The Roman Republic

I. Italy before the Romans: the Etruscans

A. we know little about the earliest stone age people in Italy, but around 1200 BCE a group of
Indo-Europeans with bronze weapons invaded Italy
i. by about 800 BCE, they had settled along the Italian peninsula and became the Umbrian,
Sabine, Samnite, and Latin cultures
B. also around 800, a new people called the Etruscans invaded
i. we believe they were from western Asia
ii. settled in Tuscany
iii. quickly built walled cities
C. Etruscan city-states began as monarchies
i. soon ruled by councils of aristocrats under magistrates that served one year
a) possibly connected to Greek forms of rule
ii. by 500, the city-states formed a combined federation and dominated Italy from Naples
to the Alps
a) soon after they took over a small town called Rome
D. the Etruscans traded with major players like Carthage and the Greek city-states
i. Etruscans had a special talent for metalworking
ii. this trade led to some cultural diffusion, so Etruscans began to use the Greek alphabet,
military tactics (hoplites), art, and even took parts of their religion
a) despite the similarities, the Etruscans developed very different
• did not segregate women, had different religious divination practices, and
improved on Greek architecture, especially in building arches
• Greeks also had sports that simulated combat, but Etruscans used actual combat
E. around 400 BCE the Celts from Gaul (present day France) invaded and weakened the
Etruscans
i. soon after, Rome would rebuild and expand to conquer the remaining Etruscans
II. Royal Rome
A. Myth
i. the early myth of the creation of Rome involves the twin brothers Romulus and Remus
a) abandoned and saved by a she-wolf
b) raised by farmers, then created Rome on the seven hills
c) descendents of the Trojans by Aeneas, the greatest surviving captain after the fall
B. Actual
i. region settled by farmers due to the rich soil and access to the Tiber River around 750
ii. conquered by Etruscans around 500, then continued to develop due to trade with Greeks,
Carthage, and learned metalworking from Etruscans
a) once the Celts weakened the Etruscans, it allowed the people of Rome to rise
C. under the Etruscan kings, Rome developed an effective army based on Greek weapons and
tactics
i. officers became warrior-aristocrats and had political power
a) these became the first Senate, who “elected” the King as city administrator
• gave King the right of imperium- command, arrest, fine, and punish any Roman
• also served as military commander, chief priest, and supreme judge
ii. by legend, Rome's first king (Romulus) appointed his advisory council of aristocrats
a) 300 Senators who served for life
b) they had no actual power, but it made them feel better to look like they had power
 D. Curiate
i. another element of government designed to gain public approval of policies
ii. any man born of two Roman parents was a citizen, and all citizens belonged to groups
within the Curiate
a) each group within the Curiate voted, and the majority decision was sent to the
Senate
• ex: in curia A, if most people agree on policy Z, then curia A casts its one vote
for policy Z within the overall Curiate
E. Social Classes
i. two legally defined social classes based entirely on birth
a) patricians (aristocrats) could hold public office, be on the Senate, serve as priests,
and patricians could only marry other patricians
b) plebeians (lower class) had no real privileges, but were still citizens
ii. it did not matter if you gained wealth or influence, if you were born into a group, you
died in that group
F. Clientage
i. in order to link patricians to plebians, they could combine their power and wealth
a) “patrons” could provide protection and economic assistance to “clients”
b) “clients” worked and fought for the patron and supported him politically
ii. this relationship was passed on father to son and was not easily broken once given
iii. by the time of the Republic, this connection was the only real way for people to gain
power and influence
G. Family
i. father had imperium power over his family
a) could sell children into slavery if he wanted
b) limited power over his wife though
• women, while not as powerful as men, still had greater legal standing than in
Greek city-states
ii. old ideas from before the Etruscans required legal recognition of marriage, which the
Etruscan kings continued
a) many beliefs in legal rights of citizens were so central to Romans (especially
patricians) that it likely led to a rebellion against the king in 509
• a king's overreach was recorded in myth, and likely led to an overall distrust of
kings by the Romans
III. Early Republic
A. after the overthrow of their king, Roman aristocrats created a form of government similar to
Athenian democracy, but with the aristocracy retaining control- the Republic
i. republic- people choose representatives to make legal decisions for them
ii. this gave the people the power to participate in government, but only patricians could
hold political power
iii. the Senate had direct control of policy and finances
B. Censors
