- Departamento Ciencias de la Antigüedad
Facultad Filosofía y Letras
50009 Zaragoza (Spain)
Francisco Pina Polo
University of Zaragoza, Ciencias de la Antigüedad, Faculty Member
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A comprehensive study of the quaestorship has long been a desideratum: this book aims to fi ll this gap. It contains a study of the quaestorship throughout the Roman Republic, both in Italy and in the overseas provinces. It includes a... more
A comprehensive study of the quaestorship has long been a desideratum: this book aims to fi ll this gap. It contains a study of the quaestorship throughout the Roman Republic, both in Italy and in the overseas provinces. It includes a history of the offi ce, an analysis of its role within the cursus honorum and its larger importance for the Roman constitution as well as the prosopography of all quaestors known during the Republican period.
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The villae that both Cicero and other members of the Roman elite possessed in various regions of Italy were first and foremost sources of income for their owners. However, like their domus in Rome, these villae were also a significant... more
The villae that both Cicero and other members of the Roman elite possessed in various regions of Italy were first and foremost sources of income for their owners. However, like their domus in Rome, these villae were also a significant instrument of prestige and self-representation. The social life in the villae also fulfilled a substantial "political" function. This chapter takes a snapshot of a short yet intensive period, between April and July of 44 BCE, when Cicero spent most of his time outside Rome, going from one of his estates in Latium and Campania to another. Then, as now, interpersonal relationships played a fundamental role in politics, and so it was always significant to hold face-to-face meetings. To upper-class Romans it was important to participate in this temporary community by spending at least a few days in each of those places. This resulted in constant invitations to each other's homes. Such meetings allowed for the exchange of first-hand information, but also for attempts to directly and indirectly influence a certain trend of opinion. The aim was to become updated about the political situation from different perspectives and to anticipate future movements of both allies and adversaries. As interrelated networks of exclusive communication, upper-class villae contributed thus to the shaping of information as a particularly precious commodity. *** Although the accumulation of money and movable goods did play its role in Rome society, wealth, as in all pre-modern societies, predominantly resided in acquisition of real estate. While there were different ways of obtaining wealth (bequests, commercial activities, booty, agricultural income, etc.), there generally was a close connection between power and wealth: wealth opened up the path to power, and power facilitated the creation of a network of influence and personal relationships that, in turn, became a source of further affluence. Wealth and power, then, went hand in hand, mutually supporting each other in Republican politics and society more broadly. 1 Cicero provides a particularly illustrative example of this trend since we can follow in some detail when and how he accumulated various properties throughout his life. One clearly sees that most of them were obtained, by various means, after he had held the consulship in 63. This cannot be chalked up
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The fragmentary inscription on the ludi saeculares contains mention of two senatus consulta of year 17 BCE. This paper gives new arguments for identifying the five known consulars heading the drafting commission of the senatus consultum... more
The fragmentary inscription on the ludi saeculares contains mention of two senatus consulta of year 17 BCE. This paper gives new arguments for identifying the five known consulars heading the drafting commission of the senatus consultum of 17 February: M. Iunius Silanus (cos. 25), Cn. Cornelius Lentulus (cos. 18), L. Marcius Censorinus (cos. 39), C. Asinius Pollio (cos. 40) and L. Vinicius (cos. suff. 33). This list challenges the accepted notion that senators named as members of the drafting commissions of senatus consulta (and other official documents) were always arranged according to their seniority (i.e., who had held a given office earliest). Such an open new approach could question or even significantly alter the chronology of Roman magistracies that has been accepted on the basis of seniority hierarchy so far.
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For decades, a remarkable number of publications have been devoted to the socalled Epistulae ad Caesarem. Most have focused on the question of whether they are authentic or forgeries, and only a few have analysed them as a source for... more
For decades, a remarkable number of publications have been devoted to the socalled Epistulae ad Caesarem. Most have focused on the question of whether they are authentic or forgeries, and only a few have analysed them as a source for valuable historical evidence. This paper intends to demonstrate that the letters could certainly have been written in the middle of the first century BCE and that Sallust could indeed be the author. The letters, particularly Ep. 2, show that there were alternative political agendas and provide a better understanding of Sallust as a politician and historian, as well as of the political debate surrounding the outbreak of the civil war and Caesar's rule.
