| A | B |
|---|
| Res Publica | The public thing; basis of a republic |
| Patrician | People with enough money to get themselevs elected to public office |
| Plebeian | the ordinary people |
| Plebescite | a decree issued by the plebeian assembly |
| Patres familiarum | the original families of the city |
| Consul | the leaders of the republic; two in number ; elected from among the senators |
| Senate | 300 patricians who advised the consuls |
| Senator | a patrician who was one of 300 members of the senate |
| Dictator | A military leader appointed if both consuls were incapacitated |
| Curia | A building in the Roman Forum where the senate met |
| Comitia Centuriata | The Assembly; a gathering of Roman citizens |
| Campus Martius | Field of mars where the Assembly met |
| Duties of the Assembly | Pass laws, enforce laws and elect magistrates |
| Tribune | member of the senate selected from the plebeians; had no vote but could veto; originally there were 2 tibunes but eventualy 10 |
| Veto | I forbid; power of the tribune |
| Concilium Plebis | The assembly of the plebeians (patricians were excluded); passed decrees |
| Questor | City treasurer |
| Paetor | one of 8 judges who presided over the law courts |
| Aedile | supervisor of the city's food supply, traffic and entertainment |
| Censor | arranged names of the population according to their wealth so that they could be taxed, army service and position in the assembly |
| Pontifex maximus | Man in charge of all religious activites in Rome |
| Republic | Form of government in which people chosse the men who would lead them |
| 2 consuls | so no one would have absolute power |
| Role of censors | root out unworthy citizens |
| Ladder of success in Roman politics | Questor, praetor, consul, senator |
| Twelve Tables (or Tablets) | Roman written code of law |
| Written laws | Important so that people knew what to expect if they did something wrong; so that laws could be changed easily |
| Basilica | The law courts located near the Forum |
| Rostrum | The speakers platfrom in the Forum |
| Roman Army | Not full time; summoned by the consuls when neighboring tribes invaded Roman soil |
