Historical and Constitutional Background

The later republican period witnessed a remarkable expansion of Roman territory that culminated in Rome gaining control of the entire Mediterranean basin by the end of the first century bc.

The third century bc is marked by Rome's two great wars for control of the Western Mediterranean against Carthage, an old Phoenician colony in North Africa and a great maritime power. As a result of victory in the First Punic (Phoenician) War (264-241 bc), Rome acquired her first overseas province, Sicily, and asserted her position as a growing international power. In the Second Punic War (218-201 bc), a resurgent Carthage sought to recover the lost ground by embarking on a program of military expansion in Spain and Italy. Despite the initial successes of her armies, carthage was finally overwhelmed by the Romans and was reduced to the position of a client-state of Rome. Between 200 and 190 bc, Rome subdued the Celtic tribes of Northern Italy. In the same period she embarked on yet another series of wars, this time in the Greek East. One of Rome's principal opponents was King Philip V of Macedonia, an ally of Carthage in the Second Punic War. Seizing upon Philip's aggressive policies and claiming to act as protectors of Greek freedom, the Romans declared war on Macedonia in 200 bc. Philip's defeat in 197 bc vanquished the Macedonian control of the Greek city-states, although no Greek territory was annexed by Rome this time. In 188 bc, after a 4 year war, the Romans broke the power of Antioch III (King of Syria and Asia Minor) and extended their control over the Eastern Mediterranean. In 148 bc, following a protracted struggle, Macedonia was again defeated and turned into a Roman province.

As it proved impossible to govern the newly conquered lands from Rome, the relevant task was assigned to specially appointed magistrates and, from the late second century bc, to ex-magistrates (proconsules or propraetores) chosen by the senate from among its members. Acting as representatives of the Roman state in the provinces assigned to them, these governors had military and administrative duties that embraced the administration of justice. Each province comprised several communities (civitates) that enjoyed local self-government but had no political bond of unity.

During the late republican period Roman society changed from a small, closely- knit and largely homogeneous grouping into a complex stratified society with disparate and often competing interests. At the top of the social pyramid was the patricio-plebeian nobility that emerged in the closing stages of the struggle of the orders, when office holding ceased to be a prerogative of aristocratic birth. Since the Roman senate consisted largely of members of leading families who had served as magistrates, this new nobility was referred to as the senatorial class (ordo senatorius). The chief source of the senatorial families’ wealth was landed property, as senators were precluded from engaging in commerce and industry. However, Rome’s increasingly sophisticated economic life demanded enterprising men to direct trade, undertake the construction of public works, manage war contracts and collect state taxes. This led to the rise of an important new class of merchants and entrepreneurs, which became known as the equestrian class (equites, ordo equester). An active and very visible minority within the equestrian class acquired their wealth by entering into contracts with the Roman state for the collection of public revenues. Those who entered into such contracts with the state were referred to as publicani. The wealth and influence of this class of businessmen grew rapidly as Rome expanded in territory and her revenues continued to increase. Although excluded from the aristocracy and basically non-political, the equestrians were inevitably drawn into politics whenever the senatorial oligarchy threatened to infringe on their economic prerogatives. Below the equites in the social hierarchy were the upper classes of the various communities in Italy and the provinces, whose members tended to be loyal supporters of Rome and had adopted the Roman culture and way of life.

An important social and economic development during this period was the gradual decline of the yeoman class that Rome had depended upon economically and for its military strength. Farmers recruited to fight for many years returned to discover their homesteads and fields neglected. As traditional cereal agriculture was no longer profitable (corn and wheat were now imported in large quantities from overseas), these farmers found it increasingly difficult to re-establish themselves. Some enterprising farmers shifted to other products that could be sold more easily to overseas markets, such as olives and grapes, or turned to cattle-rearing.

Rome's dramatic expansion, especially in the Greek-speaking Eastern Mediter­ranean, also generated profound changes in Roman cultural life. The contact established with the intellectual and artistic milieu of the Hellenistic world resulted in a massive influx of Greek ideas and practices that transformed every aspect of Roman culture, including religion, education, art and science. Particularly influen­tial were the two great schools of Hellenistic philosophy, Epicureanism and Stoi­cism. As these schools were primarily concerned with teaching people how to live virtuously in society and how to attain success in public and private life, they accorded well with the practical tendencies of the Roman character. The popularity of these schools was also due to the fact that their teachings best reflected the cosmopolitanism of the times. The Stoic ideal of a world state, in particular, exercised a strong influence on the Roman upper classes and furnished one of the foundations upon which the political philosophy of the Empire was built.

1.3.1.1     Constitutional Framework

During this period, the organization of the Roman state did not undergo any major changes as the Romans tenaciously clung to the constitution and accompanying traditions established in the early period. The notion that the constitution should provide for the assembly of the entire citizen body who could personally exercise their rights remained very much alive throughout this era. However, supreme authority lay with the senate that had evolved from an advisory body to the magistrates into an executive body with a wide range of powers over foreign policy, finance, legislation and the administration of justice. The magistrates and the assemblies showed themselves ready to follow the senate's lead; although only popular assemblies had the constitutional right to enact legislation, senatorial resolutions (senatus consulta) became regarded in every practical sense as having the force of laws.^[18] Political contest mainly occurred within the senate where a number of rival groups of allied families strived to enhance their power and prestige.

From as early as the second century BC, the unavoidable fact emerged that the Roman constitution was flawed. Originally devised when Rome was a small city-state, the constitution appeared inadequate to meet the organisational and administrative needs of the now vast and complex empire. As the Roman territory grew, the Roman citizens scattered in colonies throughout Italy and the provinces encountered increasing difficulties in exercising their political responsibilities through participation in the assemblies. The senate, riven by internal divisions and composed of an aristocracy that grew increasingly corrupt, ultimately could not continue its effective control of the state. Moreover, the array of magisterial offices did not provide for one central position of authority thereby precluding centralized and cohesive control when this was desperately needed to overcome the administrative problems derived from Rome's expansion. This situation engendered political instability that enabled ambitious political and military leaders to attain absolute power by manipulating the senate and the popular assemblies, and gaining the support of discontented social groups demanding various kinds of reform. As a result, the outward forms of the traditional republican constitution remained in place but were distorted by forces outside the traditional framework. The tensions in the Roman state found expression in an increasingly violent strife that became the norm by the first century bc: conflict erupted between rival factions and individuals within the ruling class, and between the aristocracy and various disadvantaged groups. Octavian emerged from this strife in 31 bc and became the sole master of the Roman world. In the years that followed, the senate and the assemblies legitimised Octavian’s de facto control of the state by bestowing upon him a range of powers and titles that placed him in a unique position. Armed with these powers, Octavian (who assumed the honorary title Augustus Caesar) ushered in a new constitutional system known as the Principate.

1.3.2