FREE ROME IN THE LATE REPUBLIC PDF Mary Beard,N. Crawford | 116 pages | 01 Jun 2003 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9780715629284 | English | London, United Kingdom Roman Republic - Wikipedia It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city 's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. Roman society under the Republic was a cultural mix of Latin, Etruscanand Greek elements, which is especially visible 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 Rome in the Late Republic 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 overcome its losses, however catastrophic. After the Gallic Sack, Rome conquered the whole Italian peninsula in a century, which turned the Republic into a major power in the Mediterranean. 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 of 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 Rome in the Late Republic. 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 Popularestried to pass agrarian laws, but the Gracchi brothersSaturninusor Clodius Rome in the Late Republic 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 71 BC. In this context, the last decades of the Republic were marked by the rise of great generals, who exploited their military conquests and the factional situation in Rome to gain control of the Rome in the Late Republic system. Marius between and Rome in the Late Republic 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 BC, and the Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian as Augustus in 27 BC — which effectively made him the first Roman emperor — thus ended 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, Rome in the Late Republic 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 Rome in the Late Republic 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 became Republican Rome's Rome in the Late Republic 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 a popular revolution. They fit a 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 itself from neighbouring cities and nations and establishing its territory in the region. One by one Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local cities, 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 effectively completed the conquest of their immediate Etruscan and Latin neighbours, and also secured their position against the immediate threat posed by the nearby Apennine hill tribes. Beginning with their revolt against Tarquin, and continuing through the early 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 AemiliiClaudiiFabiiRome in the Late Republic 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 Rome in the Late Republic hierarchy, laws, customs, and interests. Plebeians had no access to high religious and civil office, [ii] and could be punished for offences against laws of which they Rome in the Late Republic no knowledge. The first such secession occurred inin protest at the abusive treatment of plebeian debtors by the wealthy during a famine. To represent their interests, the plebs elected tribuneswho were personally sacrosanctimmune 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 Rome in the Late Republic 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 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 Rome in the Late Republic Bovianum By the following year, Rome had annexed most Samnite territory and began to establish colonies there; but in the Samnites rebelled, and defeated a Roman army, in a Third Samnite War. Following this success they built a coalition of several previous enemies of Rome. At the Battle of 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 Rome in the Late Republic the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he Rome in the Late Republic 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 Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus continued the plebeian Rome in the Late Republic and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the Leges Liciniae Sextiae.