History of the Constitution of the Roman Kingdom

The constitution of the Roman Kingdom vested the sovereign power in the king. The king did have two rudimentary checks on his authority. These took the form of a board of elders (the senate) and a popular assembly (the Comitia Curiata). The arrangement was similar to the constitutional arrangements found in contemporary Greek city-states (such as Athens or Sparta). These Greek constitutional principles probably came to Rome through the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia (in southern Italy). In the centuries before the legendary founding of the city of Rome, Greek settlers had colonized much of the Mediterranean world. These settlers carried Greek ideals with them, and often kept in contact with the Greek mainland. Thus, the superstructure of the Roman constitution was ultimately of Greek origin.

The early settlers

The early Romans were organized by hereditary divisions called gens, or "clans". Until a very late date, divisions similar to the gens were common to most Indo-Europeans. Each clan was an aggregation of families under a common living male patriarch, called a patre (Latin for "father"). Each clan was a self-governing unit. Each member of a particular clan shared the same rights, and the same responsibilities, as the other members. Each clan governed itself either democratically (where each member was entitled to a vote), or aristocratically (where a group of clan elders would decide matters).

The simplest Indo-European political community consisted of a small number of clans. These communities, known as pagi, would aggregate together around a fortified point known as an arx. Each pagi was either purely democratic, or purely aristocratic. Long before the traditional founding of the city of Rome, a group of pagi had aggregated into a confederacy, with the city of Alba Longa constituting its common meeting place. At some point, however, the seat of this confederacy shifted from Alba Longa to Rome.

The founding of Rome

The original Roman settlement was probably located on the left bank of the Tiber, about fifteen miles (24 km) from the mouth of the river. The first independent settlement was probably on the Palatine. Independent settlements also formed on the Quirinal, the Esquiline, the Capitoline, and the Caelian hills. At the top of each hill stood a citadel, which was used for the protection of the inhabitants. At a very early date, these settlements fused to form the city of Rome. Around this date, there was probably expansion to the south of the city, and along the left bank of the Tiber to its mouth.

The early monarchy

The period of the kingdom can be divided into two epochs. The first epoch saw the reigns of the first four legendary kings. During this time, the political foundations of the city were laid. The city was organized into curiae, and the religious institutions were established. The senate and the comitia evolved into formal institutions. The city fought several wars of conquest. The port of Ostia was founded, and the Tiber was bridged.

The original patrician families, and their division by curiae

Aeneas, whom the Romans believed Romulus and Remus descended from, fleeing from the burning city of Troy

The early Romans were divided into three ethnic groups. By tradition, the first group was called the Ramnes. This group, what we know of as the Latins, inhabited the original hill settlements. The second group was called the Tities, and probably represented a Sabine settlement that was integrated into the larger community. The origins of the third group, the Luceres, was as unknown to ancient historians as it is to us today. However, this group may have represented Etruscan settlements.

The families who belonged to one of these ethnic groups were the original patrician families. In an attempt to add a level of organization to the city, these patrician families would be divided into units called curiae. The Ramnes would be divided into ten curiae, the Tities would be divided into ten curiae, and the Luceres would be divided into ten curiae. According to legend, it was the first king, Romulus, who organized the city by the curiae.

The founding of the senate, the Comitia Curiata and the Comitia Calata

Some of the clans governed themselves democratically, with individual members of the clan acting as electors. Some of the clans governed themselves aristocratically, through a council of elders. When these clans merged to form a common community, both methods were used to govern the community.

The vehicle through which the early Romans expressed their democratic impulses was known as a comitia ("committee" or "assembly"). The two principle comitia that formed were known as the Comitia Curiata and the Comitia Calata. The comitia was the embodiment of the consolidated democratic tendencies of the early clans. To better reflect the form of direct democracy that was used by some of the confederated clans, the two comitia were designed to mirror the ethnic divisions of the city. As such, the comitia were organized by curiae. The members of each of the three ethnic groups (Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres) were each assigned to a particular curiae. The Ramnes were divided into ten curiae, the Tities were divided into ten curiae and the Luceres were divided into ten curiae.

