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Government during the Roman R epublic. Development of the republic.
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Development of the republic Between 509 and 27 BC, Rome was ruled as a republic. As Rome gradually increased its control over Italy and then other Mediterranean territories, conquered peoples were given the privileges of citizenship in return for loyalty to Rome. Women had the legal rights of citizens but were not expected to take part in the political process. Captured slaves and foreigners were not citizens.
Who were the citizens? There were two classes of citizens: • Patricians were the old noble families whose wealth and position was based on ownership of large amounts of land, with people working on the land dependent on them. Only patricians could be members of the senate or hold major official positions. • Plebeiansincluded all the other citizens of Rome. The richest plebeians, who were involved in trade or collecting taxes for the government and taking their share, were know as equestrians. At the other end, plebeians living in the cities could be quite poor.
The structure of the Republic (c. 100 BC) Magistrates • Magistrates were the officials elected annually who were responsible for the day-to-day running of Rome. • The most important were the two consuls. Consuls kept many of the powers of the original Roman kings in military, religious and legal areas, including being commander-in-chief of the military. However, their power was limited by: • being elected for only one year • there being two consuls, with each acting as a check on the other. • As the area controlled by Rome increased, the consuls could not supervise all the administration. Praetors took over the legal responsibilities of consuls, and as administration became more complex their numbers increased from two to four and then six.
The other two groups of magistrates elected annually were: • the aediles, who were responsible for the administration of Rome and its buildings and for organising religious festivals • the quaestors, who looked after finances. An ambitious Roman would climb the ladder of success (the cursushonorem or ‘path of honours’) by beginning as a quaestor and working his way up to being elected consul. At each stage he could use the power of his position to favour.
The Senate • This was a group of 300 men whose role was to advise the magistrates. However, they had a strong influence on the way Rome was governed: • A man could become a senator after holding a high position as a magistrate, so they were all people with experience of administration. • Once a man became a senator, he held his position for life and did not have to worry about being re-elected. • During the period of Roman expansion, the consuls were often leading armies that were a long way from Rome, so the senate had to make more decisions.
The assemblies and councils • Plebeians were very important, as they made up the majority of the soldiers who fought to protect Rome and build up its territory. Therefore, it was important they had some say in the government. • There were limitations on these powers. In the assemblies they voted in groups. The more powerful people were in smaller groups and voted first. Also, they could not make laws but could only vote yes or no on laws that were put before them. • The position of tribune was a very important one. Because he was the representative of the plebeians: • he could veto any action of the magistrates or senate • the plebeians took an oath to kill anyone who murdered the tribune while he was in office.
Questions • How did one become a member of the senate? • What were the three ways in which the senate was able to become a powerful body in Rome? • Why was it important that plebeians were included in the political structure of Rome?
