Roman Republic vocab terms

"auctoritas"

"Moral and social authority held by leaders, elders, and institutions."

"acta diurna"

"Public records/announcements (daily acts) circulated in Rome."

"comitia (comitia centuriata / comitia tributa / comitia curiata)"

"Popular assemblies that voted on laws, elected magistrates, and decided war/peace."

"censor"

"Magistrate responsible for the census, public morals, and supervising the senatorial roll (elected every 5 years)."

"censorial census"

"Official count of citizens used for taxation, military service, and voting classes."

"clientela (client-patron system)"

"Social-political network in which patrons offered protection and clients provided support and political backing."

"consilium"

"Advisory council or private council of experienced men (e.g., a consul's advisors)."

"consul"

"Highest annually elected magistrate with executive authority and supreme military command (two consuls elected each year)."

"cursus honorum"

"Sequential order of public offices — the formal political career ladder in the Republic."

"dictator"

"Extraordinary magistrate appointed in emergencies with near-absolute authority for a limited time (not elected by comitia)."

"dignitas"

"Personal prestige and reputation that translated into political influence and support."

"equites (equestrian order)"

"Wealthy non-senatorial class often involved in finance, tax collection, and administration."

"fas / nefas"

"Religious/legal distinction between what is divinely permitted (fas) and forbidden (nefas)."

"fasces"

"Bundle of rods (and axe) carried by lictors as a symbol of a magistrate's authority and power to punish."

"imperium"

"Legal power to command armies and exercise certain judicial and executive functions (held by consuls, praetors, and proconsuls)."

"augury / auspices"

"Religious practice of interpreting birds and omens to legitimize political and military actions."

"lictor"

"Official attendant who accompanied magistrates and carried the fasces as a symbol of authority."

"lex (pl. leges)"

"Law passed by Roman assemblies (centuriate, tribal, or curiate assemblies)."

"lex hortensia"

"287 BCE law making plebiscites binding on all Romans, reducing patrician exclusivity."

"magistratus (magistracy)"

"Elected officials who held public office (consuls, praetors, aediles, quaestors, censors, tribunes)."

"nobilitas (nobiles)"

"Elite families whose members had held high office — the aristocratic political class."

"novus homo"

""New man" — the first member of a family to achieve the consulship or high office."

"patrician"

"Hereditary aristocratic class that held early political privileges and priestly positions."

"paterfamilias"

"Male head of a household who held legal authority over family members and clients."

"plebeian (plebs)"

"Commoner class who organized politically to gain rights and representation."

"plebiscitum"

"Decision or law passed by the Plebeian Council (concilium plebis)."

"praetor"

"Senior elected magistrate responsible for judicial administration and, at times, military command."

"proconsul / propraetor"

"Former consuls or praetors granted extended provincial command (imperium) after their annual term."

"provinciae (provinces)"

"Territories outside Italy governed by Roman magistrates, proconsuls, or propraetors."

"quaestor"

"Entry-level elected magistrate managing financial and administrative duties for Rome or commanders."

"res publica"

""Public thing" — the Roman state and commonwealth; the political order of the Republic."

"roman senate (senatus)"

"Council of elder statesmen (mostly ex-magistrates) advising magistrates, shaping policy, and controlling finances and foreign policy."

"sacer / sanctus"

"Religious-legal designations; sacer could mean devoted to the gods (or under a curse), sanctus often protected or inviolable."

"socii"

"Allied Italian communities tied to Rome by treaties with varying rights and obligations (social and military)."

"suffragium"

"Right to vote; also the individual vote cast by a citizen in the assemblies."

"summa potestas"

"Ultimate authority in a specific context (term used for extraordinary or concentrated powers)."

"tribune of the plebs (tribunus plebis)"

"Elected official who protected plebeian interests and exercised sacrosanct veto power over magistrates and legislation."

"tribunicia potestas (tribunician power)"

"Powers associated with tribunes — later used as a basis of imperial authority; included veto and convening assemblies."

"vetus lex / novus lex"

"Old law versus new law — rhetorical categories used in legal and political debate."

"veto"

"Power to forbid or block an action or law (notably exercised by tribunes)."

"velites"

"Light infantry soldiers originally drawn from the poorer classes; term tied to recruitment and social-military obligations."

"clientelae networks"

"Broader patron-client relationships shaping elections, local power, and social ties."

"electioneering (electio)"

"Campaign practices, canvassing, bribery (ambitus), and competitive politicking in the Republic's electoral contests."

"honores"

"Public honors, offices, triumphs, and recognitions tied to political status and prestige."

"popularis / optimates"

"Political tendencies/factions: populares appealed to popular assemblies; optimates defended senatorial authority and aristocratic privilege."

"provocatio"

"Right of a Roman citizen to appeal a magistrate's capital sentence to the people (provocatio ad populum)."

"sodalitas / collegia"

"Associations, clubs, and brotherhoods (religious, professional, or social) that could influence urban politics and elections."

"toga (toga virilis / toga praetexta)"

"Civic clothing signaling status, age, and office; used in political symbolism and public ritual."

"tributum"

"Tax or tribute levied on citizens, allies, or provincial communities."

"aedile (curule aedile / plebeian aedile)"

"Elected magistrates responsible for urban maintenance, public games, grain supply, and market regulation."

"foedera"

"Formal treaties and agreements between Rome and allied or subject communities."