The vehicle through which the early Romans expressed their aristocratic impulses was a council of town elders. Whereas each clan's council was made of elders from the leading families of the clan, the city's council was made of elders from the city's leading clans. This council would become the Roman senate. The senate (according to legend) would be composed of 100 elders from each of the three ethnic groups. These elders, who were known as patres (Latin for "fathers"), would be known to history as the first Roman senators.

The king

The demos ("people") and the elders eventually recognized the need for a single political leader. This leader, called the rex, would be known to history as the Roman king. The demos would elect the rex. The elders would advise the rex.

The late monarchy

The second epoch saw the reigns of the last three legendary kings. The second epoch was more consequential than the first. During the second epoch, Rome experienced a significant amount of territorial expansion. In addition, this period saw the development of the plebeian class, and their partial incorporation into the political structure of the city. Finally, this period saw the only foreign kings, and the only period where kings ascended the throne due to heredity.

The three legendary Etruscan kings embarked on a policy of conquest. Regardless of how true these legends were, it is likely that such conquests did occur during the late monarchy. As a result of these conquests, it became necessary to determine what would be done with the conquered people.

The creation of the plebeian class

Often, individuals whose towns had been conquered remained in those towns. Their daily lives, and their system of government, would remain the same. Their towns simply lost their independence to their new Roman masters. Other such individuals, however, would come to Rome. To acquire legal and economic standing, these newcomers would adopt a condition of dependency toward either a patrician family, or toward the king (who himself was a patrician). Eventually, the individuals who were dependents of the king were released from their state of dependency. These individuals became the first plebeians.

As Rome grew, it needed more soldiers to continue its conquests. The non-patricians belonged to the same curiae as did their patron. The army at the time was organized on the basis of the curiae. As such, these dependent individuals were required to fight in the army. However, when they were released from their dependency, they were released from their curiae. Thus, they were no longer required to serve in the army, and they no longer had political or economic standing.

To bring these new plebeians back into the army, the patricians were forced to make concessions. It is not known exactly what concessions were made. However, one result of these concessions was that the plebeians acquired the right to own land. Since they now owned land, they now had a stake in the success of the city. If, for example, the city was conquered, the plebeians would lose their land. However, they were not granted any political power. This set the stage for what history knows as the Conflict of the Orders.

The Servian reorganization of the army

To bring the plebeians back into the army, the legendary king Servius Tullius reorganized the army. He abolished the old system, whereby the army was organized on the basis of the curiae. The old organization by heredity was abolished, and replaced with one based on land ownership.

The founding of the centuries and the tribes

Growth of the city region during the kingdom

As part of Tullius' reorganization of the army, two new units were created. The army would be divided into centuriae ("centuries"). Future reorganizations would be made more efficient through the use of tribus ("tribes").

The first centuries

As part of Tullius' reforms, a new unit of division was instituted. These units were known as centuriae ("centuries"). Each century was led by a "centurion". The centuries were organized on the basis of property ownership. Any individual, patrician or plebeian, could become a member of a century. The curiae, in contrast, were purely hereditary. Only patricians (and their dependents) could become a member of a curiae. The organization of the army by curiae was replaced with an organization by centuriae.

The first tribes

Under Servius Tullius' reforms, the army was to be reorganized at regular intervals. To assist in the process of future reorganizations, a new unit of division was instituted. These units were known as tribus ("tribes"). Each tribe would elect a leader known as a "tribune".

Tullius established four tribes, which were known as the Palatina, Suburana, Collina, and Esquilina. The entire city of Rome was divided amongst these four tribes. While new territory could be added to a tribe, no territory could be taken away from that tribe. Therefore, while new tribes would be created in the future, these future tribes would encompass territory outside of the city of Rome.

