Constitution of The Roman Republic

Constitution of the Roman Republic
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Constitution of the Roman Republic History Senate Legislative Assemblies Executive Magistrates 1 10 25 31 38
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Ancient Rome
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Ancient Rome Periods

Roman Kingdom 753509 BC Roman Republic 50927 BC Roman Empire 27 BC AD 476 Principate Dominate Western Empire Eastern Empire Roman Constitution
Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of the Republic Constitution of the Empire Constitution of the Late Empire History of the Roman Constitution Senate Legislative Assemblies Executive Magistrates Ordinary magistrates

Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate
Aedile Tribune Censor Governor
Extraordinary magistrates

Dictator Magister Equitum Consular tribune
Rex Triumviri Decemviri
Titles and honours
Emperor
Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Lictor
Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex Maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch
Vigintisexviri
Precedent and law

Roman law Imperium Mos maiorum Collegiality
Auctoritas Roman citizenship Cursus honorum Senatus consultum
Senatus consultum ultimum
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The Constitution of the Roman Republic was a set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent.[2] The constitution was largely unwritten and uncodified, and evolved over time. Rather than creating a government that was primarily a democracy (as was ancient Athens), an aristocracy (as was ancient Sparta), or a monarchy (as was Rome before and, in many respects, after the Republic), the Roman constitution mixed these three elements, thus creating three separate branches of government.[3] The democratic element took the form of the legislative assemblies, the aristocratic element took the form of the Senate, and the monarchical element took the form of the many term-limited consuls.[4] The ultimate source of sovereignty in this ancient republic, as in modern republics, was the demos (people).[5] The people of Rome gathered into legislative assemblies to pass laws and to elect executive magistrates.[6] Election to a magisterial office resulted in automatic membership in the Senate (for life, unless impeached).[7] The Senate managed the day-to-day affairs in Rome, while senators presided over the courts.[8] Executive magistrates enforced the law, and presided over the Senate and the legislative assemblies.[9] A complex set of checks and balances developed between these three branches, so as to minimize the risk of tyranny and corruption, and to maximize the likelihood of good government. However, the separation of powers between these three branches of government was not absolute; and moreover, several constitutional devices that were out of harmony with the Roman constitution were used frequently.[10] A constitutional crisis began in 133 BC, as a result of the struggles between the aristocracy and the common people.[11] This crisis ultimately led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and its eventual subversion into a much more autocratic form of government, the Roman Empire.[12]
Constitutional history (509133 BC)

At one time, Rome had been ruled by a succession of kings.[13] The Romans believed that this era, that of the Roman Kingdom, began in 753 BC, and ended in 510 BC. After the overthrow of the monarchy, and the establishment of the Roman Republic, the people of Rome began electing two Roman consuls each year.[14] In 501 BC, the office of "Roman Dictator" was created. In the year 494 BC, the plebeians (commoners) seceded to the Mons Sacer, and demanded of the patricians (the aristocrats) the right to elect their own officials.[15][16] The Patricians agreed, and the
Constitution of the Roman Republic plebeians ended their secession. The plebeians called these new officials "Plebeian Tribunes", and gave these tribunes two assistants, called "Plebeian Aediles".[17] In 449 BC, the Senate promulgated the Twelve Tables as the centerpiece of the Roman Constitution. In 443 BC, the office of "Roman Censor" was created,[18] and in 367 BC, plebeians were allowed to stand for the Consulship. The opening of the Consulship to the plebeian class implicitly opened both the Censorship as well as the Dictatorship to plebeians.[19] In 366 BC, in an effort by the patricians to reassert their influence over the magisterial offices, two new offices were created. While these two offices, the Praetorship and the Curule Aedileship, were at first open only to patricians, within a generation, they were open to plebeians as well. Beginning around the year 350 BC, the senators and the Plebeian Tribunes began to grow closer. The senate began giving tribunes more power, and, unsurprisingly, the tribunes began to feel indebted to the senate. As the tribunes and the senators grew closer, plebeian senators began to routinely secure the office of tribune for members of their own families.[20] Also around the year 350 BC, the Plebeian Council (popular assembly) enacted a significant law (the "Ovinian Law") which transferred, from the consuls to the Censors, the power to appoint new senators. This law also required the Censors to appoint any newly elected magistrate to the senate, which probably resulted in a significant increase in the number of plebeian senators.[21] This, along with the closeness between the Plebeian Tribunes and the senate, helped to facilitate the creation of a new plebeian aristocracy. This new Plebeian aristocracy soon merged with the old patrician aristocracy, creating a combined "patricio-plebeian" aristocracy.[22] The old aristocracy existed through the force of law, because only patricians had been allowed to stand for high office. Now, however, the new aristocracy existed due to the organization of society, and as such, this order could only be overthrown through a revolution.[23] In 287 BC, the plebeians seceded to the Janiculum hill. To end the secession, a law (the "Hortensian Law") was passed, which ended the requirement that the patrician senators consent before a bill could be brought before the Plebeian Council for a vote.[24] This was not the first law to require that an act of the Plebeian Council have the full force of law (over both plebeians and patricians),[25] since the Plebeian Council had acquired this power in 449 BC. The ultimate significance of this law was in the fact that it robbed the patricians of their final weapon over the plebeians. The result was that the ultimate control over the state fell, not onto the shoulders of democracy, but onto the shoulders of the new patricio-plebeian aristocracy.[26] The Hortensian Law resolved the last great political question of the earlier era, and as such, no important political changes occurred over the next 150 years (between 287 BC and 133 BC).[27] The critical laws of this era were still enacted by the senate.[28] In effect, the democracy was satisfied with the possession of power, but did not care to actually use it.
Senate
The Roman Senate was a political institution in the Roman Republic. The Roman senate's authority derived from precedent, custom, and the personal moral example of the senators.[29] The Senate's principal role was as an advisory council to the two Roman consuls on matters of foreign and military policy,[30] and as such, it exercised a great deal of influence over consular decision-making. The senate also managed civil administration within the city. For example, only the senate could authorize the appropriation of public monies from the treasury, unless a Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate: consul demanded it. In addition, the senate would try individuals Cicero accuses Catiline. From a 19th-century fresco accused of political crimes (such as treason). The senate passed decrees, which were called senatus consulta (singular senatus consultum. While this was officially "advice" from the senate to a magistrate, the senatus consulta were usually obeyed by the magistrates.[31] If a senatus consultum conflicted with a law that was passed by a popular assembly, the law overrode the senatus consultum.[32]
Constitution of the Roman Republic Meetings could take place either inside or outside of the formal boundary of the city (the pomerium), and were usually presided over by a consul.[33] Meetings were suffused in religious ritual; Temples were a preferred meeting site and auspices would be taken before the meeting could commence. The presiding consul began each meeting with a speech on an issue,[34] and then referred the issue to the senators, who discussed the matter by order of seniority.[35] 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, with senators voting by taking a place on either side of the chamber. Any vote was always between a proposal and its negative.[36] Since all meetings had to end by nightfall, a senator could talk a proposal to death (a filibuster) if he could keep the debate going until nightfall. Any proposed motion could be vetoed by a tribune,[37] and if it was not vetoed, it was then turned into a final senatus consultum. Each senatus consultum was transcribed into a document by the presiding magistrate, and then deposited into the building that housed the treasury.
Legislative Assemblies
The Roman assemblies were political institutions in the Roman Republic. There were two types of Roman assembly. The first was the Committee,[38] which was an assembly of all Roman citizens.[39] Here, Roman citizens gathered to enact laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The second type of assembly was the Council, which was an assembly of a specific group of citizens. For example, the "Plebeian Council" was an assembly where plebeians gathered to elect Plebeian magistrates, pass laws that applied only to Plebeians, and try judicial cases concerning Plebeians.[40] A "convention", in contrast, was an unofficial forum for communication, where citizens gathered to debate bills, campaign for office, and decide judicial cases. The voters first assembled into conventions to deliberate, and then they assembled into committees or councils to actually vote.[41] In addition to the Curia (familial groupings), Roman citizens were also organized into "Centuries" (for military purposes) and "Tribes" (for civil purposes). Each gathered into an assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The Century Assembly was the assembly of the Centuries, while the Tribal Assembly was the assembly of the Tribes. Only a bloc of voters (Century, Tribe or Curia), and not the individual electors, cast the formal vote (one vote per bloc) before the assembly.[42] The majority of votes in any Century, Tribe, or Curia decided how that Century, Tribe, or Curia voted. The Century Assembly was divided into 193 (later 373) Centuries, with each Century belonging to one of three classes: the officer class, the enlisted class, and the unarmed adjuncts.[43][44] During a vote, the Centuries voted, one at a time, by order of seniority. The president of the Century Assembly was usually a consul. Only the Century Assembly could elect consuls, Praetors, and Censors; only it could declare war;[45] only it could ratify the results of a census.[46] While it had the power to pass ordinary laws, it rarely did so. The organization of the Tribal Assembly was much simpler than the Century Assembly, since its organization was based on the thirty-five Tribes. The Tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather geographical divisions (similar to modern electoral districts or constituencies).[47] The president of the Tribal Assembly was usually the consulWikipedia:Please clarify, and under his presidency, the assembly elected Quaestors, Curule Aediles, and Military Tribunes.[48] While it had the power to pass ordinary laws, it rarely did so. The assembly known as the "Plebeian Council" was identical to the Tribal Assembly with one key
Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
exception: only plebeians (the commoners) had the power to vote before it. Members of the aristocratic patrician class were excluded from this assembly. In contrast, both classes were entitled to a vote in the Tribal Assembly.
Constitution of the Roman Republic Under the presidency of a Plebeian Tribune, the Plebeian Council elected Plebeian Tribunes and Plebeian Aediles, enacted laws called "plebiscites", and presided over judicial cases involving Plebeians.
Executive Magistrates
The Roman Magistrates were elected officials of the Roman Republic. Each Roman magistrate was vested with a degree of power.[49] dictators had the highest level of power. After the dictator was the censor, and then the consul[citation needed], and then the Praetor, and then the Curule Aedile, and finally the Quaestor. Each magistrate could only veto an action that was taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of power. Since Plebeian Tribunes (as well as "Plebeian Aediles") were technically not magistrates,[50] they relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If one did not comply with the orders of a Plebeian Tribune, the tribune could 'interpose the sacrosanctity of his person (intercessio) to physically stop that particular action. Any resistance against the tribune was considered to be a capital offense. The most significant constitutional power that a magistrate could hold was that of "Command" (Imperium), which was held only by consuls and Praetors. This gave a magistrate the constitutional authority to issue commands (military or otherwise). Once a magistrate's annual term in office expired, he had to wait ten years before serving in that office again. Since this did create problems for some magistrates, these magistrates occasionally had their command powers extended, which, in effect, allowed them to retain the powers of their office as a Promagistrate.[51] The consulWikipedia:Please clarify of the Roman Republic was the highest ranking ordinary magistrate.[52] Two consuls were elected every year, and they had supreme power in both civil and military matters. Throughout the year, one consul was superior in rank to the other consul, and this ranking flipped every month, between the two consuls.[53] Praetors administered civil law, presided over the courts, and commanded provincial armies.[54] Another magistrate, the censor, conducted a census, during which time they could appoint people to the senate.[55] Aediles were officers elected to conduct domestic affairs in Rome, and were vested with powers over the markets, and over public games and shows.[56] Quaestors usually assisted the Consuls in Rome, and the governors in the provinces with financial tasks. Two other magistratesWikipedia:Cleanup, the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles, were considered to be the representatives of the people. Thus, they acted as a popular check over the senate (through their veto powers), and safeguarded the civil liberties of all Roman citizens. In times of military emergency, a "dictator" was appointed for a term of six months.[57] Constitutional government dissolved, and the dictator became the absolute master of the state.[58] The Dictator then appointed a "Master of the Horse" to serve as his most senior lieutenant.[59] Often the dictator resigned his office as soon as the matter that caused his appointment was resolved. When the dictator's term ended, constitutional government was restored. The last ordinary dictator was appointed in 202 BC. After 202 BC, extreme emergencies Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding were addressed through the passage of the decree senatus consultum over the Plebeian Council ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate"). This suspended civil government, declared martial law,[60] and vested the consuls with dictatorial powers.
Constitutional instability (13349 BC)

