Foundations Of The Roman Republic: Three Key Principles

The Roman constitution was the means by which the Roman Republic governed its people. It emerged in the fourth and third centuries BC, after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. The constitution was 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 and had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. The Senate advised the magistrates and acted as an influential body, while the magistrates, elected by the people, governed the republic, exercising religious, military, and judicial powers. The constitution also developed the concept of 'jus gentium' or the 'law of nations', which was applied to both Romans and foreigners, marking a shift from the traditional principle of personality, where the law of the state applied only to its citizens.

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The Assemblies: the people's branch, with the power to elect magistrates, declare war/peace, and enact/reject laws

The Roman constitution was unwritten and governed the Roman people. The first constitutional system emerged after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy in 509 BC. The constitution of the Roman Republic had three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the magistrates.

The Assemblies: The People's Branch

The Assemblies were composed of the people and served as the supreme repository of political power. They were a sovereign authority with the power to enact or reject any law, confer any magistracies, and make any decision. This included the power to elect magistrates, declare war or peace, and administer justice. The Assemblies were called and governed by the magistrates, who controlled discussions and exercised dominating influence over them.

The Assemblies were made up of three relevant bodies in the middle and late republics: the centuriate assembly, the tribal assembly, and the plebeian council. The centuriate assembly was organised based on wealth, with richer centuries having fewer citizens but still one vote. The tribal assembly and plebeian council were organised by geography, with thirty-one tribes assigned to rural areas and four to the city. All assemblies had the power to make laws, although almost all laws were made in the plebeian council. Citizens could only vote for or against a law proposed by a magistrate and could not bring their own proposals or amendments.

The Assemblies played a crucial role in the Roman Republic, providing a platform for the people to exercise their political power and influence the decision-making process. Through their authority to elect magistrates and enact or reject laws, they contributed to the functioning of the Roman constitutional system.

The Senate: advisors to the magistrates, influencing policy, with no legal authority

The Roman constitution was divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates. The Senate was the governing and advisory assembly of the aristocracy in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an elected body but was instead composed of members appointed by the consuls and later by the censors, who were themselves appointed by the aristocratic Centuriate Assembly.

The Senate's role was to advise the magistrates and influence policy, without any legal authority. The power and authority of the Senate derived from precedent, the calibre and prestige of the senators, and the Senate's unbroken lineage, which dated back to the founding of the Republic in 509 BC. The Senate passed decrees called senatus consulta, which constituted "advice" to magistrates and were generally obeyed, despite not holding legal force. If a senatus consultum conflicted with a law passed by an assembly, the law overrode the senatus consultum as the latter derived its authority from precedent rather than law. However, a senatus consultum could be used to interpret a law.

The Senate directed the magistrates, especially the Roman Consuls, in their prosecution of military conflicts. The Senate also had significant influence over civil government in Rome, particularly in managing state finances and controlling money. The Senate's control over finances gave it the most control over day-to-day life. Additionally, the Senate had the right to assign duties to magistrates, determine the provinces entrusted to consuls, prolong a magistrate's period in office, and appoint senatorial commissions to aid magistrates in organising conquered territories.

The Senate was a permanent body, with members appointed for life, and its individual members were often superior to the consuls of the year in terms of experience and prestige. The ethical requirements of senators were significant, and they were subject to punishment for various offences, including corruption, abuse of capital punishment, or disregard for constitutional precedent. While punishment could include expulsion from the Senate, it was a high standard to meet, and it was generally easier to deny a citizen the right to join the Senate based on moral failings.

The Magistrates: elected by the people, with military, religious, and judicial powers

The Roman constitution was divided into three main branches: the Assemblies, the Senate, and the Magistrates. The constitution was unwritten, but there were laws that required procedural changes or altered the number of magistrates elected. The magistrates were elected by the people in competitive elections, with successive offices generally having more responsibilities and power.

There were two broad categories of magistrates: ordinary magistrates and extraordinary magistrates. Ordinary magistrates included the consuls, products of the republican constitution, while extraordinary magistrates, such as dictators, were remnants of the monarchical constitution and were reserved primarily for emergencies. Each magistrate held potestas, the authority to exercise the office's powers conferred by custom or statute. The most powerful magistrates, such as the extraordinary magistrates, consuls, and praetors, held a kind of authority known as imperium, the authority to command in a military or judicial sense.

