[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
This volume takes a detailed look at the career paths of Roman magistrates from the beginning of the Republic up to magistracies under Augustus. It is made up of papers originally given at the conference ‘Cursus honorum: Hierarchy, Prestige and auctoritas in the Roman Republic’, held at Zaragoza in March 2024. The book begins by examining the historiography of the subject, before tackling that major feature of any discussion of the cursus honorum: the lex Villia annalis. In his chapter, Hans Beck argues that rather than a defining point of the cursus, this law instead was just one more way point along the road of the ever-evolving magisterial career path. With the place of the lex convincingly demonstrated, the volume moves on to examine more specific magistracies and roles across the period of concern, on a largely chronological basis.
Thibaud Lanfranchi and Francisco Pina Polo both focus on the early Republic. Lanfranchi examines the fifth-century creation of military tribunes with consular authority, placing their inception within their social and political context. He deftly ties this into the birth of the cursus itself, as Rome sought to relieve the pressures of the struggle of the orders. By creating a new magistracy without the auspicium of the consuls, Rome was able to balance the ambition of the plebeians with the interests of the patricians. Pina Polo discusses the roles and offices held by consulars in the fourth and third centuries. In a period where the cursus was less strictly formed, consulars would hold lower magistracies. Pina Polo argues that this is particularly noticeable at times of crisis (for example the Hannibalic War), but also seen at other times when their knowledge and experience was of benefit to Rome.
Catherine Steel provides a thoughtful piece examining the cursus in the light of membership of the senate. She highlights that achieving a position which theoretically allowed entrance to the senate and actually entering the senate could be events separated by some years, depending on when in the five-year census cycle the office was obtained. As a result, it was possible (following the cursus of the lex Villia annalis) to reach the rank of praetor without having been enrolled in the senate. Readers would be well-advised to read the footnotes of this chapter for further insights, which it would have been interesting to see explored in more detail.
Elsewhere, the career paths of more junior citizens are discussed. Marian Helm investigates the place of the tribuni militum within the cursus honorum, highlighting in particular the political potential of the role. Military tribunes would have personal contact with a larger number of fellow citizens during the course of a campaign, a figure multiplied by the number of campaigns served in the position. This connection could give candidates an edge with their electors should they stand for election in the following years. Amy Russell examines the place of the tribunes of the plebs, discussing how individuals could use this wide-ranging, optional office to further their careers. Cristina Rosillo-López highlights the remarkable degree of real power which could be exercised by those who drafted the texts of consilia passed by the senate.
A major obstacle in the discussion of the Republic, as with any such discussion, is the lost books of Livy. Livy’s account provides much of the detail of office-holding which has come down to us; many magistrates would be unknown without his Histories. Consequently, when his account cuts off in 167, we are left with a void in our knowledge which makes drawing conclusions or narrative threads through from the second century to the first troublesome. This difficulty is acknowledged by several contributors, and largely edged around. It is in Martin Jehne’s chapter that it inhibits the argument the most. Jehne compares the early second century with the post-Sullan period in order to discuss changes in how election campaigns were conducted. While the individual vignettes presented are interesting in themselves, and Jehne presents some thoughtful commentary on them, the small number of examples for each period means it is difficult to substantiate any broader conclusions concerning trends. The lack of information for the intervening period prevents the examination of when and how these changes occurred, and the final conclusion that expense was the determining factor feels under-argued.
As the volume moves into the turbulent first century, more deviations from ‘traditional’ paths and extra-magisterial roles come to the fore. As a result the volume at times feels less focused than in earlier chapters, but this itself is a reflection of the increasing complexity, unorthodoxy and novelty of first-century political careers. David Rafferty examines the increasing importance of serving as a legatus pro praetore in political careers, as changes to military operations gave an already militarily significant role a greater political significance. Elisabetta Todisco provides a fascinating discussion of Varro’s etymologies of the term praetor. She uses these etymologies to examine the changing role of the praetor under Julius Caesar as the locus of power moved under his dominance. Julie Botherol looks at the consequences of refusing to govern a province after holding a magistracy, arguing that remaining in or close to Rome was more politically advantageous than any potential financial or military gain accrued from governorship. This provides an interesting counterpoint to Alejandro Díaz Fernández’s earlier discussion of provincial management in the previous centuries.
In contrast, Robinson Baudry examines the various conditions under which someone might refuse to, or be discouraged from, running of office. Finally, Frédéric Hurlet closes the volume with an investigation of being a consularis under Augustus and its significance for the move from the Republican to Imperial cursus honorum. With the consulship now usually only held for six months, it was no longer the highest rung of the ladder but a steppingstone to further roles beyond it.
Overall, this volume provides an interesting and varied look at the cursus honorum over more than 400 years of evolution which is well worth reading. The book contains a handful of typos, and a few unusual turns of phrase, but is otherwise well produced. The variety of perspectives on and interpretations of the central theme build a valuable contribution to the study of Roman magistracies and career paths throughout the Roman Republic.
Authors and titles
Introduction – Francisco Pina Polo
- The cursus honorum from Biondo to Mommsen – Federico Santangelo
- The cursus honorum before the cursus honorum: debunking the lex Villia annalis – Hans Beck
- Military tribunes with consular powers, auspices and the birth of the cursus honorum – Thibaud Lanfranchi
- The political career of consulars in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE – Francisco Pina Polo
- Honores to the heroes – the tribuni militum and the cursus honorum – Marian Helm
- The tribunate of the plebs and the cursus honorum – Amy Russell
- What impact did the provincial management have on the Roman cursus honorum? – Alejandro Díaz Fernández
- The cursus honorum, the Senate, and the lectio senatus in the long second century BCE – Catherine Steel
- In the “thick of politics”: the role of drafting committees and consilia in the cursus honorum of young senators (2nd-1st centuries BCE) – Cristina Rosillo-López
- Legati pro praetore and the rise of the alternative cursus honorum – David Rafferty
- The cursus honorum and rivalry: some episodes about winners, losers and debts – Martin Jehne
- Refraining from running for office in the last two centuries of the Roman Republic: voluntary refusal, constraints and strategy – Robinson Baudry
- Provinciam neglexit. The consequences of waiving the right to govern a province for the cursus honorum of aristocrats during the late Roman Republic – Julie Botherol
- Praetors and domestic politics in the late Roman Republic: 49-43 BCE – Elisabetta Todisco
- Being a consularis under Augustus: a career within a career – Frédéric Hurlet