Secessio plebis
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (September 2018) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Secessio plebis (withdrawal of the commoners, or secession of the plebs) was an informal exercise of power by Rome's
Secessions in Roman history
First Secession – 494 BC
Beginning in 495 BC, and culminating in 494–493 BC, the
In 495 BC, the plebeian populace of Rome began to raise significant concerns about debt, including questioning the necessity of beatings and imprisonment of debtors by money-lenders. Roman historian Livy records an account of a former military official throwing himself into the forum in an extremely dishevelled state, telling the people of his troubles. He explained that during the war against the Sabines his estate was torched by the enemy and his possessions stolen. Upon returning home, he was forced to take a loan to afford paying a tax that had been imposed on him, driving him deeply into debt due to usury. This resulted in him being forced to give up family properties including his grandfather and father's farms. When this was still insufficient, he was taken by his creditors to a prison, whipped, and threatened with death. The people at the forum were angered and the story quickly spread, drawing a large crowd into an uproar.[2]
After much anticipation about consul or senate action to address popular debt concerns, consul
After the secession, the senate finally took action to address the issue. Negotiating with three envoys from the plebeians, the senate came to a resolution. The patricians freed some of the plebs from their debts and conceded some of their power by creating the office of the
Second Secession – 449 BC
The Second Secessio Plebis of 449 BC was precipitated by the abuses of a commission of the decemviri (Latin for "ten men") and involved demands for the restoration of the plebeian tribunes (the representatives of the plebeians) and of the right to appeal, which had been suspended.
In 450 BC Rome decided to appoint the decemviri which was tasked with compiling a law code (which became the Law of the
The senate pressured the decemviri to resign, but they refused. The people decided to withdraw to Mons Sacer, as they had during the first secession. The senate blamed the decemviri for the new secession and managed to force their full resignation. The body selected two senators, Lucius Valerius Potitus and Marcus Horatius Barbatus, to go meet with the people to negotiate. Those gathered at Mons Sacer demanded the restoration of both the plebeian tribunes and the right to appeal, as they had been suspended during the term of the decemviri. The senate's delegation of two agreed to these terms and they returned to the Aventine Hill and elected their tribunes.
Lucius Valerius Potitus and Marcus Horatius Barbatus became the consuls for 449 BC. They introduced new laws which increased the power and added to the political strength of the plebeians. The Valerio-Horatian laws stipulated that the laws passed by the Plebeian Council were binding of all Roman citizens (that is, both patricians and plebeians) despite the patrician opposition to the requirement that they adhere to the universal law. However, once passed, these laws had to receive the approval of the senate (auctoritas patrum). This meant that the senate had the power of veto over the laws passed by the plebeians. Lex Valeria Horatia de senatus consulta ordered that the senatus consulta (the decrees of the senate) had to be kept in the Temple of Ceres by the plebeian aediles (assistants of the plebeian tribunes). This meant that the plebeian tribunes and aediles had knowledge of these decrees, which previously was privileged knowledge. Thus, the decrees entered into the public domain. In the past, the consuls had been in the habit of suppressing or altering them.[8][9] The lex Valeria Horatia de provocatio forbade the creation of state offices that were not subject to appeal.[10]
Third Secession – 445 BC
As part of the process of establishing the
Undeterred, Canuleius reminded the people of the many contributions of Romans of lowly birth, and pointed out that the Senate had willingly given Roman citizenship to defeated enemies, even while maintaining that the marriage of patricians and plebeians would be detrimental to the state. He then proposed that, in addition to restoring the right of conubium, the law should be changed to allow plebeians to hold the consulship; all but one of the other tribunes supported this measure.[14]
A remark by a consul, that the children of mixed marriages might incur the displeasure of the gods, inflamed the plebeians into a military strike, refusing to defend the city against attacking neighbours. This caused the consuls to yield to their demands, allowing a vote on Canuleius' original rogatio. The prohibition on intermarriage between patricians and plebeians was thus repealed.[15]
However, the proposal that would permit plebeians to stand for the consulship was not brought to a vote, threatening a radical escalation of the conflict between the plebeian assembly and the patrician senate.
Fourth Secession – 342 BC
This fourth secession is noted by Livy. The Oxford Classical Dictionary refers to this as an "obscure military revolt."
Fifth Secession – 287 BC
In 287 BC, the plebeians seceded for the fifth and final time. In 290 BC, Roman armies led by consuls
Shortly afterwards Hortensius promulgated a law, the
See also
References
Notes
Citations
- ISBN 0-333-27830-5.
- ^ Livy, 2.23
- ^ Livy, 2.27
- ^ Livy, 2.32
- S2CID 239298375.
- ^ a b "Secessio plebis". Imperium Romanum.
- ^ Livy, 2.33
- ^ Livy, 3.55.13
- ^ Cornell, p. 265
- ^ Cornell, p. 277
- ^ Livy, iv. 4.
- ^ Dionysius, x. 60.
- ^ Livy, iv. 1.
- ^ Livy, iv. 3–5.
- ^ Livy, iv. 6.
- ^ a b Livy, iv. 7.
- ^ Dionysius, xi. 60.
- ^ Dionysius, xi. 60, 61.
- Florus, Epitome , Lib. I, X
Bibliography
- Livy, "Ab urbe condita"
- Cornell, T.J., "The Beginnings of Rome", Routledge, 1995.
- 'The Growth of Plebeian Privilege in Rome', The English Historical Review No. II (April 1886)
- Forsythe, G., A Critical History of Early Rome", Berkeley, 2005
- Florus, Epitome, Lib. I, X
External links
- Quotations related to Secessio plebis at Wikiquote
- The dictionary definition of secession at Wiktionary