Citizens' assemblies of the Roman Republic

According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment of new laws, the carrying out of capital punishment, the declaration of war and peace, and the creation (or dissolution) of alliances. The people (and thus the assemblies) held the ultimate source of sovereignty. One can view the Roman legislative branch as being composed of two major popular assemblies, and two minor assemblies that declined in importance in the early republic.

The importance of the People of Rome in the Roman state can be seen in the symbol of Roman state authority, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and the People of Rome", or SPQR). This was the stamp of power, authority and approval (political as well as religious) that the Roman legions and their golden eagles marched under as they conquered the Mediterranean world.

While one can speak of a "legislative branch" of the Roman Republic, the "legislative branch" (like everything else in the unwritten Roman Constitution) existed de facto. One can speak of two primary legislative assemblies, and as a rough approximation, this is a correct interpretation. One can speak of two minor legislative assemblies, and as a rough approximation, this is also a correct interpretation. However, unlike modern legislative assemblies, the Roman assemblies never exited as de jure legal institutions. They only existed because magistrates called the citizens to a common meeting place, presented a matter to be voted upon, and held a vote. As described below (see the discussion on the Comitia, Contio, and Concilium), there were many ways that groups of citizens could organize themselves for various purposes. Thus, one should not assume that any particular Roman assembly (not even a "major" assembly) was more formal or fixed into existence than it truly was.

Roman Assemblies Contrasted With Modern Assemblies and Modern Referenda

See also: Referendum

Most modern legislative assemblies are bodies consisting of elected representatives. Their members typically propose and debate bills. These modern assemblies use a form of representative democracy. In contrast, the Roman assemblies used a form of direct democracy. The assemblies were bodies of ordinary citizens, rather than elected representatives. In this regard, bills voted on (called plebiscites) were similar to modern popular referenda.

Unlike many modern assemblies, Roman assemblies were not bicameral. That is to say that bills did not have to pass both major assemblies in order to be enacted into law. In addition, no other branch had to ratify a bill in order for it to become law. The arrangement is similar to what exists in many countries today. In modern countries, referenda become law after they are passed by a majority of voters. The need for another governmental institution to ratify this popular decision usually doesn't exist.

Members also had no authority to introduce bills for consideration. Only executive magistrates could introduce new bills. This arrangement is also similar to what is found in many modern countries. Usually, ordinary citizens cannot propose new laws for their enactment by a popular election.

Unlike many modern assemblies, the Roman assemblies had judicial functions, due to the fact that the Roman Republic didn't have a formalized court system.

Comitia, Conventio, Concilium

There were two primary types of assembly. The first was the comitia (or comitiatus), which is Latin for "going together". The word comitia is itself plural, with its singular form (comitium) simply meaning "meeting place". Comitia were the avenues through which the popular assemblies would meet for specific purposes, such as to enact laws, elect magistrates, or conduct jury trials. The second was the contio (conventio), which is Latin for "coming together". These were simply forums where Romans would meet for specific unofficial purposes, such as to hear a political speech or to witness a trial (or even an execution). Conventio were simply meetings, rather than any mechanism through which to make legal decisions. As such, the voters would first assemble into conventio to hear debates and conduct other business before voting. After this was complete, the voters would assemble into comitia to actually vote.

The electors would always stand during a meeting of a conventio or a comitia. Several attempts were made to allow sitting during such a meeting. But these attempts were strongly opposed by the aristocracy, because they believed that it would bring Greek luxury and desidia (literally "sitting down on the job"), which was considered unsuitable for a war-like people.

The comitia and the conventio were both specific to their purpose. For example, the comitia tributa was a meeting of all of the People of Rome, organized into their respective tribes. A comitia quaestoria would be a comitia for the purpose of electing a quaestor. In contrast, the concilium (Latin for "council") were forums were specific groups of people would meet. For example, the concilium plebis would be a concilium where plebeians would meet.

While there were only a couple of primary comitia, contio and concilium, the existence (and relevance) of the different types were not as fixed as one might believe. Simply calling a group of people together for a purpose could constitute a comitia, a contio or a concilium. There were many different reasons why one may wish to hold a comitia or a contio, despite the fact that only a couple of comitia dominated over time. Likewise, there were many different groups who might wish to hold a concilium (such as actors, gladiators, or lictors), despite the fact that the concilium plebis was the most prominent of all concilium.

Block Voting Structure

Growth of the city region during the kingdom

The assemblies were composed of Roman citizens. Each member of each assembly was grouped into a block of other members (either a century, a tribe or a curia). Each member of a block would vote. The majority vote of the members in each block would determine how the block voted. Only the vote of the entire block would count in deciding the outcome of a proposed action. While each block received one vote, the blocks were not all of equal size, so the votes of some members weighed more heavily than the votes of other members. The majority of blocks would decide the outcome of legislation. In discussing this system in Pro Flacco, Cicero argued that it was the rashness and lack of divisions by unit that caused the Greek cities to vote for "the worst possible measures". This block voting structure was copied by the U.S. Constitution in the design of the electoral college.

Impeachment Powers

The Roman Assemblies had the power to impeach executive magistrates. Through a simple vote, they could either deprive a magistrate of his imperium powers (depriving him of his legal right to command an army), or deprive him of his office. In 133 BC, the plebeians voted to impeach a tribune. A similar impeachment was attempted in 67 BC. In the late republic, higher ranking magistrates (especially consuls and praetors), increasingly found themselves the target of impeachment attempts.

Assembly Procedure

Only one assembly (comitia) could operate at any given point in time. Once a session began, no other comitia could be called until the first comitia had ended its session. However, if a magistrate called a comitia to assemble but proceedings had not yet begun, any consul could "call away" (avocare) the comitia from the magistrate that was summoning that comitia. Praetors also had the power to "call away" a comitia from its magistrate, but only if that magistrate was not a consul (since consuls outranked praetors).

From Announcement to Vote

Once a pending vote had been announced, a notice would always have to be given several days before the assembly was to actually vote. For elections, at least three market-days (often more than seventeen actual days) had to pass between the announcement of the election, and the actual election. This time period, known as a trinundinum, was the point at which the candidates would interact with the electorate. During this time period, no legislation could be proposed or voted upon. In 98 BC, the lex Caecilia Didia required a trinundinum to pass between the proposal of a law, and the vote on that law.

When an assembly was being used to conduct a trial, the presiding magistrate had to give a notice (diem dicere) to the accused person on the first day of that trial's investigation (anquisito). When each day ended, the magistrate had to give another notice to the accused person (diem prodicere) of the adjournment until the next day. After the investigation was complete, a trinundinum had to elapse before a final vote could be taken with respect to conviction or acquittal.

The Day of the Vote

Any magistrate had the power to summon an assembly. The electors would first assemble into an unsorted meeting called a conventio. They would stay in their conventio until voting was to begin. Speeches were only made before the conventio if the issue to be voted upon was a legislative or judicial matter. If it was an election, there would be no speeches. Instead, the candidates would campaign by meeting with (and often by bribing) individual electors.

Part of the Roman Forum. The arch was erected by Septimius Severus. On the right is the Palatine Hill.

While consuls, praetors and tribunes were the magistrates whom most often summoned the assemblies, aediles could also summon an assembly. In addition, dictators often called assemblies for the enactment of various laws (or for the election of magistrates). A dictator's Magister Equitum (Master of the Horse) also had the power to summon assemblies.

Before any session could begin, the auspices would have to be taken. This was to ensure that the session had the approval of the Gods. If the auspices were favorable, there would be a prayer, and then the magistrate would introduce the subject to be considered. Often, the magistrate presiding over the assembly would allow debate on the final day before the vote.

Before a vote was conducted on any particular bill, the bill would have to be read to the assembly by a Herald. Then, if the assembly was composed of tribes, the order of the vote would have to be determined. If the assembly was organized by centuries, the more aristocratic centuries would vote first. For an assembly composed of tribes, an urn would be brought in, and lots would be cast in order to determine the sequence in which the tribes would vote. After this occurred, a tribune could no longer use his veto power over the given bill.

The tribes would then Discedite, Quirites (Latin for "depart to your separate groups"). At this point, the conventio would break apart, and the electors would form into a comitia by assembling into their tribes. The tribes would be enclosed in a fenced off area (saepta), so that the individual tribes remained together. If the assembly was organized by century, a licium would summon the voters into their appropriate fenced in space. Each member would vote by placing a pebble or written ballot into an appropriate jar.

