Download Roman Law - Baltimore City Public Schools

Name ____________________________________ Date ________________________ Period ____
Ancient Rome – Roman Advancements
World History with Mr. Golden
ROMAN LAW
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BCE. The government was run by elected officials called
Senators. Senators were chosen from the upper class called Patricians. The lower class, Plebeians,
made up the majority of the population and were generally farmers, artisans, and merchants. Under
the Republic, two (2) elected Consuls shared the head of government. Consuls were members of the
Senate, who had been elected to serve for a one-year term in the position of Consul, the highest
position in the government under the Republic. The Consuls’ most important power was that they
controlled the army.
The Senate was composed of leaders from the patricians, the noble and wealthy families of ancient
Rome. They were the lawmakers. They controlled spending. Members of the Senate were not elected they were chosen by the Consuls. Once chosen, they served for life. There were 300 seats in the Senate
and when a seat opened, the current Consuls selected a new Senator.
At first, the plebeian class held no power in government. This angered the plebeians and led to the
creation of the Assembly – a new portion of the government that was composed of all the plebeian
citizens of Rome; the common people. The Assembly did not have a building of its own. It was the right
of the common man to simply assemble in the Forum and vote. In the beginning, the Assembly had
very limited power. They could vote for or suggest laws, but the Senate could block their decisions. The
Assembly could vote to declare war, but again, the Senate could override them.
However, the Assembly had one power that was very impressive - it was the Assembly who voted each
year on which two members of the Senate would serve as Consuls. As a noble, if you wanted to rise to
the level of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic, you needed to gain the
support of the plebeian class. In time, the plebeians gained the right to elect their own officials called
tribunes to protect their interests. The tribunes could veto, or block, those laws that they felt were
harmful to plebeians. Little by little, plebeians forced the senate to choose plebeians as consuls,
appoint plebeians to other high offices, and finally open the senate itself to plebeians who had served
the state well.
1. Who were the two major classes in Ancient Roman society? Define them.
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2. What kind of government did the Romans have? Does it sound similar to our government at all?
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3. Describe the Roman government. Who had power and what they were responsible for?
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4. How did the plebeian class gain power over time?
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A huge breakthrough for the plebeians came about in 450 BCE, when the government had the laws of
Rome inscribed on the Twelve Tables – (huge blocks of stone) – and set up in the Forum (Rome’s
biggest marketplace). Plebeians had been holding protests claiming that citizens could not be expected
to know what the laws were, because they were not written down anywhere for people to see them.
The Laws of the Twelve Tables made it possible for the first time for plebeians to appeal a judgment
handed down by a patrician judge. Below are several excerpts from The Laws of the Twelve Tables.
Read the excerpts and respond to the prompts that follow.
The Law of the Twelve Tables
(excerpts)
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The penalty shall be capital punishment for a judge or arbiter
legally appointed who has been found guilty of receiving a
bribe for giving a decision.
The putting to death of any man who has not been convicted,
whosoever he might be, is forbidden.
Marriages should not take place between plebeians and
patricians.
If a child is born with a deformity he shall be killed.
If a father sells his son into slavery three times, the son shall
be free of his father.
If a man and woman live together continuously for a year,
they are considered to be married; the woman legally is
treated as the man's daughter.
Whoever is convicted of speaking false witness shall be flung
from the Tarpeian Rock.
If a person has maimed another's limb, let there be retaliation
in kind, unless he agrees to make compensation with him.
Which laws sound similar to ones currently
on the books here in America?
Which laws sound dissimilar to ones
currently on the books here in America?
How are they similar?
How are they different?
Do you think Roman law had an impact on our current legal system? Why or why not?
(Give me at least 2-3 good sentences here!)