Killing Romans: Legitimizing Violence in Cicero and Caesar by Jacqueline

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Killing Romans: Legitimizing Violence in Cicero and Caesar by Jacqueline Killing Romans: Legitimizing Violence in Cicero and Caesar by Jacqueline J. Stimson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Classical Studies) in The University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Professor David S. Potter, Chair Professor Jane Chaplin, Middlebury College Professor Arlene W. Saxonhouse Professor Celia E. Schultz Jacqueline J. Stimson jpincus@umich.edu ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6443-5236 © Jacqueline J. Stimson 2017 Meis Parentibus ii Acknowledgements As overwhelming as the dissertation process is, I am extremely lucky to have had the help of so many wonderful and thoughtful people. First, I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to my adviser, David Potter, for his time, energy, and constant encouragement. In the beginning, he knew when to let me find my way in the darkness, even when it seemed like all I was finding were dead ends, and when to gently nudge me in a productive direction. Throughout, he has been an endless fount of knowledge and scholarship, and unfailingly supportive of my ideas. I have learned so much from him, not only about Roman history, but also the art of articulating and refining arguments. I am also thankful for my other committee members, Celia Schultz, Arlene Saxonhouse, and Jane Chaplin. My dissertation as a whole is stronger because of my meetings with them and their attentive feedback on chapters. They have helped me go outside my comfort zone into new areas of research and exploration, and I am grateful for their support. The resources at the University of Michigan that are free and open to all graduate students are unparalleled. I am grateful for the many workshops and opportunities offered by the Rackham Graduate School, Sweetland Writing Center, and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, for they have helped me to define my goals as a writer and a thinker. I particularly want to thank Louis Cicciarelli from the Sweetland Writing Center, who was my writing consultant during the wonderful bootcamp known as the Sweetland Dissertation Writing Institute. He taught me the value of separating content from rhetoric, which was enormously helpful in evaluating the clarity of my writing. His moral support, along with Kelly Slay and my iii DWI workshop group, gave me the push I needed to blaze through the rest of my dissertation and to revise it with a new understanding of what I wanted to accomplish. I would not have survived graduate school without the community of graduate students in the Department of Classical Studies. First, to my cohort, the Third Triumvirate, Amy Pistone and Nick Geller, as well as to my fellow IPGRH cohort, Tim Hart and Tiggy McLaughlin. I am so lucky to have known all of them, and to have spent the past seven years commiserating about classes, exams, and dissertating, as well as celebrating with them the completion of the above. In addition, I want to thank Ellen Lee, Evan Lee, Clara Bosak-Schroeder, and Michael Leese for filling the role of “wise older graduate student” and “older sibling” countless times, and more importantly for being dear friends throughout my time here in Ann Arbor. I will treasure the memories I have made with these wonderful people, and look forward to making more. Living in Michigan, far from my home in Washington, has been an adventure. My parents, siblings, and friends from home have been an invaluable support network. They have been patient of my less-frequent phone calls and Skype sessions, when I have been too busy to talk, and understanding, when I come home only briefly for the holidays and have to spend much of my free time working. Their unwavering belief in me propelled me through many difficult times and I am so thankful for all of them. Finally, I have only love and appreciation for my husband, Drew. Navigating a relationship during graduate school can be tricky, to say the least, but he has made my life infinitely happier and his steadfast support has enabled me to succeed far beyond what I had hoped. This is just the beginning. iv Table of Contents Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii List of Tables vi Abstract vii Introduction 1 CHAPTER I: Cicero in 63 23 CHAPTER II: Cicero and Civil Strife 68 CHAPTER III: Caesar in Gaul 110 CHAPTER IV: Caesar and Civil War 154 CHAPTER V: Rationalizing Violence and Politics 211 Works Cited 240 v List of Tables Table 1. Violent and Graphic Language in the De Bello Gallico 113 Table 2. Violent and Graphic Language in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita 21-27 116 Table 3. Violent and Graphic Language in the De Bello Civili 159 vi Abstract In this dissertation, I examine Cicero and Caesar’s attitudes towards the legality of executing Roman citizens in the name of the state, with a particular focus on the senatus