Atribus, ortribe, was a division of theRoman people for military, censorial, and voting purposes. When constituted in thecomitia tributa, the tribes were the voting units of a legislative assembly of theRoman Republic.[1][2]
According to tradition, the first three tribes were established byRomulus; each was divided into tencuriae, or wards, which were the voting units of thecomitia curiata. Although the curiae continued throughout Roman history, the three original tribes that they constituted gradually vanished from history.[i][1][3]
Perhaps influenced by the original division of the people into tribes, as well as the number of thirty wards,Servius Tullius established four tribes dividing Rome and variouspagi over the countryside, which later became seventeen rural tribes. After the formation of the republic, these tribes were assembled into a popular assembly called thecomitia tributa. As the Roman population and its territory grew, fifteen additional tribes were enrolled, the last in 241 BC.[1][2]
AllRoman citizens were enrolled in one of these tribes, through which they were entitled to vote on the election of certain magistrates, religious officials, judicial decisions in certain suits affecting theplebs, and pass resolutions on various proposals made by thetribunes of the plebs and the higher magistrates. Although thecomitia tributa lost most of its legislative functions under theEmpire, enrollment in a tribe remained an important part of Roman citizenship until at least the third century AD.[4]
According to the ancient Roman tradition, shortly after thefounding of Rome, Romulus created the first three tribes: theRamnes,Tities, andLuceres. The etymology of the Latin wordtribus is unclear: it may relate to the word for three (tres) or a cognate in theIguvine Tablets referring to the community as a whole.[5] Others say the word instead is derived fromtribuere, referring to divisions and distributions.[6][7]
Livy relates that after theRape of the Sabine Women, theSabines underTitus Tatius attacked Rome, and successfully entered the city. After fierce fighting, the Sabine women themselves interceded, stepping between their husbands and their fathers to prevent further bloodshed. Peace was concluded, with Romulus and Tatius ruling jointly, and a large Sabine population relocating to Rome. The nascent city was thus evenly divided betweenLatins and Sabines. After this, traditionally dated to 750 BC, Romulus created the tribes.[1][8]
Known as the threeRomulean tribes, these first tribes have often been supposed to represent the major ethnic groups of early Rome with the Ramnes representing Rome's Latin population, the Tities representing the Sabines, and the Luceres probably representing theEtruscans. Rome lay on theTiber, the traditional boundary ofEtruria withLatium, and may have had a substantial Etruscan population from the beginning; but certainly there was a considerable Etruscan element in the Roman population by the sixth century BC; the fifth and seventh kings of Rome were Etruscan, and many of Rome's cultural institutions were of Etruscan origin. It may be to this period, rather than the time of Romulus, that the institution of theLuceres belongs; and indeed the names, if not the ethnic character, of all three of the Romulean tribes appear to be Etruscan.[2][9][pages needed]
Although the theory that the Romulean tribes represented the city's original ethnic components continues to be represented in modern scholarship, it has never been universally accepted, and this view is rejected by many scholars.[10][11] This is because "the idea that the three tribes were distinct ethnic groups has no support in the ancient sources". Kathryn Lomas, in the 2018 bookRise of Rome, attributes the popularity of the explanation to nationalist politics of the 19th and 20th centuries.[12]
These three tribes were in turn divided into thirtycuriae, or wards, the organization of which is unclear. The etymology of the word may derive fromco-viria – a gathering of men – with each group electing a leader, known as acurio. Among thecuriones, one was selected as head of all the curiae, with the titlecurio maximus.[13] The members of thecuriae were known ascuriales.[verification needed] Eachcuria was attended by a priest, orcurio, who assisted by another priest, known as theflamen curialis, undertook the religious obligations of the ward. Each also had its own place of meeting, also known as acuria.[14]
The curiae were said to have been named after thirty of the Sabine Women, but of the ninecuriae whose names are known today, several are of geographical origin. The onlycuriae whose names are now known were:Acculeia,[ii] Calabra, Faucia,[iii] Foriensis,[iv] Rapta,[v] Tifata,[vi]Titia,[vii]Veliensis,[viii] andVelitia.[15][16][17][14][18]
In the past, it was widely believed that membership in thecuriae was limited to thepatricians, and that statements to the contrary, indicating thatclientes were admitted meant no more than that they were passive members with no voting rights. However,Mommsen argued convincingly that theplebeians were included in voting, and this view now appears to have prevailed; the plebeians were included either from the beginning, or at least from an early date; certainly from the earliest years of the Republic.[2][14][19]
