Greetings, Question

[LadyJemima]

Just wanted to pop in and introduce myself! My name is Alissa, I am 21, and live in the US. During the past few months I've had an increasing interest in learning about Roman history. I am sometimes housebound due to severe chronic pain and fatigue, and often spend my time watching historical documentaries on TV. After watching a few scattered shows on Rome my curiosity was piqued and suddenly I find myself downright fascinated with the culture. I'm interested in all ancient civilizations (a passion that has developed recently during the past year) but Rome in particular has called out me. I can't really figure out why, though I've tried.

 

That said, I am very much a beginner. I have been tackling MacKay's "Ancient Rome" from the library (it had fairly good reviews and begins at the beginning) and as is my habit, I am taking my own notes down along the way. I have to admit that joining this forum is akin to a gradeschooler walking into a Mensa meeting; I'm afraid my questions will be ridiculously simple and I will give the members here a good laugh from time to time...hopefully not too often. I have a lot of other "projects" in my life so my posts here will probably be sporadic, but I'm really, really looking forward to being part of such a great community.

 

So, with some embarrassment, I will put forth my first question about ancient Rome. Here is a section of my recent notes:

 

•578-535: Reign of King Servius, sixth ruler of Rome. Servius is credited with several important changes that extended into the Republic:

o Servius is believed to have seized power instead of being elected by the comita curiata and instead relied on the army for political support, thus shifting electoral power from the hands of a small elite group into the hands of the Roman populous [**here my question will be inserted**]. (Populous comes from Latin populari “to plunder”). Later in the Republic, this military power later became formalized in the form of centuries who could cast a vote in what was called a centuriate assembly.

o Divided the populous of Rome into tribes (entirely separate from the English distinction of primitive ethnic groups, tribes instead may be defined “districts”).

o Each citizen was enrolled into one of 24 (later 35) tribes during the first (and subsequent) census. This original census was the distribution of peoples into five classes by wealth and rank, for the purpose of determining the potential number of soldiers and arms available to Rome. Later, in the Republic, each tribe held power as a voting “unit” during what was called a tribal assembly.

o Divided land into centuria: parcels of land equal to 100 heredia (an ancient unit of measurement). Later, during the Republic, “century” came to denote military units of 100 soldiers who could cast a single group vote in a centuriate assembly.

 

Populus: Collective name referring to the entirety of Roman civilians regardless of rank or wealth. At the time of assemblies, the populous consisted entirely of patricians and after [date??] voting rights were awarded to plebeians as well. The populous were the ultimate authority in voting on matters of the state but often consulted learned men to avoid the withdraw of the blessings of heaven on their actions. The populous was also limited by the summation of magistrates and could not convene an assembly at their own accord, and had only the ability to answer “yes” or “no” to a proposal. The assemblies of the populous are called comitia and convened in three ways: curies, centuries, and tribes.

~curies:

~centuries:

~tribes:

 

I am having trouble understanding the division of the populous (as you can see I have left the last three definitions blank because I am not sure how they too are divided within the populous--i.e. can a member of a tribe be a century as well?). MacKay seems to refer to it solely as a military population (perhaps it was so in the Kingdom?) If so, did it expand to include those inside the pomerium after the Struggle of the Orders? (This, by the way, is where my knowledge of Roman chronology stops dead). Any expansion that you could provide would be appreciated. I'm know I'm missing a few pieces of the puzzle here.

 

Cheers,

Alissa

Edited January 1, 2009 by LadyJemima

[Artimi]

Welcome Lady Jemina

 

I am fairly new here too, but I find this community to be quite welcoming and enjoyable. Oh and quite helpful

 

Two general history books on Rome I have found helpful are

 

These Were The Romans by G.I.F. Tingay and J. Badcock

 

A History of the Roman People 4th edition , by Allen M. Ward, Fritz M. Heichelheim and Cedric A. Yeo

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Hi Lady Jemima and welcome to UNRV.

 

HERE would be a good place to start. There is a wealth of information right here on this site, I'm sure you'll find answers to most of questions.

 

Happy reading.