office
tribune of the plebs
tribune
also: tribunus plebis, tribune of the plebs
Annually elected officer of the common people, whose person was sacrosanct and who could veto magistrates and convene the plebs; a recurring lever in late-Republican politics.
Reading notes
- The Conspiracy of Catiline §38 tribunician power
The full powers of the tribunes of the plebs, curtailed by Sulla and restored in 70 BC under Pompey and Crassus; its return reopened popular agitation.
- The Conspiracy of Catiline §43 tribune of the plebs
Officer of the commons who could address the people and veto magistrates; Bestia, as tribune, was to open the rising with a public attack on Cicero.
- The Jugurthine War §27 tribune of the plebs
An annually elected magistrate charged with protecting the plebs; his person was sacrosanct and he could veto magistrates and convene the popular assembly.
- The Histories §Macr.1 tribunes of the plebs
The plebeian magistrates created in the early Republic to defend the commons; their restored power is Macer's whole demand.
- The Histories §Lep.4 tribunician power
The powers of the tribunes of the plebs (chiefly the veto and the right to bring measures before the people), curtailed by Sulla; their restoration is the great popularis demand of the 70s and Macer's theme.