List of Roman tribes

Voters in ancient Rome were registered not by political party, but by tribe (Latin tribus).

Contents

Original tribes

Latin Tribus derives from trēs (three), hence originally there were only three tribes to begin with[1], which were:

Tribes as of 242 BC

In 242 BC, the official number of tribes was set at 35:

Urban tribes

People of the city of Rome itself, typically belonged to the four urban tribes[2], which were the largest and had the least political power. These tribes were named for districts of the city.

Rural tribes

Landowners and aristocracy traditionally belonged to the 31 smaller rural tribes. Many rural tribes derive from prominent Roman gentes, or family names, such as Cornelia or Fabia.

Two of the tribes are unclear; the thirty-fifth tribe has been found listed as both Succusana and Pupinia.

References

  1. ^ About.com: 35 Tribes of Rome, accessed 2nd October, 2010, 4:15 am (GMT)
  2. ^ About.com: Names of the 35 Tribes of Rome, accessed 2nd October, 2010, 4:25 am (GMT)

External Links