Constitution of the Roman Republic

Contents

1 Constitution of the Roman Republic 1

1.1 Development of the constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Assembly types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Executive magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.1 Ordinary magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.2 Extraordinary magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Constitutional instability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.9.1 Primary sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2 History 11
2.1 The Patrician era (509367 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.1 The executive magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.2 The senate and legislative assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 The Conict of the Orders (367287 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.1 The Plebeians and the magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.2 The Ovinian law and the new aristocracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.3 The failure of the Conict of the Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 The supremacy of the new nobility (287133 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.1 The Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.2 The Plebeians and the aristocracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.4 From the Gracchi to Caesar (13349 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4.1 Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4.2 Sullas Constitutional Reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4.3 The First Triumvirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.5 The period of transition (4927 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5.1 Julius Caesars constitutional reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

i
ii CONTENTS

2.5.2 Caesars assassination and the Second Triumvirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.9 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.10 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3 Senate 22
3.1 Venue and ethical standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2 Debates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Delaying and obstructive tactics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.4 Votes and the Tribunes Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4 Legislative Assemblies 27
4.1 Assembly procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.2 Assembly of the Curiae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3 Assembly of the Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.4 Assembly of the Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.5 Plebeian Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.9 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.10 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5 Executive Magistrates 32
5.1 Ranks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.2 Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.3 Ordinary magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.4 Plebeian magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.5 Extraordinary Magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.9 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.10 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
CONTENTS iii

5.11.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.11.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.11.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 1

Constitution of the Roman Republic

The constitution of the Roman Republic was a set the Sullan dictatorship),[11] and the use of violence, com-
of unwritten norms and customs, which together with bined with exploitation of the suitably bribed or intimi-
various written laws,[1] guided the manner by which dated 'sovereign' assemblies, to grant supreme authority
the Roman Republic was governed. The constitution to victorious commanders.[12] The increasing legitimisa-
emerged out of that of the Roman kingdom, evolved tion of violence and centralisation of authority into fewer
over the almost ve hundred years of the Republic, and and fewer men would, with the collapse of trust in the Re-
was transformed into the constitution of the Roman Em- publics institutions,[12] put it on a path to civil war and its
pire.[2] transformation into the autocratic Roman Empire.
The Roman republican constitution can be divided into
three main branches:[3]
1.1 Development of the constitu-
the Assemblies, composed of the people, which tion
served as the supreme repository of political power,
with the authority to elect magistrates, accepted or Main articles: History of the Roman Constitution and
rejected laws, administered justice, and declared History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
war or peace;[4] The early republican constitution was dominated by the
the Senate, which advised the magistrates and the
state,[5] acting primarily not on legal authority per
se, but rather, its inuence, and

the magistrates, elected by the people to govern the

Republic in their name, holding religious, military,
and judicial powers, along with the right to preside
over and call upon the assemblies.[6]

A complex set of checks and balances developed between

these three branches. For example, the assemblies the-
oretically held all power, but were called and governed
by the magistrates, who, controlling discussion, exercised
dominating inuence over them.[7] Similarly, to check the
power of the magistrates, each magistrate could veto one
of their colleagues and the plebeians elected tribunes who
could intercede and veto the actions of a magistrate.[8]
The Republics constitution slowly evolved over time.
Starting from a period of patrician domination, the
Conict of the Orders eventually granted plebeian cit-
izens equal political rights, while also creating the tri-
bunate to check patrician power and empowering the
Plebeian Council, an assembly composed of the plebeians
of Rome, with full legislative authority.[9]
The late Republic saw an increase in the centralisation The "Capitoline Brutus", a bust of Lucius Junius Brutus (d. 509
of power into the hands of provincial governors,[10] the BC), traditionally the rst consul of the Republic, dated to the 4th
use of military power to enforce political changes (e.g. or 3rd centuries BC

1
2 CHAPTER 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

patricians, who monopolised all control of the magistra- known as plebeian aediles.[22]
cies, the Senate, and the voting blocs of the assemblies. Later, again under pressure from the plebs, a political
Generally, it slowly developed with a tendency towards compromise was reached in which the consuls and tri-
greater popular representation at the expense of the pa- bunes would give place to a commission of ten men, the
trician class.[13] The main historical sources for the ori- decemviri, who would be empowered to publish a code of
gins of the Roman political system, Livy and Dionysius laws for all Rome.[23] According to Livy, it codied all
of Halicarnassus, relied heavily on the Roman annalists, public and private law, but however, its promulgation did
who supplemented what little written history existed with not grant further political rights to the plebs, as it enshired
oral history. This lack of evidence poses problems for
into the tables a law banning intermarriage between ple-
the reliability of the traditional account of the republicsbeians and patricians.[24] With a short attempt to establish
origins.[14]
a tyranny by the decemviri, they were overthrown by the
According to this traditional account, Rome had been second secession of the army, restoring the old republic
ruled by a succession of kings. The Romans believed that and preventing the creation of a new constitution based
this era, that of the Roman kingdom, began in 753 BC on the ten-man commission.[25]
and ended in 510 BC. After the overthrow of the monar- In 446 BC, quaestors, administrators with wide terms of
chy and the establishment of the Republic, the people of reference, were rst elected; and the oce of censor was
Rome began electing two consuls each year.[15] Accord- created to administer the census in 443 BC.[25][26] How-
ing to the consular fasti, a list of the consuls going back ever, the creation of the censors also was concurrent with
to the foundation of the Republic, the rst consuls were the practice of electing military tribunes with consular au-
chosen in 509 BC.[16] thority, which, while open to the plebs, stalled eorts to
Some scholars doubt this traditional account, arguing in- reform the consulate itself.[27]
stead that the monarchy evolved into a government led by
In 367 BC, plebeians were allowed to stand for the con-
elected magistrates.[17] Remnants of the monarchy, how- sulship, and this implicitly opened both the censorship as
ever, were reected in republican institutions, such as the
well as the dictatorship to plebeians.[28] Around this time,
religious oce of rex sacrorum (king of the sacred) the practice of electing military tribunes with consular
and the interregnum (a period of time presided over by
authority was dropped. In 366 BC, in an eort by the
an interrex when the oces of consul, praetor, and dic- patricians to reassert their inuence over the magisterial
tator were all vacant).[18] There, is, however, certainly
oces, two new oces were created. These two oces,
evidence that the early Republic was a time of violent the praetorship and the curule aedileship (so-called be-
change, with the word rex carrying the same connotations cause its holder, like consuls and praetors, had the right
as tyrant and laws which declared forfeit the life and prop- to sit in a curule seat),[29] were at rst open only to patri-
erty of any man who plotted to install himself as a king cians, but within a generation they were open to plebeians
or tyrant.[17] as well.[22]
The rst assemblies of the Republic emerged during the Beginning around the year 350 BC, the senators and the
Kingdom, with their use to ratify regal elections and the plebeian tribunes began to grow closer.[10] The Senate
repurposing of the comitia centuriata to elect the rst began giving tribunes more power, and the tribunes be-
consuls.[17] This regime was dominated by the patricians, gan to feel indebted to the Senate.[10] As the tribunes and
and the sources on the early Republic overwhelmingly fo- the senators grew closer, plebeian senators began to rou-
cus on the conicts between the patricians and the plebs, tinely secure the oce of tribune for members of their
in what is known as the Conict of the Orders.[19] own families.[30] Also, this period saw the enacting of
The early years of the Republic were a time of exter- the plebiscitum Ovinium, which transferred the power to
nal strife and periodic popular unrest. In 494 BC, under appoint new senators from the consuls to the censors.
harsh measures from patrician creditors, during a military This law also required the censors to appoint any newly
campaign, the plebeians under arms seceded to the Mons elected magistrate to the Senate,[31] which probably re-
Sacer outside the city and refused to ght in the campaign sulted in a signicant increase in the number of plebeian
without political concessions. With the pressure of an ex- senators.[32]
ternal threat, the patricians were forced to create the of- As the privileged status of the old patrician elite eroded
ce of plebeian tribune (Latin: tribuni plebis) who were over time, a plebeian aristocracy developed whose sta-
declared sacrosanct,[19] i.e. that they were declared invi- tus was theoretically based on merit and popular election
olable and that anyone could be summarily executed for rather than birth.[32][33] Because patricians were ineligible
violation of the sanctity of his person.[20] This was the to run for plebeian oces, the new plebeian aristocracy
basis of the tribunes ability to veto (literally translated as actually had more opportunities for advancement than
I forbid) any political act or to protect any individual their patrician counterparts.[34] Over time distinctions be-
from an injustice committed by a magistrate, known as tween patricians and plebeian aristocrats became less im-
intercessio and auxilium, respectively.[21] The people gave portant, giving rise to a new patricio-plebeian aristoc-
the tribunes, whose number is unclear,[19] two assistants racy termed the nobilitas.[32]
1.2. THE ASSEMBLIES 3

In 287 BC, the plebeians again seceded. To end the se-
cession, the lex Hortensia was passed, which required that
plebiscites, laws passed by the Plebeian Council, be bind-
ing on the whole Roman people.[13] The Hortensian law
resolved the last great political question of the earlier era;
the electoral and legislative sovereignty of the assemblies
was conrmed and would remain part of the constitu-
tion until the demise of the Republic.[13] As a whole, the
outcome of the political struggles of the early republic
was to eliminate the privileged status of patricians in the
constitution and grant the plebs recognition of their own
ocers.[33] The institution of the Senate was also now ar-
guably stronger, as it became a repository of former mag-
istrates rather than a body of hereditary nobles.[33]
1.2 The Assemblies
be argued, however, that the Assembly was more a rep-
resentative group of Romans rather than a simple direct
democracy.[38]
1.2.1 Procedure
There were three types of gatherings, the comitia, the con-
cilium, and the contio or conventio. The rst two were
formal gatherings where legal decisions were made. The
rst, the comitia (or comitiatus), was an assembly of all
Roman citizens convened to take a legal action, such as
enacting laws, electing magistrates, and trying judicial
cases.[38][39] The second type of legislative meeting was
the council (Latin: concilium), which was a gathering of
a specic group of citizens. For example, the concilium
Plebis, or Plebeian council, was for meetings of plebeians
only.[40]

Main article: Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Re- The third type of gathering, the convention (Latin: con-
public tio or conventio), was an unocial forum for communi-
Further information: Roman assemblies cation where citizens gathered to hear public announce-
In Roman constitutional law, the assemblies are a ments and arguments debated in speeches as well to wit-
ness the examination or execution of criminals. In con-
trast to the formal assembly or council, no legal decisions
were made by the convention.[40] Voters met in conven-
tions to deliberate prior to meeting in assemblies or coun-
cils to vote.[41]
Assemblies and councils operated according to estab-
lished procedures overseen by the augurs. They could
only be convened by magistrates, and citizens only voted
on matters proposed by the presiding magistrate.[4][40]
Over the years, laws were passed which mandated a writ-
ten ballot, attempted to reduce voter intimidation, and
established procedures to watch over voting and prevent
voter fraud.[42] For elections, it was not a matter of who
Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the received the most votes, but rather who could rst be ap-
Roman Republic proved by a majority of the voting blocs.[43] All votes had
to be completed within a single day and had to be done
[44]
sovereign authority, with the power to enact or reject any again if interrupted or abandoned.
[4]
law, confer any magistracies, and make any decision.
In fact, with a single law, they held the authority to over-
ride the norms and precedents of the Republic as well 1.2.2 Assembly types
as ancient laws long unchanged.[35] There are two nec-
essary components to any assembly: (1) the convening Roman citizens were organized into three types of vot-
magistrate and (2) the citizens in the assembly itself. As- ing units: curiae, centuria, and tribus or tribes. These
semblies did not participate or discuss matters laid before corresponded to three dierent kinds of assemblies: the
them, they heard the speakers put forth by the presiding Curiate Assembly, the Centuriate Assembly, and the
ocer. And after such discussion, the presiding ocer Tribal Assembly. Each unit (curia, century or tribe) cast
could call for a direct up or down vote.[36] Without a mag- one vote before their assembly.[43] The majority of indi-
istrate, there would be nobody to legally call upon the as- vidual votes in any century, tribe, or curia decided how
sembly; and without the citizens, there is naught but a that unit voted.[43]
magistrate. The Curiate assembly (Latin: comitia curiata) tradition-
Assemblies did not consist of the whole Roman people ally dates to the early monarchy, from 30 divisions of
(Latin: populus Romanus), not only were there restric- the city made by Romulus.[44] By the middle Republic,
tions on the vote in that only adult male citizens were per- it served only a symbolic purpose. At some point, the
mitted to participate. Until the Social War around 90 BC, 30 curiae ceased to actually meet and were instead rep-
foreigners were prohibited from voting as well.[37] It can resented by 30 lictors. This assembly had authority over
4 CHAPTER 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

some elements of family law and ratied the imperium courts.[62]

of elected magistrates and promagistrates through a lex
curiata de imperio.[44] In the realm of family law, it was
presided over by the pontifex maximus.[45] However, there
was considerable debate in the late Republic on whether
1.3 Senate
or not a magistrates election actually required ratication
by the curiae,[46] and by 212 BC, the Senate refrained Main article: Senate of the Roman Republic
from enforcing this quirk of precedent.[47] Further information: Roman Senate
The Senate was the predominant political institution in
The Centuriate assembly (Latin: comitia centuriata) was
formed under the monarchy, and widely seen by the an-
cients as a means of allotting voting privileges in propor-
tion to military duties demanded of the citizenry,[48] dis-
proportionately granting voting power to the richest in so-
ciety, as at the time of its formation, the wealthiest were
also expected to contribute the most to the military.[48]
By the middle Republic, the connection between voting
power and military service had long ceased, turning into
a system to suppress the voting power of the poor.[49] Be-
cause of its military roots, it could only be called into ses-
sion by a magistrate holding imperium,.[45] Originally di-
vided into 193 voting blocs, these blocs were further sub-
divided into ve classes and a class of equites by wealth, Artists impression of the Senate in session, Cicero delivering his
each further subdivided by age into a junior and senior oration Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco.
bloc. The rst class and the equites held 98 of the 193
voting blocs, an absolute majority.[50] This was later re- the Roman Republic. The Senates authority derived pri-
formed around 241 BC, into an assembly of 373 voting marily from custom and tradition.[5] It was also one of the
blocs with each class having the same number of votes, few places in which free political discussion could take
though the wealth requirements necessarily meant that place.[63] The Senates principal role was as an advisory
the wealthier classes were composed of fewer people.[51] council to the consuls on matters of foreign and military
The body was primarily called for the election of consuls, policy, and it exercised a great deal of inuence over con-
praetors, and censors;[52] while it could hear legislation, sular decision-making.[64]
trials, and only it could declare an oensive war,[53] these
were increasingly rare by the second century BC.[52] During the Kingdom, the Senate consisted of persons se-
lected to the position by the King, a power which the
The Tribal assembly (Latin: comitia tributa) dates from consuls inherited after the end of the monarchy.[65] In
time immemorial, as no ancient historian mentions its the very early republic, senators were primarily chosen
establishment.[54] In the early Republic, there were four due to their birth,[66] but by the late Republic, and espe-
urban tribes and 17 rural tribes.[52] In 241 BC fourteen ru- cially after Sulla, membership in the Senate became pred-
ral tribes were added, bringing the total to thirty-ve.[52] icated on having previously held a magistracy.[67] In the
The 'tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather late 4th century BC, the consuls power to control Senate
a district to which people were assigned.[55] A citizens membership was transferred to the censor,[65] exercised
tribe was inherited from his father, and only changed with considerable discretion, until laws passed in the late
upon adoption or reallocation in the census;[56] over time, Republic formalised some kind of hearing before censo-
this meant that tribal aliation had little relationship to rial decisions.[68] In line with the censors duty to protect
a citizens home or even place of birth.[57] The vast ma- morals, senators were required to be of good character,
jority of legislation was enacted in the comitia tributa,[48] not have been found guilty of a criminal oence, and not
which also elected quaestors, curule aediles, and military be a person tainted with ignominy (e.g. bankrupts, former
tribunes.[58][59] gladiators, prostitutes, or deserters).[69] Before the time
The Plebeian council (Latin: concilium plebis) was iden- of Augustus, there is no evidence of any kind of prop-
[70]
tical to the Tribal assembly with one key exception: only erty qualication. The Senate consisted of around 300
plebeians had the power to vote in it. It elected the ple- prior to the dictatorship of Sulla, but after his dictator-
[60]
[66]
beian tribunes and aediles, and later, various other mi- ship, it consisted of somewhere over 500 men.
[61]
nor posts. It also had the ability to enact laws called A decree from the Senate was called senatus consultum
plebiscites, which in the early Republic, only applied to (plural senatus consulta). While this was formally ad-
plebs, but after the passage of lex Hortensia, applied to vice from the Senate to a magistrate, stating the senates
all Romans.[13] In the early Republic, the council also position on some topic, the senatus consulta were usually
had some judicial functions, but by the middle Republic, obeyed by the magistrates.[71] If a senatus consultum con-
much of these functions were transferred to permanent icted with a law that was passed by a popular assembly,
1.4. EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATES 5

the law overrode the senatus consultum.[72]

