Ancient Rome

Government and Society The Big Idea Rome’s tripartite government and written laws helped create a stable society. Main Ideas Roman government was made up of three parts that worked together to run the city. Written laws helped keep order in Rome. The Roman Forum was the heart of Roman society.

Roman Republic Two groups Patricians - wealthy, landowning aristocrats Plebeians - non-aristocratic townspeople, merchants, small farmers, etc.. Both groups: right to vote, serve in the military and both paid taxes to the government. Only patricians could hold public office.

Plebeian Demands Bigger voice in the government. Refused to serve in the military until their demands for representation met. Patricians agreed to the demands of the plebeians.

Main Idea 1: Roman government was made up of three parts that worked together to run the city. When the plebeians complained about Rome’s government, the leaders knew they had to do something. As a result, they developed a tripartite, or three-part, government.

Magistrates The first part of the government was made up of elected officials, or magistrates. The two most powerful officials were called the consuls. Each magistrate was elected for one year and had his own duties and powers. Veto power Consuls appointed other government officials. Only a dictator could overrule the consuls.

Senate The second part of the government was the Roman Senate. This was a council of wealthy and powerful Romans that advised the city’s leaders. Members of the senate were elected for life.

300 senators controlled the treasury ( the money. ) and Roman laws 300 senators controlled the treasury ( the money !) and Roman laws.  Most of the senators were members of wealthy Roman families.  The Senate was the most powerful group in the Government of the Roman Republic.

Power rests in the Senate.

When the Senate wanted laws passed, it had to get the citizen assemblies to agree. Consuls were also elected by these assemblies. In this way the government of the Republic spread its power among different groups. This is called "Checks and Balances" because it balances power between many people.

Assemblies and Tribunes Protected the common people and had two branches. The first branch was made up of both plebeians and patricians. Their primary job was to elect the magistrates. The second branch was made up of tribunes who had the right to veto, or prohibit, actions by other officials. They were elected by the plebeians.

Civic Duty and Checks and Balances Rome’s government would not have worked without the participation of the people. People participated because they felt it was their duty to the city. Citizens attended assembly meetings. They also voted. Wealthy and powerful citizens held public office. Checks and balances were created to ensure that no one part of the government had more power. Checks and balances are methods to balance power. They keep one part of the government from becoming stronger or more influential than the others.

Main Idea 2: Written laws helped keep order in Rome. Many people were punished for breaking laws they did not even know existed. To prevent this, Rome’s first law code was written and displayed in the forum, Rome’s public meeting place.

Plebeian Victories Representation by tribunes. Slavery by debts was abolished. Plebeians and patricians could marry. Creation of the Twelve Tables: a written code of Roman laws that were placed in the Forum.

Romes’s first written law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets and displayed in the Forum. This was known as the Law of the Twelve Tables, a symbol of Roman law and the rights of Roman citizens

The Twelve Tables

If you are called to go to court, you must go If you are called to go to court, you must go. If you don’t show up, you can be taken to court by force.   If you need a witness to testify and he will not show up, you can go once every three days and shout in front of his house.

3. Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the wind and lean over your farm, you may take legal action for removal of that tree.

If it's your tree, it’s your fruit, even if it falls on another man’s land.  

5. A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from the Tarpeian Rock. (The Tarpeian Rock was a place of execution of ancient origin reserved for murderers and traitors who were hurled from its sharp cliffs )

No person shall hold meetings by night in the city. A dead man shall not be buried or burned within the city.

Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians. (As time went on, this law was changed. When the tables were first written, this was the law.)

Main Idea 3: The Roman Forum was the heart of Roman society. *The Roman Forum, where the Law of the Twelve Tables was kept, was the heart of the city. *It was the site of many important government buildings and temples. *It was also a popular meeting place for Roman citizens to shop, chat, and gossip.

The Palatine Hill was the home of Rome’s richest people

Across the forum was the Capitoline Hill, where Romes’s grandest temples stood.