Eleanor Finch
The Roman constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down through precedent. It was never codified as a written document but was made up of three elements of governance: the Consuls, representing the monarchic element and managing military and administrative matters; the Senate, embodying the aristocratic aspect and controlling finances and foreign relations; and the People, the democratic component, who wielded power through voting and influenced decisions on war, laws, and treaties. This balance of power among the three elements ensured stability and prevented any single entity from dominating the government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Three main branches | Assemblies, Senate, Magistrates |
| Assemblies' Powers | Elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, declare war or peace |
| Assemblies' Types | Comitia, Concilium, Contio |
| Voting Units | Curiae, Centuria, Tribus or Tribes |
| Assemblies | Centuriate Assembly, Tribal Assembly, Plebeian Council |
| Senate's Powers | Pass decrees (senatus consulta), advise magistrates, focus on foreign policy |
| Senate's Authority | Derived from senators' prestige, precedent, and custom |
| Dictator's Role | Appointed during military emergencies, held absolute power, dissolved constitutional government |
| Dictator's Term | Limited to six months, after which constitutional government was restored |
| Consul's Role | Lead republic's armies in war, command and consult gods |
| Censors' Role | Conduct Roman census, appoint people to the Senate |
| Curule Aediles | Officers elected to manage domestic affairs, with power over markets, public games, and shows |
| Quaestors | Assisted consuls and governors with financial tasks |
| Plebeian Tribunes | Representatives of the people, held veto power, safeguarded civil liberties |
| Praetorship | Established alongside the college of three praetors, with two eventually becoming historical consuls |
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What You'll Learn
The Assemblies
The centuriate assembly was made up of centuriae, into which each citizen was assigned based on wealth, with richer centuries having fewer citizens but still holding one vote. The tribal assembly and the plebeian council were both organised by tribes, with citizens assigned by geography. There were thirty-five tribes, with thirty-one assigned to rural areas and four to the city. The number of citizens assigned to each tribe varied, with urban tribes having substantially more citizens than rural ones.
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The Senate
The Roman constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent. The constitution was largely unwritten and uncodified, and evolved over time. The Senate was one of the three main branches of the Roman Republic, alongside the Assemblies and the Magistrates.
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The Magistrates
The Roman constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down, largely unwritten and uncodified. It was composed of three main branches: the assemblies (composed of the people), the Senate, and the magistrates.
The centuriate assembly elected the consuls, praetors, and censors, usually presided over by a consul. The tribal assembly elected the junior magistrates like aediles and quaestors; the plebeian council, in which only plebeians could participate, elected the plebeian tribunes and aediles. All assemblies also had the power to make laws, though almost all laws were made in the plebeian council. In doing so, they only had the right to vote for or against a law proposed by a magistrate. Citizens could not bring proposals or amend those brought by the presiding magistrate. Before bringing legislation, magistrates would give speeches to an informal assembly called a contio, where they would try to convince and take feedback from the citizenry.
The Senate passed decrees that were called senatus consulta, or "advice" from the Senate to a magistrate. The focus of the Roman Senate was usually foreign policy, but its power expanded over time as the power of the legislative assemblies declined, and it took on a greater role in civil law-making. Senators were usually appointed by Roman censors, but during times of military emergency, this practice became less prevalent, and the Roman dictator, triumvir, or the Senate itself would select its members.
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Voting units and assemblies
Roman citizens were organised into three types of voting units: curiae, centuria, and tribus or tribes. These corresponded to three different kinds of assemblies: the curiate assembly, the centuriate assembly, and the tribal assembly. Each unit (curia, century, or tribe) cast one vote before their assembly. The majority of individual votes in any century, tribe, or curia decided how that unit voted.
There were two types of legislative assemblies. The first was the comitia (“committees”), which were assemblies of all Roman citizens. The second was the concilia (“councils”), which were assemblies of specific groups of citizens. The comitia centuriata was the assembly of the centuries (soldiers), and they elected magistrates with imperium powers (consuls and praetors). The comitia tributa, or assembly of the tribes (the citizens of Rome), was presided over by a consul and composed of 35 tribes.
The centuriate assembly elected the consuls, praetors, and censors, and was usually presided over by a consul. The tribal assembly elected junior magistrates like aediles and quaestors. The plebeian council, in which only plebeians could participate, elected the plebeian tribunes and aediles. All assemblies had the power to make laws, though almost all laws were made in the plebeian council.
The assemblies were the supreme repository of political power and had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace. However, they were called and governed by the magistrates, who controlled discussions and exercised dominating influence over them. Other magistrates could also veto proceedings before the assemblies, though until the late republic, this was rare.
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The development of the constitution
The Roman constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent. It was largely unwritten and uncodified, and evolved over time. The first constitutional system emerged after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated to 509 BC. This was the Constitution of the Roman Republic, which had three main bodies: the magistrates, the Senate, and the people.
The magistrates were the elected officials of the Roman Republic. Each magistrate was vested with a degree of power, with the dictator, when there was one, having the highest level of power. The consuls were the highest-ranking ordinary magistrates, with supreme power in both civil and military matters. 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 ranking among both consuls flipped every month, with one outranking the other. The plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were considered representatives of the people and acted as a popular check on the Senate through the use of their veto powers, thus safeguarding the civil liberties of all Roman citizens.
The Senate passed decrees that were called senatus consulta, or "advice" from the Senate to a magistrate. The Senate's ultimate authority derived from the esteem and prestige of the senators and was based on both precedent and custom. The focus of the Roman Senate was usually foreign policy, but over time its power expanded as the power of the legislative assemblies declined, and it took on a greater role in civil law-making.
The people were organised into three types of voting units: curiae, centuria, and tribus or tribes. These corresponded to three different kinds of assemblies: the curiate assembly, the centuriate assembly, and the tribal assembly. Each unit cast one vote before their assembly. The majority of individual votes – all given by male citizens – in any century, tribe, or curia decided how that unit voted. In legislative matters, the assemblies very rarely rejected bills put before them, serving more as a legitimising symbol than a deliberative body.
The development of the republican constitution can be traced through several key moments. In 367 BC, with the Licinio-Sextian rogations, plebeians were allowed to stand for the consulship, marking the emergence of the classical form of the republic. The lex Genucia in 342 BC went further, requiring at least one of the consuls to be a plebeian. The imperial constitution then developed from Augustus' victory in the civil wars of the late first century BC. While he claimed to restore a republican form of government, he established himself as the legal head of state with the power to overrule all other magistrates.
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Frequently asked questions
The Roman Constitution was never codified as a written document, but it was made up of three elements of governance: the Consuls, the Senate, and the People.
The Consuls represented the monarchic element, ruling over military and administrative matters. They were the highest-ranking magistrates and could appoint a dictator in times of emergency.
The Senate embodied the aristocratic aspect, controlling finances and foreign relations. They passed decrees called "senatus consulta," which were considered "advice" to the magistrates.
The People represented the democratic component and wielded power through voting. They influenced decisions on war, laws, and treaties, and also decided on rewards and punishments.
