Roman Government

[remy6archer]

This diagram shows the ladder of political advancement (cursus honorum) during the late Republic. The straight ladder shows the typical path of advancement beginning with election to quaestor, the lowest office, and proceeding to consul, the highest (of course very few men made it that far; it was quite exceptional when a man like Cicero, who did not come from a noble family, was elected consul). Red text designates “curule magistrates,” who had the right to sit on a special ivory folding stool (sella curulis) as a symbol of their office; they also had the right to wear the purple-bordered toga (toga praetexta). Offices marked with an asterisk carried imperium, the highest political authority, which included the right to command an army, to interpret and carry out the law, and to pass sentences of death. Magistrates whose title began with “pro” were in charge of provinces.

[remy6archer]

Patricians and Plebeians met in the Assembly and voted for consuls, tribunes and magistrates.
Women and slaves were not allowed in the Assembly and could not vote.

2 *consuls—chief magistrates who convened and presided over the Senate and assemblies, initiated and administered legislation, served as generals in military campaigns, and represented Rome in foreign affairs. When their term of office was completed, consuls usually governed a province as *proconsul. Women were not allowed to be consuls. The consuls controlled the army, and they decided whether to start a war and how much taxes to collect and what the laws were. They both had to agree in order to change anything; if one of them said “veto”, Latin for “I forbid it”, then nothing would be done.

Magistrates:

8 *praetors—served primarily as judges in law courts, but could convene the Senate and assemblies; they assumed administrative duties of consuls when these were absent from a Roman city. When their term of office was completed, praetors might govern a province as *propraetor.

2 censors—elected every 5 years for terms of 1½ years; revised lists of senators; conducted census of citizens and property assessments for tax purposes; granted state contracts.

4 aediles—supervised public places, public games, and the grain supply in the cities of Rome; 2 were required to be plebeians, and the other two (who had more status) could come from either order; the latter 2 were called curule aediles.

10 tribunes—had to be plebeian, because the office was established to protect the plebeians from arbitrary actions of magistrates. Hence the primary power of tribunes was negative; they could veto the act of any magistrate and stop any official act of administration. They were by law sacrosanct, meaning that anyone who attacked them physically could be immediately and summarily killed; they could convene the Senate and assemblies and initiate legislation.

20 quaestors—administered finances of state treasury and served in various capacities in the provinces.

[remy6archer]

Senate:
composed of 600 magistrates and ex-magistrates (minimum qualification was election as quaestor) who served for life unless expelled by the censors.
normally met in a building called the Curia located in the Roman Forum.
although technically an advisory body, in effect the Senate was the chief governmental body because it controlled public finances and foreign affairs, assigned military commands and provinces, and debated and passed decrees that would be submitted to the assemblies for final ratification
the Republican government was symbolized by the letters SPQR (senatus populusque Romanus), meaning “the Senate and the Roman people”