Chapter 7 The Roman World

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Chapter 7 - The Roman World
Romulus and Remus suckled by a she-wolfBronze
statue, 500-480 BCCapitoline Museum, Rome
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Section 1 - Founding the Roman Republic

• The Story Continues
• Although the power of the Greeks
• waned, their culture would live on in a new
• civilization that grew out of western Italy. In
• about 750 B.C. a group of villages along the
• Tiber River formed what would become the
• center of Roman civilization.

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I. The Founding of Rome

• Mid-700s B.C. - Latins settle in villages
• along the Tiber River, and later unite to
• form Rome

The 7 hills of Rome
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I. The Founding of Rome

• 600s B.C. - Rome came under the rule of
• the Etruscans from northern Italy

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I. The Founding of Rome

• Rome grew into a large, prosperous, and
• strategically located city

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I. The Founding of Rome

• The Etruscans and Greek city-states in
• southern Italy strongly influenced Roman
• culture

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II. The Early Roman Republic

• In 509 B.C. wealthy Roman landowners
• overthrew the Etruscan king and established
• a republic

Tarquin the Proud was the last king of Rome.
During his tyrannical reign Romans reached the
end of their toleration for arbitrary monarchs.
The story of the Rape of Lucretia was a popular
Roman tale which explained the downfall of
Tarquin. Overcome with desire, Tarquin's son,
Sextus, raped Lucretia. She told her husband what
had happened and urged him to avenge her. She
then took her own life. This incident sparked a
revolution.
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II. The Early Roman Republic

• Three groups governed the republic the
• Senate, the magistrates, and popular
• assemblies

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II. The Early Roman Republic

• The Senate was the most powerful it
• controlled public funds and set foreign policy

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II. The Early Roman Republic

• Magistrates included consuls, praetors,
• and censors

Consuls
Praetor
Censor
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II. The Early Roman Republic

• Several assemblies of citizens voted on
• laws and elected officials

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II. The Early Roman Republic

• The assemblies elected 10 tribunes who
• could veto actions by the Senate or other
• officials

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II. The Early Roman Republic

• The division of power (checks and balances)
• prevented any part of the government from
• becoming too powerful

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III. Conflict of the Orders

• The common peoples struggle to win more
• rights became known as the Conflict of the
• Orders

Patricians
PLEBEIANS
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III. Conflict of the Orders

• The early republic had 2 classes of people
• Patricians - powerful landowners who
• controlled the government
• Plebeians - farmers and workers who made up
  most of the population

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III. Conflict of the Orders

• By 300 BC the Patricians and Plebeians
• joined to form the Roman nobility

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IV. The Republic Grows

• For 200 years the Romans fought many wars
• to extend their republic

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IV. The Republic Grows

• All adult male citizens had to serve in the
• legion, while noncitizens served in the auxilia

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IV. The Republic Grows

• To ensure conquered people in Italian cities
• remained loyal, Rome granted full citizenship

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IV. The Republic Grows

• People in more distant cities became partial
• citizens who could own property but not vote

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IV. The Republic Grows

• Allies in distant areas remained independent
• but supplied soldiers for the Roman army

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IV. The Republic Grows

• Conquered peoples were expected to provide
• land for Roman farmers

A mosaic of farmers pressing olives to make olive
oil
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IV. The Republic Grows

• These policies helped the Romans control
• conquered areas and spread Roman
• culture, language, and law