Page 136 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

hills and the valleys in between, the Servian Wall was built to surround the city in the fourth century B.C.E.
The Etruscans had an impact on Roman civilization in numerous ways, both large and small. The Romans adopted Etruscan dress—the toga and short cloak. The insignia of the Etruscan kings became the insignia of Roman magistrates. The Romans were also indebted to the Etruscans for the alphabet. The Latin alphabet was a modification of the Etruscan one derived from the Greeks.
The Roman Republic (ca. 509–264 B.C.E.)
Q FOCUS QUESTION: What were the major political institutions of the Roman republic, and what policies and institutions help explain the Romans’ success in conquering Italy?
The transition from a monarchy to a republican government was not easy. Rome felt threatened by enemies from every direction and, in the process of meeting these threats, embarked on a course of mili- tary expansion that led to the conquest of the entire Italian peninsula. During this period of expansion in Italy, the Roman republic developed political institu- tions that were in many ways determined by the social divisions that existed within the community.
The Roman State
In politics and law, as in conquest, the Romans took a practical approach and fashioned political institu- tions in response to problems as they arose. Hence, it is important to remember that the political insti- tutions we will discuss evolved over a period of centuries.
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS The chief executive officers of the Roman republic were the consuls (KAHN-sulls) and praetors (PREE-turs). Two consuls, chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle. They possessed imperium (im-PEE-ree-um), “the right to command.” The office of the praetor was created in 366 B.C.E. The praetor also possessed impe- rium; he could govern Rome when the consuls were away from the city and could also lead armies. His pri- mary function, however, was the execution of justice. He was in charge of the civil law as it applied to Roman citizens. In 242 B.C.E., reflecting Rome’s growth,
98 Chapter 5 The Roman Republic
another praetor was added to judge cases in which one or both parties were noncitizens.
As Rome expanded into the Mediterranean, addi- tional praetors were established to govern the newly conquered provinces (two in 227 B.C.E., two more in 197 B.C.E.). But as the number of provinces continued to grow, the Romans devised a new system in which ex- consuls and ex-praetors who had served their one-year terms were given the titles of proconsul and propraetor and sent out as provincial governors, demonstrating once again the Romans’ practical solution to an immedi- ate problem. It was reasonable to assume that officials with governmental experience would make good provin- cial administrators, although this was not always true in practice because of the opportunities for financial cor- ruption in the provinces.
The Roman state also had administrative officials with specialized duties. Quaestors (QUES-turs) were assigned to assist the consuls and praetors in the administration of financial affairs. Aediles (EE-dylz) supervised the public games and watched over the city’s grain supply, a major task for a rapidly growing urban community that relied on imported grain to feed its population.
The Roman senate, or council of elders, held an especially important position in the Roman republic. This select group of about three hundred men, who served for life, was not a legislative body and could only advise the magistrates. Its advice was not taken lightly, however, and by the third century B.C.E., it had virtually the force of law. No doubt the prestige of the senate’s members furthered this development. But it also helped that the senate met continuously, whereas the chief magistrates changed annually and the popular assemblies operated slowly and met only periodically.
The Roman republic possessed a number of popular assemblies. The most important was the centuriate assembly, essentially the Roman army functioning in its political role. Organized by classes based on wealth, it was structured in such a way that the wealthiest citi- zens always had a majority. The centuriate assembly elected the chief magistrates and passed laws. Another assembly, the council of the plebs, came into being in 471 B.C.E. as a result of the struggle of the orders (see the next section).
The government of the Roman republic, then, con- sisted of three major elements. Two consuls and later other elected officials served as magistrates and ran the state. An assembly of adult males (the centuriate as- sembly), controlled by the wealthiest citizens, elected these officials, while the senate, a small group of large
Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.