consultum ultimum (s.c.u.). I argue that their stance on this issue directly corresponded to their political ideology and conception of the Republican government. Moreover, I show that their positions were consistent over the course of their political careers—with Cicero supporting and Caesar condemning such acts of violence—but that they adapted their rhetoric to the changing political situation. The structure of my dissertation highlights this diachronic perspective. In Chapter 1, I explore Cicero’s justification of the s.c.u. in his political speeches of 63 BCE, the height of his career. I argue that his attitude fits his vision of the res publica as a mixed constitution. In Chapter 2, I illustrate that Cicero maintained the same defense of the s.c.u. in speeches from 52 and at the end of his career in 44-43, but his justifications and rhetoric shifted. In Chapter 3, I show that Caesar’s rhetorical strategy of suppressing violence in his account of the Gallic wars (58-52) was consistent with his general condemnation of decrees like the s.c.u. and the image he creates of himself as the ideal leader of Rome. I argue that his attitude aligned with his view of the res publica as the Roman people, whose rights must be protected above all. In Chapter 4, I examine his account of the civil war with Pompey (49-48), and show that his strategy of placing blame for Roman deaths on the Pompeians was integral to his political ideology and constructed image as a champion of the people. Chapter 5 concludes the Roman period and looks forward at the reception of these ideas in Machiavelli, Locke, and the Federalists. vii Introduction The last century of the Roman Republic can be characterized as a series of extreme or extraordinary circumstances, a time when there were an unusual number of powerful individuals at Rome, unprecedented powers granted to those men, and a marked increase in civil violence. The inability of the Republican government to adequately control any of these elements hastened its decline and eventual transformation into an Empire under Augustus. One particular phenomenon of the Late Republic that encapsulated each of these elements was the so-called senatus consultum ultimum (s.c.u.), a decree of the senate which almost always preceded the killing of prominent Romans.1 This “final” or “last” decree of the senate was purportedly created to protect the state from domestic threats. Its use was hotly debated, however, for subsequent actions done in the name of this decree frequently violated the right to a trial guaranteed to all Roman citizens. Precariously perched at the intersection of violence and politics, the s.c.u. illustrates a major division in Roman politics. In this dissertation, I examine how the killing of Romans was both condoned and condemned by two Romans who were at the center of this debate: Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Julius Caesar. I argue that their stance towards this controversial measure directly corresponded to their political ideology and conception of the Republican government. Moreover, I show that their positions were consistent over the course of their political careers—with Cicero supporting and Caesar condemning such acts of violence— but that they adapted their rhetoric to the changing political situation. In highlighting this 1 Although it was Caesar who dubbed it the senatus consultum ultimum in reference to the decree passed against him in 49 (BC 1.5.3), the title has nevertheless stuck because it represents the last resort measure for the senate, and one that heralded the end of the Republic. 1 connection between violence and politics, I hope to illustrate how this pattern is not only intrinsic to our understanding of the end of the Republic, but is also an enduring and inevitable facet of non-authoritarian governments. Violence and the Late Republic Certain legal measures existed for emergency situations in the Republic: tumultus, an emergency levy raised to meet immediate attacks on the city, and iustitium, the suspension of all business not pertaining to war.2 In both cases, these declarations had been historically used for external enemies (hostes) whose armies were directly threatening Rome. The dictatorship, which in its original form lasted from 501 to 202 BCE,3 was the final measure in protecting the welfare of the state and its job was quite specific: once appointed, the dictator would pick a magister equitum, lead the army out to meet the enemy, and upon successful completion of the war, abdicate his powers. In other cases, dictators would be called to fulfill the duties of a consul, such as holding elections, choosing senators, and occasionally dealing with internal strife.4 Despite the extraordinary powers conferred onto this individual, which separated them from the usual Roman magistrates, the dictatorship in the early and mid-Republic was a highly regularized and unproblematic institution.5 The murders of first Tiberius Gracchus in 133 and then Gaius Gracchus in 121 set into 2 G.
