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 Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

to the ''

comitia tributa 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 legisl ...

'', thereby freeing their election from the direct influence of the Senate and

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

.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 Lucius Furius Medullinus (c. 445 BC – c. 375 BC), of the patrician '' gens Furia'', was a politician and general of the Roman Republic who was consul twice and Consular Tribune seven times. First two consulships Medullinus was elected consul fo ...

, the

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

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 The Cremera is a Italian stream in Lazio (and previously in Etruria) which runs past Sacrofano, Formello, and Campagnano di Roma before falling into the Tiber about north of Rome. It connects to the Tiber just as the Via Flaminia intersects the ...

, 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 mourning dress, bewailing their fates, which they claimed had already been ordained by the tyranny of the plebeian tribunes, which rendered anyone elected to high office little more than sacrificial animals. Their appeal to their supporters succeeded, for on the day of the trial Genucius was found murdered in his house. The new consuls,

Lucius Aemilius Mamercus Lucius Aemilius Mamercus was a Roman statesman who served as consul three times: in 484, 478 and 473 BC.Livy, '' Ab urbe condita'', 2.42 In 484 BC, as consul, Aemilius led the Roman forces in battle against the Volsci and Aequi. The Romans were ...

and Vopiscus Julius Iulus, were ordered to levy troops as a distraction from the murder, and the other tribunes were too fearful to intervene. When a former

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

named

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 th ...

refused to be enlisted as a common soldier, the consuls had him arrested and ordered him to be scourged by the

lictor A lictor (possibly from la, ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans. Orig ...

s. Breaking free, Publilius appealed to the crowd for protection, and suddenly the tables were turned against the consuls, who fled for their lives and took refuge in the

Curia Hostilia The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early ...

. Faced with the prospect of imminent revolt, the Senate refrained from taking any further action against the plebeians, and Publilius was elected tribune for the following year.

Publilius' Rogation

As tribune of the plebs in BC 472, Publilius proposed a law transferring the election of the plebeian tribunes from the ''

comitia curiata 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 w ...

'' (or possibly the ''

comitia centuriata 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 ...

'') to the ''comitia tributa''. The significance of this measure was that it would prevent the patricians from influencing the election through the votes of their '' clientes''. The proposal was debated throughout the year, but never passed. The following year, Publilius brought the law forward for the second time. The debate was marked by a confrontation between the consul Appius Claudius Sabinus and Gaius Laetorius, one of the other plebeian tribunes, in which Laetorius tried to have Claudius removed before a vote could be held, and the consul ordered the tribune's arrest. Bloodshed was averted when the other consul,

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of Luci ...

, convinced a group of senators to hurry Claudius from the

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

, while he himself calmed the crowd. In the Senate, Quinctius urged the senators to defer to the will of the people rather than risk tearing the state apart. Despite his colleague's angry words, the opinion of Quinctius prevailed, and no further action was taken to obstruct the passage of the tribune's law.

Historicity

Some scholars doubt that the patricians would have permitted the election of the plebeian tribunes to pass into the hands of the ''comitia tributa'' as early as traditionally reported. Instead, they argue that this was probably accomplished by the ''lex Publilia'' of 339 BC, which included three major provisions: opening the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

to the plebeians; making ''plebiscita'' binding on the entire community, rather than just the plebeians; and reducing the power of the ''comitia curiata'' to obstruct laws before they were sent to the ''comitia centuriata''. In this case, the ''lex Publilia'' of 471 BC would be merely an anticipation of the later law.''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', p. 899 ("Publilius Volero" and "Quintus Publilius Philo").

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

), ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'' (History of Rome). *

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia''. *

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''

Bibliotheca Historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...

'' (Library of History). *

Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...

, ''The History of Rome'', Julius Charles Hare and Connop Thirlwall, trans., John Smith, Cambridge (1828). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered law ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown, and Company, Boston (1859). * Adolf Berger, ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law'', American Philosophical Society (1968), . * ''

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...