The Roman Republic

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The Roman Republic

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Title: The Roman Republic

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The Roman Republic
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Objectives for this section
Know the shift of Romes government from monarchy
to republic and what the cause of this shift was.
Know the differences among the classes
(patrician, plebian, et al)
Know the basic structure of the Roman republican
government and the checks and balances each
division had on the others.
Know what the Punic Wars are and between whom
they were fought and why.
What caused each war and what was the aftermath?
Whos Hannibal?
Why was Cannae important?
Whats the overall result of all the Punic Wars?

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509 B.C. Rome becomes a republic.
218 B.C. In the Second Punic War, Hannibal
invades Italy.
A.D. 284 Diocletian, who will divide the Roman
Empire, becomes emperor.
500 B.C.
264 B.C. The First Punic War with Carthage
begins.
44 B.C. Conspirators kill Julius Caesar.
A.D. 476 Western Roman Empire falls with the
ouster of the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus.
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Romes growth and decline over the years.
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According to legend, Rome was founded Romulus and
Remus, twin sons of Mars
Mars raped their mother who happened to be a
Vestal virgin. She was buried alive as
punishment. R and R were supposed to be exposed,
but the servant left them on the bank of the
Tiber instead. It flooded and they floated away.
Went downriver, were rescued and raised by
she-wolf.

In a dispute over where to put the city, Romulus
slew Remus.
Romulus proceeded to name it after himself, set
up all of its institutions, and attracted to it
people who needed a fresh start which typically
meant criminals.
When women ran short, he just kidnapped 700 from
the neighboring Sabines.
According to the Roman historian Livy, though,
they were treated well and werent assaulted.

In reality, people had been living in the region
for a while.
The area where Rome was defensible due to the
hills and was surrounded by a fertile plain
The Tiber river was also navigable from the sea
to there and had a low point where it could be
forded
According to legend, Romulus founded Rome in 753
BC. Probably not Romulus, but archaeology
suggests it was indeed founded in the middle of
the 8th century BC.

The early Romans were strongly influenced by
those around them.
There were Etruscans to the north, Latins to the
east, and Greeks along the coast.

Rome, in the beginning, was a monarchy
According to ancient sources, there were only
seven kings in 243 years, which gives an average
reign of 35 years far longer than the norm.
There were probably more kings, but contemporary
records no longer exist.
He was apparently elected (proposed by the Senate
and voted on by the Assembly) and the line wasnt
entirely hereditary.
King was the head of the religion and held most
of the power.
There was the Senate and the Curiate Assembly,
but they had little power.

The kings were of varying quality, but most
decent.
They gradually expanded Romes power and
territory.
One king, Tarquinius Priscus, put in the first
sewer system, drained a swamp, and built the
Circus Maximus.
The last king was Tarquinius Superbus. He was a
jerk.
He was Priscuss son, but wasnt elected to the
throne. He eventually had the elected king,
Servius, assassinated with the help of his wife,
Serviuss own daughter. After he was dead, she
drove over his body with a chariot.
He also repealed popular reforms and was rather
violent. The Senate finally succeeded in
expelling him in 510 BC.

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Tarquin the Proud equals
Grand Moff Tarkin?!
Some speculate so (but probably a coincidence).
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After getting rid of Tarquin the Jerk, the Senate
decided it had had enough of kings and reformed
Rome into a Republic 509 BC.
Some speculation this was a backdate so that
republican Rome predated Cleisthenes Athens.
That way, Rome (which had a cultural inferiority
complex towards Greece) could claim it was the
first democracy.

There were several classifications of people in
Rome patricians, plebians, allies, and slaves.
The patricians were the traditional wealthy
aristocrats.
Plebians were the average joe farmers and
artisans. Both patricians and plebians were
citizens.
Allies were native people of conquered
territories. They had a limited form of
citizenship
Slaves had no rights at all. They were purely
property.

