LESSON 5.6 How was Rome ruled?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • describe Rome’s changing system of government from republic to empire • explain the signiýcance of the class groups that the people of Rome were divided into.
Tune in Ancient Rome’s government aimed for prosperity, but not everyone was equally represented. 1. How is the patrician in SOURCE 1 dressed? 2. Could someone dressed like that do manual work? 3. What does his outýt say about patricians’ status? 4. How could patricians rise in society?
SOURCE1 A statue of a Roman patrician
5.6.1 Social divisions After the Romans expelled the last Etruscan king (c. 509 BCE), they formed a republic. Rich people had the most power, while women and slaves had none. To be a Roman citizen, you needed to be male, age 25 or older, freeborn and able to vote on laws. Roman citizens were divided into two classes — patricians and plebeians (see SOURCE2 ). Patricians were from rich families who founded the republic. Plebeians were everyone else; although some became rich, they rarely had much inþuence. There were more plebeians than patricians. Plebeians went on strike for more power. From this strike, plebeians gained the right to elect ten tribunes, or protectors. Tribunes could veto laws to help ordinary people.
TOPIC5 Ancient Rome 145
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