The various magistrates were not required to work together and largely acted as individuals pursuing their own policy goals and ambitions. To prevent any one individual from accumulating too much power, magistrates served one-year terms (except censors, who served 18-month terms) and had to wait 10 years before holding the same office again. There were also minimum age requirements for magistrates. This system of annually elected magistrates, with term limits and age restrictions, was designed to strike a balance between giving citizens a voice in governance while preventing the rise of tyrants.

The two annually elected consuls were the closest thing the Republic had to chief executives. They were the most important magistrates and were endowed with the power to command (imperium) and consult the gods. They held the power to propose legislation, call Senate meetings, and preside over certain judicial proceedings. Consuls also held religious authority, taking auspices to determine if proposed actions met with divine favor. Notable Romans who held the consulship include Cicero (63 BC), Pompey the Great (70, 55, 52 BC), and Julius Caesar (59, 48, 46, 44 BC).

Other important magistrates included praetors, who administered civil law, presided over the courts, and commanded provincial armies; censors, who conducted a census and appointed people to the senate; aediles, who managed public works, festivals, food supply, and some judicial duties; and quaestors, who assisted the consuls and governors with financial tasks.

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Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Magistrates: the former for daily governance, the latter for emergencies

The Roman constitution was 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 and had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. The Senate advised the magistrates and acted primarily with its influence, while the magistrates, elected by the people, governed the republic, exercising religious, military, and judicial powers, along with the right to preside over and call upon the assemblies.

Magistrates could be ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary magistrates, such as consuls, were products of the republican constitution and were responsible for the daily governance of the republic. They were elected by the people in competitive elections, with successive offices generally having more responsibilities and power.

Extraordinary magistrates, such as dictators, were remnants of the monarchical constitution and were primarily reserved for emergencies. In times of emergency, a consul could appoint a dictator, who usually exercised absolute command over some duty before resigning upon its completion or after six months. The early republic's dictators were mostly called to fight wars or conduct elections. Many of the functions of the dictatorship were replaced by promagistrates, who were usually, but not always, former magistrates appointed to serve in place of a consul or praetor in command of some war, army, or province.

The most powerful magistrates, such as the extraordinary magistrates, consuls, and praetors, held a kind of authority known as imperium, the authority to command in a military or judicial sense. All magistrates were elected by the people in various assemblies, with the centuriate assembly, the tribal assembly, and the plebeian council being the most relevant in the middle and late republics.

The Development of Provincial Administration: the emergence of prorogation and the promagistracy

The Roman constitution was the means by which the Roman people were governed. The first constitutional system was that of the Roman Republic, which emerged after the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC. The constitution had three main bodies: the magistrates, the senate, and the people.

The magistrates were elected by the people in various assemblies, with competitive elections. There were two broad categories of magistrates: ordinary magistrates, such as the consuls, and extraordinary magistrates, such as the dictators. Each magistrate held 'potestas', the authority to exercise the office's powers. The most powerful magistrates held 'imperium', the authority to command in a military or judicial sense.

The Senate advised the magistrates and acted as an influential body. The third branch, the Assemblies, was composed of the people and served as the supreme repository of political power. The Assemblies had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace.

The Development of Provincial Administration:

As Rome expanded during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, it acquired overseas provinces. These were governed by consuls or praetors assigned by the Senate. As the number of provinces increased, the election of magistrates could not keep up, and the emergence of prorogation meant that provincial commands were extended. Prorogation, in the context of Roman history, refers to the extension of a magistrate's command beyond their term. This practice became common during the First and Second Punic Wars, and the emergencies of the time became a continual state of affairs.

The increasing number of provinces also led to the development of the promagistracy. Promagistrates were men, usually former magistrates, appointed to serve in place of a consul or praetor in command of a war, army, or province. While the Romans did not view promagistracies as formal offices, they became fully institutionalised with the annexation of Macedonia and the Roman province of Africa in 146 BC. The scale of Rome's military commitments required regular prorogation, and emergency grants of 'imperium' became routine.

The long proconsular commands given to Caesar and Pompey in the 50s BC have been interpreted as a rejection of republican principles. However, Erich Gruen argues that long commands were common during the Second Punic War and subsequent conflicts, and that Caesar's and Pompey's commands were sanctioned by the Senate.

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