Late Roman Republic, Government [2/3]: Magistrates, Provinces [1/2]

Magistrates

In the Hannibalic War, members of prominent families were elected to high office at a young age. Early in the second century BC a legal career structure developed known as the cursus honorum (the ‘course of honours’). It was constitutionally  formalised by the tribune Lucius Villius (2) who in 180 BC passed the lex Villia annalis that made obligatory the taking offices in the order quaestor, aedile, praetor and consul, and required a two-year interval between promotions.

At seventeen an aristocrat wishing to embark on a political career was required to join the army. After a minimum of ten years’ service he could become a quaestor supervising the financial affairs of the state, and a plebeian quaestor could become a tribune looking after the interests of the people. At thirty-six a quaestor could become an aedile maintaining the infrastructure of the city. An aedile at thirty-nine could become a praetor (who in an emergency could lead an army) running the civil and military courts. 

From around 150 BC, a praetor at forty-two could become a consul holding imperium and leading armies in time of war. An ex-consul could become censor, who was normally appointed once every five years and conducted the five-yearly census. In times of dire emergency, the consuls could appoint a dictator who would hold double imperium for six months. 

Provinces [1/2]

Besides his military and administrative duties, the governor of a province had supreme jurisdiction with respect to matters both civil and criminal law. The task of collecting taxes in the provinces was assigned to a private contractor (publicani) who formed companies referred to as societas publicanorum.

Besides the ordinary taxes, e.g. the property tax, provincials were often also subjected to arbitrary demands of the local Roman officials. In 149 BC an attempt was made to check such abuses of power with the passing of the lex Calpurnia de repetundis by the tribune ⁰⁵Calpurnius Piso, under which a regular court was instituted to deal with such abuses. One of the worst of these, Gaius Verres, governor of Sicily (73-71 BC) (c.77; fl.80-43 BC), was prosecuted by ⁰²Tullius Cicero (=Cicero; 63; fl.90-43 BC) for allegedly extorting ten of thousands of Roman pounds of silver from his province.