By the middle of the 2nd century BC, the economic situation for the average plebeian had declined significantly.[61] The long military campaigns had forced citizens to leave their farms to fight, only to return to farms that had fallen into disrepair. The landed aristocracy began buying bankrupted farms at discounted prices, creating a situation that made it impossible for the average farmer to operate his farm at a profit. Masses of unemployed plebeians soon began to flood into Rome, and thus into the ranks of the legislative assemblies, where their economic status usually led them to vote for the candidate who offered the most for them. A new culture of dependency was emerging, which would look to any populist leader for relief.[62] In 133 BC, Tiberius Gracchus was elected Plebeian Tribune, and attempted to enact a law to distribute land to Rome's landless citizens. Tiberius's law was vetoed by an aristocrat named Marcus Octavius. In an attempt to force Octavius to capitulate, Tiberius tried to turn the mob against Octavius by enacting a blanket veto over all governmental functions, which, in effect, shut down the entire city and precipitated rioting. While the land law was enacted, Tiberius was murdered when he stood for reelection to the tribunate. In 123 BC, Tiberius' brother Gaius was elected Plebeian Tribune. After passing a series of laws which were intended to weaken the senate, Gaius Gracchus was murdered by his supporters. The people, however, had finally realized how weak the senate had become.
Cornelia, mother of the future Gracchi tribunes, pointing to her children as her treasures
In 88 BC, an aristocratic senator named Lucius Cornelius Sulla was elected consul,[63] and soon left for glory in the east. When a tribune revoked Sulla's command of the war, Sulla brought his army back to Italy, marched on Rome, secured the city, and left for the east again.[64] In 83 BC he returned to Rome, and captured the city a second time.[65] In 82 BC, he made himself dictator, and then used his status as dictator to pass a series of constitutional reforms that were intended to strengthen the senate.[66] In 80 BC he resigned his dictatorship, and by 78 BC he was dead. While he thought that he had firmly established aristocratic rule, his own career had illustrated the fatal weakness in the constitution: that it was the army, and not the senate, which dictated the fortunes of the state.[67] In 70 BC, the generals Pompey Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus were both elected consul, and quickly dismantled Sulla's constitution.[68] In 62 BC Pompey returned to Rome from battle in the east, but found the senate refusing to ratify the arrangements that he had made. Thus, when Julius Caesar returned from his governorship in Spain in 61 BC, he found it easy to make an arrangement with Pompey.[69] Caesar and Pompey, along with Crassus, established a private agreement, known as the First Triumvirate. Under the agreement, Pompey's arrangements were to be ratified, Crassus was to be promised a future Consulship, and Caesar was to be promised the Consulship in 59 BC, and then the governorship of Gaul (modern France) immediately afterwards. Caesar became consul in 59 BC, and, when his term as consul ended, he took command of four provinces. Eventually, the triumvirate was renewed, and Caesar's term as governor was extended for five years. In 54 BC, violence began sweeping the city.[70] The triumvirate ended in 53 BC when Crassus was killed in battle. In 50 BC, near the end of his term as governor, Caesar demanded the right to stand for election to the Consulship in absentiaWikipedia:Please clarify. Without the protection afforded to him by the Consulship or his army, he could be prosecuted for crimes he had committed. The senate refused Caesar's demand, and in January 49 BC, the senate passed a resolution which declared that if Caesar did not lay down his arms by July of that year, he would be considered an enemy of the republic.[71] In response, Caesar quickly crossed the Rubicon with his veteran army, and marched towards Rome. Caesar's rapid advance forced Pompey, the Consuls and the senate to abandon Rome for Greece, and allowed Caesar to enter the city unopposed.
The transition from Republic to Empire (4927 BC)

By 48 BC, after having defeated the last of his major enemies, Julius Caesar wanted to ensure that his control over the government was undisputed.[72] He assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Caesar held the office of Roman dictator, and alternated between the Consulship (the chief-magistracy) and the Proconsulship (in effect, a military governorship). In 48 BC, Caesar was given the powers of a Plebeian Tribune,[73] which made his person sacrosanct, gave him the power to veto the Roman Senate, and allowed him to dominate the legislative process. In 46 BC, Caesar was given the powers of censor, which he used to fill the senate with his own partisans. Caesar then raised the membership of the senate from 600 to 900,[74] which robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made it increasingly subservient to him.[75] Near the end of his life, Caesar began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his absence from Rome would 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 Plebeian Tribunes in 42 BC.Wikipedia:Please clarify This, in effect, transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people, to being representatives of the dictator. After Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Mark Antony formed an alliance with Caesar's adopted son and great-nephew, Gaius Octavian. Along with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, they formed an alliance known as the Second Triumvirate,[76] and held powers that were nearly identical to the powers that Caesar had held under his constitution. In effect, there was no constitutional difference between an individual who held the title of dictator and an individual who held the title of "Triumvir". While the conspirators who had assassinated Caesar were defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, the peace that resulted was only temporary. Antony and Octavian fought against each other in one last battle in 31 BC, at the Battle of Actium. Antony was defeated, and in 30 BC he committed suicide. In 29 BC, Octavian returned to Rome as the unchallenged master of the state. He eventually enacted a series of constitutional reforms, the most important of which occurred in 27 BC, which overthrew the old republic. The reign of Octavian, whom history remembers as Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, marked the dividing line between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. By the time this process was complete, Rome had completed its transformation from a city-state with a network of dependencies into the capital of a world empire.[77]
Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Rome& action=edit [2] Byrd, 161 [3] Holland, 24 [4] Polybius [5] Holland, 25 [6] Lintott, 40 [7] Abbott, 46 [8] Lintott, 65 [9] Byrd, 179 [10] Abbott, 44 [11] Abbott, 96 [12] Abbott, 133 [13] Holland, 1 [14] Holland, 2 [15] Abbott, 28 [16] Holland, 22 [17] Holland, 5 [18] Abbott, 37 [19] Abbott, 42 [20] Abbott, 45 [21] Abbott, 47 [22] Holland, 27 [23] Abbott, 48 [24] Abbott, 52

[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] Abbott, 51 Abbott, 53 Abbott, 63 Abbott, 66 Cicero, 239 Polybius, 133 Byrd, 44 Polybius, 136 Polybius, 132 Lintott, 78 Byrd, 34 Lintott, 83 Holland, 26 Lintott, 42 Abbott, 251 Lintott, 43 Taylor, 2 Taylor, 40 Taylor, 85 Cicero, 226 Abbott, 257 Taylor, 3, 4 Lintott, 51 Taylor, 7 Abbott, 151 Abbott, 196 Lintott, 113 Byrd, 20 Cicero, 236 Byrd, 32 Lintott, 119 Byrd, 31 Byrd, 24 Cicero, 237 Byrd, 42 Abbott, 240 Abbott, 77 Abbott, 80 Holland, 64 Holland, 69 Holland, 90 Holland, 99 Holland, 106 Abbott, 109 Abbott, 112 Abbott, 114 Abbott, 115 Abbott, 134 Abbott, 135 Abbott, 137 Abbott, 138 Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 237 Abbott, 129
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN0-543-92749-0. Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office 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 Dissertations 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. ISBN1-4000-7897-0. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-926108-3. Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. Vol 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-08125-X.
Further reading
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, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. Mommsen, Theodor (1888). Roman Constitutional Law. 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. Primary sources Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two (http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show. php?title=546&chapter=83299&layout=html&Itemid=27) Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius (http://www.fordham. edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.html) Secondary source material Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu (http://mailer. fsu.edu/~njumonvi/montesquieu_romans.htm) The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero (http://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/ misc/romancon.html) What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/ 30harris.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)
History
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History
Ancient Rome



Titles and honours
Emperor
History
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Vigintisexviri
Precedent and law

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The history of the Constitution of the Roman Republic is a study of the ancient Roman Republic that traces the progression of Roman political development from the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC until the founding of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. The constitutional history of the Roman Republic can be divided into five phases. The first phase began with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Kingdom in 510 BC, and the final phase ended with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Republic, and thus created the Roman Empire, in 27 BC. Throughout the history of the republic, the constitutional evolution was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. The Roman aristocracy was composed of a class of citizens called Patricians, while all other citizens were called Plebeians. During the first phase of political development, the Patrician aristocracy dominated the state, and the Plebeians began seeking political rights. During the second phase, the Plebeians completely overthrew the Patrician aristocracy, and since the aristocracy was overthrown simply 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 dangerous military situation that helped to maintain internal stability within the republic. The fourth phase began shortly after Rome's wars of expansion had ended, because without these wars, the factor that had ensured internal stability was removed. While the Plebeians sought to address their economic misfortune through the enactment of laws, the underlying problems were ultimately caused by the organization of society. The final phase began when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river, and ended with the complete overthrow of the republic. This final revolution triggered a wholesale reorganization of the constitution, and with it, the emergence of the Roman Empire.
The Patrician era (509367 BC)

According to legend, the Roman Kingdom was founded in 753 BC, and was ruled by a succession of seven kings.[1] The last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, ruled in a tyrannical manner[2] and, in 510 BC, his son Sextus Tarquinius raped a noblewoman named Lucretia. Lucretia, the wife of a senator named Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, committed suicide because of the rape, and this led to a conspiracy which drove Tarquin from the city. With Tarquin's expulsion, the Roman Republic was founded, and the chief conspirators, Collatinus and the senator Lucius Junius
History Brutus, were elected as the first Roman Consul (chief-executive).[3][4] While this story may be nothing more than a legend which later Romans created in order to explain their past, it is likely that Rome had been ruled by a series of kings,[5] who probably were, as the legends suggest, overthrown quickly.
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The executive magistrates

