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Publilian Laws
Publilian Laws refers to a set of laws meant to increase the amount of political power the plebeian class held in the Roman Republic. The laws are named for Volero Publilius and Quintus Publilius Philo, the two tribunes responsible for the law's passing. Lex Publilia (471 BC) The ''lex Publilia'' introduced by the tribune Volero Publilius and passed in 471 BC, gave the power to elect tribunes to the Tribal Assembly rather than the Centuriate Assembly. This law gave plebeians the right to initiate laws. Publilius also saw that the Tribal Assembly should be organized by district, with each district casting a single vote decided by the majority within that district. The four Servian districts were limited to the city (''tribus urbanae''), and the land conquered after the Servian period was divided into sixteen districts (''tribus rusticae''). A twenty-first district, called Crustuminian was created in the place that the Plebeians organized themselves in order to have an uneven number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plebeian Council
The ''Concilium Plebis'' (English: Plebeian Council., Plebeian Assembly, People's Assembly or Council of the Plebs) was the principal assembly of the common people of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative/judicial assembly, through which the plebeians (commoners) could pass legislation (called plebiscites), elect plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian Council was originally organized on the basis of the Curia but in 471 BC adopted an organizational system based on residential districts or tribes. The Plebeian Council usually met in the well of the Comitium and could only be convoked by the tribune of the plebs. The patricians were excluded from the Council. History From 509 to 471 BC When the Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, the Roman people were divided into a total of thirty curiae. Plutarch and Dionysus of Helicarnassus believed that these curiae were subdivisions of the three Romulean Tribes. The curiae were or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire, Rome's control rapidly expanded during this period—from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. Roman society under the Republic was primarily a cultural mix of Latin and Etruscan societies, as well as of Sabine, Oscan, and Greek cultural elements, which is especially visible in the Roman Pantheon. Its political organization developed, at around the same time as direct democracy in Ancient Greece, with collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a senate. The top magistrates were the two consuls, who had an extensive range of executive, legislative, judicial, military, and religious powers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volero Publilius
Volero Publilius was tribune of the plebs in Rome in 472 and 471 BC. During his time as tribune, he secured the passage of two important laws increasing the independence of his office.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 29, 30. Background The tribunes of the plebs had been created following the secession of the people in 494 BC. Burdened by crushing debt and angered by a series of clashes between the patricians and plebeians, in which the patricians held all of the political power, the plebeians deserted the city ''en masse'' and encamped upon the sacred mount. One of the concessions offered by the senate to end the stand-off was the creation of a new office, tribune of the people, for which only plebeians would be eligible.Livy, ii. 33. These tribunes had the power to convene the ''concilium plebis'', one of the three major assemblies of the Roman people, and to propose legislation before it; the power to intercede on behalf of a citizen who wished to appeal from the decision of a magi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintus Publilius Philo
Quintus Publilius Philo was a Roman politician who lived during the 4th century BC. His birth date is not provided by extant sources, however, a reasonable estimate is about 365 BC, since he first became consul in 339 BC at a time when consuls could be elected in their twenties (Livy 7.26.12). His Greek cognomen ‘Philo’ was unique to his family. His family was plebeian, and the gens won its first attested election via Publilius Volero as tribune in 472 BC. Volero passed two important pieces of legislation which increased the power of a Tribune. Philo came from a family accustomed to promoting the rights of the plebs. Early career Publilius first became consul in 339 BC. During his first term, he retaliated against the Latins who sought to reclaim territories that were previously lost to Rome. He was supported by the other consul Tiberius Aemilius Mamercinus. The most prominent event was Philo's assault on the Latin forces camped in the Fenectine Plains. Philo remained on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lex Publilia (471 BC)
