Date post: | 04-Jun-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | cloudriders |
View: | 221 times |
Download: | 0 times |
of 51
8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
1/51
PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information.
PDF generated at: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:57:30 UTC
Constitution of the RomanRepublic
8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
2/51
Contents
Articles
Constitution of the Roman Republic 1
History 10
Senate 25
Legislative Assemblies 31
Executive Magistrates 38
References
Article Sources and Contributors 47
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 48
Article Licenses
License 49
8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
3/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 1
Constitution of the Roman Republic
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
Western Empire
Dominate
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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decemvirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Triumviratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=King_of_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribuni_militum_consulari_potestatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Master_of_the_Horsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_governorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promagistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_magistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_assemblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Roman_Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Late_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byzantine_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Principatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=476http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=27_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=27_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=509_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=509_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=753_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roman_SPQR_banner.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Rome8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
4/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 2
Legatus Magister militum
Dux Imperator
Officium Princeps senatus
Praefectus Pontifex Maximus
Vicarius Augustus
Vigintisexviri Caesar
Lictor Tetrarch
Precedent and law
Roman law
Imperium
Mos maiorum
Collegiality
Auctoritas
Roman citizenship
Cursus honorum
Senatus consultum
Senatus consultum ultimum
Other countries Atlas
Ancient Rome portal
v t e[1]
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 wasnot 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_secessio_plebis_in_494_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monte_Sacrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_secessio_plebis_in_494_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monte_Sacrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monte_Sacrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_secessio_plebis_in_494_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Autocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Subversion_%28politics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Impeachmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legislationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legislative_Assemblies_of_the_Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legislative_Assemblies_of_the_Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spartahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aristocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uncodified_constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Precedenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Rome&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Politics_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portal:Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SPQRomani.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outline_of_political_science%23Politics_by_regionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultum_ultimumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cursus_honorumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_citizenshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auctoritashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Collegialityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mos_maiorumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Political_institutions_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tetrarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lictorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caesar_%28title%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vigintisexvirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Augustus_%28honorific%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vicariushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pontifex_Maximushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prefecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princeps_senatushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Officium_%28Ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magister_militumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legatus8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
5/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 3
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, twonew 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 thesenate. 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
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate:
Cicero accuses Catiline. From a 19th-century
fresco
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
consul demanded it. In addition, the senate would try individuals
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]
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cicerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catilinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AMaccari-Cicero.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catilinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cicerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janiculumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twelve_Tableshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribune8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
6/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 4
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 couldbe 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 theCommittee,[38]
which was an assembly of all Roman citizens.[39]
Here, Roman citizens gathered to
enact laws, electmagistrates, 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.
Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the
Roman Republic
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 rathergeographical 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
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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Declaration_of_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribal_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Century_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Filibusterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auspicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_templehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pomerium8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
7/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 5
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 withfinancial 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.
Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding
over the Plebeian Council
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
were addressed through the passage of the decree senatus consultum
ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate"). This suspended civil
government, declared martial law,[60]
and vested the consuls with dictatorial powers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martial_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultum_ultimumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultum_ultimumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Master_of_the_Horse%23Magister_Equitum_%28Ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AGaius_Gracchus_Tribune_of_the_People.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gaius_Gracchushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribuneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanuphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Censushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promagistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Executive_Magistrates_of_the_Roman_Republic%23Annual_Termshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribuneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribuneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebiscitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribune8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
8/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 6
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]
Cornelia, mother of the future Gracchi tribunes,
pointing to her children as her treasures
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.
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. Whilehe 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rubiconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gaulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_Triumviratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Caesarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pompeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marcus_Licinius_Crassushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pompeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitutional_Reforms_of_Lucius_Cornelius_Sullahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Cornelius_Sullahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gracchihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marcus_Octaviushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gracchihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AGracchi_and_Cornelia.jpg8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
9/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 7
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][2] Byrd, 161
[3][3] Holland, 24
[4][4] Polybius
[5][5] Holland, 25
[6][6] Lintott, 40
[7][7] Abbott, 46
[8][8] Lintott, 65
[9][9] Byrd, 179
[10][10] Abbott, 44
[11][11] Abbott, 96
[12][12] Abbott, 133
[13][13] Holland, 1
[14][14] Holland, 2
[15][15] Abbott, 28
[16][16] Holland, 22
[17][17] Holland, 5
[18][18] Abbott, 37
[19][19] Abbott, 42
[20][20] Abbott, 45
[21][21] Abbott, 47
[22][22] Holland, 27[23][23] Abbott, 48
[24][24] Abbott, 52
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Rome&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Augustushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Actiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Philippihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Philippihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Triumvirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Triumviratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Triumviratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marcus_Aemilius_Lepidus_%28triumvir%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Augustushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Antonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parthian_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Proconsulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Caesar8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
10/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 8
[25][25] Abbott, 51
[26][26] Abbott, 53
[27][27] Abbott, 63
[28][28] Abbott, 66
[29][29] Cicero, 239
[30][30] Polybius, 133
[31][31] Byrd, 44
[32][32] Polybius, 136
[33][33] Polybius, 132
[34][34] Lintott, 78
[35][35] Byrd, 34
[36][36] Lintott, 83
[37][37] Holland, 26
[38][38] Lintott, 42
[39][39] Abbott, 251
[40][40] Lintott, 43
[41][41] Taylor, 2
[42][42] Taylor, 40
[43][43] Taylor, 85
[44][44] Cicero, 226[45][45] Abbott, 257
[46][46] Taylor, 3, 4
[47][47] Lintott, 51
[48][48] Taylor, 7
[49][49] Abbott, 151
[50][50] Abbott, 196
[51][51] Lintott, 113
[52][52] Byrd, 20
[53][53] Cicero, 236
[54][54] Byrd, 32
[55][55] Lintott, 119
[56][56] Byrd, 31
[57][57] Byrd, 24
[58][58] Cicero, 237
[59][59] Byrd, 42
[60][60] Abbott, 240
[61][61] Abbott, 77
[62][62] Abbott, 80
[63][63] Holland, 64
[64][64] Holland, 69
[65][65] Holland, 90
[66][66] Holland, 99
[67][67] Holland, 106
[68][68] Abbott, 109
[69][69] Abbott, 112[70][70] Abbott, 114
[71][71] Abbott, 115
[72][72] Abbott, 134
[73][73] Abbott, 135
[74][74] Abbott, 137
[75][75] Abbott, 138
[76] Goldsworthy,In the Name of Rome, p. 237
[77][77] Abbott, 129
8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
11/51
Constitution of the Roman Republic 9
References
Abbott, Frank Frost (1901).A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics.
ISBN 0-543-92749-0.
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.
ISBN 1-4000-7897-0.
Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926108-3.
