The Roman Republic

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The Roman Republic

• One of the worlds first democracies

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The Government
Consul Consul
Assembly
Senate
The republic was made up of a senate,
assembly and consuls. The senate was made up of
rich men with land and property. They acted as
advisors for the consuls. The assembly was made
up of common people and made laws, elected
officials, and declared war. The consuls were two
men elected by the assembly every year. They had
the powers of a king but each one could veto the
others decision. Also they could be judged in
court for their actions while in office.
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Life in the republic
The republic lasted 5 centuries. It grew
from one city with 10,000 people to a huge
metropolis of 1,000,000 people. They conquered
and ruled over 15,000,000 people in the territory.
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Family
Roman families looked more our families
today than many other places in the ancient
world. Families were very close. Girls usually
got married between the ages of 14 and 17 to men
in their mid 20s. Wives were close to their
husbands and went to public meetings and other
places together. A divorce only occurred if the
man wanted it and the children always went to the
father. Parents were very involved with their
children and their education. Girls also had
equal rights to the family inheritance if their
father died.
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Slavery
Most families had a slave in the home.
Early on they were treated very well, almost like
a housekeeper. Most slaves were poor and went
into slavery to earn some money to pay off debts
and become a citizen. Later in Roman
history slaves were people captured in battle and
were treated with much more cruelty. They were
thought of a property. Many were used in the
gladiator games.
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Religion
Even though Romans were religious people,
they changed gods and beliefs often. The first
gods were those of the Greeks. They changed some
of their names such as Zeus, the king of the
gods, was called Jupiter. His wife Hera was
called Juno. The god of war was called Mars. The
goddess of love was called Venus. These names
were used in many Roman inventions we use today.
Our calendar came from the Romans as well as the
days of the week. Later scientist named the
planets after them as well. Throughout the
many years of Ancient Rome, they changed gods and
goddesses to fit whatever need they had. If
something new came along they would adopt that
idea as their own.
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Glossary
Veto- means no, when the president or consul uses
his power to vote against something. Metropolis
A major city, especially the chief city of a
country or region Inheritance-property given to
someone after a person dies Slave a person
without freedom who is forced to work Debt-owing
someone money Citizen- A resident of a city or
town, especially one entitled to vote and enjoy
other privileges there Adopt-To take and follow a
course of action