SPQR is a Latin acronym short for Senatus Populusque Romanus. Senatus Populusque Romanus means The Senate and People of Rome in English. At first, this only included patricians, who were of higher power or class, but when democracy made its way in Rome, the meaning of Populus gradually changed to include the general public as well. It is most probably the longest lasting acronym in the history of the world (Beard, 10). Those letters were stamped all over Rome, and it shows how important the Roman people were considered to be. The notion lasted for one thousand years, all the way through even the Roman Empire. The Roman government was controlled by two annually elected consuls. Consuls held executive power in the Roman state, but one could
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It played a major role in the development of the constitution of the Roman Republic. At first, only Patricians were allowed to join elections, but over the years, these laws were removed and eventually, the Plebeians were allowed to join the elections too. In 449 BC, the Senate came up with the laws and rules of Rome, and they called in The Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables were a code of Law concerning the summons to court, and it began in 450 BC and ended in 451 BC and it is considered the earliest surviving piece of literature from the Romans. These laws were developed over a thousand years and formed the basis of Roman law. The Roman code of the Twelve Tables ended when the Roman Empire fell. They represented a written code which applied to all of the social scales, from the Patricians to the Plebeians. In 450 BC, the code was formally engraved in bronze and mounted at the speaker’s forum for everyone to see. These laws concerned crime, property, and family matters. What these laws did was they granted rights to all citizens within Rome and that included both, the Plebeians and the …show more content…
The Roman army played a big role in their expansion. The main unit of the Roman army was the legion. The legionnaires consisted of 4,500 to 6,000 citizens. These men were all trained and disciplined. Rome wanted to control hostile neighbors, wanted more resources, The Roman expansion occurred in 3 stages. The first stage occurred when Rome decided to conquer Italy, (Spielvogel, 5.2). Rome then had a conflict with Carthage and expanded into the western Mediterranean Sea. The last stage occurred when the Romans took over Hellenistic kingdoms in the eastern Mediterranean. Under Emperor Claudius, Romans conquered most of the island of Britain. Rome also controlled the entire Mediterranean world. This expansion ended up affecting the Romans. It widened the gap between the rich and the poor, more people became unemployed, a lot of small farmers fell in debt which made them sell their land to rich people, and it affected the Plebeians who left their lands to serve in the army. The Roman Republic started in 133 BC but eventually fell in 27 BC. The Roman Republic fell because there were so many jobless citizens because their slaves did all the work so the economy started to go downhill from there. Armies gained a lot of fame from other empires and used it to fight against Rome and that started a Civil War in 80 B.C.E. Lastly, greed was considered to be the main factor in how the Roman Republic fell.
It played a major role in the development of the constitution of the Roman Republic. At first, only Patricians were allowed to join elections, but over the years, these laws were removed and eventually, the Plebeians were allowed to join the elections too. In 449 BC, the Senate came up with the laws and rules of Rome, and they called in The Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables were a code of Law concerning the summons to court, and it began in 450 BC and ended in 451 BC and it is considered the earliest surviving piece of literature from the Romans. These laws were developed over a thousand years and formed the basis of Roman law. The Roman code of the Twelve Tables ended when the Roman Empire fell. They represented a written code which applied to all of the social scales, from the Patricians to the Plebeians. In 450 BC, the code was formally engraved in bronze and mounted at the speaker’s forum for everyone to see. These laws concerned crime, property, and family matters. What these laws did was they granted rights to all citizens within Rome and that included both, the Plebeians and the …show more content…
The Roman army played a big role in their expansion. The main unit of the Roman army was the legion. The legionnaires consisted of 4,500 to 6,000 citizens. These men were all trained and disciplined. Rome wanted to control hostile neighbors, wanted more resources, The Roman expansion occurred in 3 stages. The first stage occurred when Rome decided to conquer Italy, (Spielvogel, 5.2). Rome then had a conflict with Carthage and expanded into the western Mediterranean Sea. The last stage occurred when the Romans took over Hellenistic kingdoms in the eastern Mediterranean. Under Emperor Claudius, Romans conquered most of the island of Britain. Rome also controlled the entire Mediterranean world. This expansion ended up affecting the Romans. It widened the gap between the rich and the poor, more people became unemployed, a lot of small farmers fell in debt which made them sell their land to rich people, and it affected the Plebeians who left their lands to serve in the army. The Roman Republic started in 133 BC but eventually fell in 27 BC. The Roman Republic fell because there were so many jobless citizens because their slaves did all the work so the economy started to go downhill from there. Armies gained a lot of fame from other empires and used it to fight against Rome and that started a Civil War in 80 B.C.E. Lastly, greed was considered to be the main factor in how the Roman Republic fell.