The History of Rome, Book II: From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of Italy
1871
The History of Rome, Book II: From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of Italy
1871
Translated by William P. (William Purdie) Dickson
Mommsen's second volume chronicles the violent birth of the Roman Republic: a story of kings expelled, classes at war, and a city fighting for survival against both internal strife and external enemies. Beginning with the dramatic overthrow of the Tarquin dynasty in 509 BCE, he traces the Republic's first tumultuous century, the creation of republican magistracies, the relentless struggle between patrician aristocrats and plebeian commoners for political rights, and Rome's desperate struggle against the Etruscans, Volsci, and ultimately the Gauls who sacked the city in 390 BCE. Written in 1854 but translated here from the 1871 edition, this was history written as drama, not chronicle. Mommsen brought literary ambition to scholarly rigor, and the result crackles with political conflict and human ambition. For anyone who wants to understand how Rome's republican institutions were forged in blood and compromise, and why they eventually failed, this remains essential reading.
About The History of Rome, Book II: From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of Italy
Chapter Summaries
- I
- This chapter details the abolition of the Roman monarchy and the establishment of the Republic, characterized by the collegiate and annual consulship and the emergency dictatorship. It describes how political power shifted to the centuriate assembly, and the Senate's initial expansion to include plebeians, marking a conservative revolution focused on limiting magisterial power rather than state power.
- II
- Mommsen explains the economic distress of plebeian farmers, leading to the secession to the Sacred Mount and the creation of the tribunate of the plebs and plebeian aediles. These new offices granted plebeians veto power and judicial authority. The chapter also covers the Decemvirate, which produced the Twelve Tables (Rome's first legal code) but ultimately failed to abolish the tribunate.
- III
- This chapter chronicles the gradual political equalization of patricians and plebeians, beginning with the Canuleian law allowing intermarriage and the opening of military tribuneship with consular powers. Despite patrician resistance and the creation of new magistracies like the censorship and praetorship, plebeians eventually gained access to all offices, culminating in the Hortensian law making plebiscites binding on all citizens, thus forming a new patricio-plebeian aristocracy.
Key Themes
- Class Struggle and Social Conflict
- The book meticulously details the protracted struggle between the patricians and plebeians for political rights and economic justice. This conflict, driven by issues like debt, land distribution, and access to magistracies, shapes the constitutional development of the early Republic and is a recurring undercurrent in Rome's internal and external affairs.
- Political Evolution and Constitutional Change
- Mommsen traces Rome's transformation from a monarchy to a republic, highlighting the gradual development of its unique political institutions like the consulship, tribunate, and Senate. The narrative emphasizes how these changes, often born out of internal strife, led to a robust and adaptable system of governance that enabled Rome's rise.
- Military Expansion and Conquest
- A significant portion of the book is dedicated to Rome's relentless military campaigns against its neighbors: Etruscans, Latins, Volscians, Samnites, and ultimately Pyrrhus. This theme underscores Rome's strategic brilliance, military discipline, and unwavering determination in subjugating Italy, transforming it from a city-state into a dominant regional power.
Characters
- Lars Porsena(antagonist)
- Etruscan king of Clusium who besieged Rome after the expulsion of the Tarquins, forcing Rome to cede territory and disarm.
- Spurius Cassius(protagonist)
- Roman consul who renewed the league with Latium and later proposed an agrarian law to aid the poor, for which he was executed.
- Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus(antagonist)
- Aristocrat exiled from Rome who led a Volscian army against his native city, only to be turned back by his mother's pleas.
- Appius Claudius (decemvir)(antagonist)
- A rigid aristocrat who became a tyrannical decemvir, whose actions led to the second secession of the plebs and the fall of the Decemvirate.
- Lucius Valerius(protagonist)
- Consul who, along with Marcus Horatius, negotiated the compromise that restored the tribunate and codified the Valerio-Horatian laws.
- Marcus Horatius(protagonist)
- Consul who, along with Lucius Valerius, negotiated the compromise that restored the tribunate and codified the Valerio-Horatian laws.
