The Last Century of the Republic doors,‘‘undertheeyesoftheRomanpeople’’(subconspectupopuliRomani),and
nearly everything happened in this particular space—public meetings, as-
semblies,(exceptforelections,nowheldintheCampusMartius),triumphal
processions,theprocession(goingintheoppositedirection)totheRoman
Games in the Circus Maximus, permanent courts, theatrical performances
(sometimesinelaboratetemporarytheatres),gladiatorialshows,funeralora-
tions from the Rostra. InCAH^2 IX PeterWiseman’s remarkable narrative
of the politics of the s and s is indeed, as one would expect, imbued
throughandthroughwithaconsciousnessoftheurbancontext(displayed
onamodestsketch-maponp.).Furthermore,thewidersocialcontext
ofthecityisevoked,invividandhighlyoriginalstyle,byNicholasPurcell
inchapter,‘‘RomeandthePlebsUrbana.’’Thereistoomuchheretocom-
menton,oreven(asyet)toabsorb.Butsomehowasenseofthecity,andits
vastpopulation,asoftheForumasanopen-airpoliticalstage(evokedper-
hapsmorevividlyintheVerrinesortheBrutusthananywhereelse)belongs
earlier,perhapsindeed(oralso)involumeVIII.Togiveonlyoneexample,
it is hardly meaningful to record the ‘‘imprisoning’’ of the consuls by the
tribunesoftheplebs,ifthereaderdoesnotalreadyknowthatitwasabout
fortymetresfromtheCuriaandComitiumtotheCarcer,andthatthiswas
asymbolicgestureplayedoutbeforethecrowdintheForum.
Belatedlyorotherwise,however,thecityanditspopulationcomealive
in Nicholas Purcell’s chapteras never before. But the urban plebs was not
thewhole Roman people, even before the Social War. It is, however,very
importantthat,ofthenearlymillionRomancitizenswhofinallygetthem-
selves registered in .., up to , (the maximum figure recorded)
livedeitherin Romeornearenough to collect Clodius’ ration of free corn
in theyears after ..Thus, in spite of vast expansion, before and espe-
ciallyafter the Social War, a huge population, and a very substantial pro-
portionofcitizens,alwayslivedwithinashortishdistancefromthepolitical
centre.
Beyondthat,however,ifwhatwearetryingtowriteisfirstofallahistory
of ‘‘theRomans,’’wesurelyoughttogiveaprominentplacetotheformal
structureoftheintegrationoftheRomancitizenintheres publica,asvoter
andsoldier,anintegrationachievedprimarilybythecensus.Perhapsequally
important to explain, especially for the student reader, is (once again) the
spatialconfigurationofRomancitizensinItaly,firstlybeforetheSocialWar,
when,apartfromRomeanditssurroundingarea,theyoccupiedprimarily
twobroadzones,ofwhichonestretchedsouth-eastintoCampania,andthe
other more or less due north, diagonallyacross Italy, to the Adriatic.This
area included many long-established, internally self-governing communi-