Lecture 7

Roman Republic

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The Roman Republic is the phase of Roman politics we will refer to within the period 509BC to 31BC The United States is a democratic republic Ancient Athens was a true democracy Important Magistrates Consuls (2) elected annually, held most of the powers of the former king Power over the Roman Legions Both consuls were generals The right to assemble the senate and the people Imperium is the Latin word that refers to this power Consulship 362BC: the Licinian Law mandated that one elected consul must be a member of the plebs (the other was of patrician status) Important Magistrates Praetor (2 or more) elected annually, second in command to the consuls, judicial magistrates Praetors held imperium like consuls, but are second in command after the consuls. (like a vice-president) Praetor urbanus = chief justice over civil cases, expected to stay in Rome when consuls away Praetor peregrinus = provincial administrator Quaestor: chief financial officers (elected annually) Chief duties: Administer the aerarium in Rome Administer the finances of provincial holdings (under the supervision of a provincial governor) Cursus honorum: the traditional track of honors was quaestor -> praetor -> consul Achievement of any of these important offices made a man eligible for admission into the Senate After 81 BC, such a magistrate was automatically enrolled if he met the property qualifications Temple of Saturn Square in top right corner of forum diagram

Inscription reads: Senatus Populusque Romanus incendio consumptum restituit Livy Book 2 Livy claims that Brutus and Tarquinius Collatinus (Lucretias husband) were the first two consuls Brutus first actions: Made the people swear an oath that no man would be king of Rome Added 300 men to the Senate from the equestrian ranks (plebeians) Conspiracy emerges to restore Tarquinius Superbus to monarchy Livy ties this impulse to personal immorality Livy ties this impulse to personal immorality pg. 73-4 Treachery of the sons of Brutus Whether or not this happened, the story sends what powerful message? Note who reported the plot to the consuls: a slave Vindicius? The slave is rewarded with money from the treasury, his freedom, and Roman citizenship manumissio vindicta Manumission in Rome Sometimes slaves could earn or purchase their freedom Manumission took three main forms: Manumissio vindicta: a public ceremony where a magistrate with imperium would publicly announce the slave free Manumissio censu: at the census a master would present the freed slave and the censor would record him as a citizen in the census record Manumissio testemento: Heroes Lucretia Brutus Horatius Cocles Scaevola Cloelia Livy Book 2 Horatius Cocles against the Etruscans others Heroism of Gaius Mucius Scaevola glory

pg. 81 he challengedliberty of pg. 84 look upon mewho seek

Heroism of Cloelia pg. 85 the Roman markedalong the Scared Way Creation of the position of dictator pg. 89 In a moment of crisis, the Romans believed one-man rule may be better than two consuls Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus pg. 167-170 Story used as a moral story Dictator: single man in power at time of crisis whose edicts do not warrant appeal Second in command called master of the horse (magister equorum) Tribunes of the Plebs 10 Tribunes of the Plebs by 449 BC Plebian assembly created as rival to the Senate Powers of the tribunes: The power of veto over decrees made by any magistrate, include consuls (but not dictator) Sacrosanctitas (their bodies inviolate not to be harmed by anyone on penalty of death) Right to summon the plebs to assembly Make resolutions with the plebs and enforce plebian decrees The right to attend senatorial assemblies The tribunes did not hole imperium Plebian Power Licinian Law of 362 Lex Hortensia of 287 BC Coriolanus Gnaeus Marcius (Coriolanus) a patrician senator who resents plebeian power

