Roman Republic Conflict of Orders

Engineering an Empire – Rome 2 of 10 Activation

Work Read The Early Roman Republic on page 151-152. Create a chart on the 3 main parts of the government. Function Senate Magistrates Assemblies Work

Senate Most influential and powerful Controlled the public funds Decided foreign policy In an emergency, they could appoint a dictator The dictator would be in complete command over the army and courts Senate

Magistrates Elected officials Consuls (chief executives) ran the government Commanded the army Could appoint dictators had a veto (I forbid) checks & balances (too powerful) praetors helped consuls in time of war, commanded armies peacetime, oversaw the Roman legal system Censors Registered citizens according to wealth Appointed candidates to the Senate Oversaw the moral conduct of all citizens Became very powerful Magistrates

Assemblies Voted on laws Elected officials Some voted on war and peace Others served as courts 10 Tribunes were elected If actions not in public interest, they could refuse them Assemblies

The Conflict of the Orders The types of people who served as officials in the Roman government changed over time. These changes stemmed from the attempts of common people to win more rights. The struggles become known as the Conflict of the Orders. The Conflict of the Orders

The Conflict of the Orders Patricians Powerful landowners who controlled the gov’t and plebians Plebians Made up of most of the population Mainly workers and farmers For many years, Plebians had few rights Could vote but barred from holding most public office Could not even know Roman laws because the laws were not written down The Conflict of the Orders

Plebians OVERTIME: INCREASED THEIR POWER THROUGH demand and strikes Gained right to join the army Could hold gov’t office Form their own assembly and elect tribunes Forced the gov’t to write down the laws of the Roman republic 450BC—Romans engraved their laws on tablets called the Twelve Tables. Their laws placed in the Forum, the chief public square, for all to view. Plebians

The years of the Roman Republic were not a time of peace… 200+ years after republic was founded— Romans fought many wars… Every adult male citizen who owned land was required by law to serve in the Roman army. The major unit of the army was the legion, consisting of from 4,500 to 6000 citizens called legionaires. Later, Romans established the auxilia, (units made up of non-citizens) The Republic Grows

Romans wanted the people they conquered to be loyal to Rome, the Romans granted full citizenship to the habitants of nearby Italian cities. They granted partial citizenship to the people of more distant cities, including the Greek city-states in Italy. Although partial citizens could own property and marry, under Roman law they could not vote. The Republic Grows

Romans expected conquered peoples to provide land for Roman farmers Romans expected conquered peoples to provide land for Roman farmers. This land policy helped the Romans to maintain control over conquered areas. It also led to the spread of the Latin language, Roman law, and other aspects of Roman culture throughout Italy. The Republic Grows