The patricians initially formed a kind of a
republican oligarchy.
The plebians didnt like this and threatened to
secede from Rome on several occasions and so
established the tribunes, who were tasked with
protecting plebian rights. If they thought a
pleb was being oppressed, they could say, Veto,
which means, I forbid it.

So instead of a king, they had two consuls
Kinda like the two Spartan kings, by having two
men in charge instead of one, you resist tyranny.
Each consul had to consult the other before
acting and one could veto the other.
Were patricians elected to one year terms

Supreme commanders of the military
Took care of daily affairs and kept other
officials in line. Also presided over the
Senate.
Would join the Senate at the expiration of their
term, so it was in their interests to cultivate
good relations with that body.
Later, proconsuls were created consuls whose
terms could be extended due to military matters,
such as leadership continuity during a war.

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A dictator could be appointed to a six month
term.
Had supreme power and could override the consuls.
Appointed in times of crisis.

The Senate
A body of 300 patricians from the wealthiest
families.
Served for life.
Advised consuls, approved projects, did foreign
policy.
Was the main power in Rome.

Centuriate Assembly
Composed of citizen-soldiers by class.
Appointed consuls.
Votes werent individual votes. Individual votes
contributed to how the class decided. The upper
classes votes had more weight. Thus, it was
still patrician-controlled.

Tribal Assembly
Included both patricians and plebians.
People were split up depending on where they
lived into one of 35 different tribes.
The tribes were determined by geography and not
by population.

Each tribe had one vote.
Since the majority of people lived in one of
Romes four urban tribes, that meant the 31 rural
tribes had more influence.
The tribal assembly grows in power and eventually
makes most of the laws.
Also elected the tribunes.

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The Twelve Tables
The first codification of Roman law.
Made around 450 BC in response to plebians
complaints that the patricians were forming and
interpreting laws to their own benefit.
They were written down on 12 bronze tablets that
were posted in the Roman forum.
More a listing of rights than formal laws.
For something so important, we oddly dont know
what the exact text was, but we can piece a lot
of it together from fragments.

Heres a sampling from the Twelve Tables
If someone is called to go to court, he is to go.
If he doesn't go, a witness should be called.
Only then should he be captured. If he shirks or
flees, he should be captured. If illness or old
age is an impediment, let him be given a
carriage. If he doesn't want it, it should not be
covered.
An obviously deformed child must be put to death.
If a father sells his son into slavery three
times, the son shall be free of his father.
If a person dies intestate without heirs, the
nearest male kinsman shall inherit. If there is
no near male kinsmen, his clansmen shall inherit.
If one has maimed another and does not buy his
peace, let there be retaliation in kind.

Someone who breaks another's bone by hand or club
must pay 300 sesterces for a slave, 150 if he
has done simple harm against another, 25.
No dead man may be cremated nor buried in the
City.
Marriages between plebeians and patricians are
forbidden.
Men in the army may not wed until training is
complete.
Someone who has brought a false claim shall be
brought before three judges, and shall pay a
double penalty.

The Roman system had a series of checks and
balances among the different entities.
This carries over today.

Punic Wars
In 390 BC, however, Rome was sacked by the Gauls.
In response, Rome gradually expanded its power
over Italy and conquered its neighbors. By 265
BC, it controls Italy and has a significant trade
empire in the Mediterranean.
Its growing power naturally puts it in conflict
with Carthage, the dominant Mediterranean city at
the time. When interests among power conflict,
war happens.
Rome and Carthage fought three different wars,
called the Punic Wars because the Latin term for
a Carthaginian was Punici.

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They werent all that far apart.
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Note the artificial harbor. A remarkable
achievement.
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Then
Merchant harbor
Warship harbor
Now
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The warship island.
A warship slip
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It aint just ancient. Compare

German U-Boat pens from World War II
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First Punic War
264-241 BC
While war between Rome and Carthage was probably
inevitable, the spark was a power struggle in
Sicily.
It was under the control of Carthage, but Rome
backed a rebellion and sent in its forces.