The baskets (cistae) that held the votes were watched by officers known as custodes. The custodes would count (diribitio) the ballots, and report the results to the presiding magistrate. The majority of votes in any tribe or century would decide how that tribe or century voted. Once a majority of tribes or centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting would stop, and the matter would be decided. It would be theoretically possible for a measure to get a majority of votes of electors, but fail because the distribution of electors caused a minority of tribes or centuries to vote for that particular measure. When the assembly was voting on a legislative or judicial issue, one tribe at a time would vote. If the issue was an election, all of the tribes would vote simultaneously.

The entire voting procedure had to be completed within a single day. If the process failed to complete in a given day, it would have to be started from the beginning during another day. If violence occurred during the meeting, the president would usually dissolve the assembly.

Comitia Centuriata

Roman Dictator Sulla, who attempted to increase the power of the Comitia Centuriata at the expense of the Comitia Tributa

The Comitia Centuriata (Centuriate Assembly) was one of the two major popular assemblies. It was founded by the king Servius Tullius. It was meant to be a way through which the government would extract both military and civil services from citizens.

The Comitia Centuriata would elect magistrates who had imperium powers (consuls and praetors). If both consuls for a given year died, an interrex would preside over the assembly while it choose new consuls. This assembly would also elect censors once every five years. While the censorial terms were reduced from five years to eighteen months in the early republic, the intervals between censorial elections were never adjusted.

While the voters in this assembly wore togas and were unarmed, they were considered to be soldiers. Because of this, they could not meet inside the pomerium.

Centuries

See also: Centuria

The early Roman Army was divided into units called centuries (centuriae). As such, the Comitia Centuriata was also divided into centuries. There were 193 centuries in this assembly. Since the rich were divided into more centuries in the early Roman Army, the rich also controlled more centuries in the Comitia Centuriata. And because each century had one vote, regardless of the number of people in any particular century, the aristocrats ultimately had more power over this assembly.

The army, and thus the assembly, was made of three different types of groups. These groups were the equites, pedites and unarmed adjuncts. The equites were the higher ranking soldiers who fought on horseback. They represented the officer class. They were grouped into eighteen centuries. Six of those centuries, called the sex suffragia, were of patricians who were grouped, two each, by ancient clan. These clans, the Latins, Sabines and Etruscans, dated back to Romulus. Romulus also divided the Roman Senate into similar divisions. The other twelve centuries of equites were added by Servius Tullius. These were the only centuries that usually consisted of 100 men each.

The pedites were grouped into 170 centuries. 85 of these centuries consisted of iuniores (Latin for "young men" or "juiors"). These soldiers were aged seventeen to forty-six, and constituted most of the pedites. The other 85 centuries of pedites were seniores (Latin for "old men" or "seniors"). These soldiers were aged forty-six to sixty. The pedites were divided into five classes, based on property. The first class consisted of soldiers with heavy armor. The lower classes had successively less armor. The soldiers of the fifth class had nothing other than slings and stones. The theory was that people with more property would fight harder to defend it, and thus would be more interested in electing competent leaders.

The first class of pedites consisted of eighty centuries. Classes two, three and four consisted of twenty centuries each. Class five consisted of thirty centuries.

The unarmed soldiers were divided into the final five centuries. Four of these centuries consisted of people such as artisans and musicians (trumpeters or horn blowers). The fifth century was for people with little or no property. This century was so poorly regarded that it was all but ignored during a census. Despite this fact, after the reforms of Marius, most soldiers belonged to this century.

The equites would usually vote first, as praerogativae. Next, the first class of pedites would votes. The first class consisted of eighty of the 170 centuries. All pedites with a horse, and many with a large amount of property, belonged to this class. Since this class, combined with the equites, consisted a majority of centuries, voting would usually end before the second class began voting.

According to Cicero, the assembly was arranged in this way so that the masses would not have the most power. According to Livy, the purpose was so that everyone would have a vote, but the "best men" of the state would hold the most power.

Around the time that the last two tribes were added to the Comitia Tributa in 241 BC, the Comitia Centuriata was reorganized. This was because some of the members of the first class of pedites wanted to vote with the equites. One result of this reorganization was that the first class of pedites was reduced from eighty centuries to seventy centuries. Because of this, the combined votes of the equites and first class of pedites no longer consisted a majority.

Powers of the Comitia Centuriata

The Comitia Centuriata also had the sole power to declare war, and served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases (in particular, cases involving capital punishment). Its size made voting difficult, so it ultimately gave up most of its legislative duties. However, it still retained the power to enact laws, and did so several times in the later years of the republic. In addition, it was the assembly that usually ratified the results of a census.

