{"id":9230,"date":"2023-10-20T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T11:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/?p=9230"},"modified":"2023-10-20T12:50:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T11:50:13","slug":"what-is-the-senate-and-assemblies-in-ancient-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/what-is-the-senate-and-assemblies-in-ancient-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is The Senate And Assemblies In Ancient Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In ancient Rome, the Senate and Assemblies played a major role in influencing the everyday life of its citizens. The assemblies, or comitia, offered citizens a chance to vote directly on legislative issues, while the Senate served as a sort of advisory board to the executive branch. <\/p>\n

At the time, assemblies were divided into four major groupings: The comitia curiata, the comitia centuriata, the comitia tributa, and the comitia calata. The comitia curiata included the leading patrician families of Rome. It was made up of three ranks: Senators, patricians, and plebeians. The senate advised on public affairs, with the wealthier members having more influence.<\/p>\n

The comitia centuriata also included citizens of Rome, but here every citizen carried equal weight in the voting process, regardless of their wealth or status. This assembly was divided into 193 centuries, with each century electing a single representative to observe the vote and cast their ballot. This assembly was called in to vote on matters concerning the military, religion and criminal justice.<\/p>\n

The comitia tributa was made up of all the citizens of Rome organized into 35 tribes, irrespective of their wealth or social standing. This assembly voted on matters of tax collection and state funding. Lastly, the comitia calata was made up of representatives of various religious organizations, who voted on matters pertaining to religious rituals, holy days and religious festivals.<\/p>\n