Recommended publications
  • Fr M Whence We Came
    Fr m Whence We Came A backward glance for one Lavoie family branch with genealogical and historical highlights supplemented by a tabulation of persons and their marriage~ for over three hundred and fifty years COMPILED. BY JOHN MiiAN LAVOIE 1969 Printed: Milwaukee, Wisconsin NOTES - CORRECTIONS - ADDITIONS PAGE 73 - NONEXISTENT - ERROR IN PAGE NUMBERING PAGE 132 LINE 5 TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR, CHANGE NAMES TO NAMED, PAGE 135 LINE 12 TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR, CHANGE HISE TO HIS PAGE 166 46 ADD M, C,A, 1825 47 PAGE 167 92 ADD M. C,A. 1800 93 lSLESBOROUGH, MAINE 94 Aon Ma C,A, 1788 95 lsLESBOROUGH, MAINE 134 ADD M, 13 JANUARY 1777 KAMOURASKA PAGE 168 188 Aon M. 9 JANUARY 1764 189 MARSHFIELD, MASS, 190 Aon M, c,A. 1766 191 PAGE 170 376 Ann M, 11 DECEMBER 1724 377 . SCITUATE,. MASS, 380 ADD M. 9 FEBRUARY 1737 381 SCITUATE, MASS, 382 Ann M. 5 Nov.EMBER 1730 383 PEMBROKE, MASS, PAGE 172 570 Aon 1 JUNE 1700 PAGE 173 616 Aon M, 24 NovEMBER 1723 617 STE, ANNE DE LA PocATIERE PAGE 174 752 Ann M, c.A, 1690 753 MARSHFIELD, MASS, 754 Ann 27 JUNE 1683. 755 SCITUATE, MASS, PAGE 174 764 ADD M. 26 APRIL 1698 765 MARSHFIELD, MASS~ PAGE 175 1066 Ann M, 3 JUNE 1698 1067 Sr. PIERRE, I.O. PAGE 176 1094 Ann M, 13 SEPTEMBER 1654 1095 QUEBEC PAGE 181 1504 Ann Ma 2 MAY 1661 1505 1506 Ann M, 24 JANUARY 1664 1507 1508 Ann M. 20 NOVEMBER 1656 1509 1510 ADD M, C,A, 1660 1511 1524 ADD M, C,A, 1640 1525 1528 ADD M, 21 DECEMBER 1648 1529 MARSHFIELD, MASS, 1532 ADD M•· c .·A.
    [Show full text]
  • ROMAN POLITICS DURING the JUGURTHINE WAR by PATRICIA EPPERSON WINGATE Bachelor of Arts in Education Northeastern Oklahoma State
    ROMAN POLITICS DURING THE JUGURTHINE WAR By PATRICIA EPPERSON ,WINGATE Bachelor of Arts in Education Northeastern Oklahoma State University Tahlequah, Oklahoma 1971 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS May, 1975 SEP Ji ·J75 ROMAN POLITICS DURING THE JUGURTHINE WAR Thesis Approved: . Dean of the Graduate College 91648 ~31 ii PREFACE The Jugurthine War occurred within the transitional period of Roman politics between the Gracchi and the rise of military dictators~ The era of the Numidian conflict is significant, for during that inter­ val the equites gained political strength, and the Roman army was transformed into a personal, professional army which no longer served the state, but dedicated itself to its commander. The primary o~jec­ tive of this study is to illustrate the role that political events in Rome during the Jugurthine War played in transforming the Republic into the Principate. I would like to thank my adviser, Dr. Neil Hackett, for his patient guidance and scholarly assistance, and to also acknowledge the aid of the other members of my counnittee, Dr. George Jewsbury and Dr. Michael Smith, in preparing my final draft. Important financial aid to my degree came from the Dr. Courtney W. Shropshire Memorial Scholarship. The Muskogee Civitan Club offered my name to the Civitan International Scholarship Selection Committee, and I am grateful for their ass.istance. A note of thanks is given to the staff of the Oklahoma State Uni­ versity Library, especially Ms. Vicki Withers, for their overall assis­ tance, particularly in securing material from other libraries.
