EARLY ROME
 FOUNDING OF ANCIENT ROME
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=7aLsXEqPX0Q
 Romulus and Remus
 “Hut of Romulus”
 Ancestors of the Trojans…
 Why did the Romans attach
themselves to Troy?
 Carthage – 800 B.C.
 Rome – 753 B.C.
 Syracuse – 734 B.C.
 Founded in 753 B.C.
 Etruscans to the North, Greeks in the South
 Weak historical evidence exists, much attributed to Livy
 He wrote to glorify the Roman Republic during its fall
 Annales maximi – yearly posting of important events.
 These are unfortunately lost, so were are unsure
how accurate the history is
 Praenomen – First Name
 Nomen gentilicium – Family Name
 Cognomen – Surname
 Gaius Julius Caesar - Belongs to the family Julia,
nicknamed Caesar
 Women would only have one name, the feminine version of
the family name….
 M. Tullius Cicero’s Daughter - Tulia
 Viewed their ancestors as outcasts
and ethnically mixed
 VERSION 1:
 Romulus granted land and
citizenship to criminal
 Rape of the Sabine women
 VERSION 2:
 Ancestors of Aeneas, a Trojan hero.
Wandered to Italy after the fall of
Troy and married a Latin princess
 Huts on the Palatine hill
date to 1000 B.C.
 Forum – Drained and
paved in about 650 B.C.
 Open, public space
 What does this
compare to?
 About 500 B.C. –
wealthy moving to the
palatine hill
 Not sure where they came
from
 Probably developed from
the Villanovan culture
 First iron age civilization in
Italy
 Developed urbanization,
stone houses, public
architecture, and
anthropomorphic religion
 “Seven Kings of Rome”
 Expelled in 510 B.C.
 “Res publica” – the public matter
 Assembly – all citizens
voted
 Consuls – two chief
magistrates, elected
every year
 Why?
 Senate – advise
magistrates; “council of
elders”
 They were families
descendent from the
kings of Rome
 Comitia centuriata –
“centuriate assembly”;
most important
assembly
• Made up of wealthy soldiers;
overruled the poorer classes
• Included a lot of cavalry
• Military exploits were important
• Patron-client relationship
 Imperium – signified power to command the army,
condemn people to death
 Had civil, judicial, and military aspect
 Could only be used OUTSIDE of the city; unless for a triumph
 Very important – keep this in mind when we discuss Julius
Caesar!
 Symbol of imperium was the fasces
 Bundle of sticks surrounding an axe
 Fascist is derived from this term
 Praetor – public judge; name for consuls prior to their
establishment
 Judicial power lay in the hands of the highest ranking men
 Quaestors – financial
 The Senate technically
 Censors – recorded
 All they could do was
officials;
population for citizenship;
primarily for military
service
 Also had power over
senatorial membership
had no legal authority
SUGGEST legislation
 Over time, this began to
carry a lot of weight
 Often the committees
would not pass
legislation without the
recommendation of the
Senate
 First public statement of
Roman law
 471 B.C. – concilium plebis,
“council of the plebs”
 Plebeians slowly began to
integrate themselves
 Novus Homo – “new man”
 First of the family to
 After 342 B.C. one consul
achieve a magistracy
was always a plebian
 Dictator – absolute
 172 B.C. – both consuls
were plebs for the first
time
authority; elected
temporarily in times of
need
 396 B.C. - Latins banded
together, defeated Veii
 First professional army
ever; men were paid a
stipend for their service
 Only those with land were
eligible for the army
 Poor citizens used the
scutum
 519-430 B.C.
 Dictator of Rome twice
 Model of virtue, civic
leadership, humility and
lack of personal ambition
 Cincinnati, Ohio is named
after him
 390 B.C. – sacked by the Gauls
 Most likely on their way to
Syracuse
 EFFECT: Potentially
destroyed a TON of ancient
Roman historical sources
 343-290 B.C. - Samnite
Wars
 Continued to expand,
made peace with
neighboring peoples
 Created a
Commonwealth of
allies
 Appian Way – road from Rome
to Capua
 Rome ruled liberally; primarily
were interested in soldiers

Extended citizenship to some conquered
peoples, but not others
 Legion – approx. 5,000
men
 Century – approx. 90 men
 Maniple – about 120-160
men
 Approx. two centuries
 280-275 B.C.
 Rome is attacked south of Tarentum
 Greeks call upon Pyrrhus of Epirus
 This is the first time Rome is
fighting a Hellenistic army
 Pyrrhus wins successive battles, but
eventually loses the war
 EFFECT: Rome now controls the
entire Italian Peninsula!
 “Pyrrhic Victory”
 What major issue does this illustrate
about fighting the Roman Republic?