Tribune

For other uses, seeTribune (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withTribute.

Tribune(Latin:Tribunus) was the title of various elected officials inancient Rome.The two most important were thetribunes of the plebsand themilitary tribunes.For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the authority of thesenateand theannual magistrates,holding the power ofius intercessionisto intervene on behalf of theplebeians,and veto unfavourable legislation. There were alsomilitary tribunes,who commanded portions of theRoman army,subordinate to higher magistrates, such as theconsulsandpraetors,promagistrates,and theirlegates.Various officers within the Roman army were also known as tribunes. The title was also used for several other positions and classes in the course of Roman history.

Tribal tribunes

The wordtribuneis derived from theRoman tribes.The three original tribes known as theRamnesorRamnenses,TitiesorTitienses,and theLuceres,were each headed by a tribune, who represented each tribe in civil, religious, and military matters.Subsequently, each of theServian tribeswas also represented by a tribune.

Tribune of theceleres

Under theRoman Kingdom,thetribunus celerum,in Englishtribune of the celeres,ortribune of the knights,was commander of theking'spersonal bodyguard, known as theceleres.This official was second only to the king, and had the authority to pass law, known aslex tribunicia,and to preside over thecomitia curiata.Unless the king himself elected to lead the cavalry into battle, this responsibility fell to the tribune of the celeres. In theory he could deprive the king of hisimperium,or authority to command, with the agreement of thecomitia curiata.

In the reign ofLucius Tarquinius Superbus,the last Roman king, this office was held byLucius Junius Brutus,the king's nephew, and thus the senior member of the king's household, after the king himself and his sons. It was Brutus who convened thecomitiaand asked that they revoke the king's imperium.After the fall of the monarchy, the powers of the tribune of the celeres were divided between theMagister Militum,or Master of the Infantry, also known as thePraetor Maximusordictator,and his lieutenant, themagister equitumor "Master of the Horse".

Tribune of the plebs

Main article:Tribune of the plebs

Thetribuni plebis,known in English astribunes of the plebs, tribunes of the people,orplebeian tribunes,were instituted in 494 BC, after thefirst secessionof the plebs, in order to protect the interests of the plebeians against the actions of the senate and the annual magistrates, who were uniformlypatrician.The ancient sources indicate the tribunes may have originally been two or five in number. If the former, the college of tribunes was expanded to five in 470 BC. Either way, the college was increased to ten in 457 BC, and remained at this number throughout Roman history. They were assisted by twoaediles plebis,or plebeian aediles. Only plebeians were eligible for these offices, although there were at least two exceptions.

The tribunes of the plebs had the power to convene theconcilium plebis,or plebeian assembly, and propose legislation before it. Only one of the tribunes could preside over this assembly, which had the power to pass laws affecting only the plebeians, known asplebiscita,or plebiscites. After 287 BC, the decrees of theconcilium plebishad the effect of law over all Roman citizens. By the 3rd century BC, the tribunes could also convene and propose legislation before the senate.

Although sometimes referred to as "plebeian magistrates," technically the tribunes of the plebs were not magistrates, having been elected by the plebeians alone, and not the whole Roman people. However, they weresacrosanct,and the whole body of the plebeians were pledged to protect the tribunes against any assault or interference with their persons during their terms of office. Anyone who violated the sacrosanctity of the tribunes might be killed without penalty.

This was also the source of the tribunes' power, known asius intercessionis,orintercessio,by which any tribune could intercede on behalf of a Roman citizen to prohibit the act of a magistrate or other official. Citizens could appeal the decisions of the magistrates to the tribunes, who would then be obliged to determine the legality of the action before a magistrate could proceed. This power also allowed the tribunes to forbid, orvetoany act of the senate or another assembly. Only adictatorwas exempt from these powers.

Thetribunicia potestas,or tribunician power, was limited by the fact that it was derived from the oath of the people to defend the tribunes. This limited most of the tribunes' actions to the boundaries of the city itself, as well as a radius of one mile around. They had no power to affect the actions of provincial governors.

The powers of the tribunes were severely curtailed duringthe constitutional reformsof the dictatorSullain 81 BC. Although many of these powers were restored in further reforms of 75 BC and 70 BC, the prestige and authority of the tribunes had been irreparably damaged. In 48 BC, the senate granted tribunician powers (tribunicia potestas,powers equivalent to those of a tribune without actually being one) to the dictatorJulius Caesar.Caesar used them to prevent the other tribunes interfering with his actions. In 23 BC, the senate granted the same power toAugustus,the firstRoman emperor,and from that point onwards it was regularly granted to each emperor as part oftheir formal titles.Under theRoman Empire,the tribunes continued to be elected, but had lost their independence and most of their practical power. The office became merely a step in the political careers of plebeians who aspired toward a seat in the senate.

Military tribunes

Main article:Military tribune

Thetribuni militum,known in English asmilitary tribunesor literally,tribunes of the soldiers,were elected each year along with the annual magistrates. Their number varied throughout Roman history, but eventually reached twenty-four. These were usually young men in their late twenties, who aspired to a senatorial career. Each tribune would be assigned to command a portion of the Roman army, subordinate to the magistrates and promagistrates appointed by the senate, and their legates.

Within each of thelegions,various middle-ranking officers were also styledtribune.These officers included:

• Tribunus laticlavius,a senatorial officer, second in command of a legion; identified by a broad stripe, orlaticlavus.
• Tribunus angusticlavius,an officer chosen from among the equites, five to each legion; identified by a narrow stripe, orangusticlavus.
• Tribunus rufulus,an officer chosen by the commander.
• Tribunus vacans,an unassigned officer in the Late Roman army; a member of the general's staff.
• Tribunus cohortis,an officer commanding acohort,part of a legion usually consisting of sixcenturies.
• Tribunus cohortis urbanae,commander of one of theurban cohorts,a sort of military police unit stationed at Rome.
• Tribunus sexmestris,a tribune serving a tour of duty of only six months; there is no evidence to identify this officer as a cavalry commander, as sometimes stated in modern literature.

In the late Roman army, atribunuswas a senior officer, sometimes called acomes,who commanded a cavalryvexillatio.Astribounos,the title survived in theEast Roman armyuntil the early 7th century.

From the use oftribunusto describe various military officers is derived the wordtribunal,originally referring to a raised platform used to address the soldiers or administer justice.

Military tribunes are featured in notable works of historical fiction, includingBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,byLew Wallace,andThe RobebyLloyd C. Douglas.Both novels involve characters affected by the life and death ofJesus,and were turned intoepic filmsduring the 1950s. Messala, the primary antagonist inBen-Hur,was played byStephen Boyd,while Marcellus Gallio, the protagonist ofThe Robe,was played by a youngRichard Burton.

Consular tribunes

Main article:Tribuni militum consulari potestate

In 445 BC, the tribunes of the plebs succeeded in passing thelex Canuleia,repealing the law forbidding the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, and providing that one of the consuls might be a plebeian. Rather than permit the consular dignity to pass into the hands of a plebeian, the senate proposed a compromise whereby three military tribunes, who might be either patrician or plebeian, should be elected in place of the consuls. The firsttribuni militum consulare potestate,ormilitary tribunes with consular power,were elected for the year 444. Although plebeians were eligible for this office, each of the first "consular tribunes" was a patrician.

Military tribunes were elected in place of the consuls in half the years from 444 to 401 BC, and in each instance, all of the tribunes were patricians; nor did any plebeian succeed in obtaining the consulship. The number of tribunes increased to four beginning in 426, and six beginning in 405. At last, the plebeians elected four of their number military tribunes for the year 400; others were elected in 399, 396, 383, and 379. But apart from these years, no plebeian obtained the highest offices of the Roman State.

The patricians' monopoly on power was finally broken byGaius Licinius Calvus StoloandLucius Sextius Lateranus,tribunes of the people, who in 376 BC brought forward legislation demanding not merely that one of the consulsmightbe a plebeian, but that henceforth onemustbe chosen from their order. When the senate refused their demand, the tribunes prevented the election of annual magistrates for five years, before relenting and permitting the election of consular tribunes from 370 to 367. In the end, and with the encouragement of the dictatorMarcus Furius Camillus,the senate conceded the battle, and passed theLicinian Rogations.Sextius was elected the first plebeian consul, followed by Licinius two years later; and with this settlement, the consular tribunes were abolished.

Tribunes of the treasury

The exact nature of theTribuni Aerarii,orTribunes of the Treasuryis shrouded in mystery. Originally they seem to have been tax collectors, but this power was slowly lost to other officials. By the end of the Republic, this style belonged to a class of persons slightly below the equites in wealth. When the makeup of Roman juries was reformed in 70 BC, it was stipulated that one-third of the members of each jury should belong to this class.

Later uses of the title

Post-Roman Britain

In hisVita Germani,ahagiographyofSt. Germanus of Auxerre,Constantius of Lyonwrites that during his visit to Britain in AD 429, Germanus miraculously healed the blind daughter of "a man with tribunician power" (vir tribunicae potestatis). Being that the Roman Empire had withdrawn from Britain in AD 410, the use of this term may imply a continuation of some form of local Roman political system. There exists the possibility that this tribune had commanded a unit of the Roman army which had disbanded after the break with Rome, and was now occupying a more locally-granted appointment to help manage his city's defences.

Republic of Venice

In the early history of theRepublic of Venice,during the tenure of the sixthDogeDomenico Monegario,Venice instituted a dual Tribunal modeled on the above Roman institution - two new Tribunes being elected each year, with the intention to oversee the Doge and prevent abuse of power (though this aim was not always successfully achieved).

French revolutionarytribunat

Main article:Tribunat

The "Tribunat",the French word for tribunate, derived from the Latin termtribunatus,meaning the office or term of a Romantribunus(see above), was a collective organ of the young revolutionary French Republic composed of members styledtribun(the French for tribune), which, despite the apparent reference to one of ancient Rome's prestigious magistratures, never held any real political power as an assembly, its individual members no role at all.

It was instituted byNapoleon I Bonaparte'sConstitution of the Year VIII"in order to moderate the other powers" by discussing every legislative project, sending itsorateurs( "orators", i.e. spokesmen) to defend or attack them in theCorps législatif,and asking the Senate to overturn "the lists of eligibles, the acts of the Legislative Body and those of the government" on account of unconstitutionality. Its 100 members were designated by the Senate from the list of citizens from 25 years up, and annually one fifth was renewed for a five-year term.

When it opposed the first parts of Bonaparte's proposed penal code, he made the Senate nominate 20 new members at once to replace the 20 first opponents to his politic; they accepted the historically important reform of penal law. As the Tribunate opposed new despotic projects, he got the Senate in year X to allow itself to dissolve the Tribunate. In XIII it was further downsized to 50 members. On August 16, 1807, it was abolished and never revived.

See also

• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• List of Roman tribunes

References

Bibliography

• Nouveau Larousse illustré(in French).
• Mackay, Christopher S.Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History.p. 135.for information on Tribunes of the Treasury

External links

• Livius.org: TribuneArchived2013-11-07 at theWayback Machine
• "Tribune".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). 1911.