Constitution of the Middle Republic
Origins of Republic
- Traditional date for foundation of city ca. 753 BC
- Foundation in reality a gradual process over centuries
- Kingdom replaced by Republican form of government ca. 509 BC
- Republic not democratic
- Rule of elected wealthy landowners
Three Elements of the Constitution
- Magistrates
- Senate
- Assemblies
Magistrates
- Elected by assemblies
- Senior magistates have imperium
- imperium is old power of kings
- Used to command armies
- Its use restricted within Rome
- Colleges
- Negative prevails over positive
- Prevents tyranny through rivalry
- Annual tenure
- No pay
- Only wealthy landowners hold office
Consuls
- Chief magistrates at start of Rep.
- Only two
- "Eponymous" (year named after them)
- "In the consulship of X and Y"
- Command Roman armies
Dictators
- Regular office
- Bad associations of word in English come from tyrannical use of the office's in Late Republc
- Not proper magistrate
- Used to prevent split command among quarreling consuls during military emergency
- Appointed by a consul
- One consul sometimes appointed his colleague
- Stood above regular magistrates, who continued in office
- Held only six-month tenure
- Office later used to provide stand-in for absent consuls
- for holding elections
- for performing religious duties
- Office fell into abeyance after 200
- Not needed once there were large numbers of magistrates
- Office felt to be out of sync with oligarchic form of government
Censors
- Peculiar office
- Violates normal rules for magistrates
- Two
- Hold census, let out contracts, enroll senators
- Hold office 18 mos.
- Elected every five years
Praetors
First created 367 BC
- At first only one
- Junior colleague of consuls
- Initial position eventually called "urban praetor"
- Later more praetorships created
Quaestors
Have no imperium
Financial officials
Start as aids to consuls
Elected starting 447
More created over time
Each mag. with imperium has one
Promagistrates
- Annual tenure of imperium-holding magistrates found to cause problems
- Bad idea to replace successful commander in field during major campaign if he's doing well
- Why replace with untried new commander?
- In later 300s, magistrates retained in field if authorized by law
- Later, (uncontroversial) law to extend command dispensed with
- Senate authorization good enough
- Magistrate with extended imperium called proconsul or propraetor depending on original office
- Promagistrates lose imperium if they set foot in city of Rome
Senate
- Body of ex-magistrates
- Derived from old council of kings
- "Senator" derived from "elder" (senex)
- Called into session by a magistrate
- Its decrees not laws
- Its advice hard to ignore
- Eventually gains control over provincial assignments,
state finances
Assemblies
- Very limited powers of deliberation
- Called into session by magistrate
- Could only accept/reject proposal of magistrate
- Public feeling sounded out in contio (informal assembly)
- Voting by units
- Units of unequal numbers of members
- Each unit has one vote determined by majority of its voters
- Powers:
- Elect magistrates
- Vote on laws
- Determine legal cases
Centuriate Assembly (comitia centuriata)
- Originally based on organization of army
- Arrangements become fossilized, real army changes
- Based on census qualifications
- Five census classes based on wealth
- Higher classes had:
- higher minimum qualifications
- obligations in terms of mil. equip.
- 187 centuries divided among the five classes
- First census class plus cavalry control half of votes (later reduced to just under half)
- Everyone who doesn't meet minimum qualification for military service (majority of pop.) votes in one century
- Powers:
- Elect magistrates with imperium
- Basically the soldiery elect their senior commanders
- Pass laws
- Decide capital trials
Tribal assembly
- Voting units: geographical tribes
- Powers:
- Elect mags. w/out imperium
- Decide non-capital trials (those involving a fine)
Patricians vs. Plebs
- Patricians
- Patrician families recognizable in late Republic by distinctive attire, right to hold certain offices priesthoods
- Literary tradition says status existed under Kingdom
- Estblished a hereditary monopoly on office-holding in 400s BC
-
Plebs
Etymology unclear
Collective body of everyone not a patrician
individuals called "plebeians"
Struggle of Orders
- Protracted domestic conflict in which plebs seek:
- Redress of economic grievances
- Demand political equality
- Representatives of plebs called "tribunes
- "officers of tribes"
- Wealthy plebeians who act as spokesmen of plebs
- Don't represent populus (=plebs + patricians)
- Assembly of plebs (concilium plebis)
- Voting decided by tribes
- Resolutions called "plebiscite" ("decision of plebs")
- Elections of tribunes
Struggle resolved 367-ca. 287 BC
Praetor created
Consulship opened to plebeians
Later other offices, priesthoods opened
- Ones not opened show patrician status
Ca. 287 plebiscites given force of law
Tribunate recognized as official position
- Can summon senate
- Pass legislation (plebiscites)
- Intervene with magistrates
Nobility
- Wealthy plebeians who hold office soon combine with patricians
- Give up alliance with plebs
- Anyone with consul ancestor is "noble"
- "Nobility" are the wealthy families who control public life over the generations
- Noble tribunes use assembly of plebs for benefit of senate
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