Governments

Describe the government of the Roman Republic and its contribution to the development of democratic

principles, including separation of powers, representative government, and the notion of civic duty

Roman Republic

Roman government setup• The straight ladder shows the typical path of advancement (theoretically open to all freeborn

male citizens), beginning with election to quaestor, the lowest office, and proceeding to consul, the highest (of course very few men made it that far; it was quite exceptional when a man like Cicero, who did not come from a noble family, was elected consul).

Red text designates “curule magistrates,” who had the right to sit on a special ivory folding stool (sella curulis) as a symbol of their office; they also had the right to wear the purple-bordered toga (toga praetexta). Offices marked with an asterisk carried imperium, the highest political authority, which included the right to command an army, to interpret and carry out the law, and to pass sentences of death. Magistrates whose title began with “pro” were in charge of provinces; the Senate normally conferred these after the men had finished their term of office in Rome. The more important provinces, especially those requiring large military forces, were assigned to ex-consuls, while the less significant provinces were governed by ex-praetors. Most of these offices remained in place throughout the empire, though their functions changed.

Most significantly, imperium was now reserved for the emperor, and advancement in rank proceeded in orderly stages based on conditions laid down by the emperors rather than through competitive electioneering. Thus the cursus honorum changed from a ladder of power (with important social status attached) to a ladder of primarily social rank and status. The cursus honorum was, of course, reserved for men. During the entire period of Roman history women were prohibited from holding political office, though in the empire their roles as mothers, wives, and daughters of emperors gave a few women very high social status and even a kind of indirect rank. Even elite women who were not members of the imperial family sometimes claimed the rank of their fathers or husbands (e.g., as consulares feminae, “consular women”).

Roman government setup

Monarchy

As the Roman empire moved to a monarchy the people still had their freedoms but

there would be one person who ruled and decided what was best for everyone. Until

Augustus the religion and state were separate but in a different way than what we think of today. When Julius Caesar

died he was made a Roman “god”.

Democratic Principles

• Separation of powers: Within the system of government, the Roman republic had its own system of checks and balances. The Senate nominated people to the office of censor and they could approve or disapprove any decisions made.Since the Romans did not want one man to make all of the laws, they decided to balance the power of the government between three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The following table will tell you what each branch of the Roman government did.

Executive Branch

• The two leaders of the executive branch, the consuls, were elected for just one year by the upper class. They supervised the Senate and ordered the Roman army during wars. Other members of the executive branch were the tax collectors, mayors, city police, and other people in positions of power in cities.

Legislative Branch

• The most powerful part of the legislative branch was the Senate. The Senate was a group of about 300 male citizens who owned land. They could tell the consuls how much money they could spend and on what. These men were appointed by the consuls.

Judicial Branch

• The judicial branch had six judges who were elected every two years. They were in charge of deciding punishments that criminals would receive. Their job was similar to the job that judges have today in the United States.

History of government structure

• Representative government structure: the government of the Roman Republic was first a republic and representative form of government until Julius Caesar changed it to a monarchy form of government with one ruler.

End of Monarchy

• Rome's era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king's son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica, or "property of the people."

Late republic• During the era of the late Republic, Rome suffered through a reign

of terror. Terror's tool was the proscription list, by which large numbers of important, wealthy people, and often senators, were killed; their property, confiscated. Sulla, Roman dictator at the time, instigated this carnage:

• 31 Sulla now busied himself with slaughter, and murders without number or limit filled the city. Many, too, were killed to gratify private hatreds, although they had no relations with Sulla, but he gave his consent in order to gratify his adherents. At last one of the younger men, Caius Metellus, made bold to ask Sulla in the senate what end there was to be of these evils, and how far he would proceed before they might expect such doings to cease. "We do not ask thee," he said, "to free from punishment those whom thou hast determined to slay, but to free from suspense those whom thou hast determined to save."

