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The Roman Republic
Geography
Long and narrow, Italy is divided east and west by the Apennine Mountains (a continuation
of the Alps, the Apennine Range is continuous from northwest to southwest Italy…it forms a
crescent shape). The mountains provided abundant wood and pasture land for grazing and
its volcanoes ensured that the soil would be particularly fertile. In addition, Italy divides the
Mediterranean in half, which is a perfect position to govern trade on that sea.
Creation myths of the Romans
According to the Romans themselves, Rome was founded in the year 753 BC by twin brothers
Romulus and Remus. They were born of a vestal virgin and the god Mars. They were cast into
the Tiber in a basket, but were found by a she-wolf, who suckled them until they were found
by a kindly shepherd who raised them. The two brothers found the city of Rome, but then
quarreled, whereby Remus was killed by his brother, leaving Romulus as the sole King of
Rome.
In the Aeneid, written during the very early years of the Empire, the poet Virgil states how
Aeneus, a Trojan prince, escaped the sack of that city and fled to Italy, with accompanying
adventures along the way. His son Iulius, or Julius, established a monarchy at the city of Alba
Longa. His descendents were Romulus and Remus (the Julian clan also claimed Aeneas as an
ancestor).
In reality, we know that the area around the city of Rome was controlled by the civilization
that arose to the north of Rome, the Etruscans.
The Etruscans
Around 800 BC or so, a group of people came from outside of Italy and settled in the central
part of Italy, north of the Tiber River. We don’t know the name these peoples had for
themselves, but later Roman records called them Etruscans. The best guess is that the
Etruscans came from Asia Minor, but couldn’t say exactly where. They took over most of the
region, which included a tribal people called the Latins, and came into contact with the
Greeks to the south (remember Greek colonization) in Magna Graecia (Latin term, not
Greek).
The Etruscan culture was urban and cosmopolitan. They built cities, usually on hilltops and
sometimes on the site of previous bronze/iron age villages. Their culture seems to be based
on the city-state like the Greeks, not a unified nation that the Romans were to later build.
Archaeologist have identified 12 main Etruscan city-states, which were ruled by kings. Their
contact with the Greeks to the south influenced their art, and they adopted the Greek
alphabet (which would be transmitted to the Romans who followed them). They were a
military power and were able to establish control over much of northern Italy.
The Etruscan language in non Indo-European and is largely undeciphered. Most of what we
know comes from the Romans (so it suspect) and from the elaborate cities of the dead that
they built. They were wealthy, enjoyed art, had gender equality, loved to party. They gave
the Romans the toga, the fasces, their alphabet, some of their government institutions, and
maybe even the city of Rome itself.
Debate over who built Rome, the tribe called the Latins (or Latiums) or the Etruscans
themselves. Evidence favors an Etruscan beginning to Rome, built on the southern edge of
their territory, possibly in response to the Greek presence in the south (both were
commercial trading powers and therefore rivals). By the mid-6th century, the Etruscans were
definitely ruling Rome…this is recorded in the Roman records. In 509 BC however, the
Romans overthrew the Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud (over the rape of Lucretia), and then
set about to completely change their system of government. This was the start of the Roman
Republic.
The Republic or res publica
A. Concept
1. No more kings. No king or queen was allowed to enter the city of Rome.
2. No democracy. The Romans didn’t like it and didn’t believe in it.
3. Set up a system of government where is was hard for any one individual to gain control.
Society was divided into two hereditary groups, the patricians and the plebeians. Today has
connotations of wealth, but in Roman times could have poor patricians and wealthy
plebeians. Really denoted an aristocracy…patricians had three names and plebeians only
two. Hence Gaius Iulius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. Your name was very important to
Romans, since it denoted your family and branch of the family that you came from. At first
only patricians could hold political office in Rome.
Several concepts to be aware of in Rome:
auctoritas, which simply means authority. Yet authority in Rome was absolute. The
paterfamilias, or head of the family, could sell, beat or even kill members of his family if he
deemed it necessary. They governed who married whom, made wills, bought and sold
property, controlled the family finances, etc. Your paterfamilias literally had the power of life
and death over his family. This auctoritas could extend to the political arena.
dignitas, or dignity, but like most terms encompassed so much more. It was your reputation,
your street cred, how other people thought of you, and it enchanced your political power
and persuasion. Roman men did everything to build their dignitas, and avoided anything that
could harm it. The pinnacle of your dignitas was to achieve the consulship in Rome.
imperium, or supreme power, both military and legal. Only a few elected officials in Rome
held imperium, and those offices were marked by the fasces, or bundle of rods that denoted
the amount of imperium you held.
patron-client relationship…unlike Greek democracy, in which (theoretically) all male citizens
were equal, the Romans believed that some people were inherently better than others.
