Tribune of the plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune (
Establishment of the tribunate
Fifteen years after the expulsion of the
The plebeians agreed to negotiate for their return to the city; and their condition was that special tribunes should be appointed to represent the plebeians, and to protect them from the power of the consuls. No member of the senatorial class would be eligible for this office (in practice, this meant that only plebeians were eligible for the tribunate), and the tribunes should be sacrosanct; any person who laid hands on one of the tribunes would be outlawed, and the whole body of the plebeians entitled to kill such person without fear of penalty. The senate agreeing to these terms, the people returned to the city.[4]
The first tribuni plebis were
The ancient sources indicate the tribunes may have originally been two or five in number. If the former, the college of tribunes was expanded to five in 470 BC. Either way, the college was increased to ten in 457 BC, and remained at this number throughout Roman history. They were assisted by two aediles plebis, or plebeian aediles. Only plebeians were eligible for these offices, although there were at least two exceptions.[5]
Powers of the tribunes
Although sometimes referred to as plebeian magistrates, the tribunes of the people, like the
Ius intercessionis, also called intercessio, the power of the tribunes to intercede on behalf of the plebeians and veto the actions of the magistrates, was unique in Roman history. Because they were not technically magistrates, and thus possessed no maior potestas, they relied on their sacrosanctity to obstruct actions unfavourable to the plebeians. Being sacrosanct, no person could harm the tribunes or interfere with their activities. To do so, or to disregard the veto of a tribune, was punishable by death, and the tribunes could order the death of persons who violated their sacrosanctity. This could be used as a protection when a tribune needed to arrest someone. This sacrosanctity also made the tribunes independent of all magistrates; no magistrate could veto the action of a tribune. If a magistrate, the senate, or any other assembly disregarded the orders of a tribune, he could "interpose the sacrosanctity of his person" to prevent such action. Even a dictator (and presumably an interrex) was not exempted from the veto power,[7] although some sources may suggest the contrary.[1]
The tribunes could veto acts of the Roman senate. The tribune Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus imposed his veto on all government functions in 133 BC, when the senate attempted to block his agrarian reforms by imposing the veto of another tribune.[8]
Tribunes also possessed the authority to enforce the right of provocatio ad populum, a precursor of the modern right of habeas corpus. This entitled a citizen to appeal the actions of a magistrate by shouting appello tribunos! ("I call upon the tribunes") or provoco ad populum! ("I appeal to the people").[9] Once invoked, this right required one of the tribunes to assess the situation, and determine the lawfulness of the magistrate's action. Any action taken in defiance of this right was illegal on its face. In effect, this gave the tribunes of the people unprecedented power to protect individuals from the arbitrary exercise of state power, and afforded Roman citizens a degree of liberty unequalled in the ancient world. If the tribune decided to act, he would impose his ius intercessionis ("right of intercession").
Limitations
Although a tribune could veto any action of the magistrates, senate, or other assemblies, he had to be physically present in order to do so.
Because the sacrosanctity of the tribunes depended on the oath of the plebeians to defend them, their powers were limited to the boundaries of the city of Rome. A tribune traveling abroad could not rely on his authority to intervene on behalf of the plebeians. For this reason, the activities of the tribunes were normally confined to the city itself, and a one-mile radius beyond.[1]
History
The tribunes in the conflict of the orders
In 471 BC the
In 462, the tribune
However, the new tribunes continued to press for the adoption of Terentillus' law, until in 454 the senate agreed to appoint three commissioners to study Greek laws and institutions, and on their return help to resolve the strife between the orders. On the return of the envoys, the senate and the tribunes agreed to the appointment of a committee of ten men, known as the decemviri, or decemvirs, to serve for one year in place of the annual magistrates, and codify Roman law. The tribunate itself was suspended during this time. But when a second college of decemvirs appointed for the year 450 illegally continued their office into the following year, and the abuses of their authority became clear to the people, the decemvirate was abolished and the tribunate restored, together with the annual magistrates.[12]
Among the laws codified by the decemvirs was one forbidding intermarriage between the patricians and the plebeians; the Twelve Tables of Roman law also codified that the consulate itself was closed to the plebeians. Worse still, in 448, two patricians were co-opted to fill vacant positions in the tribunate, although they proved to be of moderate views, and their year of office was peaceful. To prevent future attempts by the patricians to influence the selection of tribunes, Lucius Trebonius Asper promulgated a law forbidding the tribunes to co-opt their colleagues, and requiring their election to continue until all of the seats were filled. But relations between the orders deteriorated, until in 445, the tribunes, led by Gaius Canuleius, were able to push through a law permitting the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, and allowing one of the consuls to be a plebeian.[13]
Rather than permit the election of a plebeian consul, the senate resolved upon the election of
Beginning in 376,
Following their victory in 367, the tribunes remained an important check on the power of the senate and the annual magistrates. In 287 BC, the senate formally recognized the plebiscita as laws with binding force.[1] In 149 BC, men elected to the tribunate automatically entered the Senate.
