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The Patriarchs, the rich people of Rome, formed a rebellion and drove out all of the Etruscan kings. Then, in place of a king, they crated a republic with multiple people ruling.
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The Plebeians, the poor people of Rome, were not happy that the Patriarchs had more power than them. The Plebeians realized that there were way more Plebeians than Patriarchs. They decided to march over to a nearby hill and stay there until they had equal rights. Rome was now in crisis because the Plebeians occupied most of the jobs in the empire. The Patriarchs had no choice but to give the Plebeians the rights they wanted.
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The Patriarchs gave the Plebeians the right to elect officials to a council called the Council of Plebs. The Council of Plebs could speak on behalf of the Plebeians to the government. The Council of Plebs could also make laws for the Plebeians. Later on, the Plebs would be able to veto, or overrule, laws that the Roman senate made.
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The Plebeians weren't satisfied. They demanded that their laws be written down so they had evidence if the patriarchs forgot any of the Plebeian laws. The Patriarchs agreed.
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A new law that was passed said that every one out of two consuls, or government people, had to be a Plebeian. This law allowed Plebeians to join the Roman senate.
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Finally, the Plebeians had gained the right to make laws for all Roman citizens, even Patriarchs. Now, assemblies of all Roman citizens could approve or reject laws. These plebeian assemblies also nominated the consuls, the tribunes, and the members of the Senate. After 200 years of struggle, the plebeians had won
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In 330, Constantine made a very risky decision. He moved his capital to Byzantium, and renamed it New Rome. It would later be called Constantinople. (Today it is known as Istanbul, Turkey.) He then attempted to do something no one had ever tried before. He had two emperors rule in two capitals. Together, they would rule the Roman Empire. Rome would be the capital of the western part of the empire while New Rome would be the capital of the eastern part of the empire.
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Ever since Constantine moved to New Rome, the original Rome was having trouble with invading Germanic tribes. One day in 410, a Germanic tribe looted Rome itself. This was a major blow for the western half of the empire as Germanic tribes continued to be a problem. Romans now started to get driven from the city.
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In 476, the last emperor of the west was finally driven from Rome.The western part of Rome began to dissolve into lots of separate smaller countries.
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The Roman Empire was dead. In the east, the people there tried to piece together the Roman empire again, but it was too late. The eastern part turned into a new empire that lived for 1000 more years: the Byzantium Empire.
