Key terms for the Roman Republican Constitution

aedile

How many aedlies are there?

an optional magistracy; responsible for the games and public services at Rome

4

amicitia (pl. amicitiae)

Literally translates to ‘friendship’.

In Republican Rome this was system of family alliances established to consolidate and further the success of influential Romans.

auctoritas

Literally authority, yet it is better to translate it as the prestige, influence of clout that a Roman magistrate possessed 

boni

men considered to be ideal statesmen: well educated, traditional, patriotic and experienced enough in politics to accept responsibility for making good decisions for the moral and political health of the state.

censor

two officials elected by the centuriate assembly for 18 months who were responsible for the census and the moral and political health of the state

centuriate assembly (comitia centuriata)

a voting body of citizens organised into 193 voting ‘centuries’ (determined by wealth), responsible for electing consuls and praetors

clients

citizens who were bound by loyalty to a wealthy patron to support him in his public interests (e.g. voting and electoral campaigning) in return for support and resources

concordia ordinum

literally ‘the agreement of the orders’, a political ideal held by Cicero in which the original structures of the Republican constitution were encouraged to flourish and continue, with the aristocracy and equites united in the common good of governing the Roman state. 

consul

How many are there?

one of the leading senators who presided over the Senate and wielded imperium

2

cum dignitate otium

literally ‘leisure with prestige’ used in a wider sense by Cicero to refer to absolute social, religious, legal and political status quo

cursus honorum

The political ladder of elected magistrates. The most junior magistrate was the quaestor, then aedile, praetor and finally consul.

dictator

a position of state established in periods of military crisis. Following a senatorial decree one of the consuls nominated a dictator (who was nearly always an ex-consul) and this magistracy with the highest imperium was held by one man for six months only.

dignitas

acknowledged dignity or prestige, associated particularly with social, religious and political standing

dominatio

form of autocracy or depotism that Romans loyal to the res publica loathed

equites (equestrians)

a rank in the Roman class system which grew in wealth and status through occupations in commerce and finance

fasces

the insignia of senior Roman magistrates in the form of the rods and axes. These fasces were carried by the magistrate’s attendants (lictors)

governor 

a man selected from an elite group of senators who had previously served as a praetor or consul. He was responsible for the running, safety and taxation of a province. He wielded imperium.

imperium

the official power invested in a consul or a praetor giving him military command of legions

libertas

a prominent late Republican term for liberty or the political freedom of citizens

nobiles

a select group of senatorial families distinguished by the inclusion of a consul in their ancestory

novus homo

literally ‘new man’, one who had not only managed to break into the ranks of the Senate, but even to become consul, with no history of the consulship in his family

optimates

a group of aristocratic families whose energies were channelled into the preservation of the political and social status quo

patricians

aristocratic families who could trace their ancestors back to the early days of Rome when Romulus chose them (the patrii= fathers) as the first 100 senators

plebeians (plebs) 

Roman citizens who were not patrician. Originally a ‘lower’ order, the plebeians gained significant status as a result of the ‘Conflict of the Orders’ from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC.

populares (pl), popularis (sing)

noble senatorial families that aimed to secure power through the support of the people by appealing to them with proposals for improving their standards of living

praetor

How many are there?

second in authority to the consuls, presiding over the law-courts in Rome. He wielded a lesser imperium to the consuls

8

province (provincia)

the sphere in which a magistrate was normally expected to exercise his imperium; it was frequently a geographical area, but it could also be a specific task, such as looking after the corn supply or fighting pirates

quaestor

How many are there?

the first rung on the ladder of offices; responsible for the state treasury

20

quaestiones (law-courts)

permanent law-courts presided over by one of the praetors. These dealt with various crimes including treason, bribery, corruption and political violence

res publica

literally meaning ‘public affairs’; this was the term the Romans used to refer to their constitution or the state that had replaced the monarchy

rostra

a raised platform in the Forum from where speakers addressed an assembly

senatus consultum ultimum (SCU)

abbreviated form of senatus consultum de re publica defendenda, a senatorial decree passed in times of crisis allowing the suspension of the normal restrictions placed on consuls to do whatever was necessary to protect the state 

Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR)

‘the Senate and People of Rome’. The official label or motto of the Roman Republic.

Senate/ Senators

How many members of the senate are there?

a deliberative assembly central to the government of the Roman Republic. Its formal function was to advise the senior magistrates. Senators: the highest and wealthiest citizen class, who were members of the Senate.

600

Tribal assembly (comitia tributa)

a voting body of citizens organised into the traditional 35 tribes of Rome (determined by family or place of habitation). It was responsible for electing the lower magisterial offices (two of the aediles and the twenty quaestors)

Plebeian assembly (concilium plebis)

Organised in the same format as the comitia tributa with 35 tribes, but this assembly excluded the patricians making it wholly plebeian. It elected 10 tribunes of the plebs every year.

Tribune of the plebs

ten officials elected from the plebeian order to act as a check on the Senate and cursus honorum in Rome

Triumph

a ritual procession through the streets of Rome celebrating military success. The highest public honour awarded to a victorious Roman commander.