i. two men elected by the Senate from members of the Senate served terms of 5 years
ii. they conducted censuses to define each man's taxation category and social status
a) used this to determine men who were legally citizens
iii. eventually the censors also drew up a list of senators
a) if you were removed from any list, you lost your status as a citizen
C. Centuriate Assembly
 i. this legislative group represented the Roman Army
ii. they elected the government's executives, voted on legislation proposed by the Senate,
declared war, and served as an appeal's court
iii. controlled by patricians again, who were always the majority of the army
D. Consul
i. each year the Centuriate Assembly elected two patricians to the office of Consul
ii. these Consulors had limited imperium
a) led the army, were head priests, and served as chief judges
iii. after serving as Consul, a man became a Senator for life
iv. Consuls also had the power to appoint a dictator in times of crisis
a) 6 month appointment, and the dictator had imperium within and outside the city and
could punish citizens without restraint (usually need the Assembly's permission)
• this happened plenty since the Republic was usually at war
• as wars became longer and farther away, the constitution changed to create the
Proconsulship, which extended Consul's terms when they led an army
• also created the office of Praetor, who were generals who served one year
terms and had the power of imperium- ruled while Consul was at war
E. early stages of the Republic were controlled entirely by patricians
i. they only made up 5% of Rome's population
ii. the other 95% of plebians were taxed and forced to serve in the army during wartime,
but had no political voice
a) this would lead to a series of plebian rebellions in the mid 400s BCE
• these led to slow, but needed changes to the government
F. Plebian Power
i. around 450 BCE the Senate created the institution of Tribune, which were two elected
plebians who had the power of veto on acts passed by the Assembly
ii. next they gained the right to serve as low-level judges
iii. in the mid 300s BCE the first plebian was chosen as Consul
a) soon after, wealthy plebians began serving as Senators
iv. in 287 BCE, the Concilium Plebis was created, and this legislative body could make
laws the Senate could not revoke
a) all of these changes gave plebians more power, but only went to the wealthy
• as a result, the gulf between rich and poor grew
IV. Economy and Culture in the Early Republic
A. agriculture remained the core of Rome's economy
i. with the expansion of Rome's military power, many farmers were serving long tours of
duty and without them to work the fields, their families fell into debt
a) people took advantage and bought cheap plots of land, then built huge estates
• this group became the Equestrians
• a huge estate used for agriculture owned by an Equestrian was called latifundia
B. Equestrians used slave labor to work fields- often these were the poor farmers who had lost
their land
i. as Rome's power expanded, hundreds of thousands of captured slaves were shipped to
Italy, and Rome's economy became entirely dependent on slave labor
C. the expansion of the military also led to an expansion of the economy
i. to fund the wars, they needed raw materials, infrastructure (roads, canals, etc), weapons
a) Equestrians controlled most of these
ii. as the economy brought more wealth, slaves, artists, and artisans worked to build
 monuments and public buildings for the greatness of Rome
D. Culture
i. patrician rights increased, especially for women
a) they could now inherit property and initiate divorce
b) also had oversight of slaves in household tasks
ii. fathers retained rights of imperium
a) served as priests in household worship
• each family had its own household gods
iii. Romans also publicly worshipped in great temples many gods, most based on Greek
beliefs
a) many cults (mystery religions, remember) were either upheld by the Senate or
directly banned (Cult of Bacchus)
iv. family served as Rome's basic education system
a) fathers taught sons how to farm, read, write, do basic math, conduct religious rituals,
fight, and the history of their families
• the goal of education was to instill piety and patriotism
b) Greek influence entered education in the 200s BCE, and patrician boys were
expected to learn languages (esp. Greek), literature, philosophy, grammar, and
critical thinking
V. Early Wars of Expansion
A. until 260s BCE, the Romans focused on dominating Italy
i. they made allies to turn groups against each other
a) once enemies were defeated, they turned on their allies and conquered them too
• then they promised citizenship to everyone, and put down any resistance harshly
ii. by 265 this strategy allowed them to conquer all of Italy
B. also in 265, the Romans came into conflict with Carthage, the most powerful trade group
i. Carthage attacked Sicily, which the Romans saw as encroaching on their territory
ii. in 264, the Assembly voted to go to war with Carthage, beginning the first Punic War
a) much was fought on water, where Rome's fleet was more successful
b) Rome won the war and gained their first territories outside of Italy
