The last of the Roman kings, the tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (’the Arrogant’), was expelled by a revolt of some of the leading Roman aristocrats in 509 BCE. Vowing never again to allow a single person to amass so much authority, the revolutionaries established in place of the monarchy a republican system of governance, featuring a senate composed of aristocratic men and a series of elected political and military officials. The Roman Republic was a remarkably stable and successful polity, lasting from 509 BCE until it was transformed into an imperial state under Augustus in 31 BCE (though the exact date is debated, as this was not a formal transformation). We divide the Republic into an early (509-264 BCE), a middle (264-133 BCE), and a late (133-31 BCE) period.
The Late Republican period began once Rome was firmly established as the major power throughout the Mediterranean basin. By the end of the period, Romans had taken control of the entire Mediterranean region, with further territorial expansion into North Africa, Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. Success abroad, however, was not matched by stability at home. The Roman state entered a prolonged period of crisis during the 1st century BCE. Civil wars were frequent, pitting different military leaders such as Sulla, Pompey the Great, and Julius Caesar and their supporters against each other. An underlying tension persisted between the wealthy and elite and the rest of the population. These tensions intensified in 133 BCE, when a Plebeian Tribune (an elected official charged with looking after the interests of the poorer members of society) named Tiberius Gracchus proposed legislation to redistribute land that had been taken over (legally and extra-legally) by wealthy aristocrats to landless Romans, particularly those who had served in the army. This move upset the ruling elite, leading to a riot in the streets of Rome and, ultimately, to Gracchus’ death. The city’s different political factions were polarized by these events, leading to a series of violent contests for power by military leaders supported either by the elites (notably Sulla and Pompey the Great) or styled as champions of the people (Marius, Caesar, and Octavian/Augustus).
The period of civil war, and with it republican government at Rome, effectively ended in 31 BCE when Octavian (soon to take the title of Augustus as the first ruler of the imperial Roman state, known as the Principate) defeated Mark Antony and the Egyptian army led by the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra at the battle of Actium.
Population and political organization
Rome during the Republican period possessed no written constitution, but was governed largely through the power and prestige of the Senate, with a clear respect for precedent and for maintaining Rome’s traditions.
[1]
A primary goal of the early Republic was to establish clear checks on the power of any single ruler - the military office of chief commander was in fact split between two generals (consuls), while the chief priestly and legislative posts were split among different people (individuals were restricted from holding multiple offices at once) - and popular assemblies voted on new laws.
Romans of this period did not distinguish between what is today termed ’secular’ and ’sacred’ authority; although individual magistracies had distinct functions, the same person often held both religious and political offices over the course of their lifetime, as they were thought to be part of essentially the same sphere of governance. The Republic featured a substantial array of religious offices and institutions intended to determine the will of the gods or to please them through the proper performance of rituals and the maintenance of large public temples.
[2]
These public auspices were the basis of magisterial power in the Republic.
[2]
Auspices were sometimes taken by consuls and other officials, for example before important military engagements,
[2]
but were mainly managed by specialist elected priests and full-time priestesses (such as the Vestal Virgins) and other priestly offices supported by the state.
[3]
Despite the internal strife, Rome remained essentially unchallenged by external forces and continued to make military advances. The significant reforms of the consul Marius helped modernize the ever-expanding Roman army around 105 BCE by removing property qualifications for military service, paving the way towards a fully professional fighting force. The period also saw some extensive engineering projects that increased urbanization and economic development: roads, aqueducts, bridges, amphitheatres, theatres, public baths, as well as Roman administrative and legal institutions spread alongside the military throughout the Mediterranean. Though this time was a period of political instability, it also was the start of a ’golden age’ in the cultural history of Rome, with literary figures like Cicero, Horace, Sallust, Caesar and Catullus, among others, leaving important and influential writings.
The population at the dawn of empire was around 30 million people, with Italy itself supporting between 5 and 10 million, thus apparently experiencing population growth despite the repeated bouts of civil war.
[4]
[1]: (Brennan 2004, 31) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. ’Power and Process under the Republican "Constitution"’, in The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[2]: (Brennan 2004, 37) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. ’Power and Process under the Republican "Constitution"’, in The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[3]: (Culham 2004, 131) Phyllis Culham. 2004. ’Women in the Roman Republic, in The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 139-59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[4]: (Scheidel 2008) Walter Scheidel. 2008. ’Roman Population Size: The Logic of the Debate’, in People, Land, and Politics: Demographic Developments and the Transformation of Roman Italy, 300 BC-AD 14, edited by L. de Ligt and S. J. Northwood, 17-70. Leiden: Brill.
| 33 T |
| Late Roman Republic |
| Rome |
| Late Roman Republic |
| alliance with [---] | |
| vassalage to [---] |
| Roman |
| Roman Empire - Principate |
| continuity |
| Preceding: Middle Roman Republic (it_roman_rep_2) [continuity] |
| unitary state |
| 400,000 people |
| [1,950,000 to 3,500,000] km2 |
| [25,000,000 to 35,000,000] people |
| absent | 100 BCE |
| present | 100 BCE |
| present |
| present | |
| absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| Year Range | Late Roman Republic (it_roman_rep_3) was in: |
|---|---|
| (133 BCE 29 BCE) | Latium |
In 96 BCE the Romans met with the Parthian Empire, located east of the Euphrates, and informally agreed to recognize the Euphrates River as the boundary between their two realms. Beyond the other frontiers, such as in Britain, vassals were maintained.
In 96 BCE the Romans met with the Parthian Empire, located east of the Euphrates, and informally agreed to recognize the Euphrates River as the boundary between their two realms. Beyond the other frontiers, such as in Britain, vassals were maintained.
The Roman Republic was a unitary state, but highly decentralized in its administration.
Latin was the lingua franca of the western half of the empire, Greek of the eastern half. Within each half, some native languages survived in use for some time after Roman rule began (e.g., Egyptian and Aramaic in the east; various Celtic languages in parts of the west, and even Italic languages within Italy itself, such as Etruscan or Oscan). Language map showing East/West split: [1] . Map of languages in pre-Roman Italy which shows the then distribution of Etruscan and Oscan languages [2] "In Africa, Punic was widely spoken as well as Latin, and in a famous passage of The City of God Augustine reminds the reader that the imperious Roman capital had not only placed the yoke of dominion on defeated peoples; it had also imposed Latin as the official language (Augustine, The City of God, 19, 7)." [3]
[1]: [1] (Bunson, 2009, 302-303)
[3]: (Triana 2011, 86) Giusto Triana. 2011. 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire. Princeton University Press.
Latin was the lingua franca of the western half of the empire, Greek of the eastern half. Within each half, some native languages survived in use for some time after Roman rule began (e.g., Egyptian and Aramaic in the east; various Celtic languages in parts of the west, and even Italic languages within Italy itself, such as Etruscan or Oscan). Language map showing East/West split: [1] . Map of languages in pre-Roman Italy which shows the then distribution of Etruscan and Oscan languages [2] "In Africa, Punic was widely spoken as well as Latin, and in a famous passage of The City of God Augustine reminds the reader that the imperious Roman capital had not only placed the yoke of dominion on defeated peoples; it had also imposed Latin as the official language (Augustine, The City of God, 19, 7)." [3]
[1]: [1] (Bunson, 2009, 302-303)
[3]: (Triana 2011, 86) Giusto Triana. 2011. 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire. Princeton University Press.
Rome.
Rome (reported census tallies)
[1]
c400,000: 100 BCE
[1]: (Scheidel http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/scheidel/070706.pdf
KM2. in 49 BCE. [1]
[1]: (Taagepera 1979: 125) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GPEXGDM4.
1. The capital (Rome)
2. Provincial capitals3. Client States/Kingdoms (e.g. Cappadocia, Egypt, Numidia)4. Colonies/coloniae and Municipia5. Tributary communities, not necessarily urbanized6. Village/vici and7. Pagi (rural settlements).In lower population density regions there could be no difference between vici and pagi. There could also be some overlap between provincial capitals and coloniae/municipia. As a result, the code ’6 levels’ corresponds to more populous regions, whilst in sparser populated regions the code ’4 levels’ should be used.
[1]
[2]
[1]: (Edmondson 2006)
[2]: (Gleason 2006)
[1]
[2]
[3]
1. Pontifex maximus
2. Colleges (flamines, augurs, pontifices, vestals)Three colleges of religious officials. 1. augurs 2. decemviri sacris faciundis 3. pontifices
3. high priests of imperial cult in provinces4. priests for a deity (running a specific temple or sanctuary)
"Freelance" religious officials (soothsayers, oracles, seers, etc). This hierarchy refers to the state religion only.
Six Vestals, appointd by pontifex maximus. Girls 6-10 with two living parents served 30 years during which time had to remain chaste. After 30 released and free to marry. Duties included: tend sacred fire and sacred objects "on which the survival of Rome depended (such as the ’palladium’)"; making salt cakes used at sacrifices; various rituals and ceremonial appearances. Vestals had unique "old-fashioned and heavy" costumes and impressive hairstyles "which other women only wore on their wedding".
"Because a vestal’s person was sacrosanct, she could not be executed. Instead, she was entombed in an underground chamber with a bed, a lamp, and some food and water, and left to die. Male accomplices were publicly flogged to death."
[4]
"The vestal virgins were responsible for maintaining the temple of Vesta and performing the rites of the goddess. They ensured that her holy flame, said to have been brought from Troy, was not extingished."
[4]
The vestal virgins had many privileges: "Wills and treaties were in their keeping, and they themselves could make a will. They could conduct business in their own name. They could give evidence in court without taking an oath. ... If they accidentally met a criminal on his way to execution, he was spared."
[4]
; "any injury to them was punishable by death; they could own and administer their own property ...; when they went out they were preceded by a lictor and had complete right of way on the streets; they could even drive in carriages within the city limits (otherwise only permitted to empresses)."
[5]
; given prominent seats at games.
[6]
[1]: (Stearns 2001)
[2]: (Rives 2007)
[3]: (North and Price 2011)
[4]: (McKeown 2010, 13) McKeown, J. C. 2010. A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the World’s Greatest Empire. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[5]: (Claridge 1998, 103) Claridge, Amanda. 1998. Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[6]: (McKeown 2010, 15) McKeown, J. C. 2010. A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the World’s Greatest Empire. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[1]
1. General (Imperator)
2. comites praetoris and cohortes praetorioWithin the army structure there were comites praetoris (young aristocrats) and cohortes praetorio (to guard the general’s tent, the praetorium; these later formed the basis of the later Imperial-era Praetorian Guard). This unit was first created by Scipio Aemilianus.
2. QuaestorsLogistical and administrative support
2. Legion commander (Legate)There were ten cohorts (400-500 men each) within a legion which makes the legion 4000-5000 men.
3. Cohort/Task group leader (Tribunes)Six. Floating role, for detached cohorts and task groups.
Under Marius the cohort became the main tactical unit in the Roman army while the maniple endured as an administrative element within it. There were ten cohorts (400-500 men each) within a legion. At some time in the first century BCE the first cohort was doubled in size (800 men).
"The maniples of 120 or 60 men that formed the primary tactical subunits of the manipular legion were subsequently replaced by larger subunits called cohorts. In the imperial period, these cohorts each had a nominal strength of 480 men, divided into six centuries of 80, and this is likely to have been true of late Republican cohorts too. There were ten cohorts in each legion, so a full-strength late Republican legion had 5,000 or so men, all equipped as heavy infantry. We do not know exactly when the cohort became the principal subdivision of the legion, except that it was normal by the time of Caesar’s Gallic wars. From this time onwards the maniples only appeared in the titles of the centurions within each legion."
[2]
4. Senior Centurion (Primus Pilus)"In the imperial period, these cohorts each had a nominal strength of 480 men, divided into six centuries of 80, and this is likely to have been true of late Republican cohorts too. There were ten cohorts in each legion, so a full-strength late Republican legion had 5,000 or so men, all equipped as heavy infantry."
[3]
5. Centurion"While the distinction between hastati, principes and triarii was preserved in centurions’ titles, by Marius’ day it ceased to have any significance in how legionaries were equipped and fought. ... Henceforth Roman legions were composed entirely of heavy infantry."
[4]
6. Optio (?)
There were 32 troopers (turma) under a decurion (sergeant). Twelve turma formed an ala (squadron), which was commanded by officer of tribune rank
[1]
7. Individual soldier
[1]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007)
[2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 22)
[3]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 22-23)
[4]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 20-21)
Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn
[1]
The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors.
[2]
During the Roman Principate there were salaried officials who worked in the Imperial Bureaux (scrinia)
[3]
but before this time any bureaucrats are thought to have been unpaid aristocrats.
1. Consuls (two)
presided over the Senate
(minimum 42 years old) both also commanders. Elected by comitia centuriata, an aristocratic assembly.
Until 363 CE consuls may have been called praetors
[4]
.
Two consuls, appointed for one year terms.
[5]
_Governing institutions_
1. Senators in the Senate
Three hundred senators (no minimum age) elected for life, and ten tribunes to represent plebians (created 471 BCE). In this period 600 then 900.
2. Quaestors in the State treasuryTreasury called aerarium or aerarium Saturni (treasury of Saturn). This was used for "depositing cash and archives of the Roman state and was situated in the temple of Saturn below the Capitol. It was controlled by the quaestors under the general supervision of the Senate."
[6]
This treasury still existed during the empire period when revenues "were increasingly diverted into the fiscus (imperial treasury). The aerarium eventually became the treasury of the city of Rome."
[6]
elected position. "financial and administrative officials who maintained public records, administered the treasury (aerarium), acted as paymasters accompanying generals on campaigns and were financial secretaries to governors."
[2]
In 2nd century BCE the quaestorship (a provincial appointment?) "was an entry-level office; it had limited powers, and in this period was usually held around age 30."
[7]
3. Assistants or scribes?
3. Equites managerial class who hold public contractsThe equites, the plebeian "middle class", "were also able to take on public contracts, such as road building and supplying equipment to the army."
[8]
4. Workers for Equites
1. Censors (two)
elected position. Two magistrates "that involved some especially important sacral and civic duties".
[9]
The office of the censor (censorship) from 443 BCE but not always present were two officials who enrolled citizens into military service.
[10]
1. Aediles (two)
elected by comitia tributa. "Two plebeian magistrates administered temple of Ceres, function later "extended to public buildings and archives (of the plebiscita and senatus consulta). From 367 BC two curule aediles were elected from the patricians. The plebeian and curule aediles had similar functions at Rome; they were in charge of the maintenance and repair of public buildings (such as temples, roads and aqueducts), of markets (especially weights and measures), of the annona (to the time of Julius Caesar), and of public games and festivals (to the time of Augustus, when games were transferred to praetors)."
[2]
1. Praetors (six?)
elected by comitia centuriata. "In 366 BC the praetor urbanus (city praetor) was introduced, who was almost exclusively concerned with the administration of law at Rome. The praetor ... was the supreme civil judge. By the middle republic the praetors’ powers were restricted to law and justice... By 241 BC a second praetor ... was established to deal with legal cases in which one or both parties were foreigners. ... there were eight by 80 BC. Praetors issued annual edicts that were an important source of Roman law."
[2]
"A third magistracy, the praetorship, was also established in 367."
[11]
The first plebeian praetor was in 336 BCE.
[11]
_ Provincial administration _
2. Provincial governors3. quaestors
2. Municipal government3. Decurions in the townships4. Scribes?
2. Client rulers and Colonies
Colonies of citizens - 8 coastal by 264 BCE. Latin colonies established by military. They had a devolved government modelled on the system at Rome.
[12]
[1]: Garrett Fagan. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Adkins and Adkins 1998, 42) Adkins, Lesley. Adkins, Roy A. 1998. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. New York.
[4]: (Stearns 2001)
[5]: (Crawford 2001)
[6]: (Adkins and Adkins 1998, 45) Adkins, Lesley. Adkins, Roy A. 1998. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. New York.
[7]: (Brennan 2004, 36) Brennan, Corey T. Power and Process Under The Republican ’Constitution’. Flower, Harriet I ed. 2004. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press.
[8]: (Adkins and Adkins 1994, 38) Adkins, Lesley. Adkins, Roy A. 1998. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[9]: (Brennan 2004, 34) Brennan, Corey T. Power and Process Under The Republican ’Constitution’. Flower, Harriet I ed. 2004. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press.
[10]: (Oakley 2004, 17) Oakley, Stephen P. The Early Republic. Flower, Harriet I. 2004. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press.
[11]: (Oakley 2004, 18) Oakley, Stephen P. The Early Republic. Flower, Harriet I. 2004. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press.
[12]: (Stearns 2001, 79)
Army pay introduced at the start of a campaign against Veii 406 CE: "According to Livy (4.9.11), the Senate introduced army pay (stipendium) to compensate the men serving in this struggle for the labor they lost on their family farms." For the same reason it is widely agreed that pay was introduced due to prolonged campaigns "from the later fourth century onwards, during the wars against the Samnites, the Etruscans, and Gauls." The tributum tax, which is mentioned "from roughly 400 BC onwards" is thought to have been introduced for citizens to pay for soldiers.
[1]
Professional soldiers were certainly present from the beginning of the Roman Principate. "Augustus’ main military reforms had the effect of turning the army into a standing force of long-service professionals, instead of the part-time citizen force of the Republic."
[2]
It is also argued that a professional corps developed from the reforms of Marius in 105 BCE. Some further maintain that the pre-existing citizen militia was "essentially professional" by 220 BCE.
[3]
[1]: (Erdkamp 2011, 105) Erdkamp, P. 2011. A Companion to the Roman Army. John Wiley & Sons.
[2]: (Fields, 2006, 35)
[3]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007)
Army pay introduced at the start of a campaign against Veii 406 CE: "According to Livy (4.9.11), the Senate introduced army pay (stipendium) to compensate the men serving in this struggle for the labor they lost on their family farms." For the same reason it is widely agreed that pay was introduced due to prolonged campaigns "from the later fourth century onwards, during the wars against the Samnites, the Etruscans, and Gauls." The tributum tax, which is mentioned "from roughly 400 BC onwards" is thought to have been introduced for citizens to pay for soldiers.
[1]
Professional soldiers were certainly present from the beginning of the Roman Principate. "Augustus’ main military reforms had the effect of turning the army into a standing force of long-service professionals, instead of the part-time citizen force of the Republic."
[2]
It is also argued that a professional corps developed from the reforms of Marius in 105 BCE. Some further maintain that the pre-existing citizen militia was "essentially professional" by 220 BCE.
[3]
[1]: (Erdkamp 2011, 105) Erdkamp, P. 2011. A Companion to the Roman Army. John Wiley & Sons.
[2]: (Fields, 2006, 35)
[3]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007)
Early Roman cults were funded by regular public offerings, large individual donations, and payment for services. The hierarchy could also profit from land ownership. Professionalism of the priesthood likely pre-dates the Roman era as similar patterns are evident in Greek and Egyptian civilization. When the state provided gifts, it was often in the form of a lavish construction, such as a new temple. Examples: priests of Isis were "full-time religious professionals" [1] ; Vestals were "supported by the state and were full-time professional clergy, along with the Priestess of Ceres and Proserpina." [2]
[1]: (Grant and Kitzinger, 1988, 938)
[2]: (Flower ed. 2004, 143)
The highest officers in the Roman military system were usually senators not professionals. There were, however, professional junior officers at least from the Roman Principate.
"Typically the men who commanded armies and legions were senators. There were no military specialists in Roman government and no imperial high command. All senators alternated brief periods of military command with administrative posts, participation in domestic politics and careers as legal advocates. As military commanders they were, to a great extent, amateurs, even though most did a brief spell as a junior officer (tribune) in a legion. They would have depended on the professional junior officers (tribunes and centurions) as well as the training and discipline of the legionaries themselves to win battles.""
[1]
"Tribunes, like the legionary legate (commander), were drawn from Rome’s social and political elite, the senatorial and equestrian orders, and were not professional soldiers. They alternated military service with political, judicial and administrative duties."
[2]
[1]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 38)
[2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 39)
The highest officers in the Roman military system were usually senators not professionals. There were, however, professional junior officers at least from the Roman Principate.
"Typically the men who commanded armies and legions were senators. There were no military specialists in Roman government and no imperial high command. All senators alternated brief periods of military command with administrative posts, participation in domestic politics and careers as legal advocates. As military commanders they were, to a great extent, amateurs, even though most did a brief spell as a junior officer (tribune) in a legion. They would have depended on the professional junior officers (tribunes and centurions) as well as the training and discipline of the legionaries themselves to win battles.""
[1]
"Tribunes, like the legionary legate (commander), were drawn from Rome’s social and political elite, the senatorial and equestrian orders, and were not professional soldiers. They alternated military service with political, judicial and administrative duties."
[2]
[1]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 38)
[2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 39)
The first senate building, the Curia Hostilia, existed from about 600 BCE.
[1]
The first paving of the Roman Forum occurred around 575-625 BCE.
[2]
The first coin minted in Rome occurred about 269 BCE (one in Neapolis produced coins slightly earlier, around 281 BCE) and the first state archives was created in 78 BCE. Other buildings include: granaries and storehouses.
The Curia Julia was one of the main meeting places of the Roman Senate (later rebuilt under Diocletian after a fire in 283 CE).
[3]
The Senate also often met in appropriate temples.
[4]
The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn. There were lots of multi-purpose government buildings: basilicas, imperial fora, and porticos, which were utilized for government functions, such as official meetings or court hearings.
[1]: (Cornell 1995, 94)
[2]: (Cornell 1995, 100)
[3]: (http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/reconstructions/CuriaIulia_1)
Roman administration was typically formed out of a class of hereditary aristocrats. Distinctions between classes of legionary and distinctions between age and experience within the army had been eliminated by Marius in 105 BCE [1] and the Illyrian emperors did demonstrate that "low born" individuals could make it to the top of the administrative hierarchy. Since there was no general policy of merit promotion in the Roman bureaucracy - and the promotion of low-born individuals to position of power might be considered a matter of "politics" among aristocrats - the code is inferred absent.
[1]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007)
Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn
[1]
The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors.
[2]
During the Roman Principate there were salaried officials who worked in the Imperial Bureaux (scrinia)
[3]
but before this time any bureaucrats are thought to have been unpaid aristocrats.
[1]: Garrett Fagan. Personal Communication.
[2]: (Adkins and Adkins 1998, 42) Adkins, Lesley. Adkins, Roy A. 1998. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. New York.
Law specialists first existed during the Principate when they commanded fees for their expertise. We know this because Emperor Claudius attempted to "limit the fees of advocates, which had become intolerably heavy" to protect "women and other helpless litigants from the rapacity of their lawyers." [1] The first law school in Rome, for persons who wished to pursue career in the Imperial civil service, was established late second century CE. "Professional" lawyers replaced orators during the Roman Dominate period. [2]
[1]: (Allcroft and Haydon 1902, 121 [6])
[2]: (Mousourakis 2007, 163)
Professional judges did not exist until the Roman Dominate although at that time their precise role vis-a-vis that of Imperial officials is a matter of debate. [1] Before this time there were no judges as a distinct profession in the Roman system of law. Local magistrates dealt with local matters, provincial governors dealt with provincial matters, and the praetors often dealt with cases in Rome. The Roman people could be duly convened as a final court of appeal in cases involving citizens.
[1]: (Mousourakis 2007, 163)
A formal legal code was first founded in the Twelve Tables of 450-449 BCE. Law thereafter was based on precedent. Our sources of knowledge of Roman law include the forensic speeches of Cicero; the Institutes of Gaius textbook (from 160 CE); and, much later, the sixth century CE Corpus Ius Civilis of Justinian. Wax tablets and papyri (contracts and wills etc.) also provide information on Roman law.
[1]
"ius honorarium, the law contained in the Edict of the praetor, who, under the Republic and Early Empire administered law in Rome; this form of law derived its name from the praetor’s magistracy (honos) and was held to ’assist, supplement or amend’ the ius civile.".
[2]
"The criminal law owed much to the reforms of two past lawgivers, the proto-emperor, L. Cornelius Sulla (dictator and consul, 81-80 BC), and the emperor Augustus. Sulla established a number of courts (quaestiones) to try various criminal offences, such as murder and poisoning (or use of charms), or forgery; in the statutes he would have defined the crime and the penalty. In other areas of criminal law, the framework supplied for later developments by the Leges Iuliae, the legislation of Augustus, predominates, with whole sections of the imperial law-codes devoted to imperial enactments relevant to the Julian laws on adulteries, corrupt solicitation (ambitus), extortion (repetundae), treason (maiestas) and on violence)."
[3]
"As jury-courts fell out of use under the Early Empire, to be replaced by hearings before a single magistrate or judge, the courts established by the criminal statutes ceased to operate, but the statues themselves remained, as they specified offence and punishment. People prosecuted for murder, poisoning, or other relevant offences were still prosecuted under Sulla’s law and liable to its penalties."
[3]
[1]: (Tellegen-Couperus, 2002, 66)
[2]: (Harries 2001, 11) Harries, Jill. 2001. Law and Empire in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[3]: (Harries 2001, 12) Harries, Jill. 2001. Law and Empire in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
"The criminal law owed much to the reforms of two past lawgivers, the proto-emperor, L. Cornelius Sulla (dictator and consul, 81-80 BC), and the emperor Augustus. Sulla established a number of courts (quaestiones) to try various criminal offences, such as murder and poisoning (or use of charms), or forgery; in the statutes he would have defined the crime and the penalty. In other areas of criminal law, the framework supplied for later developments by the Leges Iuliae, the legislation of Augustus, predominates, with whole sections of the imperial law-codes devoted to imperial enactments relevant to the Julian laws on adulteries, corrupt solicitation (ambitus), extortion (repetundae), treason (maiestas) and on violence)."
[1]
"As jury-courts fell out of use under the Early Empire, to be replaced by hearings before a single magistrate or judge, the courts established by the criminal statutes ceased to operate, but the statues themselves remained, as they specified offence and punishment. People prosecuted for murder, poisoning, or other relevant offences were still prosecuted under Sulla’s law and liable to its penalties."
[1]
Note (DH): the quaestiones were a sort of ad-hoc special tribunal - it refers to the section of law that the case was under, not an actual building, so ’court’ is a bit of a stretch on the translation in the quote. Trials were still held basically wherever there was space -- bassilicae, fora, etc.
During the Roman Dominate administration of justice was "thoroughly bureaucratized" and "regular courts, special courts were established to deal with particular matters and categories of persons."
[2]
Before this time there was no specialised court building. Courts could be held in the basilicas
[3]
(introduced by the 3rd Century BCE
[4]
) where a provincial governor could an hold audience or in the Roman forum. Basilicas were multi-purpose buildings a place for banking and money-changing and town hall activities. The forum was a multi-purpose building which had existed since the Roman Kingdom.
[1]: (Harries 2001, 12) Harries, Jill. 2001. Law and Empire in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[2]: (Mousourakis 2007, 161)
[3]: (Berger 1968, 742)
[4]: (Stearns 2001)
Markets held every eight days (a period called the nundinum), usually in fora of Roman towns. Urban markets since 2nd century BCE [1] Markets were also held outside the Basilica Aemilia, first built 179 BCE. [2] [3] The multi-function forum building also functioned as a marketplace.
[1]: (Crawford 2001, 40)
Rome’s mayoral office, which supervised the import of grain, dates back to early days of the Roman Republic. [1] "The Republican stages of the Roman attempt to deal with storage problems are to some extent lost, because the material remains of most of the warehouses we have found belong to the Imperial period, but there are some clues." [2] From literary sources [Livy] it seems that the major development of Rome’s river port and its attendant warehouses did not take place until the early second century B.C. Earlier the old Forum Boarium and Forum Holitorium in the centre of Rome seem to have coped with the main flow of imports which had probably come down the Tiber from the Italian hills." [2]
[1]: (Canciello 2005)
[2]: (Rickman 1971, 2)
Maintenance of existing aqueduct network. At Rome nearly all aqueducts began in the Sabine Hills, in the valley of the river Anio. Waters, such as from the (previously built) Aqua Marcia, would take 15-20 hours to reach the city. At the city the water would enter a distribution tank, before traveling through the terracotta or lead-pipe network. The best evidence for piped urban water networking has been found at Pompeii. The water had three main destinations: street fountains, baths and domestic. The majority of Romans gained their fresh water from street fountains. For domestic use, water supply was controlled by the size of a bronze nozzle (adjutage) that connected the masonry channel to the leadpipe that entered the house. Domestic water was probably paid for with a "water tax". [1]
[1]: (Evans 2013)
The first paved road was the probably the military road to Capua called the Appian Way commissioned by Appius Claudius Caecus around 312 BCE. [1] Caesar banned vehicles from the centre of Rome to prevent congestion, introduced one-way streets and off-street parking. In 30 BCE the first major hard-rock tunnel was built near Naples. [2]
[2]: (Lay 1992, 337)
The first canal is thought to have been built by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 187 BCE) to drain the lower Po region.
Cicero’s (born Arpinum, 106 BC) letters, Caesar’s speeches.
Cicero’s (born Arpinum, 106 BC) letters, Caesar’s speeches.
E.g. The Sibyl of Cumae reportedly offered nine books of prophecies to the Roman Kingdom monarch Tarquin. Three books were purchased and kept in the Temple of Jupiter. According to Tacitus (Tacitus 6.12) after the temple was destroyed in a fire in the 1st century BCE efforts were made to reconstruct their contents.
Lucretius Carus (94-55 BCE) "De Rerum Natura".
[1]
Albius Tibullus (born 53 BCE), poet wrote Elegies. Sextus Propertius (born in Umbria c58-49 BCE), elegiac poet. Publius Vergilius Maro (born near Mantua 70 BCE), poet, wrote Eclogues (published before 39 BCE), Georgics, Aeneid (begun 29 BCE, published 17 BCE). Quintus Horatius Flaccus (born at Venusia 65 BCE) a humourist, wrote Satires (published c34-29 BCE), Odes (published 23-14 BCE), Epodes (poem, published c30 BCE).
[2]
Catullus, poet (born c84 BCE, Cisapine Gaul).
[1]: (Stearns 2001)
[2]: (Allcroft and Haydon 1902, 235)
Spintria may have been used during the Principate to pay prostitutes although it is also argued that these were gaming pieces.
gold was used as a store of wealth (cf J.-M. Carrié 2003 "Solidus et Credit") and conceivably was used for payment.
The Romans did not use paper currency in any period.
Rome produced its first coin about 281 BCE, a Greek-style silver didrachma, minted in Neapolis (and twelve years later coins were minted in Rome.) Prior to end of Second Punic War (end 201 BCE) many coins were produced by communities other than Rome. Monetary and economic unity from Rome was achieved by the early 1st century BCE. [1] Roman coins included the silver denarius, silver Sestertius and gold aureus. [2] Further reading: "Money in the Late Roman Republic." [3]
[1]: (Crawford 2001, 32, 42)
[3]: (Hollander 2007, 80-81)
Slaves were acquired by means of exchange: "we are told that some Gallic chiefs were so fond of Italian wine they would give a slave for a single jar, and there is literary evidence for Gallic slaves in Italy." [1] Salt was used as payment to soldiers from 406 BCE and was an essential commodity with the "Salt Road" being in existence from the start of the Roman Kingdom period.
[1]: (Rawson 2001, 59)
No general postal service until the Cursus Publicus, established by Augustus during the Principate.
No general postal service until the Cursus Publicus, established by Augustus during the Principate.
"Before Augustus, Romans wanting to post a letter had to find a courier wherever they could, and work out the arrangements for delivery ad hoc. But by Cicero’s day [i.e. c100 BCE] there had evolved a number of fairly regular means by which one could send a letter." This included "a private system of letter carriers maintained by the publicani, whose business of collecting taxes in the provinces necessitated a reliable means of communication over long distances... a private individual could arrange for these couriers, called tabellarri, to carry personal letters along with the business correspondence of their companies." [1] Wealthly individuals kept personal couriers, tabellarri domestici. [1] The army had a citizen cavalry to deliver messages. Legionary cavalry contingents of 120 men were used primarily as scouts and couriers. [2]
[1]: (Nicholson 1994)
[2]: (McCall 2002, 172)
"Romans were so fond of the texture effect of opus quadratum that they continued to use this technique even after having developed more effective kinds of masonry." [1] Inferred absent because "texture effect" should be irrelevant in a military context and Romans of this period had access to motar.
[1] 392 BCE conquest Veii gave access to quality stone, Grotta Oscura tufa. 374 BCE stone wall constructed around Rome, using this stone. [2]
[1]: (http://www.romeartlover.it/Costroma.html)
[2]: (Stearns 2001)
Military colonies.
For the largest armies 20-25 miles per day. Theodore Dodge’s Caesar: A History of The Art of War (1900). EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://seshat.info/File:DodgeHow.jpg
For example, swords. Noric steel first made by the Celts in 300 BCE. Romans imported Noric steel. Noricum, a region of the Austrian Alps "between Raetia in the west and Pannonia in the east" became a province within the Roman Empire. [1] However, use of Noric steel could hardly have been typical. "A sword from the Roman Republican period (3rd-2nd century BCE) in Slovenia was found to have an iron edge and a steel (0.4%C) body, like the much later spatha discussed below; a particularly unfortunate combination." [2]
[1]: (Buchwald 2005, 124) Vagn Fabritius Buchwald. 2005. Iron and steel in ancient times. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.
[2]: (Williams 2012, 51-52) Alan Williams. 2012. The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords Up to the 16th Century. BRILL. Leiden.
"Hastati and principes ... carried a pair of pila (singular pilum), heavy (thus armour-piercing) throwing spears with a long iron head set in a wooden shaft. Pila were thrown at short range before the legionaries engaged their enemies at close quarters with the sword." [1]
[1]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 15)
"Legionaries of this period continued to use the elongated oval scutum shield." [1] A relief from the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus depicts Republican legionaries with scutum shields. [1] "Legionaries carried a distinctively Roman shield, a long (4 Roman feet, c 1.17 m) oval type called a scutum, of laminated wood and canvas with an iron rim and boss." [2]
[1]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 21)
[2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 15)
Likely for transportation of military overseas, e.g. at this time to Egypt or North Africa.
