Ancient Rome
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Ancient Rome Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Image File history File links Roman_SPQR_banner. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Institutions and Law Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      This is a tentative list of topics regarding political institutions of Ancient Rome. ...
Periods
Roman Kingdom 753 BC – 510 BC Roman Republic 510 BC – 27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 476 The ancient quarters of Rome. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC - 750s BC - 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC Events and Trends 756 BC - Founding of Cyzicus. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC Events and Trends Establishment of the Roman Republic March 12, 515 BC - Construction is completed on the... This article refers to the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For alternate meanings, see Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC Events and Trends Establishment of the Roman Republic March 12, 515 BC - Construction is completed on the... ojuooiuououoieerwerwerwerwerwwe Year 27 BC was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... ojuooiuououoieerwerwerwerwerwwe Year 27 BC was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Events Odoacer defeats an attempt by Julius Nepos to recapture Italy, and has Julius killed; Odoacer also captured Dalmatia. ... Principate Western Empire The Principate is, according to its etymological derivation from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state and/or head of government. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... Dominate Eastern Empire The Dominate was the despotic last of the two phases of government in the ancient Roman Empire between its establishment in 27 BC and the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire in AD 476. ... Byzantine redirects here. ...
Ordinary Magistrates
Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate This article is about the highest office of the Roman Republic. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected... Quaestores were elected officials of the Roman Republic who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. ... See Roman Governor for the duties of a promagistrate as a governor of a province A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. ... Aedile Tribune Censor Governor Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2-3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law A Censor was a magistrate of high rank in the ancient Roman Republic. ... A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief adminstator of Roman law throughout one or more of Ancient Romes many provinces. ...
Extraordinary Magistrates
Dictator Magister Equitum Consular tribune Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Dictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. ... The Master of the Horse was (and in some cases, is) a historical position of varying importance in several European nations. ... The Tribuni militum consulari potestate, or Consular Tribunes were tribunes elected with consular power during the Conflict of the Orders in the Roman Republic, starting in 444 BCE and then continuiously from 408 BCE to 394 BCE, and again from 391 BCE to 367 BCE. According the the histories of... Rex Triumviri Decemviri Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law The King of Rome (Latin: rex, regis) was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. ... The term triumvirate (Latin for rule by three men) or troika in Russian, is commonly used to describe an alliance between three equally powerful political or military leaders. ... Decemviri (singular decemvir) is a Latin term meaning Ten Men which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic (cf. ...
Titles and Honours
Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. ... A legatus (often anglicized as legate) was equivalent to a modern general officer in the Roman army. ... The Misspeling of Ducks ... Officium (plural officia) is a Latin word with various meanings, including service, (sense of) duty, courtesy, ceremony and the likes. ... A prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficere: make in front, i. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Vigintisexviri (sing. ... The lictor, derived from the Latin ligare (to bind), was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium. ... Magister Militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex Maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Magister militum (Latin for Master of the Soldiers) was a top-level command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. ... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ... The princeps senatus (plural principes senatus) was the leader of the Roman senate. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... Augustus (plural augusti) is Latin for majestic, the increaser, or venerable. The feminine form is Augusta. ... Caesar (plural Caesars), Latin: Cæsar (plural Cæsares), is a title of imperial character. ... The Tetrarchs, a porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of St. ...
Institutions and Law
Roman Constitution Roman Senate Cursus honorum Roman assemblies Collegiality This is a tentative list of topics regarding political institutions of Ancient Rome. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus Roman provinces on the eve of the assassination of Julius Caesar, c. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law The cursus honorum (Latin: course of honours) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. ... Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues. ... Roman law Roman citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... The toga was the characteristic garment of the Roman citizen. ... Auctoritas is the Latin origin of English authority. According to Benveniste [citation?], auctor (which also gives us English author) is derived from Latin augeó (to augment): The auctor is is qui auget, the one who augments the act or the juridical situation of another. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ...
Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The Roman assemblies were the Comitia Calata, the Comitia Curiata, the Comitia Centuriata, and the Comitia Tributa. They possessed ultimate legislative and judicial powers in the Roman Republic and were also responsible for the election of magistrates. Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... This article refers to the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For alternate meanings, see Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Magistratus ordinarii (ordinary magistrates) and Magistratus extraordinarii (extraordinary magistrates) were two categories of officials who held political, military, and, in some cases, religious power in the Roman Republic. ...