"bellum iustum"

"Doctrine and discourse surrounding a 'just war' with religious and legal implications for warfare."

"ambitus"

"Illegal electoral bribery and corruption — a criminal charge in Roman elections."

"civitates"

"City-states, communities, and municipal units within the Roman political order with diverse legal statuses."

"exile (exsilium / relegatio)"

"Punishment removing citizens from Rome; could be voluntary (exsilium) or enforced (relegatio)."

"provincial governorships"

"Offices combining military command, tax collection, and judicial authority in conquered provinces."

"senatus consultum"

"Advisory decree or recommendation of the Senate that guided magistrates and policy (often followed in practice)."

"tabulae (public records / bronze tablets)"

"Official inscriptions recording laws, treaties, and public decisions displayed for citizens."

"pontifex / pontifex maximus"

"Member of the college of pontiffs; the pontifex maximus was the chief priest overseeing religious law and rites."

"augur / college of augurs"

"Priests who interpreted auspices and omens; the college of augurs legitimized public decisions."

"flamen / flamines"

"Priests assigned to particular gods (e.g., Flamen Dialis for Jupiter) with ritual and political significance."

"vestal virgins"

"Priestesses of Vesta charged with maintaining the sacred fire and performing key religious rites (held privileged status)."

"pontifical law (religious law)"

"Rules and precedents governing Roman ritual, sacral spaces, and priestly duties."

"lex sacra"

"Sacred laws and religious statutes regulating cults, rites, and temples."

"curia / curiales"

"City council or municipal elites; curiales sometimes responsible for local administration and taxes."

"centurion"

"Professional army officer commanding a century (about 80 men) — influential in military and local politics."

"legate (legatus)"

"Officer or deputy appointed by a commander (often a former magistrate) to lead troops or administer provinces."

"prefect (praefectus)"

"Appointed official with administrative, police, or military duties (some prefects held by equites rather than elected)."

"military tribune (tribunus militum / tribunus militum consulari potestate)"

"Officers in the army; on occasion tribunates with consular power were elected instead of consuls."

"civitas sine suffragio"

"Status of communities granted Roman citizenship rights except the vote (a form of partial incorporation)."

"manumission"

"Process of freeing slaves that had social and political implications in urban electorates and patronage."

"client-patron patronage"

"System of mutual obligation where patrons provided legal aid and clients offered political support, crucial in elections."

"triumvirate (triumviri)"

"Three-man commissions (official or informal) established for specific purposes; later used for political alliances (e.g., First Triumvirate)."

"triumph"

"Ceremonial procession and honor granted to victorious generals — highly political and competitive."

"commercium / ius commercii"

"Rights of trade and property law extended to certain communities under Roman law."

"ius civile / ius gentium"

"Civil law for Roman citizens (ius civile) and the law of nations/common law used with non-citizens (ius gentium)."

"provincia (duty/assignment)"

"Specific sphere of responsibility (military or administrative) assigned to a magistrate, later the term for provinces."

"lex curiata de imperio"

"Law granting or recognizing a magistrate's imperium (formal legal sanction for command)."

"rogatio / rogare"

"Proposal of a law (rogatio) submitted to an assembly for vote."

"annona"

"State grain supply and distribution system, politically important for urban stability and elections."

"collegia"

"Colleges or guilds of priests, craftsmen, or social groups that affected urban political life."

"municipium"

"Town or community with partial or full Roman rights and local self-government under Roman oversight."

"municipal magistrates"

"Locally elected officials in municipia responsible for municipal administration and taxation."

"edict (praetorian edict)"

"Pronouncements by praetors that shaped procedural and substantive law through annual edicts."

"quaestio perpetua"

"Permanent judicial courts (standing juries) established to try specific classes of crimes."

"senatorial order (ordo senatorius)"

"Class of elite families whose members served in the Senate and held high magistracies."

"tribunal (tribunalis)"

"Raised platform or bench where magistrates and judges pronounced decisions and administered justice."

"curule chair (sella curulis)"

"Symbolic seat of magistrates entitled to sit in a curule chair (consuls, praetors, curule aediles)."

"provincial tax farming (publicani)"

"Private contractors (often equites) who collected taxes in provinces under Roman oversight."

"lex romana / formulae"

"Roman legal statutes and formulas used in civil and procedural law."

"rogus (funeral pyre politics)"

"Use of funerary display and funeral orations to advertise family prestige and political claims."

"patronage of colonization (coloniae)"

"Foundation of colonies to settle veterans and expand Roman influence — political tool for land and votes."

"municipal law (ius municipii)"

"Local legal frameworks granted to municipia under Roman authority."

"military discipline ( disciplina militaris )"

"Codes and practices within the Roman army that affected social mobility and political power."

"curatores"

"Officials appointed for special public works, finances, or oversight (often temporary and influential)."

"edictum perpetuum"

"Later development making praetorian edicts more stable, but rooted in Republican practices."

"lex repetundarum"

"Law addressing extortion and corruption by provincial governors (important in late Republic trials)."

"ambitu trials"

"Prosecutions for electoral corruption and bribery that shaped campaigning practices."

"cursus honorum restrictions"

"Age limits, sequence rules, and property requirements regulating eligibility for elected offices."

"voting tribes (tribus)"

"Administrative divisions used for organizing Roman voting in tribal assemblies (tribal comitia)."