Republic – A government in which officials are chosen by the people

Book use: They resolved never to be ruled by a monarch/king again. Instead, they set up a Republic

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Senate – Governing body, the people that run the Republic

Book Use: Eventually, commoners, of Plebeians gained the right to be elected to the Senate

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Patrician – Landholding upper class. Most powerful

Book Use: The most powerful people in the government were Patricians

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Plebeian- Common person. Least powerful

Book Use: Eventually, commoners, of Plebeians gained the right to be elected to the Senate

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2 Events that Shaped Roman Culture

1.The Romans overthrew their overlord, an Etruscan King and decided Rome would never have a KING again; then, set up a REPUBLIC.

2.Rome was sacked by Celts to the north and had to pay huge sum of money to get them to leave the city. As the Celts added weight to the scales to make it unbalanced, the Romans complained because this meant the Romans would have to pay more than agreed. The Celtic Chief replied,“Woe to the Vanquished” and threw his sword onto the scale to further the imbalance.

What does this mean? The Celts were cheating to make Rome pay more. As Rome complained the Celts stopped hiding their cheating and did it in the open making it obvious that Rome was powerless and could do nothing but.....pay whatever the Celts demanded.

Problems with Roman Culture as a Result

1.Leaders are often killed as people fear or feel threatened by the power the leader is gaining. This causes chaos on all levels of Roman society such as: Assassination, starvation, civil war, genocide, dynastic changes, and much more.

2.Rome is fearful of powerful peoples/nations on its borders and defeats them; only to find more powerful nations on their new border. This means they are always at war and getting larger. Rome soon grows too large and cannot defend its borders; this causes Rome to loose their ability to maintain their position of power. Also, this brings is WEALTH!

Roman Republic Economy

Patricians are the officers in the army and hold other roles in the army that people want, one reason is because people in these positions die less and control distribution of the loot.

As Rome expands, patricians use their power to make sure the loot taken from those it defeats benefits patricians and makes them more rich. As a result, patricians purchase almost all the private land in Rome and purchase slaves from the people taken captive during the wars. So many slaves are purchased, they will outnumber the Romans 3 to 1.

Problems with Roman Republic Economy

Plebeians are the regular soldiers making up most of the army and die in the highest amount, have little control, and are paid the least. As Rome becomes one of the richest nations in the world, plebeian soldiers return from war to discover:

1.Homes and farms sold - they are homeless and need to find their families. Their families could not afford to keep the farm/home since the farm was not being worked; because the men were away at war and prevented from leaving until it ended by the Roman government. As the debt rose, the home, farm, tools, equipment, animals, and other things of value were sold. At times, the children were sold into slavery.