Unlike legislatures in countries such as the United States, the Roman assemblies were seen to embody the People of Rome, not merely being an elected body of representatives, and thus possessed ultimate legislative powers, including the ability to pass ex post facto laws and bills of attainder. They could also act as a court of appeal for death. They were also not deliberative assemblies: normal citizens neither debated nor proposed legislation (only magistrates could propose legislation). The assemblies also possessed judicial powers, some of which were transferred to permanent courts later in the Republic. The absence of modern separation of powers did not mean that checks and balances were absent from Roman government (they were in fact remarkably elaborate). A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... An ex post facto law (Latin for from a thing done afterward), also known as a retrospective law, is a law that is retroactive, i. ... A bill of attainder (or act of attainder) was an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime, and punishing them, without benefit of a trial. ... A deliberative body (or deliberative assembly) is an organization which collectively makes decisions after debate and discussion. ... Magistratus ordinarii (ordinary magistrates) and Magistratus extraordinarii (extraordinary magistrates) were two categories of officials who held political, military, and, in some cases, religious power in the Roman Republic. ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Separation of powers is a term coined by French political Enlightenment thinker Baron de Montesquieu[1][2], is a model for the governance of democratic states. ...

In the later Republic, a subset of the Comitia Tributa, the Concilium Plebis, gained the legislative powers of the assemblies and became the favored legislative mechanism. ...

The honoured expression Senatus Populusque Romanus (abbreviated as SPQR), often used as an indication for the Roman state, clearly testifies to the general perception that Rome was legitimately ruled by the will of the people (in the assemblies) guided by the Senate, and under their authority by the magistrates. Only when the principate was established—within the republic, which was never abolished—did a single person, the Roman emperor, start to embody the state politically and hence incarnate the maiestas of Rome. See also the SPQR series of murder mystery novels and the SPQR board game. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... The Principate is, according to its etymological derivation from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state and/or head of government. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. ...

Constitution

Comitia Calata

The Comitia Calata was the most ancient and least-known of the comitia. By the time accurate historical records began its significance and use had both greatly declined. The Comitia Calata was different from the other assemblies because there was no voting or other active participation by the people. It was called for the people to hear announcement and witness certain acts.

The Comitia Calata was held under the presidency of the pontifex maximus. The meeting probably took place in the Capitoline Hill in front of the Curia Calabra. The Comitia Calata and the Comitia Curiata were the only assemblies recognised before the time of Servius Tullius. The assembly consisted entirely of patricians, organized into curiae, and performed the following functions: Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... The Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus Mons), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the most famous and smallest of the seven hills of Rome. ... Servius Tullius was the sixth legendary king of ancient Rome, and the second king of the Etruscan dynasty. ... This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. ... A Curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i. ...

• Announcements of the pontiffs concerning time keeping and nature of certain dates,
• Inauguration of Flamines and the Rex Sacrorum, and
• Witnessing testaments of patricians in order to avoid any disputes following the death of the person in question.

Pontiff is a title of certain religious leaders, now used principally to refer to the Mercinary of the New Church. ... Bust of a flamen, 3rd century, Louvre A flamen was a name given to a priest assigned to a state supported god or goddess in Roman religion. ... A sacred king, according to the systematic interpretation of mythology developed by Sir James George Frazer in his influential book The Golden Bough, was a king who represented a solar deity in a periodically re-enacted fertility rite. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ...

Comitia Curiata

The Comitia Curiata (Curiate Assembly) was the oldest Roman assembly after the Comitia Calata. It consisted entirely of patricians organized in 30 curiae, which were voting units that each cast one collective vote. This assembly originally was the only assembly which transacted business, electing all magistrates, granting their imperium, and enacting laws. Later, though, it only retained the right to grant the imperium through the lex curiata de imperio, acting as a power to confirm those elected by the Centuriate Assembly. By the late Republic, the Curiate Assembly was thought to be composed only of thirty lictors, each representing one of the curiae. This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The lictor, derived from the Latin ligare (to bind), was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium. ...

Comitia Centuriata

The Comitia Centuriata (Centuriate Assembly) was composed of all Roman citizens. It was split into 193 centuriae (centuries), which were arranged into six classes according to collective economic status. After the reforms of 367BC the first class, made up of senators and equites, made up 98 of the 193 centuries and could form a majority without the support of the rest of the Roman people. The reforms by the censor Gaius Flaminius in 220BC made the comitia centuriata more cosistent with the comitia tributa but also reduced the first class to 88 of the 193 centuries meaning they could no longer carry a vote without the support of some of the lower classes. Centuria (Latin plural Centuriae) is a Latin substantive rooting in centum a hundred, denoting units consisting of (originally, approximatively) a 100 men. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. ...

"Centuries" were a term used to classify the voting group and a century did not necessarily contain one hundred men. For example the 5 centuries that voted last contained all the poor of Rome who did not meet the minimum land holding required by the census.

Voting was not according to each citizen but by century. Each century voted internally to determine how the century would cast their collective vote. Centuriate votes were cast by order of class, and halted once a majority of 97 centuries had been acquired, meaning that the poorest centuries rarely got to cast their vote.