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. ISBN 0-472-08125-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)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/30harris.html?_r=1&oref=sloginhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/30harris.html?_r=1&oref=sloginhttp://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/misc/romancon.htmlhttp://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/misc/romancon.htmlhttp://mailer.fsu.edu/~njumonvi/montesquieu_romans.htmhttp://mailer.fsu.edu/~njumonvi/montesquieu_romans.htmhttp://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.htmlhttp://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.htmlhttp://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=546&chapter=83299&layout=html&Itemid=27http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=546&chapter=83299&layout=html&Itemid=27http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:BookSources/0-472-08125-Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:BookSources/0-19-926108-3http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:BookSources/1-4000-7897-0http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:BookSources/0-543-92749-0http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Standard_Book_Number8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
12/51
History 10
History
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
Western Empire
Dominate
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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decemvirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Triumviratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=King_of_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribuni_militum_consulari_potestatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Master_of_the_Horsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_governorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promagistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_magistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_assemblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Roman_Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Late_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constitution_of_the_Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byzantine_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Principatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=476http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=27_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=27_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=509_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=509_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=753_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roman_SPQR_banner.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Rome8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
13/51
History 11
Legatus Magister militum
Dux Imperator
Officium Princeps senatus
Praefectus Pontifex Maximus
Vicarius Augustus
Vigintisexviri Caesar
Lictor Tetrarch
Precedent and law
Roman law
Imperium
Mos maiorum
Collegiality
Auctoritas
Roman citizenship
Cursus honorum
Senatus consultum
Senatus consultum ultimum
Other countries Atlas
Ancient Rome portal
v t e[1]
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 wasremoved. 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sextus_Tarquiniushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucretiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Tarquinius_Collatinushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Junius_Brutushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overthrow_of_the_Roman_monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Tarquinius_Collatinushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucretiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sextus_Tarquiniushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rubiconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Caesarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Caesarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aristocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Rome&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Politics_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portal:Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SPQRomani.svghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outline_of_political_science%23Politics_by_regionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultum_ultimumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senatus_consultumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cursus_honorumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_citizenshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auctoritashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Collegialityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mos_maiorumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Political_institutions_of_ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tetrarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lictorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caesar_%28title%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vigintisexvirihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Augustus_%28honorific%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vicariushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pontifex_Maximushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prefecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princeps_senatushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Officium_%28Ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magister_militumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legatus8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
14/51
History 12
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.
The executive magistrates
Growth of the city region during the kingdom
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
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 theyear 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, submittedthem 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 thesenate 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vetohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Licinia_Sextiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twelve_Tableshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribuneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consular_Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Century_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vetohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Licinia_Sextiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Licinia_Sextiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vetohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Century_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consular_Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribuneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twelve_Tableshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Labor_strikehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aventine_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Secessiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interrexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_assemblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Latin_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consulshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patreshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3APlatner_-_Ancient_Rome_city_growth.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Junius_Brutus8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
15/51
History 13
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]
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 ValeriusPublicola 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 Patri cians in Rome. Thus, most ofthe
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 legresValeriaeHoratiae), 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 theSamnites 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curule_Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curule_Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keltshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samniteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Sentinumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keltshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samniteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Hortensiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vetohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Hortensiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Valeriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribal_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_magistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cicerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaestorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curiate_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habeas_corpushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Valeriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Publius_Valerius_Publicolahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Publius_Valerius_Publicolahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_assemblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Century_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aedilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetor8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
16/51
History 14
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 holdoffice 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.
The Ovinian law and the new aristocracy
Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic.
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
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-standingnobility, 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_ordershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lustrumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Roman_lawshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_constitution.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Tribunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praetorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Proconsulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prorogatiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promagistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pyrrhic_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_magistrate8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
17/51
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 ofwar that Romewas in. These wars provided employment, income, and glory for the averagePlebeian, and the sense of patriotism that resulted fromthese 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 anauctoritas 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 hadbeen 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 beingnothing 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oligarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oligarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oligarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_clarifyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oligarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_soldierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Roman_generalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lex_Hortensiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quintus_Hortensiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quintus_Hortensiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janiculumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Century_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribal_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrician_%28ancient_Rome%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conflict_of_the_Orders8/13/2019 Constitution of the Roman Republic
18/51
History 16
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]
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate
Since most senators were former magistrates, the senate became boundtogether 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
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 appointedto 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]
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 leavetheir 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,whichopened 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 Romanshad 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 fullof unemployed Plebeians. They then began filling the ranks of the
assemblies, and thefact that theywere 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Urban_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Populismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Votehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Urban_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Populismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Populismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Populismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Urban_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plebeian_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Votehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unemploymenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decadencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hellenistic_civilizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macedonian_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outsourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carthagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aristocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_assemblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Landed_nobilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guerrilla_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Attrition_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fabian_Strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hannibalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Punic_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_censorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Roman_lawshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Consulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magistratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti