The government of the Roman Republic was complex. Each position in government had a specific function. The Roman government was led by two consuls, or leaders. This was the highest position of the political government, holding a large amount of power. There were two consuls selected in order to keep a balance of power. They both served a year term and had the option to veto each other if they did not agree on something. This position also gave them the power to establish laws, collect taxes, and make military based decisions. The Roman Senate consisted of patricians, who were hierarchy because of their ancestors. Therefore, they were basically born into the position. Their job was to guide the consuls and deliver the messages or rules that …show more content…
Everyone was classified differently based on their wealth and gender. Women didn’t even have the chance to vote. The wealthier people were highly favored and held the most power. It was nearly impossible for anyone to earn a high position in the political office if they weren’t wealthy. The Roman Republic eventually began to go broke, proving there wasn’t something right. The political office was corrupt and people rebelled. Crime became a problem and the Roman Republic eventually crashed.
Question 2 The Roman Empire was one of the most successful empires of all time. Some of the reasons the Roman Empire became so powerful were because of its ancient army that evolved over the years, its powerful leaders, and a fair form of government. The Pax Romana, meaning Roman Peace, was one of the most historical periods of all time. It consisted of nearly 200 years of peace. During this time, there were four main dynasties, or ages. The Age of Augustus was the first dynasty of the Pax Romana. Augustus came to power when Julius Caesar, Augustus’s great uncle, was murdered. Augustus really laid the foundation for the Roman Empire and made it a goal to be the best leader he could be. He wanted to maintain peace more than anything. He began getting
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
The Roman Republic, was a government, governed by an intricate constitution, which was based on the idea of separation of powers. The Roman Republic, began in 509 B.C, after the end of the Roman Monarchy and lasted for over 450 years. The constitution of the Roman Republic was highly influenced by the struggle of power between the rich families, the patricians, and other Romans who were not from famous or rich families, the plebeians. Their government was divided into three main sections, very much like the Legislative Branch, Executive, Branch, and Judicial Branch. Nowadays, the Senate and assembly resemble the Legislative Branch. In the Roman Republic, the Senate was the most powerful group. The Senate passed all laws and collected taxes. The second part of this branch, was the assembly, and the assembly was elected by the Romans from the plebeian class. The assembly elected consuls, tribunes (representatives from the plebeian class), and made laws. All members of the Senate were part of the patrician class and at the head of the Senate were two consuls. The Consuls controlled the Roman army and in order to become a consul, you had to be elected by a majority of all the citizens in Rome. The consuls, are like our president and the Executive Branch. Although the method of separation of powers came from the Roman Republic, that is not all that came from the Roman Republic that became part of the United States...
The Roman Republic had an upstanding infrastructure, a stable social system, and a balanced constitution that solidified Rome’s greatness. Regardless of its achievements, however, the Roman Republic owes much of its success to classical Greek cultures. These cultures, in conjunction with the fundamental values of Roman society, certified Rome as one of the most significant powers the world has ever seen.
The Roman Republic can be explained as the period from 509 – 27 BCE, which the ancient Roman civilization exemplified a republican form of government; where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. During the Roman Republic, the 2 most powerful, and main branches of government included the Consuls and the Senate. It was the Consuls who held supreme civil and military control over Rome; however the republic had precautions in place to avoid one of the consuls from exercising too much power, such as short one year terms, veto and the notion of 2 consuls to divide authority. The republic then also included the senate; where at first, senators were only chosen from the patrician class, but in time, plebeians joined their positions (Bradley, 1990). Throughout the history of the republic, the evolution of government was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. The demise of the republic resulted through a series of civil wars and powerful dominance of significant historical figures (Princeton.edu, 2014).
When one takes a closer look into the lives of the Romans, government and all, it would be safe to assume that the life of the Romans were much like the life that is seen in the United States today. The United States has several attributes in comparison to Rome but unlike many other areas around the world. The people of Rome were not oppressed, had a say in certain aspects of the government, had a mighty military and the economy seemed to flourish. All in all it would seem that the life of the Roman Republic was a rather appealing and pleasant one.
