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The Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was not a republic in our modern sense
of the word. The Senate held most of the power in Rome.
However, the citizens of Rome elected representatives
to run the government but the votes of the citizens were not all equal.
In the Roman sense, a republic was a government
without dynasties and kings. The citizens ruled and they cared about the public!
The improvements that the
Romans made to Rome consisted of setting up a government in which more citizens had greater power. In addition, they
built a bridge across the Tiber River and drained the swamps in order to turn them into marketplaces (The Forum).
Plebeians were poor farmers, craftworkers, and tradespeople.
Patricians were nobles, landowners, who held
the power.
In a republic, representatives were elected by the citizens to act for them and to run their government.
The power of a vote in the Roman republic differed from the power of a vote in the U.S. Votes in the U.S. are
equal, whereas the weight of a vote in the Roman republic depended on how much power the voter had.
The consuls
gained power by getting elected by the citizen assembly.
The evidence that tells you that consuls were powerful
figures is as follows: They commanded Rome's army, were Rome's most powerful judges, proposed new laws, and could
order anyone to be arrested.
The plebeian revolt of 494 B.C. affected the plebeians greatly as the citizen assembly
elected tribunes, who would ensure that plebeians got fair trials and could bring plebeian complaints before the Senate and
the consuls. Overall, the plebeians gained more power in the government!
Rome and Carthage fought over Sicily
during the First Punic War. Carthage surrendered Sicily to Rome after 20 years of fighting, and Sicily became Rome's
first overseas province.
After Rome beat Carthage, it gained more land, which had been controlled by Carthage,
but was threatened by a Carthaginian attack.
Carthage and Rome probably became rivals because Rome wanted to expand
its territory beyond the Italian peninsula. Carthage controlled much of the land around the western Mediterranean.
Hannibal and Carthage
Legend states that Hannibal was 10 years old when Hamilcar (his Dad) made
him swear eternal hatred of Rome.
Hannibal was successful against the Romans in the Second Punic War. Romans
were shocked when the Carthaginians showed up in the Alps!
After another 15 years of strong fighting, Hannibal
was defeated by Rome at the Battle of Zama.
Prior to this defeat, Hannibal chose a land route to attack Rome because
the Roman navy controlled the waters around Italy.
Hannibal's plan was very daring. He took the long
route over mountains and land while taking trained elephants and his army across the Alps.
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After Rome conquered Greece, educated Romans learned Greek, and affluent Romans collected Greek art. Roman
culture started to emulate Greek, philosophy, science, and art.
Many patricians opposed giving land to poor people
because they were the landowning class and they did not want to give their land away.
Rome's efforts at reform
failed because the patricians did not want to share their power with the conquered people, and they killed those who were
trying to reform Rome.
The last years of the Roman republic were times of constant warfare because the growing
size of Rome was too costly. The republic was focused on conquering their neighbors, revolting, and controlling government.
The Gracchi Brothers
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus had powerful parents. Their father served
as consul twice. Their mother was the daughter of Scipio Africanus, who had defeated Hannibal.
In 133 B.C.
the elder Gracchus was elected tribune. He was murdered that year after passing a law that gave land to poor people.
The younger brother was also elected a tribune and he was also killed by patricians because of his reforms.
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Page song-Luciano Pavarotti-"O Sole Mio"
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