Securing the Republic, 494-440 Flashcards
What are the Conflict of the Orders based upon
The second century
2nd Punic War militarised the plebeians
The rich bought Pleb land and used slaves to farm it, and as a consequence by the end of the 2nd century there were many more poor citizens.
Scarcity of records mean the Roman historians relied on their own politics to retell the past
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Plebeian magistrates elected in 133 and 123
Used popular support to try and pass land reform laws which would redistrubite land among the poor and vetrans
Biggest influence on the Conflict of the Orders
secession
name given to plebeian protests in the Republic when the plebs left the cirty to create a new settlement
Cause of Plebeian unrest
Livy
Warfare
Wars of Independance caused homelessness and indebtness among the poor
Farms and businesses struggled
Impoverished families borrowed money
Many pleb soldiers returned to war to find themselves homeless or in debt
Decline of the patron-client relationship
Livy
The relationship was strained
No system that allowed plebs to express their concerns
Patricians did not look favourably on pleb demands for land and debt reform
Why do modern historians criticise Livy’s claim that warfare caused the Conflict of the Orders
If, as Livy says, the rich seized the land in the fith century, there would be none left for them to seize in the second century, which they did
Livy gives a stereotypical view of warfare.
* It provided opportunities, many men gave up their farms as more money could be made at war
There is likely to be truth behind the story, but there is no proof
What was the Conflict of the Orders
Period of unrest and tension between the Plebs and Patricians.
Non violent protests were used – the plebs left the city or refused to work
The patricians relied on the plebs so they had to listen
The patricians realised they could not ignore the plebs
Dates of the first secession
494-492
The first signs of rebellion
495
A war vetran visits the forum, asking for help.
Former commander, farm destroyed by Sabines, now homeless.
Borrowed money to pay for a new tax, could not settle his debts. Land repossesed and creditor demanded he be tortured and whipped.
His story caused uproar
The forum was overrun by an angry mob and debtors demanding justice
The consuls averted a riot, but could not stop sedition spreading
Livy on the Battle of Lake Regilius
(Quote)
“While they (the plebeians) were fighing for freedom on the battlefield, their families were being imprisoned at home by those they were fighting to protect”
Livy, The History of Rome 2.23 (adapted)
Who were the consuls that averted a riot after the veteran’s story
Publius Servillius and Appius Claudius
Repossess
Taking the possessions off a person by force when they cannot pay their debts
creditor
a person lending money
quorum
the number of people needed to make a meeting official
Why could the senate not come to a conclusion on the matter of dealing with the plebeian unrest after the angry mob in the forum over the vetran
They had not got a quorum
Perhaps because some senators did not want to help the plebs
Appius Claudius’ views on the plebeians
He wanted to crush them
Publius Servillius’ views on the plebeians
He wanted to help the poor with debt relief
What happened at the end of the debate of what to do with the plebeian unrest over the vetran
Latin horsemen rode into the meeting and informed the crowd that a Volscan army was attacking Rome’s allies
How did Servillius raise an army to defend Rome’s allies from the Volscan attack
He vowed to fight against debt if the plebs fought for him
What did Appius do with Servillius’ army when they returned to Rome
Put the soldiers in chains and blamed Servillius saying he had no right to cancel the debts without senatorial support
What happened after the returning army was arrested
Lawlessness gripped Rome
Groups of plebs freed debtors from their chains
Senators were attacked
The consuls Verginius and Vetusius could not assemble an army
The plebeians began meeting in secret on the Esquiline and Aventine hills
Rome’s rivals took advantage, and attacked its Latin allies
Titus Larcius
Senator, supporter of the plebeians
Believed they should be helped so as to stop the unrest, or Rome might be permanently divided
What did the senate do when Rome’s rivals attacked its allies
Called an emergancy meeting
What did Appius Claudius say they should do in the emergancy meeting
Not be bullied by criminals
If the debts were cancelled the plebs would not stop until they controlled Rome
He proposed a dictator should be apointed to crush the rebellion
Who was the dictator that was appointed to deal with the pleb threat
Manius Valerius
What was Manius Valerius’ tactic
- He appealed to the people
- Assured them he would put their case before the senate
- Managed to assemble 10 legions and defeated the Sabine, Aequi, and Volsci threat.