Meetings could take place either inside or outside of the
formal boundary of the city (the pomerium), though the
ocial meeting place, or curia was at the centre of the
Roman forum. The president of the Senate was normally
one of the consuls, but it could be called to meet by any of
the praetors or tribunes, both of whom had the authority
to call the Senate, though praetors rarely did so unless
the consuls were away and the tribunes almost never did
so.[73] Meetings were suused in religious ritual. Temples
were a preferred meeting site and auspices would be taken
before the meeting could commence.[68]
The presiding consul began each meeting with a speech
on an issue,[74] and then referred the issue to the sena-
tors, who discussed the matter by order of seniority.[74]
Unimportant matters could be voted on by a voice vote
or by a show of hands, while important votes resulted in
a physical division of the house,[75] with senators voting
by taking a place on either side of the chamber. Any vote
was always between a proposal and its negative.[76]
Since all meetings had to end by nightfall, a senator could
talk a proposal to death (a libuster) if he could keep
the debate going until nightfall.[74] Any proposed motion
could be vetoed by a tribune,[34] and if it was not vetoed,
it was then turned into a nal senatus consultum. Each
senatus consultum was transcribed into a document by the
presiding magistrate, and then deposited into the aerar-
ium.[77]

1.4 Executive magistrates

Main articles: Roman Magistrates and Executive Magis-
trates of the Roman Republic
Magistrates were elected ocials, serving as representa-
tives of the people for the conduct of public business.[79]
There are two broad categories of magistrates, the ordi-
nary magistrates such as the consuls, products of the re-
publican constitution, and the extraordinary magistrates
The toga praetexta, the dress of magistrates from the aedile to
such as the dictators, remnants of the monarchial consti-
the consul.[78]
tution and reserved primarily for emergencies.[79] Each
magistrate held potestas, the authority to exercise the of-
ces powers conferred by custom or statute.[80] The most The most powerful ordinary magistrate was the consul,
powerful magistrates, such as the extraordinary magis- of which there were two,[lower-alpha 1] who served for the
trates, consuls, and praetors, held a kind of authority period of one year.[83] These consuls had the authority to
known as imperium, the authority to command in a mili- call assemblies of the people.[84] In the early Republic,
tary or judicial sense.[81] they held judicial duties until these responsibilities were
moved to the praetors and later to permanent courts; sim-
ilarly, they held nancial responsibilities until these du-
1.4.1 Ordinary magistrates
ties were transferred to the quaestors.[85] The consuls also
[86]
Of the ordinary magistrates, there are two further divi- held vague religious duties inherited from the kings,
sions: the higher magistrates, composed of consuls, prae- along with their more important military functions, serv-
tors, their prorogued equivalents, and the censors; and ing as the commander-in-chief of Romes armies.
the lower magistrates, composed of the tribunes, aediles, The next magistrate was the praetor, who increased
quaestors, and other minor positions.[3] All higher mag- in number over the course of the Republic,[lower-alpha 2]
istrates were elected by the Centuriate Assembly. and were primarily judges.[88] However, in the later
6 CHAPTER 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Republic, praetors were increasingly sent out to the limited in that a tribune could not oppose the will of the
provinces to serve as provincial governors are prorogued people as a whole.[lower-alpha 4][97]
magistrates.[88] At Rome, there were primarily two kinds The aediles were in charge of various municipal
of praetor, the praetor urbanus and the praetor peregri- tasks, e.g. the upkeep of temples, streets, and the
nus, in charge of suits involving citizens and foreigners, water-supply.[98] They were also responsible for public
respectively.[89] They were also assigned, in the late Re- games,[98] and some aspects of police work in the city.[99]
public, to various permanent courts with specic criminal The quaestors were elected administrators, which could
jurisdiction.[lower-alpha 3][90] When the consuls were away,be put in charge of the treasury, the granaries, or vari-
the praetors were empowered to command armies and
ous administrative postings in Italy, with the consuls, or
serve in the place of the consuls, and so, also held author-in the provinces.[100] In the late Republic, election to the
ity to call assemblies and introduce legislation[91]
quaestorship became the basis for a life appointment to
Over time, as Romes empire grew, the two annual con- the Senate.[101]
suls ceased to be enough to command its many armies
in the eld or administer its many provinces. To solve
this problem, it became normal to prorogue the author- 1.4.2 Extraordinary magistrates
ity of current consuls and praetors beyond their normal
terms so they could continue to command in the eld.[92] There were two extraordinary magistrates: the dictator
[102]
Over time, however, with increasing need for competent and the magister equitum (literally: master of horse).
[103]
generals and administrators, prorogation of magistrates Dictators were selected by the consuls to resolve some
became the norm; [93]
and the device was used, increas- crisis threatening the republic, for a term of around six
ingly by the assemblies, to grant imperium to popular months, before they were expected to resign and re-
[104]
politicians.[93] turn their powers to the ordinary magistrates. The
magister equitum, was then appointed by the dictator as
The censor was appointed specically to conduct the cen- his lieutenant.[lower-alpha 5][105] The dictatorship was only
sus. This involved counting the Roman people, assessing used in the early and middle Republic, before falling
their property, and assigning them to their appropriate out of fashion after the end of the Second Punic War,
centuria and tribus.[93] They were elected around every before being revived during the time of Sulla as an
four or ve years.[94] After the passage of lex Ovinia, the extraconstitutional measure, not to defeat some foe or
censors were also transferred the power from the consuls quell unrest, but rather, to bring stability to the political
to control membership in the Senate.[66] Along with the order.[lower-alpha 6][104][92]
main responsibility of dealing with the census, the cen-
sors also dealt with property disputes, public contracts, The dictator had maius imperium and total authority to
and the management of public lands.[95] command the state,[103] however, since the dictator gen-
erally tried to maintain order, this did not conict with
the responsibilities of the other magistrates, who contin-
ued to function during a dictatorship.[103][107] The mag-
ister equitum had similar plenary authority, with parallel
and somewhat subordinate authority to the dictator.[105]
In the middle and later Republic, with the oce of dic-
tator falling out of fashion, the need for dictatorial au-
thority was not granted to some extraordinary magis-
trate, but rather, to the consuls, through a senatus con-
sultum ultimum, or nal decree.[92] This decree took the
form of a recommendation from the Senate to the con-
suls to take whatever actions were necessary to defend the
republic.[lower-alpha 7][109][108] Due to its general vagueness,
Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding over the Ple- however, its use was hotly contested in the late Republic
beian Council, in an artists impression from 1799. and is still debated among scholars today, as in a strict
legal sense, the nal decree did not grant legal authority
The lower magistrates included the tribune of the plebs,
to the consuls, but rather, served as an urging from the
who was elected by the Plebeian Council, and the aediles
Senate to ignore the laws to protect the state.[110]
and quaestors, elected by the Tribal Assembly. The tri-
bune was sacrosanct, i.e. declared inviolable, with sum-
mary execution for violators of his sanctity.[20] It was
on this basis that the tribune could veto any political 1.5 Constitutional instability
act or to protect any individual from an injustice com-
mitted by a magistrate, known as intercessio and auxil- After the Second Punic War, there was a great in-
ium, respectively.[21] This power was used increasingly to crease in income inequality. While the middle class
block public business in the later republic, and was only was drafted to serve in increasingly long campaigns,
1.6. SEE ALSO 7

dent that the Republics constitution was malleable.

When Sulla returned in 82 BC, he was made dicta-
tor for the purpose of bringing order to the Republics
politics.[92] Sulla attempted to concentrate political power
into the Senate and the aristocratic assemblies, whilst try-
ing to reduce the obstructive and legislative powers of the
tribune and Plebeian council.[118] However, his changes
were not to last. With signicant popular unrest, the tri-
bunates powers were quickly restored by 70 BC.[11] Sulla
passed legislation to make it illegal to march on Rome
as he had,[119] but having just shown that doing so would
bring no personal harm so long as one was victorious, this
had little eect.[11]

A depiction of the death of Caesar, from The Death of Caesar,

Jean-Lon Grme, painted in 1867
A bust of Sulla, the rst dictator and general to march on Rome
of the late Republic,[111] who marched on Rome with his troops Over the course of the late Republic, formerly authorita-
in 88 and 82 BC.[112] tive institutions lost their credibility and authority.[12] For
example, the Sullan reforms to the Senate strongly split
the aristocratic class between those who stayed in the city
their farms and homesteads fell into bankruptcy.[113] And
and those who rose to high oce abroad, further increas-
with Romes great military victories, vast numbers of
ing class divides between Romans, even at the highest
slaves were imported into Italy.[113] In the middle of
levels.[120] Furthermore, the dominance of the military in
the second century BC, the tribunate of Tiberius Grac-
the late Republic, along with stronger ties between a gen-
chus led to a breakup of the long-standing norms of
eral and his troops, caused by their longer terms of service
the republican constitution.[114] Graccus legislation ef-
together and the troops reliance on that general to provide
fectively established a parallel administration challenging
for their retirements,[115] along with an obstructionist cen-
the socio-political power of the old aristocracy and es-
tral government, meant a huge number of malcontent sol-
tablishing a precedent that the popular assemblies could
diers willing to take up arms against the state. Adding in
vote themselves whatever they wanted.[114] His younger
the institutionalisation of violence as a means to obstruct
brother, Gaius Gracchus, further challenged the Senates
or force political change (e.g. the deaths of the Gracchi
political preeminence, by threatening it with new judi-
and Sullas dictatorship, respectively),[115] the Republic
cial procedures.[114] The Senates violent reaction against
was caught in an ever more violent and anarchic struggle
both the Gracchi, which led to their deaths, also served
between the Senate, assemblies at Rome, and the pro-
to legitimise the use of violence for political ends.[115]
magistrates. It would only be resolved by civil war,[12] a
Later populist attempts to introduce similarly broad- war which the promagistrate governors and their troops
reaching redistributive legislation enlisted the support of would win, and in doing so, collapse the Republic.
Gaius Marius, a great general, which was then elected
to a string of unprecedented consecutive consulships,[116]
which also violated Roman law, which mandated a 1.6 See also
decade between consulships, further weakening the pri-
marily norms-based constitution. The attempts to recall
Roman Law
the general Sulla led to his marching on Rome in 88 BC,
installing two new consuls and forcing major reforms of Cursus honorum
the constitution at sword-point,[116] before leaving a cam-
paign in the East.[117] This further strengthened the prece- Byzantine Senate
8 CHAPTER 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Pontifex Maximus [6] Abbott 1963, pp. 157-165.

Princeps senatus [7] Lintott 2003, p. 202.

Interrex [8] Abbott 1963, p. 155.

Acta Senatus [9] Lintott 2003, pp. 121-122.

[10] Abbott 1963, p. 44.

1.7 Notes [11] Lintott 2003, p. 212.

[12] Lintott 2003, p. 213.

[1] This stayed the case until the late Republic, a time when
the constitution was increasingly ignored, when Pompey [13] Lintott 2003, p. 38.
was appointed by the Senate as sole consul for 52 BC to
quell riots in Rome.[82] [14] Lintott 2003, p. 27-28.

[2] In the middle Republic, there were one or two. By the [15] Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of the Ro-
late Republic, during the dictatorship of Caesar, this had man Republic. Random House Books. p. 2. ISBN 1-
ballooned to 18.[87] 4000-7897-0.

[3] One court, specically mentioned by Lintott, is the quaes- [16] Lintott 2003, p. 27.
tio perpetua de repetundis, set up by lex Calpurnia to inves-
tigate extortion by Roman magistrates.[90] [17] Lintott 2003, p. 31.

[4] An example of this is Tiberius Gracchus' securing of the [18] Lintott 2003, p. 28.
removal of Marcus Octavius for opposition to his land re-
[19] Lintott 2003, p. 32.
form policies, by vote of the people.[96]

[5] Lintott writes, 'Once chosen, he could not be deposed, but [20] Abbott 1963, pp. 196-197.
his oce ceased with that of his superior. In many re-
[21] Lintott 2003, p. 33.
spects he might function in parallel to the dictator, like a
second consul, rather than as a direct subordinate. How- [22] Holland 2005, p. 5.
ever, more spectacular stories about the oce show that
his subordination was a major issue'.[105] [23] Abbott 1963, p. 30.

[6] The dierences between the early dictatorships and the [24] Lintott 2003, p. 34.
later dictatorships is quite clear. The lex Valeria of 82 BC
created Sulla dictator for the revision of the constitution, [25] Lintott 2003, p. 35.
with practically unlimited powers.[106] Caesar took a sim-
ilar dictatorship in the early 40s BC as well. These were [26] Abbott 1963, p. 37.
fundamentally political posts, with the right to name mag- [27] Abbott 1963, p. 34.
istrates, change the membership of the Senate, exercise
plenary judicial authority, and control public lands.[106] [28] Abbott 1963, p. 42.
[7] For clarication, Lintott explains that, 'It was not clear, for [29] Lintott 2003, p. 36.
example, whether it was simple recommending a limited
use of force to restore the rule of law or the extermination [30] Abbott 1963, p. 45.
of those who are thought to have disturbed the peace'.[108]
[31] Abbott 1963, p. 46.

[32] Abbott 1963, p. 47.

1.8 References
[33] Lintott 2003, p. 39.
[1] Lintott, Andrew (2003). The Constitution of the Roman [34] Holland 2005, p. 26.
Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN
0-19-926108-3. [35] Lintott 2003, p. 63.

[2] Abbott, Frank Frost (1963). A History and Descriptions [36] Lintott 2003, p. 46.
of Roman Political Institutions (3 ed.). New York: Noble
Oset Printers Inc. p. 270. [37] Lintott 2003, p. 41.

[3] Lintott 2003, p. vii. [38] Lintott 2003, p. 42.

[4] Lintott 2003, p. 40. [39] Abbott 1963, p. 251.

[5] Lintott 2003, p. 66. [40] Lintott 2003, p. 43.

1.8. REFERENCES 9

[41] Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: [76] Lintott 2003, p. 83.
From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar.
The University of Michigan Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-472- [77] Abbott 1963, p. 230.
08125-X.
[78] Abbott 1963, p. 165.
[42] Lintott 2003, pp. 47-48.
[79] Abbott 1963, p. 151.
[43] Lintott 2003, p. 48. [80] Lintott 2003, p. 95.
[44] Lintott 2003, p. 49. [81] Lintott 2003, p. 96.
[45] Abbott 1963, p. 253. [82] Abbott 1963, p. 114.
[46] Botsworth, George Willis (1909). The Roman Assemblies. [83] Abbott 1963, p. 156.
New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. p. 190.
[84] Abbott 1963, p. 176.
[47] Botsworth 1909, p. 192.
[85] Abbott 1963, pp. 177,187.
[48] Lintott 2003, p. 55.
[86] Abbott 1963, p. 177.
[49] Lintott 2003, p. 56.
[87] Abbott 1963, p. 188.
[50] Abbott 1963, p. 21.
[88] Abbott 1963, p. 187.
[51] Abbott 1963, pp. 74-76.
[89] Lintott 2003, p. 107.
[52] Lintott 2003, p. 61.
[90] Lintott 2003, p. 108.
[53] Abbott 1963, p. 257.
[91] Lintott 2003, p. 109.
[54] Abbott 1963, p. 259.
[92] Lintott 2003, p. 113.
[55] Lintott 2003, p. 50.
[93] Lintott 2003, p. 115.
[56] Abbott 1963, pp. 250-251.
[94] Abbott 1963, p. 191.
[57] Lintott 2003, p. 51.
[95] Lintott 2003, pp. 119-120.
[58] Abbott 1963, pp. 260-261.
[96] Abbott 1963, p. 95.
[59] Taylor 1966, p. 7.
[97] Lintott 2003, p. 128.
[60] Abbott 1963, pp. 262.
[98] Lintott 2003, p. 131.
[61] Abbott 1963, pp. 263.
[99] Lintott 2003, p. 132.
[62] Abbott 1963, p. 74.
[100] Lintott 2003, p. 133.
[63] Lintott 2003, p. 86.
[101] Lintott 2003, p. 136.
[64] Abbott 1963, p. 235.
[102] Lintott 2003, p. 110.
[65] Abbott 1963, p. 220.
[103] Abbott 1963, p. 182.
[66] Lintott 2003, p. 68.
[104] Abbott 1963, p. 183.
[67] Abbott 1963, p. 222.
[105] Lintott 2003, p. 112.
[68] Lintott 2003, p. 72.
[106] Abbott 1963, p. 218.
[69] Lintott 2003, p. 71-72.
[107] Lintott 2003, p. 111.
[70] Lintott 2003, p. 71.
[108] Lintott 2003, p. 90.
[71] Lintott 2003, p. 3.
[109] Abbott 1963, p. 242.
[72] Lintott 2003, p. 4.
[110] Lintott 2003, p. 92.
[73] Abbott 1963, p. 226.
[111] Ridley, R. T. (2016). The Fall of the Roman Republic.
[74] Lintott 2003, p. 78. Agora. 51 (1): 66.

[75] Lintott 2003, pp. 82-83. [112] Abbott 1963, pp. 103-104.
 10 CHAPTER 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

[113] Abbott 1963, p. 77. 1.9.1 Primary sources

[114] Lintott 2003, p. 209. Ciceros De Re Publica, Book Two

[115] Ridley 2016, p. 66. Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of
the Roman Government; by Polybius
[116] Lintott 2003, p. 210.

[117] Abbott 1963, p. 103.

[118] Lintott 2003, pp. 210-211.

[119] Lintott 2003, p. 211.

[120] Steel, Catherine (2014). The Roman Senate and the

post-Sullan res publica. Historia : Zeitschrift fr alte
Geschichte. 63 (3): 328.

1.9 Further reading

Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman
Republic. U.S. Government Printing Oce Senate
Document 103-23.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works

of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on
the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws.
vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dis-
sertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis
Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue.

Goldsworthy, Adrian (2010). In the Name of Rome:

The Men Who Won the Roman Empire. Orion
Books, Ltd. ISBN 0-297-86401-7.

