The ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' was a civil court of ancient origin, traditionally attributed to
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, ...
, which originally dealt with cases concerning whether an individual was free.
History
Originally these decemvirs were a jury of ten men, serving under the presidency of a magistrate, but later this court became the
magistratus minores, or lower judiciary of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, and was included among the ''
vigintisexviri
__NOTOC__The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards:
* the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 1 ...
'', or twenty-six magistrates elected by 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 ...
''. According to
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία Ï„á ...
and
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
,
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 ...
assigned the presidency of the court of the ''
centumviri'' to the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis''. In
imperial times, the decemvirs also had jurisdiction in capital crimes.
[Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus", 36.]
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
*
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
, ''
De Vita Caesarum'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars).
* Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
), ''Roman History''.
*
* Luigi Colognesi, ''Law and Power in the Making of the Roman Commonwealth'', Cambridge University Press (2014).
Roman law
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