The ''Lex Acilia Repetundarum'' was a law established 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 (753–509 B ...

in 123 BC. It provides for members of the equestrian order (Latin

equites The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...

) as jurors in courts overseeing the senatorial class to prevent corruption abroad. ''Equites'' who gained tax contracts or presided over courts could not, unlike senators, be prosecuted for extortion. The law was extremely unpopular in the

Senate 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 ...

since it subjected the senatorial class to the inferior equestrian. It was believed to be part of

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...

' measures, even though it did not carry his name, suggesting that Gaius carried his chief judicial act in another tribune's name.

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 estab ...

implies in his first Verrine Oration that the measure was the work of the father of Manius Acilius Glabrio, the

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

in charge of the

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

courts in 70 B.C.

External links

The Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''

References

123 BC 2nd century BC in law Roman law 2nd century BC in the Roman Republic {{AncientRome-law-stub

See also

External links

References