Roman Government

In the Ninth Century B.C. a tribe called the Etruscans moved into Italy and taught them ways to set up a beneficial government and empire. The Etruscans gave the Italians the skills that gave them the power to build their own unique government form. At first they followed the Etruscan government and ruled with powerful kings, which included actual Etruscans. The king was advised by the council of elders which was called the senate. When the King was choosing the senate he chose from a group called the patricians. These were High-Class citizens who belonged to the oldest and noblest Roman families. When a King dies the next king was chosen from senate by the senate. Basically the senate and the patricians ran the city. Around 500 B.C. the Romans overthrew the Etruscan leaders and the got rid of their monarchy. The Roman government was suddenly changed to "people's business" and established the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was developed slowly because of the influence between the aristocrats and common people. In the end the Roman's formed a government that was not the Greek Democracy nor an oligarchy but a mixture of the two. There were two sides of the government the aristocrats/patricians and the plebeians. The plebeians were the common Roman citizens that were farmers, workers and wealthy people who were not patricians.