Page 324 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

roman empire 1625

N
ROMAN EMPIRE
Britain at 117 CE
London

Atlantic Gaul
Ocean
Lyon C a s p i a n
B l a c k S e a
Macedonia
Spain Byzantium
Adriatic
Rome
Greece
Sicily Athens
Antioch
Carthage
Babylon
Cyprus
Crete
Tyre
M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a
Jerusalem
Alexandria
Egypt 0 500 mi
0 500 km
Red Sea

to organize any major allocations of the state’s resources and vote on new legislation, although such legislation
that might be necessary. Of these allocations, the distri- had to be ratified by the Senate.
bution of public lands and the construction of new pub-
lic buildings were the most important. From Republic to Empire
The censors were also responsible for overseeing the From its inception the Roman republic was a society pre-
membership of the Senate, appointing new senators, and pared for war, with all eligible male citizens expected to
removing infamous ones from office.The Senate embod- bear arms for the state. The Senate had the power to
ied the supreme authority of the Roman state, supervised appoint a dictator, an official who would wield absolute
and disciplined the actions of the magistrates, and pos- power in the state for up to six months in order to see it
sessed ultimate jurisdiction over domestic legislation and through a severe crisis, usually violent in nature.The wars
the state’s foreign relations. during the early centuries of the republic were mostly
The Senate and executive offices were dominated by defensive, and in 390 BCE Rome itself was briefly taken
the patricians, Rome’s hereditary elite.The ordinary citi- by an army of Gauls; but during the third century the
zens, or plebeians, were largely excluded from executive republic began its expansion into a territorial empire.The
power but exercised a voice in public affairs through their entire Italian peninsula south of the Po River had come
membership in one or both of two citizen assemblies.The under Roman dominion by 264 BCE. The three Punic
centuriate assembly encompassed all citizens whose Wars fought between Rome and the empire of Carthage
material wealth was sufficient to require them to provide (264–241 BCE, 218–201 BCE, 149–146 BCE) led to the
military service to the state.This electoral body voted for expansion of Roman military power and political sover-
consuls, praetors, and censors. The tribal assembly eignty beyond the Italian peninsula into both the western
included all free citizens and voted for quaestors and and eastern Mediterranean. This expansion, which was
aediles. This assembly elected its own leaders, the trib- virtually complete by 30 BCE, brought wealth to the citi-
unes, who represented the interests of the plebeians in zens of Rome and expanded the opportunities of the
state affairs and came to wield considerable power. The Roman elite to exercise political power as civil and mili-
tribal assembly also had the right to propose, deliberate, tary authorities in the newly acquired provinces.