Ancient Government : The Roman Tribunes

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The Tribunes was one of the first ranks in the Roman Senate. Discover more about the tribunes history, roles and responsibilities.

The Roman senate was one of the most advanced forms of government in the ancient world. As the influence and territory of Rome increased, the roles and responsibilities of the people in charge of running the government also increased. As a result, in order to maintain a smooth operating of the government, certain roles were distributed to other offices.

One of these offices was that of the Tribune. A tribune was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome, with the two most important offices being the tribune of the plebs and the military tribunes.

The history of the tribune goes back to the times of the Roman Tribes. The three original tribes, who were known as the Ramnes, Tities and the Luceres, were each headed by a tribune, whose role was to represent each tribe in civil, religious and military matters. As a result, each of the Servian Tribes was also represented by a tribune.

During the Roman Kingdom, The Tribune Celerum, or Tribune of the Knights, was a commander of the king's personal bodyguard. This office was second only to the king and as a result, held the authority to pass laws and to also preside over the comitia curiata. Another duty of the Tribunes was to lead the cavalry into battle, however, the tribune would have to give way to the king if he wanted to lead the charge himself. This Tribune could also, in theory, take away the kings imperium, or authority to command.

One of the most noticeable tribunes of this era was Lucius Junius Brutus, who was the king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus nephew. Brutus was, in fact, the man who called to revoke the king's imperium and as a result was one of the key figures in the fall of the Roman Monarchy.

By 494 BC, the tribuni Plebis, or simple the Tribunes of the Plebs, was instituted after the first secession of plebs. This event was simply an event which highlighted the huge divisions between the poor plebians of Rome and the Rich families of Rome. As a result, the Tribunes of the Plebs was set up to protect the interests of the plebeians against the actions of the Senate as well as the annual magistrates, who were almost entirely from the richer class.

As a tribune of a pleb, you would have power over the plebeian assembly and were allowed to propose legislation before it. Only one of these tribunes could preside over this assembly, which had the power to pass laws which directly affected the plebians. By 287 BC, these laws would affect all Roman Citizens, and by the 3rd century, the tribunes could propose legislation before the Senate.

An important note to make about the Tribunes of the plebs is that they were not magistrates, as they were elected by the plebeians alone, and not by the whole Roman people. However, they the whole body of plebeians were pledged to protect the tribunes against any assault or interference during their terms in office. Anyone who violated the sacrosanctity of the tribunes may be killed without penalty.

The Plebs was also the source of the tribunes power. Any tribune could intercede on behalf of a Roman citizen to prevent an act of a magistrate or other official going through. Citizens could also appeal decisions of these magistrates via the tribunes, who were then obliged to determine the legality of the action before the magistrate could proceed. This power also allowed the Tribunes to forbid, or veto, any act of the Senate or other assemblies. Only a dictator was exempt from these powers. Tribunes also had no power to affect the actions of provincial governors.

As well as Tribune of the Plebs, there was also Military Tribunes. These were usually young men in their late twenties, who wanted a senatorial career. Each Tribune would be assigned to command a portion of a Roman army, however, he was subordinate to the magistrates, the promagristates appointed by the Senate and ultimately the legion's commander the Legate.

Later in the Roman army, a tribunus was a senior officer, sometimes called a comes, who would command a cavalry vexillatio. This title survived in the eastern Roman army until the early 7th century.

Sources:
Cartwright, M. and Cartwright, M. (2018). Tribune. [online] Ancient History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/Tribune/ [Accessed 11 Nov. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Tribune. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune [Accessed 11 Nov. 2018].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Tribune | Roman official. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/trib... [Accessed 11 Nov. 2018].

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