Lex Gabinia

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The Lex Gabinia (Gabinius's Law) was a law established in ancient Rome in 67 BC.

It was passed by the Tribune Aulus Gabinius in 67 BC. Pompey was granted proconsular powers in any province within 50 miles of the Mediterranean Sea with a fleet of 500 battleships, 120,000 infantry and around 5,000 cavalry to fight the growing problems of pirates disrupting trade in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pompey enjoyed huge popularity amongst the plebs of Rome, but the Roman Senate was wary of him and his growing power. The Senate were reluctant to give massive powers to any one man, fearing it would allow another Dictator to seize power as Sulla had done just fifteen years before. The Tribunes though, were able to pass a law conferring huge powers on Pompey to deal with the pirates. The law was proposed by the Tribune Gabinius and therefore was named the Lex Gabinia or Gabinius's Law.

Because most Roman territory was within the 50-mile limit around the Mediterranean, the law gave Pompey, who was then just 39, power over almost every province. This kind of power could easily be exploited, and in fact led to the legions being loyal to him personally, strengthening his position in the state.

[edit] Significance of the Lex Gabinia

Pompey did not make himself ruler of Rome through the Lex Gabinia; that came later, in the First Triumvirate. The plebs were coming into immense power while the traditional rulers in the Senate were losing their authority. Though the Senate was theoretically answerable to the populus, it was almost unprecedented for the people to pass such laws.

The laws set down by Sulla during his dictatorship had been intended to strengthen the Senate and take power away from the plebs. The passing of the Lex Gabinia, followed by the Lex Manilia, proved that Sulla's intended new constitution, designed to stop any one man from gaining immense power, was not working; in fact, it produced men who followed Sulla's example rather than his precepts. The passing of the Lex Gabinia was a key development in the collapse of the Senate as the ruling power in Rome. The Senate proved unable to halt the concentration of power into the hands of the plebeian party and its champion, Gaius Julius Caesar, who led his forces in the Civil War which was a key factor in the collapse of the Roman Republic.