The Mamilian commission (also called the ''rogatio Mamilia'') was established by Gaius Mamilius in 109 BC for the investigation of corruption and treason. One of its other purposes was to hold Roman commanders responsible for their defeats. Its

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England dur ...

s were pulled from the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

class, rather than the

Senatorial class A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, launching an assault against corruption in the ruling Senatorial

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

. This broad assault against corruption across the state, in the opinion of

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

, led to the commission conducting " tsinvestigation with harshness and violence, on hearsay evidence and at the caprice of the commons". In its first year, it convicted four men of

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

ar rank for alleged crimes against the state. In 106 the Commission would have its independence significantly eroded in a bill introduced by Quintus Servilius Caepio to the

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 ...

, which changed the jury pool from solely the equestrians to a mix of equestrians and Senators. One of the long-term consequences of the commission – trending into the repeated consulships of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

– was to inculcate a general feeling that the existing senatorial leadership (the ''nobiles'') were failing in their responsibility to look after the state and defeat Rome's enemies.

References

Sources

* * {{Cite book, last=Flower, first=Harriet I., url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/301798480, title=Roman republics, date=2010, publisher=Princeton University Press, isbn=978-0-691-14043-8, location=Princeton, oclc=301798480 Government of the Roman Republic Roman Republic