Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic
Main Idea: Rome’s republic was shaped by a struggle between wealthy landowners and regular citizens as it gradually expanded the right to vote. Rome’s Government Early Romans were divided into two classes: patricians and plebeians. Patricians were wealthy landowners and made up the ruling class in Rome. Most people were plebeians, this group were artisans, shopkeepers and owners of small farms. Both patrician and plebian men were Roman citizens. They had the right to vote and the duty to pay taxes and serve in the army. Plebeians had less social status, they could not marry patricians or hold public office. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome’s Government How Did Rome’s Government Work? Rome had a tripartite, or three-part government. One group of people ran the government, one made the laws and the other acted as judges. They had a checks and balances system so that one group couldn’t become too strong. The top government officials were called consuls. Two consuls were chosen each year both from the patrician class. They headed the army and ran the government. Each consul had the power to veto, or reject, the other’s decision. Veto is Latin for “I forbid”. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome’s Government Other officials were called praetors who interpreted the law and acted as judges in court cases. The most important legislative body was the Senate. This was a select group of 300 patrician men who served for life. At first the Senate only gave advice to the consuls but eventually they could propose laws, hold debates, and approve building programs. Another legislative body was the Assembly of Centuries. A group of patricians who elected the consuls and praetors, and passed laws. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

The Senate Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome’s Government Plebeians Against Patricians In 494 B.C. many plebeians were unhappy about their lack of power in the Roman republic and they went on strike. They refused to serve in the army and left the city to set up a republic of their own. This scared the patricians into sharing power. The patricians gave them their own body of representatives called the Council of the Plebs, in 471 B.C. Tribunes were elected to bring plebeian concerns to the government’s attention. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome’s Government In 455 B.C. plebeians and patricians were allowed to marry and in the 300’s B.C. plebeians were allowed to become consuls. In 287 B.C. the Council of Plebs was given the power to pass laws for all Romans making all male citizens of Rome equal. In reality, a few wealthy patrician families still held most of the power and women still had no vote in government. Who Was Cincinnatus? In times of emergency the Romans appointed someone dictator to rule with complete control on a temporary basis. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome’s Government When the danger was over the dictator gave up their power. The best-known early Roman dictator is Cincinnatus who in 460 B.C. left his farm, gathered an army and defeated a powerful enemy. Having done his duty he returned home to his farm and gave up his power. Romans strongly believed in civic duty. They thought all citizens have a responsibility to help their country. Many leaders have admired Cincinnatus including George Washington when he left his farm to head the Continental Army in the American War for Independence. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Cincinnatus Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Roman Law Main Idea: The Roman Republic’s legal system was based on the rule of law. Roman Law Rome’s first code of laws was the Twelve Tables, adopted in 451 B.C. Before this their laws were not written down and plebeians claimed that patrician judges were not fair to everyone. The laws were carved on bronze tablets and placed in Rome’s marketplace called the Forum. The Twelve Tables became the basis for all future Roman laws. They established that all free citizens had the right to be treated equally by the legal system. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

The Twelve Tables, 450 BCE Providing political and social rights for the plebeians. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

The Roman Forum Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Roman Law As the Romans took over more lands they created a new collection of laws called the Law of Nations to solve legal disputes between citizens and non-citizens. Some of these standards are still used today. A person is innocent until proven guilty. People accused of crimes have the right to defend themselves before a judge. A judge must look at the evidence carefully before making a decision. The idea that the law applies to everyone equally within the legal system is called the “rule of law”. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Roman Law At the time the “rule of law” was still a new concept and in many places people at the top of society had special privileges or didn’t have to obey the same laws as the people in lower classes. The “rule of law” is one of the key ideas that the Romans gave to the world and it remains the basis of our legal system today. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome Expands Main Idea: Rome slowly destroyed the Carthaginian Empire and took control of the entire Mediterranean region. Rome Expands The Roman’s most powerful rival in the Mediterranean area was the state of Carthage on the coast of North Africa. Carthage was founded around 800 B.C. by the Phoenicians. Carthage ruled a great trading empire that included parts of northern Africa and southern Europe. By controlling the movement of goods they made themselves the largest and richest city in the western Mediterranean. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Carthaginian Empire Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome Expands The First Punic War Both Carthage and Rome wanted to control the island of Sicily. In 264 B.C. the First Punic War started when the Romans sent an army to Sicily to prevent Carthaginian takeover. Punicus is the Latin word for “Phoenician”. Up until the Punic War the Romans had only fought their wars on land. They soon realized they needed a navy to defeat Carthage. They built a large fleet of ships and confronted their enemy at sea. The war lasted more than 20 years until 241 B.C. when Rome crushed the Carthaginian navy off the coast of Sicily. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome Expands Carthage had to leave Sicily and pay Rome a huge fine. The Second Punic War Carthage expanded its empire into southern Spain which angered the Romans. The Romans helped the people living in Spain rebel against Carthage. This angered Carthage so they sent Hannibal to attack Rome in 218 B.C. starting the 2nd Punic War. Hannibal’s strategy was to take the fighting into Italy itself so he gathered an army of 46,000 men, many horses and 37 elephants. He landed his forces in Spain and marched east to attack Italy. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome would not surrender. Finally turned the tables on Carthage by changing rules of naval warfare. Equipped ships with huge hooks and stationed soldiers on ships. Would hook enemy ship, pull it nearby, and board it with soldiers. Converted naval warfare into mini-land battles. Something Rome was very good at. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome Expands They suffered severe losses crossing the snowy Alps into Italy. The cold, hunger and attacks by the mountain tribes killed almost half of the soldiers and most of the elephants. But the remaining army was still a powerful fighting force when they reached Italy. The Romans suffered a severe loss in 216 B.C. at the Battle of Cannae in southern Italy. Hannibal’s army although outnumbered overpowered the Roman force. The Romans raised another army and in 202 B.C. led by a general named Scipio they invaded Carthage. Since almost all of Carthage’s troops were with Hannibal it forced Hannibal to head home to defend his city. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Hannibal’s Route Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Hannibal Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Hannibal's troops crossing the Rhone River on their way to attack northern Italy.

Rome Expands At the Battle of Zama, Scipio’s troops won and Carthage had to give up Spain and pay a fine. More Conquests After the Second Punic War Carthage remained a trading center until 146 B.C. when Rome finally destroyed them in the Third Punic War. Roman soldiers burned Carthage and enslaved 50,000 men, women and children. Legend says they spread salt on the earth so no crops would grow. Carthage became a Roman province, or regional district. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Rome Expands During the Punic Wars Rome was also successfully battling other states in the eastern Mediterranean. In 148 B.C. Macedonia was taken over by Rome and 2 years later the rest of Greece became Roman. In 129 B.C. Rome gained it’s first province in Asia. The Romans began to call the Mediterranean mare nostrum – “our sea”. Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

Ch 9 Sec 2 - The Roman Republic

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