In the ancient Rome, the Tribun S of the plebs are the representatives of the Plèbe.

They do not represent the populus in its entirety, since the plebs is later the populus (the whole of the people of Rome, including/understanding all the citizens of all the classes) except the patricians then except the Nobilitas . The whole of the passive and active means of action of the powerful orator compose the tribunicia potestas , the power tribunician. They have neither the capacities, neither of the attributes of a magistrate in his Roman meaning since they do not have the imperium nor of the right to take the omens, and they are not preceded either by Licteur S. They nevertheless are usually characterized as magistrates after their means of action, initially resulting from the Plèbe, had been gradually recognized and extended by the Sénat and the Patriciat.

Secession of the plebs

See also: First secession of the plebs

In 494 av. J. - C, whereas the external war was imminent, the Roman city undergoes a political serious attack. It is probably related to an economic crisis, the Roman historian Tite-Live calling upon the slavery for debts of many poor citizens, one can also evoke a political disappointment. Indeed, since the establishment of the Republic, the example of the Athenian democracy (reform of Clisthène) was known, and had raised hopes disappointed by the installation of the oligarchical Republic . This political crisis leads to a secession of part of the Roman people, just before its convocation out of weapons. It is thus about a strike of the Plebs. The people leave the city, and leave to be established on Mount-Crowned. He swears the union until death, gives himself institutions, whose powerful orators who must protect it, and returns only to Rome after Menenius Agrippa told them the history members and stomach.

The plebs ( plebs ) is however not the whole of the lower social layers of the Roman company: some customers remain faithful to their owners, of the patricians join it. Are plebeian those which, whatever their class, choose to be opposed to the oligarchical constitution and patrician of Rome.

Powerful orators of the plebs

The patricians had to recognize the powerful orators of the plebs, 2 in 493, out of mirror of both Consul S, 4 in 471 front J. - C and 10 in 457 front J. - C. Those do not have any the traditional capacities magistrates Rome: they cannot take the Auspices, they do not have the Imperium. Their role is to come to assistance of the plebs. Their function is collegial: they have each one the same capacity, and can be opposed to the action of one their colleagues, their capacities being cancelled then: it is the prohibitio .

Their power tribunician has various aspects. They are untouchable ( sacrosanctus ), and offer their inviolable person in protection to the absolute power of the consuls (function of assistance, or auxilium ). This capacity can be exerted by the powerful orator himself, or the threatened citizen who calls upon the powerful orator. This one made intercessio : it has the capacity to paralyze the legal action of a magistrate.

This mission of auxilium is also exerted to defend the interests of the plebs as a whole: it can use its right of Veto ( juice intercessionis ) against the action of all the magistrates, in all their actions: convocation of an assembly, votes of a law, elections, raised legions. It can even prohibit the Senate from expressing its opinion. Lastly, this capacity ends up being exerted even against the dictator. Only limit of this capacity: he was not exerted when the people were out of weapons, i.e. when the war was declared, but he was often used when the war was imminent.

Sacro-holiness

At the time of its secession on Mount-Crowned, the Plèbe voted a constitution in the form of a crowned law ( lex sacrata ), type of the law base of a military discipline among Italic people. This law dedicates to dead whoever (citizen, magistrate, plebeian, patrician) would not respect the organization of the plebs, or would make an attempt on the person of one of her chiefs. The sacro-holiness of the institutions of the plebs (powerful orators but also municipal officials of the plebs) was recognized by the patriciat in 449 front J. - C., by the Lex Horatiæ and was abolished only in a transitory way under Sylla.

The culprit of such an act is cursed (crime of attack to the interests of the plebs known as perduellio ), and any citizen can put an end to the stain which it constantly represents on the Roman city, by putting it at death.

The intercessio, tool of the mission of auxilium

The powerful orator exists to come to assistance of the plebs, it is the auxilium . He does it while carrying help with plebeian in particular, object of an action légale against his person or his goods, on behalf of a magistrate equipped with the imperium ; this citizen can call directly upon the protection of the powerful orator by the expression tribunos appello (I call upon the powerful orators). The powerful orator interposes physically between the citizen and the magistrate which threatens it (legally). The powerful orator then makes play his capacity of intercessio .

