How did Romes Republic develop?
Early Romans were divided into two classes, these two classes consisted of the Patricians and the Plebeians. There was a difference between these two classes, The Patricians were usually wealthy, the Patricians made up the landowners and were also nobles. Most of Romes people were Plebeians who were not as wealthy as the Patricians and were artisans, shopkeepers, and owners of small farm land. Plebeians and Patricians could vote and serve in the army but Plebeians could not hold a public office.
How did Romes Government work?
Rome had a 3 part government. A group of people who made the law, enforced the law, and the people who acted as judges. But the question was, is one of the groups greater than the other? No! Thats why they created checks and balances so that one group could not get more powerful than another. The top government officials in Rome were the Consuls. The Consuls consisted of 2 people who were Patricians that were chosen each year. They served such short terms so no one could abuse their power. The other important government officials were the Praetors whose job was to interpret the law. They acted as judges. The law making body was the Senate. The Senate consisted of 300 patrician men who served for life. They originally just gave advice to the Consul, but they later grew and in reality they are the most powerful out of all of the groups.
What was the relationship between Plebians and Patricians?
the Plebeians as expected complained about not having as much power as the Patricians in the Roman Republic. Eventually the Plebeians to action in 494BCE many had went on strike and refused to serve in the army. They had even left the city to set up their own republic. These moves frightened the Patricians. They then gave power to the Plebeians.In 417BCE. the Plebeians were allowed to set up their own body of representatives, called The Council of the Plebs. They were also called the Assembly. The assembly elected tribunes who brought plebeian concerns to the governments attention. The tribunes also won the right to veto government discussions. In 455BCE Plebeians and Patricians were allowed to marry. In the 300sBCE Plebeians could become consuls. 287BCE the Plebeians gained power to pass laws for all Romans.
Who was Cincinnatus?
Roman would have a temporary Dictator in the state of emergency. Their definition of dictator and our today are totally different. When we think of dictator we think of an oppressive ruler which complete control of the state. But the keyword to this was that their dictator was in a temporary position during emergencies and they would also go by all of their rules and laws. As soon as the danger passed the dictator would give up their power. The best known Roman dictator was Cincinnatus. In 460BCE. A powerful enemy had surrounded the Roman army. the situation had called for a dictator and they thought that Cincinnatus was just the man for the job.They had found Cincinnatus in the plowing fields. He left his farm and gathered the army.He no longer wanted power after defeating the enemy.He was widely admired for his short civic duty.
What were Rome's laws like?
Romans gave the world was a system of laws. The legal system of the United States is much like Rome's. Rome's first code of laws was the 12 tables. This was adopted 451BCE. Rome's laws had not been written down before this time. as a result the Plebeians assumed that the Patricians had favored their own class. So the Plebeians demanded the laws be written down. The laws were written down on bronze tablets that could be sold at the marketplace or forum. As the Romans took over more land that new laws are needed to solve legal disputes between citizens and non-citizens. Their idea is a lot like ours, someone will be innocent until proven guilty. This rule applies to everyone equally which is called "Rule of Law". But in many lands people at the top of society did not have to obey some of these laws. People at the bottom of society did not have any legal rights at all. The rule of law is one of the ideas that the Romans gave to the world.
What was Carthage
while Rome started to develop their government that faced many issues. They had already completed their conquest of Italy. They faced an enemy which was the state of Carthage in the Mediterranean area. It had been founded around 800BCE by the Phoenicians. Carthage ruled a a great a great trading empire. This trading empire included northern Africa and Southern Europe. Since they controlled the movement of the goods in this region, Carthage was known as one of the most richest and largest city in the western Mediterranean.
What happened in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Punic Wars?
Carthage and Rome both wanted control over Sicily. When you have two powerful civilizations you know that there is going to be some conflict. Because of this conflict they went to war against each other in 264BCE. This was called the First Punic War. It had started when the Romans had sent an army to Sicily. This was an attempt to prevent a Carthaginian takeover. They realized that they could not defeat carthage without a Navy. They built a large fleet of ships and confronted their enemy on the sea. The war dragged on for more than 20 years but Rome had defeated Carthage in 241BCE. Carthage was forced to leave Sicily an they had to pay a huge fine to the Romans. Rome then had control over Sicily. To make up for the loss of Sicily Carthage expanded their empire into southern Spain. Rome didn't like this so they helped Spain fight against Carthage. Carthage sent it's greatest general, Hannibal. to attack in 218BCE. The Second Punic War had no began. Hannibal gathered an army of of 46,000 men, many horses, and 37 elephants. It took four years for Hannibal to make it to his destination. They had many losses while crossing the steep and snowy alps. It killed half of their army and most of their elephants. They were still a pretty powerful fighting force when they reached Italy in 216BCE. The Romans suffered a severe loss at the battle Cannae. Even though Hannibal was outnumbered it overpowered the Roman army. In 202BCE the Romans raised another army led by general Scipio. Hannibal was raging a war in Italy so they had no choice but to return home. The battle of Zama. Scipo's troops defeated Carthage forces. Carthage gave up Spain and the Romans made Carthage pay a huge fine as well. In 146BCE Rome had finally defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. Rome Burned Carthage and had enslaved 50,000 people. Legend had it that Romans even had spread salt around Carthage so they couldn't grow crops. Carthage then became Roman Province.
What are some other conquests of Rome?
Carthage wasn't just one of the conquests they had. They had many other conquests. During Punic Wars Rome successfully battled many states in the Easter Mediterranean. In 148 BCE Macedonia came under Roman rule. Two years later Greece bacame Roman.129BCE Rome gained its first Province In Asia. They called the Mediterranean mar nostrmum which means "our sea".
Summary
summary of the Roman Republic is really simple but complicated. It sums up how Rome started from a small village to a powerful republic that own technically all of Rome. In there government we had the Consuls, the Praetors, the senate, and later there was the Assembly. For their laws they had the 12 tables. They later faced issues with the state Carthage in all of the Punic Wars. In the First Punic War Carthage really didn't have much of a strategy. But by the Second Punic War Carthage had the great general Hannibal at his strategy failed. Then in the Third Punic War, it really wasn't much of a war but it was more of Rome destroying Carthage. Rome had conquered many states by this time and were still conquering people. They even went as far to call the Mediterranean their sea.