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Decemvirs
The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing laws" ( la, decemviri consulari imperio legibus scribundis) who reformed and codified Roman law during the Conflict of the Orders between ancient Rome's patrician aristocracy and plebeian commoners. Other decemviri include the "decemviri adjudging litigation" ('), the "decemviri making sacrifices" ('), and the "Decemviri Distributing Public Lands" ('). ''Decemviri consulari imperio legibus scribundis'' Background Gaius Terentilius Harsa, a plebeian tribune, wished to protect the plebeian population by curtailing the power of the Roman consuls. To do this, he proposed a law in 462 BC which provided for a five-man commission to define their power. The patricians were opposed to this curtailment and managed to postpone the debate on this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis Sabinus
Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables of Roman law around 451 BC. He is also probably identical with the Appius Claudius who was consul in 471 BC. As consul in 471, Claudius is portrayed in Roman historical tradition as a violent opponent of the plebeians in matters of voting rights and military discipline. Later, as decemvir, Claudius is said to have behaved as a lustful tyrant, with his attempt to force himself on the maid Verginia resulting in the second secession of the plebs, the downfall of the Decemvirate, and Claudius's own death. These accounts are unreliable and probably ahistorical, fabricated in later times to portray the patrician clan of the Claudii as proud and arrogant aristocrats. Name and identity Claudius is supposed to have been the son of Appius Claudius Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus (consul 461 BC)
Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( 461–446 BC) was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 461 BC and ''decemvir'' in 451 BC. Family He was the son of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus (consul in 490 BC), and father of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( military tribune with consular power in 402 BC and 398 BC). Biography Consulship In 461 BC, he was consul with Publius Volumnius Amintinus Gallus. Their terms occurred during a period of political tensions between the tribunes of the plebs, who demanded that the rights of the consuls be written down (drafted in the ''lex Terentilia'') and the conservative patricians who opposed limitations to the consular power. The consuls tried to raise troops against the Aequi and the Volsci, traditional enemies of Rome. The tribunes used their veto to block the levy. Four of the tribunes called the people to vote on their legal draft (the ''lex Terentilia''). The consuls refused to preside over the ballot and young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Julius Iullus (decemvir)
Gaius Julius Iullus ( 482–451 BC) was a Roman statesman, who held the consulship in 482 BC. After a contentious election, he was chosen to represent the more moderate faction in Roman politics, while his colleague, Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, was elected by the aristocratic party. Both consuls led a Roman army against Veii, but withdrew when the Veientes refused to confront them. Thirty years later, in 451, Julius was chosen a member of the first decemvirate, alongside several other ex-consuls and other respected statesmen. Julius proved himself a man of good judgment and integrity, and helped to draw up the first ten tables of Roman law.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 656. Family As his filiation reveals, Julius was the son of Gaius and grandson of Lucius. His father is generally supposed to have been the same Gaius Julius Iullus who was consul in 489 BC. Although only seven years elapsed between the two consulships, this would be pe ... [...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] |
Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus (consul 462 BC)
Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus was a Roman politician of the 5th century BC, consul in 462 BC and maybe ''decemvir'' in 451 BC. Family He was a member of the ''Veturii Cicurini'', patrician branch of the ''gens Veturia''. He was the son of Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus, consul in 494 BC. Biography Consulship In 462 BC, he became consul with Lucius Lucretius Tricipitinus. The Romans recovered from a severe epidemic that occurred the year before and had taken the two consuls Publius Servilius Priscus Structus and Lucius Aebutius Helva, the augurs Titus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus and Manius Valerius Volusus Maximus, and the ''Curio Maximus'' Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus. Before the end of his consulship, a series of ''interreges'' were nominated in order to organize new elections. This they conducted during the term of the ''interrex'', Publius Valerius Publicola in 462 BC. War against the Aequi and the Volsci The Aequi and Volsci attempted to take advantage of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus
Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus ( 452–451 BC) was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 452 BC and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was a member of the ''Gens Sestii''. He was the son of Quintus and his complete name is ''Publius Sestius Q.f. Vibi.n. Capitolinus Vaticanus''. Livy gives the form ''Sextius'' then ''Sestius''. Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses the form ''Siccius''. His ''cognomen'' ''Capitolinus'' is not certain - we also see ''Capito'' being used. He was the only member of his family to attain the rank of consul. Biography Consulship In 452 BC, he was consul with Titus Menenius Lanatus. During their consulship, the delegates left to study Greek law in Athens. After returning to Rome, the tribunes of the plebs called together officials to create a commission to write the law down. Publius Sestius supported this proposition, contrary to his colleague Titus Menenius, who pondered the question before falling ill - then was rendered inactive until th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decemvirate (Twelve Tables)