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Research Interests: Roman Republic and Livy
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The use of the suffect consulship began to change with Caesar in 45 B.C., after a number of decades in which no suffect consul had been elected. The ofce altered dramatically during the triumviral period. The triumvirs openly made use of... more
The use of the suffect consulship began to change with Caesar in 45 B.C., after a number of decades in which no suffect consul had been elected. The ofce altered dramatically during the triumviral period. The triumvirs openly made use of the suffect consulship as a means of rewarding loyalty. Many of the suffect consuls, who were no longer elected by the people, but designated in advance by the triumvirs, were homines novi who belonged to previously unknown and insignicant Roman or Italian families. Increasing the number of consuls each year eliminated de facto the traditional annuality of the ofce and reduced its authority. The implicit consequence of these actions was a gradual devaluation of the consulship. The suffect consulship was therefore a powerful tool in the hands of the triumvirs for strengthening their political position, weakening the old aristocracy and giving birth to a new elite based more rmly on personal loyalties. The suffect consulship, an institution which had existed throughout the Roman Republic, changed dramatically during the triumviral age. This happened in the context of a period in which successive wars were fought by Roman armies across the Mediterranean under the command of imperatores who represented different political interests and, at the same time, struggled for power at Rome. Our surviving accounts narrate the wars in detail but devote little space to internal politics at Rome, making it difcult to reconstruct how republican institutions developed in the years before Octavian's victory at Actium. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the suffect consulship as an example of what was happening to republican magistracies under the triumvirs. In particular, it focuses on the reasons why suffect consuls were nominated, the procedure by which they were designated, who these suffecti were, and the nature of their political careers up to that point.
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En noviembre del año 43 fue instituido el Triunvirato. Entre las potestades de los triunviros estaba la de nombrar al menos una parte de los magistrados anuales. Los triunviros utilizaron la designación de magistrados como un medio de... more
En noviembre del año 43 fue instituido el Triunvirato. Entre las potestades de los triunviros estaba la de nombrar al menos una parte de los magistrados anuales. Los triunviros utilizaron la designación de magistrados como un medio de recompensar a individuos que les habían sido fieles en los años anteriores. Lo mismo sucedió con los colegios sacerdotales. Los sacerdocios sirvieron a la nueva elite política como trampolín de ascenso social. Los triunviros explotaron su potestad para designar magistrados y sacerdotes como instrumento para premiar lealtades y conformar una nueva aristocracia leal, que tras Accio se convirtió necesariamente en aristocracia leal al futuro Augusto.
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Resumen. Desde hace décadas existe un debate historiográfico sobre la definición de la República romana: ¿democracia o aristocracia? Es indudable que había en la Roma republicana elementos propios de un sistema democrático, pero esto no... more
Resumen. Desde hace décadas existe un debate historiográfico sobre la definición de la República romana: ¿democracia o aristocracia? Es indudable que había en la Roma republicana elementos propios de un sistema democrático, pero esto no hacía necesariamente de ella una democracia. Ahora bien, ¿qué le hubiera parecido a un romano este debate historiográfico? Seguramente le hubiera resultado improcedente e innecesario, porque los romanos nunca pensaron que su res publica fuera una democracia. De hecho, los romanos nunca necesitaron transcribir al latín la palabra griega δημοκρατία ni inventar una palabra o expresión propia con valor universal para ese concepto. La democracia fue siempre una idea extraña en Roma, más propia de Graeculi. Ciertamente, autores griegos muy tardíos, como Apiano y Casio Dión, llamaron δημοκρατία a la República romana, pero no lo hicieron en términos absolutos porque fuera realmente una democracia homologable a la ateniense de época clásica, sino en términos relativos para referirse a un sistema de gobierno que no era unipersonal.
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Conferencia inaugural del máster Estudios avanzados e investigación en Historia. Universidad de Salamanca. Curso 2018-2019
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RESUMEN Sobre la base de la ausencia total de menciones de Salduie/Salduvia en las fuentes literarias (con la excepción de Plinio), su aparición en inscripciones del siglo I (Bronce de Ascoli y tabula Contrebiensis) y la acuñación de... more
RESUMEN Sobre la base de la ausencia total de menciones de Salduie/Salduvia en las fuentes literarias (con la excepción de Plinio), su aparición en inscripciones del siglo I (Bronce de Ascoli y tabula Contrebiensis) y la acuñación de monedas en torno al año 100 a.C., este artículo plantea la hipótesis de que Salduie/ Salduvia fuera fundada como ciudad indígena a finales del siglo II a.C., tal vez por sinecismo a partir de las poblaciones del entorno. ABSTRACT This paper suggests that the indigenous town of Salduie/Salduvia could be founded at the end of the second century BC, maybe by grouping populations of the surrounding area. This hypothesis is based on the total absence of Salduie/Salduvia in the ancient sources (with the exception of a text in Pliny), its mention in Latin inscriptions of the first century BC (Ascoli Bronze and tabula Contrebiensis), as well as the coinage of coins in the town around 100 BC.
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The Gracchan period marked a turning point in the history of Rome, as antiquity recog- nised and modern scholarship has accepted. Never before, as Appian says, had a tribune of the plebs been assassinated, and his assassination sanctioned... more
The Gracchan period marked a turning point in the history of Rome, as antiquity recog- nised and modern scholarship has accepted. Never before, as Appian says, had a tribune of the plebs been assassinated, and his assassination sanctioned by the senate. The Ro- man ruling class was aware of what the death of Tiberius Gracchus could mean, and for that reason began a dual process right from the start, both to delegitimise Tiberius (and later Gaius) in the eyes of his contemporaries and in history, and also to legitimise the violence of the state. It is this process – essentially the construction of memory about the Gracchi – that this paper addresses. The justification of Gracchus’ assassination was that he aspired to tyranny. It was necessary in addition to construct a historiographical tradition which would provide historical legitimisation for the pre-emptive tyrannicide. To this purpose it was essential to create credible historical precedents which them- selves would act as legitimising exempla for the use of violence without trial against Roman citizens and which would present such conduct as therapeutic tyrannicide. In this regard, the optimates’ version of history had every chance of superseding the popu- lar version, because then, as now, “history belongs to those who know that it exists”.
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De nombreux hommes politiques romains subissaient des défaites tout au long de leur carrière. Il s'agit de déterminer jusqu'à quel point celles-ci diminuaient leur prestige dans une communauté comme Rome à l'époque républicaine où le... more
De nombreux hommes politiques romains subissaient des défaites tout au long de leur carrière. Il s'agit de déterminer jusqu'à quel point celles-ci diminuaient leur prestige dans une communauté comme Rome à l'époque républicaine où le triomphe avait une valeur sociale énorme. Mon propos est de présenter à ce sujet quelques réflexions qui seront exclusivement centrées sur le domaine civil, en particulier sur deux scènes où la concurrence allait de soi : celle des élections et celles de l'éloquence judiciaire. Les défaites électorales et judiciaires faisaient partie de la culture politique et ne supposaient pas nécessairement un affaiblissement du prestige du perdant. D'une certaine manière, les Romains vivaient naturellement la défaite comme étant inhérente à leur système politique. Ceux qui aspiraient à suivre une carrière politique étaient conscients de ce que la défaite pouvait en faire partie.
Abstract Many Roman politicians suffered defeats throughout their careers. In Roman republican society, in which triumph had huge social importance, to what extent did a defeat affect the loser's prestige? My purpose is to reflect on two civil venues in which competition was unavoidable: elections and courts. Electoral and judicial defeats were part of Roman political culture. Consequently, they did not necessarily imply a diminishing of the loser's prestige. In a certain way, the Romans considered defeat as a natural result of their political system, and the Roman citizens aspiring to develop a cursus honorum were well aware of defeat as being a possible part of their political career.
Abstract Many Roman politicians suffered defeats throughout their careers. In Roman republican society, in which triumph had huge social importance, to what extent did a defeat affect the loser's prestige? My purpose is to reflect on two civil venues in which competition was unavoidable: elections and courts. Electoral and judicial defeats were part of Roman political culture. Consequently, they did not necessarily imply a diminishing of the loser's prestige. In a certain way, the Romans considered defeat as a natural result of their political system, and the Roman citizens aspiring to develop a cursus honorum were well aware of defeat as being a possible part of their political career.
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The ancient sources mention speeches being delivered in the late Republic in con-tiones by both consuls-elect and tribunes of the plebs designate. It has usually been assumed that as magistrates-elect they did not have the right to summon... more
The ancient sources mention speeches being delivered in the late Republic in con-tiones by both consuls-elect and tribunes of the plebs designate. It has usually been assumed that as magistrates-elect they did not have the right to summon a popular assembly. In this paper it is suggested that magistrates-designate – or at least some of them – had this privilege. This should be understood in the more general framework in which the designati played a political and institutional role during the late Republic.
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By the fi rst century B. C. the consules designati had the right to speak fi rst in senatorial debates from the moment they were elected. That privilege was probably long-held, and continued at least into the fi rst century A. D.... more
By the fi rst century B. C. the consules designati had the right to speak fi rst in senatorial
debates from the moment they were elected. That privilege was probably long-held, and continued
at least into the fi rst century A. D. However, consules designati had a broader political role, and
among their prerogatives they had the capacity to issue edicts. The prominent position of consules
designati in the senate must be viewed in a context of gradual assumption of responsibilities and
leadership in day-to-day politics by new magistrates. The granting of institutional visibility to
consules designati secured continuity in the management of the res publica. Collaboration between
magistrates in offi ce and magistrates elect facilitated the transfer of power from year to year, and
provided continuity in the senate’s policies.
debates from the moment they were elected. That privilege was probably long-held, and continued
at least into the fi rst century A. D. However, consules designati had a broader political role, and
among their prerogatives they had the capacity to issue edicts. The prominent position of consules
designati in the senate must be viewed in a context of gradual assumption of responsibilities and
leadership in day-to-day politics by new magistrates. The granting of institutional visibility to
consules designati secured continuity in the management of the res publica. Collaboration between
magistrates in offi ce and magistrates elect facilitated the transfer of power from year to year, and
provided continuity in the senate’s policies.
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Este artículo tiene dos partes bien distintas e incluso dispares, pero unidas por un denominador común: el fraude. En la primera de ellas me ocupo de una serie de impostores que pretendieron – y temporalmente consiguieron – ascender... more
Este artículo tiene dos partes bien distintas e incluso dispares, pero unidas por un denominador común: el fraude. En la primera de ellas me ocupo de una serie de impostores que pretendieron – y temporalmente consiguieron – ascender socialmente, y algunos de ellos desarrollar incluso una carrera política, asumiendo una identidad que no era la suya. En la segunda parte, abordo sin ánimo de ser exhaustivo algunos fraudes cometidos directamente desde las instituciones del Estado romano, o cuando menos amparados o tolerados desde ellas, en particular por el senado.
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Résumé/Abstract This paper relates the Ciceronian sources and the Latin inscriptions where Minerva is mentioned as custos urbis of Rome with the bas-relief of the goddess in one of the towers in the walls of Tarraco. In the same tower was... more
Résumé/Abstract This paper relates the Ciceronian sources and the Latin inscriptions where Minerva is mentioned as custos urbis of Rome with the bas-relief of the goddess in one of the towers in the walls of Tarraco. In the same tower was also found an inscription to ...
... una excavación arqueológica, sino de búsquedas lleva-das a cabo por clandestinos, algo que evidentemente ... En par-ticular sobre las glandes con inscripción procedentes de la gue-rra entre ... J. Mellado Rodríguez - JF Rodrí- guez... more
... una excavación arqueológica, sino de búsquedas lleva-das a cabo por clandestinos, algo que evidentemente ... En par-ticular sobre las glandes con inscripción procedentes de la gue-rra entre ... J. Mellado Rodríguez - JF Rodrí- guez Neila (eds.), Julio César y Corduba: tiempo y ...
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The use of onomastics obtained from Early Empire epigraphy as the tool to identify supposed provincial clienteles in the Republican period must be discontinued because it gives a totally distorted vision of them from both a quantitative... more
The use of onomastics obtained from Early Empire epigraphy as the tool to identify supposed
provincial clienteles in the Republican period must be discontinued because it gives a
totally distorted vision of them from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective. It is
incorrect to believe that each provincial who had the name of a prominent Roman familymust have been its client. In order to be able to grasp the meaning of provincial clienteles
it is necessary to abandon the model created by Badian, essentially followed since the publication
of his book Foreign clientelae. This must apply not only to methodological aspects
but also to the main conclusions reached: the relevance provincial clienteles had both in the
provinces and in Rome must be reviewed and re-evaluated. The notion of massively widespread
provincial clienteles in relation with the main Roman families and that these personal
relations were the basis for Roman dominion, as Badian concluded, is erroneous. The
impact clienteles had on political decisions taken in Rome must have been very limited.
Having or lacking vast provincial clienteles was absolutely not the reason for the ascent of
any given politician in the Late Republic in Rome.
provincial clienteles in the Republican period must be discontinued because it gives a
totally distorted vision of them from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective. It is
incorrect to believe that each provincial who had the name of a prominent Roman familymust have been its client. In order to be able to grasp the meaning of provincial clienteles
it is necessary to abandon the model created by Badian, essentially followed since the publication
of his book Foreign clientelae. This must apply not only to methodological aspects
but also to the main conclusions reached: the relevance provincial clienteles had both in the
provinces and in Rome must be reviewed and re-evaluated. The notion of massively widespread
provincial clienteles in relation with the main Roman families and that these personal
relations were the basis for Roman dominion, as Badian concluded, is erroneous. The
impact clienteles had on political decisions taken in Rome must have been very limited.
Having or lacking vast provincial clienteles was absolutely not the reason for the ascent of
any given politician in the Late Republic in Rome.
In 133 and 123/122 BCE, the Gracchan reforms opened three cans of worms, pitting the Roman landowning elites against their poorer compatriots, Roman economic interests against those of the Italian allies, and senators against equestrians.... more
In 133 and 123/122 BCE, the Gracchan reforms opened three cans of worms, pitting the Roman landowning elites against their poorer compatriots, Roman economic interests against those of the Italian allies, and senators against equestrians. As these cumulative divisions threatened to coalesce into a perfect storm, the noble and wealthy tribune of the plebs M. Livius Drusus in 91 boldly proposed a comprehensive if costly New Deal. The eventual annulment of Drusus’ visionary reform package set the stage for the armed rebellion of Rome’s key Italic allies. Even before the conclusion of this gargantuan struggle in 87, the deep divisions Drusus and his backers had sought to resolve, compounded
by political discontent among the enfranchised Italians, caused the
Roman polity to descend into a series of devastating civil wars, terminated in 82/81 by Sulla’s vindictive victory and reactionary new settlement. Offering a novel narrative analysis of the pivotal events of this well-known but often poorly understood period, this book seeks to demonstrate how the time from Livius Drusus’ tribunate of the plebs to Sulla’s unparalleled dictatorship was marked by momentous reform and experimentation and suggests that the former’s fateful failure arguably represents the moment the Romans lost their ancestral Republic.
by political discontent among the enfranchised Italians, caused the
Roman polity to descend into a series of devastating civil wars, terminated in 82/81 by Sulla’s vindictive victory and reactionary new settlement. Offering a novel narrative analysis of the pivotal events of this well-known but often poorly understood period, this book seeks to demonstrate how the time from Livius Drusus’ tribunate of the plebs to Sulla’s unparalleled dictatorship was marked by momentous reform and experimentation and suggests that the former’s fateful failure arguably represents the moment the Romans lost their ancestral Republic.
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The collection Libera Res Publica (LRP) intends to publish quality monographs on the Roman Republic (509-30 B.C.), both individual and collective books as well as proceedings of conferences. The collection seeks a clear international... more
The collection Libera Res Publica (LRP) intends to publish quality monographs on the Roman Republic (509-30 B.C.), both individual and collective books as well as proceedings of conferences. The collection seeks a clear international projection, aims to be in the medium term an international reference in studies on the Roman Republic, and therefore admits manuscripts in Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. As for the subject matter, the collection is interested in institutional, political, social, economic, historiographic, cultural and gender aspects relating to the Roman Republic.
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Forthcoming seminar II LIBERA RES PUBLICA
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Sevilla, 24-25 de septiembre 2015