Comitia

Comitia (plural of the Latin comitium "place of assembly") was the name for a popular assembly in ancient Rome . In these meetings (German: Komitien ) the result of an election or vote was not determined on the basis of individual votes, but rather on the basis of the voting results of individual groups. Depending on the type of group, the following comitia were distinguished:

• comitia curiata - Meeting of 30 curies (curiae) . At the time of Marcus Tullius Cicero , each curia was represented by a lictor .
• comitia centuriata - structured according to centuriae (centuriae) or asset classes, originally an army assembly; these comitia elected the consuls .
• comitia tributa - divided into originally four, finally 35 tribes . The special assembly of the plebs ( concilium plebis ) was organizedin the same way.

The Comitia was usually preceded by a contio .

How much influence the people in the Roman Republic had on politics through the comitia is controversial. While Polybios viewed Rome as an example of a mixed constitution in which monarchical ( magistrates ), aristocratic ( Senate ) and democratic (Comitia) elements were in balance, later research saw a clear predominance of the Senate, the (or the politicians in it) ) predetermined the decisions of the people's assembly. In recent years some historians have once again given the plebs and thus the comitia a stronger role.

literature

• Jochen Bleicken : The Constitution of the Roman Republic . 3rd edition, Schöningh, Paderborn 1982, ISBN 3-506-99173-6 , pp. 96-108.
• Herbert Hausmaninger : Comitia. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 1, Stuttgart 1964, Col. 1254-1256.
• Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp : Reconstructions of a Republic. The political culture of ancient Rome and the research of the last decades (= historical magazine . Supplements, new series. Volume 38). Oldenbourg, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-486-64439-4 .