The constitutional changes which occurred immediately after the revolution were probably not as extensive as the legends suggest, as the most important constitutional change probably concerned the chief executive. Before the revolution, a king (rex) was elected by the senators (patres or "fathers") for a life term, but now two Praetores ("leaders") were elected by the citizens for an annual term. These magistrates were eventually called "Consuls" (Latin for those who walk together), and each Consul checked his colleague, while their limited term in office opened them up to prosecution if they abused the powers of their office. 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 different Growth of the city region during the kingdom 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. 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 senate, however, that a group of Plebeians were drafted (conscripti) to fill 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 patrum ("authority of the fathers" or "authority of the Patrician senators"), nor be elected interrex. In the year 494 BC, the city was at war,[7] but the Plebeian soldiers refused to march against the enemy, and instead seceded to the Aventine Hill.[8] The Patricians quickly became desperate to end what was, in effect, a labor strike, and thus they quickly agreed to the demands of the Plebeians, that they be given the right to elect their own officials. The Plebeians named these new officials Plebeian Tribunes (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 office. 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 Assembly (451) chose ten men -decemviri- 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 famous 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. However the Consulship remained closed to the Plebeians, Consular command authority (imperium) was granted to a select number of Military Tribunes. These individuals, the so-called Consular Tribunes were elected by the Century Assembly, and the senate had the power to veto any such election. This was the first of many 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 aristocracy enjoyed the fruits of the resulting conquests, the Plebeians in the army became exhausted and bitter. 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. However, the law also required the election of at least one Plebeian Consul each year. The opening
History of the Consulship to the Plebeians was probably the cause behind the concession of 366 BC, in which the Praetorship and Curule Aedileship were both created, but opened only to Patricians.[15][16]
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The senate and legislative assemblies

Shortly after the founding of the republic, the Century Assembly became the principle Roman assembly in which magistrates were elected, laws were passed, and trials 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 Provocatio, which appealed any condemnation to the Century 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 remained dependent on their Patrician patrons. In 471 BC, a law was passed due to the efforts 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. 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. However, in 447 BC, Cicero recorded that the Quaestors began to be elected by a tribal assembly that was presided over by a magistrate.[23] It seems as though this was the first 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 Patricians. Therefore, for the first time, the Plebeians seemed to have indirectly acquired authority over Patricians. During the 4th century BC,[24] a series of reforms were passed (the legres Valeriae Horatiae), which ultimately required that any law passed by the Plebeian Council have the full force of law over both Plebeians and Patricians. This gave the Plebeian Tribunes, who presided over the Plebeian Council, a positive character for the first time. Before these laws were passed, Tribunes could only interpose the sacrosanctity of their person (intercessio) to veto acts of the senate, assemblies, or magistrates.[25] It was a modification to the Valerian law[26] in 449 BC which first allowed acts of the Plebeian Council to have the full force of law, but eventually the final law in the series was passed (the "Hortensian Law"), which removed the last check that the Patricians in the senate had over this power.
The Conflict of the Orders (367287 BC)

In the decades following the passage of the Licinio-Sextian law of 367 BC, which required the election of 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 complete end in 287 BC, with the passage of the Hortensian law. This era was also marked with significant external developments. Up until 295 BC, the Samnites and the Kelts had been Rome's chief rivals, but that year, at the Battle of Sentinum, the Romans defeated the combined armies of the Samnites and the Kelts. This battle 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.[28]
The Plebeians and the magistrates

When the Curule Aedileship had been created, it had only been opened to Patricians.[29] Eventually, however, Plebeians won full admission to the Curule Aedileship. In addition, after the Consulship had been opened to the Plebeians, the Plebeians acquired a de facto right to hold both the Roman Dictatorship and the Roman Censorship (which had been created in 443 BC) since only former Consuls could hold either office. 356 BC saw the appointment of the first Plebeian Dictator,[30] and in 339 BC the Plebeians facilitated the passage of a law (the lex Publilia), which required the election of at least one Plebeian Censor for each five-year term. In 337 BC, the first Plebeian Praetor was elected.
History In 342 BC, two significant laws were passed. One of these two laws made it illegal to hold more than one office at any given point in time, and the other law required an interval of ten years to pass before any magistrate could seek reelection to any office.[31] As a result of these two laws, the military situation quickly became unmanageable. During this time period, Rome was expanding within Italy and beginning to take steps beyond Italy, and thus it became necessary for military commanders to hold office for several years at a time. This problem was resolved with the creation of the pro-magisterial offices, so that when an individual's term in office ended, his command might be prorogued (prorogatio imperii).[32] In effect, when a magistrate's term ended, his imperium was extended, and he usually held the title of either Proconsul or Propraetor.[33] This constitutional device was not in harmony with the underlying genius of the Roman constitution, and its frequent usage eventually paved the way for the empire. In addition, during these years, the Plebeian Tribunes and the senators grew increasingly close. The senate realized the need to use Plebeian officials to accomplish desired goals, and so to win over the Tribunes, the senators gave the Tribunes a great deal of power, and unsurprisingly, the Tribunes began to feel obligated to the senate. As the Tribunes and the senators grew closer, Plebeian senators were often able to secure the Tribunate for members of their own families.[34] In time, the Tribunate became a stepping stone to higher office.
14
The Ovinian law and the new aristocracy

During the era of the kingdom, the Roman King appointed new senators, but after the overthrow of the kingdom, the Consuls acquired this power. Around the middle of the 4th century BC, however, the Plebeian Council enacted the "Ovinian Plebiscite" (plebiscitum Ovinium),[35] which gave the power to appoint new senators to the Roman Censors. It also codified a commonplace practice, which all but required the Censor to appoint any newly elected magistrate to the senate.[36] By this point, Plebeians were already holding a significant number of Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic. magisterial offices, and so the number of Plebeian senators probably increased quickly. It was, in all likelihood, simply a matter of time before the Plebeians came to dominate the senate. Under the new system, newly elected magistrates were awarded with automatic membership in the senate, although it remained difficult for a Plebeian from an unknown family to enter the senate. Several factors made it difficult for individuals from unknown families to be elected to high office, in particular the very presence of a long-standing nobility, as this appealed to the deeply-rooted Roman respect for the past. 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 political power. The new nobility, however, was fundamentally different from the old nobility.[38] The old nobility existed through the force of law, because only Patricians were allowed to stand for high office, and it was ultimately overthrown after those laws were changed. Now, however, the new nobility existed due to the organization of society, and as such, it could only be overthrown through a revolution.
History
15
The failure of the Conflict of the Orders

The Conflict of the Orders was finally coming to an end, since the Plebeians had achieved political equality with the Patricians. 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 average Plebeian as the old Patrician aristocrats had always been. During this time period, the Plebeian plight had been mitigated due to the constant state of war that Rome was in. These wars provided employment, income, and glory for the average Plebeian, and the sense of patriotism 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 Censor every five years, contained another provision. Before this time, any bill passed by an assembly (either by the Plebeian Council, the Tribal Assembly, or the Century 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 modified this process, requiring the auctoritas patrum to be passed before a law could be voted on by one of the assemblies, rather than after the law had already been voted on.[39] It is not known why, but this modification seems to have made the auctoritas patrum irrelevant. By 287 BC, the economic condition of the average Plebeian had become poor, and the result was the final Plebeian secession. The Plebeians seceded to the Janiculum hill, and to end the secession, a Dictator named Quintus Hortensius was appointed. Hortensius, a Plebeian, passed a law called the "Hortensian Law" (Lex Hortensia), which ended the requirement that an auctoritas 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 Century Assembly. The importance of the Hortensian Law was in that it removed from the senate its final check over the Plebeian Council (the principal popular assembly).[41] It should therefore not be viewed as the final triumph of democracy over aristocracy, since, through the Tribunes, the senate could still control the Plebeian Council. Thus, the ultimate significance of this law was in the fact that it robbed the Patricians of their final weapon over the Plebeians. The result was that the ultimate control over the state fell, not onto the shoulders of democracy, but onto the shoulders of the new Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy.
The supremacy of the new nobility (287133 BC)

The great accomplishment of the Hortensian Law was in that it deprived the Patricians of their final weapon over the Plebeians. Therefore, the new Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy replaced the old Patrician aristocracy, and the last great political question of the earlier era had been resolved. 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 flaws 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 Rome's military commanders changed. Roman soldiers of earlier eras fought short wars, and then return to their farms. Since their generals did the same thing, the soldiers came to view their generals 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 affinity between the average citizen and his general, while the generals acquired more power than they had ever held before.[43]
The Senate
When the lex Hortensia was enacted into law, Rome theoretically became a democracy (insofar as the landowners were concerned, anyway). In reality, however, Rome remained an oligarchy, since the critical laws were still enacted by the Roman Senate.[44] In effect, democracy was satisfied with the possession of power, but did not care to actually use itWikipedia:Please clarify. The senate was supreme during this era because the era was dominated by foreign policy.[45] While upwards of 300,000 citizens were eligible to vote, 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 affairs
History questions often required quick answers, and three-hundred senators were more capable of quick action than were thousands of electors. The questions were also more complex than were the questions of the earlier era, and the average citizen was not adequately informed as to these issues. The senators, in contrast, were usually quite experienced, and the fact that they had income sources that were independent of their political roles made it easier for them to involve themselves in policy questions over extended periods of time.[46] Since most senators were former magistrates, the senate became bound together by a strong sense of collegiality. At any given point in time, many of the senate's most senior members were ex-Consuls, which facilitated the creation of a bond between the presiding Consul and those senior members. In addition, the Consul was always chosen from senate, and as such he usually held similar ideals as did his fellow senators. When his annual term ended, he returned to their ranks, and so he was unlikely to stand against his fellow senators. Before the Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate enactment of the Ovinian Law, Consuls appointed new senators, but after the enactment of this law, Censors appointed new senators,[47] which caused the senate to become even more independent of the presiding Consul. In addition, the Ovinian Law all but required that ex-magistrates be appointed to the senate, and as such, the process by which Censors appointed new members to the senate became quite objective. This further enhanced the competence, and thus the prestige, of the senate.[48]
16
The Plebeians and the aristocracy

