The Roman Republic Free

The Romans established a form of government — a republic — that was copied by countries for centuries In fact, the government of the United States is based partly on Rome's model. It all began when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in B. Centered north of Rome, the Etruscans had ruled over the Romans for hundreds of years. Once free, the Romans established a republic, a government in The Roman Republic citizens elected representatives to rule on their behalf. A republic is quite different from a democracy, in which every citizen is expected to play an active role in governing The Roman Republic state. The Roman concept of the citizen evolved during the Roman Republic and changed significantly during the later Roman Empire. After the Romans freed themselves from the Etruscans, they The Roman Republic a republic, and all males over 15 who were descended from the original tribes of Rome became citizens. Citizens of Rome distinguished themselves from slaves and other noncitizens by wearing a The Roman Republic most wore a white toga. During the Empire, each emperor wore a purple toga to distinguish himself as the princepsor "first citizen. Citizenship varied greatly. The full citizen could The Roman Republic, marry freeborn persons, and practice commerce. Some citizens The Roman Republic not allowed to vote or hold public office, but maintained the other rights. A third type of citizen could vote and practive commerce, but could not hold The Roman Republic or marry freeborn women. The aristocracy wealthy class dominated the early Roman Republic. In Roman society, the aristocrats were known as patricians. The highest positions in the government were held by two The Roman Republic, or leaders, who ruled the Roman Republic. A senate composed of patricians elected these consuls. At this time, lower-class citizens, or plebeianshad virtually no say in the government. Both men and women The Roman Republic citizens in the Roman Republic, but only men could vote. Tradition dictated that patricians and plebeians should The Roman Republic strictly separated; marriage between the two classes was even prohibited. Over time, the plebeians elected their own representatives, called tribuneswho gained the power to veto measures passed by the senate. Gradually, the plebeians obtained even more The Roman Republic and eventually could hold the position of consul. Despite these changes, though, the patricians were still able to use their wealth to buy control and influence over elected leaders. The history of the Roman Senate goes as far back as the history of Rome itself. It was first created as a member advisory group for the The Roman Republic kings. Later kings expanded the group to members. When the kings were expelled from Rome and the Republic was formed, the Senate became the most powerful governing body. The Roman Republic of advising the head of state, it elected the chief executives, called consuls. Senators were, for centuries, strictly from the patrician class. They practiced the skills of rhetoric and oratory to persuade other members of the ruling body. The Senate convened and passed laws in the curia, a large building on the grounds of the Roman Forum. Much later, Julius Caesar built a larger curia for an expanded Senate. By the 3rd century B. Occasionally, an emergency situation such as a war arose that required the decisive leadership of one individual. Under these circumstances, the Senate and the consuls could appoint a temporary dictator to rule for a limited time until the crisis was resolved. The position of dictator was very The Roman Republic in nature. Indeed, a dictator had all the power, made decisions without any approval, and had full control over the military. The best example of an ideal dictator was a Roman citizen named Cincinnatus. During a severe military emergency, the Roman The Roman Republic called Cincinnatus from his farm to serve as dictator and to lead the Roman army. When Cincinnatus stepped down from the dictatorship and returned to his farm only 15 days after he successfully defeated Rome's enemies, the republican leaders resumed control over Rome. One of the innovations of the Roman Republic was the notion of equality under the law. In B. The Twelve Tables, as they came to be known, were the first Roman laws put in writing. Although the laws were rather harsh by today's standards, they did guarantee every citizen equal treatment under the law. With respect to the law and citizenship, the Romans took a unique approach to the lands that they conquered. Rather than rule those people as conquered subjects, the Romans invited them to become citizens. These people then became a part of Rome, rather than enemies fighting against it. Naturally, these The Roman Republic citizens received the same legal rights as everyone else. The early Roman Republic often found itself in a state of constant warfare with its surrounding neighbors. In one instance, when the Romans were fighting the Carthaginians, Rome was nearly conquered. The people of Carthage a city in what is today Tunisia in north Africa were a successful trading civilization whose interests began to conflict with those of the Romans. The two sides fought three bloody wars, known as the Punic Wars B. In the second war, Hannibal The Roman Republic, a Carthaginian general, successfully invaded Italy by leading an army — complete with elephants — across the Alps. He handed the Roman army a