Ihne, Wilhelm (1853). Researches Into the History

of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering.

Johnston, Harold Whetstone (1891). Orations and

Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An
Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabu-
lary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company.

Mommsen, Theodor (1888). Roman Constitutional

Law.

Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius:

Translated from the Greek. Vol 2 (Fifth ed.). Ox-
ford: Printed by W. Baxter.

Polybius. The Histories; Volumes 913. Cambridge

Ancient History.

Tighe, Ambrose (1886). The Development of the

Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co.

Von Fritz, Kurt (1975). The Theory of the Mixed

Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University
Press, New York.
Chapter 2

History

The history of the Constitution of the Roman Republic is According to legend, the Roman Kingdom was founded
a study of the ancient Roman Republic that traces the pro- in 753 BC, and was ruled by a succession of seven
gression of Roman political development from the found- kings.[1] The last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, ruled
ing of the Roman Republic in 509 BC until the found- in a tyrannical manner[2] and, in 510 BC, his son Sextus
ing of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. The constitutional Tarquinius raped a noblewoman named Lucretia. Lucre-
history of the Roman Republic can be divided into ve tia, the wife of a senator named Lucius Tarquinius Collat-
phases. The rst phase began with the revolution which inus, committed suicide because of the rape, and this led
overthrew the Roman Kingdom in 510 BC, and the nal to a conspiracy which drove Tarquin from the city. With
phase ended with the revolution which overthrew the Ro- Tarquins expulsion, the Roman Republic was founded,
man Republic, and thus created the Roman Empire, in and the chief conspirators, Collatinus and the senator
27 BC. Throughout the history of the republic, the con- Lucius Junius Brutus, were elected as the rst Roman
stitutional evolution was driven by the struggle between Consul (chief-executive).[3][4] While this story may be
the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. nothing more than a legend which later Romans created
The Roman aristocracy was composed of a class of cit- in order to explain their past, it[5]is likely that Rome had
izens called Patricians (Latin: patricii), while all other been ruled by a series of kings, who probably were, as
citizens were called Plebeians (Latin: plebs) . During the legends suggest, overthrown quickly.
the rst phase of political development, the Patrician
aristocracy dominated the state, and the Plebeians be- 2.1.1 The executive magistrates
gan seeking political rights. During the second phase,
the Plebeians completely overthrew the Patrician aris-
tocracy, and since the aristocracy was overthrown sim-
ply through alterations to the Roman law, this revolution
was not violent. The third phase saw the emergence of
a joint Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy, along with a dan-
gerous military situation that helped to maintain inter-
nal stability within the republic. The fourth phase began
shortly after Romes wars of expansion had ended, be-
cause without these wars, the factor that had ensured in-
ternal stability was removed. While the Plebeians sought
to address their economic misfortune through the enact-
ment of laws, the underlying problems were ultimately
caused by the organization of society. The nal phase
began when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river, and
ended with the complete overthrow of the republic. This
nal revolution triggered a wholesale reorganization of
the constitution, and with it, the emergence of the Roman
Empire.

Growth of the city region during the kingdom

2.1 The Patrician era (509367 BC) The constitutional changes which occurred immediately
after the revolution were probably not as extensive as
See also: Patrician (ancient Rome), Plebeian, Secessio, the legends suggest, as the most important constitutional
and Roman Kingdom change probably concerned the chief executive. Before
the revolution, a king (rex) was elected by the sena-

11
12
tors (patres or fathers) for a life term, but now two
Praetores (leaders) were elected by the citizens for an
annual term.[1] These magistrates were eventually called
"Consuls" (Latin for those who walk together), and each
Consul checked his colleague, while their limited term
in oce opened them up to prosecution if they abused
the powers of their oce.[5] The chief executive was still
vested with the same grade of imperium (command)
powers as was the old king, and the powers of each of
the two Consuls, when exercised together, were no dier-
ent than were those of the old king.[6] In the immediate
aftermath of the revolution, the Roman Senate and the
Roman assemblies were nearly as powerless as they had
been under the monarchy.[6]
During the years of the monarchy, only Patricians (patres
or fathers) were admitted to the Roman Senate. The
revolution of 510 BC so depleted the ranks of the sen-
ate, however, that a group of Plebeians were drafted (con-
scripti) to ll the vacancies. The old senate of Patricians
(patres) transitioned into a senate of patres et conscripti
(fathers and conscripted men). These new Plebeian
senators, however, could neither vote on an auctoritas pa-
trum (authority of the fathers or authority of the Patri-
cian senators), nor be elected interrex.[6] In the year 494
BC, the city was at war,[7] but the Plebeian soldiers re-
fused to march against the enemy, and instead seceded to
the Aventine Hill.[8] The Patricians quickly became des-
perate to end what was, in eect, a labor strike,[8] and
thus they quickly agreed to the demands of the Plebeians,
that they be given the right to elect their own ocials.[7]
The Plebeians named these new ocials Plebeian Tri-
bunes (tribuni plebis), and gave them two assistants, the
Plebeian Aediles (aediles plebi).[9][10]
During the early years of the republic, the Plebeians were
not allowed to hold ordinary political oce. In 445 BC,
the Plebeians demanded the right to stand for election to
the Consulship,[11] but the senate refused to grant them
this right. After a long resistance to the new demands,
the Senate (454) sent a commission of three patricians
to Greece to study and report on the legislation of Solon
and other lawmakers.[12][13] When they returned, the As-
sembly (451) chose ten mendecemvirito formulate a
new code, and gave them supreme governmental power
in Rome for two years. This commission, under the
presidency of a resolute reactionary, Appius Claudius,
transformed the old customary law of Rome into the fa-
mous Twelve Tables, submitted them to the Assembly
(which passed them with some changes), and displayed
them in the Forum for all who would and could to read.
The Twelve Tables recognised certain rights and gave
the plebs their own representatives, the tribunes. How-
ever the Consulship remained closed to the Plebeians.
Consular command authority (imperium) was granted to
a select number of Military Tribunes. These individ-
uals, the so-called Consular Tribunes, were elected by
the Centuriate Assembly, and the senate had the power
to veto any such election.[11] This was the rst of many
CHAPTER 2. HISTORY
attempts by the Plebeians to achieve political equality
with the Patricians. Starting around the year 400 BC, a
series of wars were fought, and while the Patrician aris-
tocracy enjoyed the fruits of the resulting conquests,[11]
the Plebeians in the army became exhausted and bit-
ter. They demanded real concessions, and so in 367 BC
a law was passed (the "Licinio-Sextian law")[14] which
dealt with the economic plight of the Plebeians. How-
ever, the law also required the election of at least one
Plebeian Consul each year.[8] The opening of the Con-
sulship to the Plebeians was probably the cause behind
the concession of 366 BC, in which the Praetorship and
Curule Aedileship were both created,[10] but opened only
to Patricians.[15][16]
2.1.2 The senate and legislative assemblies
Main article: Centuriate Assembly
Shortly after the founding of the republic, the Centuriate
Assembly became the principle Roman assembly in
which magistrates were elected, laws were passed, and tri-
als occurred. During his Consulship in 509 BC, Publius
Valerius Publicola enacted a law (the lex Valeria) which
guaranteed due process rights to every Roman citizen.
Any condemned citizen could evoke his right of Provoca-
tio, which appealed any condemnation to the Centuriate
Assembly,[17][18][19] and which was a precursor to habeas
corpus. Also around this time, the Plebeians assembled
into an informal Plebeian Curiate Assembly, which was
the original Plebeian Council. Since they were organized
on the basis of the Curia[20][21] (and thus by clan), they re-
mained dependent on their Patrician patrons. In 471 BC,
a law was passed due to the eorts of the Tribune Volero
Publilius,[22] which allowed the Plebeians to organize by
Tribe, rather than by Curia. Thus, the Plebeian Curiate
Assembly became the Plebeian Tribal Assembly, and the
Plebeians became politically independent.[22]
During the regal period, the king nominated two
Quaestors to serve as his assistants, and after the
overthrow of the monarchy, the Consuls retained this
authority.[9] However, in 447 BC, Cicero recorded that
the Quaestors began to be elected[10] by a tribal assem-
bly that was presided over by a magistrate.[23] It seems
as though this was the rst instance of a joint Patricio-
Plebeian Tribal Assembly, and thus was probably an
enormous gain for the Plebeians. While Patricians were
able to vote in a joint assembly, there were never very
many Patricians in Rome. Thus, most of the electors
were Plebeians, and yet any magistrate elected by a joint
assembly had jurisdiction over both Plebeians and Patri-
cians. Therefore, for the rst time, the Plebeians seemed
to have indirectly acquired authority over Patricians.[23]
During the 4th century BC,[24] a series of reforms were
passed (the leges Valeriae Horatiae), which ultimately re-
quired that any law passed by the Plebeian Council have
the full force of law over both Plebeians and Patricians.
2.2. THE CONFLICT OF THE ORDERS (367287 BC) 13

This gave the Plebeian Tribunes, who presided over the to hold oce for several years at a time. This problem
Plebeian Council, a positive character for the rst time. was resolved with the creation of the pro-magisterial of-
Before these laws were passed, Tribunes could only inter- ces, so that when an individuals term in oce ended,
his command might be prorogued (prorogatio imperii).[32]
pose the sacrosanctity of their person (intercessio) to veto
acts of the senate, assemblies, or magistrates.[25] It was In eect, when a magistrates term ended, his imperium
a modication to the Valerian law[26] in 449 BC which was extended,[32] and he usually held the title of either
rst allowed acts of the Plebeian Council to have the full Proconsul or Propraetor.[33] This constitutional device
force of law, but eventually the nal law in the series waswas not in harmony with the underlying genius of the
passed (the "Hortensian Law"), which removed the last Roman constitution, and its frequent usage eventually
check that the Patricians in the senate had over this power.
paved the way for the empire. In addition, during these
years, the Plebeian Tribunes and the senators grew in-
creasingly close.[32] The senate realized the need to use
2.2 The Conict of the Orders Plebeian ocials to accomplish desired goals,[32] and so
to win over the Tribunes, the senators gave the Tribunes
(367287 BC) a great deal of power, and unsurprisingly, the Tribunes
began to feel obligated to the senate. As the Tribunes
Main articles: Conict of the Orders and Samnite Wars and the senators grew closer, Plebeian senators were of-
ten able to secure the Tribunate for members of their
[34]
In the decades following the passage of the Licinio- own families. In time, the Tribunate became a step-
Sextian law of 367 BC, which required the election of ping stone to higher oce.[34]
at least one Plebeian Consul each year, a series of laws
were passed which ultimately granted Plebeians political
equality with Patricians.[27] The Patrician era came to a 2.2.2 The Ovinian law and the new aristoc-
complete end in 287 BC, with the passage of the Hort- racy
[27]
ensian law. This era was also marked with signicant
external developments. Up until 295 BC, the Samnites
and the Kelts had been Romes chief rivals, but that year,
at the Battle of Sentinum, the Romans defeated the com-
bined armies of the Samnites and the Kelts. This bat-
tle was followed by the complete submission of both the
Samnites and the Kelts to the Romans, and the emergence
of Rome as the unchallenged mistress of Italy.[27][28]

2.2.1 The Plebeians and the magistrates

When the Curule Aedileship had been created, it had only
been opened to Patricians.[29] Eventually, however, Ple-
beians won full admission to the Curule Aedileship. In Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the
addition, after the Consulship had been opened to the Roman Republic.
Plebeians, the Plebeians acquired a de facto right to hold
both the Roman Dictatorship and the Roman Censorship During the era of the kingdom, the Roman King ap-
(which had been created in 443 BC)[15] since only for- pointed new senators, but after the overthrow of the
mer Consuls could hold either oce. 356 BC saw the kingdom, the Consuls acquired this power. Around the
appointment of the rst Plebeian Dictator,[30] and in 339 middle of the 4th century BC, however, the Plebeian
BC the Plebeians facilitated the passage of a law (the lex Council enacted the Ovinian Plebiscite (plebiscitum
Publilia), which required the election of at least one Ple- Ovinium),[35] which gave the power to appoint new sena-
beian Censor for each ve-year term.[30] In 337 BC, the tors to the Roman Censors. It also codied a common-
rst Plebeian Praetor was elected.[30] place practice, which all but required the Censor to ap-
In 342 BC, two signicant laws were passed. One of point any newly elected magistrate to the senate.[35][36]
these two laws made it illegal to hold more than one of- By this point, Plebeians were already holding a signi-
ce at any given point in time, and the other law required cant number of magisterial oces, and so the number of
an interval of ten years to pass before any magistrate Plebeian senators probably increased quickly.[36] It was,
could seek reelection to any oce.[31] As a result of these in all likelihood, simply a matter of time before the Ple-
two laws, the military situation quickly became unman- beians came to dominate the senate.[36]
ageable. During this time period, Rome was expand- Under the new system, newly elected magistrates were
ing within Italy and beginning to take steps beyond Italy, awarded with automatic membership in the senate, al-
and thus it became necessary for military commanders though it remained dicult for a Plebeian from an un-
14
known family to enter the senate.[36] Several factors
made it dicult for individuals from unknown families
to be elected to high oce, in particular the very pres-
ence of a long-standing nobility, as this appealed to the
deeply rooted Roman respect for the past.[36] Ultimately,
a new Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy emerged,[37] which
replaced the old Patrician nobility. It was the dominance
of the long-standing Patrician nobility which ultimately
forced the Plebeians to wage their long struggle for polit-
ical power. The new nobility, however, was fundamen-
tally dierent from the old nobility.[38] The old nobility
existed through the force of law, because only Patricians
were allowed to stand for high oce, and it was ultimately
overthrown after those laws were changed. Now, how-
ever, the new nobility existed due to the organization of
society, and as such, it could only be overthrown through
a revolution.[38]
2.2.3 The failure of the Conict of the Or-
ders The great accomplishment of the Hortensian Law was in
The Conict of the Orders was nally coming to an end,
since the Plebeians had achieved political equality with
the Patricians.[38] A small number of Plebeian families
had achieved the same standing that the old aristocratic
Patrician families had always had, but these new Plebeian
aristocrats were as uninterested in the plight of the aver-
age Plebeian as the old Patrician aristocrats had always
been.[38] During this time period, the Plebeian plight had
been mitigated due to the constant state of war that Rome
was in.[24] These wars provided employment, income,
and glory for the average Plebeian, and the sense of pa-
triotism that resulted from these wars also eliminated any
real threat of Plebeian unrest. The lex Publilia, which
had required the election of at least one Plebeian Cen-
sor every ve years, contained another provision. Before
this time, any bill passed by an assembly (either by the
Plebeian Council, the Tribal Assembly, or the Centuriate
Assembly) could only become a law after the Patrician
senators gave their approval. This approval came in the
form of an auctoritas patrum (authority of the fathers
or authority of the Patrician senators). The lex Publilia
modied this process, requiring the auctoritas patrum to
be passed before a law could be voted on by one of the as-
semblies, rather than after the law had already been voted
on.[39] It is not known why, but this modication seems
to have made the auctoritas patrum irrelevant.[26]
By 287 BC, the economic condition of the average
Plebeian had become poor, and the result was the -
nal Plebeian secession. The Plebeians seceded to the
Janiculum hill, and to end the secession, a Dictator named
Quintus Hortensius was appointed. Hortensius, a Ple-
beian, passed a law called the Hortensian Law (Lex
Hortensia), which ended the requirement that an auctori-
tas patrum be passed before any bill could be considered
by either the Plebeian Council or the Tribal Assembly.[40]
The requirement was not changed for the Centuriate As-
CHAPTER 2. HISTORY
sembly. The importance of the Hortensian Law was in
that it removed from the senate its nal check over the
Plebeian Council (the principal popular assembly).[41] It
should therefore not be viewed as the nal triumph of
democracy over aristocracy,[41] since, through the Tri-
bunes, the senate could still control the Plebeian Coun-
cil. Thus, the ultimate signicance of this law was in
the fact that it robbed the Patricians of their nal weapon
over the Plebeians. The result was that the ultimate con-
trol over the state fell, not onto the shoulders of democ-
racy, but onto the shoulders of the new Patricio-Plebeian
aristocracy.[41]
2.3 The supremacy of the new no-
bility (287133 BC)
See also: Punic Wars
that it deprived the Patricians of their nal weapon over
the Plebeians. Therefore, the new Patricio-Plebeian aris-
tocracy replaced the old Patrician aristocracy, and the last
great political question of the earlier era had been re-
solved. As such, no important political changes occurred
between 287 BC and 133 BC.[42] This entire era was
dominated by foreign wars, which eliminated the need
to address the aws in the current political system, since
the patriotism of the Plebeians suppressed their desire for
further reforms. However, this era created new problems,
which began to be realized near the end of the 2nd century
BC. For example, the nature of Romes military comman-
ders changed. Roman soldiers of earlier eras fought short
wars, and then returned to their farms. Since their gener-
als did the same thing, the soldiers came to view their gen-
erals as being nothing more than fellow citizen-soldiers.
Now, however, wars were becoming longer and of a larger
scale. Thus, this period saw a growing anity between
the average citizen and his general, while the generals ac-
quired more power than they had ever held before.[43]
2.3.1 The Senate
When the lex Hortensia was enacted into law, Rome the-
oretically became a democracy (insofar as the landown-
ers were concerned, anyway). In reality, however, Rome
remained an oligarchy, since the critical laws were still
enacted by the Roman Senate.[44] In eect, democracy
was satised with the possession of power, but did not
care to actually use it. The senate was supreme dur-
ing this era because the era was dominated by foreign
policy.[45] While upwards of 300,000 citizens were eli-
gible to vote,[45] many of these individuals lived a great
distance from Rome, and so calling them all together in
a short period of time was impossible. The foreign af-
fairs questions often required quick answers, and three-
2.3. THE SUPREMACY OF THE NEW NOBILITY (287133 BC) 15

hundred senators were more capable of quick action than pensive slave labor, which the landed aristocrats used to
were thousands of electors. The questions were also more sta their new farms.[49] Soon the masses of unemployed
complex than were the questions of the earlier era, and the Plebeians began to ood into Rome, and into the ranks of
average citizen was not adequately informed as to these the legislative assemblies.[50]
issues.[45] The senators, in contrast, were usually quite At the same time, the aristocracy was becoming ex-
experienced,[45] and the fact that they had income sources tremely rich.[51] Several Italian towns had sided with Han-
that were independent of their political roles made it eas-nibal during the Second Punic War, and these towns were
ier for them to involve themselves in policy questions overultimately punished for their disloyalty, which opened
extended periods of time.[46]
up even more cheap farmland for the aristocrats. With
the destruction of Romes great commercial rival of
Carthage, even more opportunities for prot became
available. With so many new territories, tax collection
(which had always been outsourced to private individu-
als) also became extremely protable.[51] While the aris-
tocrats spent their time exploiting new opportunities for
prot, Rome was conquering new civilizations in the east.
These civilizations were often highly developed, and as
such they opened up a world of luxury to the Romans. Up
until this point, most Romans had only known a simple
life,[50] but as both wealth and eastern luxuries became
available at the same time, an era of ruinous decadence
Modern representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate
followed.[50] The sums that were spent on these luxuries
had no precedent in prior Roman history. Several laws
Since most senators were former magistrates, the senate were enacted to stem this tide of decadence, but these
became bound together by a strong sense of collegiality. laws had no eect, and attempts by the[50] Censors to miti-
At any given point in time, many of the senates most se- gate this decadence were equally futile.
nior members were ex-Consuls, which facilitated the cre- By the end of this era, Rome had become full of
ation of a bond between the presiding Consul and those unemployed Plebeians. They then began lling the ranks
senior members.[3] In addition, the Consul was always of the assemblies, and the fact that they were no longer
chosen from senate, and as such he usually held similar away from Rome made it easier for them to vote. In
ideals as did his fellow senators. When his annual term the principle legislative assembly, the Plebeian Coun-
ended, he returned to their ranks, and so he was unlikely cil,[52] any individual voted in the Tribe that his ances-
to stand against his fellow senators. Before the enactment tors had belonged to.[53] Thus, most of these newly un-
of the Ovinian Law, Consuls appointed new senators, employed Plebeians belonged to one of the thirty-one
but after the enactment of this law, Censors appointed rural Tribes, rather than one of the four urban Tribes,
new senators,[47] which caused the senate to become even and the unemployed Plebeians soon acquired so much
more independent of the presiding Consul. In addition, political power that the Plebeian Council became highly
the Ovinian Law all but required that ex-magistrates be populist.[50] These Plebeians were often angry with the
appointed to the senate, and as such, the process by which aristocracy, which further exacerbated the class tensions.
Censors appointed new members to the senate became Their economic state usually led them to vote for the can-
quite objective. This further enhanced the competence, didate who oered the most for them, or at least for the
and thus the prestige, of the senate.[48] candidate whose games or whose bribes were the most
magnicent. The fact that they were usually uninformed
as to the issues before them didn't matter, because they
2.3.2 The Plebeians and the aristocracy usually sold their votes to the highest bidder anyway.[50]
Bribery became such a problem that major reforms were
The nal decades of this era saw a worsening economic ultimately passed, in particular the requirement that all
situation for many Plebeians.[49] The long military cam- votes be by secret ballot. A new culture of dependency
paigns had forced citizens to leave their farms, which was emerging, which would look to any populist leader
often caused those farms to fall into a state of disre- for relief.[54]
pair. This situation was made worse during the Second
Punic War, when Hannibal fought the Romans through-
out Italy, and the Romans adopted a strategy of attrition
and guerrilla warfare in response. When the soldiers re-
turned from the battleeld, they often had to sell their
farms to pay their debts, and the landed aristocracy
quickly bought these farms at discounted prices. The
wars had also brought to Rome a great surplus of inex-
16 CHAPTER 2. HISTORY

2.4 From the Gracchi to Caesar opposition to the aristocracy.[57]

(13349 BC) Tiberius brother Gaius was elected Plebeian Tribune in
123 BC. Gaius Gracchus ultimate goal was to weaken
Main articles: Gracchi, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompey, the senate and to strengthen the democratic forces,[58] so
Julius Caesar, and First Triumvirate he rst enacted a law which put the knights (equites, or
The prior era saw great military successes,[55] and great upper-middle class citizens) on the jury courts instead of
the senators. He then passed a grain law which greatly
disadvantaged the provincial governors, most of whom
were senators. The knights, on the other hand, stood to
prot greatly from these grain reforms, and so the re-
sult was that Gaius managed to turn the most powerful
class of non-senators against the senate.[58] In the past,
the senate eliminated political rivals either by establish-
ing special judicial commissions or by passing a senatus
consultum ultimum (ultimate decree of the senate).[46][59]
Both devices allowed the senate to bypass the ordinary
due process rights that all citizens had.[60] Gaius outlawed
the judicial commissions, and declared the senatus con-
sultum ultimum to be unconstitutional. Gaius then pro-
posed a law which granted citizenship rights to Romes
Gaius Gracchus, Tribune of the people, presiding over the Ple-
beian Council
Italian allies, but the selsh democracy in Rome, which
jealously guarded its privileged status, deserted him over
economic failures,[56] while the patriotism of the Ple- this proposal.[60] He stood for reelection to a third term
beians had kept them from seeking any new reforms. in 121 BC, but was defeated and then murdered.[37] The
Now, however, the military situation had stabilized, and democracy, however, had nally realized how weak the
fewer soldiers were needed. This, in conjunction with senate had become.[60]
the new slaves that were being imported from abroad, in-
amed the unemployment situation further. The ood
2.4.2 Sullas Constitutional Reforms
of unemployed citizens to Rome had made the assem-
blies quite populist, and thus had created an increas-
Main article: Constitutional Reforms of Lucius Cor-
ingly aggressive democracy. This new era began with
nelius Sulla
the Tribunate of Gaius Gracchus, and ended when Julius
Caesar crossed the Rubicon river.
Several years later, a new power had emerged in Asia.
In 88 BC, a Roman army was sent to put down that
2.4.1 Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus power, king Mithridates VI of Pontus, but was defeated.
Over the objections of the former Consul Gaius Mar-
Tiberius Gracchus was elected Plebeian Tribune in 133 ius, the Consul for the year, Lucius Cornelius Sulla was
BC, and as Tribune, he attempted to enact a law that ordered by the senate to assume command of the war
would have distributed land amongst Romes landless against Mithridates.[61] Marius, a member of the demo-
citizens.[37] The aristocrats, who stood to lose an enor- cratic ("populare") party, had a Tribune revoke Sullas
mous amount of money, were bitterly opposed to this pro- command of the war against Mithridates,[62] so Sulla, a
posal. Tiberius submitted this law to the Plebeian Coun- member of the aristocratic ("optimate") party, brought
cil, but the law was vetoed by a Tribune named Marcus his army back to Italy and marched on Rome. Marius
Octavius, and so Tiberius used the Plebeian Council to ed, and his supporters either ed or were murdered by
impeach Octavius. The theory, that a representative of Sulla.[63] Sulla had become so angry at Marius Tribune
the people ceases to be one when he acts against the that he passed a law that was intended to permanently
wishes of the people, was repugnant to the genius of Ro- weaken the Tribunate.[64] He then returned to his war
man constitutional theory.[57] If carried to its logical end, against Mithridates,[65] and with Sulla gone, the populares
this theory removed all constitutional restraints on the under Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna soon took con-
popular will, and put the state under the absolute control trol of the city.[66] The populare record was not one to
of a temporary popular majority. This theory ultimately be proud of,[64] as they had reelected Marius Consul sev-
found its logical end under the future democratic empire eral times without observing the required ten-year inter-
of the military populist Julius Caesar.[57] The law was en- val. They also transgressed democracy by advancing un-
acted, but Tiberius was murdered when he stood for re- elected individuals to magisterial oce, and by substitut-
election to the Tribunate. The ten years that followed his ing magisterial edicts for popular legislation. Sulla soon
death were politically inactive. The only important de- made peace with Mithridates,[67] and in 83 BC, he re-
velopment was in the growing strength of the democratic turned to Rome, overcame all resistance, and captured
2.4. FROM THE GRACCHI TO CAESAR (13349 BC) 17

the city again.[68] Sulla and his supporters then slaugh- rejected these laws, and so he then submitted them
tered most of Marius supporters,[67] although one such to the assemblies. Bibulus attempted to obstruct the
supporter, a 17-year-old populare (and the son-in-law of enactment of these laws, and so Caesar used violent (and
Cinna) named Julius Caesar, was ultimately spared. thus illegal) means to ensure their passage.[76] Caesar
Sulla, who had observed the violent results of radical was then given command of four legions, and promised
populare reforms (in particular those under Marius and the governorship of three provinces (Cisalpine Gaul,
Cinna), was naturally conservative, and so his conser- Transalpine Gaul, and Illyricum). This appointment
vatism was more reactionary than it was visionary.[67] As was to begin on March 1, 59 BC, while he was still
Consul. Caesar did not wish to leave the senate in
such, he sought to strengthen the aristocracy, and thus the
senate.[69] After being appointed Roman Dictator[70] in the hands of such unskillful politicians as Pompey and
Crassus before he had crushed the spirit of the senate
82 BC, he enacted a series of constitutional reforms.[71]
He resigned the Dictatorship in 80 BC, retired in 79 BC, and deprived it of its two most dangerous leaders, Cato
and Cicero.[77] Therefore, he sent Cato on a mission
and died a year later. While he thought that he had
rmly established aristocratic rule, his own career had to Cyprus, which was likely to ruin his reputation,[77]
and then facilitated the election of the former Patrician
illustrated the fatal weaknesses in the constitution. Ulti-
mately, it was the army, and not the senate, which dictated Clodius to the Tribunate for 58 BC. Clodius, a dangerous
the fortunes of the state.[72] demagogue,[77] secured the passage of several laws for
his coming attack on Cicero.[77] One law banned the
In 77 BC, the senate sent one of Sullas former lieu- use of omens (auspices) as an obstructive device in the
tenants, Gnaeus Pompey Magnus,[73] to put down an Plebeian Council, while the second law made certain
uprising in Spain. By 71 BC, Pompey returned to clubs of a semi-political nature (i.e. armed gangs)
Rome after having completed his mission, and around the lawful.[77] Clodius then passed two laws which banished
same time, another of Sullas former lieutenants, Marcus Cicero, on the grounds that he had deprived several of
Licinius Crassus,[73] had just put down a slave revolt in Catilines conspirators of their due process (provocatio)
Italy. Upon their return, Pompey and Crassus found the rights when he had them executed upon a mere decree
populare party ercely attacking Sullas constitution,[74] of the senate.[77]
and so they attempted to forge an agreement with the pop-
ulare party. If both Pompey and Crassus were elected Pompey and Crassus proved themselves to be as incom-
Consul in 70 BC, they would dismantle the more obnox- petent as Caesar had hoped.[77] Clodius terrorized the city
ious components of Sullas constitution.[75] The promise with his armed gangs, and agitated Pompey to such a de-
gree that Pompey was able to secure the passage of a
of both Pompey and Crassus, aided by the presence
of both of their armies outside of the gates of Rome, law in 57 BC which recalled Cicero from his exile.[77]
This was more of a triumph for the senate than it was
helped to 'persuade' the populares to elect the two to the
Consulship.[75] As soon as they were elected, they dis- for Pompey, however, since Pompey was allied with Cae-
sar. Pompey was so inept that the senate decided to over-
mantled most of Sullas constitution.[75]
ride him,[77] and rescind the land laws that Caesar had
passed in 59 BC for Pompeys veterans.[78] This forced
2.4.3 The First Triumvirate a renewal of the triumvirate: Pompey and Crassus were
promised the Consulship in 55 BC and Caesars term as
Main article: First Triumvirate governor was extended for ve years. Caesars daughter,
and Pompeys wife, Julia, soon died in childbirth, and a
year later, Crassus was killed during his invasion of the
In 62 BC, Pompey returned victorious from Asia, but Parthian Empire. These two events severed the last re-
the senate refused to ratify the arrangements that he had maining bond between Pompey and Caesar.
made with his soldiers.[76] Pompey, in eect, became
powerless, and thus when Julius Caesar returned from Beginning in the summer of 54 BC, a wave [78]
of politi-
his governorship in Spain in 61 BC, he found it easy to cal corruption and violence swept Rome. This chaos
[76]
make an arrangement with Pompey. Caesar and Pom- reached a climax in January 52 BC, when Clodius was
pey, along with Crassus, established a private agreement, murdered in a gang war. In addition, the civil unrest had
known as the First Triumvirate. Under the agreement, caused the calendar to become neglected. The calendar
Pompeys arrangements in Asia were to be ratied, and required annual adjustments to prevent its drift relative to
his soldiers were to be given land. Caesar was to be any Spring Equinox, and so to correct the misalignment of
elected Consul in 59 BC, and then serve as governor of the calendar, an intercalary month was inserted at the end
Gaul for ve years. Crassus was to be promised a future of February 52 BC, and Pompey was elected sole Consul
Consulship.[76] for that month. This elevation to extraordinary power was
the last straw for Caesar,[78] and with Crassus dead, Pom-
Caesar became Consul in 59 BC, but his col- pey was looking for any excuse with which to crush Cae-
league, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, was an extreme sar, and establish himself as the master of the state.[78] On
aristocrat.[76] Caesar submitted the laws that he had January 1, 49 BC, an agent of Caesar named Gaius Scri-
promised Pompey to the Roman Senate, but the senate
18 CHAPTER 2. HISTORY

bonius Curio presented an ultimatum to the senate, but

the ultimatum was rejected, and the senate then passed a
resolution which declared that if Caesar did not lay down
his arms by July of that year, that he would be acting ad-
versus rem publicam (in eect, declaring him to be an
enemy of the republic).[79] On January 7, 49 BC,[79] the
senate passed a senatus consultum ultimum,[79] which sus-
pended civil government and declared something analo-
gous to martial law. Pompey, in eect, was vested with
Dictatorial powers, but his army was composed largely
of untested conscripts. Caesar then crossed the Rubicon
river with his veteran army, and marched towards Rome.
Caesars rapid advance forced Pompey, the Consuls and
the senate to abandon Rome for Greece, and Caesar en- Julius Caesar, accepting the surrender of Vercingetorix, was the
nal Dictator of the Roman Republic
tered the city unopposed.

governors, and the army had replaced the constitution

2.5 The period of transition (4927 as the means of accomplishing political goals. Between
BC) his crossing of the Rubicon river in 49 BC, and his
assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new consti-
Main article: Constitutional Reforms of Julius Caesar tution, which was intended to accomplish three separate
[82]
See also: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Second Triumvirate, goals. First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance
and Roman Empire out in the provinces, and thus bring order back to the em-
pire. Second, he wanted to create a strong central govern-
ment in Rome. And nally, he wanted to knit together the
The era that began when Julius Caesar crossed the entire empire into a single cohesive unit.[82]
Rubicon in 49 BC, and ended when Octavian returned
to Rome after the Battle of Actium in 29 BC, can be di- Caesar held both the Dictatorship and the Plebeian Tri-
vided into two distinct units. The dividing line between bunate, but alternated [83]
between the Consulship and the
these two units is the assassination of Caesar in March Proconsulship. His powers within the state seem to
[83]
44 BC, although from a constitutional standpoint, there have rested upon these magistracies. The Dictatorship
was no clear dividing line between these two periods. [80] of Caesar was fundamentally dierent from the Dictator-
The forces which had supported Pompey during the early ship of the early and middle republic, as he held the oce
part of the rst period were allied against Mark Antony for life, rather than for six months, and he also held cer-
and Octavian in 43 BC and 42 BC, and the constitutional tain judicial powers which the ordinary Dictators had not
[84]
means through which Caesar had held power before his held. In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribuni-
[85]
assassination were used by Antony and Octavian to hold cian powers, which made his person sacrosanct,[86] al-
[25]
power after Caesars assassination. From a constitutional lowed him to veto the Roman Senate, and allowed him
standpoint, it makes no dierence whether an autocrat[81] to dominate the Plebeian Council. Since[52] Tribunes were
holds the title of Roman Dictator, as Caesar had done, or always elected by the Plebeian Council, Caesar had
[80]
of Triumvir, as Antony and Octavian had done. From hoped to prevent the election of Tribunes who might op-
[85]
a constitutional perspective, these twenty years formed a pose him. In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of
single unit, through which the constitutional evolution of Prefect of the Morals (praefectura morum), which was
the prior century accelerated at a rapid pace. By 27 BC, an oce that was new only in name, as its powers were
[85]
Rome had completed its transition from being a city-state identical to those of the Censors. Thus, he could hold
with a network of dependencies, to being the capital of a Censorial powers, while technically not subjecting him-
world empire.[80] self to the same checks that the ordinary Censors were
subject to, and he used these powers to ll the senate
with his own partisans. He also set the precedent, which
2.5.1 Julius Caesars constitutional re- his imperial successors followed, of requiring the senate
to bestow various titles and honors upon him.[87] Coins
forms
bore his likeness, and he was given the right to speak rst
[87]
During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and during senate meetings.
dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The re- Caesar then increased the number of magistrates who
publican machinery had broken down under the weight of were elected each year, which created a large pool of
imperialism, the central government had become pow- experienced magistrates, and allowed Caesar to reward
erless, the provinces had been transformed into inde- his supporters.[88] Caesar even took steps to transform
pendent principalities under the absolute control of their Italy into a province, and to more tightly link the other
2.6. SEE ALSO
Augustus as a magistrate; the statues marble head was made c.
3020 BC, the body sculpted in the 2nd century AD
provinces of the empire into a single, cohesive unit. This
process, of ossifying the entire Roman Empire into a sin-
gle unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of un-
equal principalities, would ultimately be completed by
Caesars successor, the emperor Augustus. When Caesar
returned to Rome in 47 BC, he raised the senates mem-
bership to 900.[88] While the Roman assemblies contin-
ued to meet, Caesar submitted all candidates to the as-
semblies for election, and all bills to the assemblies for
enactment, which caused the assemblies to become pow-
erless and unable to oppose him.[89] To minimize the
risk that another general might attempt to challenge him,
Caesar passed a law which subjected governors to term
limits.[87] Near the end of his life, Caesar began to pre-
pare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his ab-
sence from Rome might limit his ability to install his own
Consuls, he passed a law which allowed him to appoint all
magistrates in 43 BC, and all Consuls and Tribunes in 42
BC.[88] This, in eect, transformed the magistrates from
being representatives of the people to being representa-
tives of the Dictator,[88] and robbed the popular assem-
blies of much of their remaining inuence.[88]
19
2.5.2 Caesars assassination and the Sec-
ond Triumvirate
Caesar was assassinated in March 44 BC. The mo-
tives of the conspirators were both personal, as well as
political.[82] Many of Caesars ultimate assassins were en-
vious of him, and dissatised with the recognition that
they had received from him.[82] Most of the conspirators
were senators, and many of them were angry about the
fact that he had deprived the senate of much of its power
and prestige.[82] They were also angry that, while they had
received few honors, Caesar had been given many honors.
There were also rumors that he was going to make himself
king, and transfer the seat of government to Alexandria.
The grievances that they held against him were vague,[82]
and as such, their plan against him was vague. The fact
that their motives were vague, and that they had no idea
of what to do after his assassination, both were plainly
obvious by the subsequent course of events.[82]
After Caesars assassination, Mark Antony, who had
been Caesars Master of the Horse, formed an alliance
with Caesars adopted son and great-nephew, Gaius Oc-
tavian.[90] Along with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, they
formed an alliance known as the Second Triumvirate.[91]
They held powers that were nearly identical to the pow-
ers that Caesar had held under his constitution,[80] and
as such, the senate and assemblies remained powerless.
The conspirators were defeated at the Battle of Philippi
in 42 BC. Lepidus became powerless, and Antony went to
Egypt to seek glory in the east, while Octavian remained
in Rome. Eventually, however, Antony and Octavian
fought against each other in one last battle. Antony was
defeated in the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and com-
mitted suicide in 30 BC. In 29 BC, Octavian returned to
Rome, as the unchallenged master of the state. In 27 BC,
Octavian oered to give up the Dictatorial powers which
he had held since 42 BC, but the senate refused, and thus
ratied his status as master of the state. He became the
rst Roman Emperor, Augustus, and the transition from
Roman Republic to Roman Empire was complete.
2.6 See also
2.7 Notes
[1] Holland, 2
[2] Holland, 1
[3] Polybius, 132
[4] Byrd, 20
[5] Abbott, 25
[6] Abbott, 26
[7] Abbott, 28
20 CHAPTER 2. HISTORY

[8] Holland, 22 [46] Polybius, 133

[9] Byrd, 31 [47] Lintott, 119

[10] Holland, 5 [48] Abbott, 67

[11] Abbott, 35 [49] Abbott, 77

[12] Livy, 2002, p. 23 [50] Abbott, 79

[13] Durant, 1942, p. 23 [51] Abbott, 78

[14] Abbott, 36, 41 [52] Lintott, 43

[15] Abbott, 37 [53] Lintott, 51

[16] Abbott, 38 [54] Abbott, 80

[17] Abbott, 27 [55] Abbott, 88

[18] Cicero, 235 [56] Abbott, 94

[19] Cicero, 236 [57] Abbott, 96

[20] Byrd, 33 [58] Abbott, 97

[21] Taylor, 3, 4 [59] Polybius, 136

[22] Abbott, 29 [60] Abbott, 98

[23] Abbott, 33 [61] Holland, 64

[24] Abbott, 49 [62] Holland, 66

[25] Holland, 26 [63] Holland, 70

[26] Abbott, 51 [64] Abbott, 103

[27] Abbott, 41 [65] Holland, 74

[28] Holland, 6 [66] Holland, 86

[29] Abbott, 4243 [67] Abbott, 104

[30] Abbott, 42 [68] Holland, 90

[31] Byrd, 110 [69] Holland, 71

[32] Abbott, 44 [70] Holland, 99

[33] Lintott, 113 [71] Holland, 100

[34] Abbott, 45 [72] Holland, 106

[35] Abbott, 46 [73] Holland, 88

[36] Abbott, 47 [74] Abbott, 108

[37] Holland, 27 [75] Abbott, 109

[38] Abbott, 48 [76] Abbott, 112

[39] Abbott, 50 [77] Abbott, 113

[40] Abbott, 52 [78] Abbott, 114

[41] Abbott, 53 [79] Abbott, 115

[42] Abbott, 63 [80] Abbott, 129

[43] Abbott, 64 [81] Cicero, 237

[44] Abbott, 65 [82] Abbott, 133

[45] Abbott, 66 [83] Abbott, 134

2.9. FURTHER READING 21

[84] Byrd, 24 2.9 Further reading

[85] Abbott, 135 Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 913.
[86] Byrd, 23 Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana
Press, 1993).
[87] Abbott, 136
Crawford, M. The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press,
[88] Abbott, 137 1978).

[89] Abbott, 138

Gruen, E. S. The Last Generation of the Roman
Republic (U California Press, 1974)
[90] Abbott, 267 Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the
Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
[91] Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 237
Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters
of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline
of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and
2.8 References Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.

Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Descrip-
tion of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics.
ISBN 0-543-92749-0.
Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman
Republic. U.S. Government Printing Oce Senate
Document 10323.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works
of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on
the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws.
vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dis-
sertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis
Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue.
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duck-
worth, 1977, 1992).
Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law.
18711888
Polybius. The Histories
Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman
Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitu-
tion in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New
York. 1975.

Durant, W. (1942). The Story of Civilization. Simon

2.10 External links
and Schuster.
Ciceros De Re Publica, Book Two
Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of
Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of
the Roman Republic. Random House Books. ISBN
the Roman Government; by Polybius
1-4000-7897-0.
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the
Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Ro- Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
man Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-
19-926108-3. The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero

What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can

Livy; De Slincourt, A.; Ogilvie, R. M.; Oakley, S.
Teach Us
P. (2002). The early history of Rome: books I-V of
The history of Rome from its foundations. Penguin
Classics. ISBN 0-14-044809-8.

Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius:

Translated from the Greek. Vol 2 (Fifth ed.). Ox-
ford: Printed by W. Baxter.

Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies:

From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Cae-
sar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-
472-08125-X.
Chapter 3

Senate

though the censor could impeach any senator.

The Senate directed the magistrates, especially the con-
suls, in their prosecution of military conicts. The Sen-
ate also had an enormous degree of power over the civil
government in Rome. This was especially the case with
regards to its management of state nances, as only it
could authorize the disbursal of public monies from the
treasury. In addition, the Senate passed decrees called
senatus consultum, which was ocially advice from the
Senate to a magistrate. While technically these decrees
did not have to be obeyed, in practice, they usually were.
During an emergency, the Senate (and only the Senate)
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate: Cicero attacks
Catilina, from a 19th-century fresco could authorize the appointment of a dictator. The last or-
dinary dictator, however, was appointed in 202 BC. After
202 BC, the Senate responded to emergencies by passing
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political in- the senatus consultum ultimum (Ultimate Decree of the
stitution in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an Senate), which suspended civil government and declared
elected body, but one whose members were appointed by something analogous to martial law.
the consuls, and later by the censors. After a Roman mag-
istrate served his term in oce, it usually was followed
with automatic appointment to the Senate. According to
the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the 3.1 Venue and ethical standards
Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Sen-
ate was the predominant branch of government. Poly- The rules and procedures of the Roman Senate were both
bius noted that it was the consuls (the highest-ranking of complex and ancient. Many of these rules and procedures
the regular magistrates) who led the armies and the civil originated in the early years of the Republic, and were up-
government in Rome, and it was the Roman assemblies held over the centuries under the principle of mos maio-
which had the ultimate authority over elections, legisla- rum (customs of the ancestors). While Senate meetings
tion, and criminal trials. However, since the Senate con- could take place either inside or outside of the formal
trolled money, administration, and the details of foreign boundary of the city (the pomerium), no meeting could
policy, it had the most control over day-to-day life. The take place more than a mile outside of the pomerium.[1]
power and authority of the Senate derived from prece- Senate meetings might take place outside of the formal
dent, the high caliber and prestige of the senators, and boundary of the city for several reasons. For example,
the Senates unbroken lineage, which dated back to the the Senate might wish to meet with an individual, such as
founding of the Republic in 509 BC. a foreign ambassador, whom they did not wish to allow
[2]
Originally the chief-magistrates, the consuls, appointed inside the city.
all new senators. They also had the power to remove At the beginning of the year, the rst Senate meeting
individuals from the Senate. Around the year 318 BC, always took place at the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
the "Ovinian Plebiscite" (plebiscitum Ovinium) gave this Other venues could include the Temple of Fides or the
power to another Roman magistrate, the censor, who re- Temple of Concord,[3] or, if the meeting was outside of
tained this power until the end of the Roman Republic. the formal boundary of the city, at the Temple of Apollo
This law also required the censors to appoint any newly or (if a war meeting) at the Temple of Bellona. In ad-
elected magistrate to the Senate. Thus, after this point in dition, the Senate operated while under various religious
time, election to magisterial oce resulted in automatic restrictions. For example, before any meeting could be-
Senate membership. The appointment was for life, al- gin, a sacrice to the gods was made, and a search for di-

22
3.2. DEBATES 23

vine omens (the auspices) was taken. The auspices were

taken in order to determine whether that particular Senate
meeting held favor with the gods.[3] The Senate was only
allowed to meet in a building of religious signicance,
such as the Curia Hostilia.[3]
The ethical requirements of senators were signicant.
Senators could not engage in banking or any form of pub-
lic contract. They could not own a ship that was large
enough to participate in foreign commerce,[1] and they
could not leave Italy without permission from the Senate.
In addition, since they were not paid, individuals usually
sought to become a senator only if they were indepen-
dently wealthy.[4]
The censors were the magistrates who enforced the ethi-
cal standards of the Senate. Whenever a censor punished
a senator, they had to allege some specic failing. Possi-
ble reasons for punishing a member included corruption,
abuse of capital punishment, or the disregard of a col-
leagues veto, constitutional precedent, or the auspices.
Senators who failed to obey various laws could also be
punished. While punishment could include impeachment
(expulsion) from the Senate, often a punishment was less
severe than outright expulsion.[5] While the standard was
high for expelling a member from the Senate, it was eas-
ier to deny a citizen the right to join the Senate. Vari-
ous moral failings could result in one not being allowed
to join the Senate, including bankruptcy, prostitution, or
a prior history of having been a gladiator. One law (the
Lex repetundarum of 123 BC) made it illegal for a cit-
izen to become a senator if they had been convicted of The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze sculpture de-
a criminal oense.[5] Many of these laws were enacted picting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man of
in the last century of the Republic, as public corruption Roman senatorial rank, engaging in rhetoric. He wears senato-
began reaching unprecedented levels.[5] rial shoes, and a toga praetexta of skimpy (exigua) Republican
type.[6] The statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alpha-
bet

3.2 Debates ing with a speech (the verba fecit),[9] which was usually
brief, but was sometimes a lengthy oration. The presiding
Meetings usually began at dawn, although occasionally magistrate would then begin a discussion by referring an
certain events (such as festivals) might delay the begin- issue to the senators, who would discuss the issue, one at
ning of a meeting. A magistrate who wished to summon a time, by order of seniority, with the rst to speak, the
the Senate had to issue a compulsory order (a cogere), and most senior senator, known as the princeps senatus (leader
senators could be punished if they failed to appear with- of the Senate),[1] who was then followed by ex-consuls
out reasonable cause. In 44 BC for example, consul Mark (consulares), and then the praetors and ex-praetors (prae-
Antony threatened to demolish the house of the former torii). This continued, until the most junior senators had
consul Cicero for this very reason.[7] The Senate meetings spoken.[1] Senators who had held magisterial oce al-
were technically public[1] because the doors were usually ways spoke before those who had not, and if a patrician
left open, which allowed people to look in, but only sena- was of equal seniority as a plebeian, the patrician would
tors could speak. The Senate was directed by a presiding always speak rst.[10]
magistrate, who was usually either a consul (the highest- A senator could make a brief statement, discuss the mat-
ranking magistrate) or, if the consul was unavailable, a ter in detail, or talk about an unrelated topic. All sena-
Praetor (the second-highest ranking magistrate).[8] By the tors had to speak before a vote could be held, and since
late Republic, another type of magistrate, a plebeian tri- all meetings had to end by nightfall,[11] a senator could
bune, would sometimes preside.[1] talk a proposal to death (a libuster or diem consumere)
While in session, the Senate had the power to act on its if they could keep the debate going until nightfall.[9] It
own, and even against the will of the presiding magistrate is known, for example, that the senator Cato the Younger
if it wished. The presiding magistrate began each meet- once libustered in an attempt to prevent the Senate from
24 CHAPTER 3. SENATE

3.3 Delaying and obstructive tac-

tics
Senators had several ways in which they could inuence
(or frustrate) a presiding magistrate. When a presiding
magistrate was proposing a motion, for example, the sen-
ators could call consult (consule), which required the
magistrate to ask for the opinions of the senators. Any
senator could demand a quorum call (with the cry of nu-
mera), which required a count of the senators present.
Like modern quorum calls, this was usually a delaying
tactic. Senators could also demand that a motion be di-
vided into smaller motions. Acts such as applause, boo-
ing, or heckling often played a major role in a debate,
and, in part because all senators had an absolute right to
free speech, any senator could respond at any point if he
was attacked personally.[1] Once debates were underway,
they were usually dicult for the presiding magistrate to
control. The presiding magistrate typically only regained
some control once the debating had ended, and a vote was
about to be taken.[13]
In the later years of the Republic, attempts were made by
the aristocracy to limit the increasing level of chaos as-
sociated with the obstructive tendencies and democratic
impulses of some of the senators. Laws were enacted to
prevent the inclusion of extraneous material in bills be-
fore the Senate. Other laws were enacted to outlaw the
so-called omnibus bills,[14] which are bills, usually en-
acted by a single vote, that contain a large volume of often
unrelated material.[14]
Laws were also enacted to strengthen the requirement that
three days pass between the proposal of a bill, and the
vote on that bill.[14] During his term as dictator, Julius
Caesar enacted laws that required the publication of Sen-
ate resolutions. This publication, called the acta di-
urna, or daily proceedings, was meant to increase trans-
parency and minimize the potential for abuse.[15] This
publication was posted in the Roman Forum, and then
sent by messengers throughout the provinces.[15]

