Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic
<I>Plebs</I> and Politics in the Late Roman Republic
Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic analyses the political role of the masses in a profoundly aristocratic society. Constitutionally the populus Romanus wielded almost unlimited powers, controlling legislation and the election of officials, a fact which has inspired 'democratic' readings of the Roman republic. In this book a distinction is drawn between the formal powers of the Roman people and the practical realization of these powers. The question is approached from a quantitative as well as a qualitative perspective, asking how large these crowds were, and how their size affected their social composition. Building on those investigations, the different types of meetings and assemblies are analysed. The result is a picture of the place of the masses in the running of the Roman state, which challenges the 'democratic' interpretation, and presents a society riven by social conflicts and a widening gap between rich and poor.
- Provides a practical approach to Roman politics
- Offers an alternative vision of social conditions in Rome
- Places politics in social context
Reviews & endorsements
"This book offers a fresh review of the evidence regarding the voting power of the populus Romanus in legislative and elective assemblies...this book will most benefit those with a backgroud in republican politics...this is an important book and makes a vital contribution to the on-going debate about the nature of politics in late republican Rome...What makes this book especially appealing is that M. touches upon many issues currently under debate by historians while keeping in sight his purpose of determining the extent to which the common people excerised it prerogative to vote." BMCR 2001
Product details
June 2001Hardback
9780521791007
172 pages
236 × 158 × 17 mm
0.385kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1. Introduction: ideology and practice in Roman politics
- 2. The scale of late republican politics
- 3. The contio
- 4. Legislative assemblies
- 5. Elections
- 6. Plebs and politics
- Appendix: the 'Lex Licinia de sodalitatibus'
- Bibliography
- Index.
