The Rise of the Roman Republic

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The Rise of the Roman Republic
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II. The Etruscans and Rome (750-509 BCE)

• Early Romans and their different neighbors
• Who were the Etruscans?
• The influence of the Etruscans
• The origin of the patron-client system
• First Roman political system rooted in Etruscan
  precedents
• Other developments grounded in Etruscan culture
  and history

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Map of the Roman Empire
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The Rise of the Republic

• When the last Etruscan king was thrown out of
  Rome in 509 B.C.E., Roman leaders decided to
  begin a very new form of government - a
  republic. 
• In a republic, citizens elect leaders to run
  their government.  In Rome, the leaders chosen to
  replace the king were called consuls. 
• These consuls were elected by a group of ordinary
  citizens known as an assembly, and the consuls
  were given advice by a group of rich people known
  as the Senate. 
• Although the citizens elected their own
  representatives, the Roman Republic was not a
  democracy because not every citizen had equal
  power. Citizens were divided into two classes,
  patricians and plebeians.A Roman was born into
  their class.

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The Patricians created a Republic

• The Senate was a council originally made up of
  three hundred members, chosen among the leaders
  of the people, former judges, etc.
• The Consuls (advisors), two in number, presided
  over the Senate and the Comitia. They introduced
  bills and commanded the army in war. In Rome they
  ruled a month each in the army they commanded a
  day each.

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Roman Government
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The Patricians
Patricians (puh TRISH uhns) The Upper-class
citizens of the Roman Republic. They came from a
small group of wealthy landowners and help
important military and religious offices.

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The Plebeians
Plebeians (plih BEE uhns) The lower-class
citizens of the Roman Republic. These people were
mostly peasants, laborers, craftspeople and
shopkeepers. Plebeians made up about 95 of
Romes population. They could not be priests or
government officials but were forced to serve in
the army.
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Basic Roman Government
As citizens, both Patricians and Plebeians had
the right to vote.  However, only Patricians had
the right to hold any political, military or
religious offices.  All power was in the hands of
the Patricians.
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Conflict of Orders
Some Plebeians were quite wealthy.  They believed
that they should have the same rights as the
Patricians. But the Patrician government did
nothing to end this cruel practice. The
struggle between the Plebeians and the Patricians
became known as the Conflict of Orders.
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Council of Plebeians
By 494 B.C.E., the Plebeians had suffered long
enough. They left  Rome. They refused to come
back until the Patricians met there demands of
equality. The Plebeians created their own
assembly, which was known as the Tribunes of the
Plebeians. They also elected their own leaders to
protect their rights, who were called tribunes.
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The Plebeians gain Political Equality
The Patricians had no choice but to let the
Plebeians keep their tribunes. The Plebeians were
granted the power to veto, the ability to vote
against any unjust law passed by the Senate.
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The Twelve Tables
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The Twelve Tables
The Plebeians believed that Patrician judges took
advantage of this fact to rule unfairly against
plebeians. So, finally in 450 B.C.E. the laws
were engraved on 12 bronze tablets called the
Twelve Tables. The tablets were then displayed in
the Forum, so all citizens could see the rights
given to them, though few could actually read
them.
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Gaining Equality
During the 300s B.C.E., the Plebeians gained
more and more rights.  Plebeians could now become
priests in the Roman religion. Eventually
Plebeians could even become members of the
Senate. But the Plebeians and Patricians still
held their meetings in different places. The laws
passed by the Patrician senate applied to
everyone. However, the laws passed by the Plebian
assembly applied only to Plebeians.
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Equality for Plebeians
The Plebeians demanded that the laws passed by
their assembly apply to all citizens. Once again,
the Plebeians forced the issues by leaving Rome.
This time the Patricians gave in and in 287
B.C.E. agreed to meet the demands of the
Plebeians.  Plebeians and Patricians were finally
equal under Roman laws.
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Constitution
Rome set an example of a government ruled by a
written constitution (set of basic laws). Romes
republican form of government inspired future
ages in Europe and America.