Roman Republic
The political institutions of the Roman Republic: the power of the patricians
The patricians organized the republican government in order to simultaneously monopolize political power over the plebs and avoid any attempt absolutist.
The basic institutions of the Republic were the Senate, the Magistrates and Centuriata Assembly.
The Senate was the main governing body, composed of the most illustrious patricians.Leading domestic and foreign policy. Chose the magistrates and controlled the exchequer.Senators were for life, but not hereditary.
The Senate was the main governing body, composed of the most illustrious patricians.Leading domestic and foreign policy. Chose the magistrates and controlled the exchequer.Senators were for life, but not hereditary.
The judges, chosen by the Senate, were endorsed by the Assembly Centuriata. They were annual (could not repeat the judiciary), of patrician origin and not in number of only one for each position.
Among the magistracy, the Consulate was the most important, with two consuls endowed with equal powers: in Rome, the civil power (potestas); outside Rome, military power (imperium). So if neutralized each other, there is no danger of them assume absolute power.In the case of exceptionally serious internal or external crisis, the consuls were replaced by a dictator. The dictatorship was a legal judiciary.One man had absolute powers delegated by the Senate, for a maximum period of six months, extendable.
Other judges completed the picture of the judiciary: Quaestors, tax collectors; Praetors, in charge of civil justice; Edis, who took care of public works; Pontiffs, in charge of the official religious ceremonies. These judiciaries existed in 509 BC Later came the Censors, who were the population census and watched public morals, and the tribunes of the people, the plebs of representatives to the Senate.
The achievements of the common people in the Roman Republic
The monopoly of power by the patricians caused problems for the plebs: constant mobilizations for war, high taxes, debt and debt bondage. For the patricians, the war brought estates in land and slaves. So the plebs began to make claims.
To force the patricians to the concessions, the commoners staged strikes and threatened to leave the city. By this means obtained several awards: the tribunes of the people '494 BC); the Twelve Tables (450 BC), which made the oral laws written; the Canuleia Law (445 BC), which authorized the interestamental marriage, until then forbidden. Later, the plebeians obtained the right to occupy the lower magistrates to reach the consulate and dictatorship. The lex licinia sextia prohibited debt bondage; the Assembly of the Commons person (Comitium Plebis) finally chose the plebeian tribunes and discussed senatorial decisions in the interest of the common people, voting the plebiscite.
The expansion of the Roman Republic
The victories of the plebs gave him practically political equality with the patricians; but this occurred in the mid-third century BC At that time, the Romans had already conquered all of Italy and were starting the Punic Wars. Such achievements were changing so the economy, society and political life of Rome that the sense of political victory of the plebs became virtually nil.
In its imperialist expansion, Rome initially won its nearest neighbors: Sabines, Albanians, Aequi, Samnites. After conquered the Greek colonies of southern Italy (Magna Grecia), beating the city of Tarentum. then started the Punic Wars, fought against Carthage. In the first war (264-241 BC), Rome annexed Sicily; in the second war (218-202 BC), Hannibal invaded Italy, but was defeated by Scipio and Rome occupied Spain and North Africa, except the Kingdom of Numidia and Carthage; the third war (150-146 BC), Scipio Emiliano destroyed Carthage and enslaved its inhabitants. He dominated the Western Mediterranean. By this time Rome already enter into the conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean: won successively, Macedonia, Greece, Syria, Asia Minor, Palestine, and finally Egypt in 30 BC
Trade interconnected Rome to its provinces across the Mediterranean waterfront.Agricultural activities in the provinces were stimulated. In Italy itself, however, agriculture practically disappeared. The fields were uncultivated or underemployed. A class of merchants, bankers, tax collectors (publicans) appeared, being called young men or riders (equestrian). Dependents patricians of land exploitation impoverished, going to depend on the public office to maintain their social status.
The plebs, marginalized by the increasing number of slaves came to be supported by "new men" or the state, which distributed wheat and provided free circus shows. Often commoners served as the aggregate mals rich in exchange for protection and food, getting the customer name (in this case, as with a different connotation of the old customers, who were distant relatives of the patricians).The slaves were very numerous and cheap, being considered inferior beings, just "talking tools" (instrumenta vocalia).
Civil wars and the crisis of the Roman Republic
The political institutions of the Republic began to disintegrate. No longer suited to the new conditions of a universal empire. The Republic evidenciou- crisis was during the civil wars, the end of which was deployed Empire.
The political forces that clashed during the civil wars were the following: the patricians, who sought to keep the Republic and its privileges;the knights, which sought control of political power; customers, who served as a tool in political struggle; . and the army that converted from 105 BC, became professional, constituting also a political instrument in the hands of the generals
The first signs of the crisis appeared with the attempt of the brothers Gracchi - Tiberius and Gaius - who intended to carry out an agrarian reform in order to release the plebs from their state of submission. They were slaughtered by the nobles and knights united.
The first signs of the crisis appeared with the attempt of the brothers Gracchi - Tiberius and Gaius - who intended to carry out an agrarian reform in order to release the plebs from their state of submission. They were slaughtered by the nobles and knights united.
Then came political generals first Mario and then Sila; supported the plebs and army exercised power absolutely for years. Around 60 BC, Caesar, Pompey and Crassus formed the First Triumvirate, imposing the acceptance of the Senate. Crassus died in Persia; Pompey.won by Caesar was murdered in Egypt, whose queen, Cleopatra, was the winner of protection.In Rome, Caesar sought to legalize his power, getting the dictatorship. The Senate lavished him titles but Caesar wanted heredity that only the title of "king" would provide you. So he was assassinated by a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius.
Marco Antonio, general Caesar's friend, joined the nephew of this, Gaius Octavius, and together with Lepidus, formed the Second Triumvirate. They won Caesar's assassins in Macedonia and the Republic divided among themselves. Later, Octavius away Lepidus, Antony and Cleopatra won and took possession of Egypt. The looted treasures have provided him a large army and wheat abarrotailos barns to distribute the plebs in their name. He returned to Rome and was received as a savior of the Republic; in fact, it would be the founder of the Empire.
Conclusion
We can say that the Roman Republic was the result of political interests of the patrician layer, away from power when the input of the Etruscan kings. The patricians were contrary to absolutism and the whole subsequent history of the Republic would confirm this aversion.The coup of 509 BC was only possible thanks to the crisis of the Etruscan monarchy, shaken by the attacks of the Gauls. The patricians sought to justify the coup because of moral reasons. Thus, we found profound economic motivations to explain the emergence of the Republic, if only because there were no changes that would have required during the monarchical period.
The patricians organized the mold republican institutions to meet their interests. So they held the power at the expense of the common people, who revolted. Regarding the plebeians, patricians adopted the tactic of making gradual concessions, which protelavam a definitive solution.
When the mob finally, managed political equality was already being affected by economic and social changes that have transformed it into a marginal layer. Then came the "new men", powerful opponents of the patricians in the final stage of the Republic.Even in this case however the political privileges of the patricians were saved, due to the adoption of a traditionalist criterion of political participation based on magistracy already exercised.
The Civil Wars led to the disintegration of the Senate power and other republican institutions The "new men" were important agents of this process. To that extent, were also agents of the implementation of the Empire as this resulted that political disintegration To the "new men" not interested in a democratic republic like Athens because it would be controlled by the mob, more numerous So did abort the attempt of the Gracchi allying to patricians military Empire was a requirement of the kind of domination imposed by the Romans to the people of the Mediterranean - an iron military rule that required a strong central government also. In fact, the republican institutions, appropriate to a city, Rome, were not adapted to the vast empire conquered by the Roman Republic.
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Category: General history
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