3.4 Votes and the Tribunes Vote

The so-called "Togatus Barberini", a statue depicting a Roman
senator holding the imagines (egies) of deceased ancestors in
When it was time to call a vote, the presiding magistrate
his hands; marble, late 1st century BC; head (not belonging): mid
could bring up whatever proposals (in whatever order) he
1st century BC.
wished, and every vote was between a proposal and its
negative.[16] Quorums were required for votes to be held,
and it is known that in 67 BC the size of a quorum was
set at 200 senators (by the lex Cornelia de privilegiis). At
any point before a motion passed, the proposed motion
could be vetoed. Usually, vetoes were handed down by
plebeian tribunes. If the Senate proposed a bill that the
plebeian tribune (the magistrate who was the chief rep-
resentative of the people) did not agree with, he issued a
granting Julius Caesar a law that would have given land veto, which was backed by the promise to literally "'inter-
to the veterans of Pompey.[9][12] pose the sacrosanctity of his person'" (or intercessio) if the
3.7. REFERENCES
Senate did not comply. If the Senate did not comply, he
could physically prevent the Senate from acting, and any
resistance could be criminally prosecuted as constituting
a violation of his sacrosanctity. If the vetoed motion was
proposed the next day, and the plebeian tribune who had
vetoed it the day before was not present to interpose him-
self, the motion could be passed. In general, the plebeian
tribune had to physically be present at the Senate meet-
ing, otherwise his physical threat of interposing his per-
son had no meaning. Ultimately, the plebeian tribunes
veto was based in a promise of physical force.[16]
Once a vote occurred, and a measure passed, he could
do nothing, since his promise to physically interpose his
person against the senators was now meaningless. In ad-
dition, during a couple of instances between the end of
the Second Punic War in 201 BC and the beginning of the
Social War in 91 BC, although they had no legal power
to do so, several Consuls were known to have vetoed acts
of the Senate. Ultimately, if there was no veto, and the
matter was of minor importance, it could be voted on by
a voice vote or by a show of hands. If there was no veto,
and the matter was of a signicant nature, there was usu-
ally a physical division of the house, where senators voted
by taking a place on either side of the chamber.[1]
Any motion that had the support of the Senate but was [16] Lintott, 83
vetoed was recorded in the annals as a senatus auctori-
tas, while any motion that was passed and not vetoed was [17] Lintott, 85
recorded as a senatus consultum. After the vote, each
[18] Abbott, 233
senatus consultum and each senatus auctoritas was tran-
scribed into a nal document by the presiding magistrate.
This document included the name of the presiding mag-
istrate, the place of the assembly, the dates involved, the 3.7 References
number of senators who were present at time the motion
was passed, the names of witnesses to the drafting of the
motion, and the substance of the act. In addition, if the
motion was a senatus consultum, a capital letter C was
stamped on the document, to verify that the motion had
been approved by the Senate.[17]
The document was then deposited in the temple that
housed the Treasury (the aerarium).[11] While a senatus
auctoritas (vetoed Senate motion) had no legal value, it
did serve to show the opinion of the Senate. If a senatus
consultum conicted with a law (lex) that was passed by a
Roman Assembly, the law overrode the senatus consultum,
because the senatus consultum had its authority based in
precedent, and not in law. A senatus consultum, however,
could serve to interpret a law.[18]
3.5 See also
3.6 Notes
[1] Byrd, 34
[2] Lintott, 73
25
[3] Lintott, 72
[4] Byrd, 36
[5] Lintott, 70
[6] Ceccarelli, L., in Bell, S., and Carpino, A., A, (Editors)
A Companion to the Etruscans (Blackwell Companions to
the Ancient World), Blackwell Publishing, 2016, p. 33
[7] Lintott, 75
[8] Byrd, 42
[9] Lintott, 78
[10] Abbott, 228
[11] Byrd, 44
[12] Cato, the Younger Biography | Encyclopedia of World
Biography Biography. Bookrags.com. Retrieved 2008-
09-19.
[13] Lintott, 82
[14] Byrd, 112
[15] Byrd, 133
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Descrip-
tion of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics.
ISBN 0-543-92749-0.
Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Re-
public. US Government Printing Oce Senate Doc-
ument 10323. ISBN 0-16-058996-7.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works
of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on
the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws.
Vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dis-
sertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis
Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue.
Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of
the Roman Republic. Random House Books. ISBN
1-4000-7897-0.
Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Ro-
man Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-
19-926108-3.
Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius:
Translated from the Greek. Vol. 2 (Fifth ed.). Ox-
ford: Printed by W. Baxter.
26 CHAPTER 3. SENATE

Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies:

From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Cae-
sar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-
472-08125-X.
Taylor, Lily Ross; Scott, Russell T (1969). Seat-
ing Space in the Roman Senate and the Senatores
Pedarii. Transactions and Proceedings of the Amer-
ican Philological Association. The Johns Hopkins
University Press. 100: 529582. JSTOR 2935928.
doi:10.2307/2935928.

3.8 Further reading

Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 913.
Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana
Press, 1993).
Crawford, M. The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press,
1978).
Gruen, E. S. The Last Generation of the Roman
Republic (U California Press, 1974)
Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the
Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters
of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline
of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and
Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duck-
worth, 1977, 1992).
Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law.
18711888
Polybius. The Histories
Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman
Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitu-
tion in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New
York. 1975.

3.9 External links

Ciceros De Re Publica, Book Two
Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of
the Roman Government; by Polybius
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the
Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero
What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can
Teach Us
Chapter 4

Legislative Assemblies

The legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic

were political institutions in the ancient Roman Repub-
lic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it
was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the nal
say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment
of Roman laws, the carrying out of capital punishment,
the declaration of war and peace, and the creation (or dis-
solution) of alliances. Under the Constitution of the Ro-
man Republic, the people (and thus the assemblies) held
the ultimate source of sovereignty.
Since the Romans used a form of direct democracy, citi-
zens, and not elected representatives, voted before each
assembly. As such, the citizen-electors had no power,
other than to cast a vote. Each assembly was presided
over by a single Roman Magistrate, and as such, it was
the presiding magistrate who made all decisions on mat-
ters of procedure and legality. Ultimately, the presiding
magistrates power over the assembly was nearly absolute.
Growth of the city region during the kingdom
The only check on that power came in the form of vetoes
handed down by other magistrates.
In the Roman system of direct democracy, two primary
types of gatherings were used to vote on legislative, elec- before the election took place. Likewise, 17 days had to
toral, and judicial matters. The rst was the Assembly pass between the proposal of legislation and its enactment
(comitia), which was a gathering that was deemed to rep- by an assembly.[1]
resent the entire Roman people, even if it did not con- In addition to the presiding magistrate, several additional
tain all of the Roman citizens or, like the comitia curi- magistrates were often present to act as assistants.[2]
ata, excluded a particular class of Roman citizens (the There were also religious ocials known as augurs either
plebs). The second was the Council (concilium), which in attendance or on-call, who would be available to help
was a gathering of citizens of a specic class. In contrast, interpret any signs from the gods (omens).[2] On several
the Convention was an unocial forum for communi- known occasions, presiding magistrates used the claim of
cation. Conventions were simply forums where Romans unfavorable omens as an excuse to suspend a session that
met for specic unocial purposes, such as, for example, was not going the way they wanted.[3] Any decision made
to hear a political speech. Voters always assembled rst by a presiding magistrate could be vetoed by a magistrate
into Conventions to hear debates and conduct other busi- known as a Plebeian Tribune. In addition, decisions made
ness before voting, and then into Assemblies or Councils by presiding magistrates could also be vetoed by higher-
to actually vote. ranking magistrates.
On the day of the vote, the electors rst assembled into
their conventions for debate and campaigning.[4] In the
Conventions, the electors were not sorted into their re-
4.1 Assembly procedure spective units (curia, centuries or tribes). Speeches from
private citizens were only heard if the issue to be voted
There were no set dates to hold assemblies, but notice had upon was a legislative or judicial matter.[5] If the purpose
to be given beforehand if the assembly was to be con- of the ultimate vote was for an election, no speeches from
sidered formal. Elections had to be announced 17 days private citizens were heard, and instead, the candidates

27
28 CHAPTER 4. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES

for oce used the Convention to campaign.[6] During the sembly voted on were mostly symbolic and usually in the
Convention, the bill to be voted upon was read to the as- armative.[12] At one point, possibly as early as 218 BC,
sembly by an ocer known as a Herald. Then, if the the Curiate Assemblys thirty Curia were abolished, and
assembly was composed of Tribes, the order of the vote replaced with thirty lictors, one from each of the original
had to be determined. A Plebeian Tribune could use his Patrician clans.[12] Since the Curia had always been orga-
veto against pending legislation until the point when the nized on the basis of the Roman family,[13] the Curiate
order of the vote was determined.[7] Assembly actually retained jurisdiction over clan matters
The electors were then told to break up the Convention even after the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC.[14]
Under the presidency of the Pontifex Maximus,[11] it wit-
and assemble into the formal Assembly or Council. The
electors voted by placing a pebble or written ballot into an nessed wills and ratied adoptions,[11] inaugurated cer-
tain priests, and transferred citizens from Patrician class
appropriate jar.[4][8] The baskets that held the votes were
watched by specic ocers, who then counted the bal- to Plebeian class (or vice versa). In 44 BC, for exam-
ple, it ratied the will of Julius Caesar, and with it Cae-
lots, and reported the results to the presiding magistrate.
The majority of votes in any Curia, Tribe, or Century sars adoption of his nephew Gaius Octavian (the future
Roman emperor Augustus) as his son and heir.[12] How-
decided how that Curia, Tribe, or Century voted. Each
Curia, Tribe, or Century received one vote, regardless of ever, this might not have been the comitia curiata but in-
how many electors each Tribe or Century held. Once stead the comitia calata.
a majority of Curiae, Tribes, or Centuries voted in the
same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the
matter was decided.[9] 4.3 Assembly of the Centuries
If a law was passed in violation of proper procedures
(such as failing to wait 17 days before voting on a law), Main article: Centuriate Assembly
the Senate could declare the law nonbinding.[10] See also: Servian constitution
The Centuriate Assembly (comitia centuriata or Army

4.2 Assembly of the Curiae

Main article: Curiate Assembly

The Curiate Assembly (comitia curiata) was the principal

assembly during the rst two decades of the Roman Re-
public. The Curiate Assembly was organized as an As-
sembly, and not as a Council even though only patricians
were members. During these rst decades, the Peo-
ple of Rome were organized into thirty units called
Curiae.[11][12] The Curiae were ethnic in nature, and thus
were organized on the basis of the early Roman fam-
ily, or, more specically, on the basis of the thirty orig-
inal Patrician (aristocratic) clans.[13] The Curiae assem-
bled into the Curiate Assembly, for legislative, electoral,
and judicial purposes. The Curiate Assembly passed
laws, elected Consuls (the only elected magistrates at
the time),[14] and tried judicial cases. Consuls always
presided over the assembly.[15]
Shortly after the founding of the republic, most of the
powers of the Curiate Assembly were transferred to the
Centuriate Assembly and the Tribal Assembly.[11] While it
then fell into disuse, it did retain some theoretical pow-
ers, most importantly, the power to ratify elections of the
top-ranking Roman Magistrates (Consuls and Praetors)
by passing the statute that gave them their legal command
authority, the lex curiata de imperio. In practice, how- Roman Dictator Sulla, who attempted to increase the power of
ever, they actually received this authority from the Cen- the Centuriate Assembly at the expense of the Tribal Assembly
turiate Assembly (which formally elected them), and as
such, this functioned as nothing more than a reminder of Assembly) of the Roman Republic was originally the
Romes regal heritage.[12] Other acts that the Curiate As- democratic assembly of the Roman soldiers. The Cen-
4.4. ASSEMBLY OF THE TRIBES
turiate Assembly organized the Roman citizens into
classes, which were dened by a means test and were
economic in nature.[16] The Roman army was divided
into units called Centuries, and these gathered into the
Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judi-
cial purposes. However, since the number of centuries
in each class was xed, centuries could contain far more
than 100 men. Only this assembly could declare war or
elect the highest-ranking Roman Magistrates: Consuls,
Praetors and Censors.[17] The Centuriate Assembly could
also pass a statute that granted constitutional command
authority to Consuls and Praetors, and Censorial pow-
ers to Censors.[17] In addition, the Centuriate Assembly
served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial
cases, and ratied the results of the Census.[12] While the
voters in this assembly wore white undecorated togas and
were unarmed, while taking part in the Assembly they
were classied as soldiers, and as such they could not meet
inside of the physical boundary of the city of Rome.[17]
The president of the Centuriate Assembly was usually a
Consul (although sometimes a Praetor). Only Consuls
(the highest-ranking of all Roman Magistrates) could pre-
side over the Centuriate Assembly during elections be-
cause the higher-ranking Consuls were always elected to-
gether with the lower-ranking Praetors. Once every ve
years, after the new Consuls for the year took oce, they
presided over the Centuriate Assembly as it elected the
two Censors.
The Centuriate Assembly was supposedly founded by the
legendary Roman King Servius Tullius, less than a cen-
tury before the founding of the Roman Republic in 509
BC. As such, the original design of the Centuriate As-
sembly was known as the "Servian organization". Under
this organization, the assembly was supposedly designed
to mirror the Roman army during the time of the Roman
Kingdom. Soldiers in the Roman army were classied on
the basis of the amount of property that they owned, and
as such, soldiers with more property had more inuence
than soldiers with less property. The 193 Centuries in the
assembly under the Servian Organization were each di-
vided into one of three dierent grades: the ocer class,
the enlisted class, and a class of unarmed adjuncts.[18]
The ocer class was grouped into eighteen Centuries.[18]
The enlisted class was grouped into ve separate prop-
erty classes, for a total of 170 Centuries.[19] The unarmed
soldiers were divided into the nal ve Centuries.[20] Of
ve enlisted classes, the wealthiest controlled 80 of the
votes.[21] During a vote, all of the Centuries of one class
had to vote before the Centuries of the next lower class
could vote.[22] The rst candidate to reach a majority of
97 votes was victorious. When a measure or candidate
received 97 votes, a majority of the centuries, the vot-
ing ended, and as such, many lower ranking Centuries
rarely if ever had a chance to actually vote. Combined
the 18 equites and the 80 centuries of the rst property
class had one more century than needed, and a unanimous
vote from the elite would thus elect a candidate.[23]
29
Chart Showing the Checks and Balances of the Constitution of
the Roman Republic
In 241 BC, the assembly was reorganized, though the ex-
act details are uncertain. Some sources have a new total of
373 Centuries,[24] but Cicero still writes of 193 centuries
in his era, and most scholars still use that number[25] It
known that the rst property class was reduced form 80
to 70 centuries, and the order of voting was changed so
that the rst class would go rst, and be followed by the
equites.[26]
The lowest ranking Century in the Centuriate Assembly
was the fth Century (called the proletarii) of the un-
armed adjunct class. This Century was the only Century
composed of soldiers who had no property, and since it
was always the last Century to vote, it never had any real
inuence on elections. In 107 BC, in response to high
unemployment and a severe manpower shortage in the
army, the general and Consul Gaius Marius reformed the
organization of the army, and allowed individuals with
no property to enlist. As a consequence of these reforms,
this fth unarmed Century came to encompass almost the
entire Roman army.[22] This mass disenfranchisement of
most of the soldiers in the army played an important role
in the chaos that led to the fall of the Roman Republic in
27 BC.[22]
During his dictatorship from 82 BC until 80 BC, Lucius
Cornelius Sulla restored the old Servian Organization
to this assembly. Sulla died in 78 BC, and in 70 BC,
the Consuls Pompey Magnus and Marcus Licinius Cras-
sus repealed Sullas constitutional reforms, including his
restoration of the Servian Organization to this assembly.
Thus, they restored the newer organization that had orig-
inated in 241 BC. The organization of the Centuriate As-
sembly was not changed again until its powers were all
transferred to the Roman Senate by the rst Roman Em-
peror, Augustus, after the fall of the Roman Republic in
27 BC.[27]
4.4 Assembly of the Tribes
Main article: Tribal Assembly
30 CHAPTER 4. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES

The Tribal Assembly (comitia populi tributa) of the also organized on the basis of the Tribes) was that the
Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman Tribes of the Plebeian Council only included Plebeians,
citizens. The Tribal Assembly was organized as an As- whereas the Tribes of the Tribal Assembly included both
sembly, and not as a Council. During the years of the Plebeians and Patricians.[29]
Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis The Plebeian Council elected two 'Plebeian Magistrates,
of thirty-ve Tribes which included patricians and ple- the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles.[33] Usu-
beians. The Tribes gathered into the Tribal Assembly for ally the Plebeian Tribune presided over the assem-
legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The presi- bly, although the Plebeian Aedile sometimes did as
dent of the Tribal Assembly was usually either a Consul
well. Originally, statutes passed by the Plebeian Coun-
(the highest ranking Roman Magistrate) or a Praetor (the cil ("Plebiscites") only applied to Plebeians.[34] However,
second-highest ranking Roman Magistrate). The Tribal
in 449 BC, a statute of an Assembly was passed which
Assembly elected three dierent magistrates: Quaestors, gave Plebiscites the full force of law over all Romans (Ple-
Curule Aediles, and Military Tribunes.[28] The Tribal As-
beians and Patricians).[35] It was not until 287 BC, how-
sembly also had the power to try judicial cases.[29] ever, that the last mechanism which allowed the Roman
The thirty-ve Tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, Senate to veto acts of the Plebeian Council was revoked.
but rather a generic division into which Roman citizens After this point, almost all domestic legislation came out
were distributed. When the Tribes were created the divi- of the Plebeian Council.
sions were geographical, similar to modern Parliamentary
constituencies. However, since one joined the same Tribe
that ones father belonged to, the geographical distinc- 4.6 See also
tions were eventually lost.[30] The order that the 35 Tribes
voted in was selected randomly by lot. The order was not
chosen at once, and after each Tribe had voted, a lot was 4.7 Notes
used to determine which Tribe should vote next.[31] The
rst Tribe selected was usually the most important Tribe, [1] Lintott, 44
because it often decided the matter. It was believed that
the order of the lot was chosen by the Gods, and thus, [2] Taylor, 63
that the position held by the early voting Tribes was the [3] Taylor, 96
position of the Gods.[32] Once a majority of Tribes had
voted the same way, voting ended.[9] [4] Taylor, 2

[5] Lintott, 45

[6] Taylor, 16
4.5 Plebeian Council
[7] Lintott, 46

Main article: Plebeian Council [8] Lintott, 4647

[9] Taylor, 40
The Plebeian Council (concilium plebis) was the principal
popular gathering of the Roman Republic. As the name [10] Lintott, 62
suggests, the Plebeian Council was organized as a Coun-
[11] Byrd, 33
cil, and not as an Assembly. It functioned as a gather-
ing through which the Plebeians (commoners) could pass [12] Taylor, 34
laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. This coun-
cil had no political power until the oces of Plebeian Tri- [13] Abbott, 250
bune and Plebeian Aedile were created in 494 BC, due to [14] Abbott, 253
the Plebeian Secession that year.[29]
[15] Holland, 5
According to legend, the Roman King Servius Tullius en-
acted a series of constitutional reforms in the 6th cen- [16] McCullough, 943
tury BC. One of these reforms resulted in the creation of
a new organizational unit with which to divide citizens. [17] Abbott, 257
This unit, the Tribe, was based on geography rather than [18] Taylor, 85
family, and was created to assist in future reorganizations
of the army.[20] In 471 BC,[33] a law was passed which [19] Taylor, 87
allowed the Plebeians to begin organizing by Tribe. Be-
[20] Abbott, 21
fore this point, they had organized on the basis of the Cu-
ria.[29] The only dierence between the Plebeian Council [21] E. S. Staveley. Greek and Roman Voting and Elections.
after 471 BC and the ordinary Tribal Assembly (which Cornell University Press, 1972 pg. 126.
4.9. FURTHER READING 31

[22] Taylor, 86 McCullough, Colleen (1990). The First Man in

Rome. Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-71081-1.
[23] Rachel Feig Vishnia. Roman Elections in the Age of Ci-
cero: Society, Government, and Voting. Routledge, Mar
12, 2012 pg. 113
4.9 Further reading
[24] Abbott, 75

[25] E. S. Staveley. Greek and Roman Voting and Elections.
Cornell University Press, 1972 pg. 127.
[26] Rachel Feig Vishnia. Roman Elections in the Age of Ci-
cero: Society, Government, and Voting. Routledge, Mar
12, 2012 pg. 123
[27] Abbott, 107
Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 913.
Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana
Press, 1993).
Crawford, M. The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press,
1978).