Sulla the roman dictator• we think of dictators we think of men and women who want enduring

power, a Roman dictator was• a legal official • duly nominated by the Senate • to handle a major problem, • with a fixed, limited term.• Sulla had been dictator for longer than the normal period, so what

his plans were, as far as hanging onto the office of dictator went, were unknown. It was a surprise when he resigned from the position of Roman dictator in 79 B.C. Sulla died a year later. The confidence which he reposed in his good genius... emboldened him... and though he had been the author of such great changes and revolutions of State, to lay down his authority....Plutarch Sulla's reign drained the Senate of power. Damage had been done to the republican system of government. Violence and uncertainty allowed a new political alliance to arise.

The first Triumvirate• Between the death of Sulla and the beginning of the 1st Triumvirate in 59

B.C., 2 of the wealthiest and most powerful remaining Romans, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106-48 B.C.) and Marcus Licinius Crassus (112-53 B.C.), grew increasingly hostile to each other. This wasn't simply a private concern, since each man was backed by factions and soldiers. To avert civil war, Julius Caesar, whose reputation was growing because of his military successes, suggested a 3-way partnership. This unofficial alliance is known to us as the 1st triumvirate, but at the time was referred to as an amicitia 'friendship' or factio (whence, our 'faction').

• They divvied up the Roman provinces to suit themselves. Crassus, the capable financier, would receive Syria; Pompey, the renowned general, Spain; Caesar, who would soon show himself to be a skilled politician as well as a military leader, Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul and Illyricum. Caesar and Pompey helped cement their relationship by Pompey's marriage to Caesar's daughter Julia.

• The First Triumvirate, consisting of Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, came to power in 59 BC when Caesar was elected consul.

Crassus Syria

Pompey, the renowned general, got Spain

Juilus Caesar got Rome

• Julia, wife of Pompey and daughter of Julius Caesar, died in 54, passively breaking the personal alliance between Caesar and Pompey. (Erich Gruen, author of The Last Generation of the Roman Republic argues against the significance of the death of Caesar's daughter and many other accepted details of Caesar's relations with the Senate.)

• The triumvirate further degenerated in 53 B.C., when a Parthian army attacked the Roman army at the Carrhae, and killed Crassus.

• Meanwhile, Caesar's power grew while in Gaul. Laws were altered to suit his needs. Some senators, notably Cato and Cicero, were alarmed by the weakening legal fabric. Rome had once created the office of tribune to give the plebeians power against the patricians. Among other powers, the tribune's person was sacrosanct (they couldn't be harmed physically) and he could impose a veto on anyone, including his fellow tribune. Caesar had both tribunes on his side when some members of the senate accused him of treason. The tribunes imposed their vetoes. But then the senate majority ignored the vetoes and roughed up the tribunes. They ordered Caesar, now charged with treason, to return to Rome, but without his army.

• Julius Caesar returned to Rome with his army. Regardless of the legitimacy of the original treason charge the tribunes had vetoed, the moment he stepped across the Rubicon river, Caesar had, in legal fact, committed treason. Caesar could either be convicted of treason, or fight the Roman forces sent to meet him led by Caesar's former co-leader, Pompey.

• Pompey had the initial advantage, but even so, Julius Caesar won at Pharsalus in 48 B.C. After his defeat, Pompey fled, first to Mytilene, and then to Egypt, where he expected safety, but instead met his own death.

Caesar's Rise

• After Pompey's wife Julia (Caesar's daughter) died in 54 B.C., and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar's military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey's, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar's invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

Roman republic

• Describe the government of the Roman Republic and its contribution to the development of democratic principles, including separation of powers, representative government, and the notion of civic duty

• Under the Republic, two (2) elected consuls shared the head of government. Consuls were members of the Senate, who had been elected to serve for a one year term in the position of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic. The consuls most important power was that they controlled the army. 

• The Senate was composed of leaders from the patricians, the noble and wealthy families of ancient Rome. They were the law makers. They controlled spending. Members of the Senate were not elected. They were chosen by the Consuls. Once chosen, they served for life. There were 300 seats in the Senate. When a seat opened, a new Senator was selected by the current Consuls. 

