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Aristocrats – upper class noblemen that
advised the king
City-State – independent community that
includes a city and its surrounding territory
Democracy – government in which the people
can influence law and vote for representatives
Ancient Rome
The Roman Republic
The Roman Republic
• Etruscan kings ruled Rome from 600
B.C. to 509 BC
– Roman aristocrats overthrew the last
Etruscan king in 509 BC
– Establish a republic
The Roman Republic
• Republic
– A form of government in which elected
officials govern the state
– power rests with citizens who have the
right to vote for their leaders
– Indirect democracy or representative
democracy
• Rome allowed free-born male citizens to
participate in elections
– Women could not vote
The Roman Republic
• Patricians
– Aristocratic landowners
who held most power in
Rome
– Made up 10% of the
population
– Ran the government and
made the laws
Patricians and Plebeians
• Plebeians
– Farmers, artisans, and
merchants
– Majority in Rome
– Were barred from
holding most
government positions
Patricians and Plebeians
• Plebeians demanded more rights in Rome
from the patricians
– Plebeian Council
• Allowed to elect their own assembly
– Tribunes
• Officials elected to protect the rights of
plebeians
• Could veto laws that were unjust to plebeians
The Twelve Tables of Rome
• First written code of law
in Rome
• Plebeians demanded laws
of Rome be written down
– Laws were carved on
twelve bronze tablets and
displayed in the Roman
Forum
• Established the principle
that all free citizens had
the right to protection
of the law
Roman Government
• Consuls
– 2 consuls elected
by the assembly
for 1 year
– Chief executives
and commanded
the army
Roman Government
• Senate
– 300 patrician men
– Served for life
– Controlled
finances and
foreign relations
– Advised consuls
Roman Government
• Assemblies
– Tribal
Assembly
and
Centuriate
Assembly
– Made laws
and elected
officials
Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding over the
Plebeian Council
•
Roman Government
• In times of crisis,
the republic could
appoint a dictator to
rule Rome.
– Dictator
• a leader who has
absolute power
Cincinnatus
– Could only rule for
six months
– Were chosen by the
consul and elected by
the Senate
The Roman Forum
• The center of life
in Rome
• Marketplace and
civic center
– Senate met in the
forum
– Public speeches
were given here
– Site of many
businesses
Closure
• What is the difference between a
republic and a direct democracy?
• What was the difference between
patricians and plebeians?
• How are the Twelve Tables of Rome and
Hammurabi’s Code similar?