Roman Republic Lecture Notes

Flashcards on Roman Republic History

Catilinarian Conspiracy

Attempted coup d’etat by Lucius Sergius Catilina to assume state control.

Significance of the Catilinarian Conspiracy

Symptom of deeper issues such as moral decay, political ambition, and social unrest in the Roman Republic.

Sallust

Politician and soldier who wrote about the Catiline conspiracy between 44-40 BC.

Ronald Syme’s view on Sallust’s Motivation

Emphasises themes of corruption, decadence and moral decline of the ruling classes as a motivation for Catiline’s plot.

Cicero's Role

Opposition to Rullan Land Bill as consul in 63 BC, arguing it would favor Italian poor over Roman plebs.

Ultimate Decree (consultum ultimum)

Allowed Cicero to allocate watchmen throughout Italy and execute Catiline’s fellow conspirators.

Women's Status in the Roman Republic

Marked by legal constraint but practical agency, especially visible through their family roles, property management, religious functions, and rare moments of political involvement.

Legal Restrictions on Women

Women remained under male guardianship and were barred from voting, holding office, or serving as legal guarantors.

Voconian Law of 169 BCE

Limited women’s ability to inherit large estates to curb their influence in elite family wealth.

Economic Autonomy of Women

Women often retained control of property, especially if widowed or unmarried, and participated in financial dealings.

Marriage dynamics

Elite marriages were economic alliances; women’s dowries gave them stakes in family politics.

Household Management

Women educated children, ran large estates during their husbands' military absences, and maintained family rituals.

Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi

Symbolises maternal moral authority. Influenced sons' political actions.

Vestal Virgins

Only official priestesses in Republican Rome; they tended the sacred fire of Vesta and had legal privileges.

Sempronia, Clodia, and Fulvia

Demonstrate women’s behind-the-scenes influence in politics.

Repeal of the Oppian Law in 195 BCE

Followed large-scale protests by Roman women; Cato the Elder decried this public defiance.

Occupations of Women

Women worked as hairdressers, nurses, wet-nurses, midwives, and occasionally as shopkeepers and traders.

Domitia Lucilla and Aelia Marciana

Owned brickyards and supervised large estates. Exported olive oil from Baetica.

Freedpeople (liberti)

No longer slaves but not full citizens either; remained socially and economically dependent on their patrons.

Legal Status of Freedpeople

A slave became a freedman and was granted Roman citizenship — but not full rights.

Patron-Client Relationship

Freedpeople remained tied to their former masters (patroni) through legal and moral obligation.

Lex Papia (65 BCE)

Reinforced restrictions on manumission, preventing the over-expansion of freedmen's rights.

Numismatic evidence

Coins minted by or depicting liberti suggest their economic visibility.

Occupations of Freedmen

Tessellarius (mosaicist), argentarius (money-changer), or negotiator (merchant).

Cultural and Literary Perception of Freedmen

Sallust and Tacitus portrayed them as opportunistic, dangerous social climbers.

Slavery

Fundamental to the Roman Republic’s social structure and economy; provided crucial labour and symbols of status.

Agriculture in slave context

Large estates relied heavily on slave labour after Punic Wars increased slave supply through conquest.

Urban economy in slave context

Slaves worked as artisans, merchants’ assistants, and domestic servants.

Slaves as Social Display

Owning many slaves was a sign of wealth and status; triumphant generals paraded slaves as spoils.

Senate decrees and laws in slave context

Regulated treatment and punished rebellious slaves, reflecting elite fears of revolt.

Slave Revolts

Major uprisings revealed slavery’s fragility.

Social Wars (91–88 BC)

The Social Wars were a defining conflict between Rome and its Italian allies (socii) over citizenship rights.

Citizenship Denial

Italian allies fought in Rome’s armies but were denied full citizenship and voting rights.

Evidence of Roman Response

Lex Julia and Lex Plautia Papiria legislated during the war to grant citizenship to compliant Italian communities.

Key Figures in Social War

Leaders like Sulla and Marius rose to prominence during the war.

Optimates

Optimates were the conservative faction in the Roman Republic, advocating for aristocratic privilege and senatorial authority.

Etymology of ‘Optimate’

Elites claiming moral and political superiority.

Evidence of Optimate definition

Cicero’s writings describe optimates as defenders of order and the constitution.

Sulla’s Reforms

As an optimate champion, Sulla curtailed tribunician powers and strengthened the Senate.

Values of Optimates

Emphasis on prestige, authority, and honor.

Epigraphy

Epigraphy is a vital source for understanding groups underrepresented in literary sources.

Funerary inscriptions

Often include women’s names, ages, familial roles, and sometimes occupations.

Self-representation

Freedmen commemorated patrons, professions, and familial achievements in their inscriptions.

Oxford Handbook of Roman Epitaphs

Differentiates public from private inscriptions, noting that funerary epitaphs provide intimate details on marginalized individuals.