When the variouscuriae were assembled for voting, they formed thecomitia curiata. It was founded under the kings and survived through to the end of the republic.[20] One of thecuriones was appointed or electedcurio maximus, and presided over the assembly.[14][21] Under the kings, thecomitia curiata was summoned by the king or by aninterrex, who would present questions upon which thecomitia might vote. These included the election of a new king, as proposed by the interrex; the passing of a law conferringimperium on the king, known as alex curiata de imperio; whether to declare war; rulings on appeals; matters relating toarrogatio;[ix] and whether to allow foreigners to be received among the patricians. UnderServius Tullius, the rights to declare war and to decide appeals were transferred to thecomitia centuriata, another legislative assembly.[4]
After the downfall of the Roman monarchy, questions were presented to thecomitia curiata by theRoman Senate. However, between 494 and 449 BC, most of its functions were relegated to thecomitia tributa and thecomitia centuriata. The higher magistrates were elected by thecomitia centuriata, which also presided over certain capital trials, and held the power to declare war, and to pass legislation presented by the senate. Lesser magistrates were elected by thecomitia tributa, which also elected religious officials, presided over trials affecting the plebeians, and passed resolutions based on legislation proposed by the tribunes of the plebs and various magistrates. Thecomitia curiata retained the power to confer imperium on magistrates elected by thecomitia centuriata, and to confirm alterations in theRoman constitution decided upon by the other two comitia; both of these, however, required the senate to propose them before thecomitia could act. Thecomitia also retained the power to decide whether to admit a non-patrician into that order, and to oversee the process ofarrogatio, particularly when a patrician was being adopted into a plebeian family.[4]
By the late republic, eachcuria was represented by only onelictor,[22] usually under the presidency of thepontifex maximus.[20]
According to the Roman tradition,Servius Tullius, the sixth king (traditionallyr. 579 – 534 BC[23]), abolished the Romulean tribes (though not thecuriae) and re-divided the city into four urban tribes and twenty-sixpagi which coalesced into seventeen rural tribes.[24][25] The names of the four urban tribes were based on the four regions of the city that they represented, while those of the rural tribes were likely based on the names of families that owned considerable tracts of land in those areas.[1][2][9][page needed]
Each tribe was both a territorial and administrative unit, with officials calledtribules who counted and facilitated the votes of tribe members.[26] Another group of officials, thedivisores coordinated gifts among tribesmen and were regularly implicated in electoral bribery during the late republic.[27]
Further officers included acurator tribuum, who served as the head of the tribe, andtribuni aerarii, or tribunes of the treasury, whose responsibility was for the tribe's financial obligations; they were responsible for collecting the war tax, and distributed pay to the tribe's soldiers.[2][28]
Membership in a tribe was prima facie proof ofRoman citizenship and also formed the basis on which the army was levied.[29] Toward the end of the Republic, the tribe became so important that it became an official part of a Roman's name, usually appearing, in the most formal documents and inscriptions, between a citizen's filiation and any cognomina.[1]
The dates of the creation of the remaining tribes are all known. When the SabineAppius Claudius removed to Rome together with hisclientes, in 504 BC, he was admitted to the patriciate, and assigned lands in the region around the mouth of theAnio. These settlers became the basis of thetribus Claudia, which was admitted in 495 BC, during Claudius' consulship, along with thetribus Crustumina orClustumina.[30]
Four more tribes were added in 387 BC: Arniensis, Sabatina, Stellatina, and Tromentina.[1] With the addition ofVolscian territory in 358 BC, two more tribes were formed, Pomptina and Publilia (also found as Poblilia). In 332, the censorsQuintus Publilius Philo andSpurius Postumius Albinus enrolled two more tribes, Maecia (originally Maicia) and Scaptia. Oufentina and Falerina followed in 318, and in 299 Aniensis and Terentina were added. The last two tribes, Quirina and Velina, were established in 241 BC, bringing the number of tribes to its final total of thirty-five.[1]
The names of the various tribes vary, both due to scribal error and changes in Latin orthography. For example, the tribeMaecia must originally have beenMaicia due to its abbreviation asMai;Crustumina andClustumina are used interchangeably. With their usual abbreviations, the tribes were:[x]
The four urban tribes
| The rural tribes
|
|
|
|
Although the names of the older rural tribes are those of patrician families, the tribes themselves were probably entirely plebeian until 449 BC, after which both patricians and plebeians were enrolled; before this time, many of the powers and responsibilities later held by thecomitia tributa still belonged to thecomitia curiata.[1] While we know the origin of their names, the location of the territories which defined these tribes is uncertain.[2]
The enrollment of new citizens in particular tribes became a significant political issue during thecensorship ofAppius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC. Those who wished to limit the voting power of the lower social orders, and particularly of freedmen, advocated enrolling them only in the four urban tribes. This effort was largely unsuccessful, except with respect to freedmen, who were nearly always enrolled in one of the urban tribes. A similar attempt to limit the power of newly enfranchised citizens followed the end of the Social War. It was also possible for one of the censors to punish an individual by expelling him from one of the rustic tribes, and assigning him to one of the urban tribes; this was known astribu movere.[2]
After 241 BC, no further tribes were created. Legislation, passed concurrently by the senate and the people, decreed that citizens created by further territorial annexation would be registered in one of the rural tribes. Before this reform, the tribes had been relatively contiguous units; after it, they became geographically fragmented across Roman territory. After theSocial War, which saw the enfranchisement of Rome's Italian allies and a massive increase in the citizen population, there was a vigorous debate at Rome as to whether further tribes should be created, but it was eventually decided to register the new citizens in the existing thirty-five.[29]
In imperial times, the enrollment of citizens in tribes along a geographic basis was resumed; for instance, easterners were typically enrolled in the tribes Collina and Quirina, while inGallia Narbonensis enrollment in thetribus Voltinia was preferred.[2]
Together, the Servian tribes constituted theconcilium plebis, or plebeian council; as time passed and the council's authority to pass legislation developed, it was increasingly known as thecomitia plebis tributa, or tribal assembly.[31] A law passed in 449 BC made resolutions of thecomitia tributa, known asplebi scita, or plebiscites, binding upon the whole Roman people; this law was not ratified by the senate until 286 BC, but even before this its resolutions were considered binding on the plebs. Because all citizens, whether patrician or plebeian, received the same vote in thecomitia tributa, and because the assembly was much simpler to convene than thecomitia centuriata, thecomitia tributa was Rome's most democratic assembly. By the end of the Republic, the plebs greatly outnumbered the patricians, and it was through thiscomitia that the collective will of the citizens could be exercised without regard to wealth or status.[4]
Thecomitia tributa elected all of the lower magistrates, including thetribunes of the plebs, themilitary tribunes, theplebeian aediles and thecurule aediles. A committee of seventeen tribes, chosen by lot, nominated thePontifex Maximus, and coöpted members of thecollegia of thepontifices,augures, and thedecemviri sacrorum.[4]
Thecomitia could pass resolutions proposed by the tribunes of the plebs, or by the higher magistrates, on both domestic and foreign matters, such as the making of treaties or concluding of peace. Proposals had to be published before receiving a vote, and were passed or rejected as a whole, without modification. Although the senate might review these resolutions, it could only reject them if they had been passed without the proper formalities.[4]
Thecomitia tributa also decided suits instituted by the plebeian tribunes and aediles, for offenses against the plebs or their representatives. In the later Republic, these suits typically involved charges of maladministration; the tribunes and aediles were entitled to levy substantial fines.[4]
Beginning with the institution of the tribunes of the plebs in 494 BC, thecomitia tributa was normally summoned by the tribunes themselves. Magistrates could also convene thecomitia, but only with the consent of the tribunes. Thecomitia was summoned by the proclamation of apraeco, a crier or herald, at least seventeen days before the meeting. Theauspices would be taken, and the meeting could only proceed if they were favourable. The tribes convened at daybreak, and were obliged to adjourn at sunset. If summoned by one of the tribunes, the tribes had to gather within the city, or within a one-mile radius of the city; this was the boundary of a tribune's authority. In the first centuries of the Republic, thecomitia usually met on theCapitol, in theForum, or at theComitium. If summoned by one of the magistrates, the comitia typically met on theCampus Martius.[4]
After a prayer, unaccompanied by sacrifice, proposals would be read, and the citizens arranged by tribe. The first tribe to vote, known as theprincipium, was chosen by lot, and the result of its vote announced. The other tribes would then vote simultaneously, and the results of their votes announced in an order also determined by lot, before the final result was proclaimed. Laws passed by thecomitia took effect as soon as the results were announced.[4] Although the order of voting was determined by lot, there was also an official order of the tribes, known as theordo tribuum. The first four tribes were the urban tribes, in the order: Suburana, Palatina, Esquilina, Collina; the rural tribes followed, concluding with Aniensis.[xi][1]
In the final years of the Republic, participation in thecomitia was quite low, and its acts increasingly the result ofcorruption.Caesar deprived thecomitia tributa of the power to declare war or conclude peace; the earlyemperors further curtailed its power.Augustus removed thecomitia's judicial function, and preserved its power to pass legislation only in form. He filled half of the available magistracies with his own candidates, andTiberius transferred the comitia's remaining electoral authority to the senate. Although the emperors received many of their powers from thecomitia tributa, this was only a formality.[4]
Although thecomitia tributa continued to exist until the third century AD, its only remaining functions were symbolic; it took auspices and gave prayer; it conferred the emperor's legislative powers and other authority; and it proclaimed the laws presented to it for approval. But by this time voting was done not by ballot, but byacclamatio.[4]
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