- On his return he asked the senate to consider debt relief
- Resigned because they refused
How did the plebs view Manius Valerius
hailed him as a hero, even though they realised no progress had been made
What happened after Manius resigned
The consuls pretended they were still at war and kept the army standing
The army knew the war was over and feared they would be used to crush the plebs
Sicinius Bellutus
Soldier who had fought for the dictator
Told the army they had to scare the patricians
Suggested a seccession
Outline the first seccession
Sicinius’ seccession occupied the Secred Mount
Citizens of Rome fled the city to join them or to get away from imminent war
Armed patricians tried to stop them fleeing, unsuccesful
The settlers on the Sacred Mount raided farms to ensure provisions
Senate sent ambassadors, plebs repeat demands
Plebs refused to enter negotiations until their requests were met
How did the first secession end
Two new consuls elected
They sent Menenuius Agrippa to speak with the plebs
Menenius told them a story that used the metaphor of rome being a body, if one part rebelled, the body died
The plebs entered negotiations
Result of first secession
Appius Claudius refused to compromise or negotiate
Harmony restored by creation of pleb magistrates called tribunes, who had the power to fight against injustice and inform the senate of pleb problems
Marcius Coriolanus
Senator
Argued that the plebs had caused the famine after the First Secession
Indicted by the tribunes
Offered as a scapegoat by the senate
Fled to Volsci and encouraged them to make war on Rome
What was a major consequence of the First Secessoin
Famine
Why did the senate offer Marcius Coriolanus as a scapegoat
the tribunes had incited the plebs to use mob violence if he was not punished
What did the Senators do to appease the plebs and end the famine
gave them Coriolanus to punish
set fair food prices
What, according to Livy, did the plebs want after the famine ended
land redistribution
Spurius Cassius
- Consul
- Tried to use the demand for agrarian laws to establish a tyranny
- Executed in 485
Agrarian laws
a redistribution of land or a change of the way land is farmed
How did Cassius try to create a tyranny
He signed a peace treaty with the Hernici in 486 BC, acquiring 60% of their land
Wanted to split the land between the plebs and latins
Attacked on all sides, tried to bribe the plebs by using surples grain
Year Cassius signed a peace treaty with the Hernici
486BC
What did the senate and the plebs think of Spurius Cassius
The senators said he was bribing the poor and the Latins
The plebs became suspicious
Year of Spurius Cassius’ execution
485
What did the tribunes do when they realised the plebs wanted land redistribution
tried to pass a series of agrarian laws
Volero Publilius
A plebian
Refused to join army as ordinary soldier as was a former commander
Became tribune in 472
What did Volero Publilius do in order to avoid arrest
He told the people that the tribunes were too scared or too friendly with the Senate to help the people
The mob turned on the lictors and he escaped
What did the senate do in reaction to Volero Publilius’ escape
Assembled to decide what should be done
The elder senators urged caution and he was freed
What did Volero Publilius do after being freed
He ran for tribune in 472, successfully
Demanded a change to the tribune voting system.
Livy says he was right to demand reform instead of incite sedition
What did Volero Publilius’ reforms propose
That the patricians could not influence the election of tribunes.
Anyone could become a tribune
What was the senate’s reaction to Volero Publilius’ proposed reforms
They were frightened
Who was the consul that Volero Publilius clashed with
Appius Claudius, son of Appius Claudius
Why was Appius Claudius coerced into accepting the law
to prevent civil unrest
Year Appius Claudius was indicted by the tribunes
470BC
What happened to the indictment of Appius Claudius
He refused to acknowledge the charges
Caused unrest
Trial suspended until later date
Appius died before it could be resumed
Result of the people electing tribunes who represented them, not the patricians
Quintus Fabius
In 467 he proposed land taken from the Volsci could be used to create a colony for plebs
Offering new land reduced the demand for land reform and weakened the influence of the tribunes
What did Gaius Terentilius Harsa do when the need for land reform was reduced
Used the absence of the consuls to demand constitutional reform
Demanded a written constitution to define and limit the powers of the consul. Claimed consuls were abusing their powers more than kings
What did Quintus Fabius say to Terentilius when the tribune put forth his proposal for reform
Called him a traitor
Asked him to present his ideas to the consuls when they returned
What did the Senate do when Terentilius put forth his proposal for reform
Said his ideas were worth investigating, but would not vote until they had more information
That way they did not have to do anything
What did the tribunes do when they realised Terentilius’ demands were not going to be met?
454, a new spirit of co-operation began. They agreed to drop the demands if the senate allowed the plebs to participate in the selection of lawgivers
What did the senate do in response to the tribune’s proposed deal in 454
they agreed, and sent ambassadors to investigate Athens’ laws
What laws did the ambassadors to Athens investigate
The laws of Solon which they believed helped create the Athenian democracy
Year the ambassadors returned from Athens
452BC
What happened on the return of the ambassadors to Athens
The Senate created the Decemvirate, a council of ten male patricians, to create a new law code
The Decemvirate replaced the consuls and the tribunes
How does Livy describe the First Decemvirate
Just and fair
Appius Claudius Crassus
Grandson of Appius Claudius
Helped create the first Ten Tables of laws
Deceived the poor so as to become a tyrant
Result of the First Decemvirate
The people flock to see the Ten Tables
Widespread approval
Two more laws wanted
Plebs so relieved that they did not demand the return of the tribunes
Ten more men chosen to form the Second Decemvirate
What concerned the senate about Appius Claudius Crassus?
What did they fear?
He was popular among the plebs
They feared he wanted to control the Second Decemvirate
How did the Senate try to stop Crassus taking control
They put him in charge of the selection process for the Second Decemvirate
They believed he would not be arrogant enough to use his power to elect himself
What did A. C. Crassus do to get elected
Manipulated the selection process to elect himself and nine allies
Tyrannical actions of the Second Decemvirate
Met in secret
Appointed 12 lictors each to act as bodyguards
Crassus attacked the plebs
Trials held in homes of his friends to attack them and remove his enemies
449, the Decemvirate announced their intention to rule for another year
Created two tables to protect the patricians
What did one of the tables created by the Second Decemvirate ban
mariage between patricians and plebeians
Second Decemvirate first year
450
Why did the Second Decemvirate have to call an army
The Sabines attacked a Roman colony and the Aequi attacked Algidus
What happened when the Second Decemvirate called a meeting of the Senate to assemble an army
No Senators attended and the plebs refused to enlist
How did the Second Decemvirate get an army
Crassus used his lictors to force a quorum. They could only vote to approve action, which they did out of fear
Which senators stood up to the Second Decemvirate
What did they say?
Lucius Valerius Potitus and Marcus Horatius Barbatus
They said htat the Second Decemvirate acted like kings and would share Superbus’ fate
What happened to the army the Second Decemvirate created
They had no heart and suffered many heavy defeats
What does the fall of the Second Decemvirate copy?
The fall of the Tarquins
Virginia
- Plebeian girl
- Daughter of Lucius Verginius
- Engaged to Lucius Icilius
Lucius Icilius
Former tribune
Engaged to Virginia
Marcus Claudius
Client of Appius Claudius Crassus
Claimed Virginia was a runaway slave on the orders of Crassus
Crassus’ plot to get Verginia
Verginia refused his advances and so he got one of his clients to claim she was a runaway slave, allowing Crassus to put her on trail
Events of the first trial of Virginia
Virginia demanded time to contact her father who was fighting at Algidus
Crassus agreed to wait if she accompanied him home
Lucius Icilius (her fiancé) fought his way through the lictors and told them that Crassus wanted to rape her.
The crowd turned against Crassus, and he let her go, ordering her to return to the next day
What happened immediately after the first trial of Virginia
Icilius went to Algidus and managed to tell Verginius of his daughter’s situation
Events of the second trial of Virginia
Crassus dismissed Verginius’ and Icilius’ evidence and declared she was a slave and Verginius was a traitor.