The ''lex Publilia'', also known as the Publilian Rogation, was a law traditionally passed in 471 BC, transferring the election of the tribunes of the plebs to the ''comitia tributa'', thereby freeing their election from the direct influence of the Senate and patrician magistrates.Livy, ii. 56.Berger, pp. 558 ''ff''.Raaflaub, pp. 26 ''ff''. Background In 473 BC, the tribune Gnaeus Genucius ordered the arrest and trial of Gnaeus Manlius Vulso and Lucius Furius Medullinus, the consuls of the previous year, for having used their power to obstruct agrarian reforms.Livy, ii. 54. Genucius was already hated by the patricians; Titus Genucius, probably his brother, having brought to trial Titus Menenius Lanatus, who as consul in 477 had failed to intervene to prevent the disaster at the Cremera, and Spurius Servilius Priscus Structus, who during his consulship in 476 had nearly lost his entire army due to his recklessness. Before their trial, Manlius and Furius appeared in public in mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribune Of The Plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate and Roman magistrate, magistrates. These tribunes had the power to convene and preside over the ''Plebeian Council, Concilium Plebis'' (people's assembly); to summon the senate; to propose legislation; and to intervene on behalf of plebeians in legal matters; but the most significant power was to veto the actions of the Roman consul, consuls and other magistrates, thus protecting the interests of the plebeians as a class. The tribunes of the plebs were sacrosanct, meaning that any assault on their person was punishable by death. In Roman Empire, imperial times, the powers of the tribunate were granted to the Roman emperor, emperor as a matter of course, and the office itself lost its independence a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribal Assembly
The Tribal Assembly (''comitia populi tributa'') was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (''tribus''). In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legislative matters in the popular assemblies (the comitia centuriata, the tribal assembly and the plebeian council). Bills were proposed by magistrates and the citizens only exercised their right to vote. In the Tribal Assembly, citizens were organized on the basis of 35 tribes: four urban tribes of the citizens in the city of Rome, and 31 rural tribes of citizens outside the city. Each tribe voted separately and one after the other. In each tribe, decisions were made by majority vote and its decision counted as one vote regardless of how many electors each tribe held. Once a majority of tribes voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended and the matter was decided. The Tribal Assembly was chaired by a magistrate, usually a consu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centuriate Assembly
The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred men by classes. The centuries initially reflected military status, but were later based on the wealth of their members. The centuries gathered into the Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The majority of votes in any century decided how that century voted. Each century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Century held. Once a majority of centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided.Taylor, 40 Only the Centuriate Assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman magistrates: consuls, praetors and censors.Abbott, 257 The Centuriate Assembly could also pass a law that granted constitutional command authority, or "Imperium", to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curiate Assembly
The Curiate Assembly (''comitia curiata'') was the principal assembly that evolved in shape and form over the course of the Roman Kingdom until the Comitia Centuriata organized by Servius Tullius. During these first decades, the people of Rome were organized into thirty units called "Curiae".Taylor, 3, 4 The Curiae were ethnic in nature, and thus were organized on the basis of the early Roman family, or, more specifically, on the basis of the thirty original patrician (aristocratic) clans.Abbott, 250 The Curiae formed an assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The Curiate Assembly passed laws, elected Consuls (the only elected magistrates at the time),Abbott, 253 and tried judicial cases. Consuls always presided over the assembly. While plebeians (commoners) could participate in this assembly, only the patricians (the Roman aristocrats) could vote. Since the Romans used a form of direct democracy, citizens, and not elected representatives, voted before each ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publilia Gens
The gens Publilia (), sometimes written Poblilia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the early decades of the Republic. The ''lex Publilia'' passed by Volero Publilius, tribune of the plebs in 471 BC, was an important milestone in the struggle between the patrician and plebeian orders. Although the Publilii appear throughout the history of the Republic, the family faded into obscurity around the time of the Samnite Wars, and never again achieved positions of prominence in the Roman state.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 603 ("Publilia Gens"). Origin The nomen ''Publilius'' is a patronymic surname based on the Latin praenomen '' Publius'', with which it is frequently confused. Praenomina The praenomina used by the Publilii included '' Volero'', ''Lucius'', ''Quintus'', ''Gaius'', and ''Titus''. All were very common throughout Roman history, except for ''Volero''; the Publilii were the only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
