Rise of the Republic Tuesday,  January 26, 2016 1:42 PM

What are the two reasons why rome was so successful?

Trojan War  1194-1184 BC

Alba Longa

Tiber  773

Rome  753 BC/1AUC

Republic  509-31BC

Aeneas

Numitor  

Amulius

Rhea Silvia

Mars

Romulus

Remus

Centuriate

/193 centuries 98$

95 95%

tribal

2 consuls Praetors

Aediles

SENATE

Quaestor Lo tribunes

• Much of ancient Rome's government has been interpreted in our government The Roman Origin myth (what the Romans believed to be true; but actually wasn’t)

In what year rome destroys carthage?

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The Romans believed their history began with the Trojan War (they thought it  was a real event that took place bt 1194-1184BC) We also discuss several other topics like Who is known as rome's first emperor?

The Trojan War began when Troy, a city in Northwestern Turkey, was  

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attacked by a coalition of Greek city-states. After 10yrs of fighting, the  Greeks were finally able to capture Troy. Most of the Trojans were either  killed or enslaved If you want to learn more check out What are the characteristics of the normal distribution?

The Romans believed that some Trojans did escape; and they were led by  

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Aeneas (a member of the royal family of Troy;  a cousin of Hector in Paris);  and he was the son of a goddess).  

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Some of the Trojans were able to escape from the doomed city but  then had to figure out what to do next; where do they go. Luckily,  they were visited by a messenger from the gods. The messenger told  Aneas that he and his Trojans must go to central Italy; and if he does  this, his descendants will establish a great empire

Who gets military command for a shot at military glory?

We also discuss several other topics like What does collectivist mean?

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The Trojans pack up and set sail for the West and arrive in central  Italy. They eventually establish a new city called Alba Longa and  Aeneas' descendants rule as kings.

A couple hundred years later, the king of Alba Longa  is Numitor, a  

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descendant of Aeneas. Unfortunately, Numitor had a younger brother  named Amulius. Amulius wanted to be kin. So Amulius rises u to  

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The Trojans pack up and set sail for the West and arrive in central  Italy. They eventually establish a new city called Alba Longa and  Aeneas' descendants rule as kings.

A couple hundred years later, the king of Alba Longa  is Numitor, a  

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descendant of Aeneas. Unfortunately, Numitor had a younger brother  named Amulius. Amulius wanted to be king. So Amulius rises up to  rebellion and drives his brother out of Alba Longa. Amulius is the New  king.  

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He becomes concerned about the future mainly bc there is a  prophecy that claims if Numitor's daughter (Rhea Silvia) ever had  children, they would grow up and overthrow Amulius. Amulius then  puts her in jail; if she does not see any guys, she will not have  children; but he didn’t take the gods into account (Mars, the Roman  god of war). Like all gods, Mars had super powers. He can see great  distances and through walls. He sees Rhea Silvia and instantly likes  her and gets her pregnant. 9mo later, she gives birth to twin boys,  Romulus and Remus. Amulius is horrified bc despite his efforts she  has given birth. He then puts Rhea Silvia back in jail and puts the  twins in a  basket and sends them down the Tiber River. The twins  do not wash out to sea and instead wash up onto shore along the  Tiber River. Somehow these babies are able to crawl out of the  basket and to safety in which they are discovered by a wolf. It does  not eat the kids but instead nurses them. Romulus and Remus  survive long enough to be discovered by an old shepherd couple. So,  they take the twins in and raise them in their household. 20yrs go  by, they grow up, somehow find out their true family history, go  back to Alba Longa,  kill Amulius, free their mother from jail, frees  Numitor from exile and he becomes king again.  Don't forget about the age old question of Who is martin luther?

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After Amulis is killed and Romulus and Remus decide they want to  create their own city; they take followers and go back to the very  spot where they were washed onto shore. Unfortunately, they  cannot agree upon which hill to build their city. Romulus wanted one  hill, Remus wanted another. Since they could not agree, they split  up. They started building two separate cities on two separate hills. A  few days go by and Remus decides to go see how his brother  Romulus is doing. Remus finds Romulus in the process of building a  wall. However Romulus had not gotten very far and was only a few  feet high so Remus makes fun of his brothers efforts and jumps over  the wall. Romulus pulls out a sword and stabs Remus to death and  says that is what will happen to anyone that goes against his city.  The name of his city was Rome, after Romulus  

▪ (753BC) From the founding of the city (AUC)

□ 753BC=1AUC

The Romans wanted to proved that they were just as ancient/as civilized  ○

 .             says that is what will happen to anyone that goes against his city.  The name of his city was Rome, after Romulus  

▪ (753BC) From the founding of the city (AUC) Don't forget about the age old question of What are the benefits of classification?

