Relationship between Roman political and military system Flashcards
What were the principles of the Roman Republic?
1) Power is shared -imperium (power of command) shared among a number of different people
2) Power is temporary - individuals only held imperium for short periods of time, just 1 year
3) They are elected -by 4thC magistrates chosen for offices by a system of elections
4) Not everyone voted (women, children, slaves, non-citizens) and voting was weighted (you had to be a free, adult male and also had to be in Rome)
5) Powers were different inside the city and outside (Sacra Via a sacred boundary that divided power inside from outside)
What was the public and political space?
Forum. the central area - development of the res publica (the things that are shared in common) – place for politics, law, markets/trade, religion and houses (early on, but not so much later), gladiatorial games, important funerals, etc. no burials in here – sacred road running through (Sacra Via), route for processions
Res publica = “public thing” - that’s what the Republic was called
How did Roman politics evolve into the Republic?
-perhaps reges or kings (there are at least stories about them)
-number of communities in Italy experimenting with collective rule around the 6th century
-sharing among men from the elite, mostly patrician families (not a democracy)
- there is no one ‘Roman republic’ but multiple stages of experimentation (Roman Republics book by Harriet I. Flower), there was a stage where Rome was run by 10 men who made the ten tables (Libertas - idea that no one is above the law), there were then many configurations of elected magistrates
– the ‘classic’ Roman republic did not emerge until after 367 – characterized by system of two annually elected consuls at the top and a number of different elected magistrates serving in a hierarchy underneath, system that is constantly changing and very responsive
What are the different magistrates?
Top 3:
1. Consuls: most important and famous role by 4th century BC, elite families wanted their children to become one), two of them by 4thC; possessed equal power and could veto each other, command armies, preside over public religious rituals, chair senate, render legal judgments
2. Praetors: assistants to the consuls, had lesser imperium; particular responsibility for legal matters – initially one but more added over time as Rome gets bigger
3. Aediles: responsible for games, maintain temples and public buildings, check food and water supply, festivals, day-to-day running of the city – initially 2, but more added over time
Others:
4. Quaestors – public finances/public treasury – a dramatic increase in numbers over time
5. Censors - conduct the census of citizens – counting and assigning them to voting bodies (depending on how much money you have, the region your family is from, etc)
6. Tribune of the plebs: elected by the plebeian assembly, had the right to call this assembly, right of veto over other legislation, right of intercession (if someone is about to be punished, they can prevent that), sacrosanct (violence against them is an insult to the gods)
-dictator - not a regular office, could be chosen for a limited period (often less than 6 months) to meet an emergency situation, chosen by the consuls
What are the 4 collective/deliberative bodies of government?
- Senate – highest deliberative body made up of former magistrates, initially a consultative body but became more powerful by 4th century BC
- Comitia centuriata (centuriate assembly/ assembly by centuries) - divided Roman citizens into groups depending on how much property they owned (weighted towards the rich)
- Comitia tributa (tribal assembly/ assembly by tribes) – hereditary allocation by tribe (you are part of that tribe wether or not you still live there)
- Concilium plebis (plebeian council/ council of the people) -meeting of plebs only
-exact areas of responsibility between various bodies vague no clear division of powers, seem to have gained more power over time
All practice in how the system is run, no constitution explaining what they can and cannot do, but Romans don’t seem to be worried that there is no clear division of power, seem to be the idea that all the people should work together
What are the roles of priests?
- part of the political system, very important
- make sure that the gods approved of actions the state was taking (e.g., observed the flight of birds to determine the message Jupiter was sending to determine whether or not to declare war)
- by 300 bc plebes can have this role too
-control of the right to do this was very important – a potentially very powerful position
-two main different ways of organizing priesthoods:
1) flamines, priests serving individual deities, taboos restricted their daily life (important idea of ritual purity)
2) pontifices: organized into colleges, experts on sacred law, advised on the performance of rituals, performed rituals, control over calendar, legal matters, recording events, wills, inheritances - rex sacrorum: excluded from any part in political life
-Augures: experts in inaugurating sacred precincts and taking and interpreting auspices - - Haruspices: performed divination on the organs of animals (e.g., liver of a cow can tell the will of the gods)
Who really had the power in this political system?
-power spread over a number of different individuals and bodies
- ideal of consensus between different groups (immoral to go against developing consensus)
- power was weighted towards particular social groups (i.e., the rich)
- seems like it would have been really unstable but it worked for hundred of years and it adapted and changed over time
Describe the struggles for power
- ‘conflict of the orders’/ ‘struggle of the orders’ as driver of change in the political system (struggle for power between patricians and plebs)
- plebeians’ use of secession (withdrawal of plebs to Aventine hill) to force concessions
-not clear that plebs were a united group with a unified set of demands - the division between patricians and plebs maybe not as clear in the early republic as it is later on
-the early lists of magistrates indicate that plebeian families held offices
-various problems continued rather than be resolved
-too neat to be plausible?
How did political system affect Roman warfare in the Republic?
Probably not very organized or uniform
Probably not a lot of ‘fighting for Rome’ (the idea of Rome as something to fight for was still developing, and probably never existed in this time period)
Maybe a symbol of ‘empire’? What really is an empire in this context?
Who dominated Roman warfare?
families/clans + clients with mutual goals
- tribal in structure
Describe the Roman armies
Not very ‘Roman’…kind of like UN forces or NATO (a center of an alliance structure, but members don’t identify with it but by their home country)
Always composite
- ‘Citizens’
- - Allies (socii)
Auxilia (extra/additional help forces)
Core unifying element/underlying principle is family/clans, not ‘fighting for Rome/ the empire’
Relied on many different structures and systems
Client-armies of Caesar etc. might be the norm…all Roman armies probably performed a public function and were likely clans coming together and being loyal to a general rather than to an idea or a state
What were the goals of Roman warfare?
Personal:
- wealth (acquisition of spoils
- status
- power
(Roman elites especially used it to gain power)
Little more focus on land later on (as a spoil, not held by the state) and the group (larger collection of clans), flexible view that moves back and forth
Describe combat in Roman warfare
Some big battles, but not as many as you might think…
-Lots of skirmishing
-Some dueling
Formations uncertain…probably small huddles of men rather than ridged ranks
-LOTS of raiding, mostly for the spoils
Describe Roman battle armor
Whatever they could equip themselves with, variable, they were generally wealthy people who did warfare on the side more as a hobby to make money
- you can’t tell the difference between the Romans and their opponents by dress
- armor and weapons Individually owned
and could be used as symbols of personal status
