Birth of the Roman Republic
The rape of Lucretia, was the "last straw" in the overthrow of the Etruscan King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The change from monarchy to republic, though short, was not a simple instituational change. In place of the King, the newborn Republic relied on its Senate to oversee the government and the election process, including power Consuls. This transformation from monarchy to representative government, headed by the elite, proved to have troubles of its own.
After the overthrown of the previous dynasty, led by Junius Brutus, the ancient Romans avoided a true monarchal government for the remainder of their history. Even when, in practice, the later imperial government could've given absolute power to the Emperor, it was theoretically still checked by the Senate and other representatives. This same Junius Brutus was later claimed to be an ancestor by the Republican loyalist Marcus Brutus, who was among the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, and shows the deeply rooted Roman aversion and dislike towards Kings. It was during this Republic that gave way for great expansion of Roman civilization, and set the path for European dominance. In these years, Rome was ruled by its Senate and its people's assemblies. The offices of power were divided among elected officials to avoid central power and the reconstruction of the monarchy.
The divisions were in essence a division of previous monarchal powers. The Romans instituted a constitution which would dictate the traditions and institutions of government for the Roman people. This constitution however, was not even a written document but a series of unwritten traditions and laws. Essentially, it maintained all the same powers as the monarchy, but was divided among a series of people, rather than one supreme power.
Patricians and Plebeians
Discontent and political upheaval lay ahead for the fledgling Republic, since the new constitution was flawed and exclusive in nature for the general population (plebeians). Rome was surrounded by powerful external enemies, including its former Etruscan rulers, and Patrician (the hereditary aristocratic families) in-fighting with each other and the plebeian (common people) class was an immediate source of difficulty. The Romans developed a complex client system, where aristocratic families pledged allegiance and voting support to other powerful families. In exchange for political appointments and advocating of various agendas, some power groups were able to subvert the state and the will of the masses for personal gain.
The words Patrician and Plebeian have taken on different connotations of wealthy and poor in modern English, but no such distinction existed in Roman times. The two classes were simply ancestral or inherited. A citizen's class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth. Patricians monopolized all of the political offices and probably most of the wealth in the early Republic, but there were many wealthy plebeians, and conversly many patrician families had little claim to wealth or prestige other than their family heritage. The relationship between the plebeians and the patricians sometimes came under intense strain, as a result of this exclusion from political influence. In repsonse, the plebeians on several occasions, abandoned the city leaving the patricians without a working class to support their political whims.
After the overthrown of the previous dynasty, led by Junius Brutus, the ancient Romans avoided a true monarchal government for the remainder of their history. Even when, in practice, the later imperial government could've given absolute power to the Emperor, it was theoretically still checked by the Senate and other representatives. This same Junius Brutus was later claimed to be an ancestor by the Republican loyalist Marcus Brutus, who was among the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, and shows the deeply rooted Roman aversion and dislike towards Kings. It was during this Republic that gave way for great expansion of Roman civilization, and set the path for European dominance. In these years, Rome was ruled by its Senate and its people's assemblies. The offices of power were divided among elected officials to avoid central power and the reconstruction of the monarchy.
The divisions were in essence a division of previous monarchal powers. The Romans instituted a constitution which would dictate the traditions and institutions of government for the Roman people. This constitution however, was not even a written document but a series of unwritten traditions and laws. Essentially, it maintained all the same powers as the monarchy, but was divided among a series of people, rather than one supreme power.
Patricians and Plebeians
Discontent and political upheaval lay ahead for the fledgling Republic, since the new constitution was flawed and exclusive in nature for the general population (plebeians). Rome was surrounded by powerful external enemies, including its former Etruscan rulers, and Patrician (the hereditary aristocratic families) in-fighting with each other and the plebeian (common people) class was an immediate source of difficulty. The Romans developed a complex client system, where aristocratic families pledged allegiance and voting support to other powerful families. In exchange for political appointments and advocating of various agendas, some power groups were able to subvert the state and the will of the masses for personal gain.
The words Patrician and Plebeian have taken on different connotations of wealthy and poor in modern English, but no such distinction existed in Roman times. The two classes were simply ancestral or inherited. A citizen's class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth. Patricians monopolized all of the political offices and probably most of the wealth in the early Republic, but there were many wealthy plebeians, and conversly many patrician families had little claim to wealth or prestige other than their family heritage. The relationship between the plebeians and the patricians sometimes came under intense strain, as a result of this exclusion from political influence. In repsonse, the plebeians on several occasions, abandoned the city leaving the patricians without a working class to support their political whims.