Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Empire
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During the reign of the second Roman Emperor, Tiberius, the powers that had been held by the legislative assemblies (the comitia) were transferred to the senate. The neutering of the comitia had become inevitable due to their decadence. The comitia were decedent for reasons beyond the fact that they were composed of the rabble of Rome. The electors in each of the comitia were ignorant as to the merits of the important questions that were laid before them.[1] In addition, the electors were often willing to sell their votes to the highest bidder.
It was Rome's own success that caused the ultimate obsolescence of the comitia. Under the republic, it was the People of Rome who held the ultimate sovereignty, and thus the ultimate power over the state. Exercising this sovereign power was the purpose of the popular assemblies (the comitia). The very idea of a comitia, however, was more fitting for a city-state than it was for a world empire.[1] When Roman territory was confined to a limited geographical area, the comitia were more representative of the popular will. By the time that Rome had grown into a world power, very few Romans had a practical chance to vote in a comitia. Therefore, in practice, the comitia were so unrepresentative as to be undemocratic.
After the founding of the Roman Empire, the People of Rome continued to organize by centuries and by tribes. By this point, however, these divisions had lost most of their relevance.[2]
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[edit] Comitia Curiata
After the fall of the republic, the Comitia Curiata no longer passed the lex curiata de imperio.[2] This power was transferred to the senate. This was the one measure by which the republican Comitia Curiata had political relevance. After the founding of the empire, this assembly continued to consist of thirty lictors. After the founding of the empire, the only two functions of the Comitia Curiata were to witness wills and to ratify adoptions.[2]
[edit] Comitia Centuriata
Under the empire, soldiers continued to organize by centuries. However, after the fall of the republic, the centuries lost all of their relevance. The division of the Comitia Centuriata into centuries of seniores (senior soldiers) and iuniores (junior soldiers) continued well into the empire.[2] The classification of centuries on the basis of property ownership continued as well.[2]
The machinery of the Comitia Centuriata continued to exist well into the life of the empire.[2] However, the Comitia Centuriata lost all practical relevance. Legislation was never submitted to the imperial Comitia Centuriata. The one major legislative power that this assembly had held under the republic, the right to declare war, was now held exclusively by the emperor.[2] After the founding of the empire, all judicial powers that had been held by the republican Comitia Centuriata were transferred to independent jury courts (quaestiones).[2] Under the emperor Tiberius, all electoral powers that had been held by the Comitia Centuriata were transferred to the senate.[2]
After the Comitia Centuriata lost its legislative, judicial, and electoral powers, it had no remaining authority. Now, its only function was to hear the renuntiatio.[2] The renuntiatio was heard after the senate had 'elected' the magistrates. The renuntiatio had no legal purpose. It was a ceremony in which the results of the election were read to the electors. When the electors heard these results, they were not organized into their divisions by century. Instead, they were assembled into a conventio ("convention"). Under both the republic and the empire, a conventio was simply a division-less gathering of the 'electors'. The renuntiatio allowed the emperor to claim that the magistrates had been elected by a sovereign people.
[edit] Comitia Tributa
After the founding of the empire, the tribal divisions of citizens and freedmen continued. The only political purpose of the tribal divisions was such that they better enabled the senate to maintain a list of citizens.[2] Tribal divisions also simplified the process by which grain was distributed.[2] Eventually, most freedmen would belong to one of the four urban tribes, while most freemen would belong to one of the rural tribes. Heredity continued to be the basis upon which membership in a particular tribe was determined.[2]
Under the emperor Tiberius, the electoral powers of the Comitia Tributa were transferred to the senate. Each year, after the senate had elected the annual magistrates, the Comitia Tributa would hear the renuntiatio.[2] The renuntiatio served the same function in the Comitia Tributa as it served in the Comitia Centuriata.
Any legislation that the emperor submitted to the assemblies for ratification would be submitted to the Comitia Tributa.[2] Several acts of the emperor Augustus, for example, were ratified by this assembly. The ratification of legislation by an assembly, however, had no legal importance. The emperor could make any decree into law, even without the acquiescence of the assemblies. Thus, under the empire, the chief executive again became the chief lawgiver. The chief executive had not held this power since the days of the early republic. The Comitia Tributa continued to ratify laws until the reign of the emperor Domitian.[2]
[edit] Concilium Plebis
The Concilium Plebis did survive the fall of the republic.[2] The Concilium Plebis, however, lost its legislative, judicial and electoral powers to the senate. By virtue of his tribunician powers, the emperor always had absolute control over the Concilius Plebis.[2]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics (ISBN 0-543-92749-0).
- Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office, Senate Document 103-23.
- Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes. By Francis Barham, Esq. London: Edmund Spettigue. Vol. 1.
- Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-926108-3).
- Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. By Mr. Hampton. Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Fifth Edition, Vol 2.
- Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press (ISBN 0-472-08125-X).
[edit] Notes
[edit] Further reading
- Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
- Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
- Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871-1888
- Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
- Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
- The Histories by Polybius
- Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 9–13.
- A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana Press, 1993).
- M. Crawford, The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press, 1978).
- E. S. Gruen, "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic" (U California Press, 1974)
- F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992).
- A. Lintott, "The Constitution of the Roman Republic" (Oxford University Press, 1999)
[edit] Primary sources
- Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
- Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius
[edit] Secondary source material
- Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
- The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero
- What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us
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