In the Roman Republic , triumviri or tresviri were commissions of three men appointed for specific tasks. There were many tasks that commissions could be established to conduct, such as administer justice, mint coins, support religious tasks, or found colonies.
82-606: Most commonly, when historians refer to Roman "triumvirs", they mean two political alliances during the crisis of the Roman Republic . The informal First Triumvirate of Julius Caesar , Pompey the Great , and Marcus Licinius Crassus was a loose political alliance arranged in 60 or 59 BC that lasted until the death of Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC; they had no official capacity or function as actual triumviri , and
164-595: A Arverni and not a Gallo-Roman; being the relations between the natives and the Franks seen not as Romans against barbarians, as is popularly believed, but as in the case of Gregory, a relationship of coexistence between Arverni and Franks (Franci) as equals. It must also be remembered that Clovis I was born in Gaul, so according to the Edict of Caracalla that made him a Roman citizen by birth, in addition to being recognized by
246-464: A pater familias , but he did not control the property or possessions of a woman and was generally only needed to give his permission when a woman wanted to perform certain legal actions, such as freeing her slaves. Officially, one required Roman citizenship status to enrol in the Roman legions, but this requirement was sometimes overlooked and exceptions could be made. Citizen soldiers could be beaten by
328-818: A class of citizens who held the Latin rights ( ius Latii ), or the rights of ius commercii and ius migrationis (the right to migrate), but not the ius conubii . The term Latini originally referred to the Latins , citizens of the Latin League who came under Roman control at the close of the Latin War , but eventually became a legal description rather than a national or ethnic one. The Latin rights status could be assigned to different classes of citizens, such as freedmen , cives Romani convicted of crime, or colonial settlers. Under Roman law, citizens of another state that
410-440: A conquered people (a tribe or a city-state) like Sparta and the conquered Helots , Rome tried to make those under its rule feel that they had a stake in the system. The ability of non-Roman born individuals to gain Roman citizenship also provided increased stability for those under Roman rule, and the system of sub-division within the different types of citizenship allowed for Roman rulers to work cooperatively with local elites in
492-584: A decade between consulships, further weakening the primarily norms-based constitution. Returning to 100 BC, large numbers of armed gangs—perhaps better described as militias—engaged in street violence. A candidate for high office, Gaius Memmius , was also assassinated. Marius was called upon as consul to suppress the violence, which he did, with significant effort and military force. His landless legionaries also affected voting directly, as while they could not vote themselves for failing to meet property qualifications, they could intimidate those who could. Following
574-486: A different paradigm encompassing multiple "republics" for the general whole of the traditional republican period with attempts at reform rather than a single "crisis" occurring over a period of eighty years. Instead of a single crisis of the late Republic, Flower proposes a series of crises and transitional periods (excerpted only to the chronological periods after 139 BC): Each different republic had different circumstances and while overarching themes can be traced, "there
656-456: A fact which had considerable bearing on Paul's career and on the religion of Christianity. Citizenship in Rome could be acquired through various means. To be born as a citizen required that both parents be free citizens of Rome. Another method was via the completion of a public service, such as serving in the non-Roman auxiliary forces. Cities could acquire citizenship through the implementation of
738-399: A general and his troops, caused by their longer terms of service together and the troops' reliance on that general to provide for their retirements, along with an obstructionist central government, made a huge number of malcontent soldiers willing to take up arms against the state. Adding in the institutionalisation of violence as a means to obstruct or force political change (eg the deaths of
820-587: A manner that was becoming of their family and station. Much of our basis for understanding Roman law comes from the Digest of Emperor Justinian . The Digest contained court rulings by juries and their interpretations of Roman law and preserved the writings of Roman legal authors. The Edict of Caracalla (officially the Constitutio Antoniniana in Latin: "Constitution [or Edict] of Antoninus")
902-402: A migration and reduction in status had to be a voluntary act. Roman citizenship was also used as a tool of foreign policy and control. Colonies and political allies would be granted a "minor" form of Roman citizenship, there being several graduated levels of citizenship and legal rights (the Latin rights was one of them). The promise of improved status within the Roman "sphere of influence" and