The Roman Senate and constitution was built upon the notion of ancestry. One was to do things just as the past Romans did. There was little respect for free thinkers who wished to start their own path in Roman history. Romans were filled with so much pride for their past and founding that they simply never wanted to deviate. This principle was known as mos maiorum, the unwritten code from which the ancient Romans derived their social norms (slides). However, there were people that wanted change, some Romans believed in reform and spreading the power amongst all levels, not just the senate. These people were soon labeled the populares. The populares were aristocratic leaders in the late Roman Republic who relied on places other than the head of the senate, such as the tribunes to acquire political power. The populares addressed the problems of the plebs, particularly subsidizing a grain, and in general favored limiting slavery, since slavery took jobs from poor free citizens. They also gained political support by attempts to expa...
The roman republic came into existence at the termination of the Roman kingship in 507 B.C.E. The last king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was expelled by Collatinus and Brutus, as a result of his arrogance involving the matter of one of his relations raping the wholesome Roman matron Lucretia and her subsequent suicide. The rape of Lucretia was really a representation of the frustration that the roman citizens felt regarding the kingship. The later kings had little regard for roman values and the roman populus, which they used as something of a slave labor force. Brutus and Collatinus became the first Roman Consuls, elected by popular vote.
After Rome established itself, they were determined to never again be ruled by a monarch. The Roman setup a new government called a republic. Romans thought a republic would keep any individuals from gaining too much power. Later Romans looked back with enormous pride on the achievements of the early republic. Between 509 B.C. and 133 B.C., Rome adapted the government to fit the need of the people it served. It also developed the military power to not only conqueror not only Italy, but also the entire Mediterranean world. In the early republic power was controlled by the patricians, the land holding upper class. Senators, who served for life, interpreted laws and issued decrees. In the event of a war the senate might elect a dictator who ruled for only six months in time of emergency.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
Patricians were the richer people in the world at the time and owned a considerably large amounts of lands. Since they had large amounts of land, which allowed them to gain power, they were deemed patricians, They were the ones who governed the city from the Senate. The Senate was the empire’s governing body during the republic and were voted into office annually by a large group of citizens and also the equites, or men who had property. Equites were people lower in ranking under the patricians (Ancient Roman Politics, Crystalinks). All the social and political power was mostly in the hands of ancient families who are: the Cornelii family, the family of the Caesars, and the Aemilii. The Senate’s power and all other things were lost under the emperors, but the patrician families still held public opinion. The Roman’s sons were sent to be great soldiers so after they became Roman citizens, they were enlisted on their first military campaign. On their return from service in the military, the son of a patrician usually always entered into politics, and sometimes the sons of equites did the same. The young man first stood for election as an aedile, also known as a city councilor. The aediles looked after the corn supply and public amusements. They were basically there just to run the fruitless jobs that were needed. Then the next office that could be achieved was that of the quaestor, also known as the secretary of the
The Roman Republic is highly praised for its innovation, influence and expansion. In a period of expansion, there was a setting of constitutional precedent for the future late Republic and Roman Empire. The Roman Republic can also be viewed from the perspective of internal balances of power. That being said, although the Republic was not a full democracy, as stated by Polybius, it did provide some political power to the people. Although the Roman people played a significant role in politics and had some power, said power was limited through checks of the Senate and Consul, and most positions of power were very concentrated in the hands of Patricians and aristocrats. The powers that all citizens inherently possessed did however play a significant
The nature of government and political culture in ancient Roman society was similarly complicated as our our political infrastructure in modern day Western civilization. In addition, it had its own unique characteristics rendering it a mechanism of social ideal; one where the population was provided for, and at the same time ruled by an upper lass in the electorate.
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.
This new Republican government, which was administered by the consuls, was not the easiest to transform. Because of the expansion in Italy, the government began to initiate political institutions. These institutions enforced laws and provided authority which were very similar to imperium. “The Romans had a clear concept of executive authority, embodied in their word imperium, or “the right to command” (Spielvogel 117). Since the Romans were very sensible in their actions, they made and implemented them only as needed. The most essential positions held were the few elected magistrates and the two consuls who were “chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle” (Spielvogel 117). If the consul was otherwise occupied, either a dictator or praetor would assume responsibility for the time being.
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...