Chart Showing the Checks and Balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic

Usually, either a consul or praetor presided over this assembly. The members of this could be either plebeians or patricians. Since soldiers were not allowed inside the city of Rome, members of this assembly always voted outside of the city. They usually voted on the Campus Martius (Field of Mars), which was also where the Roman Army would often meet.

Comitia Tributa

The Comitia Tributa (Tribal Assembly) was the other of the two major assemblies. In order to vote, a member had to physically be in the city of Rome. A consul or praetor would usually preside. The presiding officer would propose legislation, and the members could only vote on it. As was the case in Comitia Centuriata, members of the Comitia Tributa could not propose legislation. The presiding officer would also ensure that all tribes had at least five members voting. If any tribe did not, that officer could choose people from other tribes to vote in the vacant tribe.

The Comitia Tributa consisted of both plebeians and patricians. While under the presidency of a curule magistrate (a consul or praetor), it would elect curule aediles, quaestors, and military tribunes. This differed from the Concilium Plebis (Plebeian Council). The presiding magistrate wore a purple-bordered toga, and were accompanied by lictors with fasces. They would usually sit on a curule chair. The magistrate was accompanied by several colleagues, including at least one tribune. This was so that appeals could be made, if members of the assembly disagreed with a presiding magistrate. There would also be an augur in attendance, so that omens could be interpreted. During a preliminary auspices, the presiding officer would go to the site of a meeting, between midnight and dawn, to ensure that the meeting had the approval of the Gods.

The Concilium Plebis consisted only of plebeians, and was presided over by a plebeian magistrate (usually a plebeian tribune). It elected plebeian magistrates, in particular plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles. The procedure of the Comitia Tributa was nearly identical to that of the Concilium Plebis. The only difference was the absence of a preliminary auspices before a meeting of the Concilium Plebis. The presiding officer was usually not a curule magistrate, so us usually sat on a bench (the low subsellium), rather than a curule chair. He would also wear the undecorated toga of ordinary citizens. Instead of lictors, he was accompanies by viatores. The viatores carried no symbols of power. In addition, there would usually be an augur on call.

This Comitia Tributa also had the power to try judicial cases. However, after the reforms of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the ability to try cases was reassigned to quaestiones perpetuae (standing jury courts). Each court would have a specific jurisdiction.

During the early and middle republic, the Comitia Tributa would meet in various locations at the Roman Forum. They often met at the rostra, the comitium, or the Temple of Castor. Sometimes they would meet at the area Capitolina by the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. By the late republic, they would often meet on the Campus Martius (Field of Mars), because the size of the field allowed votes to occur quicker.

Tribes

See also: List of Roman tribes

File:Gaius Gracchus Flees.jpg

Gaius Gracchus flees after failing to win reelection to the tribunate

This assembly was divided into thirty-five blocks known as tribes (tribus). The tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups. Rather, they were simply a generic division into which people were distributed. In the early republic, the divisions were geographical. However, since one joined the same tribe as his father (or his adopted father, in some cases), the geographical distinctions were eventually lost.

Each tribe had further subdivisions. Subdivisions in the urban tribes were called vici, while subdivisions in the rural tribes were called pagi. Other subdivisions within tribes were possible. One example would be a collegia (college), which were professional subdivisions. Despite this, the tribe was still the fundamental organizing unit. Each tribe had its own officers, such as curatores and divisores (treasurers). They also had registers, who would conduct a tribal census.

It was possible to crudely gerrymander tribes. While land could never be taken away from a tribe, the censors had the power to allocate new land into existing tribes as a part of the census. Thus, censors had the power to make tribes more favorable to them or their partisans.

Lots

The order that the thirty-five tribes would vote in was selected randomly, by lot. The order was not chosen at once. Instead, after each tribe had voted, a lot was used to determine the next tribe to vote. The first tribe selected was called the principium. The early voting tribes often decided the matter. As can (usually) be seen amongst early voting states in US Presidential primaries, the early results often created a bandwagon psychology. In addition, it was believed that the order of the lot was chosen by the Gods. Thus, it was believed that the way the early tribes voted indicated the will of the Gods.

Once a majority of tribes had voted the same way, voting would end.