The final decades of this era saw a worsening economic situation for many Plebeians.[49] The long military campaigns had forced citizens to leave their farms, which often caused those farms to fall into a state of disrepair. This situation was made worse during the Second Punic War, when Hannibal fought the Romans throughout Italy, and the Romans adopted a strategy of attrition and guerrilla warfare in response. When the soldiers returned from the battlefield, 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 inexpensive slave labor, which the landed aristocrats used to staff their new farms. Soon the masses of unemployed Plebeians began to flood into Rome, and into the ranks of the legislative assemblies.[50] At the same time, the aristocracy was becoming extremely rich.[51] Several Italian towns had sided with Hannibal during the Second Punic War, and these towns were ultimately punished for their disloyalty, which opened up even more cheap farmland for the aristocrats. With the destruction of Rome's great commercial rival of Carthage, even more opportunities for profit became available. With so many new territories, tax collection (which had always been outsourced to private individuals) also became extremely profitable. While the aristocrats spent their time exploiting new opportunities for profit, 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, but as both wealth and eastern luxuries became available at the same time, an era of ruinous decadence followed. The sums that were spent on these luxuries had no precedent in prior Roman history. Several laws were enacted to stem this tide of decadence, but these laws had no effect, and attempts by the Censors to mitigate this decadence were equally futile. By the end of this era, Rome had become full of unemployed Plebeians. They then began filling the ranks of the assemblies, and the fact that they were no longer away from Rome made it easier for them to vote. In the principle legislative assembly, the Plebeian Council,[52] any individual voted in the Tribe that his ancestors had belonged to.[53] Thus, most of these newly unemployed Plebeians belonged to one of the thirty-one rural Tribes, rather than one of the four urban Tribes, and the unemployed Plebeians soon acquired so much political power that the Plebeian Council became highly populist. These Plebeians were often angry with the aristocracy, which further exacerbated the class tensions. Their economic state usually led them to vote for the candidate who offered the most for them, or
History at least for the candidate whose games or whose bribes were the most magnificent. The fact that they were usually uninformed as to the issues before them didn't matter, because they usually sold their votes to the highest bidder anyway. Bribery became such a problem that major reforms were ultimately passed, in particular the requirement that all votes be by secret ballot. A new culture of dependency was emerging, which would look to any populist leader for relief.[54]
17
From the Gracchi to Caesar (13349 BC)

The prior era saw great military successes,[55] and great economic failures,[56] while the patriotism of the Plebeians had kept them from seeking any new reforms. Now, however, the military situation had stabilized, and fewer soldiers were needed. This, in conjunction with the new slaves that were being imported from abroad, inflamed the unemployment situation further. The flood of unemployed citizens to Rome had made the assemblies quite populist, and thus had created an increasingly aggressive democracy. This new era began with the Tribunate of Gaius Gracchus, and ended when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river.
Gaius Gracchus, Tribune of the people, presiding over the Plebeian Council
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

Tiberius Gracchus was elected Plebeian Tribune in 133 BC, and as Tribune, he attempted to enact a law that would have distributed land amongst Rome's landless citizens. The aristocrats, who stood to lose an enormous amount of money, were bitterly opposed to this proposal. Tiberius submitted this law to the Plebeian Council, but the law was vetoed by a Tribune named Marcus Octavius, and so Tiberius used the Plebeian Council to impeach Octavius. The theory, that a representative of the people ceases to be one when he acts against the wishes of the people, was repugnant to the genius of Roman constitutional theory.[57] If carried to its logical end, this theory removed all constitutional restraints on the popular will, and put the state under the absolute control of a temporary popular majority. This theory ultimately found its logical end under the future democratic empire of the military populist Julius Caesar. The law was enacted, but Tiberius was murdered when he stood for reelection to the Tribunate. The ten years that followed his death were politically inactive. The only important development was in the growing strength of the democratic opposition to the aristocracy. Tiberius' brother Gaius was elected Plebeian Tribune in 123 BC. Gaius Gracchus' ultimate goal was to weaken the senate and to strengthen the democratic forces,[58] so he first enacted a law which put the knights (equites, or 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 profit greatly from these grain reforms, and so the result was that Gaius managed to turn the most powerful class of non-senators against the senate. In the past, the senate eliminated political rivals either by establishing special judicial commissions or by passing a senatus consultum ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate).[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 consultum ultimum to be unconstitutional. Gaius then proposed a law which granted citizenship rights to Rome's Italian allies, but the selfish democracy in Rome, which jealously guarded its privileged status, deserted him over this proposal. He stood for reelection to a third term in 121 BC, but was defeated and then murdered. The democracy, however, had finally realized how weak the senate had become.
History
18
Sulla's Constitutional Reforms

Several years later, a new power had emerged in Asia. In 88 BC, a Roman army was sent to put down that power, king Mithridates VI of Pontus, but was defeated. Over the objections of the former Consul Gaius Marius, the Consul for the year, Lucius Cornelius Sulla was ordered by the senate to assume command of the war against Mithridates.[61] Marius, a member of the democratic ("populare") party, had a Tribune revoke Sulla's command of the war against Mithridates,[62] so Sulla, a member of the aristocratic ("optimate") party, brought his army back to Italy and marched on Rome. Marius fled, and his supporters either fled or were murdered by Sulla.[63] Sulla had become so angry at Marius' Tribune that he passed a law that was intended to permanently weaken the Tribunate.[64] He then returned to his war against Mithridates,[65] and with Sulla gone, the populares under Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna soon took control of the city.[66] The populare record was not one to be proud of, as they had reelected Marius Consul several times without observing the required ten-year interval. They also transgressed democracy by advancing un-elected individuals to magisterial office, and by substituting magisterial edicts for popular legislation. Sulla soon made peace with Mithridates,[67] and in 83 BC, he returned to Rome, overcame all resistance, and captured the city again.[68] Sulla and his supporters then slaughtered most of Marius' supporters, although one such supporter, a 17 year old populare (and the son-in-law of Cinna) named Julius Caesar, was ultimately spared. Sulla, who had observed the violent results of radical populare reforms (in particular those under Marius and Cinna), was naturally conservative, and so his conservatism was more reactionary than it was visionary. As such, he sought to strengthen the aristocracy, and thus the senate.[69] After being appointed Roman Dictator[70] in 82 BC, he enacted a series of constitutional reforms.[71] He resigned the Dictatorship in 80 BC, retired in 79 BC, and died a year later. While he thought that he had firmly established aristocratic rule, his own career had illustrated the fatal weaknesses in the constitution. Ultimately, it was the army, and not the senate, which dictated the fortunes of the state.[72] In 77 BC, the senate sent one of Sulla's former lieutenants, Gnaeus Pompey Magnus,[73] to put down an uprising in Spain. By 71 BC, Pompey returned to Rome after having completed his mission, and around the same time, another of Sulla's former lieutenants, Marcus Licinius Crassus, had just put down a slave revolt in Italy. Upon their return, Pompey and Crassus found the populare party fiercely attacking Sulla's constitution,[74] and so they attempted to forge an agreement with the populare party. If both Pompey and Crassus were elected Consul in 70 BC, they would dismantle the more obnoxious components of Sulla's constitution.[75] The promise of both Pompey and Crassus, aided by the presence of both of their armies outside of the gates of Rome, helped to 'persuade' the populares to elect the two to the Consulship. As soon as they were elected, they dismantled most of Sulla's constitution.
The First Triumvirate

In 62 BC, Pompey returned victorious from Asia, but the senate refused to ratify the arrangements that he had made with his soldiers.[76] Pompey, in effect, became powerless, and thus when Julius Caesar returned from his governorship in Spain in 61 BC, he found it easy to make an arrangement with Pompey. Caesar and Pompey, along with Crassus, established a private agreement, known as the First Triumvirate. Under the agreement, Pompey's arrangements in Asia were to be ratified, and his soldiers were to be given land. Caesar was to be elected Consul in 59 BC, and then serve as governor of Gaul for five years. Crassus was to be promised a future Consulship. Caesar became Consul in 59 BC, but his colleague, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, was an extreme aristocrat. Caesar submitted the laws that he had promised Pompey to the Roman Senate, but the senate rejected these laws, and so he then submitted them to the assemblies. Bibulus attempted to obstruct the enactment of these laws, and so Caesar used violent (and thus illegal) means to ensure their passage. Caesar was then given command of four legions, and promised the governorship of three provinces (Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul, and Illyricum). This appointment was to begin on March 1, 59 BC, while he was still Consul. Caesar did not wish to leave the senate in the hands of such unskillful politicians as Pompey and Crassus before he had crushed the spirit of the senate and deprived it of its two most dangerous leaders, Cato and Cicero.[77] Therefore, he sent Cato on a mission to Cyprus, which was likely
History to ruin his reputation, and then facilitated the election of the former Patrician Clodius to the Tribunate for 58 BC. Clodius, a dangerous demagogue, secured the passage of several laws for his coming attack on Cicero. One law banned the use of omens (auspices) as an obstructive device in the Plebeian Council, while the second law made certain "clubs" of a "semi-political nature" (i.e. armed gangs) lawful. Clodius then passed two laws which banished Cicero, on the grounds that he had deprived several of Catiline's conspirators of their due process (provocatio) rights when he had them executed upon a mere decree of the senate. Pompey and Crassus proved themselves to be as incompetent as Caesar had hoped. Clodius terrorized the city with his armed gangs, and agitated Pompey to such a degree that Pompey was able to secure the passage of a law in 57 BC which recalled Cicero from his exile. This was more of a triumph for the senate than it was for Pompey, however, since Pompey was allied with Caesar. Pompey was so inept that the senate decided to override him, and rescind the land laws that Caesar had passed in 59 BC for Pompey's veterans.[78] This forced a renewal of the triumvirate: Pompey and Crassus were promised the Consulship in 55 BC and Caesar's term as governor was extended for five years. Caesar's daughter, and Pompey's wife, Julia, soon died in childbirth, and a year later, Crassus was killed during his invasion of the Parthian Empire. These two events severed the last remaining bound between Pompey and Caesar. Beginning in the summer of 54 BC, a wave of political corruption and violence swept Rome. This chaos reached a climax in January 52 BC, when Clodius was murdered in a gang war. In addition, the civil unrest had caused the calendar to become neglected. The calendar required annual adjustments to prevent its drift relative to any Spring Equinox, and so to correct the misalignment of the calendar, an intercalary month was inserted at the end of February 52 BC, and Pompey was elected sole Consul for that month. This elevation to extraordinary power was the last straw for Caesar, and with Crassus dead, Pompey was looking for any excuse with which to crush Caesar, and establish himself as the master of the state. On January 1 of 49 BC, an agent of Caesar named Gaius Scribonius 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 adversus rem publicam (in effect, declaring him to be an enemy of the republic).[79] On January 7 of 49 BC), the senate passed a senatus consultum ultimum, which suspended civil government and declared something analogous to martial law. Pompey, in effect, 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. Caesar's rapid advance forced Pompey, the Consuls and the senate to abandon Rome for Greece, and Caesar entered the city unopposed.
19
The period of transition (4927 BC)

The era that began when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, and ended when Octavian returned to Rome after the Battle of Actium in 29 BC, can be divided into two distinct units. The dividing line between these two units is the assassination of Caesar in March 44 BC, although from a constitutional standpoint, there was no clear dividing line between these two periods.[80] The forces which had supported Pompey during the early part of the first period were allied against Mark Antony and Octavian in 43 BC and 42 BC, and the constitutional means through which Caesar had held power before his assassination were used by Antony and Octavian to hold power after Caesar's assassination. From a constitutional standpoint, it makes no difference whether an autocrat[81] holds the title of Roman Dictator, as Caesar had done, or of Triumvir, as Antony and Octavian had done. From a constitutional perspective, these twenty years formed a single unit, through which the constitutional evolution of the prior century accelerated at a rapid pace. By 27 BC, Rome had completed its transition from being a city-state with a network of dependencies, to being the capital of a world empire.
History
20
Julius Caesar's constitutional reforms

During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism, the central government had become powerless, the provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors, and the army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals. Between his crossing of the Rubicon river in 49 BC, and his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate Julius Caesar, accepting the surrender of goals.[82] First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the Vercingetorix, was the final Dictator of the provinces, and thus bring order back to the empire. Second, he wanted Roman Republic to create a strong central government in Rome. And finally, he wanted to knit together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit. Caesar held both the Dictatorship and the Plebeian Tribunate, but alternated between the Consulship and the Proconsulship.[83] His powers within the state seem to have rested upon these magistracies. The Dictatorship of Caesar was fundamentally different from the Dictatorship of the early and middle republic, as he held the office for life, rather than for six months, and he also held certain judicial powers which the ordinary Dictators had not held.[84] In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers,[85] which made his person sacrosanct,[86] allowed him to veto the Roman Senate, and allowed him to dominate the Plebeian Council. Since Tribunes were always elected by the Plebeian Council, Caesar had hoped to prevent the election of Tribunes who might oppose him. In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals" (praefectura morum), which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were identical to those of the Censors. Thus, he could hold Censorial powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks that the ordinary Censors were subject to, and he used these powers to fill the senate with his own partisans. He also set the precedent, which his imperial successors followed, of requiring the senate to bestow various titles and honors upon him.[87] Coins bore his likeness, and he was given the right to speak first during senate meetings.
History
21
Caesar then increased the number of magistrates who were elected each year, which created a large pool of experienced magistrates, and allowed Caesar to reward his supporters.[88] Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province, and to more tightly link the other provinces of the empire into a single, cohesive unit. This process, of ossifying the entire Roman Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of unequal principalities, would ultimately be completed by Caesar's successor, the emperor Augustus. When Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, he raised the senate's membership to 900. While the Roman assemblies continued to meet, Caesar submitted all candidates to the assemblies for election, and all bills to the assemblies for enactment, which caused the assemblies to become powerless 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. Near the end of his life, Caesar began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his absence 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. This, in effect, transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people to being representatives of the Dictator, and robbed the popular assemblies of much of their remaining influence.
Augustus as a magistrate; the statue's marble head was made c. 3020 BC, the body sculpted in the 2nd century AD
Caesar's assassination and the Second Triumvirate

Caesar was assassinated in March 44 BC. The motives of the conspirators were both personal, as well as political. Many of Caesar's ultimate assassins were jealous of him, and unsatisfied as to the recognition that they had received from him. 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. 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, 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. After Caesar's assassination, Mark Antony, who had been Caesar's Master of the Horse, formed an alliance with Caesar's adopted son and great-nephew, Gaius Octavian.[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 powers that Caesar had held under his constitution, 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 committed suicide in 30 BC. In 29 BC, Octavian returned to Rome, as the unchallenged master of the state. In 27 BC, Octavian offered to give up the Dictatorial powers which he had held since 42 BC, but the senate refused, and thus ratified his status as master of the state. He became the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, and the transition from Roman Republic to Roman Empire was complete.
History
22
Notes
[1] Holland, 2 [2] Holland, 1 [3] Polybius, 132 [4] Byrd, 20 [5] Abbott, 25 [6] Abbott, 26 [7] Abbott, 28 [8] Holland, 22 [9] Byrd, 31 [10] Holland, 5 [11] Abbott, 35 [12] Livy, 2002, p. 23 [13] Durant, 1942, p. 23 [14] Abbott, 36, 41 [15] Abbott, 37 [16] Abbott, 38 [17] Abbott, 27 [18] Cicero, 235 [19] Cicero, 236 [20] Byrd, 33 [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] Taylor, 3, 4 Abbott, 29 Abbott, 33 Abbott, 49 Holland, 26 Abbott, 51 Abbott, 41 Holland, 6 Abbott, 4243 Abbott, 42 Byrd, 110 Abbott, 44 Lintott, 113 Abbott, 45 Abbott, 46 Abbott, 47 Holland, 27 Abbott, 48 Abbott, 50 Abbott, 52 Abbott, 53 Abbott, 63 Abbott, 64 Abbott, 65 Abbott, 66 Polybius, 133 Lintott, 119 Abbott, 67 Abbott, 77 Abbott, 79 Abbott, 78 Lintott, 43 Lintott, 51 Abbott, 80
[55] Abbott, 88 [56] Abbott, 94 [57] Abbott, 96
History
[58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [90] [91] Abbott, 97 Polybius, 136 Abbott, 98 Holland, 64 Holland, 66 Holland, 70 Abbott, 103 Holland, 74 Holland, 86 Abbott, 104 Holland, 90 Holland, 71 Holland, 99 Holland, 100 Holland, 106 Holland, 88 Abbott, 108 Abbott, 109 Abbott, 112 Abbott, 113 Abbott, 114 Abbott, 115 Abbott, 129 Cicero, 237 Abbott, 133 Abbott, 134 Byrd, 24 Abbott, 135 Byrd, 23 Abbott, 136 Abbott, 137 Abbott, 138 Abbott, 267 Goldsworthy, In the Name of Rome, p. 237
23
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN0-543-92749-0. Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office 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 Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue. Durant, W. (1942). The Story of Civilization (http://books.google.com/books?id=T24gAAAAMAAJ). Simon and Schuster. Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. Random House Books. ISBN1-4000-7897-0. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-926108-3. Livy; De Slincourt, A.; Ogilvie, R. M.; Oakley, S. P. (2002). The early history of Rome: books I-V of The history of Rome from its foundations (http://books.google.com/books?id=ZHh7heON3sQC). Penguin Classics. ISBN0-14-044809-8. Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. Vol 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter.
History Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-08125-X.
24
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, (Duckworth, 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 Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
External links
Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two (http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show. php?title=546&chapter=83299&layout=html&Itemid=27) Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius (http://www.fordham. edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.html) Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu (http://mailer. fsu.edu/~njumonvi/montesquieu_romans.htm) The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero (http://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/ misc/romancon.html) What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/ 30harris.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)
Senate
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Senate
Ancient Rome



Titles and honours
Emperor
Senate
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Vigintisexviri
Precedent and law

e [1]
v t
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a Roman magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic appointment to the Senate. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government. Polybius noted that it was the consuls (the highest-ranking of the regular magistrates) who led the armies and the civil government in Rome, and it was the Roman assemblies which had the ultimate authority over elections, legislation, and criminal trials. However, since the Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy, it had the most control over day-to-day life. The power and authority of the Senate derived from precedent, the high caliber and prestige of the senators, and the Senate's unbroken lineage, which dated back to the founding of the Republic in 509 BC. Originally the chief-magistrates, the consuls, appointed all new senators. They also had the power to remove individuals from the Senate. Around the year 318 BC, the "Ovinian Plebiscite" (plebiscitum Ovinium) gave this power to another Roman magistrate, the censor, who retained this power until the end of the Roman Republic. This law also required the censors to appoint any newly elected magistrate to the Senate. Thus, after this point in time, election to magisterial office resulted in automatic Senate membership. The appointment was for life, although the censor could impeach any senator. The Senate directed the magistrates, especially the consuls, in their prosecution of military conflicts. The Senate 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 finances, as only it could authorize the disbursal of public monies from the treasury. In addition, the Senate passed decrees called senatus consultum, which was officially "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) could authorize the appointment of a dictator. The last ordinary dictator, however, was appointed in 202 BC. After 202 BC, the Senate responded to emergencies by passing the senatus consultum ultimum ("Ultimate Decree of the Senate"), which suspended civil government declared something analogous to martial law.
Senate
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Venue and ethical standards

The rules and procedures of the Roman Senate were both complex and ancient. Many of these rules and procedures originated in the early years of the Republic, and were upheld over the centuries under the principle of mos maiorum ("customs of the ancestors"). While Senate meetings could take place either inside or outside of the formal boundary of the city (the pomerium), no meeting could take place more than a mile outside of the pomerium.[1] Senate meetings might take place outside of the formal boundary of the city for several reasons. For example, the Senate might wish to meet with an individual, such as a foreign ambassador, whom they did not wish to allow inside the city.[2] At the beginning of the year, the first Senate meeting always took place at the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Other venues could include the Temple of Fides or the Temple of Concord,[3] or, if the meeting was outside of the formal boundary of the city, at the Temple of Apollo or (if a war meeting) at the Temple of Bellona. In addition, the Senate operated while under various religious restrictions. For example, before any meeting could begin, a sacrifice to the gods was made, and a search for divine omens (the auspices) was taken. The auspices were taken in order to determine whether that particular Senate meeting held favor with the gods. The Senate was only allowed to meet in a building of religious significance, such as the Curia Hostilia. The ethical requirements of senators were significant. Senators could not engage in banking or any form of public contract. They could not own a ship that was large enough to participate in foreign commerce, 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 independently wealthy.[4] The censors were the magistrates who enforced the ethical standards of the Senate. Whenever a censor punished a senator, they had to allege some specific failing. Possible reasons for punishing a member included corruption, abuse of capital punishment, or the disregard of a colleague's 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 easier to deny a citizen the right to join the Senate. Various 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 citizen to become a senator if they had been convicted of a criminal offense. Many of these laws were enacted in the last century of the Republic, as public corruption began reaching unprecedented levels.
Debates
Meetings usually began at dawn, although occasionally certain events (such as festivals) might delay the beginning of a meeting. A magistrate who wished to summon the Senate had to issue a compulsory order (a cogere), and senators could be punished if they failed to appear without reasonable cause. In 44 BC for example, consul Mark Antony threatened to demolish the house of the former consul Cicero for this very reason.[6] The Senate meetings were technically public because the doors were usually left open, which allowed people to look in, but only senators could speak. The Senate was directed by a presiding magistrate, who was usually either a consul (the highest-ranking magistrate) or, if the consul was unavailable, a Praetor (the second-highest ranking magistrate).[7] By the late Republic, another type of magistrate, a plebeian tribune, would sometimes preside. While in session, the Senate had the power to act on its own, and even against the will of the presiding magistrate if it wished. The presiding magistrate began each meeting with a speech (the verba fecit),[8] which was usually brief, but was sometimes a lengthy oration. The presiding magistrate would then begin a discussion by referring an issue to the senators, who would discuss the issue, one at a time, by order of seniority, with the first to speak, the most senior senator, known as the princeps senatus (leader of the Senate), who was then followed by ex-consuls (consulares), and then the praetors and ex-praetors (praetorii). This continued, until the most junior senators had spoken. Senators
Senate who had held magisterial office always spoke before those who had not, and if a patrician was of equal seniority as a plebeian, the patrician would always speak first.[9] A senator could make a brief statement, discuss the matter in detail, or talk about an unrelated topic. All senators had to speak before a vote could be held, and since all meetings had to end by nightfall,[10] a senator could talk a proposal to death (a filibuster or diem consumere) if they could keep the debate going until nightfall. It is known, for example, that the senator Cato the Younger once filibustered in an attempt to prevent the Senate from granting Julius Caesar a law that would have given land to the veterans of Gnaeus Pompey Magnus.
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Delaying and obstructive tactics

