Kaj Sandberg, 'The concilium plebis as a legislative body during the Republic': Jyri Vaahtera (ed.), SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS. Studies in Roman Republican Legislation (Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae 13), Helsinki 1993, 74–96. (original) (raw)
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century 8C.10 Whether authentic or not, which of course is impossible to establish, it proves that the most erudite of the Roman antiquarians did not hesitate 5 See chapter 2.2.1. 6 For discussion and extensive bibliography on the .lex sacrata de tribunorum plebei potestate et sacrosanctitate" (as Flach narnes it), see Flach, GFRR,[74][75][76][77][78][79] Rotondi, LPPR, [189][190][191] Flach, Liv. 4.30.3: Legem cle multarum aestimatione pergratampopulo cum ab tribunis parari consules unius ex collegio prodirioneexcepissenl,ipsipraeoccupaveruntferre.öt.ci.. rep.2.60:levisaestumatiopecuduminmultalegeC'lulii P. Papirii consulum constituta est. e See esp. Liv.2.41.1-3 and Dion. Ha:^. anr. g.69-'79. However, it should be duly noted thataccording to one traclition-Sp. Cassiusproposedhis agrarianbill in the capacity astibunus pleåis (Val. Max 5'8'2): Sp' Cassium' qui tribunuspl.agrariamIegemprimuslulerat.ForananalysisofthetraditionontheCassianbill,seeM Basile''Analisi e valore della tradizion e sulli rogatio cassia agraria clel 486 a.c.' , Miscellanea greca e romana 6 (1978), 277 -298 ' see also F. D,lppolito, 'La legge airaria di Spurio Cassio', Labeo2l (19'15), 197-210; J. Gagö, '"Rogatio p12sgili3" La querelle agromilitaire uutJul d.-golu., .n 416 av. J . -C., et la probable signification des projets agraires de Sp Cassius, vers 486" Latomus 3S (1979), 838-861 and D. capanelli, 'Appunti sulla rogatio agraria di Spurio cassio" Legge e societöl (1981),3-50. Full bibliography in Flach, GFR'R' 84 f' r0 The report is founcl in a passage of Macrobius (Sat. 1.13.21), quoted at p. 60. 118 KAJ SANDBERG
Plebeian Tribunes and the Government of Early Rome
Many modern scholars have argued that the consulship was not created at the foundation of the Republic as Roman tradition maintained, and that the government of the early Republic went through several stages of development before it reached the familiar ‘classical constitution.’ Building on this work, this article considers what the early civilian government of Rome would have looked like in the absence of chief magistrates. It is argued that the Romans did not create an entirely new government (based on consuls) at the removal of the monarchy, but instead they made use of existing sources of power and authority: rich land-owning clans dominated military activity outside the city, while priests, the curiae, and minor officials exercised responsibilities of civilian governance in Rome. The plebeian tribunate was probably the first significant office to be created in the Republic, and the unusual nature of its power (sacrosanctity) and the absence of any other chief magistracy enabled the tribunes to acquire a broad range of prerogatives. A series of reforms eventually led to the development of the familiar ‘classical constitution’, and the consulship and praetorship became the most prestigious and desired magistracies (and—outside the city—the most powerful), but the tribunes long retained the broadest prerogatives for civilian governance inside the city.
The Laws of the Roman People. Public Law in the Expansion and Decline of the Roman Republic
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Constitutional Thought in the Late Roman Republic
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2023
The XXviri ex senatus consulto rei publicae curandae played a decisive role in the civil war between Maximinus Thrax and the senate in 238. This note examines the actions of the extraordinary committee and interprets them against the backdrop of the reception of constitutional thought rooted in that, which was perceived as traditional political ideals of the Roman Republic during the Principate. The study will first look at the roots of the conflicts between Maximinus Thrax and the ordo senatorius, followed by an analysis of the origins and tasks of the XXviri together with their political goals and possible republican exempla. Finally, there will be observations on the vigintivirate's significance and role after the senate's triumph over its enemy. In doing so, this contribution will emphasize the importance of republican constitutional thought in times of crisis for the continued existence of the res publica romana under the Principate.