The Roman Repulic
How did Rome's government develop?
Early Rome was divided into 2 social classes, the Patricians and the Plebeians. Men from both groups could vote, and they had the responsibility to pay taxes and serve in the army. However, marriage between the 2 classes was no allowed, and the Plebeians were not allowed to hold office.
How did Rome's government work?
Rome's government was separated into three parts. One group enforced the law, another group made the laws, and the last group interpreted the laws. Like our government has today the Romans had a system of checks and balances, but they did not separate the powers like we do. The highest government officials in the Roman Republic were the two consuls, they were both Patricians and were chosen every year and were in charge of the army. Each consul was allowed to veto the other decision in order to keep the other in line. Praetors interpreted the laws and acted as judges in court. The law-making body was called the senate, it was composed of 300 men who served for life. In the beginning the senate did not have much power but as time went by that slowly changed.
What was the relationship between the Plebeians and Patricians?
The Plebeians did not like having so little power in the Roman Republic, so they decided to do something about it. The Plebeians went on strike and refused to serve in the army, they also left to go set up a republic of their own. The Patricians became so frightened by this that they agreed to give them some power. The Plebeians set up a representative body called the council of the Plebs. They elected Tribunes who brought Plebeian concerns to the governments attention. Soon the Plebeians got the right to veto government decisions, make laws, and become consuls. Another big change was marriage between the two classes became legal.
Who was Cincinnatus?
Cincinnatus was a farmer who had been called to become the dictator of the Roman Republic. He was called to become the dictator because a powerful enemy had the Roman army surrounded. He defeated the enemy after 16 short days and went back home to his farm. Even though he probably could have continued ruling he did not want power.
What was Rome's law like?
The legal system of the United States is a lot lie the Roman legal system. At first Rome's laws were not written down, and the Plebeians claimed that the judges often favored their own class. And as a result the 12 Tables were born, the 12 Tables were 12 Bronze tablets in which the laws were carved on. The tablets were hung in marketplaces or the Forum. These laws established that all free citizens had the right to be treated equally by law. These laws only applied to Roman citizens and as the Romans took over more land they realized that they need to come up with some to solve legal issues involving non-citizens. And to solve this problem they created a collection of laws, the Law of Nation. It stated that the principals of justice applied with people everywhere. In Rome a person was seen as innocent until proven guilty and hd the right to defend themselves in front of a judge. The idea that everyone should be treated equally under the law is called the Rule of Law.
What was Carthage?
Carthage was a powerful rival of Rome that was located on the coast of Northern Africa. Carthage was founded by a group of of sea traders from the Middle East called the Phoenicians.Carthage had a great trading empire that included parts of North Africa and Southern Europe, as a result Carthage was the largest and richest city in the western Mediterranean.
What happened in The First Punic War?
During the First Punic War was between Rome and Carthage to see who would gain control of Sicily. The war began in 364 BCE when Rime sent an army to Sicily to stop the Carthaginians from taking over. Up until the First Punic War Rome had fought all of its wars on land, the Romans realized that they would not be able to defeat Carthage without a navy. The war lasted for 20 years until Rome defeated Carthage, Carthage as a result had to leave Sicily and pay a huge fine to the Romans.
What happened in The Second Punic War?
The Carthaginians wanted to make up for losing Sicily so they decided to expand their empire Spain. This angered Romans leaders so they decided to help the people of Spain fight Carthage. To punish Rome Carthage sent it's best general to attack Rome thus starting the Second Punic War. Hannibal decided to take the fighting to Rome, so he gathered his army marched east from Spain to attack Italy. Before even getting to Rome Hannibal lost most of his army while crossing the Alps. Hannibal's army out powered the Roman army, so the Roman had to come up with a different strategy. The Romans sent an army led by the general Scipio to Carthage force Hannibal to go back home and defend his people. This caused Carthage to lose the war, give up Spain to Rome, give up their navy, and pay a huge fine to Rome.
What were some other conquests of the Romans?
After the Second Punic War Carthage still remained a trading power, it was not until the Third Punic war that Rome destroyed Carthage. Rome burned Carthage and took 50,000 men, women, and children as slaves, and Carthage became a Roman Province. Rome later went on to gain control of Macedonia, Greece, and it's first province in Asia.
Summary:
Rome was split into two social classes, the Plebeians and Patricians. The Patricians held more power under the law than the Plebeians, until the Plebeians went on strike and left to go form their own republic. This action scared the Patricians so much that they gave the Plebeians some power in government which slowly increased. The Punic War were fought between Rome and Carthage, Rome won all three. After the Punic wars not only did Rome gain control of Sicily but also Spain, Macedonia, Greece, and it's first province in Asia.