its navy, while
Rome’s lay in its army which defeated the
Carthaginians. In 241 B.C., the Carthaginians
agreed to make peace and left Sicily.
In 218 B.C., the Second Punic War began. The
Carthaginians, led by General Hannibal Barca,
attacked the Roman army by land from the north. He
was unable to capture Rome. Then, the Romans
attacked Carthage, and Hannibal was called home to
defend it and he lost his first battle.
In 201 B.C., Carthage agreed to pay Rome a huge sum of money and to give up all
its territories, including Spain.
To prevent Carthage from gaining power, the Romans attacked in 149 B.C., the
Third Punic War. In 146 B.C. the Greek city-state of Corinth and some of its allies
refused to obey a Roman order. The Romans attacked Corinth and burned it to the
ground.
Rome became the leading power of the Mediterranean world.
Focus Questions
for
The Punic Wars
1. Why hadn’t the Romans fought any battles at sea?
2. What did Carthage have to pay Rome after its defeat
in the first Punic War?
3. Which mountain range did Hannibal cross to invade
Rome?
4. Which battle served as the worst defeat suffered by
the Roman legions where 50,000 lost their lives?
5. What was Scipio’s plan to win the second Punic
War?
6. How did Hannibal die?
Punic warsThe Punic Wars.asx
The conquests and the wealth changed Rome’s economy and government. Among
the changes were
1. the replacement of small farms by large estates.
2. the coming of slavery.
3. a movement from farms to cities.
4. The decline of the Roman Republic.
Rome’s conquests brought changes in agriculture.
Large estates called latifundias replaced the small
farms. Hannibal’s invasion was the main reason for this
change. Roman farmers had burned their fields and
crops to prevent Hannibal’s soldiers from living off the
land.
By the end of the Second Punic War, much of the land
was ruined, and small farmers could not afford to restore
the land. Patricians and rich business people bought small
farms and combined them to make latifundias.
Political unrest grew greater and Rome was no longer politically stable.
Another change in agriculture was in who worked the
land. The Romans sent thousands of prisoners to
Rome as enslaved people to live and work on
latifundias.
The farmers who had sold their land could stay and
work for the new owner or move to the city. Almost all
moved to Rome into crowded apartments with terrible
living conditions. Most farmers could not get jobs and
got money by selling their votes to politicians.
As Rome’s rule spread beyond Italy, the Romans
began to demand taxes and enslaved people.
Tax contracts were sold to people called publicans
who collected taxes from the conquered people.
By about 135 B.C., Rome was in a great deal of trouble. The gap between rich
and poor and political unrest grew greater and Rome was no longer politically
stable.
SHIFT FROM
COUNTRYSIDE TO CITY
EFFECTS OF CONQUEST
Before
Small farms
Small farmers grew wheat for food
Romans no longer grew wheat
After
Latifundias
Latifundias produced crops, sheep and
cattle for sale at market
Romans began to import wheat
Farmers worked the land
To prevent Hannibal’s men living off the
land, Roman farmers burned and ruined
their land
Slaves lived and worked on latifundias
Farmers owned their land
Farmers sold land and worked for new
owner of moved to the city
People lived on farms
People lived in crowded wooden
apartments under terrible conditions
Farmers were able to make a living
Businesses were staffed by slaves;
farmers could sell their votes
Roman farmers plowed, seeded
and harvested their land
Rome controlled Italy
Roman business was good
Rome conquered the Mediterranean and
demanded taxes and slaves from conquered
areas
Rich Romans wanted luxury goods from
Greece and Syria
The Story of Tiberius Gracchus
Over the next 100 years, many different popular leaders–reformers and generals–
tried to improve conditions in Rome.
Tiberius Gracchus became a tribune in 133 B.C. and
was the first reformer. He wanted to limit the amount of
land a person could own. He was killed in a riot staged
by the Senate when he ran for a second term as tribune.
In 123 B.C., Tiberius Gracchus’s younger brother, Gaius
Gracchus, was elected tribune. When the Senate began
to feel threatened by his ideas in 121 B.C. they had him killed.
In 107 B.C., General Gaius Marius, a military hero, became
consul. Marius thought he could end Rome’s troubles by setting
up a professional army, open to everyone.
Another general, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, was given a military
command that Marius wanted. Marius tried to get the assembly
to take the command away from Sulla. An angry Sulla marched
his army and seized Rome and civil war broke out. When it was
over, Sulla made himself dictator, or absolute ruler, of Rome.
The Republic of
Rome
When Sulla retired, a new group of generals fought
for control of Rome. In 60 B.C., political power
passed to a triumvirate, or a group of three persons
with equal power.
Julius Caesar finally gained control, after a power
struggle, in 48 B.C. In 58 B.C., Caesar was named
governor of a Roman province and built up a large,
strong loyal army. The Senate ordered him in 50 B.C. to break up his legions and
return to Rome. Instead, Caesar entered the city at the head of his troops, and by
46 B.C., he was dictator of Rome.
Caesar brought about many reforms of land and wealth
distribution. Some Romans were afraid that Caesar
planned to make himself king. As he entered the Senate
on March 15, 44 B.C., Caesar was stabbed to death.
Julius Caesar
Political power passed to another triumvirate.
Marcus Antonius, or Mark Antony, Caesar’s closest follower and a popular
general, took command of Rome’s territories in the East. .
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, one of Caesar’s top officers, took over the rule
of Africa.
Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew and adopted son, took charge of the
West.
For a while, the triumvirate worked. Then fights broke out, leaving Octavian as
sole ruler of the Roman Empire in 31 B.C.
Roman Reformers
Reformer
Tiberius
Gracchus
Problem in Rome
Small farmers lost
land
Solution
Limit the amount of
land a person could
own 9300 acres)
Effect
Assembly put his idea
into effect
Give excess to landless
Gaius Gracchus
Wheat prices were
high
Sell wheat to the poor
at below market prices
More food for
Romans
1 out of 3 Roman s
received free wheat
General Gaius
Marius
Lucius Cornelius
Sulla
Julius Caesar
Ex-soldiers lost land
when they left for
service in the army
Set up a professional
army
Marius received military
command Sulla wanted
Marched his army on
Rome and seized the
capital
First time a Roman
commander led his
soldiers against Rome
Doubled the size of the
Senate
Senate power increased;
tribune were weakened
Land issue
Gave veterans land
New colonies
overseas were
populated by Romans
Farmers in city can
not find work
Public works projects
Senate did not have
enough power
Offered pay, land,
pensions and booty
Soldiers gave loyalty
to generals not
Roman government
Gave jobs to
thousands