Eleanor Finch
The Roman Constitution was an accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs. While today, the term 'constitution' usually refers to a single act of legislation, this was not the case in ancient Rome. The constitution of the Roman Republic was a set of uncodified norms and customs, which, together with various written laws, guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic. There is no evidence of a charter or constitutional document to guide its institutions. Instead, the powers and functions of its various governmental bodies were operated by tradition and ad hoc enactments serving as precedent.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature of the constitution | An accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs |
| Written or unwritten | Unwritten, but with some written laws |
| Types of written law | Leges, Senatus Consulta, Edicta, Responsa Prudentium, Constitutiones Principum |
| Types of unwritten law | Custom |
| First constitutional system | That of the Roman Republic |
| Second constitutional system | That of the Roman Empire |
| Main bodies of the constitution | The magistrates, the senate, and the people |
| Most important magistrates | Consuls and plebeian tribunes |
| Election of magistrates | Elected by the people in various assemblies |
| Assemblies | Comitia Curiata, Comitia Centuriata, Comitia Tributa, Concilium Plebis |
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What You'll Learn
- The Roman constitution was an accumulation of laws, customs, and ancient traditions
- The constitution was unwritten, relying on the wisdom of ancestors
- The constitution emerged from the Roman Kingdom, evolving significantly over time
- The constitution was divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates
- The constitution was adapted and changed over time, reflecting the Roman ability to adapt
The Roman constitution was an accumulation of laws, customs, and ancient traditions
The Roman constitution was one of the general means by which the Roman people were governed. It had three main bodies: the magistrates, the senate, and the people. There were many magistrates, of whom the most important were the consuls and the plebeian tribunes. The consuls' main role was to lead the republic's armies in war and they were endowed with the power to command and consult the gods. The senate was a body made up of former magistrates, which advised the magistrates. The collective influence of all the senior statesmen of the body made that advice, in many cases, essentially binding. The people were organized into three types of voting units: curiae, centuria, and tribus or tribes.
The Roman constitution was able to adapt due to its division of power. All policy decisions were dependent on the collaboration of the voting assemblies, the magistrates, and the Roman Senate. While tradition and legal documents were essential, the foundation of any constitution was its laws. The Romans divided their law into jus scriptum (written law) and jus non scriptum (unwritten law). By “unwritten law” they meant custom; by “written law” they meant not only the laws derived from legislation but, literally, laws based on any written source. There were various types of written law, including leges, or enactments of one of the assemblies of the whole Roman people.
The early republic's dictators were mostly called to fight wars or to conduct elections. Many of the functions of the dictatorship were replaced by promagistrates, men – usually but not always former magistrates – who were appointed to serve in place of a consul or praetor. The imperial constitution developed from Augustus' victory in the civil wars of the late first century BC. Augustus claimed to give up his wartime powers and restore a republican form of government but actually subverted republican precedents to establish himself as the legal head of state with the power to overrule all other magistrates.
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The constitution was unwritten, relying on the wisdom of ancestors
The Roman constitution was unwritten, relying on the wisdom and customs of their ancestors as Roman law developed gradually over time. The constitution of the Roman Republic was a set of uncodified norms and customs which, together with various written laws, guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic. While the constitution was unwritten, it is important to note that there were written laws in ancient Rome. These written laws were an important part of the Roman legal system and played a significant role in shaping the procedural governance of the Roman Republic.
The Roman Republic emerged from the Roman Kingdom, evolving significantly over almost five hundred years. The early Roman Republic was marked by the election of two consuls each year, who were the highest magistrates in the Roman government. The consuls' main role was to lead the republic's armies in war and they were endowed with the power to command and consult the gods. The Roman constitution had three main bodies: the magistrates, the senate, and the people. The magistrates, including the consuls, were elected by the people in various assemblies, such as the centuriate assembly, the tribal assembly, and the plebeian council.
The senate, composed of former magistrates, provided advice and guidance to the magistrates, and their influence was strong enough to direct magistrates on what to do and how to do it, especially in matters of public religion, finance, and foreign affairs. The people, through the assemblies, served as the supreme repository of political power. They had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. The middle and early late Republics saw gradual changes in the constitution, including the formalization of the cursus honorum, the introduction of a secret ballot, and the abolition of the cooption of priests in favour of election.
The Roman constitution was an accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs. The earliest and most important legislation was the Twelve Tables, enacted in 451–450 BCE during the struggle of the plebeians for political equality. It represented an effort to obtain a written and public code that patrician magistrates could not alter at will. However, it is important to note that the text of the Twelve Tables has not survived, and only a few fragments have been collected from allusions and quotations in the works of authors such as Cicero.
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The constitution emerged from the Roman Kingdom, evolving significantly over time
The Roman constitution was a set of unwritten norms and customs, alongside various written laws, that guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic. It emerged from the Roman Kingdom, evolving significantly over time. The constitution of the Roman Republic developed after the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC, evolving from the Roman Kingdom to the point of unrecognisability over the course of almost 500 years.
The Roman constitution was one of the means by which the Roman people were governed. It was an accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs. While "constitution" today usually refers to a single act of legislation, this was not the case in ancient Rome. Instead, Roman government relied on the wisdom and customs of their ancestors as Roman law developed gradually over time. The constitution was malleable and evolving, with substantive entrenched norms.
