Sept. 13, 2024

CLAS-2160-A01 – Sept.
13, 2024
Early Roman Republic: Servius Tullius
 There exist historical records that indicate the population of
the Romans, however, there exists 2 major concerns
 The question of whether they referred solely to Roman
men or included women in their census
 The census provided by different accounts of various
authors and whether they can be reliably trusted
 According to Roman historian Plutarch in his mid-5th
Century BCE Poplicola, he suggests that Rome had
comprised of 130000 citizens, also mentioning the
exclusion of widowed brides and orphaned children
 Potter provides another figure, in which around
450 BCE, there were named 100000 Roman
citizens, as well as later census in 350 BCE of
approximately 150000 Romans
 Lorne H. Ward suggests that in the 5th Century
BCE, the population was closer to 27000 within
Rome
 Roman religious practices are dated back to as the earliest
festivals sought agriculture and apotropaic boons
 Rituals had been conducted as a means of gauging
foreign relations with its neighbors
 For warfare, generals had used evocatio as a practice
of seeking the removal of an enemy’s divine protection
by promise of membership within the Roman pantheon
 Fetial priests acted in the will of their supreme god,
Jupiter, as a means of spreading good faith across the
Roman territories, such as acting as its advisors and
ambassadors for foreign affairs
 The call for bellum iustum (Latin: “just war”) was a
Roman sense of legality to its conquest of other nations
as was within their moral right
 Servius Tullius
 He is known as the 6th king of Rome, and was a renown
general of the Roman armies of the day
 Within his forces, he had divisions of 193
centurion, 18 cavalry, 170 infantrymen with 5
armor classes and within 2 age brackets
 Comitia centuriata
 The comitia centuriata was a means for the
aristocratic generals of Rome to legislate within their
own assembly in affairs of law, war, peace, and offices
of magistrates
 They were formed from the 193 centurion divisions, as
was the tradition by Tullius’ reign
 Typically, the offices of the comitia centuriata were of
elected officials who acted in accordance with the
Roman king
 For magistrates, they were elected for 1-year terms
while the office of rex was elected for the entire lives
of their electoral candidates
 Other notable features were that by the Republic
period, Rome was composed of 35 tribes, 4 of which
were urbanized whilst the remaining 31 were rural
societies, and the 30 curiae of the comitia curiata had
granted the rex the bestowment of imperium
 The Roman Republic’s emergence
 Rome’s final king, Tarquin, would be expelled by his
people and generals in 509 BCE
 The Battle of Lake Regillus between 499-496 BCE had
seen the defeat and submission of the Latin cities north
and south of Rome
 The Plebeians had seceded from Rome for the first
time in 494 BCE
 As Potter provides, the fasti are lists of magistrates
who held their office and known laws in Rome
 Election of magistrates
 During the 5th Century, the Romans had experimented
with various names and numbers for their magistrates
but had maintained a sense of collegiality as well as
the 1-year term
 By 367 BCE, the practice of having 2 consuls had been
established into the foundations of Roman political
structure
 Patricians and Plebeians
 The earlier magistrate lists, as listed by Potter,
included around 20% of people from the Plebeian
denomination
 However, as time progressed within Roman society, the
aristocratic Patricians and lower-class Plebeians had
become more separated and cemented
 Within the 12 Tables, section 499, there had been an
attempt to ban intermarriage between the Patricians
and Plebeians, but had also repealed section 445
 The Patricians may have connections to previous
occultic beliefs and the ability of auspicia, which was
ritualistic consultation of their gods’ wills
 For magistrates, those granted with imperium were
expected to practice auspicia as a means of
maintaining their office as well as lawful order in
Roman society
 Struggles between the two classes would continue for
centuries, as the non-Patricians sought political and
economic rights, as well as access to various offices
and the ability of auspicia
 Furthermore, the issue of arbitration immunity and
protection had become a political stifle, alongside land
ownership and grants and the practice of nexum
(Latin: “debt bondage”)
 Tribunes
 In Rome, there were 494 tribunes which were granted
sacrosanctitas (Latin: “sacred sanctity”), a means of
sanctifying places of the Roman religious blessings and
cursing those that would violate these rites
 The tribunes were given the ability of provocatio, the
right of intercession against magistrates, as granted by
the comitia centuriata
 The first secession of the Plebeians in 494 BCE had
broken out just after the Battle of Lake Regillus, and
the reformation of the public orders in Rome allowed
the creation of the council of plebeians in 471 BCE
 The number of tribunes had significantly dropped to
only 10 by 457 BCE due to this civil division between
the tribunes, patricians, and plebeians

Sept. 13, 2024

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CLAS-2160-A01 – Sept.

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