In ancient Rome , the curiales (from co + viria , 'gathering of men') were initially the leading members of a gentes (clan) of the city of Rome. Their roles were both civil and sacred. Each gens curialis had a leader, called a curio. The whole arrangement of assemblies was presided over by the curio maximus .
18-564: Curial may refer to: one of the Curiales , a social class in ancient Rome anything related to the Roman Curia anything related to a royal court a title character of Curial e Güelfa Napoléon Joseph Curial (1809–1861), French peer and politician Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial (1774–1829), general in the French army during
36-623: A city senate in the Roman Empire . Decurions were drawn from the curiales class, which was made up of the wealthy middle class citizens of a town society. The emergence of the post of decurion may be found in Rome's decision to allow office-holders in Latin colonies in Italy to become Roman citizens in an attempt to create loyalty in 125 BC. Decurions were the most powerful political figures at
54-461: A vast empire, it needed strikingly few imperial officials to run it. This relatively light ruling administrative overview was made possible by the tendency to leave to local government much administrative business and to private enterprise many of the tasks associated with governments in the modern world. Especially important within this system was the city, where the magistrates, councils, and assemblies of urban centers governed themselves and areas of
72-674: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Curiales The Roman civic form was replicated in the towns and cities of the empire as they came under Roman control. By the Late Empire , curiales referred to the merchants, businessmen, and mid-level landowners who served in their local curia as local magistrates and decurions . Curiales were expected to procure funds for public building projects, temples, festivities, games, and local welfare systems. They would often pay for these expenses out of their own pocket, to gain prestige. From
90-528: The Napoleonic Wars Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Curial . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curial&oldid=1099065130 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
108-408: The cities. Not only were the curiales squeezed from the 4th century, but also the cities were hard put to maintaining their public infrastructure and public amenities even with help from the imperial government. The curiales were also responsible for the collection of Imperial taxes, provide food and board for the army (the assignments were under the control of the civilian administration), and support
126-489: The community with temples, baths, and other public facilities. Under the Dominate (284 and later), when the empire's finances demanded more draconian tax collection measures, the position of decurion ceased being a status symbol and became an unwanted civil service position. It was still limited to the aristocracy, but the primary emphasis was clearly on tax collection, and decurions were expected to make up any shortfall in
144-471: The councils. The Emperor Julian tried to combat this development by increasing the size of curial councils, spreading the burden more evenly to make the position less costly. This attempt was not successful, and Julian himself died before he had time to see the policy through. Other efforts to remedy the situation failed as well, and the councils dwindled in importance through the Late Roman period. In
162-443: The countryside around them. These cities could vary enormously both in population and territory from the tiny Greek poleis of several hundred citizens to the great metropoleis such as Alexandria or Antioch . Despite these differences, these cities shared certain governmental structures and were free, in varying degrees depending on the community’s status, to manage their own affairs. There were also important differences in
180-401: The course of the 5th century the governance of the cities fell into the hands more and more of an outside group of 'Notables' made up of persons who did not have to belong to the councils: senators, magnates, ex-military officers with estates, the richer former curiales, bishops, ex-imperial officials of higher standing and certain exempted professional classes. A decurion was a member of
198-412: The earliest period, colonies fell into two classes, coloniae civium Romanorum ("colonies of Roman citizens") and coloniae Latinorum ("colonies of Latins"), depending on their respective political rights. At first, the establishment of a colony required that a law be passed in Rome in the popular assembly. During the civil discord of the late Republic and Second Triumvirate , colonies were founded on
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#1732772236269216-462: The imperial post ( cursus publicus ) whose expenses and maintenance were laid at the feet of the provincial landowners through whose territory the post moved. In the course of the 4th and 5th centuries, membership in the curial class became financially ruinous to all but the most wealthy among them (who in many cases were able to purchase exemptions from their obligations), especially in the West, which
234-597: The local level. They were responsible for public contracts, religious rituals , entertainment , and ensuring order. Perhaps most importantly to the imperial government, they also supervised local tax collection. Early in the imperial period, aristocratic citizens actively sought the post as a mark of prestige. They would gain seats in the front row of the theatre and be accepted into the class of honestiores (honourable men). Once elected, they were expected to pay large sums of their own money to perform public works; decurions would typically compete with each other to furnish
252-420: The local tax collection out of their own pockets. Many decurions illegally left their positions in an attempt to seek relief from this burden; if caught, they would be subject to forfeiture of their property or even execution. Local government (ancient Roman) The Romans used provincial and local governments to govern conquered territories without having to rule them directly. Although Rome ruled
270-513: The mid-third century, this became an obligation, as Constantine I confiscated the cities' endowments, local taxes and dues, rent on city land and buildings. Julian returned these, but Valentinian I (363-375) and Valens (364-378) confiscated the resources. They did return one-third to the cities which was paid out by the Crown Estates which set aside city assets as separate line-items in the budget. Eventually management of these were returned to
288-553: The statuses of communities, which were arranged in a hierarchy of prestige, with Roman coloniae at the top, followed by municipia (some of which had full citizen rights, others, the Latin rights ), and cities that had no citizenship rights at all. Cities in this last group could be tribute-paying cities ( civitates ), free cities ( civitates liberae ), and free cities with treaties ( civitates liberae et foederatae ) Romans began founding coloniae in conquered territory for security, sending their own citizens out from Rome. In
306-686: The whim of dynasts such as Sulla and Julius Caesar without such a law. Colonies were modelled closely on the Roman constitution , with roles being defined for magistrates, council, and assemblies. Colonists enjoyed full Roman citizenship and were thus extensions of Rome itself. Beginning in 118 BC in Gallia Narbonensis , colonies began to be established in Rome's provinces , and from this point onwards coloniae were especially used for settling demobilized soldiers and in programs of agrarian reform . The second most prestigious class of cities
324-647: Was beset by settlements of tribes that disrupted the administration of the Empire and precipitated a decline in living standards by half from 400 to 600 A.D . Many curiales tried to escape by enrolling in the army, the Imperial government, or the Church, or by gaining senatorial rank, which exempted them from service on the councils. The imperial government tried to prevent this; curials and/or their sons found to have escaped before fulfilling their obligations were returned to
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