The Roman Republic: A Comparative Analysis

once the romans overthrew the Italian conquerors in 509 B.C.E, they were free then established a republic. that meant that they could(citizens) elect representatives on their own behalf. In their Republic each national play a active role in governing the state. Whoever was elective were known as “consuls”. Consuls solely ruled for a year. If they didn't meet their expectations, they might be kicked out of successive election. Like our government our president governs for four years and is merely allowed 2 terms. similar to our government that they had a senate that will discuss and projected new laws. conjointly issued monetary problems touching

The consuls were the supreme power of authority with one year terms and could not be elected more than two times in a row and three times total. However, in situations of crisis, the Romans were led by a dictator who had complete power in a six month term. The Republic also had a senate, picked by the two consuls. The senators held their position for life and were responsible for taxes, funding laws, and foreign affairs. Next in line were the assembly, an elected body drawn from the citizens of Rome with two year terms and no term limits. The assembly occasionally made laws that had to be approved by the senate. The common people of Rome were called the Plebeians. The Plebeians served in the army, payed taxes, and had other citizen duties, but were not allowed to hold any important positions in office, unlike the Patricians who had all the rights. The Tribunes represented the voice of the Plebeians and were elected by the Plebeians. There were two Tribunes at a time with one year terms and had the power to veto any law. The Tribunes were “sacred” and left their doors open to the public to speak to them about any problems they might have

The executive powers of the republic were held by the magistrates elected from the assemblies. There were two Consuls who lead the armies, introduced legislation and were considered the head of the government. Other executive positions included the Praetors or judges, the Tribunes; whose job it was to protect the lower class from the higher class, and the Censors; whose job it was to take census and determine who senators were. The

The Roman senate was a political institution in ancient Rome. It was the governing and advisory council that proved to be the most permanent element in the roman constitution. It contributed to the fall of the roman republic in a couple of ways; first, the Roman law forbade any senator from holding the same office multiple times in a row since this would be dangerous

Carthage had two magistrates called suffites who were like the Roman consuls. Carthage had a council of elders called hundred just like the Romans had the senate. Carthage also had trading colonies just as Rome had her colonies around Italy. Rome was rich and Carthage was rich; Rome was rich thanks to the taxes that conquered colonies paid to her. Carthage was rich because of trade between the West and the East that is why Carthage was called the great merchant of the Mediterranean. Even in the end of the Carthage Empire, both Rome and Carthage had similarities. The sons of some of their best soldiers were the leaders of their armies Pablius Scipius

Initially, when looking back at the Roman Republic there are a plethora of elements to observe that made it up. The main thing that the Republic had since it has risen was its senate. The senate played a vital role in the political dimension of the Republic itself as one whole. Made up of roughly around three-hundred men, they had adjusted the Roman society to fit the needs it had to have to stay afloat. Senators had taken on jobs specifically preparing legislation, handling finances, managing foreign relations, and supervising the state religion (Lassieur 15). This all tied together in what led to orderly conduct and harmony. SPQR:Senatus Populusque Romanus, better known as the senate and people of Rome, have been found on Roman carvings (Chandler, Taplin, Bingham 21). Just this piece of evidence shows that they really did play an important part in the Republic. All of the senators came from being a magistrate elected by the 4 assemblies (Lassieur 15-17). The four assemblies; Canitia Centuriata, Concilium Plebis, Comitia

According to (www.forumromanum.org),1as a result of second Punic War, Carthage was abridged to the rank of a client state losing all the power of endorsing its own diplomacy and treaties. Carthage was forced to recompense a tribute of 10,000 and all the warships. Carthage was also prohibited to raise an army unless given permission by Rome. Reparations and Grain for lost deliveries similarly had to be delivered to Rome together with the responsibility of collecting slaves and returning them.

To begin with, the two states have been identified as republics, although, their roots and influences of government were vastly different. Carthage became independent from the long ruling of the Phoenicians who were the commercial hub for sea trading along the African Sea. The Phoenicians had a powerful navy to guard their business, and so naturally the Carthaginians inherited their sailing and trading skills, it’s also no surprise that they too created a superior experienced naval fleet. (Van Loon, 2003, para. 1). Rome’s influence stemmed from the Greeks who began trading with them after they kicked the Etruscan's out. The Greeks shared their knowledge of trading and religion, which later

The centers of political power were the two consuls and the Senate. In practice, the Senate made laws and governed.

Some time later the Roman government became a Republic and split itself into three segments. There was the Senate, which was made of Patricians and unusually wealthy Plebeians.The Assembly was the second part of this government. It was made of the Plebeian class and It elected Consuls, the leader of the Assembly. They choose who is elected in the Senate and to become one, you must be popular in the Assembly, or Plebeians. The Consuls also led the army into battle whenever Rome got into war or to suppress a rebellion.

It had two chief magistrates (called suffetes), corresponding to the Roman consuls. It had a council of elders, called the “hundred,” which we might compare to the Roman senate. It had also an assembly something like the Roman comitia. But while the Carthaginian government had some outward similarity to the Roman, it was in its spirit very different. The real power was exercised by a few wealthy and prominent families. The Carthaginians, moreover, did not understand the Roman method of incorporating their subjects into the state; and hence did not possess a great body of loyal citizens, as did Rome. But one great advantage of the Carthaginian government was the fact that it placed the command of the army in the hands of a permanent able leader, and not in the hands of its civil magistrates, who were constantly changing as were the consuls at

As per Morey (1901) it was "in some respects the same kind of government as the Roman republic." The two chief magistrates were like to the Roman consuls. The council of elders, named "hundred," were resembling the Roman senate. Moreover, Carthage had an assembly that to some extent was similar to Roman comitia (Morey, 1901). SIMILAR AMBITIONS

While the governments of Rome and Carthage around the times of the Punic wars might look similar as drawn in organisational chart fashion, reflecting structural similarities, there were important differences in the allocation of responsibilities, concepts of citizenship and the scope and exercise of power. I will firstly provide a brief history of governance in the two societies and then depict the structural similarities before highlighting important differences.

The Roman Republic was born in 509 B.C., following a revolt resulting in the overthrowing of the last Roman king (Matthews et. al., 2014). A group of wealthy members of society, called patricians, formed a Senate were they appointed two consuls to rule the people. The patricians held all the positions within the Senate, the lower class citizens, called plebeians, were not permitted to hold an office in the beginning. The two consuls were referred to as a monarchic form of government, each shared the power with either having more power than the other (Osborne, 2018). The two consuls play different roles as consul, one would remain in the city while the other would lead the militaries on the battlefield. The Senate as formed from the oligarchy style of government, the senators were elite members of the society. The third form of government was also formed in the Roman Republic, it was democratic. This allowed the people to vote for the patrician, they wanted to represent them in the Senate, consequently, only

Finally, we come to the focus of this report, that is, the Roman Senate. The Senate represented the aristocratic and elitist element of Roman government and was a collection of patrician citizens (the patrician/plebian conflict will be described in more depth later) who served as the legislative branch of the government as well as an advisory body. In the beginning of the Republic, the Senate contained 300 members, the members themselves were chosen from the patrician class, ex-consuls, and other officers who served for life. By the time that Julius Caesar gained power, the Senate's membership had increased to nearly 800 people.