No More King! In 509 B.C. wealthy Roman landowners overthrow the king and established a republic. Republic - system of government of officials elected by the citizens.

How Did the Republic Work? Free men had the right to vote. The Senate was the most powerful political body in the Roman Republic. It was made up of 100-900 men, depending on the period of time. They served life terms. Their responsibilities included controlling public funds and foreign policy, as well as making and interpreting laws. The Senators were from wealthy, upper class, known as the Patricians, which only made up 5% of the population.

How Did the Republic Work? (cont’d) Next, you had the two Consuls – one commanded the army and the other helped to run the government. The Consuls appointed dictators and could veto laws. They were elected by the Senate. The Consuls only served 1 year terms. In times of war, a dictator took complete control, but could only rule for six months.

How Did the Republic Work? (cont’d) Next, were the Praetors or the supreme judges of the Republic. Praetors had equal standing with the Consuls. They could help rule Rome if one of the Consuls was unable to.

Roman Society Broken into two classes: Patrician – wealthy, upper class, 5% of citizens Plebeian – middle to poor classes, majority of the people, 95% of citizens – mainly farmers and workers, who could not hold office

How Did Plebeians Gain More Power? In 494 B.C., they went on strike to gain power. Once the demands were met, they were allowed to form their own assembly and elect tribunes. These Tribunes helped to propose laws and could veto any unfair to the plebeians. The Twelve Tablets were made for all Romans to view the laws. It was set up in the Forum – which was the chief public square and government center.

The Plebeians Final Victory After 342 B.C., one of the two consuls was always plebeian.

The Military Machine Rome had the best land military in the world at this time (300 BC – 200 AD) They had career soldiers who would do nothing but train and fight their entire lives. Any citizen who owned land was required to serve in the military. Centurions were the elite leaders and trainers. Legions were formed of 5,000 soldiers, a Roman army would have from 4 to 10 legions per general.