Download Roman History II

Roman History II: Foundations of
Republican Rome
Culture Lesson for 1st and 2nd Year Latin
Republic Vs. Monarchy
Roman Monarchy
– One leader
– Usually elected or declared by the people
– Advised by Senate, but retained supreme power
– Retained office for life
Roman Republic
– Two leaders and multiple lesser officers
– Elected by the people via comitiae
– Senate has greater role in checking administration
– Held power for limited time (6 months to a year)
Cursus Honorum
(The Track of Offices)
Quaestor
– Lowest office on the official track
– In charge of funds and treasury
– Could be assigned to a military unit, a
province, or to Rome
– Minimum age between 27 and 30 years
old
– Upon completing duties, became a
member of the Senate
Aedile
– Not officially part of Cursus, but
considered a good stop for ambitious
people
– In charge of public works,
entertainment, grain supply, and
bureaucracy
– Four: two plebeian, two curule
(patricians with special chairs)
Cursus Honorum
(The Track of Offices)
Praetor
– Original title of consul
– Retained imperium (military
authority)
– Mainly involved as judges in the
courts
– Usually had to be 40 or so to be
elected; up to 8 elected each year
– When year was finished, would
get a province and govern as a
propraetor
Consul
– Highest elected authority
– In charge of military affairs, had
imperium
– Chaired Senate meetings
– Minimum age between 36 and
42 years old
– Always two for sake of balance
– When finished, became
proconsul of a province
Honores Non In Cursu
Tribunus Plebis
– Tribune of the People
– 10 in number
– Had the power of veto
(intercessio) over all
governmental acts
– Person was sacrosanct (could not
be harmed under penalty of
death)
– Later, became senators after their
term of office
Censor
– Elected two at a time every 5
years for a period of 18 months
– Ran a census of people and land,
determined approximate wealth
of Romans and what their
economic status was
– In charge of public morality and
the rolls of the Senate.
Honores Non In Cursu
Dictator
– Emergency office appointed in times of great need
– Filled by one person for a period of 6 months, at which time the
Senate can renew powers for another 6 months if necessary
– Supreme authority to do as needed, usually in the capacity of
military or public safety
– Assisted by a Magister Equitum, Master of the Knights, as a secondin-command.
Lictores
Attendants of the higher
magistrates
Carried the fasces, bundle of
rods surrounding an axe
Consuls had 12 lictors, dictators
had 24
Praetors had 6, but only when
out of Rome on military affairs
Senatus Romanus
Tradition holds the Senate formed under Romulus; meant to
be a council of wise older men (from senex, old man).
Like magistrates, originally restricted to patrician aristocracy;
later opened up to plebeians and equites (middle class).
Did not actually pass laws, but advanced them to the
comitiae, adding or leaving off their approval of the measure.
Senatus Romanus
Number of members increased from 100 in the beginning to
300 by the time of I. Caesar.
Could only enter after having held a magistracy; usually
entered after quaestorship or tribunate.
Lifetime membership
Seats often staid within families, perpetuating the division of
privileged and underprivileged
Comitiae
Comitia Centuriata
– Made up of 373 centuries, each
based on age and property value
of male citizens; military in origin
– Decided issues of war and peace
– Elected consuls, praetors, and
curule aediles
– Could be appealed to in death
penalty cases
Comitia Tributa
– Divided by the 35 original tribes
of Romans
– Elected quaestors
– Main body for passing legislation
brought forth by consuls,
praetors, and tribunes from
Senate
– Could be appealed to in cases
not involving capital punishment
Concilium Plebis
Representative body of plebeians
Elected plebeian aediles and tribunes
Lex Hortensia of 287 B.C. allowed body to pass laws called
plebiscita that were binding on all citizens
– Traditionally, would clear through Senate first
– Later, tribunes bypassed Senate and went directly to the people
Politics and Status
Romans divided into two (later three) classes:
– Patres (patricians, upper class): old ancestry, old wealth.
Controlled government and religion until 4th century B.C.
– Plebes (plebeians, lower class): lacked ancestry of patricians,
though could be wealthy. Struggled long with the patricians and
eventually gained the right to hold offices, marry up, and be
versant in (later, be creators of) the law.
Connections to America
Usage of names and symbolism
(fasces, Senate)
Qualifications to vote and hold
office (originally, had to be male
and own land)
Origins in monarchy
Comitiae similar to town hall
meeting or caucus
Checks and Balances
– People elect magistrates through
established channels (electoral
college, comitiae)
– Magistrates, Senate, courts
interact and watch each other
– Citizens have recourses
– Limited terms, limited power
Legends of Republican Rome
Horatius Cocles
– Tarquinius Superbus returns to Etruria and enlists the aid of King
Lars Porsena to retake the city
– Horatius and his friends, upon hearing of this, decide to break
down Rome’s one bridge across the Tiber
– Horatius fights off entire army alone while friends destroy the
bridge, then swims the Tiber to safety through a hail of spears and
arrows
Legends of Republican Rome
Mucius Scaevola
– Young Mucius infiltrates Etruscan camp to kill Porsena
– In the open, attacks who he thinks is Porsena; actually kills
Porsena’s secretary
– Etruscans capture him, threaten him with torture and death. Sticks
his right hand into a fire to show Roman strength and
determination
– Set free. Romans named him Scaevola, “Lefty”
Legends of Republican Rome
Cloelia
– Porsena agrees to leave Rome, but demands hostages to take with
him to prevent Roman retaliation
– One hostage, Cloelia, escapes her captors and swims across the
Tiber to Rome
– Romans return her to Porsena, but he is so impressed with her that
he allows her to go free anyway. Romans built her an equestrian
statue in the Forum
Legends of Republican Rome
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
– 458 B.C.: Rome at war with neighbors the Aequi. Aequi had
besieged a Roman consul and his army on Mt. Algidus, and the
other consul was not deemed able to rescue him
– Senate declared Cincinnatus dictator. Envoys sent to tell him found
him working in his fields. Immediately, he put on his toga and left
with the senators to Rome.
Legends of Republican Rome
Cincinnatus continued
– Gathered all able-bodied men together in Rome, told them to bring
5 days’ food and poles to build a palisade
– Reached the mountain at midnight, surrounded the Aequi, and
built their palisade. When sun rose, the surrounded Aequi
surrendered.
– After only a few days as dictator, Cincinnatus returned victorious to
Rome, resigned his office, and went back to his farm.
Cincinnatus and Cincinnati
Following American Revolution, many former soldiers formed the
Society of Cincinnatus, dedicated to the ideals in the story of the
dictator
One of the members, General Arthur St. Clair, was a governor of the
Ohio Territory. Upon his arrival, he found the beginnings of a city,
Losantaville. He asked that the city’s name be changed to honor the
Roman hero- hence, Cincinnati, city of Cincinnatus.
Because of our Roman name, Il Duce Benito Mussolini of Italy gifted
the city with a replica of the Capitoline Wolf sculpture in the 1930’s. It
resides in Eden Park to this day.