crushing defeat but was unable to sack the city of Rome itself. After occupying and ravaging Italy for more than a decade, Hannibal was finally defeated by the Roman general Scipio at the Battle of Zama in B. After a successful several-year siege of Carthage, the Romans burned the city to the ground. Legend has it that the Romans then poured salt into the soil so that nothing would ever grow there again. Carthage was finally defeated, and the The Roman Republic Republic was safe. Report The Roman Republic link. Ancient Civilizations 1. How Do We Know? Geographers and Their Space 2. First Technologies: Fire and Tools 3. Women of Ancient The Roman Republic 4. Muhammad and the Faith of Islam 5. The Olympic Games 6. The Fall of the Roman Empire 7. Life on the Desert 8. The Gupta Period of India 9. Taoism and Confucianism — Ancient Philosophies Life During the Edo Period Clash of Cultures: Two Worlds Collide. The ladder to political power in the Roman Senate was different for the wealthy patricians than for the lower-class plebeians. Citizen The Roman concept of the citizen evolved during the Roman Republic and changed significantly during the later Roman Empire. In the late Republic, male slaves who were granted their freedom could become full citizens. Around 90 B. E, under the Edict of Caracalla, all free people of the Roman Empire could become citizens. Hannibal marched his elephants south into the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War. Senatorial control was eventually challenged by Dictator Sulla around 82 The Roman Republic. Sulla had hundreds of senators murdered, The Roman Republic the Senate's membership toand installed many nonpatricians as senators. Julius Caesar raised the number to it was reduced after his assassination. After the creation of the Roman Empire in 27 B. Although it survived until the fall of Rome, the Roman Senate had become merely The Roman Republic ceremonial body of wealthy, intelligent men with no power to rule. Laws from the Twelve Tables Females shall remain in guardianship even when they have attained their majority except Vestal Virgins. A spendthrift is forbidden to exercise administration over his own goods. It is permitted to gather fruit falling down on another man's farm. If any person has sung or composed against another person a song such as was causing slander or insult to another, he shall be clubbed to death. Quickly kill Why "Punic"? How did the word "Punic" become an adjective meaning "relating to the people of Carthage"? The citizens of Rome were pleased because the Twelve Tables gave them a written copy of the rights they thought they deserved. After the Twelve Tables were written, the plebeians — who were originally little more than slaves — were finally allowed entrance into the Senate and the priesthood. This helped prevent a civil war between social The Roman Republic. He marched through the Roman countryside virtually unopposed for 16 years until his defeat at the Battle of Zama in B. After it destroyed Hannibal's city, Carthage, the Roman Republic became an international power that later grew into a The Roman Republic empire. Military Units of the Roman Republic Even hundreds of years after the The Roman Republic of the Roman Empire, the Roman army and navy served as the examples for all other military units to follow. Check out the tactics, formations, and inventions that made the Romans the crew to beat. The Mysterious Etruscans According to the Etruscan religion, any person who lived beyond the age of 84 was too old to understand the "signs of the gods. Predating the founding of Rome, the Etruscan civilization was the first to inhabit the Italian peninsula. BBC - History - The Fall of the Roman Republic

At about the same time that The Roman Republic government was introduced in Greece, it also appeared on the Italian Peninsula in the The Roman Republic of Rome. Like AthensRome was originally a city-state. Although it expanded rapidly by conquest and annexation far beyond its original borders to encompass all the Mediterranean world and much of western Europe, its government remained, in its basic features, that of a moderately large city-state. Indeed, throughout the republican era until roughly the end of the first century bcRoman assemblies were held in the very small Forum at the centre of the city. Although Roman citizenship was conferred by birth, it was The Roman Republic granted by naturalization and by manumission of slaves. As the Roman Republic expanded, it conferred citizenship in varying degrees to many of those within its enlarged boundaries. Despite their reputation for practicality and creativity, and notwithstanding many changes in the structure of Roman government over the course of centuries, the Romans never solved this problem. Two millennia later, the solution—electing representatives to a Roman legislature —would seem obvious see below A democratic dilemma. As they adapted to the special features of their society, including its rapidly increasing size, the Romans created a political structure so complex and idiosyncratic that later democratic leaders chose not to The Roman Republic it. The Comitia Curiata was composed of 30 curiae, or local groups, drawn from three ancient tribusor tribes; the Comitia Centuriata consisted of centuries, or military units; the Concilium Plebis was drawn from the ranks of the plebes, or plebeians common people ; and the Comitia Tributalike the Athenian Assembly, was open to all