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#1732765758988984-697: A record of citizens and their households. As the Roman Empire spread so did the practice of conducting a census. Roman citizens were expected to perform some duties ( munera publica ) to the state in order to retain their rights as citizens. Failure to perform citizenship duties could result in the loss of privileges, as seen during the Second Punic War when men who refused military service lost their right to vote and were forced out of their voting tribes. Women were exempt from direct taxation and military service. Anyone living in any province of Rome
1066-429: A second term as tribune of the plebs would lead to his assassination by the then- pontifex maximus Scipio Nasica , acting in his role as a private citizen and against the advice of the consul and jurist Publius Mucius Scaevola . The Senate's violent reaction also served to legitimise the use of violence for political ends. Political violence showed fundamentally that the traditional republican norms that had produced
1148-408: A specific social class in Rome had modified versions of citizenship. Roman citizens enjoyed a variety of specific privileges within Roman society. Male citizens had the rights to vote ( ius suffragi ) and hold civic office ( ius honorum, only available to the aristocracy). They also possessed ius vitae necisque, "the right of life and death." The male head of a Roman family ( pater familias ) had
1230-486: Is possible that they were entrusted by the praetor with the settlement of certain civil processes of a semi-criminal nature, in which private citizens acted as prosecutors. They also had to collect the sacramenta (deposits forfeited by the losing party in a suit) and examined the plea of exemption put forward by those who refused to act as jurymen. Their number were increased to four, but Augustus reverted it to three. In imperial times most of their functions passed into
1312-457: The Latin law , wherein people of a provincial city of the empire could elect people to public office and therefore give the elected official citizenship. The legal classes varied over time, however the following classes of legal status existed at various times within the Roman state: The cives Romani were full Roman citizens, who enjoyed full legal protection under Roman law. Cives Romani were sub-divided into two classes: The Latini were
1394-565: The Roman family , Roman citizens possessed the right of ius conubii, defined as the right to a lawful marriage in which children from the union would also be Roman citizens. Earlier Roman sources indicate that Roman women could forfeit their individual rights as citizens when entering into a manus marriage . In a manus marriage, a woman would lose any properties or possessions she owned herself and they would be given to her husband, or his pater familias . Manus marriages had largely stopped by
1476-580: The centurions and senior officers for reasons related to discipline. Non-citizens joined the Auxilia and gained citizenship through service. Following the early 2nd-century BC Porcian Laws , a Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped and could commute sentences of death to voluntary exile , unless he was found guilty of treason. If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to crucifixion . Ius gentium
1558-528: The final civil war of the republic, a war which the promagistrate governors and their troops won, and in doing so, permanently collapsed the republic. Octavian, now Augustus, became the first Roman Emperor and transformed the oligarchic republic into the autocratic Roman Empire . Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome ( Latin : civitas ) was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome
1640-404: The ius gentium were considered to be held by all persons; it is thus a concept of human rights rather than rights attached to citizenship. Ius migrationis was the right to preserve one's level of citizenship upon relocation to a polis of comparable status. For example, members of the cives Romani maintained their full civitas when they migrated to a Roman colony with full rights under
1722-474: The Assemblies to make him dictator for the settling of the constitution, with an indefinite term. Sulla also created legal barriers, which would only be lifted during the dictatorship of Julius Caesar some forty years later, against political participation by the relatives of those whom he ordered murdered. And with this use of unprecedented violence at a new level, Sulla was able not only to take control of
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#17327657589881804-566: The Gracchi and Sulla's dictatorship, respectively), the republic was caught in an ever more violent and anarchic struggle between the Senate, assemblies at Rome, and the promagistrates. Even by the early-60s BC, political violence began to reassert itself, with unrest at the consular elections noted at every year between 66 and 63. The revolt of Catiline—which we hear much about from the consul for that year, Cicero —was put down by violating
1886-470: The Great had tried to "mingle" his Greeks with the Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, etc. in order to assimilate the people of the conquered Persian Empire , but after his death this policy was largely ignored by his successors . The idea was not to assimilate , but to turn a defeated and potentially rebellious enemy (or their sons) into Roman citizens. Instead of having to wait for the unavoidable revolt of