Concilium Plebis

See also: Concilium Plebis

The Concilium Plebis (Plebeian Council) was a subset of the Comitia Tributa. This council consisted entirely of plebs. It was not considered an official assembly, because it didn't represent all of the People of Rome (it only represented the common people). It was identical to the Comitia Tributa, except for the fact that its membership did not include patricians.

The Plebeian Tribunes would usually call the council to order. The Tribune would also preside, and propose any legislation (called plebiscita) for the council to consider. In its early years, the laws passed by this council only affected plebs. In 287 BC, however, a law was passed (the Lex Hortensia). This law allowed the resolutions of the Concilium Plebis to have the full force of law.

As the Concilium Plebis was composed of only plebeians, it was more populist than the Comitia Tributa. Because of this, it was usually the engine behind the more controversial reforms (such as those of the tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus).

Comitia Curiata

The Comitia Curiata (Curiate Assembly), while not as old as the Comitia Calata, was the one major assembly during the years of the Roman Kingdom. All members of this assembly were patricians. These members were organized into blocks called curiae. The curiae were originally created by Romulus, and were organized to resemble the tribal breakdown of Rome during the early kingdom. Ten curiae were to consist of Latins, ten were to consist of Sabines, and ten were to consist of Etruscans. This breakdown was similar to that of the Senate at the time that this assembly was the only major assembly. The early Roman senate consisted of 100 Latin senators, 100 Sabine senators, and 100 Etruscan senators. At one point, possibly as early as 218 BC, the thirty curiae were instead represented by thirty lictors.

Lictor, painted by Cesare Vecellio

During the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Republic, this assembly was the primary comitia, and possessed the primary legislative powers. During the Roman Kingdom, it ratified the election of new kings by granting a new king imperium powers. This gave the new king the constitutional authority to command armies.

Around the time of the founding of the republic in 509 BC, the Comitia Centuriata took the powers that had been held by the Comitia Curiata, and the Comitia Curiata began to fall into disuse. Between the creation of the office in 494 BC and transferral of this power to the Comitia Tributa in 471 BC, this assembly elected new Tribunes.

After it had fallen into disuse during the early republic, its primary role was to pass the annual lex curiata. Theoretically, this was necessary to give new consuls and praetors imperium powers, thus ratifying their election. In practice, however, this may have been a largely ceremonial (and unnecessary) event, which was more of a reminder of Rome's regal heritage than it was a necessary constitutional act.

The assembly was presided over by a curule magistrate such as a consul, praetor or dictator. By the middle and later republic, acts that it voted on were usually symbolic, and usually resulted in an affirmative vote.The laws passed by the assemblies could be vetoed by the Tribunes, and the functions of the assembly could be interfered with by the auspices.

Under the presidency of the Pontifex Maximus, this assembly carried out several other functions. It ratified wills and adoptions (adrogatio). It would inaugurate certain priests, and transfer citizens from patrician class to plebeian class. In 59 BC, it transferred the patrician P. Clodius Pulcher to the plebeian class. In 44 BC, it ratified the will of Julius Caesar, and with it Caesar's adoption of his nephew Gaius Octavian.

Comitia Calata

The Comitia Calata (Calate Assembly) was the oldest of the four major Roman assemblies. Very little is known about this assembly. All members of this assembly were patricians. The Comitia Calata met on the Capitoline Hill. Like the Comitia Curiata, the Comitia Calata was originally divided into thirty blocks called curiae. Ten curiae consisted of Latins, ten consisted of Sabines, and ten consisted of Etruscans. By the later republic, the thirty curiae were represented by thirty lictors. Its purpose was not legislative or legal, but rather religious. The pontifex maximus presided over the assembly, and it performed duties such as inaugurating priests, and selecting Vestal virgins.

Roman Constitution Series

• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
• Senate of the Roman Republic
• Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic
• Executive Magistrates of the Roman Republic

See Also

• Roman Republic
• Roman Law
• Plebeian Council
• Centuria
• Curia
• Roman consul
• Praetor
• Roman censor
• Quaestor
• Aedile
• Roman Dictator
• Master of the Horse
• cursus honorum

References

• Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office. Senate Document 103-23

• Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926108-3

• Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08125-X

Further reading

• Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
• Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
• Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871-1888
• Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
• Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.

External links

Primary sources

• Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
• Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius

Secondary source material

• Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
• The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero
• What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us