The tribus was an improvement upon the existing curiae. Membership in a tribe, like that in a curiae, was hereditary. However, such membership (unlike that of the curiae) was open to both patricians and plebeians. All Romans were assigned to a particular tribe on the basis of where they lived. An individual would belong to the same tribe as did his father.

The classes of centuries

Under Tullius' reorganization of the army, the cavalry was divided into eighteen centuries. The soldiers in these centuries were known as equites. The equites were aristocratic by nature, and made up the officer class of the army. These were the soldiers who were rich enough to own a horse.

The infantry was segmented into five classes of centuries. The first class consisted of men who owned twenty acres of land. The second class consisted of men who owned fifteen acres of land. The third class consisted of men who owned ten acres of land. The fourth class consisted of men who owned five acres of land. The fifth class consisted of men who owned two acres of land. Each class was divided equally between centuries of iuniores ("young men" or "juniors"), and seniores ("old men" or "seniors"). Iuniores were soldiers, aged seventeen to forty-six, who served in the field. The seniores were soldiers, aged forty-six to sixty, who performed garrison duties.

The unarmed soldiers were divided into the final five centuries. Four of these centuries were composed of artisans and musicians (such as trumpeters and horn blowers). The fifth century, the proletarii, consisted of people with little or no property.

The founding of the Comitia Centuriata

The centuries were to gather in a new assembly (a comitia) called the Comitia Centuriata ("Assembly of the Centuries"). At this time, however, the Comitia Centuriata had no political or legislative powers. It was simply used as a device through which the army would assemble for various purposes (such as to hear announcements).

The overthrow of the monarchy

The first Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus, succeeded Ancus Marcius. It has been suggested that Rome had been conquered by the Etruscans. However, this is unlikely. The city was located in an easily defensible position, and its rapid growth attracted people from all over the region. The city's liberal policy of extending citizenship would have created an opportunity for a skillful leader to gain the throne.

The reign of the first four kings was distinct from that of the last three kings. The first kings were elected. Between the reigns of the final three kings, however, the monarchy became hereditary. As such, the senate became subordinated to the king. The fact that the monarchy became hereditary is obvious from the shared kinship between those three kings, as well as from the absence of an interregnum between their reigns. The fact that the auspicia did not revert back to the senate upon the deaths of those kings constituted a serious breach in the authority of the senate. This prevented the senate from electing a monarch of its choosing.

This breach in the senate's sovereignty, rather than an intolerable tyranny, was probably what led the patricians in the senate to overthrow the last king. The king may have sought the support of the plebeians. However, the plebeians would have been exhausted from their continued military service, and from their forced labor in the construction of public works. They would also have been embittered by their lack of political power. They did not, therefore, come to the aide of either the king or the senate.

The constitutional transition from monarchy to republic

According to legend, the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was expelled in 510 BC. Instead of electing another king, the senate elected two term-limited praetors. The result was the establishment of the Roman Republic. The legends suggest that the constitution of the kingdom in 510 BC was radically different from the constitution of the republic in 509 BC. What likely happened, however, was a more gradual transition. There may have been a quick overthrow of the monarchy. However, the only immediate change at the time was probably the replacement of the office of king with the term-limited dual-praetorship. The other changes in the constitution probably occurred more gradually than the legends suggest.

See also

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

References

• Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics (ISBN 0-543-92749-0).
• Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office, Senate Document 103-23.
• Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes. By Francis Barham, Esq. London: Edmund Spettigue. Vol. 1.
• Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-926108-3).

• Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. By Mr. Hampton. Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Fifth Edition, Vol 2.
• Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press (ISBN 0-472-08125-X).

Further reading

• Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
• Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
• Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871-1888
• Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
• Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
• The Histories by Polybius
• Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 9–13.
• A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana Press, 1993).
• M. Crawford, The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press, 1978).
• E. S. Gruen, "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic" (U California Press, 1974)
• F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992).
• A. Lintott, "The Constitution of the Roman Republic" (Oxford University Press, 1999)

Primary sources

• Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
• Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius

Secondary source material

• Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, by Montesquieu
• The Roman Constitution to the Time of Cicero
• What a Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us