Transcript The Roman Republic

1.
2.
What was the government of the Roman
Republic like? How did it tie into social
class relations?
What was the primary grievance of the
plebians in terms of Roman laws and
government structure?
Western Civilization
Ms. Tully
 “the
Roman senate
and people”
• abbreviated SPQR
 509
BCE: first Roman
constitution
• not a single written
document
• a set of rules, customs,
laws, beliefs
◦
Greeks:
◦ idealistic;
philosophy/speculatio
n about best way to
govern people
◦
Romans:
◦ practical, realistic,
devised solutions to
everyday problems
◦
Social divisions
determined the shape
of politics

Patricians (upper
class)
◦ wealthy landowners
◦ had most of the power
in the early Republic
 laws, military, legal
proceedings, etc.

Plebians (the
commoners)
◦ most were poor
◦ artisans, farmers, urban
dwelling non-land
owners
◦ Roman citizens, could
participate in Roman
politics (but not as
influential as
patricians…)
 Consuls: chief
magistrates of Roman
Republic
• command armies,
state business,
financial affairs
• elected for 1 year
terms
• at first, only patrician
men
• ran the Republic,
along with the Senate

Senate: advisory body that helped the
consuls
◦ offered advice, couldn’t pass laws (but very
influential)
◦ provided year-to-year stability
◦ wealth of experience, knowledge
◦ Advice came to have the force of law
◦
Comita Centuriata: political body to decide
Roman policy
◦ Voted in centuries (blocs)
◦ Patrician centuries outnumbered Plebians
◦
Concilium Plebis: Assembly of Plebians
◦ Won right to form assembly in 471 BCE
◦ Bills passed in concilium plebis recognized as
binding on the entire population
 Quaestors: appointed
by consuls to help
them
• in charge of public treasury, prosecuted
criminals in court
• 421 BCE: became an elected position (open to
plebians!)
 336
BCE: create office of praetor
• 4 praetors  stepped in when consuls were out
of Rome
• administration/interpretation of law
 Censors:
• Created in 443 BCE
• Supervision of public morals, power to
determine who be in Senate, registration of
citizens, leasing of public contracts
 aediles: four
officials who supervised
streets/markets, presided over public
festivals
• Romans divided the Mediterranean area into
provinces governed by ex-consuls and ex-praetors
 Brought Roman experience, culture, way of life to new
lands
 One
of the most important achievements
of Romans
 Ius civile – Civil Law
• Consisted of statutes, customs, and forms of
procedures
 Roman
assemblies added to the body of
law, Praetors interpreted it
 Protecting the property, lives, and
reputations of citizens, addressing issues
of injustice
 Expansion
required new laws to deal with
disputes with foreigners under Roman
jurisdiction
 Often rested on legal decisions of Praetors
• Law of equity
• Enjoyed flexibility
 Ius
gentium: The Law of the Peoples
• Applied to Romans and foreigners
• Foundation for universal conception of law

Ius naturale: Natural Laws
• Stoic concept
• Universal law that could be applied to all societies
 Struggle
of the Orders – conflict between
Plebians and Patricians
• Plebians wanted real political representation
• Plebians had leverage b/c of Rome’s dependence on
military
 445 BCE – First achievements for plebians
• Lex Canuleia – allowed patricians and plebians to
intermarry
• Tribunes: officials elected by plebians
 Plebians
did not want to undermine the
state, they wanted full equality under the
law.
 Plebians
forced patricians to publish laws
– Twelve tables
 Licinian-Sextian Rogations (laws), 367
BCE
• Plebians allowed to sit in and advise the senate
• One of two annual consuls must be a plebian
 Lex
Hortensia, 287 BCE
• Ended Struggle of the Orders
• Gave concilium plebis the force of law for
plebians and patricians
• All males considered equal under the law
 Results of social compromise
• Economic reforms – all citizens had access to public
land
• New definition of political leadership
• New nobility – extension of aristocratic rule
• Rome stronger and better united
 Paterfamilias: Male
power
head of family held
• Limited power of male family members and women
• Legally kill or divorce wife, kill children or sell them
into slavery
• Sons could not legally hold property until
paterfamilias died
• Authority over everyone in household (slaves,
servants, etc..)