citizens. In all the assemblies, votes were counted by units centuries or tribes rather than by individuals; thus, insofar as a majority prevailed in voting, it would have been a majority of units, not of citizens. Although they collectively represented all Roman citizens, the assemblies were not sovereign. Throughout the entire period of the republic, the Senate —an institution inherited from the earlier era of the Roman monarchy—continued to exercise great power. Senators were chosen indirectly by the Comitia Centuriata; during the monarchythey were drawn exclusively from the privileged patrician classthough later, during the republic, members of certain The Roman Republic families were also admitted. After the western Roman Empire collapsed inthe Italian Peninsula broke up into a congeries of smaller political entities. About six centuries later, in northern Italysome of these entities developed into more or less independent city-states and inaugurated systems of government based on wider— though not fully popular—participation and on the election of leaders for limited periods of time. In this respect, their governments may be viewed as small-scale precursors of later representative systems. Such governments flourished for two centuries or more in a number of cities, including Venice, FlorenceSienaand Pisa. Drawing on Latin rather than Greek, the Italians The Roman Republic their city-states republics, not democracies. Because they were more numerous than the upper classes and because they threatened and sometimes carried out violent uprisings, some of these groups were successful. The Roman Republic, whether judged by the standards of Classical Greece or those of Europe and the United States in the 18th century and later, the Italian republics were not democracies. After about the midth century, the conditions that had favoured the existence of independent city-states and wider The Roman Republic in government—particularly their economic growth and the civic loyalty of their populations—gradually disappeared. Economic decline, corruption, factional disputes, civil wars, and wars with other states led to the weakening of some republican governments and their eventual replacement by authoritarian The Roman Republic, whether monarchs, princes, or soldiers. The Greeks, the Romans, and the leaders of the Italian republics were pioneers in creating popular governments, and their philosophers and commentators exercised enormous influence on later political thought. Yet their political institutions were not emulated by the later founders of democratic governments in the nation-states of northern Europe and North America. As the expansion of Rome had already demonstrated, these institutions were simply not suited to political associations significantly larger The Roman Republic the city-state. The enormous difference in size between a city-state and a nation-state points to a fundamental dilemma. By limiting the size of a city-state, citizens can in principle, if not always in practice, directly influence The Roman Republic conduct of their government—e. But limiting size comes at a cost: important problems—notably defense against larger and more powerful states and the regulation of trade and finance—will remain beyond the capacity of the government to deal with effectively. Alternatively, by increasing the size of the city-state—i. Many city-states responded to this dilemma by forming alliances or confederations with other city-states and with larger political associations. The Roman Republic the problem would not finally be solved until the development of representative government, which first appeared in northern Europe in the 18th century. Until the 17th century, democratic theorists and political leaders largely ignored the possibility that a legislature might consist neither of the entire body of citizens, as in Greece and Rome, nor The Roman Republic representatives chosen by and from a tiny oligarchy or hereditary aristocracyas The Roman Republic the Italian republics. As with many political innovationsrepresentative government resulted less from philosophical speculation than from a search for practical solutions to a fairly self-evident problem. Nevertheless, the complete assimilation of representation into the theory and practice of democracy was still more than a century away. About cefreemen and nobles in various parts of northern continental Europe began to participate directly in local assemblies, to which were later added regional and national The Roman Republic consisting of representatives, some or all of whom came to be elected. In the mountain valleys of the Alps, such assemblies developed into self-governing cantons, leading eventually to the founding of the Swiss Confederation in the 13th The Roman Republic. Bylocal assemblies of Vikings were meeting in many areas of Scandinavia. Eventually the Vikings realized that to deal The Roman Republic certain larger problems they needed more-inclusive associations, and in NorwaySweden, and Denmark regional assemblies The Roman Republic. In Viking descendants in Iceland created the first example of what today would be called a national assembly, legislature, or The Roman Republic Althing see thing. In later centuries, representative institutions also were established in the emerging nation-states of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Democracy Article Media Additional Info. Article Contents. Load Previous Page. The Roman Republic