of elected offi cials and, fi nally, of the emperor alone. (Th e
word emperor comes from the Latin word imperium).
THE REPUBLIC
Th e Roman Republic lasted from 509 b.c.e. until approxi-
mately 27 b.c.e. It began with the overthrow of the monarchy
and ended with a civil war that dissolved the republic and
began the period modern historians call the Roman Empire.
Th e republic took its name from its republican form of gov-
ernment. Th e word republic comes from the Latin words res
publica, which mean “public thing” or “aff airs belonging to
the people.” Th e Romans gave their government that name to
contrast it with the earlier monarchy. Th e republic belonged
to the people as a whole, and its government was elected by
the people rather than being controlled by hereditary kings.
Only adult male Roman citizens could vote in elections.
Rules of citizenship varied over time. At some periods both
of a child’s parents had to be citizens in order for their child
to be one; at other periods it was necessary only for the child’s
father to be a citizen. Th ese male citizens exercised voting
power—choosing offi cers and approving or disapproving
certain kinds of laws—through several diff erent kinds of as-
semblies. Th e most ancient of these was the Comitia Curiata,
whose job eventually was reduced to that of confi rming the
appointment of certain priests and witnessing adoptions and
the execution of wills. Th e Comitia Centuriata (Centuriate
Assembly) handled the election of the most senior offi cials
and declarations of war. Th e Comitia Populi Tributa (Assem-
bly of the People) oversaw the election of the lesser magis-
trates, and the Comitia Plebis Tributa (Assembly of the Plebs)
elected the most minor magistrates and handled some of the
least pressing issues of legislation.
Th e day-to-day governing of the city, and later the em-
pire, of Rome was not in the hands of these assemblies, how-
ever, but in the hands of the magistrates and the Senate. Th e
Senate was a body of 300 men, all of them wealthy but in-
cluding both patricians and plebeians in their numbers. Th e
senators were formally known as the patres et conscripti, the
“fathers and enlisted men,” with the former being the patri-
cian senators and the latter being the plebeian ones. Aft er 339
b.c.e. the senators were chosen by public offi cials called the
censors, who considered the wealth, amount of property, and
(supposedly) moral character of various Roman citizens; once
chosen for the Senate, service was for life unless subsequent
censors decided otherwise. Being removed from the Senate
by the censors was a disgrace.
Th e Senate met in the Curia Hostilia within the Roman
Forum normally, but it was authorized to meet in any public
place within a mile of the city, once the proper prayers had
been said. Th e senators debated policy, speaking in order
of rank. Th e Senate did not pass actual laws. Its votes could
result in advisory decrees that it presented to the Comitia
Populi Tributa Rome’s actual legislative body. Th e Senate
did have certain powers, however. It had authority over the
treasury, and no public money could be taken from the trea-
sury for any purpose except by decree of the Senate. In the
period when Rome’s political power extended beyond the
city to include provinces abroad, the Senate decided which
offi cials would be sent to govern which provinces; it also de-
cided which serving governors would have their terms of of-
fi ce extended and which would be recalled. Since governors
were oft en engaged in military operations in their provinces
or from their provinces to neighboring ones, this power over
governorships amounted to the Senate’s having considerable
authority over military aff airs. Furthermore, the Senate had
to grant permission for a governor to raise an army before
going to his province and could set limits on his eff orts at
recruiting.
Th e Senate received and ratifi ed any treaties with for-
eign powers. Th is body was also given news of any religious
portents or omens and could institute special religious ritu-
als seemingly called for by these signs. Th e Senate could not
actually veto laws passed by the Comitia Populi Tributa or
the Comitia Centuriata, but it could declare procedural er-
rors that would render laws invalid. In the late Republican
period (the second half of the second century b.c.e. and the
early fi rst century b.c.e.) the Senate did give itself a kind of su-
preme veto: In times of crisis the Senate could pass a senatus
consultum de republica defendenda, a decree that established
martial law and put the Senate solely in charge of the govern-
ment. Th is was rarely done, and each senatus consultum was
invariably controversial. By the middle of the fi rst century
b.c.e. such decrees were likely to be ignored by certain politi-
cal factions or actively opposed by serving magistrates with
military force.
While the Senate dealt with the public economy, military
aff airs, government of the provinces, and religious portents,
much of the actual legislating was in the hands of the various
assemblies. Th ese groups could vote on matters introduced by
magistrates but could not introduce new measures “from the
fl oor” or make any changes to motions brought before them.
Th e Comitia Plebis Tributa included no patricians—patri-
cians were not even allowed inside its meeting space. Th is
body elected the ten Tribuni Plebis (Tribunes of the Plebs),
who were important magistrates, as well as some more minor
offi cials, the “plebeian” aediles, offi cials responsible for main-
taining certain aspects of the city of Rome, such as roads. Th is
assembly also conducted trials where the defendant was not
at risk of capital punishment. Finally, the group could vote on
measures introduced by the Tribuni Plebis, which, upon ap-
proval, became “plebiscites.” Plebiscites were originally valid
and binding on Roman citizens only aft er the Senate had ap-
proved them, but aft er 287 b.c.e. they had the force of laws.
During the late Republican period the Comitia Plebis Tributa
and its tribunes were increasingly likely to use plebiscites to
confront the authority of the Senate.
Th e Comitia Populi Tributa was a relatively late creation,
formed sometime in the early fi ft h century b.c.e. in imitation
of the Comitia Plebis Tributa. All Roman citizens, both patri-
cians and plebeians, could participate in this assembly. Whilegovernment organization: Rome 531