The Rise of the Roman Republic: From Etruscan Rule to Self-Governance - Essay Sample

Introduction

Romans form a unique form of a ruling system, which they referred to as republican later adopted by many countries, including the United States. The formation of the government began when the Romans overthrew the Etruscans in 50 B.E.C, who conquered them previously. These Etruscans had ruled the Roman territories along the north side for over one hundred years. Immediately they were free from the rule from the unwelcomed rule of the Etruscans Romans established a republic system of governance. Here, the citizens elected representatives at various levels to rule over them on their behalf. Besides, the citizenry concept in the Roman empire evolved and changed significantly during the Roman republic and later in the Roman empire. Notably, the citizens who formed the empire included all 15 years old and above males from the tribes of Rome. Additionally, these citizens distinguished themselves from slavery by putting on a particular type of attire called "Tonga." Therefore, this essay focuses on how the Roman republic evolved through the Principate, dominate, and imperial periods.

Under aristocracy, the first or the wealthy class citizens dominated the republic top leadership positions, and the tradition referred to them as the patricians (Mouritsen, 2017). From this class of citizens, there were two leaders or consuls, who occupied the highest positions in government to lead the Roman republic. Consequent, the governance system also consisted of a senate that consisted of the patricians, and one primary mandate that the system gave them was to select the consuls. As a result, at this level of government formation, the ordinary citizens who they referred to as plebeians had no powers in governance. Interestingly, both women and men were citizens in the Roma republic, but only men had the mandate to vote and choose leaders that would exercise power on both the women and men.

Furthermore, as tradition dictated, there was a strict separation between the patricians and the plebeians, and for that reason, they could not intermarry. As time went by, plebeians elected their representatives, and they called them tribunes. The tribunes later gained the power to involve themselves with the measures of veto that the Senate was passing.

In emergencies such as war, the republic required the leadership and decisions of one individual. Therefore, at such circumstances, the consul and the SenateSenate would create the position of a single dictator who would rule would rule temporarily until the end of the crisis. This position of a temporary dictator was not democratic; however, he could have all the power and making decisions without the approval of any other organ of governance. Additionally, the appointed dictator also had full authority and control over the military of the republic. Changes kept erupting from one period to the other with evolution in the system of governance and way of life among the Roman people.

The Roman Republic During the Principate Period

By the end of the Actium battle of 31 B.C, Octavius was the sole leader of the Roman empire, and no one referred to him as 'King" because no Roman was fond of such a word. However, no leader in the entire Roman republic would keep it bin line except him. The whole state resorted back to the monarchial system of ruling because that was the only way that any leader interested in ruling the country would succeed. As tradition called for it, Augustus became the beginning of the Principate period, where the new monarchial ruling system tried its best to preserve the traditions and aspects of the roman republic (Donahue, 2017). Augustus tried his level best to retain all the republic conservatives while keeping most of the political shapes in good condition. As a sole supreme ruler, Augustus' sole objective was to eradicate the confusion and hatred that came as a result of the prolonged civil war. For this reason, he proved to the masses that he was a renowned politician throughout gaining power.

Augustus also made essential reforms at the beginning of his rule because he had to deal with both the popular and the noble causes. As a result, he revived a significant sense of nobility and dignity by decreasing the number of representatives in the SenateSenate. Additionally, Augustus took away some powers from the provincial level of governance as well from the assemblies of the people. Contrary to such vita changes in the governance system dominated by the aristocratic class, he retained the composition of the magistrate, considering it a particular arm of governance. Finally, he introduced a new method of protection that he called "Praetorian." Importantly, he aimed at making Rome organized, peaceful, and as systematic as he could; therefore, he had to create 14 districts within the provinces and posted the police to maintain law and order. Further, he also made a lot of effort to ensure that he reorganized all the systems in Rome and the proper flow of finances within the economy of the republic.

The Roman Republic During the Dominate Period

At the beginning of Rome, little local leaders regarded as kings ruled the local tribes resulting in frequent tribal conflicts. Farmer-soldiers in Rome comparatively fared well and managed to expand their territories. By the time Rome managed to acquire the area to the northern Alps in Italy and the southern region, which was a colony of the Greeks, it could be to say Rome already had an empire. Notably, such historic acquisition of the empire was not the same as the imperial period. When the government of Rome started growing its empire, it was a republican system of governance managed by elected representatives. An example of the rulers who acted as dictators in the Roman Republic during the dominating period was Cincinnatus, whose aid would be helpful during emergencies like conflicts (Mouritsen, 2017). Notably, it is also now that the government leaders, with the help of military assistants, changed some of the laws on the 12 high tables. These first roman laws enacted in 449 B.C.E and put in writing were rather harsh because they did not guarantee equal treatment of all the citizens within Rome.

The Roman Republic During the Imperial Period

When this period began in 27 B.C, the hen emperor held office duties with the co-consul. He had to consult members of the advisory committee to be in a position to make viable final decisions. Besides, the SenateSenate was a constitution of representatives elected by the citizens since the period of Principate. The period also experienced leadership from some exceptional leaders like Caligula whose actions had no regards for maintaining the reforms fronted by the republicans. Such illusions of disregard with different emperors coming in to rule in their own style continued until the third century. Resulting from the trend that took abnormally long, emperors at that level became masters and lords with their decisions final. Therefore, some parts of the law away from the collective law-making process would be the decisions that such emperors made during either an economic or war emergency. Caligula, in his style of leadership, did not use the advisory board from the SenateSenate; he instead chose a bureaucracy of civil servants to serve as his chief advisors in a matter concerning the running of the empire (Gowing, 2005). Luckily, the leaders gained the support of the soldiers who became loyal to the leader and at his service.

Conclusion

From the history of the ancient Roman Empire and the evolution of leadership in the three periods, it is right to say that the representation system of governance is an old idea. After the formation of the empire by the tribes conquering the north of Italy and the Greek colonized south, an empire erupted. As a result of defeating the Etruscans, the Romans decided to have an aristocratic style of representation and form a republican state. These initiatives taken by the Roman people in the ancient periods show that the typical style of rule has a distinctive origin. One can, therefore, trace the source of the federal system of governance practiced in the United States. Besides, looking at the switch of systems of governance from Augustus to other emperors, one can also conclude that leadership qualities need intelligence to result in good outcomes. For instance, as much as Augustus was a dictator, he had humanitarian concerns and, for that reason, changed the aristocratic system to monarchial.

Referring to the period when Augustus was the sole leader of the empire, his desires and goals were humanly acceptable despite his dictatorship and monarchial nature. He aimed at bringing cohesion peace and wealth to his territories. By attempting to make Rome a systematic, peaceful, and organized state, his objectives were to give his people a befitting living environment full of food and other forms of wealth. Additionally, by creating the district and deploying police officers to maintain law and order by enforcing the law showed how much the emperor minded the security status within his territory. On the contrary, when the aristocrats of the empire introduced the written laws on the twelve tables, they did so to bring the people discriminative rules to govern them. For instance, the 449 B.E.C laws did not guarantee all citizens equal treatment in the face of the law. Moreover, the idea of selecting a dictator to lead the military during emergencies like civil wars did not have humanitarian considerations. That is to say, having a dictator who would eventually make decisions without consulting the appointing authorities would later be a threat to the governing body, and the soldiers would work under such people.

References

Donahue, J. (2017). The Roman Community at the table during the Principate. University of Michigan Press.

Gowing, A. M. (2005). Empire and memory: the representation of the Roman Republic in imperial culture. Cambridge University Press.

Mouritsen, H. (2017). Politics in the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press.