![]() ![]() ![]() The cursus honorum was like a ladder that politicians competed to climb, with each rung bringing increased fame, honor, power, and wealth, which culminated in the consulship, an office held by only two citizens each year.Ĭonsuls were the highest ranking Roman magistrates and their duties included presiding over the senate and leading armies on military campaigns. The cursus honorum is the name for the hierarchy of political offices, or magistracies, that Roman men pursued in their political careers. The Roman government during the Republic was multifaceted and can be divided into three major categories: the cursus honorum, the senate, and the citizen assemblies. Plebeians struggled with patricians over access to the highest offices and the authority of citizen assemblies for centuries. Most Romans belonged to a less prestigious social group called the plebeians. However, the more powerful and prestigious political positions were dominated by a small group of Rome’s wealthiest and oldest families known as the patricians. In theory, all citizens were able to participate in some capacity. ![]() Participation in the government of Rome was limited to male citizens. So, a republic is literally “the thing concerning the people.” The History The word “republic” comes from the Latin words res, meaning thing, property, or matter, and publica, meaning public. to the ascension of Augustus in 27 B.C., which marked the beginning of the Roman Empire. The Republic is the period in Roman history dating from the end of the reign of Rome’s last king in 509 B.C. In addition to Rome’s various magistrates, there was a powerful advisory body called the senate, as well as citizen assemblies that elected officeholders and voted on proposed laws, trials, and military decisions. The highest annually elected office in Rome was that of the consul, held by two men each year. Elite Roman men pursuing political careers tried to work their way up this highly competitive political hierarchy in order to gain more prestige and power. ExplanationĪfter the end of the Roman monarchy, the many magistracies that were created developed into a rigid hierarchy of political offices, each with different requirements, responsibilities, and privileges. In place of the king, political offices, called magistracies, were created and held by the Roman elite to govern Rome. This event resulted from a number of abuses, the most prominent of which was the assault of the king’s son, Sextus, on Lucretia, the wife of an elite Roman. after Rome’s last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was expelled from the city. ![]()
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