    [Show full text]
  • First Triumvirate and Rise of Octavian BY: Jake, Eliza and Maheen First Triumvirate
    First Triumvirate and Rise of Octavian BY: Jake, Eliza and Maheen First Triumvirate • An alliance of the three most powerful men in Rome, Marcus Licinus Crassus, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Gneaus Pompey Magnus. Rome was in chaos and the 3 seized control of the Republic. • The three would dominate Roman politics for personal gains throughout the territories of the Republic. Julius Caesar • In Rome, Julius Caesar was elected as the tribune of the Plebs, military tribune, and governor of many provinces throughout the Republic. • Believed Crassus helped Julius Caesar win the election to become the Propraetor or governor of Hispania in 63 B.C.E. • Julius returned to Rome after his term as governor. Caesar had a business or political agreement with Pompey and Crassus in 60 B.C.E. Caesar was the consul while Pompey and Crassus were in the senate. • Created the First Triumvirate • After his term, Julius was in deeply in debt politically and financially to Crassus and desperately needed to raise money. Marcus Crassus • Crassus was the richest man in all the Roman Republic. He was sharp and clever in Roman politics. He would be a senator and even become consul a few times. • He was a mentor to Julius Caesar in his early career. • Gained much fame during the Spartacus rebellion but much of it was stolen by Pompey. • He was a longtime rival to Pompey Magnus and this would be his eventually downfall. He would ally with Caesar and Pompey, but strived for military victory over Pompey. He went to Parthia where he was defeated at Carrhae.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Perspective on the Early Roman Dictatorship, 501-300 B.C
    A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE EARLY ROMAN DICTATORSHIP, 501-300 B.C. BY Jeffrey A. Easton Submitted to the graduate degree program in Classics and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s of Arts. Anthony Corbeill Chairperson Committee Members Tara Welch Carolyn Nelson Date defended: April 26, 2010 The Thesis Committee for Jeffrey A. Easton certifies that this is the approved Version of the following thesis: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE EARLY ROMAN DICTATORSHIP, 501-300 B.C. Committee: Anthony Corbeill Chairperson Tara Welch Carolyn Nelson Date approved: April 27, 2010 ii Page left intentionally blank. iii ABSTRACT According to sources writing during the late Republic, Roman dictators exercised supreme authority over all other magistrates in the Roman polity for the duration of their term. Modern scholars have followed this traditional paradigm. A close reading of narratives describing early dictatorships and an analysis of ancient epigraphic evidence, however, reveal inconsistencies in the traditional model. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a new model of the early Roman dictatorship that is based upon a reexamination of the evidence for the nature of dictatorial imperium and the relationship between consuls and dictators in the period 501-300 BC. Originally, dictators functioned as ad hoc magistrates, were equipped with standard consular imperium, and, above all, were intended to supplement consuls. Furthermore, I demonstrate that Sulla’s dictatorship, a new and genuinely absolute form of the office introduced in the 80s BC, inspired subsequent late Republican perceptions of an autocratic dictatorship.