1968-645: The Italians; one of the additions to this legislative programme included a transfer of command of the coming First Mithridatic War from Sulla to Gaius Marius , who had re-entered politics. Flower writes, "by agreeing to promote the career of Marius, Sulpicius ... decided to throw republican norms aside in his bid to control the political scene in Rome and get his reforms" passed. The attempts to recall Sulla led to his then-unprecedented and utterly unanticipated marching on Rome with his army encamped at Nola (near Naples). This choice collapsed any republican norms about
2050-459: The Republic was meant to be res publica – the essential thing of the people – the poor and disenfranchised cannot be blamed for trying to redress their legitimate and legal grievances. More recently, beyond arguments about when the crisis of the Republic began (see below), there also have been arguments on whether there even was a crisis or multiple ones. Harriet Flower, in 2010, proposed
2132-432: The Senate and the aristocratic assemblies, whilst trying to reduce the obstructive and legislative powers of the tribune and plebeian council. To this end, he required that all bills presented to the Assemblies first be approved by the Senate, restricted the tribunician veto to only matters of individual requests for clemency, and required that men elected tribune would be barred from all other magistracies. Beyond stripping
2214-504: The Senate in 27 BC, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire . The end could also be dated earlier , to the time of the constitutional reforms of Julius Caesar in 49 BC. After the Second Punic War , there was a great increase in income inequality. While the landed peasantry was drafted to serve in increasingly long campaigns, their farms and homesteads fell into bankruptcy. With Rome's great military victories, vast numbers of slaves were imported into Italy. Significant mineral wealth
2296-526: The Social War, or who were willing to cease hostilities immediately. This was extended to all the Italian socii states when the war ended (except for Gallia Cisalpina ), effectively eliminating socii and Latini as legal and citizenship definitions. Provinciales were those people who fell under Roman influence, or control, but who lacked even the rights of the foederati , essentially having only
2378-472: The Social War—which had the character of a civil war between Rome's Italian allies and loyalists—which was only resolved by Rome granting citizenship to almost all Italian communities, the main question looming before the state was how the Italians could be integrated into the Roman political system. Tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus in 88 BC attempted to pass legislation granting greater political rights to
2460-539: The aristocracy believed violence was a "logical and more effective alternative to political engagement, negotiation, and compromise within the parameters set by existing norms". Further political violence emerged in the sixth consulship of Gaius Marius , a famous general, known to us as 100 BC. Marius had been consul consecutively for some years by this point, owing to the immediacy of the Cimbrian War . These consecutive consulships violated Roman law, which mandated
2542-687: The beginning of the Late Roman Republic ;...". Nic Fields, in his popular history of Spartacus , argues for a start date of 135 BC with the beginning of the First Servile War in Sicily . Fields asserts: The rebellion of the slaves in Italy under Spartacus may have been the best organized, but it was not the first of its kind. There had been other rebellions of slaves that afflicted Rome, and we may assume that Spartacus
Triumvirate (ancient Rome) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-441: The city by Pompey and repeated political irregularities led to Caesar being unwilling to subject himself to what he considered to be biased courts and unfairly administered laws, starting Caesar's civil war . Whether the period starting with Caesar's civil war should really be called a portion of the republic is a matter of scholarly debate. After Caesar's victory, he ruled a dictatorial regime until his assassination in 44 BC at
2706-533: The city for the duration of their terms (rather than running to their provincial commands upon election), also weakened the republic: the stringent punishments of the courts helped to destabilise, as commanders would rather start civil wars than subject themselves to them, and the presence of both consuls in the city increased chances of deadlock. Many Romans also followed Sulla's example and turned down provincial commands, concentrating military experience and glory into an even smaller circle of leading generals. Over
2788-476: The clichéd point of no return for the Republic, as noted in many books, including Tom Holland 's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic . The end of the Crisis can likewise either be dated from the assassination of Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC, after he and Sulla had done so much "to dismantle the government of the Republic", or alternately when Octavian was granted the title of Augustus by
2870-501: The continuation of the civil war against Quintus Sertorius in Spain, but also a revolt in 78 BC by the then-consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . With significant popular unrest, the tribunate's powers were quickly restored by 70 BC by Sulla's own lieutenants': Pompey and Crassus . Sulla passed legislation to make it illegal to march on Rome as he had, but having just shown that doing so would bring no personal harm so long as one