Senators had several ways in which they could influence (or frustrate) a presiding magistrate. When a presiding magistrate was proposing a motion, for example, the senators 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 numera), 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 divided into smaller motions. Acts such as applause, booing, 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. Once debates were underway, they were usually difficult 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.[11] In the later years of the Republic, attempts were made by the aristocracy to limit the increasing level of chaos associated with the obstructive tendencies and democratic impulses of some of the senators. Laws were enacted to prevent the inclusion of extraneous material in bills before the Senate. Other laws were enacted to outlaw the so-called omnibus bills,[12] which are bills, usually enacted by a single vote, that contain a large volume of often unrelated material.
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate: Laws were also enacted to strengthen the requirement that three days Cicero attacks Catilina, from a 19th-century pass between the proposal of a bill, and the vote on that bill. During his fresco term as dictator, Julius Caesar enacted laws that required the publication of Senate resolutions. This publication, called the acta diurna, or "daily proceedings", was meant to increase transparency and minimize the potential for abuse.[13] This publication was posted in the Roman Forum, and then sent by messengers throughout the provinces.
Votes and the Tribune's veto

When it was time to call a vote, the presiding magistrate could bring up whatever proposals (in whatever order) he wished, and every vote was between a proposal and its negative.[14] 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 representativeWikipedia:Please clarify of the people) did not agree with, he issued a veto, which was backed by the promise to literally "'interpose the sacrosanctity of his person'" (or intercessio) if the 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 himself, the motion could be passed. In general, the plebeian tribune had to physically be present at the Senate meeting, otherwise his physical threat of interposing his person had no meaning. Ultimately, the plebeian tribune's veto was based in a promise of physical
Senate force. 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 addition, 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 significant nature, there was usually a physical division of the house, where senators voted by taking a place on either side of the chamber. Any motion that had the support of the Senate but was vetoed was recorded in the annals as a senatus auctoritas, while any motion that was passed and not vetoed was recorded as a senatus consultum. After the vote, each senatus consultum and each senatus auctoritas was transcribed into a final document by the presiding magistrate. This document included the name of the presiding magistrate, the place of the assembly, the dates involved, the 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.[15] The document was then deposited in the temple that housed the Treasury (the aerarium). 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 conflicted 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.[16]
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Notes
[1] Byrd, 34 [2] Lintott, 73 [3] Lintott, 72 [4] Byrd, 36 [5] Lintott, 70 [6] Lintott, 75 [7] Byrd, 42 [8] Lintott, 78 [9] Abbott, 228 [10] Byrd, 44 [11] Lintott, 82 [12] Byrd, 112 [13] Byrd, 133 [14] Lintott, 83 [15] Lintott, 85 [16] Abbott, 233
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN0-543-92749-0. Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. US Government Printing Office Senate Document 10323. ISBN0-16-058996-7. 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 Dissertations 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. ISBN1-4000-7897-0.
Senate Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-926108-3. Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. Vol. 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-08125-X. Taylor, Lily Ross; Scott, Russell T (1969). "Seating Space in the Roman Senate and the Senatores Pedarii". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association (The Johns Hopkins University Press) 100: 529582. doi: 10.2307/2935928 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2935928). JSTOR 2935928 (http://www. jstor.org/stable/2935928).
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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, (Duckworth, 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 Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
External links
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Ancient Rome



Titles and honours
Emperor
32
Vigintisexviri
Precedent and law

e [1]
v t
The Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment of new statutes, the carrying out of capital punishment, the declaration of war and peace, and the creation (or dissolution) of alliances. Under the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the people (and thus the assemblies) held the ultimate source of sovereignty. Since the Romans used a form of direct democracy, citizens, and not elected representatives, voted before each assembly. As such, the citizen-electors had no power, other than the power 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 matters of procedure and legality. Ultimately, the presiding magistrate's power over the assembly was nearly absolute. 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, electoral, and judicial matters. The first was the Assembly (comitia), which was a gathering that was deemed to represent the entire Roman people, even if it did not contain all of the Roman citizens or, like the comitia curiata, excluded a particular class of Roman citizens (the plebs). The second was the Council (concilium), which was a gathering of citizens of a specific class. In contrast, the Convention was an unofficial forum for communication. Conventions were simply forums where Romans met for specific unofficial purposes, such as, for example, to hear a political speech. Voters always assembled first into Conventions to hear debates and conduct other business before voting, and then into Assemblies or Councils to actually vote.
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Assembly procedure
In addition to the presiding magistrate, several additional magistrates were often present to act as assistants.[1] There were also religious officials either in attendance or on-call, who would be available to help interpret any signs from the gods (omens). On several known occasions, presiding magistrates used the claim of unfavorable omens as an excuse to suspend a session that was not going the way they wanted.[2] Any decision made by a presiding magistrate could be vetoed by a magistrate known as a Plebeian Tribune.[citation needed] In addition, decisions made by presiding magistrates could also be vetoed by higher-ranking magistrates. On the day of the vote, the electors first assembled into their conventions for debate and campaigning.[3] In the Conventions, the electors were not sorted into their respective units (curia, centuries or tribes). Speeches from private citizens were only heard if the issue to be voted upon was a legislative or judicial matter.[4] If the purpose of the ultimate vote was for an election, no speeches from private citizens were heard, and instead, the candidates for office used the Convention to campaign.[5] During the Convention, the bill to be voted upon was read to the assembly by an officer known as a "Herald". Then, if the assembly was composed of Tribes, the order of the vote had to be determined. A Plebeian Tribune could use his veto against pending legislation until the point when the order of the vote was determined.[6]
Growth of the city region during the kingdom
The electors were then told to break up the Convention and assemble into the formal Assembly or Council. The electors voted by placing a pebble or written ballot into an appropriate jar.[7] The baskets that held the votes were watched by specific officers, who then counted the ballots, and reported the results to the presiding magistrate. The majority of votes in any Curia, Tribe, or Century decided how that Curia, Tribe, or Century voted. Each Curia, Tribe, or Century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Tribe or Century held. Once a majority of Curiae, Tribes, or Centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided.[8]
Assembly of the Curia

The Curiate Assembly (comitia curiata) was the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. The Curiate Assembly was organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council even though only patricians were members. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called Curiae.[9][10] The Curiae were ethnic in nature, and thus were organized on the basis of the early Roman family, or, more specifically, on the basis of the thirty original Patrician (aristocratic) clans.[11] The Curiae assembled into the Curiate Assembly, for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The Curiate Assembly passed laws, elected Consuls (the only elected magistrates at the time),[12] and tried judicial cases. Consuls always presided over the assembly.[13] Shortly after the founding of the republic, most of the powers of the Curiate Assembly were transferred to the Century Assembly and the Tribal Assembly. While it then fell into disuse, it did retain some theoretical powers, 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, however, they actually received this authority from the Century Assembly (which formally elected them), and as such, this functioned as nothing more than a reminder of Rome's regal heritage. Other acts that the Curiate Assembly voted on were mostly symbolic and usually in the affirmative.[10] At one point, possibly as early as 218 BC, the Curiate Assembly's thirty Curia were abolished, and replaced with thirty lictors, one from each of the original Patrician
Legislative Assemblies clans. Since the Curia had always been organized on the basis of the Roman family, the Curiate Assembly actually retained jurisdiction over clan matters even after the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC. Under the presidency of the Pontifex Maximus, it witnessed wills and ratified adoptions, inaugurated certain priests, and transferred citizens from Patrician class to Plebeian class (or vice versa). In 44 BC, for example, it ratified the will of Julius Caesar, and with it Caesar's adoption of his nephew Gaius Octavian (the future Roman emperor Augustus) as his son and heir. However, this might not have been the comitia curiata but instead the comitia calata.
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Assembly of the Centuries

The Century Assembly (comitia centuriata or "Army Assembly") of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of the Roman soldiers. The Century Assembly was organized as an Assembly, as every Roman citizen with the required wealth could vote, regardless of class.Wikipedia:Please clarify The Roman army was divided into units called "Centuries", and these gathered into the Century Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. Only this assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman Magistrates: Consuls, Praetors and Censors.[14] The Century Assembly could also pass a statute that granted constitutional command authority to Consuls and Praetors, and Censorial powers to Censors. In addition, the Century Assembly served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases, and ratified the results of the Census. While the voters in this assembly wore white undecorated togas and were unarmed, while taking part in the Assembly they were classified as soldiers, and as such they could not meet inside of the physical boundary of the city of Rome. The president of the Century Assembly was usually a Consul Roman Dictator Sulla, who attempted to increase (although sometimes a Praetor). Only Consuls (the highest-ranking of the power of the Century Assembly at the all Roman Magistrates) could preside over the Century Assembly expense of the Tribal Assembly during elections because the higher-ranking Consuls were always elected together with the lower-ranking Praetors. Once every five years, after the new Consuls for the year took office, they presided over the Century Assembly as it elected the two Censors. The Century Assembly was supposedly founded by the legendary Roman King Servius Tullius, less than a century before the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC. As such, the original design of the Century Assembly 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 classified on the basis of the amount of property that they owned, and as such, soldiers with more property had more influence than soldiers with less property. The 193 Centuries in the assembly under the Servian Organization were each divided into one of three different grades: the officer class, the enlisted class, and a class of unarmed adjuncts.[15] The officer class was grouped into eighteen Centuries. The enlisted class was grouped into five separate property classes, for a total of 170 Centuries.[16] The unarmed soldiers were divided into the final five Centuries.[17] During a vote, all of the Centuries of one class had to vote before the Centuries of the next lower class could vote.[18] When a measure received a majority of the vote, the voting ended, and as such, many lower ranking Centuries rarely if ever had a chance to actually vote.
35
Under the Servian Organization, the assembly was so aristocratic that the officer class and the first class of enlisted soldiers controlled enough Centuries for an outright majority. In 241 BC, this assembly was reorganized in order to give more weight to the lower ranking Centuries, and thus make the assembly less aristocratic.[19] Under the old system, there were a total of 193 Centuries, while under the new system, there were a total of 373 Centuries. Now, majorities usually could not be reached until the third class of enlisted Centuries had begun voting.
Chart Showing the Checks and Balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
The lowest ranking Century in the Century Assembly was the fifth Century (called the proletarii) of the unarmed 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 influence 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 fifth unarmed Century came to encompass almost the entire Roman army. 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. 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 Crassus repealed Sulla's constitutional reforms, including his restoration of the Servian Organization to this assembly. Thus, they restored the newer organization that had originated in 241 BC. The organization of the Century Assembly was not changed again until its powers were all transferred to the Roman Senate by the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, after the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC.[20]
Assembly of the Tribes

