Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• HARTFIELD, MARIANNE ELIZABETH

Titel

THE ROMAN DICTATORSHIP: ITS CHARACTER AND ITS EVOLUTION (ITALY)

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

1982

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This study of the Roman dictatorship is organized into two parts. In the first part analytical chapters examine functions and responsibilities of the dictatorship. Focus is trained upon the evidence for the dictators themselves, not on ancient definitions and generalizations for the office. Review of the dictatorships down to the 360s demonstrates that the Romans labeled those appointments with the vague term rei gerundae causa, so that mos rather than lex shaped the expected duties of dictators. Analysis of dictatorial performances after the 360s shows that the broad undefined powers of rei gerundae causa were never legally circumscribed or nullified by disuse, although various legislative and administrative changes affected the practical use of the office. The numerous different causae that proliferated for dictatorships from the 360s reflected Roman efforts to give greater specificity to dictatorial powers. By emphasizing particular religious or civil responsibilities for dictators, those various new designations document the evolution of the dictatorship. The Romans defined the tasks for dictators as a consequence of general constitutional developments over three centuries. But they never applied legal boundaries to their causae. Dictatorial appointments in the late third century still assumed all the broad powers and responsibilities originally inherent in the first appointments rei gerundae causa. The first part of the study concludes by assessing the disappearance of the dictatorship after 202. By documenting how the office remained part of standard legal language, the analysis shows that various logistical and administrative changes made the dictatorship less necessary or desirable after 202. For three centuries mos determined when and how Rome used the dictatorship. After 202 mos came to argue against recourse to that same old office. The second part of the study catalogues all attested dictatorships. Catalogue entries give a full listing of ancient sources for every dictatorship. Brief commentaries attend each entry and address issues of identity, authenticity, and conflict among the sources. The catalogue does not attempt to answer all major questions and controversies, but calls attention to relevant secondary works for subsequent investigations.