9 - 3 - The Roman Republic

Consuls
- Two consuls elected annually
- Serve as the chief magistrates of the Republic
- Restrictions on how often the same person could be elected
- How Rome ensured power was shared
Senate
- Consists of 300 members in the early to mid-republic
- Members typically from the highest wealth class
- How the gov would not be considered a democracy
People
- Governance also involves the Centuriate Assembly and additional bodies
  - Organized by wealth class
- Come together and vote
SPQR
- Acronym for "Senatus Populusque Romanus" (The Senate and People of Rome)
Magistrates
- Various appointed officials with distinct roles and powers within the government

509 BCE
- Founding of the Roman Republic
- After the last king was expelled
133-44 BCE
- Period marked by a breakdown of traditional norms
44 BCE
- Assassination of Julius Caesar
- Dictator actually an official position within the government - not the negative connotation it has today
  - People who step in and deal with problems. Caesar elected so many times was names dictator for life
- Group of senators got togther and assassinated him.
- If they wanted to restore the Republic to what it was before, dod not happen. Sparked a war
44-31 BCE
- Conflict between the conspirators of Caesar and the Triumvirs, followed by infighting among the Triumvirs
31 BCE
- Defeat of Marc Antony by Caesar Octavian
27 BCE
- Octavian is renamed Augustus, marking the end of the Republic

Mix of civic buildings, governmental, religious, etc.
Buildings names after the people who commissoned them
Basilicas
- Used as multipurpose buildings
Temples
- Specific temples mentioned:
  - Temple of Concord
  - Temple of Vesta
    - Goddess of the Hearth
    - Offerings into the fireplaces
    - Also public hearth representing the hearth of the city, fire did not go out
    - Vestal Virgins
      - Priestesses serving in the Temple of Vesta
      - More and less power than other women in the city
      - 30 years serving, had to remain virgins
      - Could have their own property and lived separately from the males in their family
      - If they ran into someone about to be executed, that person would be pardoned.
Curia
- Senate house
- Where the senate would meet
- Not where Julius was assassinated. it was under construction at that time
Rostra
- Speaker’s platform for public announcements and speeches

Earliest Coinage
- Introduced around 300 BCE
- Coming with knowledge of earlier systems
- Really big and impractical
Denarius System
- Established circa 211 BCE
- Silver denarius the base unit
Types of Coins
- Gold: aureus - worth a lot
- Silver: denarius - worth a bit less
- Copper and copper alloys: sestertius, dupondius, as - bottom of the food chain
- 3 general categories
See evolution of coin design thru the republic. no coins w Roman kings. Don’t allow living people on their coins
- Against it bc a portrait on a coin is a portrait of a king and they didn’t want a repeat of that era
As political competitions ramp up, people find ways around it and use coins for political messages.
- Designs relative to family history
- Comes to a time where living people start appearing on coins, starting with Julius Caesar
Ex., EID MAR - “odds of march” with liberty cap on it - image of brutus on other side - killer of Caesar
- Advertising that with the assassination they freed the citizens from being under a king by means of the dagger iconography