Roman Politics
Page 2 of 2 — The idea of political parties was quite unheard of. Although there were what could be described as conservative and populist blocs of politicians, their alignments tended to be more cultural than political, so to speak. For example – those conservative senators who opposed granting greater powers to specific generals did so because the Republic had a tradition of not allowing any one man too much power – not because of any philosophical ideas regarding freedom or the corrupting influence of power. Far more common was the formation of groups of politicians in opposition to big names like Marius or Caesar. This was the principle that allowed Rome to stay a Republic for so long: the crab-in-a-bucket mentality, where any crab who tried to climb out was pulled back in by the others. It prevented the concentration of power in the hands of any one Roman, and it was in fact the disappearance of this tradition that helped lead to the Republic’s downfall.
Conversely, Roman leaders were encouraged – expected, even – to do as much as possible to build up their reputations. To be granted a triumph – a march through the streets of Rome with one’s legions and plunder – was the greatest reward a Roman general could receive after a successful campaign. The Roman elite, wealthy though they may have been, had to work very hard to maintain their places at the top of the pyramid. Any aristocratic family which produced no great generals or other leaders for even a few generations saw its political power decrease dramatically.
This then was the basis of Roman success, one might say. By maintaining a high level of competition, the Republic was able to not only filter out the best possible generals/leaders but also make sure that a monopoly on power was impossible. The unfortunate side-effect of this intense competition was that it was very difficult for newcomers to break in. “New men”, as they were known, were extremely rare, and for them to ascend to higher positions like praetor or consul was almost unheard of. The most famous exceptions to this rule are probably Marius and Cicero, both of whom were from a small town named Arpinum. Marius reached the consulate because of his military genius, Cicero because he was possibly the most brilliant orator in the history of Rome. More often, however, it was old families like the Scipios (who produced 23 consuls in just a hundred years) that dominated the government.
After serving out their terms, these consuls or praetors were often appointed to certain provinces – especially during wars – to help govern them. They were then known as proconsuls or propraetors.
There were three representative bodies:
The Concilium Plebis was made up only of plebians (non-aristocrats), and elected the Tribunes of the People. It also had some power to pass legislation.
The Comitia Tributa had both patricians (aristocrats) and plebians, and elected aediles/quaestors, as well as passing legislation.
The Comitia Centuriata, the most important, elected consuls/praetors/censors. It also was made up of both patricians and plebians, but power was weighted heavily in favour of the patricians.