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Carthages areas of influence before the First
Punic War.
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Fighting was initially restricted to Sicily, but
Rome then took the fight to Carthage. The Romans
built a huge naval force of warships and troop
transports and began attacking Carthages North
African cities and countryside.
This force was eventually defeated by a Spartan
mercenary general. That and Carthage regained
control over Sicily. But the key was the naval
battles.

Carthage was master of the seas. Rome, though,
as usual, adapted nicely.
They copied some Carthaginian designs and also
introduced the corvus.
The corvus was a rotating bridge with spikes on
the end. The Romans would maneuver close to an
enemy ship, drop the bridge into the deck of the
enemy, locking the two ships together.
Roman marines would then cross over the bridge
and get to fighting.
It did cause some problems, though, since it made
the ship more unstable.

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Despite the naval copying and innovation, and
because of some bad luck from the weather, Roman
fleets were destroyed and Carthage took the upper
hand.
The Carthaginians, thinking the war over, started
demobilizing. Rome took advantage, rebuilt its
fleets and annihilated Carthages fleet.
Both sides were ready for the war to be over as
they both suffered heavily. Over 50,000 Romans
had died and a great deal of money spent.

Rome, however, had the upper hand and could
dictate terms to Carthage and the terms were
heavy.
Carthage had to cede Sicily and most other of its
Mediterranean islands to Rome.
Roman prisoners were to be returned while
Carthaginians prisoners had to be ransomed.
Carthage had to pay Rome an exorbitant sum of
money (2,200 talents of gold).

Aftermath
Rome was ruler of the seas.
Carthage was now second-rate. It was also
humiliated.
The victors peace imposed upon Carthage hindered
its recovery and fueled resentment, which led to
the Second Punic War.

Second Punic War
218-202 BC
Carthage was angry over its treatment by Rome
after the First Punic War.
Also, to pay off the reparations, it had to get
the money from somewhere, so it expanded its
power in Spain.

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The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca began the
conquering of Spain and then it fell to his son
Hannibal.
Hannibal especially hated the Romans.
He attacked a Roman ally in Spain as well as
making other provocative moves and Rome declared
war on Carthage.

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Hannibal gradually advance towards Italy,
subduing people along the way by force or
diplomacy.
He had around 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry
and some war elephants.
He crossed his force over the Alps in winter.
Did I mention he had elephants? This was an
amazing feat and caught the Romans flat-footed.
They had expected to fight Hannibal in Spain and
had even sent forces there.
A chunk of his forces died along the way, though.

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Suddenly, the enemy was in Romes back yard. You
have to understand how this felt to Romes
mentality.
Hannibal got the support of rebellious locals and
was good at avoiding battles. When he did fight,
he pasted the Romans.
He was a military genius and the generals sent
against him werent.

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The Battle of Trebia is an example.
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The worst defeat, though, was the Battle of
Cannae on 8/2/216 BC
Nearly 87,000 Romans engaged around 55,000 of
Hannibals troops. Rome had never before fielded
such an army.
Hannibal, being a military genius, developed a
cunning plan. He was helped by the stupid Roman
commander.
Though the Romans had more soldiers and so could
have had a longer, flanking line of troops, they
were arrayed with depth such that the line
stretched about as long as Hannibals. The idea
was to break through Hannibals center.

The initial set up
Hannibal put his weaker troops in his center and
his good troops on the flanks.
When the Romans attacked, they gradually drove
back Hannibals center. This was intentional on
Hannibals part.

Hannibal also had an advantage in sun and wind.
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Once the Romans drove in, the superior troops on
the flanks closed in while the cavalry swung
around and attacked the Roman rear. The Roman
force was completely enveloped and they were
slaughtered. Their massed forces also made it
impossible to maneuver and the slaughter was made
worse by panic (as usual).

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Hannibal counting the rings of defeated Roman
elites that he sent back to Carthage as proof of
his victory.
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About 60,000 of the original 87,000 Roman troops
were killed, including a consul and 80 senators.
Nearly 600 legionaries were killed per minute.
Another 10,000 were taken prisoner. That means
only about 17,000 made out of Cannae alive and
free. About 80 of Romes overall military was
gone.
Its one of the greatest tactical defeats in
history as well as one of the greatest losses of
life in a single battle.