The Conflict of the Orders, which began in the fourth and third centuries BC, was a significant factor in the development of the Roman constitution. This conflict led to the creation of the tribunate, granting plebeian citizens equal political rights and checking patrician power. The tribunes, or plebeian tribunes, emerged with the power to veto any other magistrate's actions and became the main legislators. The Conflict of the Orders resulted in a shift from rule by one monarch to rule by an elite group, the patricians.
The Roman constitution can be divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates. The Assemblies, composed of the people, held supreme political power. They had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. The Senate, composed of former magistrates, advised the magistrates and exerted significant influence over them. The Magistrates, of which there were many, included important roles such as the consuls and the plebeian tribunes. The consuls led the republic's armies and had the power to command and consult the gods.
The constitution evolved significantly over time, with gradual changes occurring in the middle and early late Republics. For example, the lex Villia annalis in 180 BC formalised the cursus honorum by setting minimum ages for each office. The introduction of the secret ballot and the abolition of the cooption of priests in favour of election also marked this period. The development of provincial administration and the promagistracy was another notable change during this time. The increasing number of provinces acquired through Rome's expansion led to the emergence of prorogation, resulting in generals no longer serving as magistrates but as their prorogued equivalents.
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The constitution was divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates
The Roman constitution was a set of uncodified norms and customs, which, along with various written laws, guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic. The constitution was not a single act of legislation but an accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs.
The constitution of the Roman Republic can be divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates. The Assemblies, composed of the people, served as the supreme repository of political power. They had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. However, they did not possess a right of legislative initiative of their own and were governed by the magistrates, who controlled discussions and exercised dominating influence over them. The Assemblies were convened by magistrates and voted only on matters put forward by the presiding magistrate. The Assemblies were not made up of all Roman people, as only adult male citizens were permitted to participate, and they were mostly members of the upper class.
The Senate, on the other hand, was a body composed of former magistrates, which advised the current magistrates. While the Senate did not have legal authority, its influence was such that its advice was often binding. The Senate's influence was particularly strong in the administration of public religion, finance, and foreign affairs, including the assignment of magistrates to military commands. The Senate was also involved in proposing legislation and could be summoned by magistrates like the consuls, praetors, and tribunes.
The third branch was the Magistrates, who were elected by the people to govern the republic. They exercised religious, military, and judicial powers, along with the right to preside over and call upon the Assemblies. Magistrates could veto the proceedings of the Assemblies, and each magistrate could veto the actions of their colleagues. The most important magistrates were the consuls, who led the republic's armies in war and had the power to command and consult the gods. Other significant magistrates included the plebeian tribunes, who could intercede and veto the actions of a magistrate.
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The constitution was adapted and changed over time, reflecting the Roman ability to adapt
The Roman constitution was a set of unwritten norms and customs, which, along with various written laws, guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic. The constitution was not a single act of legislation but an accumulation of laws, legal decisions, and ancient customs. It was flexible and adaptable, evolving over the almost five hundred years of the Roman Republic.
The constitution of the Roman Republic emerged from that of the Roman Kingdom, which was overthrown in 510 BC. The Roman Republic was founded on the expulsion of the last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and the establishment of rule by the elite, the patricians, instead of the rule of one. The early Republic's dictators were mostly called to fight wars or conduct elections, and their functions were later replaced by promagistrates.
The constitution of the Roman Republic had three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates. The Assemblies, composed of the people, served as the supreme repository of political power. They had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. However, the Assemblies did not consist of all Roman people, as only adult male citizens were permitted to participate. The Senate, composed of former magistrates, advised the magistrates and exerted a significant influence on their decisions. The Magistrates, of which the most important were the consuls and the plebeian tribunes, were elected by the people in various assemblies.
The late Republic saw a breakdown in elite cohesion, which led to a loss of control to a limited number of powerful dynasts within the elite. This, along with a growing culture of political violence and the centralisation of authority, contributed to the collapse of republican government and norms. Augustus, the victor of the civil wars in the late first century BC, established himself as the legal head of state, marking a transformation towards an autocratic regime.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the Roman Constitution was not a single written document. Instead, it was a set of uncodified norms, customs, and written laws that guided the procedural governance of the Roman Republic.
The Roman Constitution emerged from the constitution of the Roman Kingdom and evolved significantly over the almost five hundred years of the Roman Republic. It was influenced by the wisdom and customs of Roman ancestors, with Roman law developing gradually over time.
The Roman Constitution had three main bodies: the magistrates, the senate, and the people. The magistrates, including consuls and plebeian tribunes, were elected by the people in various assemblies. The senate, composed of former magistrates, provided advice and direction to the magistrates. The people, through the assemblies, served as the supreme repository of political power and had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace.
There were several types of written laws in the Roman Constitution, including leges (enactments of the assemblies), senatus consulta (resolutions of the senate), edicta (edicts or proclamations issued by a superior magistrate), and responsa prudentium (answers to legal questions given by learned lawyers).
The Roman Constitution was unique because it was not a single charter or constitutional document. Instead, it was an organic understanding of the government that underwent changes over time. This adaptability was a source of Roman greatness, as it channelled competition and disagreement into Roman energy and growth.
