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THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS

IV. THE RISE OF ROME TO 264 B.C.

Em. Macron, Rediscovering the Path to Europe

» Contents of this Chapter

Italy and Sicily   * The Peoples of Italy   * The Romans   * Early Roman Society   * Roman Religion   * The Roman City State   * Expansion of Rome over Italy, 509 (?)-264 B.C.   * Italy under Roman Rule   * The Roman Army

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FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE PLEBEIANS

The hardest task of the plebeians was to secure the right of holding the great offices of state. Eventually, however, they gained entrance to Senate and became eligible to the consulship and other magistracies and to the priesthoods. By the middle of the third century the plebeians and patricians, equal before the law and with equal privileges, formed one compact body of citizens in the Roman state.

ROME AS A REPUBLIC

The Roman state called itself a republic--respublica--"a thing of the people." Roman citizens made the laws and elected public officers. Though the people in their gatherings had now become supreme, their power was really much limited by the fact that very little discussion of a proposed measure was allowed. This formed a striking contrast to the vigorous debating which went on in the Athenian Assembly. Roman citizens could not frame, criticize, or amend public measures; they could only vote "yes" or "no" to proposals made to them by a magistrate.

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THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents

url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp

IN PRINT

Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy