AN02b2

Unit03: New Ideas of Organizing Society & Government

Ch.06

Timeline: 6th C. - 1st C. BCE

FS: Roman Civilization: Shaped and molded by Crisis and Goals=>The Roman Republic
Main Idea: The early Romans established a republic, which grew powerful and spread its
influence. In Rome we see a body politic develop characteristics that meet the needs and
desires of a society that is rapidly changing from ~5th C. BCE onward. Politically, the changes
are great. However, those changes are often the products of change themselves, and in turn,
initiate further change in fields beyond government. Some of the most fundamental values and
institutions of Western civilization began in the Roman Republic.
CCSS...

I. Pivotal Circumstances: Political

A. Monarchial Period
Until the late 300s BCE, Rome was an insignificant state, largely agricultural and
almost entirely illiterate. From Romes mythical birth to approximately the end of the sixth
century (BCE), the government of this village on the banks of the Tiber river was a
monarchy. The monarchs were not Roman, per se. They were Etruscan rulers who had
politically enveloped the small and weak city-state. Culturally, mighty Rome owed much to
the centuries of exposure to Etruscan civilization. Politically, however, there doesnt seem
to be many historical records indicating Roman adoration of Etruscan rule, monarchial
government, or foreign domination.
The end of the 6th C. BCE witnesses the city-state of Rome embarking on a path that
would lead its people to a future that obliterates the very things they detested most under
Etruscan control.
B. Republican Period
Much of what politically developed in Rome from ~500 100 BCE could be generally
classified as a response to what prevailed the ~200 years prior.
1. The Etruscan monarch is deposed and replaced by an oligarchy composed of
hereditary (Roman) aristocrats.1 These aristocrats (Patricians), like their
counterparts in the early Greek polis, ruled by means of a permanent council of
elders (the Senate), and a monopoly of the states judicial, executive, and
religious offices.

2. The Patrician Senate, having the dominant authority, would rule in concert with
an "Assembly" consisting of the citizenry (Plebeians). The principal function was
the ratification of acts promulgated by the Patricians. The Twelve Tables is a list
of basic rights guaranteed to all Romans. It was a defense against the possible
abuse of power by the Patricians. Adoption of the Twelve Tables coincides with
the start of the republican period.

3. The humble, somewhat meager, origins of the city-state are historically

1 "Patricians" originally claim their dominant status in Republican Rome by virtue of their direct lineage from a founding family of
the city.

AN02b2

Unit03: New Ideas of Organizing Society & Government

Ch.06

modified via myth to create a suitable pedigree.2

4. Republican Governmental Structure3

II. Summary Activity: Oppian Law Skit

Review Mindmaps
View animated video of Battle of Cannae (direct link below)
Materials/Sources:Refer to the course calendar for additional materials, assignments and pertinent due dates.
World History: Patterns of Interaction

Slide Presentation

Battle of Cannae on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_9f50r_As

Polybius: Rome at the End of the Punic Wars

2 Pedigree: (in this context) Lineage established by blood relationship. The purpose of this is to assert a higher status among others
because of the superior historical and biological origin.
3 This chart merely shows the tripartite nature of the republic's government. The relative size of its sections do not reflect the
'powers' exercised by each nor the size of its membership.