    [Show full text]
  • The Developmentof Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrachs to The
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. The Development of Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrarchs to the Herakleian Dynasty General Introduction The emperor, as head of state, was the most important and powerful individual in the land; his official portraits and to a lesser extent those of the empress were depicted throughout the realm. His image occurred most frequently on small items issued by government officials such as coins, market weights, seals, imperial standards, medallions displayed beside new consuls, and even on the inkwells of public officials. As a sign of their loyalty, his portrait sometimes appeared on the patches sown on his supporters’ garments, embossed on their shields and armour or even embellishing their jewelry. Among more expensive forms of art, the emperor’s portrait appeared in illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and wall paintings such as murals and donor portraits. Several types of statues bore his likeness, including those worshiped as part of the imperial cult, examples erected by public 1 officials, and individual or family groupings placed in buildings, gardens and even harbours at the emperor’s personal expense.
    [Show full text]
  • Université De Montréal Julius Caesar in Gaul and Germania
    Université de Montréal Julius Caesar in Gaul and Germania: Strategy, tactics, and the use of aggressive diplomacy as a tool for war Par Patrick Dakkach Département d’histoire, Université de Montréal, Faculté des arts et des sciences Mémoire présenté en vue de l’obtention du grade de la Maitrise En Histoire, option Recherche Mai 2021 © Patrick Dakkach, 2021 Université de Montréal Unité académique : Département d’histoire, Université de Montréal, Faculté des arts et des sciences Ce mémoire intitulé Julius Caesar in Gaul and Germania: Strategy, tactics, and the use of aggressive diplomacy as a tool for war Présenté par Patrick Dakkach A été évalué(e) par un jury composé des personnes suivantes Philippe Genequand Président-rapporteur Christian Raschle Directeur de recherche Michael Fronda Membre du jury Résumé Alors que César et ses écrits ont fait l’objet d’une étude approfondie au cours des deux derniers siècles, comment étudier ses commentaires de manière différente? En utilisant une nouvelle approche mise au point par Arthur M. Eckstein dans son œuvre Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome qui soutient que Rome a conquis de manière opportuniste l'Italie et la Méditerranée orientale à travers une série de guerres défensives ou « d’invitations ». La nouveauté de cette approche est son utilisation des paradigmes de la science politique misant surtout sur le concept de l'anarchie réaliste. En tant que telle, cette thèse utilisera le cadre d'Eckstein et l'appliquera au Bellum Gallicum de César pour montrer que, contrairement à l'historiographie traditionnelle, César n'a pas conquis la Gaule par bellicosité et ambition personnelle, mais plutôt à la suite d'invitation directe de ses alliés gaulois le poussant à intervenir défensivement au nom du bellum iustum.
    [Show full text]
  • The Late Republic in 5 Timelines (Teacher Guide and Notes)
    1 180 BC: lex Villia Annalis – a law regulating the minimum ages at which a individual could how political office at each stage of the cursus honorum (career path). This was a step to regularising a political career and enforcing limits. 146 BC: The fall of Carthage in North Africa and Corinth in Greece effectively brought an end to Rome’s large overseas campaigns for control of the Mediterranean. This is the point that the historian Sallust sees as the beginning of the decline of the Republic, as Rome had no rivals to compete with and so turn inwards, corrupted by greed. 139 BC: lex Gabinia tabelleria– the first of several laws introduced by tribunes to ensure secret ballots for for voting within the assembliess (this one applied to elections of magistrates). 133 BC – the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus, who along with his younger brother, is seen as either a social reformer or a demagogue. He introduced an agrarian land that aimed to distribute Roman public land to the poorer elements within Roman society (although this act quite likely increased tensions between the Italian allies and Rome, because it was land on which the Italians lived that was be redistributed). He was killed in 132 BC by a band of senators led by the pontifex maximus (chief priest), because they saw have as a political threat, who was allegedly aiming at kingship. 2 123-121 BC – the younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus was tribune in 123 and 122 BC, passing a number of laws, which apparent to have aimed to address a number of socio-economic issues and inequalities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sleep of Reason in the Bellum Civile of Petronius (Sat. 119, 58-60)
