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Essay on the rise and fall of rome
The Roman Republic
The emergence of rome
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Will Swanson
2/9/15
Hour 6
Research Report
Roman Republic Henry James Sumner Maine said, "The most superficial student of Roman history must be
struck by the extraordinary degree in which the fortunes of the republic were affected by the
presence of foreigners, under different names, on her soil." After Rome completed it's conquest
of Italy, it established itself as a tremendous power of the ancient world. The republic of Rome is
believed to have begun in the year 509 BC. This followed the overthrowing of Lucius Tarquinius
Superbus, the last of the seven major kings. This overthrow left Rome without a king, and
instead of gaining another king, they decided to add two annually elected magistrates called
consuls.
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These consuls were elected by the
Senate and were also elected by the people in Comitia Centuriata. The consuls were on office
for only a year, and they had power to overrule the other's decisions. Consuls were mostly
known as the heads of state. The consuls were in charge of the army, had power of foreign
affairs, and presided over the Senate. Consular authority was limited over the years. After 367
BC, at least one of the consuls had to become a plebeian. When their terms were done, they
would usually become a governor or have some part in the government.
The next official were praetors. Pratetors were either commanders of the army, or
magistrates. They were also in charge of the production of the public games. Also, when the
consuls were absent they were the next to step in and be in charge. At first, there was only one
praetor who handled matters of equity with the Roman citizens. A second praetor was added to
handle problems when one or two parties were foreigners. The number of praetors kept being
added by twos after that, where there ended up being eight total. Two were in charge of civil
matters ad the other six were assigned to specific
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Lastly, they were in charge of making the
games fun for the people. In the beginning, they were two officials of the plebeians. In 366 BC
, the curile aediles were formed where they became higher in government. The aediles were
recorded as officials in associations and clubs.
Quaestors were the next in line. They were the lowest ranked magistrate in the Roman
Empire. Their main responsibility was the treasury. In a period known as the royal period, the
kings appointed quaestors known as judicial quaestors. These judicial quaestors were in charge
of the murder crimes. After each year, a quaestor was elected each year by the tribal assembly.
As time went on, they were given responsibilities for raising taxes and getting recruits from
areas that were just conquered by Rome.
There was a line of leaders before Julius Caesar came into power. One them included
Brutus, who was traditionally one of the first consuls. He was then succeeded by Spurius
Lucretius Tricipitinus, Publius Valerius Publicola, and many others. When Julius Caesar came
into rule, he was declared dictator for life. This Roman general turned this Roman Republic
The roman republic constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down through precedent, the roman republic instead of creating a democracy such as that the Athenians created, a monarchy which was previously being used by previous roman rulers and an aristocracy which Sparta used, the Constitution combined elements of all three of these governments to create a combined government known as “Senatus populusque que romanus” (S.P.Q.R) this meant “the senate and the roman people”. The Roman magistrates were elected officials during the period of the Roman kingdom, the ‘king’ (although the Romans preferred not to be called a king and instead a rex) of Rome was the principal executive magistrate, his power was absolute similar to that of a tsar
After the expulsion of the last king of Roman Tarquin established by Brutus. The once before power monarchial government was no longer puissant. The new power was given to the consuls( from the Senate). Brutus bound the people with an oath to allow no one to reign in Rome. During the secession of the Plebs, Spurius Cassius and Postumus Cominius entered upon their consulship.
With the problems starting with the dissolution of the first triumvirate and the actions of Julius Caesar, it seemed almost inevitable that the Republic would become an Empire. With the death of the true republican, Cicero, and many not remembering what the republic was like, giving power to the capable and honorable man seemed as if the best answer. Furthermore, if the Rome continue to remain a Republic the Senate could not have maintained the success or power that the Empire held. The ambition of one man made it easy to continue the growth whereas, many of the policies and disputes the country faced had face might have taken to long or complicated had the republic
In the Roman Republic, a quaestor was a public official who supervised the financial affairs of the state and conducted audits. In 65 B.C., Julius Caesar was appointed to the position of Pontifex Maximus, this was much to people's disbelief because Caesar was so young. Pontifex Maximus gave Caesar the position of high priest in the College of Pontiffs, which was the most important position in the ancient Roman church. Caesar won against two powerful senators that had greater experience and power. Despite much uproar, Caesar was chosen to be governor of Spain....
