Emergence of Rome and the Roman Republic

Emergence of Rome and the Roman Republic

• Prehistoric peoples in Italy were poorly understood, but Indo-European peoples arrived in the second half of the second millennium BCE.
• Italy is a narrow peninsula (approximately 750 miles from north to south, but averaging 120 miles across).
• The Apennine Mountains run down the center of the peninsula.
• Rome's location on the Tiber River, eighteen miles inland, offered access to the sea and protection from pirates; its defensible hilltop location and fordability facilitated trade.
• Rome's central location in Italy made governing the Mediterranean empire easier.
• The Roman conquest of southern Italy and Sicily brought them into contact with Greek settlements.
• Etruscans, urban people, established fortified settlements, and transformed villages into towns in northern and central Italy, impacting the region's urbanization.
• Roman legends, including those of Aeneas and Romulus and Remus, trace the origin of Rome in founding the city by Trojan refugees or twin brothers who were raised by a wolf. Romulus is said to have founded Rome in 753 BCE.
• Rome emerged as a city by the 6th century BCE influenced by the Etruscans.
• Livy is a primary source for Roman Republic history.
• The Roman Republic began in the late 6th century BCE (dates around 475 BCE or 509 BCE).
• Imperium: the power to command troops, held by chief executives.
• Consuls: Rome's chief executive officers, elected annually, and led the army.
• Dictator: appointed in emergencies with absolute power for a limited time (usually 6 months).
• Quaestors: managed finances.
• Aediles: supervised public games and grain supply.
• Senate: a leading council (300 senators for life) dominating the Republic's political life.
• Centuriate Assembly: Rome's primary popular assembly, passing laws and electing magistrates.
• Paterfamilias: the dominant male in the family with near-absolute authority.
• Gentes: clans sharing a family name.
• Praenomen: a personal first name.
• Nomen: family name.
• Cognomen: additional family or nickname.
• Patricians: the landowning ruling class.
• Plebeians: non-patrician landowners, craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers.
• Tribunes of the plebs: elected officials protecting plebeians, starting in 494 BCE.
• Council of the plebs: a council for plebeians whose resolutions were binding from 287 BCE.
• Plebiscita: laws passed by the Council of the Plebs.
• Twelve Tables: Rome's first written code of law.
• Hortensian Law: a major landmark in Roman constitutional history.
• Nobiles: families from both patrician and plebeian backgrounds dominating late Republic politics.
• At the beginning of the republic, Rome was surrounded by various tribes (Etruscans, Sabines, Volscians, Aequi, and Latium).
• By 264 BCE, Rome had conquered most of Italy, including colonies strategically placed.

The Roman Conquest of the Mediterranean

• After conquering Italy, Rome faced Carthage, a major Mediterranean power.
• The First Punic War (264-241 BCE) started with Roman intervention in Sicily. The Carthaginians saw this as war.
• The First Punic War ended with a Roman naval victory in 242 BCE.
• In the Second Punic War, Carthage focused on land warfare, but Scipio Africanus the Elder pushed them out of Spain by 206 BCE.
• Cato the Elder advocated Carthage's destruction.
• The Third Punic War resulted in Carthage's destruction and its territory becoming the Roman province of Africa.
• Rome's involvement in the Hellenistic world came after its power over Carthage.
• Rome's empire was built in three phases: conquering Italy, expanding in the western Meditterranean after conflicts with Carthage, and dominating the eastern Mediterranean Hellenistic world.
• Hastati: spearmen, front line of the army.
• Principes: chief men, second line of the army.
• Triarii: third rank, reserve troops.
• Polybius attributed Roman military success to its citizen army.

Society and Culture in the Roman Republic

• Greek culture had a notable effect on Roman society and culture.
• Roman society was deeply rooted in religion.
• Pontiffs: Roman priests managing religious rituals.
• Pontifex Maximus: the chief priest.
• Augurs: Roman priests with high religious authority, per Cicero.
• Household Cults: family-based religious practices emphasizing household gods.
• Romans practiced public and private religious festivals.
• Rhetoric: art of persuasive speaking.
• Roman schools emphasized liberal arts (literature, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music).
• Latifundia: large landed estates developed during the Roman Republic—often by patricians.
• Spartacus led a significant slave revolt in southern Italy (73-71 BCE).
• In the Republic, women often married sine manu, maintaining more independence.
• Upper-class Roman women often managed family estates and supported their men's political careers.
• Ius gentium: the law of nations, applicable to both Romans and foreigners.
• Ius naturale: universal natural law derived from reason.
• Plautus and Terence were prominent Roman playwrights.
• Romans were known for their practical architecture.
• Mos maiorum: the customs and traditions of ancestors.
• Pietas: duty to family, state, and gods.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Republic

• Empire-building created internal instability in Rome.
• By the 2nd century BCE, the senate dominated Roman governance.
• Optimates: aristocratic leaders seeking to keep the senate's power.
• Populares: aristocratic leaders appealing to the people's assemblies.
• Equestrians: wealthy Roman citizens excluded from high office, but seeking political power.
• Small farmers were the backbone of the Roman state and army.
• Issues like the decline of small farmers were major points of concern for the Gracchi brothers (Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus).
• Marius, gaining control of armed forces, challenged the senate.
• The Social War (90-88 BCE) resulted from Rome's failure to address its Italian allies' complaints.
• Sulla gained control of Rome and, after defeat of Mithradates, became dictator.
• Sulla gained control of Rome, forcing the senate to name him dictator.
• Crassus and Pompey, gaining success in military campaigns, emerged as prominent figures.
• Cicero tried to mediate political conflicts.
• Caesar achieved military victories and was assassinated for challenging senatorial power (he was a popular, who won support).
• The Second Triumvirate (Octavian, Mark Antony, Lepidus) ended with the Battle of Actium (31 BCE).
• Catullus and Lucretius are representative writers in the Late Republic concerned with different elements of dissatisfaction.
• Cicero is celebrated for spreading Greek political thought and understanding.
• Sallust's writing is significant for a new kind of historical analysis important to later writers.
• Caesar's writings record a political moment in the Republic.

Explore the fascinating beginnings of Rome and the establishment of the Roman Republic in this quiz. Learn about ancient peoples, urbanization in Italy, and the influence of geography on Rome's growth. Test your knowledge on legends and the historical significance of key events.