Hence the patron-client relationship. This relationship joins the rich and the poor together for
their common interest. The patron (usually rich and/or powerful) looked after the interests of
their clients (food, jobs, pay taxes, etc), while the clients used their vote and influence and
sometimes sheer numbers to advance the political agenda of their patrons (sometimes this is
your only job). Show up in the morning to learn the agenda of the day, would walk with their
patron thru town, to the Forum, attend Senate meetings with them. A Roman male was
rarely alone.
Government
All Roman citizens had to do ten years of military service. At sixteen, most boys reported to
the Campus Martius just outside of Rome for their induction into the military. After their ten
years of military service, you were eligible to run for the various magistracies in the
government. The name for the ladder that you climbed to the top position in government,
the consulship, is called the cursus honorum. It took popularity, money, and a family name to
have a political career in Rome, yet it was considered mandatory for almost all well-born
Roman males to partake in this career path.
Cursus Honorum:
Quaestor (originally 2, eventually expanded to 40), minimum age 31, elected by the Tribal
Assembly
Quaestors were the finance officials of Rome, they recorded the expenses of the
government, distributed war gains, funded military campaigns, and acted as treasury officials
to the provinces; they were also quartermasters for the legions
Aediles (originally 2, then expanded to 6), minimum age 36, elected by the Tribal Assembly
Aediles were the public works officials, they maintained the streets, buildings, temples, etc.
of Rome, they were also responsible for traffic regulation, the grain and water supply for
Rome, oversaw the markets, ensured the weights and measures were correct and arranged
the public festivals and games
an Aedile was entitled to 2 lictors
Praetor ( 2 main, 6 subordinate), minimum age 39, elected by the Centuriate Assembly
Praetors were the chief judicial officials of Rome, they presided over the court system and
depending on the praetor, had jurisdiction over civil, foreign or military cases, the Praetor
Urbanus could not legally leave Rome for more than 10 days in a row, after their term as
praetor, they were usually given a province to govern as propraetor
a Praetor had imperium and was entitled to 6 lictors
Consul (always 2), minimum age 42, elected by the Centuriate Assembly
the Consulship was the highest position in the Cursus Honorum and they were the head of
the government, each consul had veto (I forbid) power over the other consul, consuls
presided over the assemblies (they took turns alternating months) and could convene the
assemblies if they wish, they had the power of arrest (but not capital punishment), they were
the commanders-in-chief of the army, they put into effect the laws passed by the assembly
and they made foreign policy
a Consul had imperium and was entitled to 12 lictors, when away from Rome he had full
imperium (but could be prosecuted for misdeeds after his consulship was over)
the above were elected for one year and were eligible for the Senate after term is over
Other Magistrage Positions:
Dictator
In times of emergency, the Senate could suspend the ordinary government and pass a
senatus consultum. A dictator would be appointed for six months, and he held full
imperium,both military and civil during his tenure. He could make any decree and change any
law during those six months without approval or passage by the assemblies or any
magistrate. The only magistrate not affected by a dictator was the Tribune of the Plebes.
The Dictator of course held full imperium and was entitled to 24 lictors
Tribune of the Plebes (originally one, then 10)
Only Plebeians could be a tribune, and had the right to veto any law or decision made by an
assembly or magistrate, tribunes were also sacrosanct, which meant that you could not harm
a tribune, this is what gave the tribunes their power
Censors (2), elected every 5 years, but only held office for 18 months, elected by the
Centuriate Assembly
Conducted the census for voting rights and tax rolls, only ex-consuls could be censors, could
disenfranchise citizens, also enforced “morality”, listed Senators, considered the highest
honor in Rome even though you had no imperium
Roman Assemblies:
Curiate Assembly
The Curiate Assembly was a leftover from Etruscan times. It was the oldest assembly and
mostly ceremonial. Only Patricians could be a member of the Curiate Assembly and they
were elected for life.
Centuriate Assembly
The Centuriate Assembly elected magistrates with imperium (consuls and praetors) and
censors. Membership was based on wealth, that is, your ability to furnish a century, or a
group of 100 armed men. This assembly was dominated by Patricians and wealthy
landowners. Laws passed by the Centuriate Assembly were called “leges”, in the singular
“lex” i.e. Lex Brunet, plagiarism will be punishable by playing in traffic on the West Loop.
Tribal Assembly
The Tribal Assembly consisted of all the citizens of Rome. It also had a sub-assembly, the
Plebeian Assembly and the terms are sometimes interchangable. They were organized on the
basis of location, that is, where you live. They elected tribunes, praetors and aediles. While
Patricians were part of the Tribal Assembly, only Plebeians were part of the Plebeian
Assembly. There were 35 tribes, 4 urban and 31 rural. Laws of the Plebeian Assembly were
known as plebecites.