2952-500: The course of the late republic, formerly authoritative institutions lost their credibility and authority. For example, the Sullan reforms to the Senate strongly split the aristocratic class between those who stayed in the city and those who rose to high office abroad, further increasing class divides between Romans, even at the highest levels. Furthermore, the dominance of the military in the late republic, along with stronger ties between
3034-468: The crisis really started with " The Spartacus War " in 73 BC, adding that, because the dangers were unappreciated, "Rome faced the crisis with mediocrities". Pollio and Ronald Syme date the Crisis only from the time of Julius Caesar in 60 BC. Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon , a river marking the northern boundary of Roman Italy, with his army in 49 BC, a flagrant violation of Roman law, has become
3116-498: The crisis: This was the beginning of civil bloodshed and of the free reign [ sic ] of swords in the city of Rome. From then on justice was overthrown by force and the strongest was preeminent. In any case, the assassination of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC marked "a turning point in Roman history and the beginning of the crisis of the Roman Republic." Barbette S. Spaeth specifically refers to "the Gracchan crisis at
3198-415: The due process rights of citizens and introducing the death penalty to the Roman government's relationship with its citizens. The anarchy of republican politics since the Sullan reforms had done nothing to address agrarian reform, the civic disabilities of proscribed families, or intense factionalism between Marian and Sullan supporters. Through this whole period, Pompey's extraordinary multi-year commands in
3280-454: The east made him wealthy and powerful; his return in 62 BC could not be handled within the context of a republican system: his achievements were not recognised but nor could he be dispatched away from the city to win more victories. His extraordinary position created a "volatile situation that the senate and the magistrates at home could not control". Both Cicero's actions during his consulship and Pompey's great military successes challenged
3362-477: The hands of the Vigiles . The triumviri monetalis supervised the issuing of Roman coins. Their number was increased by Julius Caesar to four, but again reduced by Augustus. As they acted for the senate they only coined copper money under the empire, the gold and silver coinage being under the exclusive control of the emperor. Tresviri epulones , a priestly body, assisted at public banquets. Their number
Triumvirate (ancient Rome) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-671: The hands of the Liberatores . The Caesarian faction quickly gained control of the state, inaugurated the Second Triumvirate (comprising Caesar's adopted son Octavian and the dictator's two most important supporters, Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ), purged their political enemies, and successfully defeated the assassins in the Liberators' civil war at the Battle of Philippi . The second triumvirate failed to reach any mutually agreeable resolution; leading to
3526-406: The inauguration of Tiberius Gracchus as tribune , or alternately, when he first issued his proposal for land reform in 133 BC. Appian of Alexandria wrote that this political crisis was "the preface to ... the Roman civil wars". Velleius commented that it was Gracchus' unprecedented standing for re-election as tribune in 133 BC, and the riots and controversy it engendered, which started
3608-519: The inhabitants throughout the different provinces of the Roman Empire and between nobles such as kings of client countries. Before the Edict, however, a significant number of provincials were non-Roman citizens and held instead the Latin rights . The Bible's Book of Acts indicates that Paul the Apostle was a Roman citizen by birth – though not clearly specifying which class of citizenship –
3690-594: The invention of excruciating new punishments, the expansion of Roman citizenship , and even the changing composition of the Roman army . Modern scholars also disagree about the nature of the crisis. Traditionally, the expansion of citizenship (with all its rights, privileges, and duties) was looked upon negatively by the contemporary Sallust , the modern Edward Gibbon , and others of their respective schools, both ancient and modern, because it caused internal dissension, disputes with Rome's Italian allies, slave revolts, and riots. However, other scholars have argued that as
3772-549: The last years of unity of the pars occidentalis , a moment in which the old tribalisms and the proto-feudalism of Celtic origins, until then dormant, would re-emerge, mixing with the new ethnic groups of Germanic origin. This being observed in the writings of Gregory of Tours , who does not use the dichotomy Gallo-Roman - Frankish , but uses the name of each of the gens of that time existing in Gaul (arverni, turoni, lemovici, turnacenses, bituriges, franci, etc.), considering himself
3854-405: The law: a colonia civium Romanorum . Latins also had this right, and maintained their ius Latii if they relocated to a different Latin state or Latin colony ( Latina colonia ). This right did not preserve one's level of citizenship should one relocate to a colony of lesser legal status; full Roman citizens relocating to a Latina colonia were reduced to the level of the ius Latii , and such