C. Carthage invaded Spain in 218 to regain some pride after losing
i. Rome thought this would lead to an invasion, so they attacked preemptively
ii. the Carthaginian general Hannibal counterattacked and marched from Spain, through
Gaul, and over the Alps into Italy
a) he consistently crushed the Roman armies sent to stop him
b) his supplies ran low as he advanced, which is the only thing that kept him from
conquering the major cities in Italy
iii. while Hannibal paused his attack, Rome sent an army under Scipio to Spain to take their
holdings, then he sailed to north Africa and fought to the gates of Carthage
a) Carthage was forced to sign a peace treaty and recalled Hannibal, who was just
outside Rome
b) when Hannibal returned, he convinced Carthage to break the peace and attack
• this is the only loss Hannibal had, and Rome took almost all of Carthage's lands
D. after taking all this land, Rome began to strip mine new holdings and enslave the people,
committing many atrocities
i. the Iberians (Spanish) resisted for 70 years, and Rome became even more brutal
E. the Senate became wealthier with every battle, and voted in 150 to finally finish Carthage
i. in 146 Rome burned Carthage, slaughtered tens of thousands, and enslaved over 55,000
 F. the Romans then turned to Macedonia and Seleucids (Hellenistic kingdoms)
i. while finishing Carthage, Rome fought the Macedonians and made Greek cities “Roman
protectorates”
a) this meant they had to pay tribute, but could self govern
ii. just like with Spain and Carthage, the Romans treated the people brutally, enslaved
thousands, and strip mined any usable materials
G. their treatment of slaves led to many uprisings
i. the most successful was Spartacus, who defeated many Roman armies before being
defeated by Marcus Crassus, the richest man in Rome and eventual member of the First
Triumvirate
a) their treatment of slaves got worse, and they even crucified 6000 slaves along the
Appian Way, the main road to Rome
VI. Late Republican Period
A. the census divided people into 4 categories
i. senatorial aristocrats
ii. equestrians
iii. citizens
iv. slaves
B. the top two ruled the bottom two, and gained their wealth by slave labor
i. this was a tiny group of people ruling the majority
C. Reforms
i. some people tried to limit the power of the Senate and relieve some of the strain on
commoners
a) many of these were simply assassinated
b) a few reforms made it through though
ii. as a result of many assassinations, military leaders began to take power
a) General Marius Caesar (uncle of Julius Caesar) made reforms strengthening the
influence of soldiers to make them more loyal to him
• this led to powerful generals being able to bully the Senate
iii. General Sulla took power as Consul
a) he launched a civil war in 83 BCE against his political rivals
b) in 82, he was elected Dictator
• in that position, he killed his rivals, gave their wealth to the army, strengthened
the influence of the Senate (patricians), and weakened the voice of the people
• some say this was the end of the Republic
c) he retired in 79 BCE
D. Gnaius Pompey and Julius Caesar began to push for power
i. the Senate sent Pompey to force the submission of Spain
a) he won, then returned to help fight Spartacus
• while the bulk of Spartacus' army was defeated by Crassus, the rest of the freed
slaves who were trying to escape were caught by Pompey as he crossed the Alps
• Pompey therefore took credit for defeating Spartacus
b) Crassus decided to join political forces with Pompey so they could dominate the
Senate
ii. while Pompey was in Spain, Caesar was in Gaul crushing their armies
a) in 60 BCE, he joined with Pompey and Crassus to form the First Triumvirate
• they dominated all policy making, but in 53 BCE Crassus was killed in battle
• Pompey and Caesar hated each other, and the alliance crumbled
iii. Pompey was in Rome when Crassus died, and took full power as sole Consul
a) immediately he (and the Senate) ordered Caesar to return to Rome without his army
• Caesar decided to keep his army and marched them on Rome in 49 BCE
• this started another civil war
b) in 48, Caesar defeated Pompey in Greece
• he then went after Pompey's supporters and invaded Egypt
• there he met and had an affair with Cleopatra
c) in 45, Caesar returned to Rome a “great conqueror”
• he then arranged reforms that packed the Senate with his supporters, was elected
Dictator for 10 years, then pushed for more and was elected Dictator for Life
• he was now Consul, Tribune, Chief Priest, and Prefect of Morals
• basically the most powerful man ever in Roman history to this point
iv. Caesar consolidated his rule of Europe
a) gained massive resources from his conquests
b) allowed men from Iberia and Gaul to gain Roman citizenship (brilliant)
• this allowed them to become soldiers, and also spread Roman culture
v. in 44 BCE, the Senate decided Caesar was too powerful and assassinated him on the
Senate steps
a) he had such power and popularity, though, that he had willed his position to his
nephew and adopted son, Octavian
• Octavian would form a new Triumvirate and begin the Roman Empire