notes on Rome - plebs

Today in class we took notes again. In my personal opinion, they seem sporadic, and not having any revelation to each other. I thought it was just random facts that he thought was important for us to learn. So, below are the notes that I took in class today.

  • Rule of kings is replaced by rule of two consuls (gotta be better than one) 
  • consuls are elected officials 
    • term in office is one year 
    • always have to be aristocrats or patricians 
  • patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor or pater (father) 
  • duties: 
    • dealing with justice 
    • law making 
    • commanding the army 
  • one consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual) 
  • fifth century BCE patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs (people) 
  • plebs were 98% of the population 
  • plebs had to serve in the army but could not hold office positions 
  • plebs were threatened with debt slavery 
  • plebs had no legal rights 
  • plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials 
  • Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs 
  • patricians could interpret these to their own advantage 
  • plebs rfused to serve the military until 
    • laws were written out (laws of the twelve tables) 
    • these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (450 BCE) 
    • tribunes (tribal leaders) were elected 
  • SPQR 
    • Senatus Populusque Romanum 
      • designates any decree or decision made by the Roman people and Senate 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

World Leaders Information continued

World Leaders information

day after test notes on the rise of christianity