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140-716: The word tribune is derived from the Roman tribes . The three original tribes known as the Ramnes or Ramnenses , Tities or Titienses, and the Luceres, were each headed by a tribune, who represented each tribe in civil, religious, and military matters. Subsequently, each of the Servian tribes was also represented by a tribune. Under the Roman Kingdom , the tribunus celerum , in English tribune of

280-489: A Roman ally. Mithridates, still in Asia, was faced with local uprisings against his rule. Adding to his challenges was Lucullus' fleet, reinforced by Rhodian allies. When Flaccus' consular army marched through Macedonia towards Thrace, his command was usurped by his legate Gaius Flavius Fimbria , who had Flaccus killed before chasing Mithridates with his army into Asia itself. Faced with Fimbria's army in Asia, Lucullus' fleet off

420-462: A cavalry vexillatio . As tribounos , the title survived in the East Roman army until the early 7th century. From the use of tribunus to describe various military officers is derived the word tribunal , originally referring to a raised platform used to address the soldiers or administer justice. Military tribunes are featured in notable works of historical fiction, including Ben-Hur: A Tale of

560-1134: A fight. Sulla's arrival in Brundisium induced defections from the Senate in Rome: Marcus Licinius Crassus , who had already fled from the Cinnan regime, raised an army in Spain, and departed for Africa to join with Metellus Pius (who also joined the Sullans), joined Sulla even before his landing in Italy. Pompey , the son of Pompey Strabo , raised a legion from his clients in Picenum and also joined Sulla; Sulla treated him with great respect and addressed him as imperator before dispatching him to raise more troops. Even those whom Sulla had quarrelled with (including Publius Cornelius Cethegus , whom Sulla had outlawed in 88 BC) defected to join his side. The general feeling in Italy, however,

700-505: A legal commander. Sulla moved to intercept Flaccus' army in Thessaly, but turned around when Pontic forces reoccupied Boetia. Turning south, he engaged the Pontic army – allegedly 90,000 – on the plain of Orchomenus. His troops prepared the ground by starting to dig a series of three trenches, which successfully contained Pontic cavalry. When the Pontic cavalry attacked to interrupt the earthworks,

840-692: A legate in Macedonia. Sulla's ability to use military force against his own countrymen was "in many ways a continuation of the Social War... a civil war between former allies and friends developed into a civil war between citizens... what was eroded in the process was the fundamental distinction between Romans and foreign enemies". Political violence in Rome continued even in Sulla's absence. Cinna violently quarrelled with his co-consul, Gnaeus Octavius . After Octavius induced

980-592: A normal education for his class, grounded in ancient Greek and Latin classics. Sallust declares him well-read, intelligent, and he was fluent in Greek. Regardless, by the standards of the Roman political class, Sulla was a very poor man. His first wife was called either Ilia or Julia. If the latter, he may have married into the Julii Caesares. He had one child from this union, before his first wife's death. He married again, with

1120-555: A patrician was being adopted into a plebeian family. By the late republic, each curia was represented by only one lictor , usually under the presidency of the pontifex maximus . According to the Roman tradition, Servius Tullius , the sixth king (traditionally r.  579 – 534 BC ), abolished the Romulean tribes (though not the curiae ) and re-divided the city into four urban tribes and twenty-six pagi which coalesced into seventeen rural tribes. The names of

1260-498: A promise that Sulla's life would be safe". Sulla then left for Capua before joining an army near Nola in southern Italy. He may have felt, after this political humiliation, that the only way to recover his career was to come back from the Mithridatic command victorious. With Sulpicius able to enact legislation without consular opposition, Sulla discovered that Marius had tricked him, for the first piece of legislation Sulpicius brought

1400-675: A result of Jugurtha's betrayal by the king's allies, although his superior Gaius Marius took credit for ending the war. He then fought successfully against Germanic tribes during the Cimbrian War , and Italian allies during the Social War . He was awarded the Grass Crown for his bravery at the Battle of Nola. Sulla was closely associated with Venus , adopting the title Epaphroditos meaning favoured of Aphrodite/Venus. Sulla played an important role in

1540-544: A secret deal with Marius, who had for years been coveting another military command, according to which Marius would support Sulpicius' Italian legislation in exchange for a law transferring Sulla's command to Marius. Sulpicius' attempts to push through the Italian legislation again brought him into violent urban conflict, although he "offered nothing to the urban plebs... so it continued to resist him". The consuls, fearful of intimidation of Sulpicius and his armed bodyguards, declared

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1680-409: A senatorial career. Each tribune would be assigned to command a portion of the Roman army, subordinate to the magistrates and promagistrates appointed by the senate, and their legates. Within each of the legions , various middle-ranking officers were also styled tribune . These officers included: In the late Roman army, a tribunus was a senior officer, sometimes called a comes , who commanded

1820-490: A set of relatively cordial peace terms which were then forwarded to Mithridates. Mithridates was to give Asia and Paphlagonia back to Rome. He was to return the kingdoms of Bithynia and Cappadocia to Nicomedes and Ariobarzanes , respectively. Mithridates would also equip Sulla with seventy or eighty ships and pay a war indemnity of two or three thousand talents. Sulla would ratify Mithridates' position in Pontus and have him declared

1960-451: A suspension of public business ( iustitium ) which led to Sulpicius and his mob forcing the consuls to flee. During the violence, Sulla was forced to shelter in Marius' nearby house (later denied in his memoirs). Marius arranged for Sulla to lift the iustitium and allow Sulpicius to bring proposals; Sulla, in a "desperately weak position... [received] little in return[,] perhaps no more than

2100-657: A town held by Sulla in violation of a ceasefire. The breakdown allowed Sulla to play the aggrieved party and place blame on his enemies for any further bloodshed. Scipio's army blamed him for the breakdown in negotiations and made it clear to the consul that they would not fight Sulla, who at this point appeared the peacemaker. Sulla, hearing this, feigned an attack while instructing his men to fraternise with Scipio's army. Scipio's men quickly abandoned him for Sulla; finding him almost alone in his camp, Sulla tried again to persuade Scipio to defect. When Scipio refused, Sulla let him go. Sulla attempted to open negotiations with Norbanus, who

2240-497: A tyranny over the city. Hind 1994 , p. 150 dismisses claims in Plutarch and Vellius Paterclus of Athens' being forced to cooperate with Mithridates as "very hollow" and "apologia". Rome defended Delos unsuccessfully from a joint invasion by Athens and Pontus. They were, however, successful in holding Macedonia , then governed by propraetor Gaius Sentius and his legate Quintus Bruttius Sura . Early in 87 BC, Sulla transited

2380-589: A woman called Aelia, of whom nothing is known other than her name. During these marriages, he engaged in an affair with the hetaira Nicopolis , who also was older than he. The means by which Sulla attained the fortune which later would enable him to ascend the ladder of Roman politics are not clear; Plutarch refers to two inheritances, one from his stepmother (who loved him dearly) and the other from his mistress Nicopolis. Keaveney 2005 , pp. 10–11 accepts these inheritances without much comment and places them around Sulla's turning thirty years of age. After meeting

2520-440: Is uncertain. The enrollment of new citizens in particular tribes became a significant political issue during the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC. Those who wished to limit the voting power of the lower social orders, and particularly of freedmen, advocated enrolling them only in the four urban tribes. This effort was largely unsuccessful, except with respect to freedmen, who were nearly always enrolled in one of

2660-405: The divisores coordinated gifts among tribesmen and were regularly implicated in electoral bribery during the late republic. Further officers included a curator tribuum , who served as the head of the tribe, and tribuni aerarii , or tribunes of the treasury, whose responsibility was for the tribe's financial obligations; they were responsible for collecting the war tax, and distributed pay to

2800-705: The Rape of the Sabine Women , the Sabines under Titus Tatius attacked Rome, and successfully entered the city. After fierce fighting, the Sabine women themselves interceded, stepping between their husbands and their fathers to prevent further bloodshed. Peace was concluded, with Romulus and Tatius ruling jointly, and a large Sabine population relocating to Rome. The nascent city was thus evenly divided between Latins and Sabines. After this, traditionally dated to 750 BC, Romulus created

2940-606: The Roman Empire , the tribunes continued to be elected, but had lost their independence and most of their practical power. The office became merely a step in the political careers of plebeians who aspired toward a seat in the senate. The tribuni militum, known in English as military tribunes or literally, tribunes of the soldiers , were elected each year along with the annual magistrates. Their number varied throughout Roman history, but eventually reached twenty-four. These were usually young men in their late twenties, who aspired to

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3080-486: The Roman Republic . According to tradition, the first three tribes were established by Romulus ; each was divided into ten curiae , or wards, which were the voting units of the comitia curiata . Although the curiae continued throughout Roman history, the three original tribes that they constituted gradually vanished from history. Perhaps influenced by the original division of the people into tribes, as well as

3220-406: The collegia of the pontifices , augures , and the decemviri sacrorum . The comitia could pass resolutions proposed by the tribunes of the plebs, or by the higher magistrates, on both domestic and foreign matters, such as the making of treaties or concluding of peace. Proposals had to be published before receiving a vote, and were passed or rejected as a whole, without modification. Although

3360-442: The comitia centuriata , which also presided over certain capital trials, and held the power to declare war, and to pass legislation presented by the senate. Lesser magistrates were elected by the comitia tributa , which also elected religious officials, presided over trials affecting the plebeians, and passed resolutions based on legislation proposed by the tribunes of the plebs and various magistrates. The comitia curiata retained

3500-443: The comitia tributa of the power to declare war or conclude peace; the early emperors further curtailed its power. Augustus removed the comitia's judicial function, and preserved its power to pass legislation only in form. He filled half of the available magistracies with his own candidates, and Tiberius transferred the comitia's remaining electoral authority to the senate. Although the emperors received many of their powers from

3640-605: The comitia tributa , this was only a formality. Although the comitia tributa continued to exist until the third century AD, its only remaining functions were symbolic; it took auspices and gave prayer; it conferred the emperor's legislative powers and other authority; and it proclaimed the laws presented to it for approval. But by this time voting was done not by ballot, but by acclamatio . Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix ( / ˈ s ʌ l ə / , Latin pronunciation: [ˈɫ̪uːkius̠ korˈneːlʲius̠ ˈs̠uɫːa ˈfeːlʲiːks̠] ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla ,

3780-538: The curiones was appointed or elected curio maximus , and presided over the assembly. Under the kings, the comitia curiata was summoned by the king or by an interrex , who would present questions upon which the comitia might vote. These included the election of a new king, as proposed by the interrex; the passing of a law conferring imperium on the king, known as a lex curiata de imperio ; whether to declare war; rulings on appeals; matters relating to arrogatio ; and whether to allow foreigners to be received among

3920-622: The first secession of the plebs , to protect the interests of the plebeians against the actions of the senate and the annual magistrates, who were uniformly patrician . The ancient sources indicate the tribunes may have originally been two or five in number. If the former, the college of tribunes was expanded to five in 470 BC. Either way, the college was increased to ten in 457 BC, and remained at this number throughout Roman history. They were assisted by two aediles plebis , or plebeian aediles. Only plebeians were eligible for these offices, although at least two exceptions existed. The tribunes of

4060-458: The plebeians were included in voting, and this view now appears to have prevailed; the plebeians were included either from the beginning, or at least from an early date; certainly from the earliest years of the Republic. When the various curiae were assembled for voting, they formed the comitia curiata . It was founded under the kings and survived through to the end of the republic. One of

4200-409: The 2018 book Rise of Rome , attributes the popularity of the explanation to nationalist politics of the 19th and 20th centuries. These three tribes were in turn divided into thirty curiae , or wards, the organization of which is unclear. The etymology of the word may derive from co-viria – a gathering of men – with each group electing a leader, known as a curio . Among the curiones , one

4340-505: The Adriatic for Thessaly with his five legions. Upon his arrival, Sulla had his quaestor Lucullus order Sura, who had vitally delayed Mithridates' advances into Greece, to retreat back into Macedonia. He separately besieged Athens and Piraeus (the Long Walls had since been demolished). Threatened by the Pontic navy, Sulla sent his quaestor Lucullus to scrounge about for allied naval forces. At

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4480-500: The Christ , by Lew Wallace , and The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas . Both novels involve characters affected by the life and death of Jesus , and were turned into epic films during the 1950s. Messala, the primary antagonist in Ben-Hur , was played by Stephen Boyd , while Marcellus Gallio, the protagonist of The Robe , was played by a young Richard Burton . In 445 BC, the tribunes of

4620-565: The East, claims which were "surely false". The troops were willing to follow Sulla to Rome; his officers, however, realised Sulla's plans and deserted him (except his quaestor and kinsman, almost certainly Lucius Licinius Lucullus ). They then killed Marcus Gratidius, one of Marius' legates, when Gratidius attempted to effect the transfer of command. When the march on Rome started, the Senate and people were appalled. The Senate immediately sent an embassy demanding an explanation for his seeming march on

4760-605: The Germanic invaders, he was able to negotiate their defection from the Cimbri and Teutones. His prospects for advancement under Marius being stalled, however, Sulla started to complain "most unfairly" that Marius was withholding opportunities from him. Demanding transfer to Catulus' (Marius' consular colleague) army, he received it. In 102 BC, the invaders returned and moved to force the Alps. Catulus, with Sulla, moved to block their advance;

4900-508: The Italian countryside. Advancing on Capua, he met the two consuls of that year – Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and Gaius Norbanus – who had dangerously divided their forces. He defeated Norbanus at the Battle of Mount Tifata , forcing the consul to withdraw. Continuing towards Scipio's position at Teanum Sidicinum, Sulla negotiated and was almost able to convince Scipio to defect. Negotiations broke down after one of Scipio's lieutenants seized

5040-501: The Latin term tribunatus , meaning the office or term of a Roman tribunus (see above), was a collective organ of the young revolutionary French Republic composed of members styled tribun (the French for tribune), which, despite the apparent reference to one of ancient Rome's prestigious magistratures, never held any real political power as an assembly, its individual members no role at all. It

5180-435: The Mithridatic command. Sulla became embroiled in a political fight against one of the plebeian tribunes, Publius Sulpicius Rufus , on the matter of how the new Italian citizens were to be distributed into the Roman tribes for purposes of voting. Sulla and Pompeius Rufus opposed the bill, which Sulpicius took as a betrayal; Sulpicius, without the support of the consuls, looked elsewhere for political allies. This led him to

5320-655: The Numidian king. Jugurtha had fled to his father-in-law, King Bocchus I of Mauretania (a nearby kingdom); Marius invaded Mauretania, and after a pitched battle in which both Sulla and Marius played important roles in securing victory, Bocchus felt forced by Roman arms to betray Jugurtha. After the Senate approved negotiations with Bocchus, it delegated the talks to Marius, who appointed Sulla as envoy plenipotentiary. Winning Bocchus' friendship and making plain Rome's demands for Jugurtha's deliverance, Sulla successfully concluded negotiations and secured Bocchus' capture of Jugurtha and

5460-589: The Parthian ambassador, Orobazus, was executed upon his return to Parthia for allowing this humiliation, the Parthians ratified the treaty, establishing the Euphrates as a clear boundary between Parthia and Rome. At this meeting, Sulla was told by a Chaldean seer that he would die at the height of his fame and fortune. This prophecy was to have a powerful hold on Sulla throughout his lifetime. In 94 BC, Sulla repulsed

5600-505: The Roman forces followed a plan very similar to that of Metellus, capturing and garrisoning fortified positions in the African countryside. Sulla was popular with the men; charming and benign, he built up a healthy rapport while also winning popularity with other officers, including Marius. Ultimately, the Numidians were defeated in 106 BC, due in large part to Sulla's initiative in capturing

5740-590: The Romans almost broke; Sulla on foot personally rallied his men and stabilised the area. Roman forces then surrounded the Pontic camp. Archelaus tried to break out but was unsuccessful; Sulla then annihilated the Pontic army and captured its camp. Archelaus then hid in the nearby marshes before escaping to Chalcis. In the aftermath of the battle, Sulla was approached by Archelaus for terms. With Mithridates' armies in Europe almost entirely destroyed, Archelaus and Sulla negotiated

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5880-413: The Romulean tribes appear to be Etruscan. Although the theory that the Romulean tribes represented the city's original ethnic components continues to be represented in modern scholarship, it has never been universally accepted, and this view is rejected by many scholars. This is because "the idea that the three tribes were distinct ethnic groups has no support in the ancient sources". Kathryn Lomas, in

6020-562: The Sabine Women, but of the nine curiae whose names are known today, several are of geographical origin. The only curiae whose names are now known were: Acculeia, Calabra, Faucia, Foriensis, Rapta, Tifata , Titia , Veliensis , and Velitia . In the past, it was widely believed that membership in the curiae was limited to the patricians , and that statements to the contrary, indicating that clientes were admitted meant no more than that they were passive members with no voting rights. However, Mommsen argued convincingly that

6160-548: The Samnites, and general Roman victory across Italy, Sulla stood for and was elected easily to the consulship of 88 BC; his colleague would be Quintus Pompeius Rufus . Sulla's election to the consulship, successful likely due to his military success in 89 BC, was not uncontested. Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo , merely an ex-aedile and one of Sulla's long-time enemies, had contested the top magistracy. Beyond personal enmity, Caesar Strabo may also have stood for office because it

6300-451: The Senate from the list of citizens from 25 years up, and annually one fifth was renewed for a five-year term. When it opposed the first parts of Bonaparte's proposed penal code, he made the Senate nominate 20 new members at once to replace the 20 first opponents to his politic; they accepted the historically important reform of penal law. As the Tribunate opposed new despotic projects, he got

6440-408: The Senate in year X to allow itself to dissolve the Tribunate. In XIII it was further downsized to 50 members. On August 16, 1807, it was abolished and never revived. Roman tribes A tribus , or tribe , was a division of the Roman people for military, censorial, and voting purposes. When constituted in the comitia tributa , the tribes were the voting units of a legislative assembly of

6580-449: The addition of Volscian territory in 358 BC, two more tribes were formed, Pomptina and Publilia (also found as Poblilia). In 332, the censors Quintus Publilius Philo and Spurius Postumius Albinus enrolled two more tribes, Maecia (originally Maicia) and Scaptia. Ufentina (or Oufentina) and Falerina followed in 318, and in 299 Aniensis and Terentina were added. The last two tribes, Quirina and Velina, were established in 241 BC, bringing

6720-447: The allies Roman citizenship over the decades had failed for various reasons, just as the allies also "became progressively more aware of the need to cease to be subjects and to share in the exercise of imperial power" by acquiring that citizenship. The Cimbric war also revived Italian solidarity, aided by Roman extension of corruption laws to allow allies to lodge extortion claims. When the pro-Italian plebeian tribune Marcus Livius Drusus

6860-513: The ancient Roman tradition, shortly after the founding of Rome , Romulus created the first three tribes: the Ramnes , Tities , and Luceres . The etymology of the Latin word tribus is unclear: it may relate to the word for three ( tres ) or a cognate in the Iguvine Tablets referring to the community as a whole. Others say the word instead is derived from tribuere , referring to divisions and distributions. Livy relates that after

7000-579: The banks of the Euphrates , where he was approached by an embassy from the Parthian Empire . Sulla was the first Roman magistrate to meet a Parthian ambassador. At the meeting, he took the seat between the Parthian ambassador, Orobazus , and Ariobarzanes, seeking to gain psychological advantage over the Parthian envoy by portraying the Parthians and the Cappadocians as equals, with Rome being superior. While

7140-410: The beginning; but certainly there was a considerable Etruscan element in the Roman population by the sixth century BC; the fifth and seventh kings of Rome were Etruscan, and many of Rome's cultural institutions were of Etruscan origin. It may be to this period, rather than the time of Romulus, that the institution of the Luceres belongs; and indeed the names, if not the ethnic character, of all three of

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7280-572: The blind daughter of "a man with tribunician power" ( vir tribunicae potestatis ). Being that the Roman Empire had withdrawn from Britain in AD 410, the use of this term may imply a continuation of some form of local Roman political system. There exists the possibility that this tribune had commanded a unit of the Roman army which had disbanded after the break with Rome, and was now occupying a more locally-granted appointment to help manage his city's defences. In

7420-417: The celeres, or tribune of the knights , was commander of the king's personal bodyguard, known as the celeres . This official was second only to the king, and had the authority to pass law, known as lex tribunicia , and to preside over the comitia curiata . Unless the king himself elected to lead the cavalry into battle, this responsibility fell to the tribune of the celeres. In theory he could deprive

7560-400: The citizens arranged by tribe. The first tribe to vote, known as the principium , was chosen by lot, and the result of its vote announced. The other tribes would then vote simultaneously, and the results of their votes announced in an order also determined by lot, before the final result was proclaimed. Laws passed by the comitia took effect as soon as the results were announced. Although

7700-410: The city and stripping the twelve outlaws of their Roman citizenship. Of the twelve outlaws, only Sulpicius was killed after being betrayed by a slave. Marius and his son, along with some others, escaped to Africa. Sulla then had Sulpicius' legislation invalidated on the grounds that all had been passed by force. According only to Appian, he then brought legislation to strengthen the Senate's position in

7840-411: The city itself, as well as a radius of one mile around. They had no power to affect the actions of provincial governors. The powers of the tribunes were severely curtailed during the constitutional reforms of the dictator Sulla in 81 BC. Although many of these powers were restored in further reforms of 75 BC and 70 BC, the prestige and authority of the tribunes had been irreparably damaged. In 48 BC,

7980-530: The city's walls, Sulla then invested the town and for his efforts was awarded a grass crown , the highest Roman military honour. Pompeii was taken some time during the year, along with Stabiae and Aeclanum ; with the capture of Aeclanum, Sulla forced the Hirpini to surrender. He then attacked the Samnites and routed one of their armies near Aesernia before capturing the new Italian capital at Bovianum Undecimanorum . All of these victories would have been won before

8120-493: The close of the Social War, in 89 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus invaded Roman Asia . In the summer of 88, he reorganised the administration of the area before unsuccessfully besieging Rhodes. News of these conquests reached Rome in the autumn of 89 BC, leading the Senate and people to declare war; actual preparations for war were, however, delayed: after Sulla was given the command, it took him some eighteen months to organise five legions before setting off; Rome

8260-425: The coast, and internal unrest, Mithridates eventually met with Sulla at Dardanus in autumn 85 BC and accepted the terms negotiated by Archelaus. After peace was reached, Sulla advanced on Fimbria's forces, which deserted their upstart commander. Fimbria then committed suicide after a failed attempt on Sulla's life. Sulla then settled affairs – "reparations, rewards, administrative and financial arrangements for

8400-508: The command of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo 's army. The law was vetoed by one of the tribunes, but when Quintus Pompeius Rufus went to Pompey Strabo's army to take command under the Senate's authority, he was promptly assassinated after his arrival and assumption of command, almost certainly on Strabo's orders. No action was taken against the troops nor any action taken to relieve Pompey Strabo of command. He then left Italy with his troops without delay, ignoring legal summons and taking over command from

8540-597: The consul Lucius Porcius Cato . But after Cato's death in battle with the Marsi, Sulla was prorogued pro consule and placed in supreme command of the southern theatre. He brought Pompeii under siege. After one of the other legates was killed by his men, Sulla refused to discipline them except by issuing a proclamation imploring them to show more courage against the enemy. While besieging Pompeii, an Italian relief force came under Lucius Cluentius , which Sulla defeated and forced into flight towards Nola . Killing Cluentius before

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8680-515: The consul conducted offensive campaigning. Late in the year, Sulla cooperated with Marius (who was a legate in the northern theatre) in the northern part of southern Italy to defeat the Marsi: Marius defeated the Marsi, sending them headlong into Sulla's waiting forces. Sulla attempted also to assist Lucius' relief of the city of Aesernia , which was under siege, but both men were unsuccessful. The next year, 89 BC, Sulla served as legate under

8820-582: The consular elections in October 89. Political developments in Rome also started to bring an end to the war. In 89 BC, one of the tribunes of the plebs passed the lex Plautia Papiria , which granted citizenship to all of the allies (with exception for the Samnites and Lucanians still under arms). This had been preceded by the lex Julia , passed by Lucius Julius Caesar in October 90 BC, which had granted citizenship to those allies who remained loyal. Buttressed by success against Rome's traditional enemies,

8960-439: The consuls. The first tribuni militum consulare potestate , or military tribunes with consular power , were elected for the year 444. Although plebeians were eligible for this office, each of the first "consular tribunes" was a patrician. Military tribunes were elected in place of the consuls in half the years from 444 to 401 BC, and in each instance, all of the tribunes were patricians; nor did any plebeian succeed in obtaining

9100-513: The consulship. The number of tribunes increased to four beginning in 426, and six beginning in 405. At last, the plebeians elected four of their number military tribunes for the year 400; others were elected in 399, 396, 383, and 379. But apart from these years, no plebeian obtained the highest offices of the Roman State. The patricians' monopoly on power was finally broken by Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus , tribunes of

9240-590: The dictator Marcus Furius Camillus , the senate conceded the battle, and passed the Licinian Rogations . Sextius was elected the first plebeian consul, followed by Licinius two years later; and with this settlement, the consular tribunes were abolished. The exact nature of the Tribuni Aerarii , or Tribunes of the Treasury is shrouded in mystery. Originally they seem to have been tax collectors, but this power

9380-506: The early history of the Republic of Venice , during the tenure of the sixth Doge Domenico Monegario , Venice instituted a dual Tribunal modeled on the above Roman institution - two new Tribunes being elected each year, with the intention to oversee the Doge and prevent abuse of power (though this aim was not always successfully achieved). The " Tribunat ", the French word for tribunate, derived from

9520-524: The east in 82 BC, marched on Rome again and crushed the populares and their Italian allies at the Battle of the Colline Gate . Sulla revived the office of dictator , which had been dormant since the Second Punic War , over a century before. He used his powers to purge his opponents , and reform Roman constitutional laws , to restore the primacy of the Senate and limit the power of the tribunes of

9660-484: The election of certain magistrates, religious officials, judicial decisions in certain suits affecting the plebs , and pass resolutions on various proposals made by the tribunes of the plebs and the higher magistrates. Although the comitia tributa lost most of its legislative functions under the Empire , enrollment in a tribe remained an important part of Roman citizenship until at least the third century AD. According to

9800-433: The entire kingdom of Numidia in defiance of Roman decrees that divided it among several members of the royal family. After the massacre of a number of Italian traders who supported one of his rivals, indignation erupted as to Jugurtha's use of bribery to secure a favourable peace treaty; called to Rome to testify on bribery charges, he plotted successfully the assassination of another royal claimant before returning home. After

9940-625: The fall of the monarchy, the powers of the tribune of the celeres were divided between the Magister Militum , or Master of the Infantry, also known as the Praetor Maximus or dictator , and his lieutenant, the magister equitum or "Master of the Horse". The tribuni plebis , known in English as tribunes of the plebs, tribunes of the people, or plebeian tribunes, were instituted in 494 BC, after

10080-541: The fatherland, to which Sulla responded boldly, saying that he was freeing it from tyrants. Rome having no troops to defend itself, Sulla entered the city; once there, however, his men were pelted with stones from the rooftops by common people. Almost breaking before Marius' makeshift forces, Sulla then stationed troops all over the city before summoning the Senate and inducing it to outlaw Marius, Marius' son , Sulpicius, and nine others. He then reinforced this decision by legislation, retroactively justifying his illegal march on

10220-543: The forces of Tigranes the Great of Armenia from Cappadocia. He may have stayed in the east until 92 BC, when he returned to Rome; Keaveney places his departure in the year 93 BC. Sulla was regarded to have done well in the east: he had restored Ariobarzanes to the throne, been hailed imperator by his men, and was the first Roman to treat successfully with the Parthians. With military and diplomatic victory, his political fortunes seemed positive. However, his candidature

10360-403: The four urban tribes were based on the four regions of the city that they represented, while those of the rural tribes were likely based on the names of families that owned considerable tracts of land in those areas. Each tribe was both a territorial and administrative unit, with officials called tribules who counted and facilitated the votes of tribe members. Another group of officials,

10500-417: The future" – in Asia, staying there until 84 BC. He then sailed for Italy at the head of 1,200 ships. The peace reached with Mithridates was condemned in ancient times as a betrayal of Roman interests in favour of Sulla's private interest in fighting and winning the coming civil war. Modern sources have been somewhat less damning, as the Mithridatic campaigns later showed that no quick victory over Pontus

10640-531: The institution of the tribunes of the plebs in 494 BC, the comitia tributa was normally summoned by the tribunes themselves. Magistrates could also convene the comitia , but only with the consent of the tribunes. The comitia was summoned by the proclamation of a praeco , a crier or herald, at least seventeen days before the meeting. The auspices would be taken, and the meeting could only proceed if they were favourable. The tribes convened at daybreak, and were obliged to adjourn at sunset. If summoned by one of

10780-418: The king of his imperium , or authority to command, with the agreement of the comitia curiata . In the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , the last Roman king, this office was held by Lucius Junius Brutus , the king's nephew, and thus the senior member of the king's household, after the king himself and his sons. It was Brutus who convened the comitia and asked that they revoke the king's imperium. After

10920-510: The king's rendition to Marius' camp. The publicity attracted by this feat boosted Sulla's political career. Years later, in 91 BC, Bocchus paid for the erection of a gilded equestrian statue depicting Sulla's capture of Jugurtha. In 104 BC, the Cimbri and the Teutones , two Germanic tribes who had bested the Roman legions on several occasions, seemed again to be heading for Italy. Marius, in

11060-490: The last weeks of the year, Sulla married his daughter to one of his colleague Pompeius Rufus' sons. He also divorced his then-wife Cloelia and married Metella, widow of the recently-deceased Marcus Aemilius Scaurus . These marriages helped build political alliances with the influential Caecilii Metelli and the Pompeys. He was also assigned by the senate, probably with the support of his consular colleague, Quintus Pompeius Rufus ,

11200-410: The legality of the action before a magistrate could proceed. This power also allowed the tribunes to forbid, or veto any act of the senate or another assembly. Only a dictator was exempt from these powers. The tribunicia potestas , or tribunician power, was limited because it was derived from the people's oath to defend the tribunes. This limited most of the tribunes' actions to the boundaries of

11340-578: The long political struggle between the optimates and populares factions at Rome. He was a leader of the optimates , who sought to maintain senatorial supremacy against the populist reforms advocated by the populares , headed by Marius. In a dispute over the command of the war against Mithridates , initially awarded to Sulla by the Senate but withdrawn as a result of Marius' intrigues, Sulla marched on Rome in an unprecedented act and defeated Marian forces in battle. The populares seized power once he left with his army to Asia . He returned victorious from

11480-404: The midst of this military crisis, sought and won repeated consulships, which upset aristocrats in the Senate; it is likely however that they acknowledged the indispensability of Marius' military capabilities in defeating the Germanic invaders. Amid a reorganisation of political alliances, the traditionalists in the Senate raised up Sulla – a patrician, even if a poor one – as a counterweight against

11620-417: The minimum age requirement of thirty, he stood for the quaestorship in 108 BC. Normally, candidates had to have first served for ten years in the military, but by Sulla's time, this had been superseded by an age requirement. He was then assigned by lot to serve under the consul Gaius Marius . The Jugurthine War had started in 112 BC when Jugurtha , grandson of Massinissa of Numidia , claimed

11760-430: The names of the older rural tribes are those of patrician families, the tribes themselves were probably entirely plebeian until 449 BC, after which both patricians and plebeians were enrolled; before this time, many of the powers and responsibilities later held by the comitia tributa still belonged to the comitia curiata. While we know the origin of their names, the location of the territories which defined these tribes

11900-411: The newcomer Marius. Starting in 104 BC, Marius moved to reform the defeated Roman armies in southern Gaul. Sulla then served as legate under his former commander and, in that stead, successfully subdued a Gallic tribe which revolted in the aftermath of a previous Roman defeat. The next year, Sulla was elected military tribune and served under Marius, and assigned to treat with the Marsi, part of

12040-506: The number of thirty wards, Servius Tullius established four tribes dividing Rome and various pagi over the countryside, which later became seventeen rural tribes. After the formation of the republic, these tribes were assembled into a popular assembly called the comitia tributa . As the Roman population and its territory grew, fifteen additional tribes were enrolled, the last in 241 BC. All Roman citizens were enrolled in one of these tribes, through which they were entitled to vote on

12180-423: The number of tribes to thirty-five. The names of the various tribes vary, both due to scribal error and changes in Latin orthography. For example, the tribe Maecia must originally have been Maicia due to its abbreviation as Mai ; Crustumina and Clustumina are used interchangeably. With their usual abbreviations, the tribes were: The four urban tribes The rural tribes Although

12320-431: The order of voting was determined by lot, there was also an official order of the tribes, known as the ordo tribuum . The first four tribes were the urban tribes, in the order: Suburana, Palatina, Esquilina, Collina; the rural tribes followed, concluding with Aniensis. In the final years of the Republic, participation in the comitia was quite low, and its acts increasingly the result of corruption . Caesar deprived

12460-485: The patricians, and it was through this comitia that the collective will of the citizens could be exercised without regard to wealth or status. The comitia tributa elected all of the lower magistrates, including the tribunes of the plebs , the military tribunes , the plebeian aediles and the curule aediles . A committee of seventeen tribes, chosen by lot, nominated the Pontifex Maximus , and coöpted members of

12600-505: The patricians. Under Servius Tullius , the rights to declare war and to decide appeals were transferred to the comitia centuriata , another legislative assembly. After the downfall of the Roman monarchy, questions were presented to the comitia curiata by the Roman Senate . However, between 494 and 449 BC, most of its functions were relegated to the comitia tributa and the comitia centuriata. The higher magistrates were elected by

12740-419: The people, who in 376 BC brought forward legislation demanding not merely that one of the consuls might be a plebeian, but that henceforth one must be chosen from their order. When the senate refused their demand, the tribunes prevented the election of annual magistrates for five years, before relenting and permitting the election of consular tribunes from 370 to 367. In the end, and with the encouragement of

12880-417: The plain. According to the ancient sources, Archelaus commanded between 60,000 and 120,000 men; in the aftermath, he allegedly escaped with only 10,000. After the Battle of Chaeronea, Sulla learnt that Cinna's government had sent Lucius Valerius Flaccus to take over his command. Sulla had officially been declared an outlaw and in the eyes of the Cinnan regime, Flaccus was to take command of an army without

13020-465: The plebs . Resigning his dictatorship in 79 BC, Sulla retired to private life and died the following year. Later political leaders such as Julius Caesar followed the precedent set by Sulla with his military coup to attain political power through force. Sulla, the son of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the grandson of Publius Cornelius Sulla , was born into a branch of the patrician gens Cornelia , but his family had fallen to an impoverished condition at

13160-403: The plebs had the power to convene the concilium plebis , or plebeian assembly, and propose legislation before it. Only one of the tribunes could preside over this assembly, which had the power to pass laws affecting only the plebeians, known as plebiscita , or plebiscites. After 287 BC, the decrees of the concilium plebis had the effect of law over all Roman citizens. By the 3rd century BC,

13300-405: The plebs succeeded in passing the lex Canuleia , repealing the law forbidding the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, and providing that one of the consuls might be a plebeian. Rather than permit the consular dignity to pass into the hands of a plebeian, the senate proposed a compromise whereby three military tribunes, who might be either patrician or plebeian, should be elected in place of

13440-426: The power to confer imperium on magistrates elected by the comitia centuriata , and to confirm alterations in the Roman constitution decided upon by the other two comitia; both of these, however, required the senate to propose them before the comitia could act. The comitia also retained the power to decide whether to admit a non-patrician into that order, and to oversee the process of arrogatio, particularly when

13580-429: The praetorship again the next year and, promising he would pay for good shows, was elected praetor for 97 BC; he was assigned by lot to the urban praetorship. His term as praetor was largely uneventful, excepting a public dispute with Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo (possibly his brother-in-law) and his magnificent holding of the ludi Apollinares . The next year, 96 BC, he was assigned – "probably pro consule as

13720-630: The remaining tribes are all known. When the Sabine Appius Claudius removed to Rome together with his clientes , in 504 BC, he was admitted to the patriciate, and assigned lands in the region around the mouth of the Anio . These settlers became the basis of the tribus Claudia , which was admitted in 495 BC, during Claudius' consulship, and subsequently enlarged to become the tribus Crustumina or Clustumina . Four more tribes were added in 387 BC: Arniensis, Sabatina, Stellatina, and Tromentina. With

13860-399: The sacrosanctity of the tribunes might be killed without penalty. This was also the source of the tribunes' power, known as ius intercessionis, or intercessio, by which any tribune could intercede on behalf of a Roman citizen to prohibit the act of a magistrate or other official. Citizens could appeal the decisions of the magistrates to the tribunes, who would then be obliged to determine

14000-564: The same time, Mithridates attempted to force a land battle in northern Greece , and dispatched a large army across the Hellespont . These sieges lasted until spring of 86 BC. Discovering a weak point in the walls and popular discontent with the Athenian tyrant Aristion, Sulla stormed and captured Athens (except the Acropolis ) on 1 March 86 BC. The Acropolis was then besieged. Athens itself

14140-414: The senate and the people, decreed that citizens created by further territorial annexation would be registered in one of the rural tribes. Before this reform, the tribes had been relatively contiguous units; after it, they became geographically fragmented across Roman territory. After the Social War , which saw the enfranchisement of Rome's Italian allies and a massive increase in the citizen population, there

14280-434: The senate granted tribunician powers ( tribunicia potestas , powers equivalent to those of a tribune without actually being one) to the dictator Julius Caesar . Caesar used them to prevent the other tribunes interfering with his actions. In 23 BC, the senate granted the same power to Augustus , the first Roman emperor , and from that point onwards it was regularly granted to each emperor as part of their formal titles . Under

14420-443: The senate might review these resolutions, it could only reject them if they had been passed without the proper formalities. The comitia tributa also decided suits instituted by the plebeian tribunes and aediles, for offenses against the plebs or their representatives. In the later Republic, these suits typically involved charges of maladministration; the tribunes and aediles were entitled to levy substantial fines. Beginning with

14560-465: The senate to outlaw Cinna, Cinna suborned the army besieging Nola and induced the Italians again to rise up. Marius, offering his services to Cinna, helped levy troops. By the end of 87 BC, Cinna and Marius had besieged Rome and taken the city, killed consul Gnaeus Octavius, massacred their political enemies, and declared Sulla an outlaw; they then had themselves elected consuls for 86 BC. During

14700-582: The start of the war, there were largely two theatres: a northern theatre from Picenum to the Fucine Lake and a southern theatre including Samnium. Sulla served as one of the legates in the southern theatre assigned to consul Lucius Julius Caesar . In the first year of fighting, Roman strategy was largely one of containment, attempting to stop the revolting allies from spreading their rebellion into Roman-controlled territory. Sulla, in southern Italy, operated largely defensively on Lucius Julius Caesar's flank while

14840-479: The state and weaken the plebeian tribunes by eliminating the comitia tributa as a legislative body and requiring that tribunes first receive senatorial approval for legislation; some scholars, however, reject Appian's account as mere retrojection of legislation passed during Sulla's dictatorship. He sent his army back to Capua and then conducted the elections for that year, which yielded a resounding rejection of him and his allies. His enemy, Lucius Cornelius Cinna ,

14980-617: The time Sulla reached adulthood, Sulla found himself impoverished. He might have been disinherited, though it was "more likely" that his father simply had nothing to bequeath. Lacking ready money, Sulla spent his youth among Rome’s comedians, actors, lute players, and dancers. During these times on the stage, after initially only singing, he started writing plays, Atellan farces , a kind of crude comedy. Plutarch mentions that during his last marriage to Valeria , he still kept company with "actresses, musicians, and dancers, drinking with them on couches night and day". Sulla almost certainly received

15120-441: The time of his birth. Publius Cornelius Rufinus , one of Sulla's ancestors and also the last member of his family to be consul, was banished from the Senate after having been caught possessing more than 10 pounds of silver plate. Sulla's family thereafter did not reach the highest offices of the state until Sulla himself. His father may have served as praetor, but details are unclear; his father married twice and Sulla's stepmother

15260-409: The tribe's soldiers. Membership in a tribe was prima facie proof of Roman citizenship and also formed the basis on which the army was levied. Toward the end of the Republic, the tribe became so important that it became an official part of a Roman's name, usually appearing, in the most formal documents and inscriptions, between a citizen's filiation and any cognomina. The dates of the creation of

15400-724: The tribes. Known as the three Romulean tribes , these first tribes have often been supposed to represent the major ethnic groups of early Rome with the Ramnes representing Rome's Latin population, the Tities representing the Sabines, and the Luceres probably representing the Etruscans . Rome lay on the Tiber , the traditional boundary of Etruria with Latium , and may have had a substantial Etruscan population from

15540-483: The tribunes could also convene and propose legislation before the senate. Although sometimes referred to as "plebeian magistrates," technically the tribunes of the plebs were not magistrates, having been elected by the plebeians alone, and not the whole Roman people. However, they were sacrosanct , and the whole body of the plebeians were pledged to protect the tribunes against any assault or interference with their persons during their terms of office. Anyone who violated

15680-636: The tribunes, the tribes had to gather within the city, or within a one-mile radius of the city; this was the boundary of a tribune's authority. In the first centuries of the Republic, the comitia usually met on the Capitol , in the Forum , or at the Comitium . If summoned by one of the magistrates, the comitia typically met on the Campus Martius . After a prayer, unaccompanied by sacrifice, proposals would be read, and

15820-468: The two men likely cooperated well. But Catulus' army was defeated in the eastern Alps and withdrew from Venetia and thence to the southern side of the river Po . At the same time, Marius had annihilated the Cimbri's allies, the Teutones, at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae . Marius, elected again to the consulship of 101, came to Catulus' aid; Sulla, in charge of supporting army provisioning, did so competently and

15960-409: The urban tribes. A similar attempt to limit the power of newly enfranchised citizens followed the end of the Social War. It was also possible for one of the censors to punish an individual by expelling him from one of the rustic tribes, and assigning him to one of the urban tribes; this was known as tribu movere . After 241 BC, no further tribes were created. Legislation, passed concurrently by

16100-409: The war started, several Roman commanders were bribed ( Bestia and Spurius ); and one ( Aulus Postumius Albinus ) was defeated. In 109, Rome sent Quintus Caecilius Metellus to continue the war. Gaius Marius , a lieutenant of Metellus, returned to Rome to stand for the consulship in 107 BC. Marius was elected consul and, through assignment by tribunician legislation, took over the campaign. Sulla

16240-476: Was a Roman general and statesman . He won the first major civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla held the office of consul twice and revived the dictatorship . A gifted general, he achieved successes in wars against foreign and domestic opponents. Sulla rose to prominence during the war against the Numidian king Jugurtha , whom he captured as

16380-407: Was a law transferring the command against Mithridates to Marius. Thus, Sulla was presented with a choice. He could acknowledge the law as valid. To do so would mean total humiliation at the hands of his opponents, the end of his political career, and perhaps even further danger to his life. Or he could attempt to reverse it and regain his command. He can hardly have been in any doubt. Like Caesar, he

16520-472: Was a vigorous debate at Rome as to whether further tribes should be created, but it was eventually decided to register the new citizens in the existing thirty-five. In imperial times, the enrollment of citizens in tribes along a geographic basis was resumed; for instance, easterners were typically enrolled in the tribes Collina and Quirina, while in Gallia Narbonensis enrollment in the tribus Voltinia

16660-524: Was able to feed both armies. The two armies then crossed the Po and attacked the Cimbri. After the failure of negotiations, the Romans and Cimbri engaged in the Battle of the Raudian Field in which the Cimbri were routed and destroyed. Victorious, Marius and Catulus were both granted triumphs as the commanding generals. Refusing to stand for an aedileship (which, due to its involvement in hosting public games,

16800-572: Was also severely strained financially. While Rome was preparing to move against Pontus, Mithridates arranged the massacre of some eighty thousand Roman and Italian expatriates and their families – known today as the Asiatic vespers – and confiscated their properties. Mithridates' successes against the Romans incited a revolt by the Athenians against Roman rule. The Athenian politician Aristion had himself elected as strategos epi ton hoplon and established

16940-475: Was an outsider in politics, totally self-centred in pursuit of his ambitions, always ready to break the rules of the political game to achieve his objective... If Sulla hesitated it can only have been because he was not sure how his army would react. Speaking to the men, Sulla complained to them of the outrageous behaviour of Marius and Sulpicius. He hinted to them that Marius would find other men to fight Mithridates, forcing them to give up opportunities to plunder

17080-403: Was assassinated in 91 BC while trying again to pass a bill extending Roman citizenship, the Italians revolted. The same year, Bocchus paid for the erection of a statue depicting Sulla's capture of Jugurtha. This may have been related to Sulla's campaign for the consulship. Regardless, if he had immediate plans for a consulship, they were forced into the background at the outbreak of war. At

17220-404: Was assigned by lot to his staff. When Marius took over the war, he entrusted Sulla to organise cavalry forces in Italy needed to pursue the mobile Numidians into the desert. If Sulla had married one of the Julii Caesares, this could explain Marius' willingness to entrust such an important task to a young man with no military experience, as Marius too had married into that family. Under Marius,

17360-479: Was at Capua, but Norbanus refused to treat and withdrew to Praeneste as Sulla advanced. While Sulla was moving in the south, Scipio fought Pompey in Picenum but was defeated when his troops again deserted. For 82 BC, the consular elections returned Gnaeus Papirius Carbo , in his third consulship, with the younger Gaius Marius , the son of the seven-time consul, who was then twenty-six. The remainder of 83 BC

17500-412: Was both necessary to ensure the survival of his army and also to relieve a brigade of six thousand men cut off in Thessaly. He declined battle with Pontus at the hill Philoboetus near Chaeronea before manoeuvring to capture higher ground and build earthworks. After some days, both sides engaged in battle. The Romans neutralised a Pontic charge of scythed chariots before pushing the Pontic phalanx back across

17640-846: Was customary" – to Cilicia in Asia Minor . While governing Cilicia, Sulla received orders from the Senate to restore Ariobarzanes to the throne of Cappadocia . Ariobarzanes had been driven out by Mithridates VI of Pontus , who wanted to install one of his own sons ( Ariarathes ) on the Cappadocian throne. Despite initial difficulties, Sulla was successful with minimal resources and preparation; with few Roman troops, he hastily levied allied soldiers and advanced quickly into rugged terrain before routing superior enemy forces. His troops were sufficiently impressed by his leadership that they hailed him imperator . Sulla's campaign in Cappadocia had led him to

17780-551: Was dealt a blow when he was brought up on charges of extorting Ariobarzanes. Even though the prosecutor declined to show up on the day of the trial, leading to Sulla's victory by default, Sulla's ambitions were frustrated. Relations between Rome and its allies (the socii ), had deteriorated over the years up to 91 BC. From 133 BC and the start of Tiberius Gracchus ' land reforms, Italian communities were displaced from de jure Roman public lands over which no title had been enforced for generations. Various proposals to give

17920-411: Was decidedly anti-Sullan; many people feared Sulla's wrath and still held memories of his extremely unpopular occupation of Rome during his consulship. The Senate moved the senatus consultum ultimum against him and was successful in levying large amount of men and materiel from the Italians. Sulla, buoyed by his previous looting in Asia, was able to advance quickly and largely without the ransacking of

18060-407: Was elected consul for 87 BC in place of his candidate; his nephew was rejected as plebeian tribune while Marius' nephew was successful. Cinna, even before the election, said he would prosecute Sulla at the conclusion of the latter's consular term. After the elections, Sulla forced the consuls designate to swear to uphold his laws. And for his consular colleague, he attempted to transfer to him

18200-490: Was evident that Rome's relations with the Pontic king, Mithridates VI Eupator , were deteriorating and that the consuls of 88 would be assigned an extremely lucrative and glorious command against Pontus. Pompey Strabo may have coveted a second consulship for similar reasons. The question as to whom to send against Mithridates would be one of the sources of the following domestic crisis. Shortly after Sulla's election, probably in

18340-415: Was extremely expensive), Sulla became a candidate for the praetorship in 99 BC. He was, however, defeated. In memoirs related via Plutarch, he claimed this was because the people demanded that he first stand for the aedilate so – due to his friendship with Bocchus, a rich foreign monarch, – he might spend money on games. Whether this story of Sulla's defeat is true is unclear. Regardless, Sulla stood for

18480-540: Was fought in early summer around the same time the Athenian Acropolis was taken. The later battle of Orchomenus was fought in high summer but before the start of the autumn rains. The Pontic casualties given in Plutarch and Appian, the main sources for the battles, are exaggerated; Sulla's report that he suffered merely fifteen losses is not credible. Sulla decamped his army from Attica toward central Greece. Having exhausted available provisions near Athens, doing so

18620-607: Was instituted by Napoleon I Bonaparte 's Constitution of the Year VIII "in order to moderate the other powers" by discussing every legislative project, sending its orateurs ("orators", i.e. spokesmen) to defend or attack them in the Corps législatif , and asking the Senate to overturn "the lists of eligibles, the acts of the Legislative Body and those of the government" on account of unconstitutionality. Its 100 members were designated by

18760-424: Was not ratified by the senate until 286 BC, but even before this its resolutions were considered binding on the plebs. Because all citizens, whether patrician or plebeian, received the same vote in the comitia tributa , and because the assembly was much simpler to convene than the comitia centuriata , the comitia tributa was Rome's most democratic assembly. By the end of the Republic, the plebs greatly outnumbered

18900-416: Was of considerable wealth, which certainly helped the young Sulla's ambitions. One story, "as false as it is charming", relates that when Sulla was a baby, his nurse was carrying him around the streets, until a strange woman walked up to her and said, " Puer tibi et reipublicae tuae felix ", which can be translated as, "The boy will be a source of luck to you and your state". After his father's death, around

19040-463: Was possible as long as Mithridates survived. However, this and Sulla's delay in Asia are "not enough to absolve him of the charge of being more concerned with revenge on opponents in Italy than with Mithridates". The extra time spent in Asia, moreover, equipped him with forces and money later put to good use in Italy. Sulla crossed the Adriatic for Brundisium in spring of 83 BC with five legions of Mithridatic veterans, capturing Brundisium without

19180-460: Was preferred. Together, the Servian tribes constituted the concilium plebis , or plebeian council; as time passed and the council's authority to pass legislation developed, it was increasingly known as the comitia plebis tributa , or tribal assembly. A law passed in 449 BC made resolutions of the comitia tributa , known as plebi scita , or plebiscites, binding upon the whole Roman people; this law

19320-422: Was selected as head of all the curiae, with the title curio maximus . The members of the curiae were known as curiales . Each curia was attended by a priest, or curio , who assisted by another priest, known as the flamen curialis , undertook the religious obligations of the ward. Each also had its own place of meeting, also known as a curia . The curiae were said to have been named after thirty of

19460-464: Was slowly lost to other officials. By the end of the Republic, this style belonged to a class of persons slightly below the equites in wealth. When the makeup of Roman juries was reformed in 70 BC, it was stipulated that one-third of the members of each jury should belong to this class. In his Vita Germani , a hagiography of St. Germanus of Auxerre , Constantius of Lyon writes that during his visit to Britain in AD 429, Germanus miraculously healed

19600-506: Was spared total destruction "in recognition of [its] glorious past" but the city was sacked. In need of resources, Sulla sacked the temples of Epidaurus , Delphi , and Olympia ; after a battle with the Pontic general Archelaus outside Piraeus, Sulla's forces forced the Pontic garrison to withdraw by sea. Capturing the city, Sulla had it destroyed. In the summer of 86 BC, two major battles were fought in Boeotia . The Battle of Chaeronea

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