''Decurio'' was an official title in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

, used in various connections: * Decurion (administrative), a member of the senatorial order in the Italian towns under the administration of Rome, and later in provincial towns organized on the Italian model. The number of ''decuriones'' varied in different towns, but was usually 100. The qualifications for the office were fixed in each town by a special law for that community (''lex municipalis'').

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...

(in Verr. 2. 49, 120) alludes to an age limit (originally thirty years, until lowered by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

to twenty-five), to a property qualification (cf. Pliny, Ep. i. 19. 2), and to certain conditions of rank. The method of appointment varied in different towns and at different periods. In the early municipal constitution ex- magistrates passed automatically into the Senate of their town; but at a later date this order was reversed and membership of the Senate became a qualification for the magistracy. Cicero (''loc. cit.'') speaks of the Senate in the Sicilian towns as appointed by a vote of the township. But in most towns it was the duty of the chief magistrate to draw up a list (''album'') of the senators every five years. The ''decuriones'' held office for life. They were convened by the magistrate, who presided as in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. Their powers were extensive. In all matters the magistrates were obliged to act according to their direction, and in some towns they heard cases of appeal against judicial sentences passed by the magistrate. By the time of the municipal law of Julius Caesar (45BC) special privileges were conferred on the ''decuriones'', including the right to appeal to Rome for trial in criminal cases. Under the

principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate ...

their status underwent a marked decline. The office was no longer coveted, and documents of the 3rd and 4th centuries show that means were devised to compel members of the towns to undertake it. By the time of the jurists it had become hereditary and compulsory. This change was largely due to the heavy financial burdens which the Roman government laid on the municipal senates. * The leader of a ''

decuria In Ancient Rome, a decury ( Latin ''decuria'', plural: ''decuriae'') was a group of ten people, ranged under one chief, or commander, called a '' decurio''. In Roman cavalry a '' turma'' was divided into three decuries. Romulus divided the who ...

'', a subdivision of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

. * Decurion (Roman cavalry officer), an officer in the Roman cavalry, originally commanding a troop of ten men (''decuria'') during the early republican era. In the late republic and during the empire a ''decurio'' commanded a '' turma'' of 32 men in the auxiliary cavalry. It is the equivalent of the ancient Greek ''dekarchos'', a cavalry officer. *''Decurio'' was also a name given to certain priests intended, as it should seem, for some particular sacrifices, or other religious ceremonies; or for the sacrifices of private families and houses, as

Burkhard Gotthelf Struve Burkhard Gotthelf Struve (26 May 1671 - 25 May 1738) was a scholarly German librarian who became a polymath-historian based, for most of his academic career, at the University of Jena. Life Struve was born in Weimar, his mother's second son. H ...

(1671-1738) conjectures, who from that source derives their name. Whatever the origin of the name, we have an inscription in Gruter's work, which confirms their function: ANCHIALVS. CVB. AED. Q. TER. IN. AEDE. DECVRIO. ADLECTVS. EX. CONSENSV. DECVRIONVM. FAMILIAE. VOLVNTATE., which describes a ''decurio'' in the house of a private person, Q. Terentius.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{EB1911, inline=1 , wstitle=Decurio , volume=7 , page=917 Citations: * Carl Georg Bruns, ''Fontes juris Romani'', c. 3, No. 18, c. 4, Nos. 27, 29, 30 (''leges municipales'') * Johann Caspar Orelli, ''Inscr. Latinae'', No. 3721 (Album of Canusium) * Godefroy, ''Paratitl. ad cod. Theodosianam'', xii. 1 (vol. iv. pp. 352 et seq., ed. Ritter) * J. Marquardt, ''Römische Staatsverwaltung'', i. pp. 183 et seq. (Leipzig, 1881) *

P. Willems P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina'' * Paris Herbarium, at the '' Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' * ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs. * The '' Pacific ...

, ''Droit public romain'', pp. 535 et seq. (Paris, 1884) * Pauly-Wissowa, ''Realencyclopädie'', IV. ii. pp. 2319 foll. (Stuttgart, 1901) * W. Liebenam, ''Stadtverwaltung im römischen Kaiserreichen'' (Leipzig, 1900) Ancient Roman government Military ranks of ancient Rome de:Decurio es:Decurio nl:Decurio no:Dekurion pl:Dekurion