History of Rome
Beginnings of Rome
– About 2000BC,
migrated into Italy
– The
(ancestors of the
Romans) lived in west-central
Italy; the region was called
.
– City of Rome founded (according
to tradition) in
by
– Located at a shallow place on the
, where there were
– Several
on these 7 hills
combined to become the
Neighboring people in Italy
• Etruscans-who lived in the region
called Etruria, north of Latium- from
whom the Romans learned:
– Basics of engineering– alphabet
•
•
•
•
Latin (Roman) Alphabet came from the
Etruscan Alphabet, which came from the
Greek Alphabet, which came from the
Phoenician Alphabet
• Greeks-who lived in Greek colonies
on the coast of southern Italy, from
whom the Romans got many of
their myths and stories about their
gods.
Early Government of Rome
–KINGS: 753BC-509BC, Rome was ruled by a
series of 7 kings; the last king was an Etruscan.
– Built the Cloaca Maxima
– Established the Forum
– Built the first permanent bridge over the Tiber and
the first city walls.
– Established the Senate
– OVERTHROW OF THE
KING:
In 509BC (following a shocking
incident in which the last king’s
son raped a virtuous noble
Roman lady), the Romans
expelled their king, vowed
never to have a king again, and
set up a “republic”.
Senate and People of
Rome=SPQR
Republic=thing of
the people
Government of the Roman Republic
• Senate
– 300 members: at first
they were all noblespatricians. Later they
didn’t have to be
patricians
– They got their seats by
being appointed by the
consuls. Kept their seats
for life.
– Advised consuls,
controlled public funds,
controlled foreign affairs
MAGISTRATES
•
2 Consuls-chief executives; each had veto
power over the other; ran the government & led
the army; elected for 1 year term; symbol of his
power was the fasces, a bundle of sticks around
an ax.
• Praetors- judges of law courts and leaders of
the army; elected for 1 year term
• Censors- enrolled the citizens; oversaw public
morals; elected every 1½ years for a 5 year term.
• Aediles-supervised public places
• Quaestors-handled finances.
• 10 Tribunes-elected by the Plebeians
(commoners) to represent them; had veto
power over any measure passed by the Senate
• Dictator: special position; appointed by Senate
or Consuls in times of special danger; had
absolute power for up to 6 months, until the
danger passed. Most of the time, there was no
dictator.
REPUBLIC-509BC-27BC
• The word “republic” comes
from Latin, “res publica”,
which means “thing of the
people”.
• A republic is a government in
which citizens elect leaders,
who make laws and run the
state
•
The official name of the
Roman Republic was “The
Senate and People of Rome”,
abbreviated “S.P.Q.R.” Senatus
Populusque Romanus
ASSEMBLIES of citizens
• Assembly of Centuries:
– all male citizens; the citizens were divided into groups
according to wealth;
– the wealthier groups had fewer men in them;
– each group voted, & then the result became one vote;
– the votes of the groups were counted;
– thus all citizens voted, but the votes of the wealthy
counted more
– This assembly elected high officials, declared war, and
made laws.
• Plebeian Assembly: all male plebeian citizens,
elected tribunes & passed laws.
Social Classes of Early Rome
– 2 main social classes in the early republic
• Patricians-nobles, membership by birth
• Plebeians-common free citizens including farmers,
merchants, artisans, etc. (vast majority!)
Social Classes of Early Rome
– 2 main social classes in the early republic
• Patricians (Senatorial) -nobles, membership by birth
• Plebeians-common free citizens including farmers,
merchants, artisans, etc. (vast majority!)
• Equestrians:-upper middle class
• Freedmen: people who used to be slaves but were
now free
• Slaves: un-free
– In the very early Republic:
•
•
•
•
•
Social class was determined by birth;
Patricians held almost all the power;
all Senators were Patrician;
Plebeians could vote but could not hold office;
marriage between patricians and plebeians was
forbidden;
• laws were unwritten (and the judges were Patrician).
CONFLICT OF THE ORDERSRoman civil rights movement
– Plebeians wanted more rights. Several times,
Plebeians “went on strike”, left & camped outside
the city, and would not return until their demands
were met. It worked.
CONFLICT OF THE ORDERS
• 490BC-right to have their own assembly (Plebeian
Assembly) and elect their own representatives-called
Tribunes- with veto power in the Senate.
• 450BC-Laws of the 12 Tables were written and posted in the
Forum (main public area)
• 445BC-intermarriage legalized
• 367BC: plebeians became eligible to be Consuls (and any
other office)
• 342 BC: law said one of the two Consuls must be a plebeian
• 287 BC: all measures passed by the Plebeian Assembly had
the force of law for the whole Roman state. Now Patricians
& Plebeians were legally equal.
Conquest of Italy
– Rome fought many wars against
neighboring people, and almost
always won. Usually these wars
were started by the neighboring
people
– 390BC-Big set back; Rome was
captured & burned by invading
Gauls; but Rome eventually
expelled them and rebuilt.
– Rome continued to fight & defeat
other people of Italy, including the
Etruscans & Greek colonies.
– Reasons for success: great army
and good policies
Early Roman Army
• All male citizens were required to serve in the army.
The army consisted of:
-citizen soldiers
–
–
–
–
Legion-about 4800
Cohort-about 480
Century-about 80
Tent Group – about 8
troops, including cavalry and archers, later
added from non-citizens
• The key to the Roman army was
and
strict
• A Roman soldier was called a legionnaire.
PERSEVERENCE & DISCIPLINE
• The keys to the success of the Roman army
were
and strict
• Mostly, the discipline was self-discipline because
self-discipline was an important Roman virtue.
• At the end of their term of service, Roman
soldiers were given land.
• However, discipline could be imposed. For
example, the traditional penalty for cowardice
by a group of soldiers was “decimation”, killing
one in every ten men as an example to the
others.
Policies toward conquered people in Italy
• Policies toward conquered people in Italy were
usually generous and wise
• People in nearby areas given full Roman
citizenship, including right to vote
• People farther away were given half citizenship;
couldn’t vote but had some rights
• Retired soldiers were given land in conquered
areas; they helped maintain control over the
conquered areas, and spread Roman culture and
language (Latin).
• Most people in Italy came to appreciate Roman
rule and feel loyalty to the Roman state.
Early Roman Society and Family
– The
was the most important unit
of society. Each person belonged to a
family and gens (clan-group of related
families)
– Romans were patriarchal; the father was
“paterfamilias”, and had the power of life
and death over family members.
– Women, however, were respected, and
the mother managed the household.
Women could not vote, but they could
own property, operate businesses, and
were not expected to stay in the house
like Greek women.
– Roman worshiped gods, especially
Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, Vesta.
–
Early Roman Religion
• From the Etruscans they got
methods of augury (foretelling
the future), which included
analyzing the entrails and liver of
sacrificed animals, observing
thunder and lighting, and the
flights of birds.
• Rome had a high priest called the
Pontifex Maximus, and many
lower priests, and women called
the Vestal Virgins, priestesses of
Vesta, whose job was to keep the
sacred hearth-fire of Rome.