“All roads lead to Rome.”
“Rome was not built in a day.”
“When in Rome . . .”
How did Rome win such a place in modern
popular culture?
• Let’s read about it!
Woof!
Fortresses &
Government
Romulus
• Legend has it that
Romulus built
Rome on the
Palentine Hill –
one of the Seven
Hills of Rome
• People settled on seven hills along the
Tiber River between 1000-900 BCE
– Called Latins or Italics
• Many geographical advantages:
– Easy to defend
– Fertile soil
– Access to rivers allows for trade in the
Mediterranean Sea
– Other more powerful societies controlled
the rest of the Italian peninsula
• Example: Greeks and Etruscans
• Can be broken into three “eras”
– For over 200 years, Rome was a
Kingdom
– For about 500 years, Rome was a
Republic
– For about 500 years, Rome was an
Empire
• Early kings of Rome
– Not much is known as their
written works did not survive
– Who were they?
• Most developed Latin/Italic people
• Located in northern, central Italy
• Most likely descendants of
modern-day Turkey and native
Italian population
• By 6th century BCE they were the
most powerful city state (modeled
after the Greek system)
• Romans resented the all-powerful Etruscan
kings who gave them no say in their
government
• 509 BCE the Romans revolted against
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
• Result: End of the Etruscan kings
• Romans keep many Etruscan
ideas:
– Hierarchy of Gods (Greek in origin)
– Alphabet (also Greek in origin)
– Toga
– I told you they “borrowed” freely
from other cultures!
Toga!
Toga!
Toga!
Yum,
Etruscan!
A spoonful
of Persian
A dollop of
Egyptian
A heaping
portion of
Greek
Goin’ back
for Greek
seconds!
Just a
smidgen of
Phoenician
• Romans never wanted a king
again or any government with a
single ruler
– Establish a Republic…what is it?
• “Republic” literally comes from
a Roman term Res Publica, or
“the public concern” or “public
affairs”
– This essentially translates to
sharing all power
• By 264 BCE the Romans controlled the entire Italian
peninsula
• The Republican Government consisted of…
1. The Consuls
– Two chief officials who led the government
• Appointed to perform the duties that, prior to them, the
king was responsible for, like military authority and
ensuring civic welfare and acting as chief diplomat and
religious authority.
– Elected once a year; Each had equal power; could
veto the other
• By 264 BCE the Romans controlled the entire Italian
peninsula
• The Republican Government consisted of…
2. The Senate
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Originally advisors to the king
Chosen by consuls
300 upper-class patricians
Members for life
Most powerful part of the government
Deliberated on and voted on laws (consuls proposed)
The model for the US government
• What were the pros
of this system
compared to
monarchy?
• What possible
problems could this
lead to?
• Dictator
– Roman official who had all the power of a king,
but could only hold office for 6 months
• Used only in dire emergencies
• Praetors
– Junior consuls who helped develop first rules
for Roman judicial system (courts)
• Patricians – Members of wealthy
families; only people eligible for the
Senate
• Plebeians – everyone else in ancient
Rome (except the patricians) from
well-to-do tradesmen all the way
down to the very poor
• Similarities :
– Both pater familias
– Both could own slaves
– Citizens of Rome were
adult freemen from
both classes - plebs and
patricians.
• Women, children, and
slaves were not citizens
• Differences:
– Did not mix socially
– Illegal for plebs and
patricians to marry
– Lifestyles were very
different
• Patricians very wealthy
and lived an opulent
lifestyle, plebs did not
• The Senate (power) was only open to
patrician families
• Plebeians resented the Senate who:
– Took riches from war
– Created prosperous farms run by slaves
– Left many plebian famers unemployed
• Reaction: Plebeians refuse to serve in the
military in protest!
1. Twelve Tables – 450 BCE; a board of 10 men were
entrusted to draw up a basic legal tradition and
publish them on wood (later bronze) to be placed in
the forum
1. Creation of the Assembly – an elected body that had 10
Tribunes to discuss and decide issues on behalf of
Plebeians
2. Plebs could marry into Patrician families
3. Eventually Senators could be Plebs (but very uncommon)
• Eventually the Assembly was given the
power to elect the two consuls every
year…
– So…what would be the impact?!?
Dictator in times of
extreme need
(6 months)
Appoints
Consuls – executive
branch
Praetors – looked after legal
cases
Curulian Aediles – supervised
markets, festivals and temples
Quaestors – public finance
Tribunes –represented the
rights of the people (2-10)
Senate
Assembly
Elected by Assembly
Censors – guided public morals
• Roman army had 30 Legions
– Each Legion had about 5,500 men
• Each Legion was divided into 10 units called
Cohorts
– The First Cohort consisted of approximately 800 men
• Had “specialists” such as blacksmiths or engineers
– The other 9 Cohorts consisted of approximately 480
men
• Each Cohort was divided into 6 Centuries of
about 80 men
– Each Century was commanded by a Centurion
– The First Cohort only had 5 centuries