3936-443: The legal system so prevent political players from emerging with too much power, as well as to make them accountable to the enlarged senatorial class. He also rigidly formalised the cursus honorum by clearly stating the progression of office and associated age requirements. Next, to aid administration, he doubled the number of quaestors to 20 and added two more praetors; the greater number of magistrates also meant he could shorten
4018-540: The length of provincial assignments (and lessen the chances of building provincial power bases) by increasing the rate of turnover. Moreover, magistrates were barred from seeking reelection to any post for ten years and barred for two years from holding any other post after their term ended. After securing election as consul in 80 BC, Sulla resigned the dictatorship and attempted to solidify his republican constitutional reforms. Sulla's reforms proved unworkable. The first years of Sulla's new republic were faced not only
4100-422: The peace." The capitales were first established around 290 to 287 BC. They were supervised by the praetor urbanus . These triumviri , or the tresviri nocturni (so called because they were on the streets at night), may also have taken some responsibility for fire control . They went the rounds by night to maintain order, and among other things they assisted the aediles in burning forbidden books. It
4182-485: The people, while the senate dined on the Capitol. Their number was later increased to seven ( septemviri epulones ). Three-man commissions were also appointed for purposes such as establishing colonies ( triumviri coloniae deducendae ) or distributing land. Triumviri mensarii served as public bankers; the full range of their financial functions in 216 BC, when the commission included two men of consular rank , has been
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#17327657589884264-512: The provinces. With the settlement of Romanization and the passing of generations, a new unifying feeling began to emerge within Roman territory, the Romanitas or "Roman way of life", the once tribal feeling that had divided Europe began to disappear (although never completely) and blend in with the new wedge patriotism imported from Rome with which to be able to ascend at all levels. The Romanitas , Romanity or Romanism would last until
4346-720: The republic's legal codes that were meant to restrain ambition and defer punishments to the courts. The domination of the state by the three-man group of the First Triumvirate —Caesar, Crassus , and Pompey —from 59 BC did little to restore order or peace in Rome. The first "triumvirate" dominated republican politics by controlling elections, continually holding office, and violating the law through their long periods of ex officio political immunity. This political authority so dominated other magistrates that they were unwilling to oppose their policies or voice opposition. Political violence both became more acute and chaotic:
4428-508: The right to legally execute any of his children at any age, although it appears that this was mostly reserved in deciding to raise newborn children. More general rights included: the rights to property ( ius census ), to enter into contracts ( ius commercii ), ius provocationis, the right to appeal court decisions, the right to sue and to be sued, to have a legal trial, and the right of immunity from some taxes and other legal obligations, especially local rules and regulations. With regards to
4510-556: The rights afforded to the socii and with the growing manpower demands of the legions (due to the protracted Jugurthine War and the Cimbrian War ) led eventually to the Social War of 91–87 BC in which the Italian allies revolted against Rome. The Lex Julia (in full the Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis Danda ), passed in 90 BC, granted the rights of the cives Romani to all Latini and socii states that had not participated in
4592-559: The rights of the ius gentium (rules and laws common to nations under Rome's rule). A peregrinus (plural peregrini ) was originally any person who was not a full Roman citizen, that is someone who was not a member of the cives Romani . With the expansion of Roman law to include more gradations of legal status, this term became less used, but the term peregrini included those of the Latini , socii , and provinciales , as well as those subjects of foreign states. Individuals belonging to
4674-455: The rivalry with one's neighbours for status, kept the focus of many of Rome's neighbours and allies centered on the status quo of Roman culture, rather than trying to subvert or overthrow Rome's influence. The granting of citizenship to allies and the conquered was a vital step in the process of Romanization . This step was one of the most effective political tools and (at that point in history) original political ideas. Previously, Alexander
4756-530: The rostra in the forum. During the war, Rome fielded two armies against Mithridates: one under Sulla and another, fighting both Sulla and Mithridates. Sulla returned in 82 BC at the head of his army, after concluding a generous peace with Mithridates, to retake the city from the domination of the Cinnan faction. After winning a civil war and purging the republic of thousands of political opponents and "enemies" (many of whom were targeted for their wealth), he forced
