The People's Rôle in Allocating Provincial Commands in the Middle Roman Republic

Abstract

ABSTRACTMommsen — followed more recently by Brennan and Ferrary — proposed that laws were passed in around 228 and in 198 that constitutionally ‘fixed’ Sicily and Sardinia, and later Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, as praetorianprouinciae. This paper challenges that theory. It first examines the ancient evidence, comprising two ambiguous passages from Livy'sAb Vrbe Condita. It then offers a counter-hypothesis that elucidates the people's rôle in forestalling and/or resolving political disputes over the allocation of provincial commands. It will show that this rôle was crucial for mitigating the harmful effects of élite competition and, in turn, maintaining political stability in Rome.