Republic Flashcards
Republic Founding
-Begins in 509 BC with the ousting of Tarquin the Younger by Lucius Junius Brutus
-Brutus and Collatinus established a Republic
-Tarquin tried 3 times to take Rome back with the Etruscans
The 3 Classes
-Patrician (nobleborns)
-Equites (wealthy plebs, commonly merchants)
-Plebians (commoners)
Initial Government Structure
(in order of most to least powerful)
-2 consuls
-300 to 600 members of the senate + 10 Tribunes
-comitae (citizen’s assembly)
Consuls
-Most powerful and ran the government and military
-Nominated by the Senate, elected by the people
-Patricians only later changed to one patrician and one plebian
-One year terms
-Could veto one another
-Together with the Senate, could appoint a dictator in an emergency
-were in charge in alternating months (starting with who got the most votes)
-minimum age 42
-possessed imperium (the power to command armies)
-could only be elected every 10 years
Dictator
-supreme power
-6 month term
-elected in emergencies by the consuls and senate
Senate
-300-600 men
-initially patricians only (later allowed plebs)
-Served for life
-Advised the consuls
-suggested laws
Comitiae (people’s council)
-several types of assemblies, electing multiple different officials
-plebeian assemblies elected tribunes
-military assembly elected consuls
-voted yes or no on laws
Tribunes
-est after 471
-comprised of only plebs
-could veto senate
-were sacrosanct (protected by holy law)
-anyone who harmed them was put to death
Cursus Honorum
-“course of offices”
-ladder of political advancement
Quaestor
-20 at a time
-treasures
-became eligible for appointment to the senate
-either treasures for Rome or aids to provincial governors
-minimum age 30
Aedile
-4 at a time (2 must be plebs)
-not required on cursus honorum
-event planners
-in charge of food supply
-minimum age 35
Praetor
-8 at a time
-judges
-ran Rome in the absence of consuls
-could convene with senate and assemblies
-had imperium (power to command armies)
-had lictors (bodyguards)
Censor
- 2 at a time
-former consuls
-elected every 5 years for 1.5 year terms
-conducted census
-moral authority
-appointed or ejected senators
Proconsuls
-ex-consuls appointed as provincial governors
-generally super-corrupt
Roman Full Citizenship
-granted to free and landowning men over the age of 15
-could vote
-could marry free persons
-could buy/sell/trade goods
-hold public office
Roman Half Citizenship (Women)
-could not hold office
-could not vote
-could own property and engage in trade
Roman Half Citizenship (Slave/Criminals)
-could vote and trade
-could not hold office or marry free women
clientia
-client system
-essentially employment
-clients worked for patrons interests and received money and legal protections
-clients could be inherited from fathers
Pleb reasons for riots
-economic crisis in early years, leaving the poor hungry and without land
-the public land (ager publicus) was controlled by wealthy
-nexum was the only way for plebs to get out of debt (servitude that often came with terrible treatment from masters)
-plebs demanded more rights
Post Volscian War riots
-Appius Claudius begins to pursue debtors, causing riots
-494 all the plebs leave the city for the Aventine Hill
-this leaves rome without a workforce
War with Volscians
-group of barbarians south of Rome
-consuls pass a law stopping the imprisonment of citizens if it prevents them from military service and preventing to seizure of property that belonged to active military
-plebs settled for this and fought the Volscians
Gaius Menenius Agrippa
-moderate senator sent to negotiate sent by the senate to negotiate with the plebs
-tells the plebs the story of the “body and the belly”
-plebs agree to negotiate
Plebs Concessions
-formation of the plebian council
-divided plebs into 21 tribes, each with one vote
-founded the Tribunes
-was tasked with defending pleb rights
-claimed Aventine for the plebs (wealthy had Palentine)
-built a temple to Ceres for grain distribution and runaway sanctuary
-aedile created to oversee temple
-relations continued to worsen despite this
Spurius Cassius
-three time consul, supported plebs
-first to propose land reform
-485 is accused of trying to become king and is killed
Gnaeus Marcius (Coriolanus)