The Tribal Assembly (comitia tributa) of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman citizens. The Tribal Assembly was organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council. During the years of the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of thirty-five Tribes. The Tribes gathered into the Tribal Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The president of the Tribal Assembly was usually either a Consul (the highest ranking Roman Magistrate) or a Praetor (the second-highest ranking Roman Magistrate). The Tribal Assembly elected three different magistrates: Quaestors, Curule Aediles, and Military Tribunes.[21] The Tribal Assembly also had the power to try judicial cases.[22] The thirty-five Tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather a generic division into which Roman citizens were distributed. When the Tribes were created the divisions were geographical, similar to modern Parliamentary constituencies. However, since one joined the same Tribe that his father belonged to, the geographical distinctions were eventually lost.[23] 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 used to determine which Tribe should vote next.[24] The first Tribe selected was usually the most important Tribe, because it often decided the matter. It was believed that the order of the lot was chosen by the Gods, and thus, that the position held by the early voting Tribes was the position of the Gods.[25] Once a majority of Tribes had voted the same way, voting ended.
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Plebeian Council
The Plebeian Council (concilium plebis) was the principal popular gathering of the Roman Republic. As the name suggests, the Plebeian Council was organized as a Council, and not as an Assembly. It functioned as a gathering through which the Plebeians (commoners) could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. This council had no political power until the offices of Plebeian Tribune and Plebeian Aedile were created in 494 BC, due to the Plebeian Secession that year. According to legend, the Roman King Servius Tullius enacted a series of constitutional reforms in the 6th century BC. One of these reforms resulted in the creation of a new organizational unit with which to divide citizens. This unit, the Tribe, was based on geography rather than family, and was created to assist in future reorganizations of the army. In 471 BC,[26] a law was passed which allowed the Plebeians to begin organizing by Tribe. Before this point, they had organized on the basis of the Curia. The only difference between the Plebeian Council after 471 BC and the ordinary Tribal Assembly (which also organized on the basis of the Tribes) was that the Tribes of the Plebeian Council only included Plebeians, whereas the Tribes of the Tribal Assembly included both Plebeians and Patricians. The Plebeian Council elected two 'Plebeian Magistrates', the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles. Usually the Plebeian Tribune presided over the assembly, although the Plebeian Aedile sometimes did as well. Originally, statutes passed by the Plebeian Council ("Plebiscites") only applied to Plebeians.[27] However in 449 BC, a statute of an Assembly was passed which gave Plebiscites the full force of law over all Romans (Plebeians and Patricians).[28] It was not until 287 BC, however, that the last mechanism which allowed the Roman Senate to veto acts of the Plebeian Council was revoked. After this point, almost all domestic legislation came out of the Plebeian Council.
Notes
[1] Taylor, 63 [2] Taylor, 96 [3] Taylor, 2 [4] Lintott, 45 [5] Taylor, 16 [6] Lintott, 46 [7] Lintott, 4647 [8] Taylor, 40 [9] Byrd, 33 [10] Taylor, 34 [11] Abbott, 250 [12] Abbott, 253 [13] Holland, 5 [14] Abbott, 257 [15] Taylor, 85 [16] Taylor, 87 [17] Abbott, 21 [18] Taylor, 86 [19] Abbott, 75 [20] Abbott, 107 [21] Taylor, 7 [22] Abbott, 261 [23] Lintott, 51 [24] Taylor, 77 [25] Taylor, 76 [26] Abbott, 196 [27] Byrd, 31 [28] Abbott, 51
37
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN0-543-92749-0. Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. US Government Printing Office 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 Dissertations 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. ISBN1-4000-7897-0. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-926108-3. Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. Vol. 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-08125-X.
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, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992). Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871-1888 Polybius. The Histories Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886. Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
External links
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Ancient Rome



Titles and honours
Emperor
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Vigintisexviri
Precedent and law

e [1]
v t
The executive magistrates of the Roman Republic were officials of the ancient Roman Republic (c. 510 BC 44 BC), elected by the People of Rome. Ordinary 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 finally quaestor. Any magistrate could obstruct (veto) an action that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of magisterial powers. By definition, 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 dictator's power over the Roman government was absolute, as they were not checked by any institution or magistrate.
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 potestas.[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 action 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 principle of alteration, assigned responsibilities by lot or seniority, or gave certain magistrates control over certain functions.[3] If this obstruction occurred against a magistrate of a lower rank, then it was called intercessio, where the magistrate literally interposed his higher rank to obstruct the lower ranking magistrate. By definition, 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.
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Powers
Only the 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 magistrates) and by praetors (the second highest ranking ordinary magistrate). Defined narrowly, imperium simply gave a magistrate the authority to command a military force. Defined more broadly, however, imperium gave a magistrate the constitutional authority to issue commands (military, diplomatic, civil, or otherwise). A magistrate's imperium was at its apex while the magistrate was abroad. While the magistrate was in the city of Rome itself, however, he had to completely surrender his imperium, so that liberty (libertas) was maximized.[6] Magistrates with imperium sat in a curule chair, and were attended by lictors (bodyguards) who carried axes called fasces which symbolized 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 order.[9] A magistrate had many ways with which to enforce this power. Examples include flogging, imprisonment, fines, mandating pledges and oaths, enslavement, banishment, and sometimes even the destruction of a person's house.[10] While in Rome, all citizens had an absolute protection against Coercion. This protection was called "Provocatio" (see below), which allowed any citizen to appeal any punishment. However, the power of Coercion outside the city of Rome was absolute. Magistrates The curule chair was a symbol of the power of also had both the power and the duty to look for omens from the Gods high ranking magistrates (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 a colleague. While the magistrates had access to oracular documents, the Sibylline books, they rarely consulted with these books, and even then, only after seeing an omen.[11] All senior magistrates (consuls, praetors, censors, and plebeian tribunes) were required to actively look for omens (auspicia impetrativa); simply having omens thrust upon them (auspicia oblativa) was generally not adequate. Omens could be discovered while observing the heavens, while studying the flight of birds, or while studying the entrails of sacrificed animals. When a magistrate believed that he had witnessed such an omen, he usually had an a priest (augur) interpret the omen. A magistrate was required to look for omens while presiding over a legislative or senate meeting, and while preparing for a war. One check over a magistrate's power was collegiality (collega), which required that each magisterial office be held concurrently by at least two people. For example, two consuls always served together.[12] The check on the magistrate's 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 retain his powers outside of the city of Rome, the power of Coercion here was absolute. An additional check over a magistrate's power was that of Provincia, which required a division of responsibilities.[14] Once a magistrate's annual term in office expired, he had to wait ten years before serving in that office again. Since this did create problems for some magistrates (in particular, consuls and praetors), these magistrates occasionally had their imperium "prorogued" (prorogare), which allowed them to retain the powers of the office as a Promagistrate. The result was that private citizens ended up with consular and praetorian imperium, without actually holding either office. Often, they used this power to act as provincial governors.[15]
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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 Century Assembly. After they were elected, they were granted imperium powers by the assembly. If a consul died before his term ended, another consul (the consul suffectus), was elected to complete the original consular term.[7] Throughout the year, one consul was superior in rank to the other consul. This ranking flipped every month, between the two consuls.[16] Once a consul's 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 Roman government. While components of public administration were delegated to other magistrates, the management of the government was under the ultimate authority of the consul. The consuls presided over the Roman Senate and the Roman assemblies, and had the ultimate responsibility to enforce policies and laws enacted by both institutions.[18] The consul was the chief diplomat, carried out business with foreign nations, and facilitated interactions between foreign ambassadors and the senate. Upon an order by the senate, the consul was responsible for raising and commanding an army.[18] While the consuls had supreme military authority, they had to be provided with financial 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 Roman 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 soldiers, the Century 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. Other praetors had foreign affairs-related responsibilities, and often acted as governors of the provinces.[21] Since praetors held imperium powers, they could command an army.[22] Every five years, two censors were elected for an eighteen month term. Since the censorship was the most prestigious of all offices, usually only former consuls were elected to it.[23] censors were elected by the assembly of Roman Soldiers, the Century Assembly, usually after the new consuls and praetors for the year began their term. After the censors had been elected, the Century Assembly granted the new censors censorial power.[24] censors did not have imperium powers, Chart Showing the Checks and Balances in the Constitution of the Roman Republic 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 ranking, however, was solely a result of their prestige, rather than any real power they had. Since the office could be easily abused (as a result of its power over every ordinary citizen), only former consuls (usually patrician consuls) were elected to the office. This is what gave the office its prestige. Their actions could not be vetoed by any magistrate other than a plebeian tribune, or a fellow censor. No other ordinary magistrate could veto a censor because no ordinary magistrate technically outranked a censor. tribunes, by virtue of their sacrosanctity as the representatives of the people, could veto anything or anyone. censors usually did
Executive Magistrates 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 fine a citizen, or to sell his property, which was often a punishment for either evading the census or having filed 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 reassign a citizen to a different tribe (a civil unit of division), or place a punitive mark (nota) besides a man's 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 purification ceremony (the lustrum) was performed by a censor, which typically involved prayers for the upcoming five years. This was a religious ceremony that acted as the certification of the census, and was performed before the Century Assembly.[27] censors had several other duties as well, including the management of public contracts and the payment of individuals doing contract work for the state. Any act by the censor that resulted in an expenditure of public money required the approval of the senate.[18] Aediles were officers elected to conduct domestic affairs in Rome, and often assisted the higher magistrates.[28] The office 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 presidency of a higher magistrate (either a consul or praetor), 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 tribune, elected the two plebeian aediles. aediles had wide ranging powers over day-to-day affairs 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. They also had the power to repair and preserve 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 office of quaestor was considered to be the lowest ranking of all major political offices. quaestors were elected by the Tribal Assembly, and the assignment of their responsibilities were settled by lot. Magistrates often chose which quaestor accompanied them abroad,[31] and these quaestors often functioned as personal secretaries[28] responsible for the allocation of money, including army pay. Urban quaestors had several important responsibilities, such as the management of the public treasury, (the aerarium 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.
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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 (plebeians and the aristocratic patrician class), they were technically not magistrates. While the term "plebeian magistrate" (magistratus plebeii) has been used as an approximation, it is technically a contradiction.[33] The plebeian aedile functioned as the tribune's assistant, and often performed similar duties as did the curule aediles (discussed above). In time, however, the differences between the plebeian aediles and the curule aediles disappeared.
43
Since the tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the plebeians, they were sacrosanct.[34] Their sacrosanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the plebeians, to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a tribune during his term of office. All of the powers of the tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One obvious consequence of this sacrosanctity was the fact that it was considered a capital offense to harm a tribune, to disregard his veto, or to interfere with a tribune. The sacrosanctity of a tribune (and thus all of his legal powers) were only in effect so long as that tribune was within the city of Rome. If the tribune was abroad, the plebeians in Rome could not enforce Cornelia, mother of the future Gracchi tribunes, their oath to kill any individual who harmed or interfered with the pointing to her children as her treasures tribune. Since tribunes were technically not magistrates, they had no magisterial 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 tribune was tantamount to a violation of his sacrosanctity, and thus was considered a capital offense. 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 sacrosanctity as protection when physically manhandling an individual, 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 obstruction, which could involve a broad veto over all governmental functions.[36] While a tribune could veto any act of the senate, the assemblies, or the magistrates, he could only veto the act, and not the actual measure. Therefore, he had to physically be present when the act was occurring. 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 threatening to take action against a citizen, that citizen could yell "provoco ad populum", which would appeal the magistrate's 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]
44
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 dictator's 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 Halicarnassus, mention its use for the purposes of maintaining order during times of plebeian unrest. For a dictator to be appointed, the Roman Senate had to pass a decree Julius Caesar, accepting the surrender of (a senatus consultum), authorizing a Roman consul to nominate a Vercingetorix. Caesar was the final dictator of the dictator, who then took office immediately. Often the dictator resigned Roman Republic. his office as soon as the matter that caused his appointment was resolved.[40] Ordinary magistrates (such as consuls and praetors) retained their offices, but lost their independence and became agents of the dictator. If they disobeyed the dictator, they could be forced out of office. While a dictator could ignore the right of Provocatio, that right, as well as the plebeian tribune's independence, theoretically still existed during a dictator's term.[42] A dictator's 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 government. 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 dictator (as the Roman King before him) was accompanied by twentyfour 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 constitutional command authority (imperium) equivalent to a praetor, and often, when they authorized the appointment of a dictator, the senate specified who was to be the Master of the Horse. In many respects, he functioned more as a parallel magistrate (like an inferior co-consul) than he did as a direct subordinate.[44] Whenever a dictator's term ended, the term of his Master of the Horse ended as well.[43] Often, the dictator functioned principally as the master of the infantry (and thus the legions), while the Master of the Horse (as the name implies) functioned as the master of the cavalry.[43] The dictator, while not elected by the people, was technically a magistrate since he was nominated by an elected consul. The Master of the Horse was also technically a magistrate, since he was nominated by the dictator.[1] Thus, both of these magistrates were referred to as "Extraordinary Magistrates". The last ordinary dictator was appointed in 202 BC. After 202 BC, extreme emergencies were addressed through the passage of the senatus consultum ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate") which suspended civil government, and declared something analogous to martial law.[45] It declared "videant consules ne res publica detrimenti capiat" ("let the consuls see to it that the state suffer no harm") which, in effect, vested the consuls with dictatorial powers. There were several reasons for this change. Up until 202 BC, dictators were often appointed to fight plebeian unrest. In 217 BC, a law was passed that gave the popular assemblies the right to nominate dictators. This, in effect, eliminated the monopoly that the aristocracy had over this power. In addition, a series of laws were passed, which placed additional checks on the power of the dictator.
45
Notes
[1] Abbott, 151 [2] Abbott, p. 154 [3] Abbott, p. 155 [4] Abbott, p. 196 [5] Lintott, p. 95 [6] Byrd, p. 20 [7] Byrd, p. 21 [8] Lintott, p. 96 [9] Lintott, p. 97 [10] Lintott, p. 99 [11] Lintott, pp. 102-104 [12] Lintott, p. 101 [13] Lintott, p. 94 [14] Lintott, pp. 101-102 [15] Lintott, p. 113 [16] Lintott, p. 100 [17] Byrd, p. 110 [18] Byrd, p. 179 [19] Lintott, p. 21 [20] Byrd, p. 32 [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] Lintott, pp. 107-109 Lintott, p. 109 Lintott, p. 116 Lintott, p. 120 Byrd, p. 26 Lintott, pp. 118-120 Lintott, p. 119 Byrd, p. 31 Lintott, p. 130 Lintott, pp. 129-131 Lintott, p. 136 Lintott, p. 133 Abbott, p. 152 Byrd, p. 23 Lintott, p. 123 Lintott, p. 125 Abbott, p. 198 Cicero, p. 235 Cicero, p. 236 Byrd, p. 24 Lintott, p. 110 Lintott, p. 111 Byrd, p. 42 Lintott, p. 112 Abbott, p. 240
46
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. ISBN0-543-92749-0. Unknown parameter |ISBN status= ignored (help) Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office, Senate Document 103-23. ISBN0-16-058996-7. Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes 1. translated by Francis Barham. Esq. London: Edmund Spettigue. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-926108-3. OCLC 179708792 185526844 57582782 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/179708792+185526844+ 57582782). Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-08125-X. OCLC 23708165 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/ 23708165).
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, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992). Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 18711888 Polybius (c. 150). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek 2. translated by Mr. Hampton (1823) (5 ed.). Oxford: W. Baxter. Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886. Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
External links
Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two (http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show. php?title=546&chapter=83299&layout=html&Itemid=27) The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero (http://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/ misc/romancon.html) What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/ 30harris.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius (http://www.fordham. edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.html) Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu (http://mailer. fsu.edu/~njumonvi/montesquieu_romans.htm)
Article Sources and Contributors
47
Article Sources and Contributors

