Constitutio
From Ancient Ways
Contents |
Welcome to Constitutio!
Introduction
This is a project to reconstruct what the constitution of the Roman Republic would have looked like if it were written into a single document in 180 BC (574 A.U.C.). I will hopefully one day move this page into its own wiki.
What do you mean by Constitution?
For the purposes of this project, the term "constitution" applies to the system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of the government of the Roman Republic. By using ancient sources and modern analysis of those sources this project hopes to create an organized and insightful view of how the machine of the government of Ancient Rome functioned.
Why 180 BC?
By 180 BC (or 574 A.U.C. Ab Urbe Condita (from the founding of the City), the fundamental laws and principles of the Roman Republic were "complete". For the purposes of this project, "complete" means that the majority of the evolution of the Republican constitution was over by 180 BC and had not began to change again in earnest until the emergence of the Brothers Gracchi and the slow but inevitable decline of the Republic itself.
How will this Project be Structured?
In order to ensure uniformity and ease of interpretation, this project will attempt to break down the largely unwritten Republican constitution of the time into an easy to organize format of Articles, Sections, and subsections as applicable using the concept of modern day constitutions as a model.