Lecture 8

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Shelton Reading (due 2/14) Shelton 4-8: explains the evolution of the equestrian class Key points: senators were members of the senate (engaged in politics); equestrians were all other rich members of society) who qualified) but who chose not to go into a political career Many equestrians were plebeians Equestrians engaged in commerce and tax collection as the empire expanded Patricians, senators, and equestrians formed the upper rung of Roman society Shelton on Patronage pg. 11-15 In the same way that fathers rule over and care for their families, patrons (rich members of society) rule over and care for the lower classes. The system of patrons and clients dominated the political and economical organizations at Rome A patron could provide legal help, money, food, jobs, infrastructure to his clients Patriarchy, paterfamilias, and patria potestas The state did not interfere in relations between the father and those subject to him, free or unfree, over whom he had the power of life and death Evident in Laws from the Twelve Tables: 4.1: A dreadfully deformed child shall be killed 4.2: If a father surrender his son for sale three times, the son shall be free (of his fathers authority) Names in ancient Rome Names of girls came from the middle or Old Family name of their fathers Marcus Tullius Cicero so his daughters name was Tullia A married woman would add the third name of her husband in the genitive case (denoting possession) How names work in ancient Rome: Praenomen = first name variable, but a first son carries the first name of his father Nomen = old family name especially important for aristocrats since it identifies them as part of an important family Cognomen = new family name identifying a branch of the family

Sometimes another cognomen was added to a mans name for some achievement winner of a battle, adulation by the Senate or people Sons names carried on the entire name of their fathers Ciceros son was Marcus Tullius Cicero If Cicero had another son, he would have been named Quintus (or Titus or Lucius, etc.) Tullius Cicero Adoption was common among the elite families The adopted son would take the name of his adopted father, but add also the nomen (old family name) of his birth father, with a special ending Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus Power of the Father The reasons for child exposure are the usual: The family cannot afford another mouth to feed The child is a girl, and the family has enough girls The child is deformed or unhealthy Other Important Magistrates Censors (2) elected every 18 months traditionally ex-consuls ran for this office Duties include: The creation and maintenance of records of all citizens (their holdings and their households) Designation of class (knight, 1st, 2nd, etc.) Monitoring of behavior Supervision of tax-collection Admitting members to the Senate (until 81 BC) Aedile: 4 elected annually Patron to the urban population (overseer of internal affairs): Maintenance of city-works (infrastructure) waterways, public order during festivals, and marketplaces Maintenance and distribution of the grain supply The funding of and supervision of some public gains Important Assemblies Senate in the period of the Republic, the Senate became the chief legislative and senior political body in Rome Chief functions:

Provide legislation-proposals to the assemblies Levy armies and declare war Advise magistrates Maintain law and order The number of senators varied Senate: membership occurs through appointment or by holding office (cursus honorum); property qualification; ratifies elections; passes laws; debates military action Assembly of Centuries: membership depends on social class; elects major magistrates; votes on matters of war and peace Assembly of Tribes in 2 parts: membership depends on where you live geographically (as a whole) this assembly elects minor magistrates and considers proposals brought forward by the senate Assembly of Plebs = only the plebeian members of the tribal assembly; ratifies plebeian proposals and later passes plebiscites (laws), and elects its tribunes Polybius: 200-118 BC Polybius the historian A Greek, taken to Rome from Macedonia as a political prisoner or hostage (168 BC, Battle of Pydna) His history (written in Greek) covers 220-145 BC and its subjects are the Punic Wars and the vast expansion of Rome in that period Polybius on Rome Polybiuss social contract pg. 305-7: People herd together because of natural weakness Inevitable a particular person stands out as stronger, more capable (monarchy develops) People develop ideas of justice and noble behavior when they see good repaid with evil What are the three types of traditional political constitutions, and what does each typically turn into over time? Kingship tyranny Aristocracy oligarchy Democracy mob rule (anarchy) Polybius major influences here are the Greek philosophers Aristotle

Even democracy degenerates because, pg. 309 Important premis, pg. 308-9: inherited P.s Cycle of Degeneration Monarchy Balance of Power Roman stability is based on the incorporation of the three types of constitution pg. 312 Consulship has characteristics of Monarchy Senate has characteristics of Checks and Balances Consuls balance the power of the Tribunes of the Plebs Senatorial power balances the power of the Assembly of the Plebs Law, public ratification of law, and annual elections balnce class favoritism, nepotism and aristocratic patronage Consular power over the military balnces decisions of war and peace in Assembly of Centuries

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