General Question

LostInParadise's avatar

Could someone give a brief overview of how the government of the Roman Republic was set up?

Asked by LostInParadise (31916points) January 9th, 2023
10 responses
“Great Question” (4points)

I did a Web search and I am having trouble making sense of the results. This should not be rocket science.

Whatever flaws the government had, it was an ambitious attempt to incorporate conquered territories into the body politic, and it lasted as long as the empire that followed it.

I gather that there were two classes, patricians and plebians. These were more than descriptive terms. There was no social mobility. You remained in whatever class you were born into. How was this maintained? Were the patricians the only ones allowed to own land?

What was the arrangement of the legislators and consuls and how were they chosen?

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snowberry's avatar

I found this, I hope it helps.

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets–known as the Twelve Tables–and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum. These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/ancient-rome

snowberry (27658points)“Great Answer” (3points)
snowberry's avatar

The 12 tables

https://historycooperative.org/the-twelve-tables/

snowberry (27658points)“Great Answer” (1points)
SnipSnip's avatar

Yes. Any book or article aboutf the Roman Empire would probably satisfy your curiosity. See @snowberry answers.

SnipSnip (6776points)“Great Answer” (0points)
Smashley's avatar

I enjoyed “The Fall Before the Fall” for a deeper view into the power dynamics of the republic, and how they functioned, yet ultimately could not stop a series of power gathering maneuvers that ate away at its legitimacy, until Caesar came along and just knocked the whole rotten thing over.

Smashley (12387points)“Great Answer” (1points)
zenvelo's avatar

@Smashley The final exam question for my university Roman History course (509 B.C.- 40 B.C.) was, “Did Caesar kill the Republic, or did the Republic kill Caesar?”

zenvelo (39430points)“Great Answer” (1points)
LostInParadise's avatar

@Smashley , I did a Web search for “The Fall Before the Fall” and could not find anything. I also did an Amazon book search.

LostInParadise (31916points)“Great Answer” (1points)
Smashley's avatar

My bad. Brain fart. It was the storm before the storm.

Smashley (12387points)“Great Answer” (1points)
LostInParadise's avatar

Thanks, that looks like it may provide some answers.

LostInParadise (31916points)“Great Answer” (1points)
Response moderated (Spam)
zenvelo's avatar

^^^^^^ Typical MAGA SPAM, not at al related to the question.

Flagged

zenvelo (39430points)“Great Answer” (0points)

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