The ''lex Aurelia de tribunicia potestate'' ("Aurelius's law on the power of tribunes") was a law introduced by the consul

Gaius Aurelius Cotta Gaius Aurelius Cotta (124–73 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator, priest, and Academic Skeptic; he is not to be confused with Gaius Aurelius Cotta who was twice Consul in the 3rd century BC. Life Born in 124 BC, he was the uncle to Julius Caesar ...

in 75 BC. This law gave former tribunes of the plebs the right to hold further magistracies, which had been forbidden by the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

a few years earlier.

Background

The Constitutional_reforms_of_Sulla, constitutional reforms made by Sulla between 82 and 80 BC had comprehensively reduced the powers of the tribunate. Sulla's dislike of the office, and his view of it as dangerous due to its use by radical populares politicians, lead him to reduce both the scope of its powers and its prestige. By removing the right for tribunes of the plebs to hold further magistracies he drastically reduced the appeal of the post on the career path of ambitious politicians. An earlier attempt to repeal these aspects of Sulla's constitution had been attempted in 78 BC by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 BC), Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Cotta's law was limited in scope and did not restore the full powers of the tribunate. As an Optimates, optimas and associate of Sulla, there is much discussion of his motivations in repealing Sulla's measures; perhaps as a sop to pacify the Roman people in a period of famine, or perhaps to gather support for his brother Marcus Aurelius Cotta (consul 74 BC), Marcus Aurelius Cotta who was running for the consulship of 74 BC.

References

Roman law Reform in the Roman Republic 1st century BC in the Roman Republic {{AncientRome-law-stub

Background

See also

References