Ancient Rome and the Republic

According to Roman legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by the twins named Romulus and Remus. They built their settlements on the Palatine and Aventine hills respectively. (Rome sits on seven hills.) Remus grew jealous of Romulus and mocked the size of the walls he had built, so Romulus killed him. He then named the city after himself and was crowned king. Whether or not this story is true, it highlights the warlike origins of Rome. Around 753 BC the foundations of one of the most powerful empires in history were laid - one which would shake the very foundations of the world.

The Romans' own accounts and historical evidence suggests that, for several hundred years after its founding, Rome was ruled by kings from the nearby land of Etruria. The Etruscans were very oppressive rulers and the Romans desired to rid themselves of their masters. In 509 BC, the son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, raped a noblewoman named Lucretia, and then Lucretia, out of her own humiliation, killed herself. Outraged, her family instigated a revolt that drove the royal house of the Tarquins out of Rome. Lucretia's husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collantis and one Lucius Junius Brutus became the first two consuls of a new republic which they founded. The office of the consul became the chief executive position in the Republic. The title of "king" became so despised that it remained a career-shattering charge until the rise of Julius Caesar and the end of the Republic.

The social structure of the Republic was basically divided between two main groups: the patricians, or the wealthy noble class, and the plebeians, the broad mass of peasant citizens. One's class was hereditary, meaning that even if one was lucky enough to be one of the few plebeians who became wealthy and rich, especially as a merchant, one was still considered a plebian. Likewise, some patricians had become almost poor towards the latter end of the Republic. The plebeians were often at odds with the patricians and the class conflict that was generated often saw the patrician nobles granting certain privileges, rights, and concessions to the plebeians in order to keep them under control. In 494 BC, the plebeians gained the right to elect two Tribunes, who held large amounts of control in the government of the Republic. Later, this number was expanded to ten. Finally, the plebeians were eventually allowed to elect a Concilium Plebis, or "Council of the Plebians" which gave them greater control in legal affairs. Towards the end of the Republic, a new group known as the equites became a powerful and potent force within the Republic, as the result of the actions of the Consul Tiberius Gracchus (more on him later). Note that only men, no matter what class, were able to have authority or hold a political position in Rome.