Senate
The Senate was the symbol of Rome, along with the entire body of citizens. The Senate was
not a legislative assembly, but an advisory body. It does not propose legislation and it does
not vote on legislation, but it was the only group that debated laws. It could veto laws
passed by any of the legislative bodies. It also sent out ambassadors, received foreign
diplomats, declared war, made peace treaties, appropriated funds for wars, armies, etc. It
appointed dictators or declared martial law in times of emergencies. The Senate appointed
provincial officials.
The Conflict of the Orders: 494 to 287 B.C.
In the early days of the Republic, it was clear that only patricians held rights in Rome. The
wealthy plebes wanted more political rights, so in 494 B.C., during a time of conflict, the
plebeians "seceded" from Rome. This was not an idle threat. Almost all public life in Rome
shut down when the plebes left Rome (basically, they just went outside the city, but shops,
marketplaces, bathhouses, etc. closed). And in a time of war, no one would fight in the army.
This seccesio plebis led to the creation of the Plebeian Assembly (part of the Tribal
Assembly). The Plebeian Assembly passed laws that were only binding on plebes (hence their
laws were called plebiscites). In addition, ten tribunes were elected that could intercede on
behalf of plebeians. Tribunes had the power of veto and were sacrosanct. No person could
harm a tribune without fear of retribution from the plebes.
In 451, another plebeian secession forced the government to write down the laws of Rome,
which had been the province of the priesthood and secret. The Twelve Tables, as they came
to be known, provided a written law code for all Romans, and is the basis for most western
law codes.
With the laws written down, they can be repealed or modified. The Lex Canuleia, 445 B.C.
allowed marriages between patricians and plebeians. The Lex Ogulnia, 300 B.C., made it
possible for plebes to hold positions in the various priesthoods. Plebeians were allowed to
seek the consulship in 367 B.C. with the Lex Licinia-Sextia and the Lex Publilia, 339 B.C. said
that at least one consul must be a plebe. The Conflict of the Orders ended in 287 B.C. with the
Lex Hortensia, in which plebiscites were now binding on all Romans. Although the conflict
was over, it meant the wealthy plebes deserted the poorer plebes and allied with the
patricians.
Conquest of Italy
Rome was not only dealing with internal power struggles during these centuries. It was also
busy subduing the Italian peninsula. At first, Rome turned its attention north and by the end
of the fourth century B.C., had conquered the Etruscan civilization. Before it could continue,
however, the Gauls invaded Italy from across the Alps, and in 387 B.C. burned Rome to the
ground. The Gauls were only interested in looting Rome, not in settling there. After returning
home, Rome again resumed its subjugation of the peninsula, this time asserting control over
central Italy by 280 B.C. The only area left were the Greek city-states to the south and they
were swiftly overrun. By 250 B.C., Rome controlled the Italian peninsula.
Rome's policy towards others was that of assimilation and accommodation. Most areas were
allowed to keep their customs, religions, and political structure. They did have to send taxes
and soldiers to Rome. In addition, as veterans left the Roman army, they were given land all
over Italy. This meant that Rome had military garrisons all over the peninsula. And they built
roads...really superb roads. The Roman army could reach places that had revolted very
quickly. For the most part however, Italians didn't want to revolt. They wanted to be part of
the Roman system. And eventually, they ended up being Roman citizens. Compare this to the
Greeks (thinkers) who conducted politics according to rigid principles and theories and
forced people to accept Greek culture. The Romans (doers) conducted politics based on
practicality. Rome ended up with an empire.
The Punic Wars
Carthage was a city-state settled by the Phoenicians around 800 B.C. By the third century, it
was a great commercial power on the coast of N. Africa. It also controlled N. Africa, Sardinia
and half of Sicily (the Greeks controlled the other half). The word Punic come from Phoenicia.
The First Punic War, 264-241 B.C., arose out of a small, local conflict on Sicily that escalated
into a war between two large powers. Rome quickly took control of Sicily, but found itself
without a navy. It improvised however, built a navy and devised a new method of warfare
(the corvus). By 241 B.C. Carthage asked for surrender terms: must pay heavy fines, must give
up its navy, must give up Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. The results of the Punic War for Rome:
they learned how to conduct a naval war, they learned how to wage war on a large scale
(finance, recruitment, supply overseas, build fleets, conduct domestic politics), Rome was
now a Mediterranean power. A major problem for Rome, however, was that consuls were
elected on a yearly basis, and that was a weakness in an extended campaign.
The Second Punic War, 218 to 201 B.C., was the most important of the three wars fought with
Carthage. It has given us some of the most famous military maneuvers in history along with
the most studies battles in military schools. In the interval between the first and second
wars, Carthage had extended its power into the Iberian (Spain/Portugal) Peninsula. The
problems between Rome and Carthage arose again when Roman colonies along the
Mediterranean (today the southern coast of France) met the Carthaginian colonies in Iberia.