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Qui sunt?
Roman Government
There are four main periods of Roman history, so we can imagine that the structure of how the Roman people were governed (or allowed themselves to be governed) changed according to which era they were in.
As such, scholars typically refer to what is commonly called the “Roman constitution” as their form of government which took shape during the Republican period. The dates for the Republican period of Roman history typically extend from the expulsion of the last Etruscan king from Rome (Tarquinus Superbus) up until the death of Julius Caesar. This will serve as the general scope for our discussion here.
As a result of clashes between two classes of Roman citizens, the plebeians and the patricians, there were several concerns addressed that helped form the Roman government of the Republican period. The major concerns were:
- Checks and balances
- Collegiality – every office had at least two positions with each possessing veto power over the other
- Limited terms of office – most positions only had 1 year tenure, which kept anyone person from dominating Roman politics
This lead to a system comprised of magistrates, the senate and assemblies in order to create a sort of representative form of government. In essence, this was a mixed constitution in that it contained an oligarchic element (the senate), a representative element (offices held by magistrates usually required popular election) and a group element in the form of the assemblies (qualifications of each will be discussed shortly).
Magistrates
When a candidate (taken from the Latin adjective candidus meaning “white” in reference to their togas when someone stood for office) ran for office, there were several things that stand out from modern politics.
- First, there was no pay for each position, and to hold the office was considered an honor, which is why it was called the cursus honorum.
- Second, magistrates had to physically attend functions in order to use their political power. This also meant the men appointed with imperium were given lictors, men who were assigned to protect and act on behalf of the magistrates. Roman government was handled face to face with the crowd and visible forms of power (like the lictors) were a part of that.
- Finally, to stand for office you had to have the minimum requirements of property ownership, age (25 years of age) and experience (each office had their own prerequisites).
Consuls (2)
As consul, a Roman held imperium. This means that the Roman consul can represent Rome in foreign affairs and could negotiate treaties, he could initiate legislation, and could command armies. A consul also presided over the Senate and assemblies. In fact, think of the consul as a macrocosm of sorts of the pater familias.
In times of crisis, a consul could appoint a dictator (or declare himself one) which was an office that held supreme authority – but only for 6 months unless time in office was officially extended and more time was needed. When time in office was completed, consuls usually went on to serve as proconsul in other provinces. The dictator would appoint an assistant, the magister equitum, who could only have sole control over the issues given to him by the dictator.
Interesting to note is the fact that the Roman consititution was a very conservative one by design. After all, the mos maiorum as it was called refers to the very conservative conception just by the name alone. This was especially true of the consular position as it had built in collegiality, which means that both consuls must agree to a motion otherwise they had the power of veto over one another. This meant that new legislation and motions had to be supported by both consuls. We are also reminded that magistrates in Rome must be present in person in order to carry out their political duties. This system will be fully tested during the 1st century BC with regularity.
Prerequisite: had to have at least served as praetor and had to be 42 years of age.
Praetors (6)
Another position that held imperium, they served predominantly as judges and enacted Roman law. They could also call together the Senate and assemblies and could even fulfill the administrative duties of the consulship if there were not able to do so. Once finished with their term in office, they could serve as propraetor.
Prerequisite: had to at least served as Quaestor (Aedile not required and instead optional) and 39 years of age.
Censor (2)
These were offices which were to be filled once every 5 years and the magistrates held those offices for 18 months. Their mission was to conduct a census of citizens and assess property taxes as well.
They assigned these Roman citizens into various social classes which affected the assemblies. They also would award public contracts to private companies for work needed done by the state such as building aquaducts, etc.
They also reviewed the moral traits of senators and other offices which could get suspects suspended from office.
Prerequisite: had to be an ex-consul in order to be eligible.
Aediles (4)
Two candidates of this office were required to be plebeians which would help in regards to the check and balance aspect of the Roman government; the aediles from the patrician class were known as curule aediles. The aediles were responsible for public entertainment and public spaces and were also in charge of the grain supply of Rome. They were also in charge of business practices, overseeing the markets and making sure there was no counterfeit coinage, illegal weights, etc.
Prerequisite: had to have served at least as a Quaestor and at least 36 years of age.
Quaestores (10)
This office served primarily a financial nature as a quaestor tended to the treasuries and often, in provinces, had expanded responsibilities. Also tended to the archives. When elected quaestor, one was immediately eligible to serve in the Senate (as with the other offices that are above this rank) but in order to become a senator this appointee must be placed there by a censor.
Prerequisite: had to be a land owner (Roman citizen) and at least 25 years of age.
