Topic Seven: The Roman Republic
*There is no such thing or entity or national state named Italy at this time. Italy as a state does
not exist until the unification of the Italian states in the mid-19th century. When I say Italy, I am
referring the the peninsula that sticks out into the Mediterranean Sea, not a political entity.
The Beginnings
I. Geography
A. The Italian peninsula is long and narrow, jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea
1. The Appenine Mountains extends from the Northeast to the Southwest
a. divides Italy east and west
b. provides forest and pasture land
c. also volcanos, but fertile soil
2. The Tiber River runs north/south
a. however, divides the peninsula north and south
b. a major settlement is built at an important fording point, Rome
3. The peninsula’s position will also dictate it’s role in the Mediterranean
a. perfect position to engage and then control trade in the Mediterranean world
II. Creation Myths
A. Romulus and Remus
1. Rome founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus
a. twins born of a Vestal Virgin and the god Mars
2. babies in a basket, saved by a she-wolf
3. Romulus kills Remus
4. does any of this sound familiar?
5. symbols of Rome taken from this story
B. The Aeneid
1. written by Virgil
2. Trojan prince, Aeneas, flees Troy, eventually ends up in Italy
3. his son Iulius (Julius), will become king of Alba Longa
4. descendents are Romulus and Remus
C. In reality, we know that the area around Rome controlled by the Etruscans
1. Etruscans control Rome until 509 B.C.
2. give their name to the area north of the Emilia-Romana region, Tuscany
III. The Etruscans
A. Origins and Migration
1. ca. 800 B.C. the Etruscans start moving into the Italian peninsula
2. will eventually assume control over the region up to the Tiber River, including a tribe of
native people called the Latins
3. don’t know what they called themselves, haven’t deciphered their language
we get their name from the Roman records
4. we don’t know where they came from, best guess is Asia Minor, or Central Asia
5. they were in contact with the Greeks in the south (Magna Graecia)
B. We get most of our information about the Etruscans from archaeology
1. they were urban and cosmopolitan
a. built cities, city-state model of government, not a unified state
2. had 12 main city-states, ruled by kings
3. influenced by the Greeks
a. art
b. alphabet
4. military power
a. obviously, otherwise they couldn’t control half the Italian peninsula
5. their language is non-Indo-European, and only partially deciphered
a. aside from archaeology, much of what we know about the Etruscans come from the
Romans, so it is suspect
6. built elaborate cities for their dead
7. cities show that
a. they were wealthy
b. the Etruscans enjoyed art
c. had gender equality
d. loved to party, but worked hard
8. greatly influenced the Romans
C. Rome: Who built the City?
1. probably the Etruscans
a. the Palantine, Forum and Capitoline Hill, major landmarks
2. by mid 6th century, Etruscans are ruling Rome
3. in 509 B.C., Marcus Junius Brutus kills the Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquin
a. the Rape of Lucretia
b. the Romans (Latins) overthrow Etruscan rule and institute a new form of government
c. the Republic begins
The Roman Republic
I. Ideals of the Res Publica
A. No more monarchy, no more king
a. Romans detested the idea of a king
b. even foreign kings and queens were not allowed inside the Pomerium
B. No democracy
1. Romans knew about democracy from the Greeks, but didn’t choose it
2. they didn’t like it and didn’t believe in it
3. the Romans thought that some people were just better than others
C. Rome was not a city-state, it was a constitution republic or confederacy
1. governmental power was spread out among several institutions
2. the constitution made it difficult for any one person to gain control
D. Society
1. Patricians, the aristocracy
a. identifiable because they have three names
- Gaius Iulius Caesar
2. Plebeians, everyone else, from the wealthy middle class to the poor and homeless
b. only have two names
- Marcus Antonius
3. It is not really wealth that matters, but your family name.
a. a family name like Julius (clan Julii) or Livius (clan Livii) would get you far
b. daughters were named for their clan or family…ALL of them (Julia, Livia, Octavia, Claudia,
etc., then you go to Julia the Younger, then Julia Tertia and so on)
E. Societal Values
1. auctoritas, or authority
a. applies both to government and individuals
b. paterfamilias
2. dignitas
a. roughly translate to dignity, but means much more
b. it was your reputation, your “street cred”
3. imperium, or military, political and legislative power
a. denoted by the fasces, or rod of office
4. patron-client relationship
a. again, not all are equal in Roman society, not a democracy
b. have this relationship between individuals, but as the Republic conquers territory will
apply the concept to the governed territories