Constitution of the Roman Republic Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=589686268 Contributors: AGK, Akhilleus, Andrea105, Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The, Antonio Lopez, Bfg, Bibliomaniac15, Billinghurst, Binksternet, Bitbut, CapitalR, Chealer, Chris the speller, Colibri37, CommonsDelinker, Contarini, CroydThoth, Dadofsam, Danthemankhan, Darklilac, Der Golem, Dojarca, Doug Coldwell, EliasAlucard, Erechtheus, Esrever, Flamarande, Geeklizzard, Goingstuckey, Grblomerth, Gro-Tsen, Ground Zero, Hairy poker monster, Headbomb, Hemlock Martinis, Hmains, Iron Ghost, Itheodore, J04n, JLaTondre, Jason Potter, Jason Quinn, Jjwyatt, Jonkerz, JosCol, Justpassin, Katalaveno, Katharineamy, Khazar2, Klemen Kocjancic, Kuralyov, Lacrimosus, LancasterII, Laurel Lodged, Lightmouse, Manticore, Master168, Masterwiki, Meyestone, Michael Devore, Michael Hardy, MinisterForBadTimes, Mr. Comodor, NellieBly, Nergaal, Neutrality, Oknazevad, Omnipaedista, Otolemur crassicaudatus, Outback the koala, Philwelch, Piotrus, Polmandc, Reywas92, Rilgaal, Rjwilmsi, RomanHistorian, Rougher07, SamThe1, Sardanaphalus, ShelfSkewed, SimonD, Sm8900, Snigbrook, Snowmanradio, Solicitr, Spqr1945, Ssolbergj, Stinkyindian, Storm Rider, Str1977, Tabletop, Tennekis, The Thing That Should Not Be, Theflyingman, Til Eulenspiegel, Tomaxer, Trusilver, Urg writer, Utcursch, VAcharon, Viriditas, Warpflyght, Wavelength, Wikidea, Will Beback, Willking1979, Wilybadger, Zzuuzz, 119 anonymous edits History Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=589375258 Contributors: A.Cython, Akhilleus, Bachrach44, Bfg, Cynwolfe, Darklilac, Dewritech, Doug Coldwell, Edward, Ekki01, Headbomb, Hmains, I said wat wat, J04n, JamesAM, Jonkerz, Joshua Scott, Khazar2, Klemen Kocjancic, Laurel Lodged, Lottamiata, Nergaal, OhioGuy814, PWilkinson, Pajfarmor, PrestonH, Prezbo, Rjwilmsi, RomanHistorian, Rursus, Stifle, SuperJew, Ukabia, Urg writer, Will Beback, Woodshed, Woohookitty, Yintan, 5 anonymous edits Senate 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File:Roman SPQR banner.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roman_SPQR_banner.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Ssolbergj File:SPQRomani.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SPQRomani.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Piotr Micha Jaworski (PioM ENDEPL) File:Maccari-Cicero.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maccari-Cicero.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Amahoney, Bibi Saint-Pol, Bjankuloski06en, Bogomolov.PL, Bukk, Camster, CommonsDelinker, Cristiano64, DaniusArcenus, DieBuche, Donarreiskoffer, Ecummenic, FSII, Gryffindor, Henrykus, Jonathan Gro, Jtneill, Mattes, Mechamind90, NuclearWarfare, Steerpike, ZH2010, 2 anonymous edits File:Roman constitution.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roman_constitution.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: Anihl Image:Gaius Gracchus Tribune of the People.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gaius_Gracchus_Tribune_of_the_People.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Silvestre David Mirys Image:Gracchi and Cornelia.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gracchi_and_Cornelia.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Angelica Kauffman; circa 1785; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 75.22 File:Platner - Ancient Rome city growth.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Platner_-_Ancient_Rome_city_growth.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Filipvr at en.wikipedia File:Gaius Gracchus Tribune of the People.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gaius_Gracchus_Tribune_of_the_People.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Silvestre David Mirys File:Siege-alesia-vercingetorix-jules-cesar.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Siege-alesia-vercingetorix-jules-cesar.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Annielogue, Benchaum, Coldeel, DutchHoratius, Filos96, Gump Stump, Horatius, Kelson, Ketamino, Kilom691, Mattes, Morgan Riley, Picture Master, SniperMask, Svencb, Thib Phil, Trelio, 18 anonymous edits File:Caesar augustus.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Caesar_augustus.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Bibi Saint-Pol, EDUCA33E, G.dallorto, Jastrow, Miniwark, Saperaud, Shakko, Shonagon Image:Platner - Ancient Rome city growth.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Platner_-_Ancient_Rome_city_growth.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Filipvr at en.wikipedia Image:Sulla Glyptothek Munich 309.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sulla_Glyptothek_Munich_309.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Bibi Saint-Pol Image:Roman constitution.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roman_constitution.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: Anihl File:Curule chair, sella curulis, Museo Borbonico, vol. vi. tav. 28.gif Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Curule_chair,_sella_curulis,_Museo_Borbonico,_vol._vi._tav._28.gif License: Public Domain Contributors: William Smith File:Gracchi and Cornelia.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gracchi_and_Cornelia.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Angelica Kauffman; circa 1785; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 75.22
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