... His reforms, as far-reaching as they initially were, were short lived, and were annulled soon after his retirement. He thought that the People, meeting in the Concilium Plebis, were an unrepresentative and irresponsible body unworthy to govern, but he largely failed to infuse a new sense of responsibility to the Senate (Appian in Williams, p.149). Above all, arrangements to control the advancement of men through the Cursus Honorum –the threat from which his own career had so nakedly demonstrated – were clearly inadequate against men of determined ambition (Massie, p. 176). In final analysis, Sulla’s actions as a politician and a military leader, while occasionally bringing him prestige - dignatas, were major factors leading to the subsequent weakening of the Republic.
Established a government that was made of the king, the kuhina nui, and the chiefs-in council, along with the representatives.
The Roman republic at first tried to protect itself from foreign enemies, not by being defensive, but by going on the offensive and destroying those that had any possibility of threatening the young republic. Once this started it was hard to stop the citizen army’s consisted of hop-lite phalanxs from continuing on with what they were good at; War. With each successful campaign came the spoils of victory, conquered land, expansion, new ideas, art, technology, religion, and so forth. All of these spoils added great wealth and power to the republic, most likely encouraging it in to becoming a empire.
Augustus was initially in a Triumvirate of power. When this ended, he was given a consulship, a position that he would eventually hold thirteen times total, several back to back. He was eventually named consul for life. He was also named Tribune, someone with the power to suggest legislation. He also had
Due to the constraint of the plebeians, the council of decemviri “was created with the task of regularizing and publishing the laws” (Spielvogel 118). The outcome of this was the creation of the Twelve Tables, published around 450 B.C. which only “led to further agitation from the plebeians” (Spielvogel 118). The benefits of this were t...
The constitution laid the groundwork for the governing body in Florence where it had three main bodies known as the “Tre Maggiori” which were all elected offices. Below these offices were the Signoria, the Sixteen, and the Twelve. These elected officials had short-term office holdings in order to hold them accountable for their work. This was different from a monarchy that would allow a dictator to rule however he or she would like and make decisions on their own with no accountability. The fact that the terms ranged from two months to four months enforced accountability across all elected positions. In order to have equal representation across the entire city, it was enforced that there would be two priors elected from each quarter of the city. The city was then divided into four quarters which were as follows: San Giovanni, Santa Maria Novella, Santo Spirito and Santa Croce. Along with graphical balance, officials also were to be drawn from different socio-economic backgrounds. These divisions were made by guilds which represented the different commercial enterprises across the city. These precedents set forth in the constitution developed the idea of popular sovereignty, another concept of civil
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...
Philosopher A: In the Republic, the Senate was the primary branch of the Roman government and held the majority of the political power. It controlled funds, administration and foreign policy, and had significant influence of the everyday life of the Roman people. When Augustus came to power, he kept the Senate and they retained their legal position. The Emperor’s rule was legitimized by the senate as he needed the senators experience to serve as administrators, diplomats and generals. Although technically the most authoritative individual in Rome, Augustus strived to embody Republican values. He wanted to relate and connect to all parts of society including Plebeians. Through generosity and less extravagance, Augustus achieved a connection with the common people.
Following the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, in around 509 BCE (Mark, 2009), the make-up of Rome was comprised of a plebeian class, or common people, and the generally wealthier and powerful patrician class. The monarchy had fallen thanks to the combined efforts of both classes and yet the first incarnation of the republic only increased the power of the patricians at the expense of the plebs. There had been no representation of their interests introduced by the new political offices but also, and more importantly for the first secession that would come as a result, there had been no efforts t...
The laws which governed debt were changed. All unpaid debts were declared removed, and those put in prison due to debts were released. Further, four new political positions were created. Two were called tribunes and were appointed by the plebeians. The other two were called aediles. The aediles were assistants to the tribunes and were also appointed by the plebeians. The tribunes had the power to cancel, “the act of any magistrate which bore unjustly upon any citizen”. (Morey, 1900), and while exercising their powers, the tribunes could not go to prison.
Plebeians couldn’t participate in the government, they were not allowed to own land but they were required to pay taxes. According to Max Rennebohm, the plebeians made up the majority of the citizen population of Ancient Rome and occupied the economic range anywhere below the ruling patrician class and above the slave class. A Senate made up of 100 men from traditional patrician families and 200 conscripti, selected from other wealthy families, ruled the Roman Republic, which began in 509 BCE. The Senate elected two Consuls with executive authority to oversee the city’s day-to-day governance for a one-year