    Paolo Monella, The Sleep of Reason Paolo Monella The Sleep of Reason in the Bellum civile of Petronius (Sat. 119, 58-60) 0. Introduction The Bellum civile, a 289-line epic poem included in the Satyricon by Petronius, is the fruit of a literary polemic. The character Eumolpus, although a pompous and not very successful rhetorician, seems to be acknowledged by the protagonist Encolpius as an arbiter of artistic and especially literary taste (though not without a veil of irony). In chapter 118 of the novel (Handout 4.2), Eumolpus argues against what we could call the corrupt “Lucanian” tendencies of contemporary epic poetry. He claims that by suppressing the role of the gods in favor of fate and men epic poetry has been reduced to some degraded form of “versified history” (cfr. Petr. Sat. 118.6: non enim res gestae versibus comprehendendae sunt, quod longe melius historici faciunt). Eumolpus then provides the Bellum civile, as a specimen of allegedly good epic poetry on the topic of Roman civil wars. The only direct term of comparison is constituted for us by Lucan’s Pharsalia, due to the unfortunate loss of the early imperial epic production. Since the precise target of Eumopus’ polemic is not explicitly mentioned, he could have had in mind Lucan’s precedents or imitators as well. Yet, if we consider the literary success of Lucan in the Neronian period, he has good chances of being at least the main target, and this is the reason why so many studies have focused on the relations between Petronius’ Bellum civile and the Pharsalia, including Sullivan, Walsh, George, Grimal (see the essential bibliography at the end of your Handout, Handout 5).
    [Show full text]
  • 75 AD NUMA POMPILIUS Legendary, 8Th-7Th Century B.C. Plutarch Translated by John Dryden
    75 AD NUMA POMPILIUS Legendary, 8th-7th Century B.C. Plutarch translated by John Dryden Plutarch (46-120) - Greek biographer, historian, and philosopher, sometimes known as the encyclopaedist of antiquity. He is most renowned for his series of character studies, arranged mostly in pairs, known as “Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans” or “Parallel Lives.” Numa Pompilius (75 AD) - A study of the life of Numa Pompilius, an early Roman king. NUMA POMPILIUS THOUGH the pedigrees of noble families of Rome go back in exact form as far as Numa Pompilius, yet there is great diversity amongst historians concerning the time in which he reigned; a certain writer called Clodius, in a book of his entitled Strictures on Chronology, avers that the ancient registers of Rome were lost when the city was sacked by the Gauls, and that those which are now extant were counterfeited, to flatter and serve the humour of some men who wished to have themselves derived from some ancient and noble lineage, though in reality with no claim to it. And though it be commonly reported that Numa was a scholar and a familiar acquaintance of Pythagoras, yet it is again contradicted by others, who affirm that he was acquainted with neither the Greek language nor learning, and that he was a person of that natural talent and ability as of himself to attain to virtue, or else that he found some barbarian instructor superior to Pythagoras. Some affirm, also, that Pythagoras was not contemporary with Numa, but lived at least five generations after him; and that some other Pythagoras, a native of Sparta, who, in the sixteenth Olympiad, in the third year of which Numa became king, won a prize at the Olympic race, might, in his travel through Italy, have gained acquaintance with Numa, and assisted him in the constitution of his kingdom; whence it comes that many Laconian laws and customs appear amongst the Roman institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • The End of Local Magistrates in the Roman Empire
    The end of local magistrates in the Roman Empire Leonard A. CURCHIN University of Waterloo, Canadá lcurchin@uwaterloo.ca Recibido: 15 de julio de 2013 Aceptado: 10 de diciembre de 2013 ABSTRACT Previous studies of the status of local magistrates in the Late Empire are unsatisfying and fail to explain when and why local magistracies ended. With the aid of legal, epigraphic, papyrological and literary sources, the author re-examines the functions and chronology of both regular and quasi-magistrates, among them the curator, defensor and pater civitatis. He finds that the expense of office-holding was only part of the reason for the extinction of regular magistracies. More critical was the failure of local magistrates to control finances and protect the plebeians. Key words: Cursus honorum. Late Roman Empire. Roman administration. Roman cities. Roman gov- ernment. Roman magistrates. El fin de los magistrados locales en el Imperio romano RESUMEN Los estudios previos relativos a la condición de los magistrados locales durante el Bajo Imperio son poco satisfactorios, porque dejan sin aclarar cuándo y cómo se extinguieron las magistraturas locales. Con ayuda de fuentes jurídicas, epigráficas, papirológicas y literarias, el autor examina de nuevo las funciones y la cronología de magistrados regulares y cuasi-magistrados, como el curator, el defensor y el pater civitatis. Se considera que los gastos aparejados a los cargos públicos explican sólo en parte la extinción de las magistraturas regulares; más crucial fue, en este sentido, el hecho de que los magistra- dos locales de este período fallasen a la hora de restringir los gastos o de proteger a los plebeyos.
