Describe the founding of the Roman Republic, its system of consuls, Senate, and assemblies, and the significance of the Twelve Tables as published law.
According to legend -- taught here as legend, not verified fact -- Rome was founded in 753 BCE by twin brothers Romulus and Remus, said to have been raised by a wolf after being abandoned as infants, on the Tiber River among Rome's famous seven hills. Historically, early Rome was ruled by a series of Etruscan kings until the last, Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown in 509 BCE. Romans, wary of ever again concentrating that much power in one person, replaced the monarchy with a Republic: government by elected representatives rather than a king.
The Republic divided power deliberately: two consuls led the state jointly for one-year terms, and each could veto the other, preventing either from becoming too powerful; the Senate, made up of aristocratic patricians, advised and made policy; and assemblies let plebeians, ordinary citizens, vote directly on certain matters, eventually gaining their own protector, the Tribune of the Plebs, who could veto actions harmful to common people. The Republic's official motto and symbol, SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus, "The Senate and People of Rome"), still appears on manhole covers and public buildings in Rome today. Around 450 BCE, after plebeians demanded that law be written down rather than left to patrician judges' memory and interpretation, Rome published its first law code, the Twelve Tables, displayed publicly -- an idea that should sound familiar from Hammurabi's published code back in week 4.
Mastery looks like: They can describe the Republic's consul-Senate-assembly structure and explain why the Twelve Tables mattered to ordinary Roman citizens.
Common stumbles: Treating the Romulus and Remus legend as verified historical fact rather than a founding legend.