The Rise of Rome
From City-State
to Emerging Empire
c. 750-150 B.C.
The Origins of Rome
• According to Roman legend, Rome was founded in 753 B.C.
by the twins, Romulus and Remus, sons of the war god, Mars,
and a Latin princess
• They were supposedly raised by a she-wolf and established
Rome on the banks of the Tiber River
• According to the Roman poet, Virgil, Trojan refugees, led by
Aeneas, founded Rome after escaping the destruction of Troy
at the hands of the Mycenaean Greeks, as told in The Aeneid
I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
had made him fugitive: he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of the high ones for
the savage Juno's unforgetting anger."
- Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, lines 1-7
Rome’s Geography
• The Latins established Rome
around seven hills along the banks
of the Tiber River
• Rome’s central location on the
Italian peninsula near the western
coast enabled it to become a
thriving trade center, but it was also
far enough inland to be protected
from sea raiders
• Rome’s central location in the
Mediterranean later enabled the
Romans to dominate the entire
region militarily
• “All roads lead to Rome”
Etruscan and Greek Influences
• Etruscans to the north and Greeks
to the south heavily influenced
Latin culture
• The Etruscans shared their
alphabet, architecture, and
religious rituals but also ruled over
the Latins through a series of kings
from about 600 to 509 B.C.
• Greek colonists taught the Latins to
cultivate olives and grapes and
introduced their religion and
legends (the Greek Zeus became
the equivalent of the Latin Jupiter)
Etruscan tomb fresco (above), necropolis (below)
The Birth of the Roman Republic
• Roman aristocrats (known as patricians)
overthrew the last Etruscan king of
Rome, Tarquin the Proud, in 509 B.C.
and established a republic
• Republic = res publica (public affairs)
• Power rested with the citizens of Rome
(free-born males alone)
• The Romans banned monarchy and
threaten to kill anyone who sought to
become a king
The Republic
People
Patricians – wealthy landowning aristocrats (held the most power)
Plebeians – common farmers, artisans, merchants (majority of population, could vote)
Consuls – Two chief executives elected by Centuriate Assembly (1 year term)
Tribunes – Plebian elected representatives who worked on behalf of the Plebian class
Praetors – 8 judges chosen for 1 year (2 oversee civil and criminal courts others govern)
Institutions/Laws
Senate – 300. Chosen by aristocracy. Control foreign and financial policies. Consult Consuls
Centuriate Assembly – citizen-soldiers. Life term. One vote. Elect consuls and make laws.
Tribal Assembly – Grouped by where you live. Life term. Elect Tribunes and approve laws.
Legions – Military Unit of Roman Army. All landowning citizens are required to serve in
Roman Army (10 years if you wanted certain public offices)
Twelve Tables – 451 BCE. First written code of laws for Rome. Protected all citizens under
the law. Seen as an important victory for Plebian class.
*How did the republic balance the interests of different social classes and prevent any one
person or group from dominating the system?
*How is this system similar to the United States government today?
The Republic’s Balance of Power
Patricians (aristocratic landowners)
controlled the Roman Senate of
300 members, which determined
foreign and financial policy and
advised the consuls
Two Consuls
served as chief
executives and
army commanders
in place of a
single king
Plebeians (commoners) demanded a
greater role in government and
forced the creation of a law code the Twelve Tables (451 B.C.) and
the Tribal Assembly, which elected
tribunes and eventually made laws
Praetors served as
chief judges and
presided over civil and
criminal courts, they
were selected by the
Centuriate Assembly
Centuriate Assembly consisted of
citizen-soldiers and selected consuls
(mostly patricians at first but later
consisted of more plebeians)
Tribunes defended
the interests of the
plebeians against
unfair acts and were
eventually able to
gain wider powers
Roman legions consisted
of about 5000 soldiers
each, grouped into
centuries
Comparing Republics
Rome
Powers
America
Consuls
EXECUTIVE
President
*Senate
*Centuriate
Assembly
*Tribal Assembly
Praetors
LEGISLATIVE
*Senate
*House of
Representatives
JUDICIAL
Supreme Court
Twelve Tables
LEGAL CODE
Constitution
The Roman Forum
• center of Roman public life (12 Tables were hung here)
• Assembly members would meet outside here to discuss issues
and possible laws
• Where the senate as well as republican government itself
began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals,
temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area
• One must be a great Orator, speaker, to get themselves heard
Hero of the Republic:
Cincinnatus
• Even as plebeians pushed for more power,
Romans valued civic virtue in their leaders and
were even willing to temporarily surrender
absolute authority to a dictator in time of crisis
(almost always a patrician)
• Cincinnatus won fame as a consul who was
appointed dictator twice (458 B.C. & 439 B.C.)
to help Rome defeat both external and internal
enemies; both times he immediately gave up
his authority once the crisis was over and
returned to his farm
• His actions served as an ideal model for future
Roman leaders
Conquer or Perish:
Rome’s Expansion
Above: Fresco depicting
fierce Samnite warriors, one
of Rome’s many enemies
and eventual allies
Below: map depicting
Roman conquests in Italy
• To survive, the Romans had to stay organized
in an almost constant state of warfare against
other tribes in the Italian peninsula
• Rome led the Latin League in a series of wars
that eventually led to domination of central
Italy by 396 B.C. and nearly all of the
peninsula by 264 B.C.
• *All Latins received Roman citizenship
• *Conquered peoples were given citizenship
but not the vote
• *Allies were not interfered with as long as
they contributed troops to the Roman army
• Though fearsome in battle, the Romans
practiced leniency with their defeated enemies
and gained their trust and support
The Punic Wars (264-146 B.C.)
• Rome’s growing commercial network in the Mediterranean
brought it into conflict with the other great power of the
region – the Carthaginians (descendants of the Phoenicians)\
• The First Punic War (264-241 B.C.) led to Rome’s conquest
of the island of Sicily (its first overseas province) and Rome’s
rise as a naval power
• The Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.) nearly witnessed
Rome’s downfall at the hands of the Carthaginian general,
Hannibal, who crossed the Alps from Gaul with over 50,000
troops (and even some elephants) to wreak havoc in Italy for a
decade; he was eventually defeated by Scipio, who led a
Roman counter-invasion of North Africa
• The Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.) resulted in Carthage’s
complete destruction – over 50,000 Carthaginians were sold
into slavery and Rome acquired North Africa
Carthaginians vs. Romans
Above: Scipio “Africanus”,
the Roman general who
defeated Hannibal
Above left: Hannibal
Left: Hannibal’s army
invades Italy (c. 218 B.C.)
Right: The destruction of
Carthage after conquest by
the Romans in 146 B.C.,
its fields were sown with
salt to ensure that no food
could be grown