    [Show full text]
  • Distortions in the Historical Record Concerning Ager Publicus, Leges Agrariae, and the Gracchi Maria Therese Jeffrey Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH
    Xavier University Exhibit Honors Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate 2011-3 Distortions in the Historical Record Concerning Ager Publicus, Leges Agrariae, and the Gracchi Maria Therese Jeffrey Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Follow this and additional works at: http://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, and the Other Classics Commons Recommended Citation Jeffrey, Maria Therese, "Distortions in the Historical Record Concerning Ager Publicus, Leges Agrariae, and the Gracchi" (2011). Honors Bachelor of Arts. 22. http://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab/22 This Capstone/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate at Exhibit. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Bachelor of Arts by an authorized administrator of Exhibit. For more information, please contact exhibit@xavier.edu. Distortions in the Historical Record Concerning Ager Publicus, Leges Agrariae, and the Gracchi Maria Jeffrey Introduction: Scholarship on the Gracchi is largely based on the accounts of Plutarch and Appian, historians who were far removed temporally from the Gracchi themselves. It is not known from which sources Plutarch and Appian derive their accounts, which presents problems for the modern historian aiming to determine historical fact. The ancient sources do not equip the modern historian to make many definitive claims about the Gracchan agrarian reform, much less about the motives of the Gracchi themselves. Looking to tales of earlier agrarian reform through other literary sources as well as exploring the types of land in question and the nature of the agrarian crisis through secondary sources also yields ambiguous results.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lex Sempronia Agraria: a Soldier's Stipendum
    THE LEX SEMPRONIA AGRARIA: A SOLDIER’S STIPENDUM by Raymond Richard Hill A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Boise State University August 2016 © 2016 Raymond Richard Hill ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COLLEGE DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND FINAL READING APPROVALS of the thesis submitted by Raymond Richard Hill Thesis Title: The Lex Sempronia Agraria: A Soldier’s Stipendum Date of Final Oral Examination: 16 June 2016 The following individuals read and discussed the thesis submitted by student Raymond Richard Hill, and they evaluated his presentation and response to questions during the final oral examination. They found that the student passed the final oral examination. Katherine V. Huntley, Ph.D. Chair, Supervisory Committee Lisa McClain, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Lee Ann Turner, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee The final reading approval of the thesis was granted by Katherine V. Huntley, Ph.D., Chair of the Supervisory Committee. The thesis was approved for the Graduate College by Jodi Chilson, M.F.A., Coordinator of Theses and Dissertations. DEDICATION To Kessa for all of her love, patience, guidance and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Dr. Katherine Huntley for her hours spent proofing my work, providing insights and making suggestions on research materials. To Dr. Charles Matson Odahl who started this journey with me and first fired my curiosity about the Gracchi. To the history professors of Boise State University who helped me become a better scholar. v ABSTRACT This thesis examines mid-second century BCE Roman society to determine the forces at work that resulted in the passing of a radical piece of legislation known as the lex Sempronia agraria.
    [Show full text]