Chapter 17
Section 2
Rise of the Roman
Republic
Anticipatory Set
• The most powerful political
leader in the United States
in the President. This leader
is elected by the citizens of
the United States.
• Can you predict what
problems might arise in the
U.S. if it were a monarchy
under the rile of a king?
• Today we are going to learn
how the ancient Romans
rebelled against the rule of a
monarch and how their
government changed as a
result
Standards
• S.S. 6.7.1
• Identify the location and describe the rise of the
Roman Republic, including the importance of such
mythical and historical figures as Aeneas, Romulus
and Remus, Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero.
• E-LA Reading 6.1.3
• Recognize the origins and meanings of frequency
used foreign words in English and use these words
accurately in speaking and writing
Objective
• Students will learn how the Roman
Republic developed
Language of the
Discipline
• Republic
• Consul
• Patrician
• Plebeian
• Debt bondage
• Tribune
From Monarchy to
Oligarchy (Input)
• The first rulers or Rome were kings
• According to tradition, Rome had 7 kings
• Some of these rulers, like Romulus, were legendary
• Historians do not know if they really existed, but
there is some evidence that suggests that the last 3
kings of Rome did exist
• These monarchs were known as the the Etruscan
kings
The Etruscan Kings
(Input)
• The Etruscan people lived north of Latium in a region
called Etruria
• They had an older and more advanced culture than
the Romans
• The Etruscans were great artists, builders, and sailors
• They traveled to other lands around the
Mediterranean trading goods, ideas, and customs
while also learning many things form other cultures
The Etruscan Kings
(Input)
• They expanded into Latium and a leader known as Tarquin the
Eder gained power and became Rome’s king
• The thrown was later passed down to two other Etruscan
monarchs
• Each monarch had broad powers
• Served as head of the army, chief priest, and supreme judge
• Etruscan kings ruled with wealthy aristocrats
• Aristocrats formed a body called the Senate
• The Senate advised the king on important matters
• There was an assembly made of citizens who could bear arms
• The king could consult the assembly at any time but the
assembly has no real power
The Etruscan Kings
(Input)
Etruscan Improvements
(Input)
• Etruscan kings brought many changes to Rome like
including a writing system adapted from the Greek
alphabet
• It became the basis for the Latin alphabet which we still
use today
• The kings brought a strong military tradition to Rome
• Their military organization (based on the phalanx) would
later expand Rome
• They also improved the city by draining the low marshy
areas so people could live between the hills
• They created a system to carry away wastewater
Etruscan Improvements
(Input)
• They laid out new streets in a rectangular, or grid pattern
• They paved the streets with cobblestone and introduced
the use of the stone arch in construction in order to support
heavy structures such as bridges
• The Etruscans also brought their gods and religious
practices
• One ritual called augury was used to predict the future
• Special priests used methods to read the will of the gods
• One method involved the flight patterns of birds and another to
examine animal intestines
• Augury remained an important part of Roman culture
• Etruscan influence did not cause the Romans to abandon
their own culture
Etruscan Improvements
(Input)
Formation of the
Republic (Input)
• When the third Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, came
to rule, the Romans got tired of Etruscan rule
• He was so harsh that it lead to a Roman revolt and the
Romans overthrew the king, establishing a Roman
Republic
• A republic is a government in which citizens have the
right to vote and elect officials
• The word republic comes from the Latin term res
publica which means “public things” or “public affairs”
• Even though citizens a a role in civic life the Republic
was not a democracy
Formation of the
Republic (Input)
• In the early Republic 2 officials called consuls
took over the jobs the king used to do
• The consuls stood as the highest officials in
the Roman government
• Their authority was limited, the aristocratic
Senate has most of the power
• They passed laws and ran the government
• Although the assembly still existed, it was
becoming controlled by aristocrats
The Struggle of the
Orders (Input)
• Before the rise of the Republic, Rome was divided into
2 main groups called orders
• One order was the patricians who represented the
upper class of Roman society
• Patricians took great pride in belonging to noble families
with famous or influential ancestors
• The other order was the plebeians, or the common
people of Rome
• Plebeians were 90% of the population
• Some were wealthy but most were ordinary farmers,
artisans, and workers
• Differences in the orders eventually led to conflict
known as the Struggle of the Orders
Patricians and Plebeians
(Input)
• Roman society and government strongly favored the
patricians
• Patricians ran the government through their control of
the Senate
• They were leaders of Rome’s social and economic life
• The Plebeians had little power or influence
• They could not hold political office or serve as priests
• They could not advance politically by marrying a
patrician. Marriage between orders was prohibited
Patricians and Plebeians
(Input)
• They had little influence on economic life
• Most worked as poor peasants farmers. In poor
harvest years they had to take out loans to
survive
• If they could not pay their debt they were sold
into slavery
• The practice of enslaving people who cannot
pay their debts is known as debt bondage
• Debt bondage became common and life for
plebeians became worse
The Plebeians Rebel
(Input)
• The plebeians began to rebel carrying out random acts of violence
against patricians
• They realized that the patricians did govern Rome, but could not
do it without the plebeian soldiers
• Plebeian soldiers went on strike and while Rome was planning to
expand their land, they realized they needed to listen to the
plebeians to gain their help
• The plebeians demanded real power for the common people.
Therefore, an assembly known as the Tribal Assembly became part
of Rome’s government
• The top officials of the plebeian assembly were called tribunes
• They had the power to block laws they saw as unfair
The Twelve Tables
(Input)
• 2 decades later the plebeians won another major reform which concerned
Rome’s legal system
• Roman law consisted of ancient customs but none were written down
• This allowed judges to choose which laws to follow and which to ignore
• Plebeians demanded a written law code
• The first law code was known as the Twelve Tables because it was written on
12 tablets
• The new code listed rights and duties of Roman citizens, such as the right to
take anyone to court
• The Roman Republic still concentrated on governing power from the
patricians, but slowly was moving into a democracy
The Twelve Tables
(Input)
Check for Understanding
• Please determine the BEST answer for the
following question.
• Please write your answer on your white
boards and wait for the teacher’s signal.
• On the teacher’s signal, hold up your white
boards.
Checking for
Understanding #1
Fill in the blank
• _______________ are the common
people of Rome.
• Plebeians
Checking for
Understanding #2
Answer the following question.
•The government of Rome began
with________________.
•Etruscan kings
Checking for
Understanding #3
Answer the following question.
•What did the Twelve Tables do?
• Created the first written laws
Guided
Practice/Independent
Practice
• Guided Practice
• Complete questions 1 - 3 on the reading comprehension
worksheet.
• Raise your hand and wait to get stamped.
• If you received an “R” go to the back table with Ms. Graham.
• Independent Practice
• Once you have been stamped moved to independent practice
and complete numbers 4 and 5 on the reading comprehension
worksheet.
• Homework
• Note-taking guide on the reverse side.