Erosion of the tribunician power at the end of the Republic
However, in 81 BC, the dictator Sulla, who considered the tribunate a threat to his power, deprived the tribunes of their powers to initiate legislation, and to veto acts of the senate. He also prohibited former tribunes from holding any other office, effectively preventing the use of the tribunate as a stepping stone to higher office. Although the tribunes retained the power to intercede on behalf of individual citizens, most of their authority was lost under Sulla's reforms.[18] Former tribunes were once again admitted to the annual magistracies beginning in 75 BC, and the tribunician authority was fully restored by the consuls Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus in 70.[1]
The dignity of the office was further impaired when, in 59 BC, the patrician Publius Clodius Pulcher, who aspired to hold the tribunician power, had himself adopted by a plebeian youth, and renounced his patrician status, in order to be elected tribune for the following year. Although considered outrageous at the time, Clodius' scheme was allowed to proceed, and he embarked on a program of legislation designed to outlaw his political opponents and confiscate their property, while realizing a substantial gain from his actions.[19][20][21]
In 48 BC, the senate bestowed the tribunicia potestas (tribunician power) on the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, who, as a patrician, was ineligible to be elected one of the tribunes. When two of the elected tribunes attempted to obstruct his actions, Caesar had them impeached, and taken before the senate, where they were deprived of their powers. Never again did Caesar face opposition from the tribunes; he held the tribunician power until his death in 44.[22]
In 23 BC, the senate bestowed the tribunician power on Caesar's nephew, Octavian, now styled Augustus. From this point, the tribunicia potestas became a pre-requisite for the emperors, most of whom received it from the senate upon claiming the throne, though some had already received this power during the reigns of their predecessors; the granting of this authority was a means of designating a favoured member of the imperial court as the emperor's intended successor. Agrippa, Drusus the Younger, Tiberius, Titus, Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius each received the tribunician power in this way. With the regular assumption of the tribunician power by the emperors and their heirs, the ancient authority of the tribunes dwindled away.[23]
Although the office of tribune endured throughout
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd Ed. (1970), "Tribuni Plebis."
- Ab Urbe Conditaii. 23–32.
- Ab Urbe Conditaii. 32.
- ^ Ab Urbe Conditaii. 33.
- Ab urbe condita, ii. 33, 58 (citing Piso, iii. 31.
- ^ Frank Frost Abbott, A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions, Ginn & Co., 1901, pp. 196, 261.
- OCLC 39706770., and by the threat of a tribune to veto an election held by a dictator. On the threatened veto of elections, see Livy 27.6.2–11.
The quarrel between L. Papirius Cursor and his master of horse Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus seems [to illustrate] that the dictator's supreme power did not necessarily extend into the city... [it also showed] that the power of a dictator did not override that of the tribunes—a point attested also by the tradition about appeals against the dictator C. Maenius
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Tiberius Gracchus.
- ^ See the use of both forms by Volero in Livy's account.Livy (1880). Ab urbe condita. 2.55.5.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ab urbe condita, ii. 58.
- Ab Urbe Conditaiii. 8–31.
- Ab Urbe Conditaiii. 32–55.
- Ab Urbe Conditaiv. 1–6.
- Ab Urbe Conditaiv. 6. ff, v. 12. ff.
- Ab Urbe Conditavi. 35, 36, 38, 42, vii. 1, 2.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia xiv. 12.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans "Life of Camillus."
- ^ Frank Frost Abbott, A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions, Ginn & Co., 1901, p. 105
- ^ Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Domo Sua 13; De Haruspicum Responsis 27.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans "Life of Cicero."
- ^ H.J. Haskell, This was Cicero (1924), pp. 200–201.
- ^ Frank Frost Abbott, A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions, Ginn & Co., 1901, p. 135
- Michael Grant, The Roman Emperors (1985), pp. 13, 20, 56.
Bibliography
- Brennan, T Corey (26 October 2017). "tribunicia potestas". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.
- Cornell, Tim (1995). The beginnings of Rome. London: Routledge. OCLC 31515793.
- Derow, Peter Sidney (31 August 2016). "tribuni plebis". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.
- Forsythe, Gary (2005). A critical history of early Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press. OCLC 70728478.
- Kondratieff, E J (2018). "Tribuni plebis". Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Wiley. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-1-4051-7935-5– via ResearchGate.
- Lintott, Andrew (1999). Constitution of the Roman republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-926108-6. Reprinted 2009.
- Lomas, Kathryn (2018). The rise of Rome. History of the Ancient World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. S2CID 239349186.
- Steel, Catherine (2014). "The Roman senate and the post-Sullan "res publica"". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 63 (3): 323–339. S2CID 151289863.
- Smith, Christopher (2012). "The origins of the tribunate of the plebs". Antichthon. 46: 101–125. ISSN 0066-4774.
External links
- Devereaux, Bret (25 August 2023). "How to Roman Republic 101, Part IIIc: Ten Tribunes, Two Censors and Twenty-Six Guys". A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry.