History of the Constitution of the Roman Kingdom
Politics of ancient Rome |
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Periods |
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Constitution |
Political institutions |
Assemblies |
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Ordinary magistrates |
Extraordinary magistrates |
Public law |
Senatus consultum ultimum |
Titles and honours |
The history of the Constitution of the Roman Kingdom is a study of the ancient
The early monarchy
The early Romans were organized by hereditary divisions called gens, or "clans",
The period of the kingdom can be divided into two epochs based on the legends.[4] While the specific legends were probably not true, they were likely based on historical fact. It is likely that, before the founding of the republic, Rome actually had been ruled by a succession of kings. The first legendary epoch saw the reigns of the first four legendary kings. During this time, the political foundations of the city were laid,[5] the city was organized into "Curia", the religious institutions were established, and the senate and the assemblies evolved into formal institutions. The city fought several wars of conquest, the port of Ostia was founded, and the Tiber River was bridged.[5]
The early Romans were divided into three ethnic groups.
Some of the clans governed themselves democratically, with individual members of the clan acting as electors, while other clans governed themselves aristocratically, through a council of clan elders. When these clans merged to form a common community, both methods were used to govern the community. The vehicle through which the early Romans expressed their democratic impulses was known as a "committee" (comitia or "assembly"). The two principal assemblies that formed were known as the "
The late monarchy
The second epoch saw the reigns of the last three legendary kings. The second epoch was more consequential than was the first, which was in part due to the significant degree of territorial expansion which occurred during this period.
Often, individuals whose towns had been conquered remained in those towns. Their daily lives and system of government remained the same, and they simply lost their independence to Rome.[6] Other such individuals, however, came to Rome.[6] To acquire legal and economic standing, these newcomers adopted a condition of dependency toward either a Patrician family, or toward the king (who himself was a Patrician).[6] Eventually, the individuals who were dependents of the king were released from their state of dependency, and became the first Plebeians.[6] As Rome grew, it needed more soldiers to continue its conquests. The non-Patricians belonged to the same Curia as did their patron, while the army at the time was organized on the basis of the Curia, and as such, these dependent individuals were required to fight in the army. However, when they were released from their dependency, they were released from their Curia. When this occurred, while they were no longer required to serve in the army, they also lost their political and economic standing.[7] To bring these new Plebeians back into the army, the Patricians were forced to make concessions.[8] While it is not known exactly what concessions were made, one result of these concessions was that the Plebeians acquired the right to own land,[8] and thus now had a stake in the success of the city. However, they were not granted any political power,[8] which set the stage for what history knows as the Conflict of the Orders.
To bring the Plebeians back into the army, the army was reorganized. The legends give credit for this reorganization to the king
The first Etruscan
See also
- Roman Kingdom
- Roman Republic
- Roman Empire
- Roman Law
- Plebeian Council
- Centuria
- Curia
- Roman consul
- Praetor
- Roman censor
- Quaestor
- Aedile
- Roman Dictator
- Master of the Horse
- Roman Senate
- Cursus honorum
- Byzantine Senate
- Pontifex Maximus
- Princeps senatus
- Interrex
- Promagistrate
- Acta Senatus
Notes
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. US 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. Vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue.
- Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. Random House Books. ISBN 1-4000-7897-0.
- 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. Vol. 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter.
- 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.
- Taylor, Lily Ross; Scott, Russell T (1969). "Seating Space in the Roman Senate and the Senatores Pedarii". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 100. The Johns Hopkins University Press: 529–582. JSTOR 2935928.
Further reading
- Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 9–13.
- Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana Press, 1993).
- Crawford, M. The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press, 1978).
- Gruen, E. S. "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic" (U California Press, 1974)
- 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.
- Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992).
- Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871–1888
- Polybius. The Histories
- 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.
External links
- Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
- Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius
- 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