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Early Republic of Rome: Power Dynamics

After overthrowing the last Etruscan king in 509 BC, Rome established a republican form of government. The senate, composed mainly of wealthy patricians, held significant power as the main legislative body. To balance this, plebians were allowed to form their own assemblies to advocate for their rights. Over time, plebians gained more influence, such as with the creation of tribunes to represent commoners. The Roman legal code called the Twelve Tables standardized laws to ensure equal treatment under the law. Consuls acted as heads of state but with limited one-year terms to prevent any one person from dominating.

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Dounia Jaafir
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87 views4 pages

Early Republic of Rome: Power Dynamics

After overthrowing the last Etruscan king in 509 BC, Rome established a republican form of government. The senate, composed mainly of wealthy patricians, held significant power as the main legislative body. To balance this, plebians were allowed to form their own assemblies to advocate for their rights. Over time, plebians gained more influence, such as with the creation of tribunes to represent commoners. The Roman legal code called the Twelve Tables standardized laws to ensure equal treatment under the law. Consuls acted as heads of state but with limited one-year terms to prevent any one person from dominating.

Uploaded by

Dounia Jaafir
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Early Republic-Rome

Tuesday, 12. January 2021 02:43

Estruscan Kings - 600 BC


Rome now is a small city
They built temples in the forum , which then becomes a center for the political life
Tarquin the proud is the last king of Rome / Last etruscan king
Was a tyrant and violent etc.
After him the Romans swore they would kill anyone who wants to be king in 509 BC
Res Publica- Public affairs
Citizens have the right to vote- only males in power, no slaves or females
The senate was created; Made up of patricians and plebians
Patricians are aristocratic landowners ( basically jerks)
Rome is controlled by 10-5 percent of the population
Plebians are common farmers and artisans ; make up the majority of the population in Rome

To attain more power, the senate allowed a plebian assembly- tribunes : come from the wor
tribes
More representative of the people
Designed to protect plebians from the unfair act by the patricians
To speak on behalf of the people/ commoners
They slowly gained more power , they started to be less representatives of the people and m
greedy like the patricians

Roman Law, written law code: 12 Tables


Posted in the forum so everyone could see
Forced by the plebians
All free citizens have the right to equal protection under the law
Also included stuff like debt, courts, etc.

Consuls- 2 of them, terms are one year, can not be re-elected for 10 years, command the arm
most power
Senate- legislative, chosen from the upper class, term is for life
Assemblies- centuriate assembly: all citizen soldier members , Tribal assembly: made up of th
plebian assemblies
Dictator- only appointed in times of crisis by the senate, has absolute power, term of 6 mont
Senate- legislative, chosen from the upper class, term is for life
Assemblies- centuriate assembly: all citizen soldier members , Tribal assembly:
made up of the plebian assemblies
Dictator- only appointed in times of crisis by the senate, has absolute power, term
of 6 months

Political Framework
1) What did the patricians do to ensure that nobody got too much power?
• They appointed 2 consuls who were the heads of state, in term for one year
only
• Senate were the advisors and had a lot of power , advice must be taken
seriously
• Plebians were not allowed to marry patricians
• Only patricians could become a magistrate, therefore be in the senate

2) Why was the senate so important?


• It was composed of the wealthy and the commoners
• It gave the system a balance and ensured no one got too much power like
with the tyrant Tarquin the proud
• They composed laws
• Gave advise to the people, which is not to be ignored
• First step to democracy

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