Rome in the Late Republic Free

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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. 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 Rome in the Late Republic plebeians. Rome in the Late Republic, the resolution of the 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 Gaius 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 all citizens the Lex Valeria- Horatia of had placed this approval after the vote. During the 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 Ogulnius passed the Lex Ogulniawhich created four plebeian pontiffs, therefore equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians Rome in the Late Republic 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 agitation for years. Rome in the Late Republic 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 Rome in the Late Republic bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief measures. They had indeed little in Rome in the Late Republic 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 plebeian 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 Rome in the Late Republic powers of the Rome in the Late Republic : Carthage and the Greek kingdoms. It triggered a violent reaction from the Tarentine democrats, who sank some of the ships; they were in fact worried that Rome could 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 Greathe was eager to build an empire for himself in the western 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 Rome in the Late Republicthe 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 Rome in the Late Republic 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 Rome in the Late Republic. 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. Roman Republic | Roman History

Beginning in the eighth century B. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion. As legend has it, Rome was founded in B. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him. A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan earlier Italian civilizations kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians the common peoplewho eventually attained some political power through Rome in the Late Republic of concessions from patricians, Rome in the Late Republic their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation. The Roman forum was more than just home to their Senate. In Rome in the Late Republic. These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around B. During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in B. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa. In the Third Punic War — B. At the same Rome in the Late Republic, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province. The first Roman literature appeared around B. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus in B. Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul for the first of six terms in B. By 91 B. Rome in the Late Republic Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful Rome in the Late Republic campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same Rome in the Late Republic, Marcus Tullius Ciceroelected consul in 63 B. When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B. After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B. In 49 B. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B. In 31 B. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. By 29 B. In 27 B. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors. The line ended with Nerowhose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide. The reign of Nervawho was selected by the Senate to succeed Rome in the Late Republic, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors—Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Under Antoninus PiusRome continued in peace and Rome in the Late Republic, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius — Rome in the Late Republic dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona Viennahe broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his year-old son Commodus as his successor. The decadence and incompetence of Commodus brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of Rome in the Late Republic own ministers sparked another period of civil warfrom which Lucius Septimius Severus emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea. The reign of Diocletian temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy rule of foursharing his title of Augustus emperor with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen Rome in the Late Republic of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in Rome in the Late Republic west. The stability of this system suffered greatly after Rome in the Late Republic and Maximian retired from office. Constantine the son of Constantius emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in He Rome in the Late Republic the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire—later known Rome in the Late Republic the Byzantine Empire —would remain largely intact for centuries to come. Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around ; Spain and northern Africa by Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy aroundfurther shaking the foundations of the empire. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete. Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in B. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct. Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure. Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire—which was over 1. They Rome in the Late Republic such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50, miles of road were built by B. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Over the next eight and a half centuries, it grew from a small town of pig farmers into a vast empire that stretched from England to Egypt and completely Aqueducts The Romans enjoyed many amenities for their day, including public toilets, underground sewage systems, fountains and ornate public baths. None of these aquatic innovations would have been possible without the Roman aqueduct. First developed around B. For almost 30 centuries— from its unification around B. From the great pyramids of the Old Kingdom through the military conquests of the New The Roman Forum, known as Forum Romanum in Latin, was a site located at the center of the ancient city of Rome and the location of important religious, political and social activities. Historians believe people first began publicly meeting in the open-air Forum around B. The original structure stretched more than 70 miles across the northern English countryside from the River Tyne near the city of Newcastle The term Ancient, or Archaic, Greece refers to the years B. Archaic Greece saw advances in art, poetry and technology, but is known as the age in which the polis, or city-state, was Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February From then on, road Live TV. This Day In History. History at Home. Origins of Rome As legend has it, Rome was founded in B. Rome in the Late Republic Early Republic The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. Roman Leaders and Emperors. Roman Architecture and Engineering. Ancient Rome. Ancient Pleasure Palaces. The Visigoths Sack Rome. Ancient Egypt For almost 30 centuries —from its unification around B. Roman Forum The Roman Forum, known as Forum Romanum in Latin, was a site located at the center of the ancient city of Rome Rome in the Late Republic the location of important religious, political and social activities. Lupercalia Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February Timeline of Late Period in Roman Republic History

The fall of Carthage and Corinth did not even mark a temporary end to warfare. War and military glory were Rome in the Late Republic essential Rome in the Late Republic of the Roman aristocratic ethos and, hence, of Roman political life. Apart from major wars still to come, small wars on the frontiers of Roman power—never precisely fixed—continued to provide an essential motive in Roman history: Rome in the Late Republic Spain, Sardinia, Illyria, and Macedoniabarbarians could be defeated and triumphs won. Thus the limits of Roman power were gradually extended and the territories within them pacified, while men of noble stock rivaled the virtus of their ancestors and new men staked their own competing claims, winning glory essential to political advancement and sharing the booty with their officers and soldiers. Nonetheless, the coincidence of the capture of Corinth and Carthage was even in antiquity regarded as a turning point in Roman history: it was the end for the time being of warfare against civilized powers, in which the danger was felt to Rome in the Late Republic greater and the glory and the booty were superior to those won against barbarian tribes. The first immediate effect was on the administration of the empire. The military basis of provincial administration remained: the governor as he is called was in Roman eyes a commander with absolute and unappealable powers over all except Roman citizens, within the limits of the territory his provincia assigned to him normally by the Senate. He was always prepared—and in some provinces expected—to fight and win. But it had been found that those unlimited powers were often abused and that Senate control could not easily be asserted at increasing distances from Rome. For political and perhaps for moral reasons, excessive abuse without Rome in the Late Republic of a remedy could not be permitted. Hence, when the decision to annex Carthage and Macedonia had been made in principle bca permanent court the quaestio repetundarum was established at Rome to hear complaints against former commanders and, where necessary, to assure repayment of illegal exactions. Another result of the new conquests was a major administrative departure. When Africa and Macedonia became provinciae to be regularly assigned to commanders, it was decided to break with precedent by not increasing the number of senior magistrates praetors. This was the beginning of the dissociation between urban magistracy and foreign command that was to become a cardinal principle of the system of Sulla and of the Rome in the Late Republic Roman Empire. It is not clear to what extent the temporary end of the age of major wars helped to produce the crisis of the Roman Republic. The general view of thinking Romans was that the relaxation of external pressures led to internal disintegration. This has happened in other states, and the view is not to be lightly dismissed. Moreover, the end of large-scale booty led to economic recession in Rome, thus intensifying poverty and discontent. But the underlying crisis had been building up over a long period. Article Contents. Load Previous Page. The Late Rome in the Late Republic —31 bc The aftermath of the victories The fall of Carthage and Corinth did not even mark a temporary end to warfare. Changes in provincial administration The first immediate effect was on the administration of the empire. Social and economic ills It is not clear to what extent the temporary end of the age of major wars helped to produce the crisis of the Roman Republic. Load Next Page.