□ 753BC=1AUC

The Romans wanted to proved that they were just as ancient/as civilized  

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as the Greeks, which was why they connected themselves with the story of  the Trojan War. Also, when Aeneas and his people leave the city, they  are  directed by the gods. They believed their great success was no accident.  They conquered a vast empire bc they were a chosen people by their gods  to rule the world. All part of a divine plan, destiny.

Romulus, the founder of Rome, was the son of a god and was raised by  

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wolves. This was no accident bc no one else was more warlike that the  Romans in a long period of time. Romulus kills his own brother (good thing  in Rome bc power>family)

• Rome was established ~753BC and whoever chose this spot chose well  ○ The summit hills of Rome provided defense against attack

The Tiber river provided an endless supply of fresh water for a growing  

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population; acted as a highway

The area around Rome produced a huge amt of food to support a large  

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population

○ Rome is centrally located in Italy

Italy is centrally located in the Mediterranean, whoever had control of Italy  

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had control of the Sea

• Believed that early Rome was a monarchy; ruled by a king • According to legend, Romulus was first king If you want to learn more check out What is it called when a character shares their thoughts and feelings with the audience?

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According to tradition, later kings were so evil, in 509BC the Romans rose up in  rebellion and drove the last king out.

• 509BC the Romans decided that no man could be trusted w absolute power.

Created a new government which divided up power amongst 3 main  

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branches and a number of city officials

○ This gov was known as the Roman Republic

Lasted for almost 500yrs (509-31BC) and it was during that period that  

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most of Rome was conquered

• Rome was in many ways like a Greek POLIS○ Rome had a hoplite army

Only citizens that had enough money to arm themselves served in the  

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Roman army

Rome appeared to be a democratic POLIS since all male citizens regardless  

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of wealth were allowed to participate, but it was actually more like an  oligarchy, run by the very wealthy few

○ In Rome, there were 2 assemblies: centuriate & tribal

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Every citizen, regardless of wealth was allowed to participate in both  assemblies.  

of wealth were allowed to participate, but it was actually more like an  oligarchy, run by the very wealthy few

○ In Rome, there were 2 assemblies: centuriate & tribal

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Every citizen, regardless of wealth was allowed to participate in both  assemblies.  

Centuriate

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They elected most of Rome's city officials, with the exception of the  senate

▪ All city officials held office for 1yr (jan1-dec29) □ Each city official had a certain job: ◆ Questors in charge of treasury

If you were elected a questor you then became a  

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senator for life

◆ Praetors in charge of the courts

◆ 2 consuls were co-presidents of the states □ At any given time there were ~300 senators □ It was the Senate that ran Rome

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Everyone was eligible  to run, but campaigning was very  very expensive; so the poor never had a chance

◆ There were no salary for city services

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Even though it appeared to be democratic, it was rigged  toward the wealthy

◊ Divided into 193 centuries

each citizen was assigned to one these  

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centuries based on their wealth; however  there were not an equal number of citizens  in each century

When it came time to vote, each citizen  

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would go with their century and whichever  candidate won the most votes in that  century, that candidate would get that one  vote

Problem: 98 of the centuries were the  

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wealthy

The remaining 95 were the rest of the  

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centuries. The wealthiest 5% of the  population controlled just over 50% of the  vote

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This meant the average citizen could  never get elected to any of these  offices and become part of the senate;  biased

Tribal assembly: passed all laws and made all major decisions▪ Elected one rou of cit officials and 10 tribunes

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This meant the average citizen could  never get elected to any of these  offices and become part of the senate;  biased

Tribal assembly: passed all laws and made all major decisions ▪ Elected one group of city officials and 10 tribunes

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Only the 10tribunes could call the tribal assembly together and  make proposals to the tribal assembly.  

