The comitia centuriata

After the military reforms of the late sixth century BC the word classis, which originally signified an army, came to refer to those citizens who could furnish the equipment of a hoplite, or heavy soldier.

These were the wealthier members of the community. The rest of the citizens were rated as 'below the class' (infra classem) and, although they could be called upon to form lightly armed units, they were not included in the regular infantry. But by the middle of the fourth century BC the need for strengthening Rome's defences compelled the state to draw more and more heavily upon poorer citizens for military service and new classes were formed largely from members of the plebeian class (a development that enhanced the role of the plebeians in Roman political life).

The division of the citizens into classes was based on an assessment (census) of the amount of property which each citizen possessed (reflected in the type of armour a citizen was able to equip himself with).^{^[332]}[333]According to Livy, in the first class were included those whose property was valued at no less than 100,000 asses.^{^[334]} Inclusion in the second class required fortune valued at a minimum of 75,000 asses. The third and fourth classes were composed of those whose property exceeded the 50,000 and 25,000 asses respectively. Finally, in the fifth class were included those who possessed fortune valued at no less than 11,000 asses.^{^[335]} The citizens included in the five classes were collectively referred to as adsidui or locupletes. On the other hand, those whose property fell below the minimum amount required for inclusion in the lowest class were termed proletarii or capite censi (i.e. those registered simply 'by heads').^{^[336]} The classes were subdivided, further, into centuries (centuriae), or groups of a hundred men, mainly for recruitment purposes.

Half the centuries in each class consisted of men aged seventeen to forty-six (iuniores), who formed the regular troops, and half of men aged forty-six to sixty (seniores), who formed the reserve troops. The first class was made up of eighty centuries, the second, third and fourth of twenty and the fifth of thirty - thus there were a hundred and seventy centuries in all. To these were later added eighteen centuries of knights (equites), situated above the first class, and five supernumerary centuries, two of armourers and smiths (fabri aerarii, fabri tignarii), two of trumpeters (tubicines, cornicines) and one of proletarii and capite censi. Thus the total number of centuries was a hundred and ninety-three. Out of this military organisation emerged the assembly of the centuries (comitia centuriata),^{^[337]} the chief political assembly of the Roman people during the republican period.^{^[338]} In the course of time the centuriate assembly lost its military character, but the timocratic basis of its organisation remained largely unchanged.

The centuriate assembly carried out political, legislative and judicial functions. Of the political functions the most important was the election of the higher magistrates of the state (magistratus maiores), i.e. the consuls, the praetors, the censors and, in earlier times, the decemvirs and the military tribunes with consular power.^{^[339]} Moreover, in certain exceptional cases, the comitia centuriata could appoint those who were to serve as proconsuls and we know of one case in which they nominated a prodictator.^{^[340]} Besides electing magistrates, the assembly had a say in other important matters concerning the state, such as the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace or alliances by the senate, the sale of public property and the granting of the Roman citizenship or the conferment of various privileges (privilegia) on individuals or communities.

Within the province of the comitia centuriata fell also the enactment of new laws or the abrogation of existing ones. Legislative proposals were submitted to the assembly by the consuls or the praetors by whom it was convened and presided over.^{^[341]} Moreover, one of the traditional functions of the assembly was to act as a court of justice hearing appeals against sentences imposed by higher magistrates involving death and other severe punishments (provocatio ad populum). From the early years of the Republic, as the judicial powers of the magistrates became more and more restricted by legislation, the criminal jurisdiction of the assembly was more clearly recognised until it became the regular court of justice for the investigation and punishment of the most serious crimes.^{^[342]}[343]

The comitia centuriata met at the campus Martius, a parade and training ground outside the city walls (pomerium)^w> On the day of the meeting the auspices were first taken and then a public official (praeco, accensus) made a verbal proclamation inviting the people to attend. After the auspices had been declared propitious and sacrifices offered, the presiding magistrate opened the proceedings. If the object of the meeting was the election of magistrates, the president announced the names of the candidates and could, if he thought proper, comment upon their comparative merits.^{^[344]} After he had finished, any magistrate of equal or higher rank or a tribune could come forth to address the people. Private citizens could also come forward to express their views, provided that they had first obtained permission from the president and the tribunes.^{^[345]} After the conclusion of the speeches and if no veto was raised by a tribune the

The Constitution of the Roman Republic 109 presiding magistrate called upon the people to separate and prepare for voting.

As was mentioned earlier, the voting in the centuriate assembly was done by centuries.

Each century had one vote which was decided by the majority of the individuals by which the century was composed. The assembly's decision on any proposal put before it was determined by the majority of the centuries. Thus the votes of at least ninety-seven centuries were needed for the passing of a proposal (193:2+1 centuries). However, the centuries of the first class together with the eighteen centuries of the equites, which made up ninety-eight centuries in all, could outvote the other four classes in the assembly if they all voted in the same way. This was the case notwithstanding the fact that the number of individuals contained in the other four classes outnumbered by far those included in the equites and the first class. Moreover, as the equestrian centuries and those of the first class were called upon to cast their votes first, a decision on a question could be reached by these alone, if they all voted in the same way, without the need to proceed further with the voting.^{^[346]} The obvious effect of this system was that, in all matters concerning the government of the state, the wealthy had the advantage over the poorer classes. The latter could exert some influence only in those cases where there was disagreement among the members of the upper classes.

The organisation of the centuriate assembly as well as the way in which it operated underwent some important changes in the third century BC. The practice of calling upon the wealthier centuries to cast their vote first was abandoned and the century that was to open the voting was decided by lot (sortiri). The century which was thus selected to commence the voting procedure was termed centuria praerogativa and its vote carried special weight as it was often followed by the majority of the centuries.^{^[347]}Furthermore, under a series of reforms, which Roman tradition attributes to the censor C. Flaminius, centuries were distributed on a tribal basis while the number of the centuries of the first class was reduced from eighty to seventy. As a result of these changes, the centuriate assembly appears to have been in some way combined with the assembly of the tribes. But as the sources provide little and often contradictory information about these developments, no clear picture of the new system can be drawn.

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Source: Mousourakis George. The Historical and Institutional Context of Roman Law. Routledge,2003. — 480 p.. 2003

The comitia centuriata

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