Armies were forbidden within the pomerium (the traditional legal and religious boundary of Rome), so the Comitia Centuriata, which was originally a military assembly, could not meet inside the pomerium. The Assembly was generally called to the Campus Martius, which was large enough to accommodate the full male citizen population of Rome. The Assembly was presided over by a consul or praetor, or by an interrex conducting an emergency consular election. The pomerium (or pomoerium) was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome. ... Model of the ancient Campus Martius around 300 AD The Pantheon, a landmark of the Campus Martius since ancient Rome. ... This article is about the Roman rank. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected... Interrex or inter-rex (Latin; plural, interreges) was literally a ruler between kings. ...

The sheer size and difficulties in conducting a vote of the Comitia Centuriata meant that it lost its status as the main law-making body of the Roman Republic. In the Late Republic it was generally only used to elect censors, praetors and consuls, although it retained legislative powers. Notably, it passed a law to recall Cicero from exile. It also sat to try cases of high treason (perduellio), although this latter function fell into disuse after Lucius Appuleius Saturninus introduced a more workable format (maiestas). This article refers to the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For alternate meanings, see Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... For omission and secrecy, see censorship. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected... This article is about the Roman rank. ... For other uses, see Cicero (disambiguation). ... Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, Roman demagogue. ... The Law of Majestas, or lex maiestas, refers to any one of several ancient Roman laws (leges maiestatis) throughout the republican and Imperial periods dealing with crimes against the Roman people, state, or Emperor. ...

Comitia Tributa

The Comitia Tributa (Tribal Assembly) included both patricians and plebeians distributed among the thirty-five tribes into which all Roman citizens were placed for administrative and electoral purposes. The vast majority of the urban population of Rome was distributed among the four urban tribes, which meant that their votes were individually insignificant. Like the Centuriate Assembly, voting was indirect, with one vote apportioned to each tribe. The voting was therefore heavily slanted in favor of the thirty-one rural tribes. The Tribal Assembly met in the well of the Comitia in the Forum Romanum, and elected the aediles curulis, the quaestors, and the military tribunes (tribuni militum). It conducted most trials until the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla established the standing courts (quaestiones). The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was a central area of ancient Rome in which commerce, business, trading and the administration of justice took place. ... Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... Quaestores were elected officials of the Roman Republic who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. ... Military tribunes were officers of the Roman Legions. ... Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Latin: L•CORNELIVS•L•F•P•N•SVLLA•FELIX)[1] (ca. ...

A subset of the Tribal Assembly, called the Plebeian Council, legislated for the plebeians and lower classes and elected the plebeian tribunes and aediles. Their plebiscites only had the force of law for the entire Republic after 287 BC. The Plebeian Council (Latin: concilium plebis) was a political feature of Ancient Rome. ... Ancient Roman Official. ... Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

Reform and abandonment

Sulla's Changes

During his consulate in 88 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla passed a series of three laws impeding the Tribal Assembly and the Plebeian Council from considering any law unless it was sent to them by Senatus consultum^{[verification needed]} with a favorable "do pass" recommendation. His fourth law restructured the Centuriate Assembly such that the First Class — the senators and the most powerful knights — had nearly fifty percent of the voting power. His fifth law stripped both popular assemblies — the Tribal Assembly and the Plebeian Council — of their legislative functions, leaving all legislation in the hands of the restructured Centuriate Assembly. The tribal assemblies were left with the election of certain magistrates and the conduct of trials — but no trials could be held unless authorized by senatus consultum. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC - 80s BC - 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC Years: 93 BC 92 BC 91 BC 90 BC 89 BC - 88 BC - 87 BC 86 BC 85... Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Latin: L•CORNELIVS•L•F•P•N•SVLLA•FELIX)[1] (ca. ... A Senatus consultum ultimum (Ultimate decree of the Senate), or more properly, senatus consultum de re publica defendenda (Decree of the Senate on defending the Republic) was a decree of the Roman Senate during the late Roman Republic passed in times of emergency. ...

These reforms were overturned by the populares led by Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna, restored by Sulla during his dictatorship rei publicae constituendae, and were again overturned after his death. They represent one of the most wide-ranging and direct shifts in the constitutions of the Roman state during both the Republic and the Empire. So-called “Marius”, Munich Glyptothek (Inv. ... Lucius Cornelius Cinna[1] (d. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Dictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Under the Empire

Augustus maintained the forms of republican government while he and his successors concentrated more and more power in their own hands by having themselves elected to various magistracies for life. Augustus transferred the legislative functions of the popular assemblies to the Senate and the senators were appointed by the emperor. Tiberius transferred the election of magistrates to the Senate as well. The assemblies, apart from the Senate, did not meet again after the reign of Caligula. When Constantine founded Constantinople he established a Senate in the new city which existed, in vestigial form, until 1453. For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... April 2 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (İstanbul). ...

Miscellaneous

• If any person in a comitia became epileptic, the assembly was immediately dissolved: this being deemed an evil omen. Thus, the ancient term for epilepsy was morbus comitialis.^[1]

This article is about the neurological disorder as it affects humans. ...

References

1. ^ This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.

Table of Trigonometry, 1728 Cyclopaedia Cyclopaedia, or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• Constitution of the Roman Republic