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The tribal assembly was organized far more democratically/fair than  the centuriate assembly

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The problem was: the tribunes who ran the tribal assembly were  part of the senate; came from very wealthy families; want to work  their way up the political ladder

□ They don’t do anything that is not approved by the senate □ The tribunes were actually the tools of the senate

□ This allowed the senate to control the tribal assembly

• 2 reasons why Rome was so  successful:

○ One thing the senators wanted above all else was military glory

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They wanted to lead the Roman army into battle and win some great  victory

▪ Military glory = political  power

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The guys who ran the senate were ones who had done well  politically and militarily

□ Usually it was a consul to lead into battle

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Rome made sure to always be fighting with someone so that people  could rise to power

□ Out of 5 centuries, only 2 were peaceful w/out war

• 264BC Romans conquer all  of Italy ○ Basically split Italy in half

a.

Half of the citizens were given Roman citizenship and became equals with  the Romans even though they were different ethnic groups

b. The other half were made into socii (allies)

▪ These people were typical subjects of the empire

▪ They were loyal to Rome bc they hope to become citizens later

Citizens and socii all had to contribute soldiers (500,000 patriotic soldiers  

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in total; biggest army west of India)

▪ Because they had so many soldiers, the Romans never gave up

○ Even though they lost a lot of battles, they never lost a war

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264BCE  

Conquered empire bc: senator wanted military glory & their army was big  enough

• Rome conquers all  of Italy

• Made them 1/5 great powers in the Mediterranean world 146BCE

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264BCE  

onquere empre c: senator wante mtary gory  ter army was g  enough

• Rome conquers all  of Italy

• Made them 1/5 great powers in the Mediterranean world 146BCE

• Year Rome destroys Carthage

• Rome destroys all potential threats to Rome;  • no threats to its power for the next 600yrs

During this time Rome dominates most of Europe and the Mediterranean  

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world

Ironically, once the Romans eliminated all external threats, they begin for  

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the first time to fight amongst themselves

Roman Revolution

Thursday,  January 28, 2016

Revolution  113-31BC

Tiberius Sempranius Gracchus  133

Publius Cornelius Nasica 

Caiuss Marius  107-100

Roman Revolutionlasted for just over a century (113-31BC)

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A period of violence and eventually civil war which would end up destroying the  Republic

31BC the Republic comes to an end and becomes a monarchy; rule by 1man /emperor The senate ran Rome

• Senate consisted of ~300men

• The wealthiest and most powerful men in the Roman state

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Controlled most sources of power in Rome; in part bc all of the city officials in  Rome were senators

• Controlled the treasury, courts

• Co-presidents of the states were senators

• The commanders and officers in Rome's armies were senators • The priests were also senators

○ The senators often manipulated religion  to maintain their power

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The office of tribunes had originally been created to give the people a voice in  the Roman gov however the tribunes were wealthy Roman citizens who had far  more in common with the senators than with their poor fellow citizens

Tribunes hoped to move up the political ladder; that would be very  

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difficult if they did not have the support of the senators and the wealthy

○ The tribunes never did anything that was not first approved by the senate

They were the tools that allowed them to control the people in the tribal  

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assembly

• Before 133BC, it was the senate that ran Rome • Within the senate itself, there was intense competition ○ They fought over:

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They were the tools that allowed them to control the people in the tribal  

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assembly

• Before 133BC, it was the senate that ran Rome • Within the senate itself, there was intense competition ○ They fought over:

1. Election to office

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Rome was not an aristocracy; which meant even if you were  born into a wealthy famous family, you were not  automatically given political  power (although it did help); the  only way to acquire political power were through campaigns  and elections

□ Often multiple candidates for a limited number of spaces E.g. 2 consuls , 10 candidates running for those two  spots

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When running, you had to: spend huge amounts of money, go  around making speeches, meet the people of Rome, create a  campaign organization complete with a campaign manage  (campaign manager would travel all over Rome saying how  great you and your last name was), sling mud at your  opponents (call names and accuse of crimes)

□ Similar to our elections 2. Policy

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300 wealthy men all from the same class with all different  ideas on how Rome should be run and what laws should be  passed and how Rome's money should be spent and how  their wars should be fought

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Often intense debates in the senate as the senators competed  to see who's policies would be adopted

3. Who gets military command for a shot at military glory □ Fought over who received the important military commands

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All Roman senators wanted a chance to lead them into  battle

◊ Military glory = political  power

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The ones who succeeded the most were the ones that  done the best politically and militarily

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Before 133BC, senators fought about these 3 things; however despite these  importance of these competitions, senators always accepted defeat. They  would be not be happy about it, but they would accept it. They did not do  anything unprecedented/ illegal/ violent to reverse/prevent a political  defeat