At about the same time that popular government was introduced in Greece, it also appeared on the Italian Peninsula in the city of Rome. A democratic dilemma The Greeks, the Romans, and the leaders of the Italian republics were pioneers in creating popular governments, and their philosophers and commentators exercised enormous influence on later political thought. Toward representative democracy: Europe and North America The Roman Republic the 19th century Until the 17th century, democratic theorists and political leaders largely ignored the possibility that a legislature might consist neither of the entire body of citizens, as in Greece and Rome, nor of representatives chosen by and from a tiny oligarchy or hereditary aristocracyas in the Italian republics. Regional developments Continental Europe About cefreemen and nobles in various parts of northern continental Europe began to participate directly in local assemblies, to which were later added regional and national assemblies consisting of representatives, some or all of whom came to be elected. Load Next Page. Roman Republic - Wikipedia

It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city 's immediate surroundings to hegemony The Roman Republic the entire Mediterranean world. Roman society under the Republic was a cultural mix of Latin, Etruscanand Greek elements, which is especially The Roman Republic in the Roman Pantheon. Its political organisation was strongly influenced by the Greek city states of Magna Graeciawith collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a senate. While there were popular elections each year, the Republic was not a democracybut an oligarchyas a small number of powerful families called gentes monopolised the main magistracies. Roman institutions underwent considerable changes throughout the Republic to adapt to the difficulties it faced, such as the creation of promagistracies to rule its conquered provincesor the composition of the senate. Unlike the Pax Romana of the Roman Empire, the Republic was in a state of quasi-perpetual war throughout its existence. Its first enemies were its Latin and Etruscan neighbours as well as the Gaulswho even sacked the city in BC. The Republic nonetheless demonstrated extreme resilience and always managed to The Roman Republic its losses, however catastrophic. After The Roman Republic Gallic Sack, Rome conquered the whole Italian peninsula in a century, which turned the Republic into a major power in the The Roman Republic. The Republic's greatest enemy was doubtless Carthageagainst which it waged three wars. With Carthage defeated, Rome became the dominant power of the ancient Mediterranean world. At home, the Republic similarly experienced a long streak of social and political crises, which ended in several violent civil wars. At first, the Conflict The Roman Republic the Orders opposed the patriciansthe closed oligarchic elite, to the far more numerous plebswho finally achieved political equality in several steps during the 4th century BC. Later, the vast conquests of the Republic disrupted its society, as the immense influx of slaves they brought enriched the aristocracy, but ruined the peasantry and urban workers. In order to solve this issue, several social reformers, known as the Populares The Roman Republic, tried to pass agrarian laws, but the Gracchi brothersSaturninusor Clodius Pulcher were all murdered by their opponents, the Optimateskeepers of the traditional aristocratic order. Mass slavery also caused three Servile Wars ; the last of them was led by Spartacusa skilful gladiator who ravaged Italy and left Rome powerless until his defeat in The Roman Republic BC. In this context, the last decades of the Republic were marked by the rise of The Roman Republic generals, who exploited their military conquests and the factional situation in Rome to gain control of the political system. Marius between and 86 BCthen Sulla between 82 and 78 BC dominated in turn the Republic; both used extraordinary powers to purge their opponents. These multiple tensions led to a series of civil wars ; the first between the two generals Julius Caesar and Pompey. Despite his victory and appointment as dictator for lifeCaesar was murdered in 44 BC. The final defeat of Mark Antony alongside his ally and lover Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 The Roman Republic, and the Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian The Roman Republic Augustus in 27 BC — which effectively made him the first Roman emperor — thus The Roman Republic the Republic. Since the foundation of Romeits rulers had been monarchs, elected for life by the patrician noblemen who made up the Roman Senate. In the traditional histories, Tarquin was expelled in because his son Sextus Tarquinius had raped the noblewoman Lucretiawho afterwards took her own life. Lucretia's father, her husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinusand Tarquin's nephew Lucius Junius Brutus mustered support from the Senate and army, and forced Tarquin into exile in Etruria. The Senate agreed to abolish kingship. Most of the king's former functions were transferred to two consuls, who were elected to office for a term of one year. Each consul had the capacity to act as a check on his colleagueif necessary through the same power of veto that the kings had held. If a consul abused his powers in office, he could be prosecuted when his term expired. Brutus and Collatinus The Roman Republic Republican Rome's first consuls. Despite Collatinus' role in the creation of the Republic, he belonged to the same family as the former king, and was forced to abdicate his office and leave Rome. He was replaced as co-consul by Publius Valerius Publicola. Most modern scholarship describes these events as the quasi-mythological detailing of an aristocratic coup within Tarquin's own family, not The Roman Republic popular revolution. They fit The Roman Republic narrative of a personal vengeance against a tyrant leading to his overthrow, which was common among Greek cities and even theorised by Aristotle. According to Rome's traditional histories, Tarquin made several attempts to retake the throne, including the Tarquinian conspiracywhich involved Brutus' own sons, the war with Veii and Tarquinii and finally the war between Rome and Clusium ; but none succeeded. The first Roman republican wars were wars of both expansion and defence, aimed at protecting Rome The Roman Republic from neighbouring cities and nations and establishing its territory in the region. One by one Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local The Roman Republic, both those under Etruscan control and those that had cast off their Etruscan rulers. Rome defeated the Latin cities in the Battle of Lake Regillus inthe Battle of Mount Algidus inthe Battle of Corbio inthe Battle of Aricia, however it suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of the Cremera in wherein it fought against the most important Etruscan city of Veii. By the end of this period, Rome had The Roman Republic completed the conquest of their immediate Etruscan and Latin neighbours, and also secured their position against the immediate threat posed by the nearby The Roman Republic hill tribes. Beginning with their revolt The Roman Republic Tarquin, and continuing through the The Roman Republic years of the Republic, Rome's patrician aristocrats were the dominant force in politics and society. They initially formed a closed group of about 50 large families, called genteswho monopolised Rome's magistracies, state priesthoods and senior military posts. The most prominent of these families were the Cornelii[i] followed by the AemiliiClaudiiFabiiand Valerii. The power, privilege and influence of leading families derived from their wealth, in particular from their landholdings, their position as patronsand their numerous clients. The vast majority of Roman citizens were commoners of various social degrees. They formed the backbone of Rome's economy, as smallholding farmers, managers, artisans, traders, and tenants. In times of war, they could be summoned for military service. Most had little direct political influence over the Senate's decisions or the laws it passed, including the abolition of the monarchy and the creation of the consular system. During the early Republic, the plebs or plebeians emerged as a self-organised, culturally distinct group of commoners, with their own internal hierarchy, laws, customs, and interests. Plebeians had no The Roman Republic to high religious and civil office, [ii] and could be punished for offences against laws of which they had no knowledge. The first such secession occurred inThe Roman Republic protest at the abusive treatment of plebeian debtors by the wealthy during a famine. To represent their interests, the plebs The Roman Republic tribuneswho were personally sacrosanctThe Roman Republic to arbitrary arrest by any magistrate, and had veto power over the passage of legislation. Byseveral Gallic tribes were invading Italy from the north. The Romans were alerted to this when a particularly warlike tribe, the Senones[22] invaded two Etruscan towns close to Rome's sphere of influence. These towns, overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers and ferocity, called on Rome for help. The Gauls, led by the chieftain Brennusdefeated the Roman army of approximately 15, troops, pursued the fleeing Romans back to Rome, and sacked The Roman Republic city before being either driven off or bought off. From toRome won two battles against their Samnite neighbours, but were unable to consolidate their gains, due to the outbreak of war with former Latin allies. The Latins submitted to Roman rule. A Second Samnite War began in The war ended with Samnite defeat at the Battle of Bovianum By the following year, Rome had annexed most Samnite territory and began to establish colonies there; but in the Samnites rebelled, and The Roman Republic a Roman army, in a Third Samnite War. Following this success they built a coalition of several previous enemies of Rome. At the Battle The Roman Republic Populonia in Rome finished off the last vestiges of Etruscan power in the region. In the 4th century, plebeians gradually obtained political equality with patricians. The starting point was inwhen the first plebeian consular tribunes were elected; likewise, several subsequent consular colleges counted plebeians in, and The reason behind this sudden gain is unknown, [26] but it was limited as patrician tribunes retained preeminence over their plebeian colleagues. The issue of debt relief for the plebs remained indeed pressing throughout the century. Livy tells that Capitolinus sold his estate to repay the debt of many of them, and even went over to the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he had caused led to his trial for seeking kingly power; he was sentenced to death and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock. Between