-493 Coriolanus heads to defense of Corioli during the 2nd war with the Volscians
-wins by burning down some houses and tricking the volscians into thinking they already lost
-denies payment and is granted the agnomen Coriolanus
-runs for consul in Rome but ruins it with his ego
-vows to screw the plebs because of his loss
Coriolanus Revenge
-steals grain shipment and jacks up price during a shortage, wont lower it unless the Tribunes are abolished
-Tribunes impeach him but he refuses to stand trial
-Resists the arrest by the Aediles
-Consuls try to smooth stuff over while the Tribunes continue to demand a trial
Coriolanus and the Volscians
-goes to the Volscians and brings their armies against Rome
-plebs are okay with reversing the sentence to avoid war, but the senate stands their ground
-Coriolanus refuses peace until his mother and wife plead with him to accept peace
-he returns with his army to Volsci and is killed by an angry mob of Volscians
Coriolanus Trial
-insults the plebs, causing a riot
-Coriolanus goes into hiding and everyone agrees he should stand trial
-Coriolanus stands trial but is found innocent because of lack of evidence
-Tribunes charge him with embezzlement and he is found guilty and banished
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
-Born 519 BC
-Patrician
-Elected consul in 460 BC
-Opposed plebian rights
-Main Rival: Gaius Terentilius, a tribune who pushed for the codification of Roman law
Cincinnatus fall
-his son Caeso Quinctius runs tribunes out of forum
-was charged and fled to Etruria and sentenced to death in absentia
-Cincinnatus sold most of his property to pay the fine and retired on a small farm
Cincinnatus 1st Dictator
-458 Rome at war with the Sabines and Aequi
-Consul Minucius Esquilinius and his men were trapped in the Alban Hills
-Cincinnatus made dictator
-defeats them in a pincer attack, Aequi surrender and forced to walk sub iugum (under the yolk)
-Cincinnatus resigns after 15 days
Cincinnatus 2nd Dictator
-439 made dictator to stop Spurrius Maelius from becoming king
-Maelius is killed when Cincinnatus brings him to trial
-resigns after 21 days
The Decemvir
-451 the plebs and senate agree to suspend the constitution for 1 year
-Consul and Tribunes are abolished for this period
-Decemvir are appointed to review and publish the laws
-Led by Appius Claudius, the decemvir refuse to step down after the 1 year
Decemvir’s Rule
-never relinquish control of Rome
-forbid patrician and pleb marriage
-Sabines and Aequi declare war on Rome but the troops are unmotivated because of the decemvir, causing the war to go bad
Verginia plan A
-Claudius falls in love witha pleb, Verginia
-Verginia already has a fiance, Icilius, and rejects Claudius
-Claudius tries to kidnap her, claiming she is one of his slaves but fails
Verginia plan B
-Claudius lies that Verginia was stolen from his house and belongs to him
-people are angry and agree to hold a trial when her father returns from war, Verginia stays with Claudius in the meantime
-her fiance Icilius returns from war and reclaims her
-Claudius holds an unfair trial where he is the judge and he obviously rules in his favor
Verginia Death
-crowd forms to protect her after the trial
-Verginius tricks Claudius into letting him talk to his daughter
-Verginius then kills Verginia to protect her
Verginia Death aftermath
-riots break out
-Claudius flees
-decemvir still refuse to resign
-army returns from war and are joined by the plebs on teh Aventine Hill (known as teh Second Secession)
Claudius Death
-decemvir resign and are thrown in jail
-Claudius demands a trial but kills himself before his trial comes
-his family was ashamed and refused to acknowledge his death as suicide
Valer-Horation Laws
-passed by the new consuls after teh decemvir, Valerius and Horatius
-Guaranteed the sacrosanctity of the Tribunes, to be protected by the government
-Guaranteed the people’s right to appeal government decisions
-Gave legislation passed by the Plebian council the force of law
Twelve Tables
-the one thing the decemvir did right, they produced Twelve Tablets explaining the laws
-only the law banning patrician and pleb marriage was repealed
-450 the laws were written on 12 bronze tablets and posted in the Forum,