Before Crassus’ lictors could seize Virginia her father asked permission to speak to her nurse and check if she really was his daughter.
However, he seized a knife from a butcher and ran towards his daughter, stabbing her.
What does Virginius say after killing Virginia?
How does this reflect what Brutus said after Lucrieta’s death
“with my daughter’s blood I curse you” – Verginius
Brutus vowed on the blood of the fallen Lucrieta that he would destroy the kings
What happened after Virginia’s death
Verginius escaped and returned to his camp at Algidus
Valerius and Horatius demanded the Senate recall the consuls and tribunes, but out fo fear of Verginius moving the army against them, the Senators refused
The Decemvirate provided the Senate with protection
Date of the Second Secession
449 BC
What happened when Verginius returned to camp
His comrades were shocked that he was covered in blood.
Verginius gave a speech, saying he had loved his daughter but could not allow her to be defiled by a tyrant. He had contemplated suicide but believed Crassus’ lust would not end and had to be stopped.
He encouraged the soldiers to leave the battlefield and join a Second Secession on the Aventine Hill
What did Icilius do when Verginius started the second Secession
Followed his example and encouraged the army fighting the Sabines to join the Secession
Senate’s immediate reaction to the Second Secession
They were alarmed
Sent envoys to the Aventine to find a prompt solution
What did the soldiers of the Second Secession say to the envoy from the Senate
They said they would only speak to Valerius and Horatius
What did Valerius and Horatius do in response to the Second Secession’s demand to speak to them
What was the response
Would not meet them until the Decemvirate handed power back to the consuls.
The Decemvirate refused
What did the Second Secession do as a result of the Second Decemvirate refusing to restore the consuls?
brought their families to the Sacred Mount. Rome became a ghost town (Livy)
Similar event to when Julius Ceasar marched on Rome in 49BC
Outline how the Second Secession came to an end
Decemvirate were left with no choice as Rome was empty.
Would disband if they were not prosecuted.
Valerius and Horatius met with the leaders of the Second Secession. They demanded the tribunes reinstated and the indictment of Decemvirate
The two senators said they should not attack the Decemvirate, but that they respected the wish for the return of the tribunes
Immediate aftermath of Second Secession
Valerius’ and Horatius’ success in a compromise was met with relief
Election to take place on Aventine. Verginius and Icilius were two of the ten tribunes elected.
Valerius and Horatius become consuls
Iclilius’ first action as tribune
propose no revenge or reprisals be sought against the Decemvirate
Valerio-Horatian laws
- The right to appeal restored and strengthened, ended practice of consuls and other magistrates having power to create courts that had no right to appeal
- Inviolability of the tribunes and their assistants the aediles was restored
Inviolability
legal protection from violence or harm
Fate of Appius Claudius Crassus and the Decemvirate
Despite promising not to, the tribunes indicted him.
He was aware of his imminent death and committed suicide.
The rest went into exiled or committed suicide
What did Valerius and Horatius do before raising armies to destroy the Sabine and Aequi threat?
published the Twelve Tables
Twelve Tables ideas
available to all in precise and simple language, and gave the Roman citizen basic civil rights
Did not establish idea that ‘everyone was equal before the law’
Twelve Tables content
Brief summary
- Attendance in court
- theft
- lending and debtors
- family law and the rights of fathers
- inheritence
- possession, ownership, and slavery
- criminal acts
- property law
- public law and treason
- religious law
- Tables 11 and 12 created by the Second Decemvirate to protect the patricians
What were the problems with the Valerio-Horatian Laws and the Twelve Tables
- They were flawed
- Had changed very little
- The two orders still mistrusted each other
- Prompted plebs to demand more
- Over next nine years a number of changes were made
Gaius Canuleius
Lifted ban on Pleb-Patrician marriage
Used popular support attempt to make it so that plebs could become consul
How did the Senate avoid giving the plebs access to the position of consul?
Allowed the plebs to become military tribunes, this way they could seek the same glory as a victorious consul