According to Roman tradition, it was a Decemvirate ( la, decemviri consulari imperio legibus scribundis, 'decemvirs with consular power for writing laws') that drew up the Twelve Tables of Roman law. Background The setting up of the ''decemviri consulari imperio legibus scribundis'' occurred within the context of the two-hundred-year Conflict of the Orders between the patrician order (the aristocracy) and the plebeian order (the commoners). The patricians had developed into the upper class by monopolising the priesthoods, which played an important part in the politics of archaic Rome and, in the Early Republic, the consulship (the office of the two annual elected heads of the Roman Republic and the army), and the seats of the (unelected) senate, the advisory body for the consuls. They were also large landowners. The form of labour exploitation during this archaic period was the nexum, which was what historians call debt bondage, bonded labour, or debt slavery. The debtor pledged hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verginia
Verginia, or Virginia (c. 465 BC449 BC), was the subject of a story of ancient Rome, related in Livy's ''Ab Urbe Condita''.Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology > v. 3, page 1267 /ref> The story of Verginia In 451 BC, Appius Claudius began to lust after Verginia, a beautiful plebeian girl and the daughter of Lucius Verginius, a respected centurion. Verginia was betrothed to Lucius Icilius, a former tribune of the plebs, and when she rejected Claudius, Claudius had one of his clients, Marcus Claudius, claim that she was actually his slave. Marcus Claudius then abducted her while she was on her way to school. The crowd in the Forum objected to this, as both Verginius and Icilius were well-respected men, and they forced Marcus Claudius to bring the case before the decemvirs, led by Appius Claudius himself. Verginius was recalled from the field to defend his daughter, and Icilius, after threats of violence, succeeded in having Verginia returned to her ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus
Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 455 BC, and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was the only member of the patrician family to become consul. The '' gens Romilia'' disappears after him in the ancient accounts. He was the grandson of a Titus Romilius and the son of a Titus Romilius, his complete name being ''Titus Romilius T.f. T.n. Rocus Vaticanus''. The ''cognomen'' ''Vaticanus'' which he carried shows that the term was used at least as far back as the 5th century BC. He might be the founder of the '' tribus Romilia'' which included several immigrant districts. Biography Consulship In 455 BC, he was elected consul with Gaius Veturius Cicurinus. They issued orders during a period of high tension between the patricians and the plebeians. The tribunes of the plebs, representatives of the people, demanded in vain for many years that the power of the consuls be limited in written law. The ''Lex Terentilia'', first drafted in 462 BC, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius Curiatius Fistus Trigeminus
Publius Curiatius Fistus Trigeminus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 453 BC, and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was named ''Publius Curiatius'' by Livy, but ''Publius Horatius'' by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, which nevertheless confirms Livy's as fact. Diodorus Siculus himself only gives ''Trigeminus''. He could have been part of the ''gens Horatii'' and not in that of the ''Curiatii'', two ''gentes'' that had opposed each other during the Roman monarchy in the fight of the Horatii and the Curiatii. If he was part of the ''gens Curiatii'', he was the only member of the family to become consul. Biography Consulship In 453 BC, he was consul with Sextus Quinctilius. Rome was ravaged this year by a famine and an epidemic, which killed animals as well as people. It is thought to have been typhus, an epidemic that raged on for ten or more years. His colleague, Varus, and the consul suffect that replaced him both caught the disease that same year. ''Decemvirate' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aulus Manlius Vulso (decemvir)
Aulus Manlius Vulso was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, and was a member of the first college of the ''decemviri'' in 451 BC. In 474 BC, he may have been elected consul with Lucius Furius Medullinus. Whether or not the decemvir is the same man as the consul of 474 BC remains unknown. Family He was the son of a Gnaeus Manlius, perhaps Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus (consul in 480 BC), and grandson of a Publius Manlius. His complete name is ''A. Manlius Cn.f. P.n. Vulso''. He had a son by the name of Aulus Manlius Vulso Capitolinus, who was consular tribune in 405, 402, and 397 BC. Biography In 454 BC, under pressure by the tribunes of the plebs, the patricians accepted sending a delegation of three former consuls, among which was Vulso, Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis, and Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus, to Athens and Magna Graecia so that they could study Greek law. They returned in 452 BC and their report resulted in the creation of the First ''Decemvirate'' ('' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus Genucius Augurinus
Titus Genucius Augurinus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was a member of the '' gens Genucii''. He was the son of Lucius and grandson of Lucius. His complete name is ''Titus Genucius L.f. L.n. Augurinus''. He was the brother of Marcus Genucius Augurinus, consul in 445 BC. The importance of the ''Genucii Augurini'' among the patricians of the time is uncertain. His ''nomen'' is sometimes given under the form ''Minucius''. Biography In 451 BC, he was elected consul with Appius Claudius Crassus. They put in place the first ''Decemvirate'' with Crassus presiding. Augurinus held the offices of decemvir and consul simultaneously. The ''decemviri'' wrote up the first ten tables of the Twelve Tables.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', X.55 References Bibliography Ancient bibliography * Livy, ''Ab urbe condita'' * Diodorus Siculus, Universal History'on the sitPhilippe Remacle* Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