There was so much power and so much wealth involved in these  

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competitions

○ Some senators were corrupted

They became willing to do almost anything to win by doing things that  ○

      ,     .      anything unprecedented/ illegal/ violent to reverse/prevent a political  defeat

There was so much power and so much wealth involved in these  

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competitions

○ Some senators were corrupted

They became willing to do almost anything to win by doing things that  

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were unprecedented, illegal, and even violent in an effort to defeat and  acquire political power

○ Tiberius Sempranius Gracchus

▪ Became one of the 10 tribunes in 133BC

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Someone with 3 names came from nobility, wealthy famous family;  the more names, the better

▪ Females had the female version of the father's second name Despite that he knew Rome faced some serious problems so as tribune,  

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he decided he was going to tackle 2 of Rome's problems

1.

For the first time ever Rome was having trouble finding enough  soldiers for its army

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Rome is still a POLIS, therefore those who could serve in the  army were only the ones that had money

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Historically, most of Rome's soldiers were farmers; guys who  owned a little bit of land and were eligible  for military service

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Over time, the number of soldiers declined  

dramatically; for many reasons they had lost their land ◆

Since the number of farmers declined dramatically, the  number eligible for military service declined as well

2. There was a large and growing number of very poor people in Rome

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Mostly farmers who had lost their land and had been forced  to move to the big city for work

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Many of these people were unable to find work and were  therefore unable to support their families

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At this time, Rome had no welfare system to help out the very  poor

○ Tiberius Gracchus decided he was going to solve both problems ▪ Takes his ideas to the senate

▪ Proposes to take over Italy and divide it amongst the poor

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Each citizen would get  a bit of land to farm that way they  could support themselves and their families

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Once they were able to sustain themselves, they could then  return back to the military

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There was intense debate over this matter, but in the end the  senate votes 'no'

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The senate would prove unwilling use government  money/assets to help the poor. They said that they:

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Did not want the gov to interfere with the free  enterrise sstem  

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There was intense debate over this matter, but in the end the  senate votes 'no'

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The senate would prove unwilling use government  money/assets to help the poor. They said that they:

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Did not want the gov to interfere with the free  enterprise system  

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Did not want the gov to go bankrupt paying for these  gov programs

Especially programs to benefit lazy citizens who  

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had failed as farmers in the first place

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They were unwilling to give up their own land to the  poor

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Would help wealthy citizens like themselves but would  not help the poor

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Tiberius decides to ignore the senate's decision and goes directly to  the Tribal assembly and proposes his idea and they pass the law ▪

From this point on, Tiberius Gracchus continues to go there to pass  laws without the approval of the senate

□ This was legal, but was unprecedented

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The senate becomes more and more upset with Gracchus, who they  consider to be a traitor to the class

▪ Gracchus tries to run again in 32BC (legal but not precedented)

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Senators are terrified the senate will become obsolete because   Tiberius Gracchus has revealed that you don’t need the senate to  pass laws

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Publius Cornelius Nasica, senator, cousin of Gracchus, hated  Gracchus  

□ Nasica and others find Gracchus and club him to death

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107BC

Important bc this is the first time the senators resort to  violence to keep their power; and continue to do this  throughout the revolution

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A man named Caius Marius becomes head of military however he cannot find  enough soldiers for his army

○ he does something legendary

○ He accepts poor military volunteers into the army

○ Since they cannot provide for their stuff, the state will provide for them ○ Is able to gather a  large army  

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1ooBC

The senate does not stop him bc they don’t think any good will come out  of it

▪ They believe that wealth=determination

However they have  a huge victory in India and are then sent to Germany  and win 2 more victories

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1ooBC

The senate does not stop him bc they don’t think any good will come out  of it

▪ They believe that wealth=determination

However they have  a huge victory in India and are then sent to Germany  and win 2 more victories

• Arrive back in Rome  

○ Marius is appraised but doesn’t know what to do w all his 50,000men

He decides to go to the senate and asks the senate to give land to his  

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soldiers

○ Senate says 'no'

Marius learned from Tiberius Gracchus and goes to the tribunes of the  

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100 and has the tribune propose the law in the tribal assembly W 50,000 soldiers crowding in to vote, the law passes and Marius' men  

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get their land

Senators didn’t kill Marius like they did w Gracchus bc Marius had many  

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people that loved him; they couldn't just club Marius to death