4838-470: The same year as Gracchus—to veto proceedings overwhelmingly supported by the people. Gracchus' legislation would challenge the socio-political power of the old aristocracy, along with eroding their economic interests. The initial extra-constitutional actions by Octavius caused Gracchus to take similarly novel norms-breaking actions, that would lead even greater breakdowns in republican norms. The backlash against Tiberius Gracchus' attempt to secure for himself
4920-592: The stability of the middle republic were incapable of resolving conflicts between political actors. As well as inciting revenge killing for previous killings, the repeated episodes also showed the inability of the existing political system to solve pressing matters of the day. The political violence also further divided citizens with different political views and set a precedent that senators—even those without lawful executive authority—could use force to silence citizens merely for holding certain political beliefs. Tiberius Gracchus' younger brother Gaius Gracchus , who later
5002-485: The start, specific crises involved, and end date for the crisis of the Roman Republic. As a culture (or "web of institutions"), Florence Dupont and Christopher Woodall wrote, "no distinction is made between different periods." However, referencing Livy 's opinion in his History of Rome , they assert that Romans lost liberty through their own conquests' "morally undermining consequences." Von Ungern-Sternberg argues for an exact start date of 10 December 134 BC, with
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#17327657589885084-404: The state, but also retain control, unlike Scipio Nasica or Gaius Marius, both of whom quickly lost their influence after deploying force. Sulla's dictatorship ended the middle republic's culture of consensus-based senatorial decision-making by purging many of those men who lived by and reproduced that culture . Generally, Sulla's dictatorial reforms attempted to concentrate political power into
5166-624: The subject of debate. Crisis of the Roman Republic The crisis of the Roman Republic was an extended period of political instability and social unrest from about c. 133 BC to 44 BC that culminated in the demise of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire . The causes and attributes of the crisis changed throughout the decades, including the forms of slavery, brigandage , wars internal and external, overwhelming corruption, land reform,
5248-575: The term is used as a nickname. The Second Triumvirate or tresviri reipublicae constituendae of Octavian (later Augustus), Mark Antony , and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was formed in 43 BC by passage of the lex Titia . Created for a five-year term and renewed for another five years, it officially lasted until the last day of 33 BC or possibly into 27 BC. The triumviri capitales oversaw prisons and executions, along with other functions that, as Andrew Lintott notes, show them to have been "a mixture of police superintendents and justices of
5330-516: The text of the Tables only exists in fragments, but during the time of Ancient Rome the Tables would be displayed in full in the Roman Forum for all to see. The Tables detail the rights of citizens in dealing with court proceedings, property, inheritance, death, and (in the case of women) public behavior. Under the Roman Republic , the government conducted a census every five years in Rome to keep
5412-431: The time of Augustus and women instead remained under the protection of their pater familias. Upon his death, both the men and women under the protection of the pater familias would be considered sui iuris and be legally independent, able to inherit and own property without the approval of their pater familias. Roman woman however would enter into a tutela , or guardianship. A woman's tutor functioned similarly to
5494-416: The total anarchy that emerged in the mid-50s by duelling street gangs under the control of Publius Clodius Pulcher and Titus Annius Milo prevented orderly consular elections repeatedly in the 50s. The destruction of the senate house and escalation of violence continued until Pompey was simply appointed by the senate, without consultation of the assemblies, as sole consul in 52 BC. The domination of
5576-485: The tribunate of its powers, the last provision was intended to prevent ambitious youth from seeking the office, by making it a dead end. Sulla also permanently enlarged the senate by promoting a large number of equestrians from the Italian countryside as well as automatically inducting the now-20 quaestors elected each year into the senate. The senatorial class was so enlarged to staff newly created permanent courts. These reforms were an attempt to formalise and strengthen
5658-406: The urban and rural poor, increasing the draft pool of landed farmers as well as providing economic opportunities to the lower classes. The tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC led to a breakup of the long-standing norms of the republican constitution. Gracchus was successful in passing legislation to pursue land reform, but only over a norms-breaking attempt by Marcus Octavius —a tribune in
5740-468: The use of force. In this first (he would invade again) march on Rome, he declared a number of his political opponents enemies of the state and ordered their murder. Marius would escape to his friendly legionary colonies in Africa. Sulpicius was killed. He also installed two new consuls and forced major reforms of the constitution at sword-point, before leaving on campaign against Mithridates. While Sulla
