The Consul at Rome
The Civil Functions of the Consuls in the Roman Republic

This book is a systematic study of the consuls' civil tasks both within and outside the city of Rome.

Francisco Pina Polo (Author)

9780521190831, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 February 2011

390 pages, 2 b/w illus. 2 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.69 kg

In modern times there have been studies of the Roman Republican institutions as a whole as well as in-depth analyses of the senate, the popular assemblies, the tribunate of the plebs, the aedileship, the praetorship and the censorship. However, the consulship, the highest magistracy of the Roman Republic, has not received the same attention from scholars. The purpose of this book is to analyse the tasks that consuls performed in the civil sphere during their term of office between the years 367 and 50 BC, using the preserved ancient sources as its basis. In short, it is a study of the consuls 'at work', both within and outside the city of Rome, in such varied fields as religion, diplomacy, legislation, jurisdiction, colonisation, elections, and day-to-day politics. Clearly and accessibly written, it will provide an indispensable reference work for all scholars and students of the history of the Roman Republic.

Introduction
Part I. The Consular Functions in the Pre-Sullan Age (367–81): 1. The consuls taking office
2. Consuls and civic religion
3. Consuls, the agents of diplomacy in the Roman state
4. Communication between consuls and the people: edicts and contiones
5. Consuls as legislators
6. The jurisdiction of the consuls
7. Consuls as promoters of public works
8. Colonization and distribution of land
9. Appointment of a dictator
10. Consuls presiding over elections
11. The consular year in the pre-Sullan age
Part II. The Consular Functions in the Post-Sullan Age (80–50): 12. The supposed lex Cornelia de provinciis ordinandis and the presence of consuls in Rome in the post-Sullan period
13. Consular functions from the year 80 to 50
14. The consular year in the post-Sullan period
15. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]