The Laws of the Roman People : Public Law in the Expansion and Decline of the Roman Republic

"This intellectually powerful and highly original book examines Roman expansion through the lens of public lawmaking, the process of negotiation and debate by which citizen assemblies resolved conflict and expressed consensus. Williamson incisively examines how problems of expansion were managed, and boldly argues that in the end it was expansion itself—both of the electorate and its leadership—that overwhelmed the problem-solving capacities of public lawmaking and led to the breakdown of the Republic." American Historical Association Contents......Page 22 List of Tables......Page 24 List of Maps......Page 26 Abbreviations......Page 28 Part One: Patterns and Process......Page 30 1. Public Law in Rome......Page 32 2. Presentation: Oratory and Law Drafts......Page 91 3. Legitimization: Participants and Procedures......Page 129 Part Two: The Expansion of Rome......Page 158 4. The Conquest of Italy......Page 160 5. Incorporation: Citizenship and Military Service......Page 220 6. Convergence: The City of Rome......Page 268 Part Three: The Decline of the Republic......Page 312 7. A Roman Balance......Page 314 8. Crisis and Restoration, 91–70......Page 353 9. The Demise of Public Law, 69–44......Page 396 Epilogue......Page 444 Appendix A: Assembling and Processing Evidence......Page 466 Appendix B: Representativeness of Compilation......Page 474 Appendix C: List of Reliable Laws and Proposals by Year, Latin Name, and Subject, 350–25 BCE......Page 480 Cited Works and Select Bibliography......Page 504 Index......Page 524 For hundreds of years, the Roman people produced laws in popular assemblies attended by tens of thousands of voters to publicly forge resolutions to issues that might otherwise have been unmanageable. Callie Williamson's book, The Law of the Roman People, finds that the key to Rome's survival and growth during the most formative period of empire, roughly 350 to 44 B.C.E., lies in its hitherto enigmatic public lawmaking assemblies which helped extend Roman influence and control. Williamson bases her rigorous and innovative work on the entire body of surviving laws preserved in ancient reports of proposed and enacted legislation from these public assemblies. Public Law In Rome -- Presentation : Oratory And Law Drafts -- Legitimization : Participants And Procedures -- The Conquest Of Italy -- Incorporation : Citizenship And Military Service -- Convergence : The City Of Rome -- A Roman Balance -- Crisis And Restoration -- The Demise Of Public Law -- Appendix A : Assembling And Processing Evidence -- Appendix B : Representativeness Of Compilation -- Appendix C : List Of Reliable Laws And Proposals By Year, Latin Name, And Subject, 350-25 Bc. Callie Williamson. Includes Bibliography And Index. IN 81, AT THE conclusion of a bloody civil war, the Roman people approved a bill sponsored by L. Valerius Flaccus, as interrex, making L. Cornelius Sulla "Dictator for Writing the Laws and Restoring the State" (dictator legibus scribendis et rei publicae constituendae). This comparative study of the public lawmaking assemblies of the Roman republic is based on ancient reports of proposed and enacted legislation from the public assemblies