Roman Government
Political Structure
The Roman Republic was organised much like our __________ political system. Since
the Romans did not want one man to make all of the laws, they decided to ___________
the power of the government between three branches:
• The _____________ branch – Consuls and Magistrates
• The Legislative branch – Senate and _____________ assemblies
• The Judicial branch – ___________ and courts
A Roman Constitution
The constitution was largely unwritten, uncodified, and constantly evolving. Rather
than creating a government that was primarily a democracy, an aristocracy, or a
monarchy, the Roman constitution mixed these three elements, thus creating three
separate branches of government. The democratic element took the form of the
legislative assemblies, the aristocratic element took the form of the Senate, and the
monarchical element took the form of the many term-limited consuls.
Executive Branch
• The two leaders of the executive branch, ______________, were elected for just
_________ year by the patrician class.
• They supervised the _____________ and ordered the Roman army during _______.
Each year, _______________ were elected together, to serve for a one-year term.
Each consul was given _______ power over his colleague and the officials
would alternate each month.
• Consuls had extensive capacities in peacetime (administrative, legislative
and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest _____________ command.
• Other members of the executive branch were the tax collectors, ___________,
city police, and other people in positions of power in cities.
Legislative Branch
• Assembly of the Curia – (comitia curiata) was the principal assembly during
the first two decades of the Roman Republic. The __________________ Assembly
was organized as an Assembly, and not as a ____________ even though only
patricians were members.
• Assembly of the Centuries – (comitia centuriata or "Army Assembly") of
the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of the ___________________.
The Century Assembly was organized as an Assembly, as every Roman
citizen with the required wealth could vote, regardless of class.
• Assembly of the Tribes – (comitia tributa) of the Roman Republic was the
democratic assembly of Roman citizens. The ____________________________ was
organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council.
• Plebeian Council – (concilium plebis) was the _____________ popular
gathering of the Roman Republic. As the name suggests, the ______________
Council was organized as a Council, and not as an Assembly. It functioned as
a gathering through which the Plebeians (_________________) could pass laws,
elect magistrates, and try judicial cases.
•
The most powerful part of the legislative branch was the ___________________…
• The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient
Roman Republic, however, it was not an __________________ body, but one whose
members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors.
• After a ___________________ served his term in office, it usually was followed
with automatic appointment to the Senate.
• Any motion that had the support of the Senate but was vetoed was recorded
in the annals as a _______________ _________________, while any motion that was
passed and not vetoed was recorded as a senatus consultum.
• The Plebeian ____________________ could veto any proposal passed by the
Senate. However, the Plebeian Tribune had to be ______________ to enact his
veto.
• The Senate passed ________________ ____________ and control what money
would be spent on.
Judicial Branch
 The judicial branch had ___________ judges who were elected every _________
years.
 They were in charge of deciding ____________________ that criminals would
receive.
 Their job was similar to the job that judges have today in Australia.
 __________________ magistrates: Consuls, praetors, censors, aediles, quaestors,
tribunes, and dictators. All these positions had influence over law.
 ___________________ Council acted as a judicial arm of the Roman Republic. They
passed laws and presided over judicial cases.
Important time for Plebeians: The Struggle of the Orders
• 494 BC - the plebeians threatened to leave Rome and set up their own
independent state (concilium plebis).
• 450 BC - the plebeians had won another important concession - the LAWS
OF THE __________________ TABLES, codes specifying ______________ matters,
crimes and the relations among citizens and family members.
• 445 BC, the plebeians also won the right to __________________ with the
patricians (the Lex Canuleia).
• 367 B.C., the tribunes Gaius Licinius and Lucius Sextus passed the LicinianSextian laws which specified (1) that one consul every year must be a
______________, (2) that the office of _______________ should serve as assistant
consul and (3) and that there should be a law restricting the amount of land
held by any citizen.
• 287 B.C., a law was passed that made the decisions of the Assembly of
_________________ binding on the whole state without action by any other body
(the Lex Hortensia).