HISTORY | 16.11.2009 The mother of all constitutions - 287 BC Rom
The conflict over political equality between Rome's noble Patricians and the commoners, or Plebeians, lasted more than two centuries. Around 450 BC, all the laws of Rome were inscribed on 12 bronze plaques and displayed in the Roman Forum. In this way, people were protected from the whims of those in positions of authority.
Beginning in 421 BC, Plebeians were allowed to take on the lowest office, that of quaestor, in Rome, and soon after, the lower military ranks. In 366 BC, the Plebeians formed their first council and sent representatives to the senate. Ten years later, a Plebeian was even appointed to the office of dictator – the highest office in Rome (although it was limited to a term of six months.) It looked as if the two orders had finally begun to settle their differences.
Plebeian boycott
But appearances can be deceiving. This became clear in the summer of 287 BC, when the Patricians tried to undo much of what the Plebeians had achieved with a new military constitution. The reason for this is not clear. Perhaps it was a move to, in the wake of a hard-won war against the Samnites in the southern Apennines, take back the rights of the Plebeians and cement those of the Patricians. In any case, the Plebeians erupted in protest as a result.
The Roman district of Trastevere today
Immediately following the news of this new draft constitution, the Plebeians decided to secede from Rome, effectively boycotting the city. The “secessio plebis” went down in the annals of Roman history, and is comparable to a general strike. The city was empty, and there was no one to perform the tasks that kept it running from day to day. The Plebeians took possession of the Janiculus hill, which today is part of the district of Trastevere, on the right bank of the Tiber, reaching as far as the Vatican. There, they appointed Quintus Hortensius (ca. 320 BC) as dictator, and agreed on their own draft constitution as a response to the one drawn up by the Patricians.
Voice of the people
The "Lex Hortensia" decreed that laws enacted by the Plebeians should also be binding not just for them but for the entire Roman population, and were not to be subject to vetoes by the senate. A messenger brought the constitution to the Patricians, with the warning that the Plebeians would only return to Rome when their document was validated. The decision had practically already been made; in order to stop the economic damage the secession was doing to Rome, the Patricians agreed.
The new legal principles that became part of Roman law thanks to the Plebeians became known as "Plebiscitum." This "decision by the people" is the model of all plebiscites, or referenda, which in modern European democracies are considered the most important means of direct citizen participation in political matters. The passing of the "plebiscitum" in 287 BC ended the Conflict of the Orders; at the same time, Rome began to flourish and prosper.
Author: Matthias von Hellfeld (dc)
Editor: Andreas Illmer
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