1. THE EARLY REPUBLIC
& CINCINNATUS
Social Studies for 9th EBG
Teacher: Mauricio Torres

2. A Republic
 In 509 BC, the Romans
created a new type of
government: the republic.
 In a republic, people elect
leaders to govern them and
also the law rules above
everyone else.
 This elections were done each
year, and these leaders had a
lot of power which could only
be held for no more than a
year.
 This was done in order to
avoid just one person from
holding too much power.
 Remember, the word REX
(“king” in latin) had a bad
connotation for the Romans.

3. Rome in the days of the
Republic

4. Republic vs. Democracy
 Even though officials were elected, they were
not chosen from a small group of people:
 Wealthy
 Powerful
 These wealthy Romans held all he
power, while poor and common romans had
no say at all.

5. Challenges from Outside
 After the republic was
created, Romans found
themselves fighting wars with
their neighbors.
 Most of the battles were won and
they incorporated their neighbor’s
land as their own (as well as its
inhabitants).
 But some battle were also
lost, and this was a costly matter.
 For these times of
trouble, Romans chose
dictators (rulers with absolute
power, over the army and
senate).

6. Cincinnatus
 One of Rome’s epic dictators was
Cincinnatus. He had been a consul but was
retired.
 He gained power in 458 BC.
 He was a farmer, but also a great military
leader.

7. Cincinnatus the dictator
 He quickly
defeated the
Aequians, a
neighboring
tribe, who had
surrounded a
Roman army.
 Cincinnatus came
back to Rome as a
triumphant
general, but
immediately
resigned his
dictatorship and
returned to his

8. Trouble continues
 Event though Rome achieved many victories on
the battlefield, they were costly, and they found
themselves in constant warfare.
 This is how it soon became a great military power
as they absorbed the tribes around them
(Etruscans, Latins, Sabines, etc) in order to
survive.

9. Early Wars
 Italian campaigns
(458-396 BC):
 Sabines, Etruscans,
Latins.
 Celtic invasions of
Italy(390-387 BC):
 The Gauls, led by
Brennus invade the
Italian peninsula and
sack Rome.
 Roman expansion
into Italy (343–282
BC):
 They fight several
wars against the
Samnites.
 Pyrrhic War (280–
275 BC):
 Rome was able to
defeat the
Greeks, and took
control of the Italian
peninsula.

10. Roman Expansion
 The map shows the
expansion of Roman
territory during the
days of the
Republic.

11. Ask Yourself
 Identify:
 What was the Roman office of Dictator?
 Explain:
 How was the republic different from a monarchy?
 Why did Romans hate the term Rex?
 Infer:
 What would push Cincinnatus to abandon power so
quickly?
 Describe:
 Describe Roman expansion during the early days of
the Republic

12. Bibliography
 Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World
History (Teacher´s Edition) (1st Edition
ed.). (H. McDougal, Ed.) Orlando, Florida,
US.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company.
 Images taken from www.google.com