Episode 124 – The Military Tribunes with Consular Power

The role of the Military Tribune with Consular Power (tribuni militum consulari potestate) is very particular. It seems to have been created out of the need for a new way forward from the role of the consuls. In our previous episode we encountered them for the first time as part of a patrician plan to placate plebeian discontent in 445 BCE, but our ability to understand this period is complicated by a number of issues:

• How much did annalist historians like Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus understand about the early republic?
• What sources were they able to consult to verify their research into this unusual feature of Rome’s politics?
• And how might their view by further influenced by the ideas they retroject back into the early republic from the Augustan era they are writing under?

Both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus talk a little bit about their sources around this subject. Livy makes specific reference to the writer Licinius Macer while Dionysius makes note of the discrepancies in the various annalist records.

Episode 124 – The Military Tribunes with Consular Power

As Rome transitions into 444 BCE we find out about our first elected Military Tribunes with Consular Power, but it's not long before ambassadors from Ardea arrive to discuss their ongoing conflict involving Rome…

Things to listen out for:

• A misplaced assertion of proconsular power
• A very special eagle sound effect
• Some unfortunate problems with the auspices!

Our Players

Military Tribunes with Consular Power 444 BCE

• Aulus Sempronius A. f. – n. Atratinus
• Lucius Atilius -f. -n. Luscus
• Titus Cloelius – f. -n. Siculus

Suffect consuls of 444 BCE

• Lucius Papirius – f. – n. Mugillanus
• Lucius Sempronius  A. f. – n. Atratinus

Interrex 444 BCE

• Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbartus (consul many times)

Sources

• Dr G reads Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 11.61-62.
• Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.7.
• Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)
• Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis)
• Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press) 

Sound Credits

Thanks to BBC Sounds (Beta) for sound effects and the wonderful Bettina Joy de Guzman for our theme music.

Imperial Roman Veterans, an illustration by Peter Dennis as part of the Warlord Games ‘Hail Caesar' miniatures.

Automatically Generated Transcript

We’re exploring transcription options! The transcript below was automatically generated by otter.ai. Hopefully those Latin names and places can still be understood!

Dr Rad 0:00
All right. Welcome to a brand new episode of the partial historians. I am one of your hosts, Dr. Rad.

Dr G 0:09
And I am Dr. G. And what a thrill it is to be here for this episode.

Dr Rad 0:15
I know. So we have been tracing the history of Rome from the founding of the city. And last episode was kind of a turning point. So let's do a bit of a recap, shall we? Dr. G?

Dr G 0:26
Oh, yes. So we've had this really sort of quite dramatic moment for the Romans in terms of how they think about their politics. Yes. And for Livy, and Dionysus of helican S's this issue has been framed around class struggle, patricians versus plebeians. And we've had this play for power from the plebeians being like we would like actually to be part of the consulship. That might be nice.

Dr Rad 0:51
And while you're at it, we'd also like to be able to marry patricians because it seems a bit like segregation, otherwise,

Dr G 0:59
it is awkward. Yeah. To be ruled by people, and for there to be no class mobility. Yes, exactly. And this has led to what appears to be a very dastardly plan on the half of the patrician side, where they're like, look, it would be absolutely a sacred travesty to allow the plebeians to be consoles, because it's not just a Magister see of law. It has a ritual component, there are relationships with the gods to be maintained.

Dr Rad 1:33
Get your goofy little bean paws off the consulship.

Dr G 1:36
You're tainted, you can't be part of this.

Dr Rad 1:39
This is an us thing, not a wee thing. Yeah.

Dr G 1:43
And so the patricians are a bit like that. And on the other hand, they've decided that the crisis is so overwhelming, because Rome is basically facing war on every side true, surrounded by potential enemies, and they really need to raise an army. And they're like, We need the plebeians involved, because we've got to have fodder on the field.

Dr Rad 2:01
Ye