andthe tribunes of the plebs Gaius The Roman Republic Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus continued the plebeian agitation and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the Leges Liciniae Sextiae. Two of their bills attacked patricians' economic supremacy, by creating legal protection against indebtedness and forbidding excessive use of public land, as the Ager publicus was monopolised by large landowners. The most important bill opened the consulship to plebeians. Finally, the resolution of The Roman Republic crisis came from the dictator Camilluswho made a compromise with the tribunes; he agreed to their bills, while they in return consented to the creation of the offices of praetor and curule aediles, both reserved to patricians. Lateranus also became the first plebeian consul in ; Stolo followed in Soon after, plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship, since former consuls normally filled these senior magistracies. The four time consul The Roman Republic Marcius Rutilus became the first plebeian dictator in and censor in Inthe tribune of the plebs Lucius Genucius passed his Leges Genuciaewhich abolished interest on loans, in a renewed effort to tackle indebtedness, required the election of at least one plebeian consul each year, and prohibited a magistrate from holding the same magistracy for the next ten years or two magistracies in the same year. His first law followed the Lex Genucia by reserving one censorship to plebeians, the second made plebiscites binding on all citizens including patriciansand the third stated that the Senate had to give its prior approval to plebiscites before becoming binding on The Roman Republic citizens the Lex Valeria-Horatia of had placed this approval after the vote. During The Roman Republic early republic, senators were chosen by the consuls among their supporters. Shortly beforethe Lex Ovinia transferred this power to the censors, who could only remove senators for misconduct, thus appointing them for life. This law strongly increased the power of the Senate, which was by now protected from the influence of the consuls and became the central organ of government. He also incorporated these freedmen in the rural tribes. Inthe two tribunes of the plebs Gnaeus and Quintus The Roman Republic passed the Lex Ogulniawhich created four plebeian pontiffs, therefore equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians in the college. The details are not known precisely as Livy's books on the period are lost. Debt is once again mentioned by ancient authors, but it seems that the plebs revolted over the distribution of the land conquered on the Samnites. Hortensius passed the Lex Hortensia which re-enacted the law ofmaking plebiscites binding on all citizens, but also removed the Senate's prior approval to plebiscites. Popular assemblies were by now sovereign; this put an end to the crisis, and to plebeian The Roman Republic for years. These events were a political victory of the wealthy plebeian elite who exploited the economic difficulties of the plebs for their own gain, hence why Stolo, Lateranus, and Genucius bound their bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief The Roman Republic. They had indeed little in common with the mass of plebeians; Stolo was noteworthy fined for having exceeded the limit on land occupation he had fixed in his own law. They were replaced by The Roman Republic aristocrats, of whom the most emblematic were the Caecilii Metelliwho received 18 consulships until the end of the Republic; the DomitiiFulviiLiciniiMarciior Sempronii were as successful. About a dozen remaining patrician gentes and twenty plebeian ones thus formed a new elite, called the nobilesor Nobilitas. By the beginning of the 3rd century, Rome had established itself as the major power in Italy, but had not yet come into conflict with the dominant military The Roman Republic of the Mediterranean : Carthage and the Greek kingdoms. It triggered a violent reaction from the The Roman Republic democrats, who sank some of the ships; they were in fact worried that Rome The Roman Republic favour the oligarchs in the city, as it had done with the other Greek cities under its control. The Roman embassy sent to investigate the affair was insulted and war was promptly declared. A cousin of Alexander the GreatThe Roman Republic was eager to build an empire for himself in the The Roman Republic Mediterranean, and saw Tarentum's plea as a perfect opportunity towards this goal. Pyrrhus and his army of 25, men and 20 war elephants landed in Italy in ; he was immediately named Strategos Autokrator by the Tarentines. Publius Valerius Laevinusthe consul sent to face him, rejected the king's negotiation offer, as he had more troops and hoped to cut the invasion short. The Romans were nevertheless defeated at Heracleaas their cavalry were afraid of the elephants of Pyrrhus, who lost a large portion of his army. Pyrrhus then marched on Rome, but could not take any Roman city on his way; facing the prospect of being flanked by the two consular armies, he moved back to Tarentum. His adviser, the orator Cineasmade a peace offer before the Roman Senate, asking Rome to return the land it took from the Samnites and Lucanians, and liberate the Greek cities under its control. The offer was rejected after Appius Caecus the old censor of spoke against it in a celebrated speech, which was the earliest recorded by the time of Cicero.