1. E. Napp Italy is a country in Western Europe.

2. E. Napp  Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula in Western Europe.  Italy extends into the Mediterranean Sea.  The seas and the Alps mountains in the north protected Italy from most invaders.

3. E. Napp Rome was a city-state located on a fertile plain in the middle of Italy.

4. E. Napp  The Latins were a group of people who lived in central Italy.  The Etruscans conquered Rome and the plain of Latium.  The Etruscans learned many ideas from the Greeks.

5. E. Napp The Etruscans conquered Rome and the plain of Latium.

6. E. Napp  The early Roman city-state had two social classes: patricians (wealthy landowning families) and plebeians (working people).  Eventually, the Romans overthrew the king and made Rome into a republic.  A republic is a form of government where citizens have political power.

7. E. Napp A republic is a type of government in which a few people represent many people. Rome was a republic and the United States is a republic.

8. E. Napp Only patricians were allowed to vote. They were from the oldest and richest families in Rome. They made up only 10% of Rome’s population.

9. E. Napp The Plebeians were citizen-soldiers. Patricians needed them to defend Rome.

10. E. Napp  In 494 B.C., plebeians gained the right to elect two tribunes.  The tribunes could veto any law they did not like. The senate could only pass laws to which the tribunes said yes.

11. E. Napp The Roman Senate was a governing body.

12. E. Napp The Romans also developed the Twelve Tables of Roman law. The Twelve Tables included concepts like innocent until proven guilty and equality under the law.