To compare
U.S. WWI battle deaths 53,402
Over two years and was 1.1 of total service
member.
U.S. WWII battle deaths 291,557
Thats over four years in two theaters of
operation. Its also 1.8 of the total service
members.
Iraq War battle deaths about 3,500 so far
Over 4.5 years and is about 0.3 of the total
service members.

After Cannae, the Romans were terrified and
didnt know what to do. Furthermore, many of
Romes regional allies decided to side with
Hannibal and Carthage.
They were also shocked. Everyone in Rome either
knew or was related to someone lost at Cannae.

Hannibal opted not to attack Rome directly,
thinking he wouldnt be able to take the
fortified city.
He offered reasonable peace terms to Rome. Rome,
even though it was on the ropes, refused
Hannibals offer in true Roman style.

Rome drew up a new army, enlisting a good chunk
of the male populace. The word peace was
prohibited and only women could shed tears in
public.
Instead of engaging Hannibal in big battles, they
merely harassed him in Italy and denied him the
supplies he needed. Whenever he could get the
Romans to attack, he always beat them.
Meanwhile, Rome took the war to Carthage.
They attacked Carthaginian forces in Spain,
Carthages main source of wealth, which prompted
Carthage to send reinforcements and supplies
there instead of to Hannibal.

They also attacked Carthages allies in Sicily
and Macedon.
While Hannibal was the better of any Roman
commander, hes gradually worn down by the Romans
attacking his support system and supply lines.

Finally, Scipio, who was successful in Spain, is
elected consul and he takes an army to North
Africa.
Carthage recalled Hannibal from Italy in 203 BC
to face the threat.
Scipio defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama
(finally!).
Scipio comes back a hero and is given the name
Scipio Africanus Major.

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Scipio on coin and as bronze bust.
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On the brink of destruction, Carthage sues for
peace.
Rome again imposes a victors peace
Spain becomes Romes.
Carthage has to pay a lot in reparations.
Its navy can only have 10 ships to fight pirates.
It couldnt raise an army without Romes
blessing.
Carthage, once proud and powerful, is essentially
reduced to a Roman client state.

Third Punic War
149-146 BC
While Carthage had been stripped of most of its
power, its continued existence made many Romans
uneasy. They had, after all, fought two wars
with Carthage and the barbarians had been at the
gates of Rome itself.

Another problem was that when a border dispute
arose between Carthage and its neighbor Numidia,
the Roman Senate kept finding in Numidias favor.
Carthage was also raising an army in order to
deal with Numidian incursions. But, even though
it was defensive, it was still a no-no under the
terms of the treaty.
Rome also insisted on Carthage continuing to pay
its annual tribute even though the reparations
had, by 151 BC, all been paid back under the
terms that ended the Second Punic War.

Some Romans openly agitated for war.
The great statesmen Cato would end his Senate
speeches with Carthago delenda est, or
Carthage must be destroyed.
He had also traveled to Carthage in 157 BC and
feared what he saw as growing prosperity there.
In one dramatic act, he flung ripe figs from a
fold in his toga, declaring they had been plucked
in Carthage just two day ago.
What do you think this was supposed to illustrate?

So Rome engages in a pre-emptive war against
Carthage.
It may not have been unfounded. After the Romans
got there, there were indications Carthage was
rearming, especially its navy because its harbor
had been improved.

Rome beats Carthage and the Carthaginians sue for
peace. Rome keeps giving more conditions until
it finally says the population will have to move
inland and Carthage will be burned.
The Carthaginians resist, Rome lays siege to
Carthage (it lasts three years), the Romans storm
the city, and Carthage falls.
The city is razed and burned to the ground.
Those who didnt die in the siege or the citys
capture are sold into slavery about 50,000
people.