5822-487: Was allied to Rome via treaty were assigned the status of socii . Socii (also known as foederati ) could obtain certain legal rights of under Roman law in exchange for agreed upon levels of military service, i.e., the Roman magistrates had the right to levy soldier from such states into the Roman legions . However, foederati states that had at one time been conquered by Rome were exempt from payment of tribute to Rome due to their treaty status. Growing dissatisfaction with
5904-669: Was an edict issued in AD 212 by the Roman Emperor Caracalla , which declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full Roman citizenship and all free women in the Empire were given the same rights as Roman women, with the exception of the dediticii , people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves. By the century previous to Caracalla, Roman citizenship had already lost much of its exclusiveness and become more available between
5986-503: Was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cultural practices. There existed several different types of citizenship, determined by one's gender, class, and political affiliations, and the exact duties or expectations of a citizen varied throughout the history of the Roman Empire . The oldest document currently available that details the rights of citizenship is the Twelve Tables , ratified c. 449 BC. Much of
6068-413: Was distributed unevenly to the population; the city of Rome itself expanded considerably in opulence and size; the freeing of slaves brought to Italy by conquest massively expanded the number of urban and rural poor. The republic, for reasons still debated by historians, in 177 BC also stopped regularly establishing Roman colonies in Italy. One of the major functions of these colonies was to provide land for
6150-450: Was fighting Mithridates, Lucius Cornelius Cinna dominated domestic Roman politics, controlling elections and other parts of civil life. Cinna and his partisans were no friends of Sulla: they razed Sulla's house in Rome, revoked his command in name, and forced his family to flee the city. Cinna himself would win election to the consulship three times consecutively; he also conducted a purge of his political opponents, displaying their heads on
6232-526: Was no single, long republic that carried the seeds of its own destruction in its aggressive tendency to expand and in the unbridled ambitions of its leading politicians". The implications of this view put the fall of the republic in a context based around the collapse of the republican political culture of the nobiles and emphasis on Sulla's civil war followed by the fall of Sulla's republic in Caesar's civil war . For centuries, historians have argued about
6314-470: Was required to register with the census. The exact extent of civic duties varied throughout the centuries. Much of Roman law involving the rights and functions of citizenship revolved around legal precedents. Documents from Roman writer Valerius Maximus indicate that Roman women were in later centuries able to mingle freely about the Forum and to bring in concerns on their own volition, providing they acted in
6396-588: Was subsequently increased to seven, and by Caesar to ten, although they continued to be called septemviri , a name which was still in use at the end of the 4th century. They were first created in 196 BC to superintend the Epulum Jovis feast on the Capitol , but their services were also requisitioned on the occasion of triumphs, imperial birthdays, the dedication of temples, games given by private individuals, and so forth, when entertainments were provided for
6478-505: Was the legal recognition, developed in the 3rd century BC, of the growing international scope of Roman affairs, and the need for Roman law to deal with situations between Roman citizens and foreign persons. The ius gentium was therefore a Roman legal codification of the widely accepted international law of the time, and was based on the highly developed commercial law of the Greek city-states and of other maritime powers. The rights afforded by
6560-451: Was to win repeated office to the tribunate so to pass similarly expansive reforms, would be killed by similar violence. Consul Lucius Opimius was empowered by the senate to use military force (including a number of foreign mercenaries from Crete) in a state of emergency declared so to kill Gaius Gracchus, Marcus Fulvius Flaccus and followers. While the citizens killed in the political violence were not declared enemies, it showed clearly that
6642-404: Was victorious, this obviously had little effect. Sulla's actions and civil war fundamentally weakened the authority of the constitution and created a clear precedent that an ambitious general could make an end-run around the entire republican constitution simply by force of arms. The stronger law courts created by Sulla, along with reforms to provincial administration that forced consuls to stay in
6724-558: Was wise enough to profit by their mistakes. The start of the Social War (91–87 BC) , when Rome's nearby Italian allies rebelled against her rule, may be thought of as the beginning of the end of the Republic. Fields also suggests that things got much worse with the Samnite engagement at the Battle of the Colline Gate in 82 BC, the climax of the war between Sulla and the supporters of Gaius Marius . Barry Strauss argues that
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