4/27/11

Today in class we went over the answers to the Rome Reading paper he gave us yesterday. And then he told us that we had another Reading Rome assignment due. We had to define a-f and answer question 1-6. Consul- taking the place of a king, Rome had to consuls. like kings, they commanded the army and directed the government. had the power of life and death over citizens in wartime and great powers in peacetime as well; Veto- when you overrule another consul; senate- was the aristocratic branch of Romes government;  assembly- the democratic side of Roman government was the assembly. All citizen-soldiers were members of this branch of government. The assembly had little power in comparison to the consuls and the senate; dictator- a leader who had a absolute power to make laws and command the army; mercenary- is a person who is set on making money. We also had questions to answer. Plebeians were dissatisfied with Roman government because in 509 B.C the Roman's drove out their Kings and patricians controlled Rome's government now. Plebeians were barred by law from holding most important positions in government -- commanding armies, serving as high priest, or holding high offices.  Eventually the plebeians won a greater share of political power. Between 494 and 287 B.C, thousands of plebeians refused to fight in the Roman army unless patricians agreed to certain reforms. The plebeians gained higher political positions and more favorable laws. Marriage between the two groups was allowed and enslavement by debt was ended. They created a written law code called Twelve Tables. Romans considered they had a balanced government because their government was partly a monarchy, partly an aristocracy, and partly a democracy. They believed this gave them the best features of all kinds of governments. Romans won the support of the conquered people becuase they had different parts of the conquered territory were subjected to different laws and treatment from Rome. CArtharage might have seemed more powerful because Carthage had a population of 250,000 which was 3 times the size of Rome. They had a huge navy of 500 ships. Overseas trade made it a very wealthy city. They had 3 great advantages. First, Rome could draw on a reserve of more than 500,000 troops made available through its conquests in Italy. Second, Rome's citizen troops were generally more loyal and reliable than the mercenaries employed by Carthage. Third, warfare was Roman specialty.  The battle of Zama was a major turning point in history becuase if Hannibal had been the victor, Carthage and not Rome would have become the greatest empire in the world. Since Rome was victorious, it was Rome that passed on its laws, its government, and its culture to Western Civilization.  At first Roman armies marching into Macedon looked like protectors of Greek freedom. The Greeks rejoiced when, in 197 B.C, the Roman's freed them from the rule of Philip V of Macedon.  Once settled in Greece, however, the Romans interfered in Greek politics, crashing all opposition to rulers favored by Rome. As time passed, the exercise of Roman power in the east became increasingly ruthless. A few Greek city-states tried to free themselves from Rome's tightened grip, but failed. Rome singled out Corinth for an example.