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The Rise and Decline of Republican Rome. 500 – 27 BCE. Overview. Republican Social Organization Republican Political Institutions The Impact of Growth. Background.
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The Rise and Decline of Republican Rome 500 – 27 BCE
Overview • Republican Social Organization • Republican Political Institutions • The Impact of Growth
Background • The Romans deposed their last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, around 509 BCE when (according to legend) the king’s son, Sextus Tarquinius, raped the Roman noblewoman Lucretia • After extracting an oath of vengeance from her husband and her son, Lucretia committed suicide • Lucretia’s tragic story has been retold by poets and artists, including Shakespeare and Rembrandt (whose painting is on the next page)
Social Organization • Early Roman society was clearly divided into two distinct castes: plebeians and patricians • During the fifth century BCE the plebeians agitated for and obtained increasing representation in political institutions • One of the key points in this struggle was the plebeians succession from the city around 450 BCE; they left the city and refused to take part in the commerce and daily life of the city until the patricians met their demands to publish the laws • For centuries after 450 the patrician bias against plebeians remained; however, after 400 the division was increasingly clouded by the emergence of another social group the equites or equestrian order (knights)
Social Organization • Patrician - a closed group of approximately 130 families that claimed ancient privileges, occupied key religious and political positions, and wore distinctive clothing • Plebeian - the common people i.e. non-patricians • Equites – literally the knights, the equestrian order was initially an elite patrician group in the military whose equipment the city purchased; gradually during the 300s BCE wealthy plebeians were allowed to join at their own expense; over time the equites become a distinct group in Roman society; they were generally wealthy and occupied influential positions (but not in the Senate) in the late republican and imperial government
Social Organization • Clientela - • social networks that that provide protection and political representation to weaker families in society in exchange for loyalty and services rendered to the “godfather” • men in positions of power attracted the loyalty and services of those who sought protection or legal influence • As the population of Rome increased during the 200s BCE, the clientela became less effective as masses of poor people never attached themselves to patronage networks
Increasing influence of Plebeians • 500 – 450: establishment of tribunes to protect plebeian interests • 458: Cincinnatus, a citizen farmer and likely plebeian, serves a brief period as “emperor” to rescue a consular army • 367: at least one of the consuls had to be plebeian • 287: Plebeian Assembly passes legislation that is binding on all Romans
The Twelve Tables c. 450 BCE • Produced when the plebeians temporarily seceded from Rome after violence committed by patrician male against plebeian woman • Legal document demanded by the plebeians because legal judgements up till then had been rendered on unwritten customs that favored patricians • not a reforming or liberalizing document; instead the Tables publicized the privileges of the patricians • recognized the validity of debt bondage • only portions of the Tables remain and much of what we know of them comes from later restatements • It took two more centuries for the plebeians to gain the right to make laws in the Assembly
Discussion of the Twelve Tables • What are some the main concerns of the laws? What is not mentioned in them? • Which types of behavior receive the stiffest penalties? • What do the laws suggest about the nature of Roman political institutions? • What do the Tables tell us about families in Republican Rome?
Political Culture in Republican Rome • For most of the Republican period, Roman customs and laws were decidedly agrarian; the culture reflected the profound influence of middle class citizen-farmers who lived just outside of the city and who had an abiding distrust of concentrated power; they consciously limited the terms of office, created offices that shared power, and separated powers among various positions • Offices were restricted to the rich because no one received payment for public service • The competition for power between plebeians and patricians created a culture that valued highly the quest for political office
Political Institutions • The period of brutal kingship instilled a deep distrust of power among the Romans, who consciously separate powers • Republican political institutions • consuls - 2 men; leaders in war and the executive branch • the senate - • becomes the most enduring feature of Roman government • controlled money and occasionally serves as a court • composed of patricians • initially 100 senators but gradually the number grows to 300 • Julius Caesar tried and failed to increase the number to 900 • met daily and had enormous prestige • They did not legislate but advised other political bodies; their advice often had the force of law
Political Institutions • As Plebeians gained more influence, they demanded new offices to handle special situations • tribune - protectors of the plebeians; exercised veto power to block elections, block passage of new or suspend old laws, etc.. • praetor - originally a judge but in mid 4th century BCE they assumed executive authority in the consuls’ absence; eventually they become chief magistrates in the provinces • quaestors - specialized in financial matters, such as paying the army, collecting taxes, and building roads; as the republic grew, the number of quaestors multiplied, some becoming quartermaster for the troops
Political Institutions • During the Republic, the Romans developed a fairly well defined path for political advancement • Military service for 10 years • Quaestor • Aedile (maintenance of city infrastructure) • Praetor • Consul • Ex consuls often served as censors • Election to the Senate was for life
Political Institutions • Tribunes • Could veto legislation, block elections, and contradict the advice of the Senate • Were special representatives of the plebeians • First came about during the fifth century as tension between patricians and plebeians was at its height • The ten tribunes were protectors of the plebeians • The plebeians were sworn to protect the tribunes from any physical harm • The same term is used for infantry commanders within the Roman legions
Political Institutions • The Assemblies • Various complex groupings that varied in size and composition • Passed legislation, held elections, and occasionally acted as courts of law • Met outdoors and did not allow discussion, only voting • Gatherings of assemblies were usually preceded by public speeches • Generally aristocratic neighborhoods had smaller assemblies but with the same or more influence than the poorer neighborhoods • Eventually, by 287 BCE, the Plebeian Assembly became the most powerful in Rome with its laws binding on all Romans
Coin from Republican Rome c. 270 BCE
What event allegedly prompted the production of the Twelve Tables? • The end of the Samnite Wars • The rape of a plebeian woman • The death of Romulus • The sack of Rome by the Gauls (387 BCE)
The Impact of Growth • The Romans conquered their Latin Neighbors during the 490s BCE • They spent the next 100 years fighting their Etruscan neighbors to the north • Although difficult for the Romans, these conquests did not undermine the stability of Roman social and political organizations • In 387 The Celts (Gauls) sacked Rome and provided a justification for pre-emptive attacks that became the hallmark of Roman military strategy for the next 400 years • To facilitate the rapid deployment of troops throughout the Italian peninsula, the Romans built high quality networks extending from Rome to the rest of the peninsula
Conquest 400-250 BCE • First major conquest occurred in early fourth century • Between that victory and 220 BCE, the Romans gained control of all of the Italian peninsula; their peace terms varied significantly • enslavement • grants of partial citizenship • alliances • All conquered peoples were required to provide military aid in time of need; Rome did not tax its Italian subjects • Wars of aggression were presented to the people as • necessary for the defense of the republic • a sign of the gods’ favor for Rome
Conquest 400-250 BCE • Military demands increasingly transformed the nature of the Roman political and social institutions • As the Wars of Conquest demanded longer terms of service from the citizen farmers, it became increasingly difficult for the small farmers to sustain viable living in agriculture; large numbers of families moved into the city of Rome as wealthy Senators purchased farms and assembled large slave labor estates called latifundia • Gradually the republic lost much of its middle class and developed a class of urban poor who relied on public distribution of bread to survive
Summary • The competition for power between plebeians and patricians created a culture that highly valued public service for the advancement of the republic • Careful to divide power among various officials the Romans created a complex political network of offices that required cooperation in order to function effectively • However, as the territory held by the republic grew dramatically, challenges to republican political and social organization mounted • During the Renaissance and Enlightenment political theorists and historians would look upon the period of the republic as a golden age of governance