The powerful orator also carries assistance to the plebs as a whole, by using in a broader way the intercessio . When he judges that an action of a magistrate in exercise, whatever it is, threat the interests of the plebs, he is opposed to it and suspends it, preventing it convening an assembly, proceeding to an election, or the vote of a law, or even from questioning the Senate. The legislative device is thus blocked with its source even. This capacity was used massively with the V {{E}} and IV {{E}} front centuries J. - C., by preventing the consuls from proceeding to the lifting of the army.

These capacities were circumscribed in extreme cases of the city and one thousand beyond. Within these limits, their capacities are exerted permanently: they do not have the right to leave the city, the doors of their residence remain permanently open.

Justice tribunician

In order to be able to conclude their policy, the powerful orators gave each other the right to carry out the capital execution. Not having a torturer (the lictors are reserved to the constitutional magistrates), the powerful orators of the plebs trailed themselves condemned to them which they threw the top of the Roche Tarpéienne without judgment, with for only limit the intercessio of another powerful orator. The capital punishment could be replaced by a fine with the discretion of the powerful orator.

This capacity makes the powerful orator higher than the consul within the limits of the city: whereas the legal decisions or of coercion of the Consul are always under the threat of a intercessio of a powerful orator, the powerful orator, escapes to him completely with a measurement from repression of the consul.

Evolution of the tribunat

Integration in the city

With the recognition of the plebs, the capacities of the powerful orators increase:

1. they can convene the Sénat
2. their capacity of justice becomes a capacity of public avenger, who defends all the city, and the crime of perduellio extends to offenses increasingly far away from the function tribunician: the consuls who badly distributed the spoils, or who used the legionaries at private ends, or which made the war illegally, or which fled the enemy; the dictators having proceeded to the lifting with cruelty
3. However, starting from the IV {{E}} century, they must use the procedure comitiale:
4. * investigation of the powerful orator, who declares the culpability and pronounces the capital punishment;
5. * the comices, joined together with the collaboration of a consul or a praetor, cancel or confirm (case different from the tribunos appello or the provocatio AD populum ).

This procedure is also used for the sorrows of fine. Only the ways in fact on the powerful orator involves the setting with immediate death and the confiscation of the goods.

The function of powerful orator of the plebs was integrated into the Cursus honorum by the Lex Villia Annalis , which regulated in 180 av. J. - C. the succession of the magistratures and the minimal age to have to reach each one of them. The tribunat is the first of the magistratures, and it is necessary to be 27 years old to reach it.

The crisis of the Republic

With the crisis of the Republic at the end of the II {{E}} century front J. - C., these capacities gave place to demagogic overflows, after three centuries and half of perfectly balanced operation.

The function of defender of the plebs of the powerful orators declines, and they are used by the Senate starting from the II {{E}} century front J. - C.: their recruitment is directed, or a partisan within the college blocks his operation by opposing his intercessio to the action of his colleagues. In 120 av. J. - C., they are members of right of the Sénat.

But starting from 150 av. J. - C., the powerful orators of the plebs become the most savage adversaries of the Senate during the crisis of the Republic.

A law voted by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus in 133 av. J. - C. allows the dismissal of the powerful orators of the plebs.

The reforms of Sylla decapitate the tribunat: loss of the capacity of intercessio, they keep only auxilium towards the isolated citizens. The plebiscites must be approved as a preliminary by the Sénat; and finally, the powerful orators will not be able to exert any more of another magistrature, which transforms this function into dead end.

This reform was repealed by Pompée and Crassus in 70 av. J. - C.

Famous powerful orators

Among the famous powerful orators appear:

• Caius Licinius Stolon and Lucius Sextius Lateranus which obtained into -367 the access of plebeian to the consulate
• the Gracques, killed at the time of riots into -133 and -121
• Saturninus and Glaucia, demagogs in favor of Marius, killed in -99
• Livius Drusus, assassinated at his place in -91
• Clodius Pulcher, powerful orator into -58, killed into -52 during a confrontation between armed bands
• Marc Antoine, powerful orator in -49

The tribunat of the plebs under the Empire

Auguste, although patrician, was made allot the power tribunician ( tribunicia Potestas ) to life, which gave him a capacity of justice inside the city, and made it untouchable ( sacrosanctus ), faculty which it did not have with the consular Imperium .

The tribunat of the plebs remains a magistrature, from now on deprived of an active role and integrated like optional stage in the course of the Cursus honorum. As the other magistrates, the powerful orators of the plebs are designated by the Roman Sénat, after proposal of candidates by the emperor.