Tribunes (10)
These were the voice of the plebeians, their office was established in order to protect the plebeian class and provide another check and balance to the system of rule. What is interesting to note about the tribunus is that he had veto power (intercessio) over any magistrate and could stop any act deemed to be a threat to the plebeian class. Also, the tribunus was regarded as sacrosanct meaning that if they were attacked they had the legal right to put their attackers to death. They, like the consuls and praetors, can convene the Senate and introduce legislation.
The Senate
The most striking thing to learn first is that the Senate has no legal authority over the state. In fact, it is simply an advisory body for Rome, composed of ex-magistrates (to be eligible one had to have at least served as a quaestor).
Yet, because it was composed of ex-magistrates who mostly came from the aristocratic class, it essentially served as the oligarchic element in the Roman form of government. This is because those members of the Senate did control most of the assets of the res publica and this gave them the kind of authority that allowed them to intervene in an official capacity.
Also, the Senate, which met in the Curia in the Forum Romanum, held a place of great tradition to the Roman people. The very acronym SPQR reflects this: senatus populusque Romanus.
The Assemblies
Popular assemblies and provincial administration.
The populus Romanus met in these assemblies for the purpose of voting on legislation and electing magistrates – this was the only format for inducting new laws legally.
Assemblies could only be called together by a magistrate – which meant the people could only ratify legislation when they were asked to do so. Only officers and those appointed by the officers to speak could address the assemblies.
Assemblies were conducted via a block vote – voting stopped once the majority was reached.
Comitia curiata – the oldest assembly of them all. People were grouped into curiae in order to vote. There were 30 curiae in total, and they voted on legislation. By 100BC, this comitia stopped meeting and only representatives attended in order to represent the people; the main function was to ratify grants of imperium to candidates and ratified legal adoptions.
Comitia centuriata – very complex assembly; grouped the people into centuries [193 voting blocks total] (originally the assembly for the army, to assemble for the sake of military interests). Met outside the pomerium, due to its ancient military origins but by the time of the late Republic serves more of a political function.
Citizens were organized according to their monetary worth. This was tabulated by the censors. It appears obvious that the voting would then be favorable to the wealthy. 18 centuries known as equites (richest class as they could own horses); 5 classes pedites (footmen) ranked 1st through 5th in terms of wealth. The 1st class had 70 centuries, 2-5 had over 100 centuries.
For any legislation to pass, a majority of 97 total centuries had to be reached and at which point, voting stopped.
This assembly was responsible for electing consuls, praetors and censors, could pass laws and even declare war.
Concilium Plebis (Tribal Assembly of the Plebs)
Could only be attended by plebeians and tribes were assigned according to geography, there were 35 in total. This assembly had officers attached to it known as tribunes (tribuni) which were the only magistrates allowed to address the plebeians. Only offices open to plebeians were allowed to be voted on in this assembly.
After 287 BC, laws decided by this assembly were bound to all citizens regardless of class.
Comitia Tributa (Tribal Assembly of the People)
Main feature is that consuls and praetors could address the plebeians, since they were not allowed to attend the Concilium Plebis.
Ius Necandi: The Role of Pater Familias
In some of our classes, we broke off into groups in order to create a skit that would enact a iudicium domesticum, or a family assembly that had to convene to resolve a serious family matter.
The scenario for our skit was a son who had stolen a sum of money from a neighbor’s house – the students were to create a skit that would reflect each family member’s role in the decision of what to do to resolve the problem.
A lot of the skits seemed to deal with punishing the son with an execution from the pater familias. Obviously, this would have been chosen by our students as a way to heighten the drama, but the fact of the matter is although a pater familias had power of life and death (ius necandi) over his household members, it was not typically used.
Most of these cases were found in mythology, and as such the general feeling from the Romans was not one of apathy but instead they would have been abhorred by a father killing his children – no matter the situation. Patricide also was not typically accepted by the Romans.
There are practical reasons for this, too. As a married couple got older, their children would provide support for their lifestyle – killing their children meant damaging their own future prospects as well. There was also the concept of pietas, which guided a pater familias in running his household. Pietas is a social force that compels good Romans to do what is best for the group – it is the notion of one’s duty, to look beyond the self and do what is good for the common good. A Roman pater familias wanted his family to thrive and grow, much like small business owners dream of creating a corporate empire themselves that would transcend generations.
For this very reason, there was little incentive for a pater familias to execute his children. In fact, it was pretty much the opposite for the Romans who actually leaned more towards spoiling their children, which we see in Cicero and his letters to his own son. Cicero was always worrying about Marcus junior’s education and whether or not Cicero himself raised him right. This was steered by his pietas, that Roman social force that propelled a strong familial connection among its citizens. This, naturally, made sons less likely to do the kinds of things that would drive a father to kill him in the first place.
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