Roman Empire

RESEARCH PAPER

Roman Republican politicians were drawn largely from an ancient elite of wealthy families. These families, known as the nobility, dominated access to the consulships; between them they held over 80% of the consulships in the last century of the Republic. Active politics took place within this framework, and was characterised largely by personal and political feuds between individual members of the elite. Because this elite was defined by office holding (the nobility consisted of those descended from consuls), political activity took place within a context of magistracies and public events. Individual members of the nobility had to pursue careers in politics, not just from their own ambition, but to preserve the standing of their families: the Sergii in the middle years of the republic, and the Fabii towards the end are two examples of famous families shrunken in power. The ideal political career was set out in the Lex Villia of 180 BC: military service in one's twenties, quaestor at thirty (conferring membership in the Senate), aedile or tribune in one's mid-thirties, praetor at 39 and consul at 42. But the question arises: how were Roman politicians able to gain election to these offices and thus be politically successful?

The essential ingredient for an aspirant politician, whatever his family background, was wealth: the Roman elite was a moneyed elite. Constant outlay was important in public life: a politician had to spend freely on his clients, on his household, on slaves (particularly gladiators, for personal protection) and on investment. The expenses for elections were also astronomical. Candidates had to provide themselves with a magnificent retinue and had to provide spectacles and gifts for the populace: chariot races, theatrical shows, wild beast hunts and particularly gladiators. Direct bribery was also common, and represented a massive outlay - in the late 60s, Caesar had accumulated debts of several thousand talents due to his aedileship, his praetorian campaign, and his pontifical campaign. In cases of prosecution, wealth was also necessary to bribe jurors, and all this wealth had to come from somewhere -normally the hapless provincials. Indeed, by the late Republic it was a standard joke that a governor had to amass three fortunes: one to pay for his election expenses, one to bribe the jury for his extortion trial, and the third to keep.

In most cases, a candidate's pedigree was also important. As many statistical studies have shown (particularly those of Broughton, Badian and Gruen), the nobility dominated access to the consulship.