• The Assembly was composed of all the plebeian citizens of Rome, the common man. The Assembly did not have a building. It was the right of the common man to assemble in the Forum and vote. 

• In the beginning, the Assembly had very limited power. They could vote for or suggest laws, but the Senate could block their decisions. The Assembly could vote to declare war, but again, the Senate could override them. 

• However, the Assembly had one power that was very impressive - it was the Assembly who voted each year on which two members of the Senate would serve as Consuls. As a noble, if you wanted to rise to the level of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic, you needed to gain the support of the plebeian class. Since it was the Consuls who filled empty seats in the Senate, if the Assembly chose their Consuls well, they could slowly gain power in government by putting people in charge who were sympathetic to their needs.

• Some members of the Assembly became quite powerful in government in their own right. Some tradesmen were very wealthy. There is an old expression - money talks - which means the rich seem to be heard more easily than the poor.  In ancient Rome, certainly money talked, but so did those who had the power of speech. The Romans loved a great orator. When the Assembly met, down at the Forum, many speeches were going on at the same time. One speaker might say, "Rome's roads need repair!" Another speaker might say, "We need to stop crime in the streets." If you wanted your speech to have an impact, it did not matter how rich or poor you were. What mattered was how persuasive you were as a speaker. 

Structure of Government Under the Republic

• 2 ConsulsHead of Government Senate (300 members)  Assembly  

PATRICIANS PLEBEIANS 1 year term Life term Consuls chose the Senators   Elected the 2 Consuls Ran the government, overseeing the work of other government officials. Advised the consuls. Advised the Assembly. Elected government officials including judges. Directed (commanded) the army Directed spending, including tax dollars     Acted as judges Approved or disapproved laws made by the Assembly Voted on laws suggested by government officials In an emergency, consuls could choose a dictator – a single ruler to make quick decisions. Made decisions concerning relationships with foreign powers Declared war or peace Both consuls had to agree on their decisions. Each had the power to Veto the other. In Latin, veto means “I forbid.”    

Greek city-states• In 510 BC, the city-state of Athens created the first democratic

government, and soon other Greek city-states imitated them. Even city-states that weren't Greek, like Carthage and Rome, experimented with giving the poor people more power at this time. But Athenian democracy did not really give power to everyone. Most of the people in Athens couldn't vote - no women, no slaves, no foreigners (even Greeks from other city-states), no children. And also, Athens at this time had an empire, ruling over many other Greek city-states, and none of those people living in the other city-states could vote either. Of course it is a lot easier to have a democratic government when you are only deciding what other people should do.

• (And many Greek city-states kept oligarchic government, or tyrannies, or monarchies, through this whole time).

Summary

• Rome was ran by a vicious dictator named Sulla.He ran a military government. after he died The First Triumvirate, consisting of Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, came to power in 59 BC when Caesar was elected consul.Rome was a republic and representative form of government until Julius Caesar changed it to a monarchy form of government with one ruler.

Caesar's power

Pompey

• 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.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics,Juilus Caesar . After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

Civic duty• People felt it was their civic duty to vote men at least, since women

couldn’t vote or hold any power. They felt it was an honor and duty to serve in the Roman army. Ancient Rome’s government would not have been successful without the citizens who supported it. Ancient Romans thought it was their responsibility and civic duty to the empire to participate in government affairs. Their participation included attending assembly meetings and voting in elections. Voting in Ancient Rome was very complex and not every citizen was allowed to vote as there were limitations.People of wealth believed it was their responsibility to help the Roman Empire by holding positions in office. In turn, this made them quite powerful locally and provided them with much respect and status among Ancient Romans.

The Roman Senate

Summary

• The roman senate was better because they had specific laws to help the people of the roman empire. It was also more organized than the Greeks version of government. Roman leaders tried to be more fair by involving the people of ancient Rome. The Greeks took a long time to get to democracy. I think I rather be in Rome if I was alive then because it seemed more safer environment and was the strongest empire at the time.