roman history quiz 2

consul

chief magistrates, only patricians, 2 of them

• Serve for one year 

• Collegial 

• Checks and balances 

• Military and political control 

• Imperium: authority over the army 

the highest elected public officials, the heads of the state, and held the highest executive power during the Roman Republic. They served as leaders of the Roman military, convened and presided over the Senate and popular assemblies, and represented the state in foreign affairs

pontifex maximus

• Highest pontiff, chief priest (higher than rex sacrorum) 

• Lives in Regia 

• Control calendar, priest watches sky and announces dates 

• Mediate between the gods and Roman society 

• Interpret law 

the highest religious office, acting as the head of the College of Pontiffs and responsible for overseeing religious rituals and traditions

praetors

2 of them

• Have imperium 

• Directly below the consuls  

• They were responsible for administering justice, commanding armies, and managing various public works and duties

Curule Aediles  

• One year they are patrician, next year they are plebian 

• Lower office 

• magistrates in ancient Rome, responsible for managing civic infrastructure, supervising markets, and organizing public games

Duumviri

any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome

Decemvirate 

created the 12 tables

• Board of 10 

• Elected instead of consuls  

• Cannot appeal their decisions 

• Borrowed structure from Plebians (maybe) 

Quaestor  

a public official, particularly a magistrate responsible for finance and administration, often serving as a stepping stone to higher offices. They could also be tasked with collecting taxes, supervising state funds, conducting audits, or serving as prosecutors in criminal cases. 

Tribune

Plebs

Shift from 2 to 10, at first 2, like consuls  

Lex Sacrata 

• If anyone harms the tribunes, we will attack them 

• Gives tribunes authority 

Concilium Plebis: have a voting system

a military or civil official, primarily known as a military commander or a political representative of the plebeians

Censors

job is to count people 

• 2 of each 

• In 421, changes to 4  

highly influential magistrates, primarily responsible for taking the census, overseeing public morals, and managing certain aspects of the government's finances

Proroguement

office extended 

• Instead of being consul, you would be pro-consul 

• Stay in your position, but do not have to go through reelection 

• Pro-praetor, etc. 

Senate

Patricians

• Old men 

• Leading aristocrats (kind of like patricians) 

a powerful advisory and legislative body. Initially composed of patricians, its membership later included plebeians. The Senate played a significant role in both domestic and foreign policy, advising magistrates and sometimes directing their actions.

Aediles

Plebs

• In charge of keeping the temples clean 

• Keep track of all of the laws that are passed and take them to the temples  

responsible for maintenance of public buildings (aedēs) and regulation of public festivals

Military tribunes with consular power 

senior officers in the Roman army

• Senior officers in the legions, subordinate to higher magistrates like consuls and praetors. 

• Role: Commanded portions of the army, ensuring discipline and order

Rex Sacrorum

• Religious role 

• Significant priest  

a high-ranking priest who took over the religious duties of the kings after they were expelled from Rome

dictator

• Magister Equitone 

• Emergency 

• 6 months 

• A specific job 

an extraordinary magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned

tribunes of the plebs

protectors and voices for the common people, with the power to veto decisions of magistrates and the Senate. 

Protected the plebeians from the power of the patricians (upper class) and acted as a voice for the common people. 

augur

priests and officials who specialized in interpreting omens and the will of the gods, particularly by observing birds