[28] Taylor, 7 Gruen, E. S. The Last Generation of the Roman

Republic (U California Press, 1974)
[29] Abbott, 261
Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the
[30] Lintott, 51 Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
[31] Taylor, 77
Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters
[32] Taylor, 76 of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline
of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and
[33] Abbott, 196 Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
[34] Byrd, 31
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duck-
[35] Abbott, 51 worth, 1977, 1992).
Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law.
1871-1888
4.8 References
Polybius. The Histories
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Descrip-
Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman
tion of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics.
Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
ISBN 0-543-92749-0.
Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Re- Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitu-
public. US Government Printing Oce Senate Doc- tion in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New
ument 10323. York. 1975.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works

of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on 4.10 External links
the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws.
Vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dis-
Ciceros De Re Publica, Book Two
sertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis
Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue. Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of
the Roman Government; by Polybius
Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of
the Roman Republic. Random House Books. ISBN Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the
1-4000-7897-0. Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Ro- The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero
man Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-
19-926108-3. What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can
Teach Us
Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius:
Translated from the Greek. Vol. 2 (Fifth ed.). Ox-
ford: Printed by W. Baxter.
Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies:
From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Cae-
sar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-
472-08125-X.
Chapter 5
Executive Magistrates
The executive magistrates of the Roman Republic
were ocials of the ancient Roman Republic (c. 510
BC 44 BC), elected by the People of Rome. Ordi-
nary magistrates (magistratus) were divided into several
ranks according to their role and the power they wielded:
censors, consuls (who functioned as the regular head of
state), praetors, curule aediles, and nally quaestor. Any
magistrate could obstruct (veto) an action that was be-
ing taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree
of magisterial powers. By denition, plebeian tribunes
and plebeian aediles were technically not magistrates as
they were elected only by the plebeians, but no ordinary
magistrate could veto any of their actions. Dictator was
an extraordinary magistrate normally elected in times of
emergency (usually military) for a short period. During
this period, the dictators power over the Roman govern-
ment was absolute, as they were not checked by any in-
stitution or magistrate.
5.1 Ranks
The magistrates (magistratus) were elected by the People
of Rome, which consisted of plebeians (commoners) and
patricians (aristocrats). Each magistrate was vested with
a degree of power, called major powers or maior potes-
tas.[1] dictators had more major powers than any other
magistrate, and thus they outranked all other magistrates;
but were originally intended only to be a temporary tool
for times of state emergency. Thereafter in descending
order came the censor (who, while the highest-ranking
ordinary magistrate by virtue of his prestige, held little
real power), the consul, the praetor, the curule aedile, and
the quaestor. Any magistrate could obstruct (veto) an ac-
tion that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or
lower degree of magisterial powers. If this obstruction
occurred between two magistrates of equal rank, such
as two praetors, then it was called par potestas (negation
of powers).[2] To prevent this, magistrates used a prin-
ciple of alteration, assigned responsibilities by lot or se-
niority, or gave certain magistrates control over certain
functions.[3] If this obstruction occurred against a mag-
istrate of a lower rank, then it was called intercessio,[2]
where the magistrate literally interposed his higher rank
32
to obstruct the lower-ranking magistrate. By denition,
plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were technically
not magistrates[4] since they were elected only by the
plebeians.[1] As such, no ordinary magistrate could veto
any of their actions.
5.2 Powers
Only Roman citizens (both plebeians and patricians) had
the right to confer magisterial powers (potestas) on any
individual magistrate.[5] The most important power was
imperium, which was held by consuls (the chief magis-
trates) and by praetors (the second highest-ranking or-
dinary magistrate). Dened narrowly, imperium simply
gave a magistrate the authority to command a military
force. Dened more broadly, however, imperium gave a
magistrate the constitutional authority to issue commands
(military, diplomatic, civil, or otherwise). A magistrates
imperium was at its apex while the magistrate was abroad.
While the magistrate was in the city of Rome itself, how-
ever, he had to completely surrender his imperium, so that
liberty (libertas) was maximized.[6] Magistrates with im-
perium sat in a curule chair, and were attended by lictors
(bodyguards) who carried axes called fasces which sym-
bolized the power of the state to punish and to execute.[7]
Only a magistrate with imperium could wear a bordered
toga, or be awarded a triumph.[8]
All magistrates had the power of coercion (coercitio),
which was used by magistrates to maintain public or-
der.[9] A magistrate had many ways with which to en-
force this power. Examples include ogging, imprison-
ment, nes, mandating pledges and oaths, enslavement,
banishment, and sometimes even the destruction of a per-
sons house.[10] While in Rome, all citizens had an ab-
solute protection against Coercion. This protection was
called "Provocatio" (see below), which allowed any cit-
izen to appeal any punishment. However, the power of
Coercion outside the city of Rome was absolute. Magis-
trates also had both the power and the duty to look for
omens from the Gods (auspicia), which could be used
to obstruct political opponents. By claiming to witness
an omen, a magistrate could justify the decision to end
a legislative or senate meeting, or the decision to veto
5.3. ORDINARY MAGISTRATES
The curule chair was a symbol of the power of high-ranking
magistrates
a colleague. While the magistrates had access to oracu-
lar documents, the Sibylline books, they rarely consulted
with these books, and even then, only after seeing an
omen.[11] All senior magistrates (consuls, praetors, cen-
sors, and plebeian tribunes) were required to actively look
for omens (auspicia impetrativa); simply having omens
thrust upon them (auspicia oblativa) was generally not
adequate.[11] Omens could be discovered while observing
the heavens, while studying the ight of birds, or while
studying the entrails of sacriced animals. When a mag-
istrate believed that he had witnessed such an omen, he
usually had a priest (augur) interpret the omen. A magis-
trate was required to look for omens while presiding over
a legislative or senate meeting, and while preparing for a
war.[11]
One check over a magistrates power was collegiality
(collega), which required that each magisterial oce be
held concurrently by at least two people. For example,
two consuls always served together.[12] The check on the
magistrates power of Coercion was Provocatio, which
was an early form of due process (habeas corpus). Any
Roman citizen had the absolute right to appeal any ruling
by a magistrate to a plebeian tribune. In this case, the
citizen would cry provoco ad populum, which required
the magistrate to wait for a tribune to intervene, and make
a ruling.[13] Sometimes, the case was brought before the
College of tribunes, and sometimes before the Plebeian
Council (popular assembly). Since no tribune could re-
tain his powers outside of the city of Rome, the power of
Coercion here was absolute. An additional check over a
magistrates power was that of Provincia, which required
a division of responsibilities.[14]
Once a magistrates annual term in oce expired, he
had to wait ten years before serving in that oce again.
Since this did create problems for some magistrates (in
particular, consuls and praetors), these magistrates oc-
casionally had their imperium prorogued (prorogare), Every ve years, two censors were elected for an eighteen-
which allowed them to retain the powers of the oce as a month term. Since the censorship was the most pres-
Promagistrate. The result was that private citizens ended tigious of all oces, usually only former consuls were
33
up with consular and praetorian imperium, without actu-
ally holding either oce. Often, they used this power to
act as provincial governors.[15]
5.3 Ordinary magistrates
The consul of the Roman Republic was the highest-
ranking ordinary magistrate.[6] Two consuls were elected
for an annual term (from January through December)
by the assembly of Roman soldiers, the Centuriate As-
sembly.[6] After they were elected, they were granted
imperium powers by the assembly. If a consul died be-
fore his term ended, another consul (the consul suec-
tus), was elected to complete the original consular term.[7]
Throughout the year, one consul was superior in rank to
the other consul. This ranking ipped every month, be-
tween the two consuls.[7][16] Once a consuls term ended,
he held the honorary title of consulare for the rest of his
time in the senate, and had to wait for ten years before
standing for reelection to the consulship.[17] Consuls had
supreme power in both civil and military matters, which
was due, in part, to the fact that they held the highest
ordinary grade of imperium (command) powers. While
in the city of Rome, the consul was the head of the Ro-
man government. While components of public adminis-
tration were delegated to other magistrates, the manage-
ment of the government was under the ultimate authority
of the consul. The consuls presided over the Roman Sen-
ate and the Roman assemblies, and had the ultimate re-
sponsibility to enforce policies and laws enacted by both
institutions.[18] The consul was the chief diplomat, carried
out business with foreign nations, and facilitated interac-
tions between foreign ambassadors and the senate. Upon
an order by the senate, the consul was responsible for rais-
ing and commanding an army.[18] While the consuls had
supreme military authority, they had to be provided with
nancial resources by the Roman Senate while they were
commanding their armies.[19] While abroad, the consul
had absolute power over his soldiers, and over any Ro-
man province.[18]
The praetors administered civil law and commanded
provincial armies,[20] and, eventually, began to act as
chief judges over the courts. Praetors usually stood for
election with the consuls before the assembly of the sol-
diers, the Centuriate Assembly. After they were elected,
they were granted imperium powers by the assembly. In
the absence of both senior and junior consuls from the
city, the Urban praetor governed Rome, and presided
over the Roman Senate and Roman assemblies.[20] Other
praetors had foreign aairs-related responsibilities, and
often acted as governors of the provinces.[21] Since prae-
tors held imperium powers, they could command an
army.[22]
34
Chart Showing the Checks and Balances in the Constitution of
the Roman Republic
elected to it.[23] Censors were elected by the assembly
of Roman Soldiers, the Centuriate Assembly, usually af-
ter the new consuls and praetors for the year began their
term. After the censors had been elected, the Centuriate
Assembly granted the new censors censorial power.[24]
Censors did not have imperium powers, and they were
not accompanied by any lictors. In addition, they did not
have the power to convene the Roman Senate or Roman
assemblies. Technically they outranked all other ordinary
magistrates (including consuls and praetors). This rank-
ing, however, was solely a result of their prestige, rather
than any real power they had. Since the oce could be
easily abused (as a result of its power over every ordi-
nary citizen), only former consuls (usually patrician con-
suls) were elected to the oce. This is what gave the
oce its prestige. Their actions could not be vetoed by
any magistrate other than a plebeian tribune, or a fellow
censor.[23] No other ordinary magistrate could veto a cen-
sor because no ordinary magistrate technically outranked
a censor. Tribunes, by virtue of their sacrosanctity as the
representatives of the people, could veto anything or any-
one. Censors usually did not have to act in unison, but
if a censor wanted to reduce the status of a citizen in a
census, he had to act in unison with his colleague.[16]
Censors could enroll citizens in the senate, or purge them
from the senate.[25] A censor had the ability to ne a cit-
izen, or to sell his property,[25] which was often a pun-
ishment for either evading the census or having led a
fraudulent registration. Other actions that could result
in a censorial punishment were the poor cultivation of
land, cowardice or disobedience in the army, dereliction
of civil duties, corruption, or debt. A censor could re-
assign a citizen to a dierent tribe (a civil unit of divi-
sion), or place a punitive mark (nota) besides a mans
name on the register. Later, a law (one of the Leges
Clodiae or Clodian Laws) allowed a citizen to appeal a
censorial nota.[26] Once a census was complete, a puri-
cation ceremony (the lustrum) was performed by a cen-
sor, which typically involved prayers for the upcoming
ve years. This was a religious ceremony that acted as
the certication of the census, and was performed before
the Centuriate Assembly.[27] Censors had several other
CHAPTER 5. EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATES
duties as well, including the management of public con-
tracts and the payment of individuals doing contract work
for the state. Any act by the censor that resulted in an ex-
penditure of public money required the approval of the
senate.[18]
Aediles were ocers elected to conduct domestic aairs
in Rome, and often assisted the higher magistrates.[28]
The oce was not on the cursus honorum, and therefore
did not mark the beginning of a political career. Every
year, two curule aediles and two plebeian aediles were
elected. The Tribal Assembly, while under the presi-
dency of a higher magistrate (either a consul or prae-
tor), elected the two curule aediles. While they had a
curule chair, they did not have lictors, and thus they had
no power of coercion.[29] The Plebeian Council (principal
popular assembly), under the presidency of a plebeian tri-
bune, elected the two plebeian aediles. Aediles had wide-
ranging powers over day-to-day aairs inside the city of
Rome, and over the maintenance of public order. They
had the power over public games and shows, and over the
markets.[28] They also had the power to repair and pre-
serve temples, sewers and aqueducts, to maintain public
records, and to issue edicts.[30] Any expenditure of public
funds, by either a curule aedile or a plebeian aedile, had
to be authorized by the senate.
The oce of quaestor was considered the lowest-ranking
of all major political oces.[28] Quaestors were elected
by the Tribal Assembly,[28] and the assignment of their re-
sponsibilities was settled by lot. Magistrates often chose
which quaestor accompanied them abroad,[31] and these
quaestors often functioned as personal secretaries[28] re-
sponsible for the allocation of money, including army pay.
Urban quaestors had several important responsibilities,
such as the management of the public treasury, (the aer-
arium Saturni)[20] where they monitored all items going
into, and coming out of, the treasury. In addition, they
often spoke publicly about the balances available in the
treasury.[32] The quaestors could only issue public money
for a particular purpose if they were authorized to do so
by the senate.[18] The quaestors were assisted by scribes,
who handled the actual accounting for the treasury.[32]
The treasury was a repository for documents, as well as
for money. The texts of enacted statutes and decrees of
the Roman Senate were deposited in the treasury under
the supervision of the quaestors.
5.4 Plebeian magistrates
Since the plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were
elected by the plebeians (commoners) in the Plebeian
Council, rather than by all of the People of Rome (ple-
beians and the aristocratic patrician class), they were
technically not magistrates. While the term plebeian
magistrate (magistratus plebeii) has been used as an ap-
proximation, it is technically a contradiction.[33] The ple-
beian aedile functioned as the tribunes assistant, and of-
5.5. EXTRAORDINARY MAGISTRATES
ten performed similar duties as did the curule aediles (dis- of the senate, the assemblies, or the magistrates, he could
cussed above). In time, however, the dierences between only veto the act, and not the actual measure. Therefore,
the plebeian aediles and the curule aediles disappeared.
Cornelia, mother of the future Gracchi tribunes, pointing to her
children as her treasures
Since the tribunes were considered to be the embodiment
of the plebeians, they were sacrosanct.[34] Their sacro-
sanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the plebeians,
to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a tri-
bune during his term of oce. All of the powers of
the tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One obvi-
ous consequence of this sacrosanctity was the fact that
it was considered a capital oense to harm a tribune, to
disregard his veto, or to interfere with a tribune.[34] The
sacrosanctity of a tribune (and thus all of his legal pow-
ers) were only in eect so long as that tribune was within
the city of Rome. If the tribune was abroad, the plebeians
in Rome could not enforce their oath to kill any individ-
ual who harmed or interfered with the tribune. Since tri-
bunes were technically not magistrates, they had no mag-
isterial powers (major powers or maior potestas), and
thus could not rely on such powers to veto. Instead, they
relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If
a magistrate, an assembly or the senate did not comply
with the orders of a tribune, the tribune could 'interpose
the sacrosanctity of his person' (intercessio) to physically
stop that particular action. Any resistance against the tri-
bune was tantamount to a violation of his sacrosanctity,
and thus was considered a capital oense. Their lack of
magisterial powers made them independent of all other
magistrates, which also meant that no magistrate could
veto a tribune.[18]
Tribunes could use their sacrosanctity to order the use
of capital punishment against any person who interfered
with their duties.[34] Tribunes could also use their sacro-
sanctity as protection when physically manhandling an in-
dividual, such as when arresting someone.[35] On a couple
of rare occasions (such as during the tribunate of Tiberius
Gracchus), a tribune might use a form of blanket obstruc-
tion, which could involve a broad veto over all govern-
mental functions.[36] While a tribune could veto any act
35
he had to physically be present when the act was occur-
ring. As soon as that tribune was no longer present, the act
could be completed as if there had never been a veto.[37]
Tribunes, the only true representatives of the people, had
the authority to enforce the right of Provocatio, which was
a theoretical guarantee of due process, and a precursor
to our own habeas corpus. If a magistrate was threaten-
ing to take action against a citizen, that citizen could yell
"provoco ad populum", which would appeal the magis-
trates decision to a tribune.[38] A tribune had to assess
the situation, and give the magistrate his approval before
the magistrate could carry out the action. Sometimes the
tribune brought the case before the College of tribunes or
the Plebeian Council for a trial. Any action taken in spite
of a valid provocatio was on its face illegal.[39]
5.5 Extraordinary Magistrates
In times of emergency (military or otherwise), a Roman
dictator (magister populi or Master of the Nation) was
appointed for a six-month term.[40][41] The dictators
power over the Roman government was absolute, as they
were not checked by any institution or magistrate. While
the consul Cicero and the contemporary historian Livy
do mention the military uses of the dictatorship, others,
such as the contemporary historian Dionysius of Halicar-
nassus, mention its use for the purposes of maintaining
order during times of plebeian unrest.[41] For a dictator to
be appointed, the Roman Senate had to pass a decree (a
senatus consultum), authorizing a Roman consul to nomi-
nate a dictator, who then took oce immediately. Often
the dictator resigned his oce as soon as the matter that
caused his appointment was resolved.[40] Ordinary magis-
trates (such as consuls and praetors) retained their oces,
but lost their independence and became agents of the dic-
tator. If they disobeyed the dictator, they could be forced
out of oce. While a dictator could ignore the right of
Provocatio, that right, as well as the plebeian tribunes in-
dependence, theoretically still existed during a dictators
term.[42] A dictators power was equivalent to that of the
power of the two consuls exercised conjointly, without
any checks on their power by any other organ of govern-
ment. Thus, dictatorial appointments were tantamount to
a six-month restoration of the monarchy, with the dictator
taking the place of the old Roman king. This is why, for
example, each consul was accompanied by twelve lictors
outside the pomerium or six inside, whereas the dicta-
tor (as the Roman King before him) was accompanied by
twenty four lictors outside the pomerium or twelve inside.
Each dictator appointed a Master of the Horse (magister
equitum or Master of the Knights), to serve as his most
senior lieutenant.[43] The Master of the Horse had consti-
tutional command authority (imperium) equivalent to a
praetor, and often, when they authorized the appointment
36 CHAPTER 5. EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATES

of a dictator, the senate specied who was to be the Mas- [15] Lintott, p. 113
ter of the Horse. In many respects, he functioned more
as a parallel magistrate (like an inferior co-consul) than [16] Lintott, p. 100
he did as a direct subordinate.[44] Whenever a dictators
term ended, the term of his Master of the Horse ended [17] Byrd, p. 110
as well.[43] Often, the dictator functioned principally as
the master of the infantry (and thus the legions), while [18] Byrd, p. 179
the Master of the Horse (as the name implies) functioned
as the master of the cavalry.[43] The dictator, while not [19] Lintott, p. 21
elected by the people, was technically a magistrate since
[20] Byrd, p. 32
he was nominated by an elected consul. The Master of
the Horse was also technically a magistrate, since he was
[21] Lintott, pp. 107-109
nominated by the dictator.[1] Thus, both of these magis-
trates were referred to as Extraordinary Magistrates.
[22] Lintott, p. 109
The last ordinary dictator was appointed in 202 BC. Af-
ter 202 BC, extreme emergencies were addressed through [23] Lintott, p. 116
the passage of the senatus consultum ultimum (ultimate
decree of the senate) which suspended civil government, [24] Lintott, p. 120
and declared something analogous to martial law.[45]
It declared "videant consules ne res publica detrimenti [25] Byrd, p. 26
capiat" (let the consuls see to it that the state suer no
harm) which, in eect, vested the consuls with dictato- [26] Lintott, pp. 118-120
rial powers. There were several reasons for this change.
[27] Lintott, p. 119
Up until 202 BC, dictators were often appointed to ght
plebeian unrest. In 217 BC, a law was passed that gave the
[28] Byrd, p. 31
popular assemblies the right to nominate dictators. This,
in eect, eliminated the monopoly that the aristocracy
[29] Lintott, p. 130
had over this power. In addition, a series of laws were
passed, which placed additional checks on the power of [30] Lintott, pp. 129-131
the dictator.[45]
[31] Lintott, p. 136

5.6 See also [32] Lintott, p. 133

[33] Abbott, p. 152

5.7 Notes
[34] Byrd, p. 23
[1] Abbott, p. 151
[35] Lintott, p. 123
[2] Abbott, p. 154

[3] Abbott, p. 155 [36] Lintott, p. 125

[4] Abbott, p. 196 [37] Abbott, p. 198

[5] Lintott, p. 95
[38] Cicero, p. 235
[6] Byrd, p. 20
[39] Cicero, p. 236
[7] Byrd, p. 21

[8] Lintott, p. 96 [40] Byrd, p. 24

[9] Lintott, p. 97 [41] Lintott, p. 110

[10] Lintott, p. 99
[42] Lintott, p. 111
[11] Lintott, pp. 102-104
[43] Byrd, p. 42
[12] Lintott, p. 101
[44] Lintott, p. 112
[13] Lintott, p. 94

[14] Lintott, pp. 101-102 [45] Abbott, p. 240

5.10. EXTERNAL LINKS 37

5.8 References 5.10 External links

Abbott, Frank Frost (2011) [1901]. A History and Ciceros De Re Publica, Book Two
Description of Roman Political Institutions(1901 edi-
tion). Elibron Classics. ISBN 0-543-92749-0.. The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero

Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Re- What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can
public. U.S. Government Printing Oce, Senate Teach Us
Document 103-23. ISBN 0-16-058996-7.
Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works the Roman Government; by Polybius
of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on
the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the
Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
Notes in Two Volumes. volume 1. translated by
Francis Barham. Esq. London: Edmund Spettigue.
Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Ro-
man Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-
19-926108-3. OCLC 179708792.
Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies:
From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Cae-
sar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-
472-08125-X. OCLC 23708165.

5.9 Further reading

Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 913.
Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana
Press, 1993).
Crawford, M. The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press,
1978).
Gruen, E. S. The Last Generation of the Roman
Republic (U California Press, 1974)
Ihne, Wilhelm (1853). Researches Into the History
of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering.
Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters
of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline
of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and
Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duck-
worth, 1977, 1992).
Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law.
18711888
Polybius (1823) [c. 150]. The General History of
Polybius: Translated from the Greek. volume 2.
translated by James Hampton (5 ed.). Oxford: W.
Baxter.
Tighe, Ambrose (1886). The Development of the
Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co.
Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitu-
tion in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New
York. 1975.
38 CHAPTER 5. EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATES

5.11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Contributors: Ubiquity, Michael Hardy, Jason Potter, Chealer, Geeklizzard, Plandu, Philwelch, Gro-Tsen, Michael Devore, Jason Quinn,
Utcursch, Piotrus, Kuralyov, Neutrality, Oknazevad, Klemen Kocjancic, Lacrimosus, EliasAlucard, Warpyght, Viriditas, Giraedata,
Bfg, Storm Rider, Wikidea, Danthemankhan, Tabletop, Rjwilmsi, Ground Zero, Str1977, Wavelength, Meyestone, FoolsWar, Iron Ghost,
Zzuuzz, JLaTondre, Bibliomaniac15, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Flamarande, Hmains, Tennekis, Chris the speller, Wilybadger, Akhilleus,
Jennica, Snowmanradio, Rrburke, Will Beback, Esrever, LancasterII, Contarini, Mr Stephen, SimonD, Grblomerth, Theyingman, Capi-
talR, AGK, CmdrObot, Eponymous-Archon, Masterwiki, ShelfSkewed, Hemlock Martinis, Reywas92, Dadofsam, Rougher07, Headbomb,
Erechtheus, SamThe1, Darklilac, Magioladitis, Doug Coldwell, Anaxial, Sm8900, CommonsDelinker, CroydThoth, Ssolbergj, Manticore,
Trusilver, VAcharon, Katalaveno, Katharineamy, Goingstuckey, TreasuryTag, Dojarca, Jjwyatt, Billinghurst, Tomaxer, Bitbut, Solicitr,
Master168, Til Eulenspiegel, Antonio Lopez, Lightmouse, JosCol, Nergaal, Itheodore, RomanHistorian, Mx. Granger, Elassint, Clue-
Bot, Binksternet, Snigbrook, The Thing That Should Not Be, Der Golem, Otolemur crassicaudatus, Ltwin, NellieBly, Anticipation of a
New Lovers Arrival, The, Addbot, Willking1979, Colibri37, MinisterForBadTimes, Glane23, Justpassin, Ehrenkater, Zorrobot, Yobot,
Hairy poker monster, Worm That Turned, AnomieBOT, Citation bot, J04n, Omnipaedista, FrescoBot, Spqr1945, Mr. Comodor, Outback
the koala, DrilBot, Jandalhandler, Urg writer, TobeBot, Jonkerz, Jarmihi, Andrea105, Iy6, Stinkyindian, WikitanvirBot, Laurel Lodged,
ZroBot, Odysseus1479, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG, BG19bot, Polmandc, Rilgaal, Khazar2, Loopy30, BethNaught, JJMC89, Bender
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Roman_Republic?oldid=773623652 Contributors: Edward, Rursus, Klemen Kocjancic, PWilkinson, Bfg, Woohookitty, Rjwilmsi, Russ-
Bot, Bachrach44, Gadget850, SmackBot, Stie, Hmains, Chris the speller, Mike hayes, Akhilleus, OrphanBot, Jennica, Rrburke, Will Be-
back, Joshua Scott, Lottamiata, Woodshed, CmdrObot, Eponymous-Archon, Alaibot, JamesAM, Headbomb, Darklilac, Cynwolfe, Doug
Coldwell, Ekki01, PrestonH, Pajfarmor, StAnselm, Yintan, Nergaal, RomanHistorian, ImageRemovalBot, Ukabia, A.Cython, Addbot, I
said wat wat, AnomieBOT, Citation bot, Xqbot, J04n, Prezbo, SuperJew, Urg writer, Jonkerz, Dewritech, Laurel Lodged, K6ka, Help-
ful Pixie Bot, Khazar2, GELongstreet, Hmainsbot1, OhioGuy814, Tresmegistus, Kahtar, JaconaFrere, Narky Blert, Some Gadget Geek,
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Gianfranco, Roadrunner, SimonP, Panairjdde~enwiki, Leandrod, Stevertigo, Michael Hardy, Llywrch, Ixfd64, Ahoerstemeier, Stan Shebs,
Muriel Gottrop~enwiki, Jniemenmaa, Djnjwd, Rossami, Vzbs34, Adam Bishop, Dysprosia, Wik, Jerey Smith, Saltine, VeryVerily, Pub-
lius~enwiki, Wetman, Owen, Jason Potter, Robbot, Sdedeo, Naddy, Meelar, UtherSRG, Lupo, GreatWhiteNortherner, Davidcannon, Fer-
kelparade, MSGJ, Everyking, Joshuapaquin, Xwu, Neilc, DocSigma, Kjetil r, Antandrus, PFHLai, Satori, Kuralyov, JereyN, Neutrality,
J d noonan, Lacrimosus, NightMonkey, Pmadrid, DanielCD, Rupertslander, Francis Schonken, Antaeus Feldspar, Karmast, El C, Roy-
Boy, Bradkittenbrink, Russ3Z, La goutte de pluie, Darwinek, Martg76, Gary, Chino, Fornadan, Wikidea, Snowolf, Binabik80, Sciurin,
Zhouyiian, Nicknack009, Sterio, Simetrical, Taragui, Isnow, Paxsimius, Graham87, BD2412, Dr.Gonzo, Koavf, CQJ, Durin, Mkehrt,
Algebra, Rysz, Margosbot~enwiki, RexNL, Ewlyahoocom, Str1977, Algri, Algebraist, Awbeal, The Rambling Man, RobotE, Sceptre,
RJC, Quintusdecimus, SpuriousQ, DE, Wimt, Mlouns, Misza13, Zwobot, R parker jr, Gadget850, Zello, Anclation~enwiki, Kungfuadam,
Sardanaphalus, Attilios, RaiderAspect, SmackBot, FocalPoint, Tony164, Srnec, Gilliam, ERcheck, Keegan, TimBentley, MalafayaBot,
RayAYang, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Jennica, Zagrebo, Rrburke, Kozushi, Bobadot, Iblardi, Jopfer, Will Beback, SashatoBot, Fer-
tuno, Vildricianus, Park3r, Fig wright, Sivius, Neddyseagoon, Dorro, J Di, Jimmellicant, Paolodm, Adam Keller, Rambam rashi, Adol-
cetta, WeggeBot, Reywas92, ST47, Ttenchantr, Hibou8, Rougher07, Keraunos, Oerjan, Headbomb, Barakitty, Picus viridis, CPBOOTH,
CharlotteWebb, Dezidor, AntiVandalBot, Uvaphdman, Darklilac, Pichote, Carewolf, Mcorazao, Andonic, Panarjedde, SCCC, Cynwolfe,
Doug Coldwell, Brain40, AlephGamma, Stephenchou0722, FisherQueen, Eternal Pink, Nehwyn, CommonsDelinker, Ssolbergj, Shell-
wood, SmilesALot, Student7, Firelizzard, Bonadea, Wlgrin, Fimbulfamb, Deor, VolkovBot, T6c, Bsroiaadn, Anihl, Rei-bot, Qxz, Filia85,
Tuttiverdi, Alaric the Goth, Applehead77, Willriker324, Synthebot, EunseokLee, Iphillip1, PericlesofAthens, EmxBot, SieBot, Veryfast-
stu, Lightmouse, Nergaal, RomanHistorian, Appietas, Velvetron, WikiBotas, ClueBot, Kafka Liz, Der Golem, CounterVandalismBot,
Alexbot, Children.of.the.Kron, NuclearWarfare, Proinventor91, Ertness, Theother3, Finalnight, NonNobisSolum, Addbot, DOI bot, Invic-
tusCaesar100, Yobot, Catiline63, AnomieBOT, Materialscientist, Citation bot, Gap9551, J04n, Citation bot 1, Pinethicket, Shining.Star,
Laurel Lodged, Dcirovic, RancidRegicide, Wayne Slam, ClueBot NG, Helpful Pixie Bot, ChrisGualtieri, Dexbot, Ugog Nizdast, Kahtar,
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Republic?oldid=780182051 Contributors: Matthew Woodcraft, SimonP, Sfdan, Olivier, Leandrod, Michael Hardy, Brian Sayrs, Mde-
bets, Stan Shebs, Muriel Gottrop~enwiki, Vzbs34, Adam Bishop, Jerey Smith, Publius~enwiki, Chealer, Munion, GreatWhiteNortherner,
Everyking, Snowdog, Foobar, Beland, Kuralyov, Pmadrid, Brian0918, Nk, Oreb, Gary, Hgrenbor, Snowolf, Sleigh, Danielwall, Tabletop, Is-
now, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Srjjones, ColinJF, FlaBot, Ground Zero, Gurch, Str1977, Algri, Chobot, YurikBot, Grafen, Colmnito, Gadget850,
Open2universe, Modify, Nixer, Squell, That Guy, From That Show!, Sardanaphalus, KnightRider~enwiki, SmackBot, Mauls, Hmains, Be-
owulf314159, Jennica, Will Beback, Esrever, Mariule, Iridescent, Revcasy, CmdrObot, Eponymous-Archon, Headbomb, AntiVandalBot,
Darklilac, Cynwolfe, VoABot II, MartinBot, Ssolbergj, LordsReform, XanderW, El cid1010, RJASE1, Philip Trueman, Magarus7890,
Valaqil, WereSpielChequers, Keilana, Nergaal, RomanHistorian, ImageRemovalBot, ClueBot, MikeVitale, Alexbot, Ltwin, SchreiberBike,
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bot, LilHelpa, Jalwood09, Xqbot, J04n, Haploidavey, Urg writer, Kibi78704, EmausBot, John of Reading, Laurel Lodged, Vacation9,
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Fitzpatrick, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Chris the speller, Modest Genius, Rrburke, Will Beback, Paradoxsociety, Makyen, Iridescent,
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jalozzo, Nergaal, RomanHistorian, Alexbot, Vin Kaleu, Singularity42, XLinkBot, Addbot, DOI bot, Fyrael, Favonian, Citation bot, J04n,
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5.11. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 39

5.11.2 Images
File:Caesar_augustus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Caesar_augustus.jpg License: CC-BY-
SA-3.0 Contributors: English Wikipedia, original upload 4 June 2004 by ChrisO under same lename Original artist: Un-
known<a href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.
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commons/5/5b/Curule_chair%2C_sella_curulis%2C_Museo_Borbonico%2C_vol._vi._tav._28.gif License: Public domain Contributors:
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities Original artist: William Smith
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Tribune_of_the_People.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Figures de l'histoire de la rpublique romaine accompagnes d'un prcis
historique Plate 127. Original artist: Silvestre David Mirys (1742-1810)
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main Contributors:
http://www.vmfa.museum/collections/75_22.html Original artist:
Angelica Kauman; circa 1785; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 75.22
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main Contributors: Walters Art Museum: <a href='http://thewalters.org/' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Nuvola lesystems folder
home.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/20px-Nuvola_
filesystems_folder_home.svg.png' width='20' height='20' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_
filesystems_folder_home.svg/30px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/40px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='128' data-le-
height='128' /></a> Home page <a href='http://art.thewalters.org/detail/17030' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Information icon.svg'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/20px-Information_icon.svg.png' width='20'
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1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/40px-Information_icon.svg.png 2x' data-le-
width='620' data-le-height='620' /></a> Info about artwork Original artist: Jean-Lon Grme
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tributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corneliagraco/5224254259/ Original artist: corneliagraco
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Contributors: [1] Original artist: Cesare Maccari
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tors: This and myself. Original artist: Chris Down/Tango project
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Wikipedysta:Piom'>PioM</a> EN DE PL)
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cense: Public domain Contributors: A. Hekler, Greek & Roman Portraits, New York, 1912, pl. 127a. Original artist: ?

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