Roman Historiography Republican SEMINAR II: Sallust BC 1-5 Party Politics ch1

Sallvst

Thucydidean Influence View of human nature View of historiography –Concentration –Selection –Omission –Emphasis on politics Analyses of human behavior

Thucydidean Influence Style-Thucydides –poetic language –variety of grammatical usage –inconcinnity –rapidity Style- Sallust –Poetic/archaic vocab –unusual grammatical turns –inconcinnity –rapidity of thought & expression compression & omission –variatio

Sallvstian Style Archaism Asyndeton Parataxis Hyperbaton Inconcinnitas Brevitas –antithesis

Party Politics Personalities & Programs

outline Sources Classes Constitution –Magistracies –Assemblies –elections Factiones/Partes Roman Revolution –Gracchi –Marius v. Sulla –Pompey, Crassus, Caesar Participants/scene

Party Politics Personalities & Programs amazing primary sources –Caesar’s commentarii –Sallust’s BC, BJ, Historiae, Epistulae ad Caesarem? –Cicero’s speeches, essays, letters Taylor’s quellenforschungen –In text –In footnotes 2 & 3 great example of modern scholarly evolution –Compare Ramsey p.6

Party Politics Personalities & Programs Roman Republican gov’t –Checks & balances –Aristocratic control –Ti. Gracchus sword carried into assembly –Liberty v. equality Class division based on landed property

Ordines Patricians: (patricii) –from patres title applied to members of Senate patrician clans claimed descent from earliest Senators –highly privileged aristocratic class –hereditary membership only by birth (until end of Republic)

Ordines Plebeians: (plebeii) –from plebs –all Roman citizens not patrician

Struggle of the Orders plebeian milestones 494 BC: First Secession of the Plebs –established their own assembly (the Concilium Plebis) –elected their own magistrates, the Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles. 450 BC: Law of the Twelve Tables, first codification of Roman law 445 BC: patricians and plebeians permitted to intermarry 367 BC: plebeians became eligible for the consulship 342 BC: one of the two Consuls must be a plebeian 339 BC: one of the two Censors must be a plebeian 300 BC: half of the priesthoods (also state offices) must be plebeian 287 BC: Third Secession of the Plebs –won concession that all plebiscites (measures passed in Concilium Plebis) had the force of law for entire Roman state

Struggle of the Orders non-violent methods Reshaped Aristocracy –Aristocracy of birth replaced with aristocracy based on political office and wealth, particularly land-based wealth. Society remained hierarchical, class-based –Large gap between top and bottom citizen classes

Roman Citizen Classes Patrician Senatorial (Plebeian) Equites (Plebeian) Property Owners (Plebeian) Capite Censi (Plebeian)

Money Property Requirements ≈ 16 asses = 4 ƒ = 1 denarius ƒ1,000,000 for Senatorial ƒ400,000 for Equites ƒ3,000 for 4th class

Party Politics Cursus honorum jpg

Party Politics Personalities & Programs Nobiles –Military service requirements class determined Cavalry/officer class –Centuriate Assembly Vote for consuls praetors Vote in order by class –Senate Ex-magistrates life-time membership Subdivisions based on rank (highest office held) –Asked to speak in order of rank –Election to office influenced by family & hereditity »novus homo

Party Politics Personalities & Programs Equites –Cavalry/officer class

Party Politics Personalities & Programs Pedites Foot Soldier Classes –Class based on property rating ƒ50,000 4 classes for small farmers No landed property